Technology | The Guardian

As the technology boom continues to transform San Francisco, Guardian reporter Dan Tynan speaks with residents about a proposal to tax tech companies in the city to provide more affordable housing and better services for the homeless Continue reading...

Mayer’s hiring in 2012 was deemed a ‘coup’ but costly gambles, such as the $1.1bn acquisition of Tumblr, came to epitomize her doomed effort to reinvent YahooThe sale of Yahoo to Verizon for $4.83bn (£3.62bn) marks the end of a period of intense speculation and ferocious investor activism at the embattled web company. And for the past four years, CEO Marissa Mayer has borne the brunt of that protest, while attempting to turn around Yahoo’s fortunes.

Drones are operating above some of South Africa’s national parks in an attempt to deter and intercept poachers. Poaching is at record levels on the continent, devastating elephant and rhino populations. These drones can fly 2.5 hours on a single charge and up to 22 miles from the control vehicle. The operators say they have seen a direct link between their presence in an area and a fall in poaching Continue reading...

A video animation shows a design by Norman Foster for the world’s first droneport. The facility in Rwanda would support planned cargo drone routes linking remote areas in Africa: a red-line network for emergency supplies and a commercial blue-line network. The team hopes to complete the droneport in 2017

This promotional footage from Silicon Valley tech startup Zipline shows how it would use drones to deliver emergency blood supplies. The company hopes to make up to 150 blood deliveries a day by drone in Rwanda. Difficult transport conditions mean rural health centres across Africa often lack supplies and delivering emergency blood is particularly challenging. A ‘zip’ drone can fly a 75-mile round-trip on a single charge Continue reading...

In sub-Saharan Africa, 38% of people live in cities and 62% live in rural areas. Only 34% of the rural population of sub-Saharan Africa has access to transport. Drones are being tested for use in healthcare, cargo delivery and in conservation. This footage illustrates the challenge of reaching people in remote areas

New Nexus and Android One phone app uses Google’s Caller ID system to identify, flag and block nuisance callersGoogle is taking action against spam callers with a new version of its phone app for Android devices that identifies and helps blocks spammers.

Marketing shock tactics are nothing new, but the product itself is becoming the source of outrage, rather than the techniques used to promote itDon’t have time to pick up your dog’s excrement but do have time to snap a photo and log its location in a smartphone app so that some poor soul can schlep across town to do it for you? Then Pooper is for you.

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Tuesday. Continue reading...

Solar Impulse 2, which landed in Abu Dhabi, is first plane powered by the renewable energy source to tour the globe

The company will run tests to explore the viability of drones carrying deliveries weighing five pounds or less – which make up 90% of Amazon’s salesAmazon has announced that it will partner with the British government to run tests exploring the viability of delivery of small parcels by drone – the first time such tests have been run in the UK.

Future of photo-sharing site remains unclear but its founders say the innovation at Flickr died as soon as it was acquired in 2005As Verizon gobbles up ailing tech company Yahoo for $4.8bn, the prognosis for photo-sharing site Flickr remains unclear.In an age of Instagram and hipster filters, it’s easy to forget that Flickr used to be hands down the best photo sharing tool on the internet, with loads of features and a huge, vibrant community of professional and amateur photographers. It combined a social, celebratory environment with image storage in an era long before Picasa, Dropbox and iCloud. Continue reading...

No injuries after woman fired at least four shots from rooftop on to street near Toronto where smartphone game placed a ‘gym’ for players to battle each otherA Canadian woman has been charged after she allegedly fired a pellet gun at Pokémon Go players from the rooftop of a Toronto-area home, local police said on Monday.Witnesses saw the 29-year-old woman fire at least four shots on Saturday night from the roof of a two-story building, police said in a statement, adding that no players were injured. Continue reading...

Twitter has launched a new ad campaign after discovering that many people still don’t understand it. Thankfully, the Guardian’s guide explains it allAlthough Twitter has been part of the cultural and political discourse for years, a vast percentage of the population still doesn’t understand it. To this blissfully ignorant percentage, tweets are simply the thing that journalists embed on to websites whenever they don’t feel like coming up with their own ideas.However, today Twitter unveiled a brand new advertising campaign aimed exclusively at those who don’t know what Twitter is. Unfortunately, the commercials are so bland and empty that they’re almost certainly doomed to failure. Instead, newcomers are advised to reference a much better resource: this clear, accurate and comprehensive Twitter glossary. Continue reading...

Federal judge bars company from using information gathered by investigating firm Ergo, which may have engaged in criminal conductA federal judge on Monday banned Uber and its CEO, Travis Kalanick, from using information from a background check on a passenger bringing a price-fixing lawsuit, saying the investigative firm conducting the inquiry may have engaged in criminal conduct.

Purchase will boost Verizon’s AOL with advertising technology tools and search, mail and messenger assetsVerizon agreed to buy Yahoo’s core internet business for $4.83bn (£3.62bn) in cash on Monday, marking the final chapter in the struggling fortunes of the fading web pioneer.Marissa Mayer, Yahoo’s chief executive officer, has faced a barrage of criticism over her tenure. She hit out at “gender-charged” reporting in an interview with the Financial Times after the sale. Continue reading...

As the internet company sells its core web business to Verizon, we take a look back at AOL, Myspace and other faded firmsYahoo on Monday joined the elephant’s graveyard of fallen internet giants. While the company is officially still alive, now merged with fellow faller AOL and owned by Verizon, it lives on as a shadow of its former self with an uncertain future. The internet has proven a ferocious testing ground for tech companies. Here are some of the other once white-hot companies that have failed to adapt and survive. Continue reading...

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the Democratic National Committee, announced her resignation on Sunday following a leak of internal DNC emails that showed officials favoring Hillary Clinton during the presidential primary. The resignation comes on the eve of the Democratic national convention, and on Monday protesters voiced their support for Sanders though he is no longer in the running for the presidency Continue reading...

Verizon has acquired your emails, photos and embarrassing teenage blogs (plus a former NYT columnist and an ABC host)Verizon has acquired Yahoo in an all-cash deal for $4.83bn. The buy-out, which only covers Yahoo’s “core web business”, is an ignoble end for one of the original giants of the web: it places the value of the company, with more than 10,000 employees, at just half that of Finnish developer Supercell, the maker of the popular Clash of Clans mobile game.But perhaps the most surprising thing is quite how much Verizon is getting for its money. If you have an image of Yahoo at all, you probably know it as a search engine (now actually powered by Microsoft’s Bing, and before that by Google) and a listings site (originally a literal hand-created directory of good sites on the internet, now more focused on the company’s news aggregation service). But for those who haven’t kept tabs on Yahoo’s continued struggles to reinvent itself, the company is now sprawling, with fingers in almost every pie a web firm could want. Continue reading...

Shadow chancellor and Labour leader, who are proposing to scrap research tax relief for industry, had sponsored early day motionJeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell jointly called for the UK to remain “a world leader” in pharmaceuticals research two years ago, it has emerged, a day after a plan by the pair to crack down on tax relief for innovation relating to the industry was unveiled.An early day motion in April 2014 by Corbyn and McDonnell, then backbenchers, sponsored by three other MPs, called on the government to “protect employment and skills” within UK pharmaceuticals. Continue reading...

Russian authorities hope residents and visitors will be as keen to hunt Napoleon and Tchaikovsky as Nidoking and TirtougaMoscow authorities have developed a Pokemon Go-style app in the hope of piggybacking on the game’s popularity to promote the history of the city.The app encourages users to hunt for historic people connected to the city and “catch” them by taking a selfie with a 3-D representation of each figure on their smartphone, according to Moscow’s department of information technologies. Continue reading...

Wherever you are in the non-virtual world, if you’re playing Pokémon Go, we want to hear from you

With smartphone use and web penetration soaring, Africa is set for a tech revolution – but only if its infrastructure can support itYou can buy sunlight with your phone, conduct an eye test on someone 100 miles away and attend a church service on your iPad. There are apps for investing in cows, for sending parcels and for mapping unrest. And soon you’ll be able to deliver blood and medicines by drone.There’s free Facebook, mobile banking, and the promise of cashless societies and digitised land records. And from Accra in the west to Kigali in the east, a spray of “tech hubs” talk about “leapfrogging” technology and incubating start-ups. Continue reading...

As part of the Guardian’s series on technology in Africa, we meet 10 leaders of the continent’s digital transformationAfrica’s digital transformation would be nothing without the tens of thousands of people who have invested, and continue to invest, energy into propelling it forward.They are the leading lights driving change in infrastructure, mobile connectivity, online activism, e-commerce and financial services. Some are opening up digital cultural spaces or working to bring in investment for tech startups. Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Monday. Continue reading...

Openreach could have autonomous board with greater say on investment, ahead of Ofcom decision over whether company’s network hinders rivalsBT is willing to give more autonomy to its Openreach broadband network division, creating an independent board with a greater say over investment, its chairman has said.Rival telecom providers who rely on BT’s network have accused the group of not investing enough and providing a poor quality of service and regulator Ofcom has threatened to break up Britain’s biggest telecoms provider if it does not improve broadband access in the country. Continue reading...

Hit mobile game, made by Niantic, will have a ‘limited’ effect on Nintendo’s finances, the company has warnedNintendo’s share price on the Tokyo Stock Exchange has plummeted 17% in one day, apparently due to investors belatedly discovering that the company doesn’t actually make Pokémon Go, the latest mobile gaming phenomenon.The company is still buoyant, though: Since the game launched in mid-July, Nintendo’s share price has more than doubled. Continue reading...

New technologies from games to the internet of things are integrating every aspect of our lives into a global network that serves monopoly capitalismFrom minefields in Bosnia to military bases in Indonesia, from Holocaust museums to Julian Assange’s embassy, Pokémon seem to be everywhere. As Pokémon Go takes over the world, Saudi clerics have renewed a fatwa against the gaming series and Japan’s authorities have released safety guidelines in preparation for the official launch there. Never before has digital reality become so integrated into our physical world.Related: Why Pokémon Go really is a national health service | Gaby Hinsliff Continue reading...

After 45 years, the production of video casette recorders is to be ceased, closing the chapter on the era of video shops, format wars and divinely wobbly VHSName: VCR.Stands for: Video Cassette Recorder. Continue reading...

Everything you need to know but were afraid to ask about Pokémon Go gyms, battles and how to win themHalf of Pokémon Go is collecting the little beasts, you’ve got to “catch ‘em all!” after all, but the other half is a little more daunting: gym battles. But they needn’t be overwhelming or scary. Here’s a complete guide to what gyms are, how to battle in them and, most importantly, how to win. Continue reading...

Australian Bureau of Statistics fear boycott of census as privacy advocates say decision to retain names and addresses puts personal information at riskAustralians who refuse to answer questions in the 2016 census over privacy concerns surrounding the retention of their personal information could face heavy fines.The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) announced in December 2015 it was planning to retain name and address information in the upcoming census in order to create a “richer and dynamic statistical picture” of Australia. Continue reading...

It’s been more than a week since Pokémon Go took over the world – and now the only things that are more common than a Zubat are daft stories about people playing the game. Can you tell the Pokéfact from the Pokéfib in our Pokémon Go news quiz?It’s hard to say which yet, but Pokémon Go is either the saviour of all mankind, or the newest stage of natural selection. We have been inundated with stories about Pokémon Go of late, and how the game has either improved someone’s life or massively endangered it. But how closely have you been paying attention? Which of these things actually happened?Two men in California were so busy playing Pokémon Go that they fell off a 90ft cliff.TrueFalseA French woman claims to have lost 4kg by playing Pokémon Go for a week.TrueFalseA teenage girl was so busy playing Pokémon Go that she wandered onto a main road and got hit by a car.TrueFalseLevel 23 Pokémon Go accounts are selling for $5,000 on eBay.TrueFalseA wanted criminal was arrested in Michigan because he walked into a police station that was listed as a Pokémon gym.TrueFalseA German man was detained after running on to a football pitch to catch a Pokémon during a match.TrueFalseA New Zealander has quit his job to hunt Pokémon full-time.TrueFalseDavid Cameron has been sighted catching Pokémon in the Witney Cineworld car park.TrueFalseFirefighters had to rescue a trapped Pokémon Go player from an abandoned air raid shelter in Hampshire.TrueFalseCampaign organisers for Hillary Clinton have been loitering at known Pokestops and asking players to register to vote.TrueFalseA Maine resident has been hospitalised for sleep deprivation after playing Pokémon Go non-stop for 92 hours.TrueFalsePsychologists have claimed that Pokémon Go can help treat depression.TrueFalseA technology website has introduced mandatory Pokémon Go breaks for all its staff.TrueFalseA Montana teen was reprimanded by police after riding her horse across a busy intersection while playing Pokémon Go.TrueFalseThe Bosnian government has warned citizens not to play Pokémon Go on minefields.TrueFalseAn Egyptian politician has proposed erecting wireless broadband jammers around state institutions, in order to keep Pokémon players away.TrueFalseThe first marriage between people who met playing Pokémon Go has already taken place in Dusseldorf.TrueFalseSomeone in Gloucestershire called 999 to report a stolen Pokémon.TrueFalseFour separate Pokémon Go players have sought medical treatment after being attacked by seagulls in Blackpool.TrueFalseTwo Pokémon Go players were shot at by a man who mistook them for burglars.TrueFalse16 and above.Well done! You are officially an expert at Pokémon Go. You probably even know what a Pikachu is, don’t you? Nerd.11 and above.You are slightly better than average at retaining information about ephemeral news stories about faddy smartphone apps. Feel free to add this talent to your CV.6 and above.A pretty poor score. In fact, with a score this low, it’s a surprise that people don’t call you Rattata (or the name of another disappointing Pokémon that I just had to Google).0 and above.Bad show. You clearly haven’t been keeping up with Pokémon Go news. You don’t even know what Pokémon Go is, do you? Who do you think you are, huh? Some sort of responsible adult with better things to do? Continue reading...

From innovative media streamers and VR headsets to super-compact memory storage devices and chargers, we select the best bargain gadgetrySennheiser HD 201 (£16.99)

Augmented reality Pokémon is a global blockbuster, but full of glitches; far better to settle down with a satisfying FPS or some Zelda-based hack and slashAndroid, iOS, the Pokémon Company, cert: 3

This new frame from the great Dutch bike builder is a winning combination of retro styling and modern technologyWe’d all agree the Dutch know a thing or two about bikes. And few Dutch firms know more about bikes than Gazelle. The company was founded in 1892 and now employs 350 people at its factory in Dieren, producing 275,000 bicycles a year. Drawing on this heritage gives Gazelle the opportunity to produce frames like the Van Stael. It’s an absolute cracker – the afternoon I test rode it it had just come back from a GQ fashion shoot. It was inspired by the Gazelle that raced in the 1915 Tour de France, and a century later, the design is back, blending nostalgic styling with modern components. It now also comes with full mudguards, low-maintenance hub gears, a chain guard and a very loud bell. And it’s topped and tailed with v posh Brooks Cambium grips and saddle (gazellebikes.com).Price: £549

Feeling the squeeze? VW’s new Golf SV is a plus-size model that gives you plenty of room to stretch yourselfPrice: £21,200

Covert photos taken of women on beaches, public transport and elsewhere in public have been shared to two hashtags, one since 2012 with Twitter under pressure to actThousands of women have had intrusive photographs, taken of themselves without their knowledge, circulated on Twitter for years.Covert photos taken of women on beaches, public transport and elsewhere have been shared to two hashtags for several years with apparent impunity. Continue reading...

USOC sent letters to companies that don’t have a commercial relationship with them, warning use of #TeamUSA and #Rio2016 is stealing intellectual propertyThe United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has been using legal bullying tactics to try and prevent companies that aren’t official sponsors of the Games from using “official” Twitter hashtags such as #TeamUSA and #Rio2016.Over the last few weeks, the USOC has sent letters to companies that sponsor athletes but don’t have a commercial relationship with the USOC or the International Olympic Committee, warning them against stealing intellectual property. Continue reading...

The Pokémon craze has officially made its way into the government. State department spokesman John Kirby was giving a briefing on Thursday and paused in the middle of his remarks, pointing at the man and asking him, ‘You’re playing the Pokémon thing there, aren’t you?’ Continue reading...

At a state department briefing on the anti-Isis coalition, a spokesman called out a journalist for playing the popular game but later asked, ‘did you get one?’Pokémon Go has ruffled feathers everywhere from Gettysburg to Auschwitz. Those bored by the Republican national convention in Cleveland this week turned to the game to while away the lengthy pauses between dystopian speeches.But on Thursday, the game ventured into rarefied territory. Continue reading...

Last remaining VHS VCR producer will cease manufacturing recorders at the end of this month, bringing the 40-year-long analogue videotape era to an endThe 40-year-war between Betamax and VHS is finally over, but while victorious 28 years ago, the VHS video cassette recorders only managed to outlive its rival’s tapes by 9 months. The last VHS VCR will roll off the production line at the end of this month.

Our four-part series on a United Nations resolution that considers internet access to be a basic human right begins next week. Here’s a previewOn 1 July, the United Nations resolved that internet access is to be considered a basic human right. In light of that decision, we’re producing a series of four episodes to explore, among other things, what the world might look like if every human being had access to the World Wide Web. The first episode in the series is coming next week. Continue reading...

Posters in the city’s Chinatown claim Airbnb landlords are ‘destroying affordable housing for immigrant, minority and low income families’San Francisco’s gentrification wars have long fostered a certain element willing to make the debate over affordable housing extremely personal.During the first dot-com boom, members of the “Mission Yuppie Eradication Project” posted flyers encouraging residents of the once working-class Latino neighborhood to “vandalize yuppie cars”. During the current tech boom, as evictions soared, activists began using stencils to paint the sidewalks in front of certain buildings with an image of a suitcase and a message: “Tenants here forced out.” Continue reading...

Lab printed prosthetic digit to help police try and unlock a murder victim’s smartphone, protected by a fingerprint scanner instead of a passwordComputer science professor Anil Jain spends most of his time researching and improving biometric systems, like fingerprint scanners and facial recognition software. Last month, however, law enforcement agents approached the Michigan State University academic with an unusual request: to create a 3D-printed replica of a dead man’s finger.Police needed the prosthetic digit to try and unlock a murder victim’s smartphone, protected by a fingerprint scanner instead of a password. Continue reading...

Users urged to update their iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch to prevent attackers taking over devices with malicious imagesA flaw in the way Apple software handles images allows hackers to take over an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac or Apple TV with a simple iMessage or email.

E3 2016 saw a range of virtual reality demos, from Resident Evil to Star Trek. But with problems from motion sickness to uncertainty over formats, is the industry floundering?One of the big stories to come out of this year’s E3 video games conference was that virtual reality was definitely there. Not hiding in little booths at the peripheral of the main halls, but there, front and centre, with big publishers and big franchises on board.We saw demos of Resident Evil 7 (RE7) and Fallout 4 running in VR, we saw standalone VR experiences in the form of Star Trek: Bridge Crew and Batman: Arkham VR and we had the promise of virtual reality modes for major releases such as Final Fantasy XV and Star Wars: Battlefront. Meanwhile, Sony promised that 50 titles would be available for its PlayStation VR headset by the end of the year, showing that its (comparatively) accessible, wallet-friendly device had major developer support. Suddenly, over the course of four hot June days in Los Angeles, we seemed to have the killer apps that every consumer technology needs and that VR had arguably been missing. Continue reading...

Thiel, the mogul who helped to found PayPal and was an early investor in Facebook, brushed off concerns over his party’s anti-LGBT platformSilicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel became the first openly gay speaker since 2000 at the Republican national convention on Thursday, just days after the GOP passed one of the most conservative platforms in its party’s history.Thiel, the controversial mogul who helped to found PayPal and was an early investor in Facebook, to cheers said: “I am proud to be gay. I am proud to be a Republican. But most of all I am proud to be an American.” Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Friday! Continue reading...

PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel took the Republican national convention stage in Cleveland on Thursday night with a message not often heard at Republican gatherings. ‘I am proud to be gay. I am proud to be a Republican, but most of all, I am proud to be an American,’ he said. CNN reported that Thiel is the first person in history to tell the RNC that he’s gay Continue reading...