Technology | The Guardian

Telecoms provider to filter content for porn unless customers specify otherwise, as it seeks to comply with David Cameron proposals

Reports suggest Netplay, backed by billionaire Teddi Sagi, is prepared to pay £100m for pools businessThe football pools, long the bedrock of Britain’s gambling industry, may be about to change hands after a company backed by the billionaire owner of London’s Camden Market confirmed it was interested in a takeover bid.Netplay TV, a £20m company listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market, asked for its shares to be suspended on Monday after it announced it was considering a reverse takeover of the larger football pools business. It said no deal could be guaranteed. Continue reading...

With its taut, tense action and destructible environments, Siege is the best Rainbow Six for years – if only Ubisoft would rethink its business modelDeath is a contradiction in the modern competitive shooter. Call of Duty and Battlefront, the big mainstream titles, are all about empowering the player and making them feel like a one-man army – easy enough in single-player, if your explosions are big enough, but much harder in multiplayer. And so dying becomes an inconvenience, with near-instant respawns alongside constant experience points for common in-game actions. Even if someone plays badly, goes the reasoning, it should still be rewarding.You won’t find such sunshine and lollipops in the Rainbow Six: Siege. The earlier entries in this Tom Clancy-branded series were popular for their unforgiving, simulation-heavy approach to virtual combat, and when later titles attempted to make this more accessible, they predictably flailed (with the exception of the excellent R6: Vegas). Siege is not just a return to form, but a return to first principles – and it’s not aiming at Call of Duty, but at Counter-Strike. Continue reading...

SanrioTown, the online community for Hello Kitty fans, suffers leak of information including names, birth dates and email addressesA data breach at SanrioTown.com, the online community for Hello Kitty fans, has leaked details of more than 3 million user accounts online.The information exposed in the breach includes the first and last names, birth dates, genders, countries of origin, and email addresses for 3.3 million accounts. Continue reading...

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

A care home in Florence is pioneering the use of a robot as a carer for its 20 elderly residents. Robot-Era is coordinated by the Robotics Institute of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa as part of the world’s largest experiment ever carried out using service robots, which involves 160 people in real-world environments over four years Continue reading...

Find out what happened to Motorola’s latest flagship Android smartphone (also known as the Droid Turbo 2 in the US) when it was dropped two-storeys, stamped on, thrown downstairs, hurled at the wall and given an intense beating with a hammer. Spoiler: the screen didn’t shatter, even if the phone wouldn’t turn on, got very very hot and started to smell

Dropped from two-storeys, stomped on, tumbled down stairs, slammed into a wall – even hitting it with a hammer can’t smash the screen on this top-end smartphoneThe Moto X Force (known as the Droid Turbo 2 in the US) is the third in Motorola’s new Moto X smartphone line and claims to have a screen that will not break, no matter how many times you drop it. So we tested it to destruction.

A checklist for an angst-free Christmas filled with technology fun, to avoid the frustration of lacking a vital componentA gadget-filled Christmas is one of the best types of holiday season, but when the shops are shut and you’re tearing into the wrapping paper what if you realise you haven’t got the right cable or battery?

Telstra wins two national broadband network deals and is in negotiations for a third, which could be finalised early next yearTelstra has secured two contracts from the national broadband network (NBN), with combined first-year revenue of about $80m.The telecommunications group is also negotiating a third contract with NBN to cover design, engineering, procurement and construction management of the network, and the agreement is likely to be finalised in early 2016. Continue reading...

Technology expected to cut paperwork and errors as well as to improve patient experienceFree Wi-Fi is to be provided in all NHS buildings in a bid to improve medical treatment and patient experience, said Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary.Related: Prof Bruce Keogh: wearable technology plays a crucial part in NHS future Continue reading...

Streaming service apparently generated £200m in revenue from UK and paid no tax but company says its rapid expansion means overall it is making a lossNetflix paid no UK corporation tax last year despite being estimated to have around 4.5m subscribers in the country, it has been reported.The video streaming service behind award-winning series such as Orange is the New Black and House of Cards charges customers a minimum of £5.99 a month to subscribe and has grown rapidly since its UK launch in 2012. Continue reading...

The planet Mira delights in Xenoblade Chronicles X; the latest in the Darius series is exceptional; and Beyond: Two Souls gets a makeover(Wii U, Nintendo, cert: 12)

Don’t go to the shops for your holiday entertainment. Here are some ideas that will spark creativity and won’t empty the bank

Welcome to the Guide’s end of year review, a tradition as beloved as grubby Santas and unwanted guests. We’ve got special contributions from Limmy, Steven Toast, Young Fathers, Stormzy, the Kurupt FM crew and many moreModern Toss’s review of the yearStar Wars, Cereal Killer and Ronnie Pickering fall under the cartoonists’ eye Continue reading...

Nine out of 10 people are paying too much for the wrong mobile phone contract, but there are ways to save moneyMobile phone users in the UK are wasting about £160 a year by being on the wrong contract, according to a new report. Furthermore, 90% of those with a mobile are losing out this way.Overpaying subscribers tend to either be on contracts that give them more minutes and data than they use, or on contracts with limits they regularly exceed, which means they rack up extra charges each month. The latter group tend to be the biggest overspenders. Continue reading...

It’s amazing how often it feels like a regular car, when it’s closer to the price of a prestige bicycleDriving a Vauxhall Viva SE 1.0 is like flying Ryanair. Every time you look for a thing – satnav, parking sensor, pretzels, aircon, a smile, some acceleration in second gear – it isn’t there. Seriously? Vauxhall’s idea of a “feature” is a driver’s seat head adjuster and a removable luggage compartment cover?Then you have to talk yourself down: it is very cheap. It’s cheap to buy and cheap to run. It’s cheap enough to represent a social shift, the democratisation of new car ownership. It’s so cheap that to drop a monkey on green metallic paint, as on my version, is like garnishing a Happy Meal with saffron. Keep that in mind. It didn’t cost very much. Or, in industry parlance, it is “affordable”. Continue reading...

Apple CEO says the company pays ‘every tax dollar we owe’ amid debate in the US over corporations avoiding tax by using offshore unitsApple’s chief executive Tim Cook has dismissed as “total political crap” the notion that the technology giant was avoiding taxes.

Concerns grow after disclosure Google enlisted US politicians to pressure EU brought attention to tech giant’s close relationship with Washington politiciansGoogle has made political donations to 162 members of the US Congress in the latest election cycle, figures show, as concerns grow over the internet giant’s lobbying influence in Washington.

Whether it’s 12 strangers in a two-bed flat or friends sharing ideas over a cup of tea, living with other business owners can be a route to successCommunes may have gone out of fashion since their hippy heyday in the 1960s, but the concept of people with a shared outlook living and working together is being reinvented for the 21st century entrepreneur. House shares where small business owners sound out ideas with like-minded peers are popping up in cities around the world.Berlin has been experimenting with the concept for years. Palomar5 was the first “innovation camp” to launch in Germany back in 2009. Over a seven-week period, 30 participants under the age of 30 from 17 countries lived and worked together in an old warehouse in the city’s Tempelhof neighbourhood, coming up with tech projects around the topic of “the future of work”. Continue reading...

TFI hosts Alan Partridge; Captain Webb sets out to swim the Channel and Queen revisit the birth of Bohemian Rhapsody. Plus: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel plonks ageing thesps in RajasthanKnockabout laughs from the charismatic Sam and Mark, a double act who know how to hold a kids’ TV show together. Their Christmas extravaganza features crooners the Overtones, Leona Vaughan (Wolfblood), Akai Osei (4 O’Clock Club) and Amy-Leigh Hickman (The Dumping Ground). If you’re not in your early teens, those names may mean little to you, so all you need to know is that Sam and Mark bring the chuckles in a style reminiscent of Ant and Dec’s SM:TV. Hannah Verdier Continue reading...

US tech firm has stepped up lobbying efforts with $3.5m charm offensive to persuade EU to drop punitive action over alleged abuse of monopoly positionGoogle enlisted members of the US congress, whose election campaigns it had funded, to pressure the European Union to drop a €6bn antitrust case which threatens to decimate the US tech firm’s business in Europe.The coordinated effort by senators and members of the House of Representatives, as well as by a congressional committee, formed part of a sophisticated, multimillion-pound lobbying drive in Brussels, which Google has significantly ramped up as it fends off challenges to its dominance in Europe. Continue reading...

Labour MP backs Reclaim the Internet campaign and compares fight against online abuse to past struggle to ensure domestic violence is taken seriouslySexist online abuse should become as outdated and unacceptable as making jokes about domestic violence, Labour’s Yvette Cooper has said.The MP, who is backing a campaign called Reclaim the Internet, said institutions, political parties and social media platforms should not tolerate aggressive misogynist behaviour by their members. Continue reading...

Retail ombudsman says items should be returned and vendors can be held liable under Consumer Protection ActBritain’s biggest retailers have recalled hoverboards after the government told consumers to think twice about buying them as Christmas gifts and new figures showed that a large number of unsafe devices have been shipped to the UK.A spokesman for National Trading Standards said that of over 38,000 devices inspected between 15 October and the end of last week, more than 32,000 were deemed unsafe. Several hoverboards are known to have exploded or caught fire around the world. Continue reading...

Britain is supposed to have some of the tightest laws on offensive weapons and firearms in the world. But if you know what you’re looking for, there’s an illegal arsenal just a click away on Amazon.co.uk. Among the items offered for sale we found guns, banned weapons and other dangerous items. Amazon will even giftwrap them for you Continue reading...

The Guardian was able to purchase a pepper pistol, a concealed stabbing device and a stun gun – all illegal to sell in the UK – over the popular online retailerThe Guardian Angel II is advertised for sale on Amazon.co.uk as a “handy animal deterrent model gun”, priced at £36.73, dispatched and sold by Amazon itself. Continue reading...

US studio attempt to get details of thousands of Australians accused of illegal downloading is terminated over ‘unrealistic’ proposal for claiming paymentA landmark bid by a US studio to access the private details of thousands of Australians accused of illegally downloading the film Dallas Buyers Club has been dismissed by the federal court.Justice Nye Perram on Wednesday made an order to terminate the proceedings on 11 February after rejecting the latest proposed method by Voltage Pictures to deal with the more than 4,700 internet users it claimed had pirated the 2013 film. The studio can appeal the decision before then. Continue reading...

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

Leave the old property game in the cupboard where it belongs, with options from a lighthearted matching game to saving humanity from a deadly pandemicChristmas is here! And so too is the time of year when families across the nation drag out their one dusty copy of Monopoly, play it for half an hour before realising Monopoly is a bit crap, and then watch as the game drags on for another three hours before a drunk uncle storms off in outrage after losing their final property to a precocious five-year-old.

Even as prominent free speech advocate is put on trial for online posts, president says governments must respect citizens’ right to exchange ideasChinese citizens should have the right to speak their minds on the internet, president Xi Jinping has claimed, just two days after a prominent free speech advocate was put on trial for sending seven tweets.

Around 120 were let go from the Júarez Lexmark plant after striking, and layoffs suggest collusion between the company and state governmentPrinter and software giant Lexmark has fired dozens of workers from its factory in the Mexican city of Ciudad Júarez after they demanded a pay rise of $0.35 per day.

Dido Harding, chief executive, says she doesn’t know if Cyber Essentials is a sufficient benchmark for protectionThe huge hack on TalkTalk could not have been fully prevented, even if the company had been accredited by Cyber Essentials, a government-backed scheme to help organisations protect themselves against digital attacks, telcoms company’s chief executive said.In October, hackers obtained the details of nearly 157,000 TalkTalk customers, 15,000 of which had their bank details accessed. It was the third in a spate of similar attacks affecting the telecommunications company in the past year, with incidents in December 2014 and August 2015 also resulting in customers’ data being stolen. Continue reading...

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

Investors react to reports that UK government could take over firm’s nuclear submarine power arm or force it to merge with BAE SystemsConcerns are growing over the future of Rolls-Royce after it emerged the government has drawn up contingency plans to nationalise part of the power systems engineering firm if the crisis facing it worsens.Shares in Rolls fell on Monday as investors digested reports that the government could nationalise the company’s nuclear submarine business or force it to merge with defence manufacturer BAE Systems. Continue reading...

City council set to vote on legislation that would allow on-demand drivers to bargain their future contract and paySeattle drivers working for taxi-hailing apps Uber and Lyft could get an early Christmas present on Monday when the city council is set to vote on whether to let them unionize. If the legislation were to pass, these on-demand drivers would be able to collectively bargain their future contract and pay. Continue reading...

Drama starring Michael Shannon drama as a dad on the run from extremists joins biopic of legendary editor Max Perkins, played by Colin FirthThe Berlin film festival has released details of a clutch of new titles in its competition and special sections to join the already announced opening film Hail, Caesar!Among the films having their world premiere on the Potsdamer Platz is Midnight Special, a thriller by Jeff “Mud” Nichols, which sees the director reunited with regular collaborator Michael Shannon. Shannon, who played a man haunted by apocalyptic visions in Nichols’ 2011 film Take Shelter, here takes the role of a father who goes on the run with his son, whose extrasensory powers make him a target of government agents and extremists. Continue reading...

High-profile names including Olympic gold medallist Jade Jones will promote campaign designed to highlight the difficulty in finding an organ matchYoung people hoping for a date on Tinder will be exposed to a different kind of match over the next fortnight after the popular app joined up with the NHS to raise awareness about organ donation.Users who swipe right to match three high-profile personalities involved in The Wait campaign will be reminded of the delay many face when trying to find a suitable organ match and will be encouraged to register as potential donors.

Social media company emails more than 20 users, warning them they may have been targeted by hackers ‘possibly associated with a government’

Vandals smash glass, throw paint and spray ‘Facebook dislike’ on entrance of social network’s building in northern German cityVandals have damaged the entrance to a building in Hamburg that houses the offices of social network Facebook, smashing glass, throwing paint and spraying “Facebook dislike” on a wall, according to police in the northern German city.Police said in a statement on Sunday that the overnight attack was carried out by a group of 15-20 people wearing black clothes and hoods. An investigation has been launched. Facebook was not immediately available to comment. Continue reading...

Singer breaks news on Instagram at end of world tour, saying he is taking a sabbatical from ‘seeing the world through a screen’With 16 million Twitter followers and 5.5 million subscribers on Instagram, he is one of the most avidly monitored British celebrities on social media. But Ed Sheeran has decided to shun “seeing the world through a screen”, and announced that he is quitting all social media until next autumn at least.The singer broke the news on Instagram, but apparently will not be in a position to read the tens of thousands of comments: he claims that he is even giving up his phone. Sheeran announced his withdrawal from social media at the end of a world tour promoting his second album, X, saying that although he was travelling the world, he wasn’t actually seeing it. Continue reading...

Whether you’re a hardcore tabletop strategist or looking for something to enjoy with the family, here are the best festive afternoon distractionsNothing says “festive” quite like gathering round a board game, still the ideal gift to bring the family together for Christmas in loved ones’ company through the mediums of escapism and nonsensical arguments. And 2015 has been another superb year for interesting, quality tabletop gaming.One of the best for stoking a little seasonal togetherness is the new Ghostbusters game (right), based on the original films. Here you’ll find a wealth of plastic ghouls and heroes, who are the stars of this cooperative, scenario-based game. That means an experience you tackle as a group, undertaking various chapters of a story in separate sessions around an hour in length. Ghostbusters: The Board Game deftly captures the theme and tone of its source material, and excels in keeping all players involved. Assuming the roles of different characters with various strengths, team-mates will have to work together to prosper, in an experience that stands as a highlight of recent cooperative releases, and is lively and light-hearted. Continue reading...

Star Wars fans will appreciate the Nissan Juke’s styling – and the top of the range Nismo RS has the performance to matchPrice: £21,650

A tough, well-built and well-priced mountain bike for fearless pros and fretful amateursStamped on the downtube of this MTB is the name Joe Murray. He was a US pioneer in the sport of hurtling down mountains on specially built bikes. He won dozens of races over a 10-year career before going on to focus on design. The hardtail VooDoo Bizango 29er, one of Halfords’ bestsellers, comes from his stable.For the price, you get an astonishingly sturdy, lightweight and agile beast. Front air forks by Suntour Raidon matched with giant knobbly 29in Maxxis tyres destroy the toughest of tracks and trails, while the slick 20-speed Shimano Deore drivetrain means you’ll actually be able to cycle uphill, too. The lime paint job does take some getting used to, but the handling, spec quality and sheer rideability of this go-anywhere bike will win you over from the start (halfords.com). Continue reading...

Mass timber projects in Portland and New York City offer eco-friendly dwellings, but can ‘plywood on steroids’ actually catch on in the industry?The concrete jungle has a rival: forests. Two urban building projects, in New York City and Portland, Oregon, will be changing their city’s skylines with an environmentally sustainable, cost-competitive building material. The key ingredient? Wood.Related: Wood replaces concrete in eco-friendly building projects – in pictures Continue reading...

If your French doesn’t go beyond bonjour, you can still enjoy a night at a Parisian theatre thanks to new glasses that provide simultaneous translationsIt’s Saturday night at Le Comédia theatre in central Paris and I’m staring at the stage through square plastic glasses. While the actors in the musical Mistinguett, Reine des Années Folles sing boisterously in French, the words appear simultaneously in English on a small screen in the right-hand lens. Though it’s not the same as watching the show unfettered, I find it surprisingly easy to follow the translated dialogue along with the action.For visitors to the city who like the theatre but don’t speak French, new augmented-reality glasses, launched this week by Theatre in Paris, open up the choice of evening entertainment, and there are plans to introduce them at a variety of shows next year. Continue reading...

Site developer says Transport for London lawyer asked for deletion because some people use it to fake noticeboards with ‘racially offensive messages’A parody website allowing users to make a fake “handwritten” London Underground sign has been taken down because Transport for London was concerned it was being used to circulate racist messages.Yorkshire-based developer Tim Waters tweeted on Thursday that he had been asked by TfL to delete the website due to concerns that people believed the images were real. Continue reading...

Graffiti on wall of ‘the Jungle’ camp in Calais depicts late Apple founder’s background as son of Syrian migrant

Carmaker plans to launch 13 eco-friendly vehicles by 2020 as regulators call for lower emissions and tech companies encroach on marketFord is to invest $4.5bn (£3bn) in electric vehicles over the next five years as part of a push by global carmakers to overhaul their product range.The US company will launch 13 eco-friendly vehicles by 2020, meaning that 40% of its models will come in an electric version, up from 13%. Continue reading...

The developer’s imprisonment is a sign that technologists are being targeted along with journalists and human rights lawyersSyria never had a hackerspace until Bassel Khartabil – known online as Bassel Sudafi – started Aiki Lab in Damascus in 2010. The Palestinian-Syrian open-source software developer used it as a base from which to advanced the free software and free culture movements in his country. Because of Khartabil’s work, people gained new tools to express themselves and communicate.

Surviving in the post-apocalyptic wasteland is no longer enough – you also need a nice place to live. We can help you build itIn a lot of ways Fallout 4 feels very familiar to its predecessor – you’re still wandering a ruined US shooting mutants and collecting stuff. However, one significant improvement is the ability to tidy up parts of this disorderly wasteland and make them liveable. Popular with players who like simulation and resource management games, and compulsory if your chosen path through the main plot involves siding with the Minutemen, settlement building is a major part of Bethesda’s newest role-playing adventure.However, while the system is impressive, the interface is fiddly. If you find yourself several hours into the game and wanting to rebuild your first few hamlets from scratch, you may have a laborious process ahead. Continue reading...