Technology | The Guardian

Web users have turned to adblockers to fix slow page load times – but the software been criticised for robbing publishers and others of vital revenueAdblocking has become popular because people have become frustrated with ads slowing page load times on the internet, particularly on mobile.A recent report revealed that 22% of the UK’s internet users have an adblocker installed, up from 18% just three months earlier, and the figure rises to almost half for 18- to 24-year-olds.

From Fire Emoji to Six Strings: new collections are made by algorithms, will be updated once a week, and build on the success of the Discover Weekly playlistMusic-streaming service Spotify is letting its recommendation algorithms loose again with six new-music playlists that will be updated once a week.Under the brand of Fresh Finds, the playlists will be constructed from an analysis of music blogs, news sites and the songs being listened to by “tastemakers” on Spotify. Continue reading...

Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell ditched tablet for ring binder when iPad Pro seemingly let him down mid-speechThere’d be something amiss if Apple’s general counsel didn’t use an Apple product when representing the company in front of the US Congress. But Bruce Sewell must have been thankful he’d also brought a hard copy when his iPad Pro failed him mid-speech.It was all going smoothly at the House judiciary committee hearing into the standoff between Apple and the FBI when suddenly Sewell’s gentle scrolls turned into rapid swipes, a quizzical look and a quick switch to a ring binder. Continue reading...

Discover Auntie’s crooners with BBC Music, track breastfeeding and nappy changes with Glow Baby, and put a VHS camcorder filter over videos, plus play GTA: Liberty City Stories, Final Fantasy XI and moreIn terms of sheer numbers, Google’s Android has been bigger than Apple’s iOS for some time now – it reached 1 billion active users in mid-2014.That has made Android a bigger priority than it used to be for many more app developers: in 2016, lots of prominent new apps debut simultaneously on Android and iOS, with some even appearing on Android first. Continue reading...

Culture secretary also asks if BBC shows such as Strictly Come Dancing are ‘distinctive’ enough and launches initiative against online adblockingThe government is to rush through legislation to close the “iPlayer loophole”, which allows people to watch BBC shows on catchup services without having a TV licence.In a speech on Wednesday, culture secretary John Whittingdale also asked whether popular BBC1 programmes such as Strictly Come Dancing were “distinctive” enough and launched a new initiative on the devastating impact of adblockers on the newspaper industry. Continue reading...

British Airline Pilots Association warns tests are needed after 23 near-misses were investigated in just six monthsTests must be done into what would happen if a drone hit a passenger jet, say airline pilots following a recent spate of near-misses.The British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) wants the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to back research into the possible consequences of such a collision. Continue reading...

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

Legislators accuse Justice Department of overreaching and undermining privacy but warn Apple it’s ‘not going to like’ a congressionally mandated solutionThe Justice Department is on a “fool’s errand” trying to force Apple to unlock the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists, lawmakers told FBI director James Comey on Tuesday.Lawmakers of both parties sharply challenged Comey as the House judiciary committee considered the FBI’s court order to unlock an iPhone owned by Syed Farook, who with his wife killed 14 people at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California, in December and was killed by law enforcement. Continue reading...

FBI director James Comey appeared in front of Congress on Tuesday to be questioned on his organization’s demand that Apple help them to unlock the iPhone of a terror suspect. Speaking to the House judiciary committee, Comey says he is not asking Apple to build a back door, but instead to ‘take the vicious guard dog away and let us pick the lock’. Apple is resisting the demand through the courts, with the case expected to be heard later this month Continue reading...

Microsoft is bringing its famed console racing simulation to Windows 10 machines as a free-to-play taster. Subsequent Forza titles will all arrive on both PC and consoleMicrosoft is bringing another of its big Xbox franchises to Windows 10 PCs. At a showcase in San Francisco last week, the company revealed Forza Motorsports 6: Apex, a “curated and focused” version of the popular series, which will be available free to Windows 10 users in the spring.The version, which was written in Microsoft’s Universal Windows Platform (UWP), features over 60 cars and a range of new race modes. The main focus of the game is the Showcase Tour mode, which includes 12 events, based around specific motoring stories. One, set on the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, pits Ferrari against Lamborghini in a competition to decide the ultimate Italian super car. There’s also a free mode for taking out any car on any of the six available environments, and the pre-race procedure contains much of the complexity of the full Xbox titles, including assists, tuner set-up and practice options. Continue reading...

Head of Microsoft’s gaming division effectively confirms Xbox is becoming a new kind of PC/console hybrid

Women at the Lesbians Who Tech Summit talked about their experiences blending in with the tech bros – but that doesn’t always mean equalityOver this past weekend, something strange and a little funny happened in Silicon Valley: 1,600 lesbians held their third and largest annual tech conference to date.None of the sessions at the Lesbians Who Tech Summit, which took over the massive Castro Theatre and surrounding bars from Thursday to Sunday, were particularly gay-themed; as with any tech conference, there were panels on the future of ed-tech, robot innovations, and data-driven design interspersed with startup demos. Continue reading...

Sweden’s Svenska Dagbladet claims social network ‘seem to have a need to control the information and communication around them’A Swedish newspaper has accused Facebook of trying to influence its coverage by vetoing its choice of reporter to interview the social network’s executives.Svenska Dagbladet had run an investigation with freelancer Jack Werner into offensive comments posted to the Facebook pages of senior government ministers in Sweden. Werner had found that those reporting the comments to Facebook were being told they were acceptable. Continue reading...

Vigilant Global and New Line Networks (NLN) want to build communications towers to shave milliseconds off the time it takes trade the marketsWhen Roman invaders made landfall on the British coast in AD43, it was at the present-day settlement of Richborough where they probably set up camp.Now this sleepy corner of rural Kent has become an unlikely battleground once again – as the potential site for telecoms masts as high as London’s Shard skyscraper that will enable high-speed trading firms to make millions. Continue reading...

Hundreds walk off job at battery manufacturing plant as union organizers say out-of-state workers are increasingly being hired for lower payHundreds of union construction workers walked off the job at Tesla Motors’ battery manufacturing plant in northern Nevada on Monday to protest what union organizers say is the increased hiring of out-of-state workers for less pay.

US officials to argue in congressional testimony that legislators should pass a law requiring tech companies to retain user keys for decrypting customer dataThe war of words between Apple and US law enforcement escalated again on Monday as their fight over personal versus national security prepared to move beyond the courthouse and into the halls of Congress.In testimony released ahead of a hotly anticipated congressional hearing, Apple’s chief attorney argued that helping unlock an iPhone used by a terrorist in San Bernardino will ultimately create more crime. New York’s chief prosecutor said the company’s devices were beyond the law and urged Congress to pass new legislation keeping encryption keys to user data in the hands of the tech giants. Continue reading...

US military acknowledges for the first time – during an active war – that it’s using its storehouse of new digital weapons to disrupt communications networksThe Pentagon has acknowledged using its storehouse of new digital weapons to attack Islamic State communications networks, the first time that the US military has acknowledged doing so during an active war.

After signing deal to sell Morrisons food, US retailer has sights set on fashion, loans, drones, physical shops and more groceriesAmazon is expanding into grocery shopping after agreeing a deal to sell Morrisons food. But that is not the only initiative the ambitious US company is investing in:Fashion Continue reading...

No user data was breached, but incident proves even ‘tech savvy millennials’ can fall prey to a phishing emailSnapchat’s pictures are deleted automatically seconds after they’re viewed. Unfortunately, the same isn’t true of the company’s confidential financial records, which it just handed over to a scammer.In a blogpost, the company apologised to its staffers after a phishing attack tricked an HR employee into handing over payroll information about “some current and former employees”. Continue reading...

Feeling flush? HTC hopes the price of its headset doesn’t put people off, as the battle for virtual reality dominance heats upHTC’s Vive virtual reality headset finally has a UK price: a hefty £689.So, what do you get if you splash out a month’s rent (in London at least)? There’s the headset itself, co-created by gaming company Valve, which has two 1080 x 1200 screens offering a 110-degree viewing area, as well as a front-facing camera for augmented reality features and a plethora of other sensors for head- and motion-tracking. Continue reading...

Peter Ward, known online as PlutoPete, sentenced for possession, supply and importation of class A and B drugsA self-styled “psychonaut” who sold crack cocaine and crystal meth on the dark web has been jailed for five years and two months.

Bradford-based supermarket becomes first of big four to sign a deal with the online retailerAmazon is to start selling fresh and frozen Morrisons food in a groundbreaking tie-up that highlights the growing strength of the US online retailer.Hundreds of lines of Morrisons’ fresh, chilled and frozen food will be available on Amazon within the next few months through its Prime Now and Pantry services. Continue reading...

A new prototype rubbish lorry built by Volvo uses drone technology to locate bins and send a robot to pick them up, all without driver having to leave the cabVolvo’s latest research prototype uses a small robot to pick up and empty bins into a rubbish truck, guided by an overhead drone and without the need for humans – but Britain’s binmen should not fear for their jobs just yet.

Despite millions of views, the Damn Daniel video was deleted on Monday morning after a hacker gained control of its creator Josh Holz’s Twitter accountAnother piece of internet history is gone, perhaps forever, after the creator of the viral “Damn Daniel” video, Josh Holz, had his Twitter account hacked on Monday.Holz, 15, posted a video to Twitter of his friend Daniel Lara, 14, wearing a variety of shoes (don’t ask) on 15 February. The video, a collection of clips of Holz exclaiming “Damn, Daniel”, was also uploaded to YouTube at the same time. That version of the video remains live. Continue reading...

Hundreds of Morrisons products to be available to Amazon Prime Now and Amazon Pantry customers in the coming monthsHundreds of Morrisons fresh and frozen food products will be available to order from Amazon, after the US online retailer struck its first supply deal with one of the UK’s “big four” supermarkets.Related: Amazon and Morrisons tie-up: a customer's guide Continue reading...

Arts theatre, London

Did Kanye West hide the message ‘I am Lord Voldemort’ in his tweets? No. Here are five more ‘stories’ that fooled the worldThe internet rarely lets truth get in the way of a good story, which can spread worldwide before anyone checks the facts. The beached dolphin that died this month while Argentinian sunbathers posed for selfies with it? Already dead when it washed up. Donald Trump’s recently deceased cousin using his obituary to plead with Americans not to vote for “the walking mucus bag”? Tragically, untrue. Last week’s conspiracy theory that Kanye West hid the message “I am Lord Voldemort” in his tweets? Big fat fib. Here are five virals that fooled the world (click on the links to see the images)… Continue reading...

Telecoms regulator puts pressure on BT to open up its network infrastructure, allowing rivals to lay their own ultrafast fibre-optic linesBroadband users may benefit from better service after a review last week put BT under pressure to open up its network infrastructure to let rivals lay their own ultrafast fibre-optic broadband lines. The move was announced on Thursday as part of Ofcom’s once-in-a-decade review of the telecoms market. The regulator opted for this course of action after deciding against forcing BT to spin off its Openreach division, which operates the UK’s broadband network infrastructure. But does this help consumers experiencing trouble with their broadband?Related: Mobile users face long wait for Ofcom to help with compensation for loss of signal Continue reading...

It’s six months since hackers leaked the names of 30 million people who had used the infidelity website Ashley Madison. Resignations, divorces and suicides followed. Tom Lamont sifts through the wreckageIt was 9 o’clock on a Sunday night last July when a journalist called Brian Krebs came upon the scoop of his life. The 42-year-old was at home in Virginia at the time, and wearing pyjamas. For years Krebs had written a popular blog about internet security, analysing thefts of consumer data from big companies around the world, Tesco, Adobe, Domino’s Pizza among them. Now Krebs, as his weekend came to an end, was being tipped off about a more sensational breach. An anonymous informant had emailed him a list of links, directing him to caches of data that had been stolen from servers at a Canadian firm called Avid Life Media (ALM). Krebs vaguely knew of ALM. For years it had run a notorious, widely publicised web service called Ashley Madison, a dating site founded in 2008 with the explicit intention of helping married people have affairs with each other. “Life is short. Have an affair” was the slogan Ashley Madison used.At the time Krebs received his tip-off, Ashley Madison claimed to have an international membership of 37.6 million, all of them assured that their use of this service would be “anonymous”, “100% discreet”. Only now Krebs was looking at the real names and the real credit-card numbers of Ashley Madison members. He was looking at street addresses and postcodes. Among documents in the leaked cache, Krebs found a list of telephone numbers for senior executives at ALM and Ashley Madison. He even found the personal mobile number of the CEO, a Canadian called Noel Biderman. Continue reading...

Tim Cook urged investors not to vote through plans to accelerate recruitment of minorities on its 18-person board – which currently has 15 white menApple shareholders have overwhelmingly rejected a proposal that would require the board of America’s largest company to adopt an “accelerated recruitment policy” for minorities among company leaders.The result offered a fresh reminder how Silicon Valley, a meritocracy dominated by white men, is having a tricky time navigating identity politics and modern attitudes towards diversity. The proposal, which wasn’t expected to pass, failed 94.9% to 5.1%, according to an early tally announced at Apple’s annual shareholder meeting at company headquarters in Cupertino, California. Continue reading...

The civil rights leader joined other investors at Apple’s annual shareholder meeting, where most supported the company’s stance against the FBIMost investors might cringe at the idea of their firm going to war with the US government.But these being Silicon Valley investors and this company being Apple, those rules may not apply. Continue reading...

Speaking to an audience in Berlin, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg discussed the harder approach the social network is taking to hate speech on the platform, singling out attacks on migrants as a particular area where they intend to make improvements. Stating that ‘we are committed to doing better’, 31-year-old Zuckerberg said an increase in engagement with the German people had helped to point the company in the right direction Continue reading...

From smartphones to internet of things, Cambridge-based chip designer remains at the heart of a new front in tech innovationThe smartphone revolution has transformed Arm Holdings into the UK’s leading technology company, but while the pace of change is now showing signs of slowing, Arm is not. Instead, the Cambridge-based company appears to be at the heart of a new front in technological innovation.Founded in a Cambridge barn 25 years ago, Arm is now worth almost £14bn. With its hi-tech focus and non-London base, it is the sort of company the government wants at the forefront of the country’s economy. Continue reading...

UK Airprox Board reports two more high-risk near misses involving passenger planes, one at Heathrow and the other at Manchester airportTwo more near-misses between drones and passenger planes at UK airports have been reported by aviation authorities, including one a “wingspan away” from a jet landing at Heathrow.

Car makers switch to smaller and safer robots working alongside humans for greater flexibilityBucking modern manufacturing trends, Mercedes-Benz has been forced to trade in some of its assembly line robots for more capable humans.The robots cannot handle the pace of change and the complexity of the key customisation options available for the company’s S-Class saloon at the 101-year-old Sindelfingen plant, which produces 400, 000 vehicles a year from 1,500 tons of steel a day. Continue reading...

Following a lawsuit coordinated by industry body the RIAA, rightsholders are awarded maximum damages and given green light to seize domain namesMusic filesharing site MP3Skull has been slapped with a $22.2m (£15.8m) damages bill after losing a lawsuit filed by record labels in the US.The labels, working through industry body the RIAA, won a default judgment against the site, with the judge in the case awarding maximum statutory damages of $150k for each of the 148 songs submitted as evidence. Continue reading...

Australian science agency CSIRO says workplaces will be increasingly digitally focused and automated. Who wants to be an ‘online chaperone’?Workers looking for jobs in 2035 might consider retraining as remote-controlled vehicle operators or online chaperones.Those are two of the jobs of the future suggested in a report by the CSIRO that charts 20-year trends in increasingly digitally focused and automated Australian workplaces. Continue reading...

The director of the FBI, James Comey, appeared before the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday and addressed the contentious question of whether the demand by his organization that Apple help them break into a gunman’s iPhone could create a legal precedent. Stating that, due to the phone model and operating system, he did not believe the case would be a ‘trailblazer’, Comey nonetheless agreed that it could impact similar cases around the country Continue reading...

Former innovation adviser to Hillary Clinton Alec Ross talks us through the big tech changes that are set to radically change how we work and livePredicting the future can be a fraught process. History is littered with the grand visions of futurists who imagined us living under a dome on the moon come 2015 and yet here we are in 2016 no closer to lunar life but glued to cat videos on the screens in our hands.One man who has had enough experience travelling the world as Hillary Clinton’s senior adviser to look into his own crystal ball is Alec Ross. His new book The Industries of the Future looks at the sorts of changes that are going to emerge in the next 20 years from the commercialisation of genomics to the impact of robotics and whether the next world war will be a cyber war. Continue reading...

Much-delayed hi-tech tracking device for use in England and Wales will be replaced with off-the-shelf alternativeJustice ministers have given up a three-year attempt to introduce a “bespoke” GPS tracking tag for offenders, after the prime minister, David Cameron, promised to make the technology a central part of a radical overhaul of British prisons.

ISPs could wield ‘gatekeeper power’ in conflict with public sector broadcasters unless regulation is modernised, it warnsThe BBC has called for stronger protection for digital TV services such as iPlayer to make sure internet providers treat them fairly.In its submission to Ofcom’s once-in-a-decade review of UK communications, which was published on Thursday, the BBC said the communications regulator and Ofcom needed to modernise regulation and ensure incoming net neutrality rules were enforced. Continue reading...

Court documents show that the government funded apparently successful study into revealing identity of anonymity service usersThe US government funded research into breaking the online anonymity service Tor, court documents have revealed.Carnegie Mellon University carried out the research, funded by the US Department of Defense, which attempted to deanonymise users of the service. Continue reading...

BT has been told to open up its Openreach cable network to rivals. What problems are consumers having? Are they entitled to compensation?BT is under pressure to open up its network infrastructure to allow rivals to lay their own ultrafast fibre-optic broadband lines, after a review by the telecoms regulator.The move was announced on Thursday as part of Ofcom’s once in a decade review of the telecoms market. It has been considering whether to push BT to spin off its Openreach subsidiary, which operates the UK’s broadband network infrastructure. Continue reading...

Dating app releases charts for most popular professions among its users, with entrepreneurs, interior designers and firefighters also scoring highlyMen looking to improve their prospects on dating app Tinder have a new failsafe strategy: albeit one that involves racking up 1,500 hours of flying planes to secure a pilot’s licence.The company has published research into the most popular professions on its service in terms of how often those users get swiped right – approved as a potential match. Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Thursday! Sorry about the whole Wednesday thing - I was on a plane! Continue reading...

Latest version of iOS 9.3 public beta software reportedly restores broken smartphones through iTunes

Proposed changes would bring bitcoin, dogecoin and other cryptocurrencies under definition of currencyJapan’s governing Liberal Democratic party is planning to propose legal changes that would define bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as currencies.The changes would mean bitcoin could be more tightly regulated and taxed, and are likely to lead to more investment in developing cryptocurrency infrastructure in Japan. Continue reading...

US-based Anna Messner turns to online forum users to call ambulance after partner Melody Madill falls ill during SkypeReddit users have come to the aid of a New Zealand student who had an epileptic seizure while home alone.Melody Madill, a student in Dunedin, was Skyping her fiancée, Anna Messner, on Tuesday afternoon when she started having a seizure. However, Messner was powerless to help because she was in the US. Continue reading...

Trying to build public support as it prepares to do legal battle with the FBI, Apple’s boss has said the debate needs to be conducted openly and fairlyApple chief executive Tim Cook accused the US government of asking his firm to engineer the “software equivalent of cancer” to help investigators unlock a terrorist’s iPhone.“This is not about one phone,” Cook told ABC multiple times in an interview, which aired 24 February. “This case is about the future. Can the government compel Apple to write software that we believe would make hundreds of millions of customers vulnerable around the world?” Continue reading...