Technology | The Guardian

Tools for informal chat are believed to lend themselves to collaborative communication. But are they more suited to office gossip and cute gifs?The all-too-familiar reflex of minimising an open Facebook tab as your manager approaches could soon be relinquished to the past, as Facebook looks to legitimise its infiltration into our working lives. Itrecently launched “Facebook at work”, now officially titled “Workplace”, provides users an entirely separate professional Facebook account through which they can communicate with colleagues and workmates. Workplace is already in more than a thousand organisations worldwide , sold to businesses with a per-user price plan. There’s even a separate work-chat app, so you can install a shop-talk exclusive messenger to your iPhone or Android.

From virtual reality pornography to ‘teledildonics’, we investigate what we can expect from sex technology

The tech company’s program, which has been criticized for obstructing net neutrality, would allow third parties to provide scaled-down content and servicesFacebook is planning to extend its controversial Free Basics service, which offers a free but limited internet access to people who don’t have it, to the US.The social networking company has been in talks with the White House and wireless carriers about introducing the program in a way that doesn’t attract the criticism and regulatory scrutiny it has faced elsewhere, according to a report in the Washington Post. Continue reading...

Combining external memory and deep learning, DeepMind’s program learns how to do tasks independently, and could pave the way for sophisticated AI assistantsGoogle scientists have created a computer program that uses basic reasoning to learn to navigate the London Underground system by itself.The same Artificial Intelligence (AI) agent could also answer questions about the content of snippets of stories and work out family relationships by looking at a family tree. Scientists predict that in future a similar approach could pave the way for virtual assistants that would be able to instantaneously scour the internet to answer questions and carry out instructions with precision. Continue reading...

A festival in New York last week afforded a glimpse at a new era of narrative collaboration. Will the concepts of reader and author soon be a thing of the past?Two forces are sending shockwaves through the world of storytelling. The first is that digital technology now offers creative artists myriad platforms to tell their stories in new ways. “We are using code as the canvas,” says Charles Melcher, book publisher and founder of the inaugural Future of Storytelling festival. In other words, whatever you can dream up, today’s advanced software capabilities can make it happen. Continue reading...

Company issues warning over third-quarter earnings after shutting down production of fire-prone phonesSamsung has warned that scrapping its failed Galaxy Note 7 handset due to safety concerns will burn a £1.9bn hole in its profits.The South Korean group was forced to take the humiliating step of permanently withdrawing the Note 7 from sale on Tuesday after users around the world reported flames and explosions caused by overheating batteries. Continue reading...

Amazon Music Unlimited is taking on established streaming services, as company looks to corner home-listening market through integration with Echo smart speakersAmazon has launched Amazon Music Unlimited, a competitor to Spotify and Apple Music, as part of the company’s push into music streaming.Amazon Music Unlimited, which will initially only be available in the US, is a head-to-head competitor with Spotify, charging the same $9.99 (£8.15) monthly fee as that service. But Amazon is attempting to beat the streaming service on price when it comes to certain target markets. Amazon Prime customers, for instance, can pick up their subscription for $7.99, a $2 a month saving on competitors. Continue reading...

The proposed law would ban tent encampments from San Francisco’s sidewalks – a visceral reminder of the city’s gaping inequalityA tent on a sidewalk is the only place thousands of San Franciscans have to call home. But if a few of the city’s tech billionaires and millionaires have their way, even that shelter could be taken away.Sequoia Capital chairman Michael Moritz, tech angel investor Ron Conway, and hedge-fund investor William Oberndorf have donated $49,999 apiece to a divisive ballot measure intended to clear San Francisco’s streets of homeless encampments, according to campaign filings. Continue reading...

Social networking company apologises after picture of woman having mammogram with her breast exposed falls foul of its anti-nipple policyFacebook has apologised for removing a post by the French newspaper Le Monde about mammogram screening after yet again coming under fire for its aggressive anti-nudity policy.The lead image of the article, which was published by Les Décodeurs, a data-focused site run by the paper, shows a woman having a mammogram. One of her breasts is exposed. Continue reading...

What if video game characters could think, feel and talk? Meet the developers who are figuring out how to make that happenIf you’re a video game fan of a certain age, you may remember Edge magazine’s controversial review of the bloody sci-fi shooting game, Doom. Perhaps you enjoyed a good laugh, as many first-person shooter fans have, at the writer’s much-mocked assertion: “if only you could talk to these creatures, then perhaps you could try and make friends with them, form alliances … Now that would be interesting.”Of course, we all know what happened. There would be no room in the Doom series, nor any subsequent first-person blast-’em-up, for such socio-psychological niceties. Instead, we enjoyed 20 years of shooting, bludgeoning and stabbing, the ludicrous idea of diplomacy cast roughly aside. Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other important thingsIt’s Wednesday. Continue reading...

Extraordinary precautions taken by South Korean maker after both the original fire-prone phone and its replacement were withdrawn from global saleSamsung appears to be taking no chances with its potentially explosive Galaxy Note 7 – supplying customers with an elaborate kit to use when returning their phones.The safety precautions include a static shield that needs to be put inside a box, inside another box, inside a final flameproof box – and a pair of gloves for handling the protective materials involved. Continue reading...

Judgment over whether taxi app is acting unlawfully by not offering holiday and sick pay could be delivered on WednesdayTens of thousands of Uber drivers in the UK could qualify for holiday and sick pay when an employment tribunal reconvenes in London on Wednesday, in what has been heralded as the employment law case of the year.In July lawyers representing 19 drivers contested their status as self-employed workers. They argued that the drivers’ employment terms and conditions meant they were not technically self-employed and should therefore be entitled to a range of benefits such as pension contributions as well as holiday and sick pay. Continue reading...

Cross-party report suggests the education system must be adapted to “focus on things that machines will be less good at for longer”Schools are not preparing children to succeed in a world where intelligent robots have transformed the workforce, MPs have warned.A report by the cross-party Science and Technology Committee suggests that the education system should be adapted to “focus on things that machines will be less good at for longer,” rather than skills that are rapidly becoming obsolete. Continue reading...

Foreign powers stole documents and installed malicious software in brazen attack, as report warns of terrorist cyber attacks within three years

ACLU revealed Tuesday that Facebook, Twitter and Instagram gave ‘special access’ to Geofeedia, a controversial social media monitoring companyFacebook, Twitter and Instagram have previously provided users’ data to a software company that aids police surveillance programs and targets protesters of color, according to government records obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union.The ACLU revealed on Tuesday that the technology corporations gave “special access” to Geofeedia, a controversial social media monitoring company that partners with law enforcement and has marketed its services as a tool to track Black Lives Matter activists. Continue reading...

A self-driving car is the first of its kind in the UK to take a test drive in Milton Keynes on Tuesday. The LUTZ Pathfinder roams the streets of Buckinghamshire sharing the pavement with the town’s cyclists and pedestrians achieving speeds of 15mph. A driver was on board the new vehicle in case of any emergencies

Michael Noonan pledge that Ireland’s 12.5% corporate tax rate ‘will not be change’ goes down well in Cork, home to Apple’s HQIreland’s finance minister has acknowledged a torrid year for the country’s much-criticised corporate tax regime with a robust defence of Apple’s taxation deals with the Irish state.

Though their final ruling will not be known for months, justices have expressed limited patience for arguments defending patent infringements against AppleA terrible week for consumer electronics firm Samsung got significantly worse on Tuesday as the US supreme court expressed limited patience for arguments defending patent infringements against Apple’s iPhone.The hearing – which is the culmination of a five-year legal showdown between two of the world’s most powerful technology rivals – coincided with news that Samsung has had to abandon production of its new flagship Note 7 smartphone due to a safety crisis. Continue reading...

The $397bn internet retailer is said to be building a chain of stores and drive-through locations where customers can pick up groceries ordered onlineAmazon’s next step in its global domination of commerce could be much closer to home. The internet retailer, which has grown into a $397bn company in the 22 years since its founding, is reportedly planning to build a series of bricks and mortar corner stores selling milk, meat, orange juice and newspapers to further cement its recent expansion into the grocery market.

Justin McLeod has updated the dating app he launched in 2011 that matches users with friends of friends, to eliminate swiping and encourage conversationIt has been more than a year since Vanity Fair bemoaned the dating apocalypse, blaming it on apps and triggering a Tinder tweet-storm that sarcastically claimed: “Sex was invented in 2012 when Tinder was launched.”Most people are no strangers to the futile swiping and exchanged messages that lead to nowhere. It’s not uncommon for my friends to start conversations about dating by asking: “Are you still swiping? How is it going?” and compare horror stories, maybe swap phones and swipe for each other, contributing to the collective despair of online dating. Continue reading...

Driverless LUTZ Pathfinder shares streets of Buckinghamshire town with cyclists and pedestrians, reaching speeds of 15mphA driverless car has been tested for the first time on UK streets in the latest development in self-driving technology in Britain.The trial saw a two-seater LUTZ Pathfinder travel 1.25 miles (2km) through pedestrianised areas of Milton Keynes, reaching speeds of up to 15mph while having to cope with walkers and cyclists for the first time. A driver was on board to take over in case of emergency.

South Korean electronics company to kill off its flagship smartphone after failing to fix problems with batteries catching fireSamsung has confirmed that it is permanently stopping production of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone after it was involved in dozens of fires and explosions worldwide.In a regulatory filing in South Korea late on Tuesday, the firm said it had made the decision to stop production, for the sake of consumer safety. Continue reading...

When one developer lost a friend in an accident she created a robot using his old texts that she could talk to. Are these griefbots the key to life after death?

A swath of technologists and physicists believe that ‘simulation theory’ will be proved, just as it was proved that the Earth was not the center of the universeWhen Elon Musk isn’t outlining plans to use his massive rocket to leave a decaying Planet Earth and colonize Mars, he sometimes talks about his belief that Earth isn’t even real and we probably live in a computer simulation.“There’s a billion to one chance we’re living in base reality,” he said at a conference in June. Continue reading...

The latest instalment in Capcom’s horror series breaks with many of its own conventions to provide a new whole new scare storyOne of the most brilliant and unexpected treats of recent years was Konami’s PT, a “playable teaser” for an unreleased and possibly cancelled reboot of the horror series Silent Hill. Directed by the great Hideo Kojima, alongside the film maker Guillermo del Toro, PT is notable not just for moving a third-person series into a first-person perspective, but also for offering an ingenious solution to a problem that faces every high-end developer of video games. As game assets become even more expensive and time-consuming to produce, how do you squeeze the most out of them?PT’s solution was a small but detailed house interior which plays out repeatedly, a snack-sized Groundhog Day. The player wakes afresh in the same room, explores the house and, depending on their actions, small details change. If you experiment enough, mysteries are solved and new secrets are uncovered. As an experience it has issues, primarily that it’s too obtuse, but as a proof-of-concept, PT is exceptional, even if Konami’s may never follow it up. Continue reading...

Samsung has been forced to suspend production and global sales of both the faulty smartphones and their replacements after devices caught fireSamsung has withdrawn all of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones from sale globally after a spate of fires involving “safe” replacements.Related: Galaxy Note 7: what to do with Samsung's potentially exploding phone Continue reading...

Samsung have advised Note 7 owners to power off. Find out who is affected, what happens next – and if you should be worried about other people’s phones explodingOnly if it’s a Galaxy Note 7. You can tell it’s a Galaxy Note 7 because it says, on the back of the phone, “Galaxy Note 7”. Continue reading...

Anna Kendrick voices princess Poppy, the heroine of the resilient frizzy-haired toys, in this funny, kidult animation that will rival ShrekHere is an eye-popping, candy-coloured, MSG-fuelled and cyclamate-powered new animation from Dreamworks – it does not, as may one day happen, laud those cute little critters that lurk angrily in online political chatrooms, tweeting Pepe the Frog memes. Instead, Dreamworks is attempting to take a leaf out of its own Shrek manual and build a monster hit out of an ugly-lovable creature: the frizzy-haired toys that never seem to have disappeared since the first fad erupted in the 1960s. It seems that Dreamworks has bought the entire Trolls brand, so stands to make more money than usual if it all takes off.Related: Trolls: does DreamWorks have a Shrek-sized hit? Continue reading...

YouTube footage posted by Ariel Gonzalez shows his new Samsung Note7. He says the phone caught fire and and melted only two weeks after purchase. Samsung has withdrawn all of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones from sale globally and advised consumers to turn off the power and seek a refund or exchange them for different phones

Once part of Julian Assange’s inner circle, the prominent tech activist is facing a slew of troubling allegations that has left the Tor community dividedEdward Snowden’s face seems ever present in Berlin, where stickers on doors and lamp-posts promise there’s always “A bed for Snowden” and posters plug Oliver Stone’s eponymous film.The whistleblower’s explosive 2013 revelations about international government surveillance generated some good advertising for Berlin, cementing its reputation as hipster technology activist capital of the world. The city’s cheap lifestyle and post-second world war aversion to surveillance, as well as sympathetic Germany residency rules, have created a powerful network of support and infrastructure for its dedicated cyberactivism community. We are “poor, but sexy”, its residents like to say. Continue reading...

A woman helped create and program the world’s first general purpose computer. How much progress has there been since Ada Lovelace Day began in 2009?It is eight years since journalist and software activist Suw Charman-Anderson founded Ada Lovelace Day, aiming to raise the profile of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and celebrate their achievements.The day is named after Lord Byron’s daughter Ada, a mathematician who worked with Charles Babbage to create and program the world’s first general purpose computer, the analytical engine, creating the precursor to modern programming. Continue reading...

Rapid technological change can be hard for small businesses to track. We speak to the experts about the trends shaping the futureEntrepreneurs need little convincing that technology is important, rapidly evolving, and likely to have a profound impact on their businesses. But keeping track of developments, and knowing where to focus one’s attention, is anything but straightforward. Analysts at PricewaterhouseCoopers (pdf) say the impact of constant technological breakthroughs represent a “megatrend” – a change so big that “every business should develop an emerging technology strategy”. They have highlighted eight key areas that all businesses should pay attention to.

We increasingly let computers fly planes and carry out security checks. Driverless cars are next. But is our reliance on automation setting us up for disaster?When a sleepy Marc Dubois walked into the cockpit of his own aeroplane, he was confronted with a scene of confusion. The plane was shaking so violently that it was hard to read the instruments. An alarm was alternating between a chirruping trill and an automated voice: “STALL STALL STALL.” His junior co-pilots were at the controls. In a calm tone, Captain Dubois asked: “What’s happening?”Co-pilot David Robert’s answer was less calm. “We completely lost control of the aeroplane, and we don’t understand anything! We tried everything!” Continue reading...

AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint have stopped providing the phones pending new investigation of most recent safety concernsAll four of the US’s big mobile phone providers have stopped providing replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones due to concerns that the new phones are still overheating and, in some cases catching on fire.

The company’s office communication platform, a competitor to marketplace leader Slack, gets a makeover and a pricing structureImagine a world where your boss tells you you’re not using Facebook enough at the office.Facebook’s business platform will get an official pricing structure and a new name, Workplace by Facebook, on Monday. The service, a Facebook-hosted office communication tool, has been in the works for more than two years under the name Facebook at Work, but now the company says its enterprise product is ready for primetime. Continue reading...

The decision reported by South Korean news agency Yonhap follows repeated problems with the new deviceSamsung’s smartphone recall crisis has deepened after South Korean media said the tech giant had suspended production of its troubled Galaxy Note 7 model amid reports that replacement devices had caught fire.

Google-owned Alphabet, Walt Disney and tech firm Salesforce were working a on a potential acquisition, but it’s rumored that all have opted not to press aheadShares in Twitter fell more than 14% on Monday following reports that all of its rumoured potential bidders have lost interest in buying the struggling social media company.

Calls for stronger regulation and enforcement amid concern about risk of a collision following rise in incidentsPolice are investigating reports of two drone sightings near Heathrow airport.

Galaxy Note 7-maker faces questions over its response to defects with its devices that could tarnish the company in the long-termThe saga of the exploding Galaxy Note 7s has turned into a fully-fledged crisis for Samsung.First released in August, the phone initially received rave reviews for the extent to which it pushed the envelope on what a phablet-sized smartphone could do. It shipped with wireless charging, a battery that lasted well over a day and charged to 70% in less than an hour, and a USB-C connector – Samsung’s first phone to use the next-generation port. Continue reading...

Centuries after Christopher lost his way, today is an opportunity to defend our need for privacy and solitude – increasingly difficult in the age of GPSColumbus Day, we are told, commemorates a discovery – but of what, exactly?Not the American continent, upon which human civilisation was already flourishing before any doughty Genoan ever set boot on the Bahamas. Nor was it a new transatlantic route: Columbus was beaten to that particular punch by a Swede, several Vikings and possibly even an Irish priest named Brendan. Continue reading...

Excellent script, great voice acting and convincing animations bring the game to life – but they can’t redeem the terminal repetitiveness of the gameplayAmerica in the 1960s: a presidential assassination, landmark rights movements, a nuclear arms race, the birth of modern music, man landing on the moon, the beginning of Star Trek, and a controversial war abroad. This is a remarkable era – one barely seen in video games – and Mafia III makes good use of its cultural backdrop. It tells its story well, with smart writing and some superb characterisation that elevate its simple revenge plot. Ultimately, however, it never capitalises on its open world potential, instead succumbing to an almost constant lull of tediously unimaginative repetition that makes for a boring and dated open-world shooter.The game starts relatively strongly. Developer Hangar 13 successfully captures the distorted soul of the 1960s and places us in the rugged boots of Lincoln Clay – a bi-racial orphan and Vietnam veteran recently returned home to the Big Easy inspired city of New Bordeaux. He’s the archetypal Henry Hill protagonist; a likeable, loyal young guy who you root for despite his penchant for murder, torture and other reprehensible hobbies. His closest colleagues are similarly personable despite their illegal activities. Sammy, leader of the Black Mob, raised Lincoln as one of his own, while Father James Ballard is Lincoln’s go-to for advice and help whenever he’s in need of moral guidance. Continue reading...

Batteries fuel modern life, from smartphones to electric cars. But how do they store electricity and why don’t they last long enough? And, as Samsung might be asking itself, why do they blow up?Battery life is an explosive issue. Literally, as Samsung is discovering to its dismay. The company’s Galaxy Note 7 smartphone was praised upon release for best-in-class battery life, far outpacing its key competitor, the iPhones 6S and 7 Plus. Then it started blowing up. Samsung issued a recall and replace programme, and the replacements also started blowing up, forcing the company to suspend production entirely.The affair marks the latest road block on the long fight to improve the batteries that power our electronics. While processing speed doubles around every 18 months, battery capacity takes almost a decade to improve to the same degree. That gap is starting to cause problems, but as Samsung has found to its cost, it’s not easy to fix. Continue reading...

Credit, which can be offset against future tax bills, may raise further questions about whether US group is paying its fair shareFacebook’s UK business generated an £11.3m tax credit last year, despite the world’s largest social network making a global profit of $6.19bn (£4.97bn), according to the latest company accounts.The credit at Facebook UK Ltd can be offset against future tax bills and is likely to raise further questions about whether the $370bn US company is paying its fair share towards Britain’s public finances. Continue reading...

The place to talk about gamesIt’s Monday. Continue reading...

The new PS4-compatible system offers a beautifully realised middle ground between smartphone headsets and top-of-the-range kitPS4, Sony; out 13 October Continue reading...

Now that the US has officially accused Russia of hacking the DNC, cyberwarfare between the two powers could become the new normalIf this were any other weekend, the US intelligence community formally accusing Russia of hacking the Democratic National Committee and meddling in the presidential race would be the dominant story. But before anyone had time to process the implications on Friday, another story broke, and the immolation of Donald Trump’s campaign became the only subject anyone wanted to discuss.Related: US officially accuses Russia of hacking DNC and interfering with election Continue reading...

Case of 14-year-old taking social network to court over naked picture has already resulted in others seeking legal adviceA legal case against Facebook, which will involve a 14-year-old taking the company to court in Belfast over naked images published on the social network, could open the floodgates for other civil claims, according to lawyers who work with victims of revenge pornography.Facebook’s forthcoming trial, which centres on the claim that it is liable for the publication of a naked picture of the girl posted repeatedly on a “shame page” as an act of revenge, has alarmed the tech world and could have a seismic impact on how social media companies deal with explicit images. Continue reading...