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...
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...
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)
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
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...
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.
by Presented by Leigh Alexander and produced by Matt on (#1N4VA)
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 carsâ€. 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...
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...
Snowden and co-designer Andrew ‘Bunnie’ Huang’s ‘introspection engine’ knows when a cellular, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection is being used to share dataEdward Snowden has helped design a mobile phone case called the “introspection engine†that, he claims, will show when a smartphone is transmitting information that could be monitored.Presenting via video link to event at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Snowden and co-designer Andrew “Bunnie†Huang showed how the device connects to a phone’s different radio transmitters, showing its owner knows when a cellular, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection is being used to share or receive data.
High street bank branches see 32% decline in visits since 2011 as consumers turn to online methods – with digital-only banks adding to the competitionSmartphone-addicted Britons are embracing mobile banking, with payments via apps rocketing 54% in 2015 and reaching a value of £347m.The average customer of certain UK banks views their finances on their phone more than once a day – and much of this balance checking and payment making is done while people watch TV, according to a report by the British Bankers’ Association.
California appeals court upheld ruling that the video showing a student – who later killed himself – seemingly masturbating in stall was an invasion of privacyWhen a 16-year-old student at a San Diego high school uploaded a 10-second video to Snapchat of another student seemingly masturbating in a restroom stall, he thought he’d get a laugh from his peers. The video, shot on a smartphone, was posted to Snapchat stories and disappeared 24 hours later, but not before it went viral around the school.Two weeks later the subject of the video – known in court documents only as Matthew B – killed himself, leaving a suicide note that read: “I can’t handle school any more and I have no friends.†Continue reading...
One in 10 people in England and Wales have been victims of cybercrime in past year, first official figures showPolice chiefs have called for a national campaign against online fraud and other cybercrime on the scale of last century’s seatbelt and drink-driving campaigns in the wake of figures showing that one in 10 adults have been victims of such offences in the past year.Chris Greany, the City of London police’s economic command head, said that with around 1m cases reported to Action Fraud in the last year alone, it was not possible for all cases to be investigated. Continue reading...
Aquila drone, which at cruising speed uses same wattage as three hairdyrers, uses lasers to beam internet to remote regionsFacebook has announced the first successful test flight of a high-altitude solar plane to bring internet access to remote parts of the world.The Aquila drone has the wingspan of an airliner but weighs less than a car. When cruising it consumes just 5,000 watts – the same as three hairdryers or a powerful microwave. Continue reading...
Daniel Kelly, who used a drone to fly contraband into prisons, is the first person in the UK to be jailed for the offenceA man who used a drone to fly contraband into prisons has become the first person in the UK to be jailed for the crime, police said.Daniel Kelly, 27, was jailed for 14 months at Maidstone crown court in Kent after admitting conspiracy to project an article into prison. Continue reading...
Lawyer accuses taxi-app company of hiding behind language to claim drivers are not employeesLawyers representing Uber workers have accused the company of “doublespeak†and speaking with “forked tongues†over claims of job creation and its relationship with drivers.
Labour peer says decision to take leave of absence from the Lords has been made easier by Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the partyLabour peer Oona King is to become YouTube’s global director of diversity, saying the decision to move away from politics was made easier by Brexit and Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour party.Google would not confirm the move, but it is understood she has agreed to take up the post and is on a leave of absence from the Lords. Continue reading...
The problem with traditional conservatives is that they’re too anti-government to fulfill Thiel’s vision. Fortunately for him, Trump is no traditional conservativeTonight, tech billionaire Peter Thiel will speak at the Republican national convention and make his case for why Donald Trump should be the next president of the United States. Most of the media is baffled by Thiel’s endorsement. And it’s true that at first glance the two men aren’t an obvious match. Trump is an authoritarian populist who promises to abolish free trade. Thiel is a self-described libertarian who worships capitalism. Thiel is also one of the most powerful people in Silicon Valley – and Silicon Valley hates Trump.So why would Thiel embrace Trump? So far, observers have offered two explanations. One is Thiel’s contrarianism; another is his lifelong crusade against “political correctnessâ€. Thiel certainly enjoys courting controversy, whether it involves funding a lawsuit to destroy Gawker or funding a fellowship to induce kids to drop out of college. And Thiel shares Trump’s antipathy to the “politically correct†rhetoric of diversity and multiculturalism, as well as to affirmative action. Continue reading...
Britain’s largest internet service provider continues to struggle with power issues, causing outages across the countryBT Broadband and Plusnet customers are facing a second day without internet access, as the UK’s largest internet service provider, and its competitors, struggle with further power issues.
Korean Fair Trade Commission visited company’s Seoul base over allegations that it abused its market dominanceGoogle is facing an investigation by the South Korean antitrust regulator into Android and the company’s alleged abuse of market dominance, according to local reports.
John has upgraded one of his two laptops to Windows 10 but doesn’t want to lose Windows 7 on the other. Does he have to upgrade it before 29 July, to avoid paying?I have two laptops: one started with Windows 7 and the other with Windows 8. I’ve upgraded the second machine to Windows 10 and left the first on Windows 7. Microsoft keeps telling me to upgrade before 29 July as it “qualifies†but I don’t want to lose my Windows 7.
Will souped up Xbox and PlayStations excite the punters? Meanwhile, a surprise return to form for Resident EvilIt’s officially summer time, which means – even for gamers – it’s time to venture outside, blinking into the unfamiliar daylight. This is the season the games industry chooses to quietly slow to a standstill until September. But first came the small matter of E3 – the Electronic Entertainment Expo – in LA, otherwise known as the annual multi-million-dollar bunfight where games publishers tout their sparkly upcoming wares.Related: Scorpio rising: Microsoft's plans for Xbox One and the future of video games Continue reading...
Ukrainian man Artem Vaulin, the alleged ringleader of Kickass Torrents, was arrested in Poland and faces charges in USA Ukrainian alleged to be the ringleader of the world’s biggest online piracy site, Kickass Torrents, has been accused of distributing more than $1bn worth of illegally copied films, music and other content.
Company calls discrimination ‘the greatest challenge we face’ and has come under fire in recent months for users experiencing racial bias on the platformAirbnb has hired former US attorney general Eric Holder to help address racism and other forms of discrimination on its short-term rental platform, the company announced Wednesday.In a blogpost, CEO Brian Chesky called discrimination “the greatest challenge we face as a company†and conceded that he and his cofounders were not “fully conscious of this issue when we designed the platform†and that “there have at times been a lack of urgency to work on thisâ€. Continue reading...
From a taped conversation to a naked snap at the gym, technology no longer places reasonable limits on our ability to share private acts – but the law doesWhen Playboy model Dani Mathers shared a photograph of a naked woman in a gym locker room with her thousands of followers on Snapchat last week, the caption she affixed to the illicit image embodied the promise and threat of the cameraphone era: “If I can’t unsee this, then you can’t either.â€Seeing something once, for a passing moment of time, only to move on and forget, is no longer the standard form of experience. In countries such as the US and the UK where smartphones are already ubiquitous, we are empowered by technology to capture, record, store and disseminate previously unimaginable amounts of audio and visual information about ourselves and the people around us. Continue reading...
Technology | The Guardian