More than 1.3m people have adopted technology that blocks online ads since June, with young people more likely to turn off intrusive pop-ups and videosAd blocking is on the rise in the UK, with 18% web users saying they use the software, up from 15% just five months ago. The increase, captured in research by the Internet Advertising Bureau, is equivalent to more than 1.3 million people adopting the technology since June.Though the rise is modest, it suggests dissatisfaction with ads is growing, especially among the young, with 35% of 18- to 24-year-olds saying they blocked ads, compared to just 15% of over 55s. Continue reading...

Streaming service crosses into rival territory with its core features and free trial intact: ‘It’s a full native app, so it will look and feel like an Android app’Apple has launched an official Android app for its Apple Music streaming service, just over four months after its debut on iOS.The Spotify rival’s core features have survived the translation, including its “For You” playlist and album recommendations, Beats 1 radio station and Connect social network - as well as its three-month free trial for new users. Continue reading...

Lara Croft trades original ideas for popular ones in an action blockbuster that will please the crowds but leave some nostalgic for the days she actually raided tombsDespite her escalating body count, Lara Croft has no problem crossing borders. In Rise of the Tomb Raider, the explorer’s second outing since a 2013 reboot which re-established her as a more vulnerable yet more violent warrior, she freely zips around the world – including an ill-advised stop-off in chaotic Syria.

E-commerce company set for record sales in what has become the world’s biggest online retail promotionShoppers spent nearly $8bn in the first 10 hours of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s “singles day” event on Wednesday, the company said, reinforcing its status as the world’s biggest online retail promotion.

US unveils indictments against against two Israelis and two Americans for ‘breathtaking’ cybercrime that affected 100 million customersUS authorities have charged four men with orchestrating “the largest theft of customer data from a US financial institution in history” in indictments unsealed on Tuesday.The “massive computer hacking crimes” affected 100 million people and targeted employees, databases and customers of JP Morgan Chase, Dow Jones and Fidelity Investments. Fidelity has said that no customer information or related systems were breached. Twelve victims spanning the globe are identified by pseudonym (“Victim-1, Victim-9”) in the indictment.

New facial recognition feature is rolling out in Australia first, but might not be able to come to Europe at all, due to privacy issues

Sony announces end of production of Betamax cassettes for March next year, 40 years after its introduction and 28 years after losing format war to VHSSony has announced that in March next year it will stop producing Betamax video cassette tapes, forty years after its introduction and 28 years after losing the war to VHS.

The maiden flight of the JB-9, said to be the world’s first personal jetpack. Developed by Australian entrepreneur David Mayman, the pack has been cleared for flight by the US Federal Aviation Administration and is powered by adapted jet engines. The debut, which took place on 3 November, involved flying past the Statue of Liberty with the New York skyline as a backdrop. It was filmed as part of an forthcoming documentary on the jetpack’s development, Own the Sky Continue reading...

Fancy yourself as the new Meg White, Max Roach or even just Animal from the Muppets? Enter our competition to win a Yamaha DTX400K, the gold standard series of electronic drum kitsWant to master polyrhythms, rimshots and cymbal chokes? Or simply beat things heavily with a stick? Then pull up a stool behind a Yamaha DTX, the gold standard series of electronic drum kits, of which the 400K (pictured above) is an entry-level powerhouse: packing enough features to usher you from timid beginner to thrashing virtuoso. For an exceptionally civilised price, it has crash and ride cymbals, three toms, snare and hi-hat, and that’s before you get into the really clever stuff. The module offers you the sounds of ten legendary acoustic kits from drumming history, with superb fidelity. Whiplash-esque jazz afficionados can mix and match within these; playing say, a maple custom tom against a hard rock, twin-kick pedal. Accent articulation translates strike pressure into sound, putting you fully in control.Want the good news? Drum roll please: we have one to give away, for free. Continue reading...

Robots, meteorites and magic snow – a Wi-Fi enabled, smart sackful of gift ideas for everyoneCompetition! Win a featured set of Yamaha electronic drums and headphones Continue reading...

Bethesda has a reputation for two things: stunningly realised worlds and frustrating technical issues. In both cases, the latest Fallout does not disappoint“War,” intones your character solemnly. “War never changes.” Fallout 4 begins with the go-to line of the series, before repeating it at the monologue’s close. There is a point when tradition can turn into cliché or, even worse, into parody. Fallout 4 is one of the biggest releases of the year but it is an unusually musty game, a new experience that feels over-familiar. Perhaps the line’s true after all.The opening briefly suggests a more unusual spin. After being introduced to the excellent character creation tool, where I sculpted a post-apocalyptic hero named Corbyn, you’re guided through some tinned conversation with your husband or wife in the sunny suburbia of Boston, 2077. The vibe of these games has always been 1950s futurism and period Americana (here with the added flair of a British-accented butlerbot called Codsworth), but explored many decades or centuries after the bombs have fallen. So a pre-war scene showing nuclear armageddon through ordinary eyes, and evacuation to the ‘Vault,’ is definitely new. Continue reading...

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

Judge threatens social network with fines of €250,000 a day over ‘datr’ cookie, which records visits to many websites whether or not user has Facebook accountA Belgian court on Monday gave Facebook 48 hours to stop tracking internet users who do not have accounts with the social network or risk fines of up to €250,000 a day.

‘Any back door is a back door for everyone,’ says Tim Cook of proposals to allow authorities to track citizens’ internet use without requiring warrantApple’s chief executive has sharply criticised surveillance powers proposed by the British government, warning that allowing spies a backdoor route into citizens’ communications could have “very dire consequences”.

Tommy Wiseau floats 3D remake and China release ahead of James Franco’s The Disaster Artist, about the making of cult movie The RoomTommy Wiseau, director of the notoriously bad cult film The Room, first released in 2003, has suggested he might remake the film in 3D and release the original in China.The Room – which has been described as “the Citizen Kane of bad movies” – has been given a new lease of life outside the midnight-movie circuit by The Disaster Artist, a feature film adaption – about to go into production – of the book by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell about the making of The Room. The Disaster Artist film is to be directed by James Franco, and stars Franco, his brother Dave Franco, and Seth Rogen. Continue reading...

The IP bill gives the government the power to demand tech companies weaken their encryption, say industry representatives – despite promises to the contraryMajor technology firms are concerned that the British government is attempting to ban strong encryption with the Investigatory Powers Bill, despite its assurances to the contrary.A number of companies, both large and small, have expressed their fears to the Guardian that one particular clause of the proposed legislation gives the government the power to force them to weaken their systems, in order to enable the bulk collection aspects of the bill. Continue reading...

Activision’s monolithic shooter series returns with a blast of new content and features – but the cracks are showingIt is difficult to recall now how innovative the original Call of Duty was when it blasted on to the first-person shooter scene in 2003. Dropping players into a series of vast and chaotic World War II battles, it combined cinematic verve with a new sense of being part of a much wider offensive – a small cog in a massive machine rather than the solo gun-toting hero of Doom or Duke Nukem. When Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare arrived four years later, it revolutionised the mainstream multiplayer component, adding killstreaks and XP points, bringing a sense of progression to the previously transitory online experience.Now in 2015, after a decade of annual iterations, Call of Duty has come to symbolise the deadening cycle of the Triple A video game industry. Every year, a few new features, a graphical overhaul, some extravagant claims. It’s the same story from Assassin’s Creed to Fifa. Continue reading...

Latest Android-compatible Tizen watch is comfortable to wear, has a crisp round screen and great rotating bezel, making it Samsung’s best by a mileSamsung has finally cracked the smartwatch with its seventh design: a round watch compatible with almost all Android smartphones and with a rotating bezel that’s not just for show.The world’s biggest smartphone manufacturer has quite a lot of experience making smartwatches. Its first was launched in 2013, but since then the South Korean firm has made six different models, though none of them have quite got it right. Continue reading...

All but missing from Europe’s biggest tech event was the most important question: what are the social ends of technology?In a famous 1987 essay, the American cultural historian Leo Marx asked a simple but profound question. Does improved technology mean progress? Describing how industrial capitalism has steadily unshackled the notion of progress from any larger political, moral and aesthetic sensibility, Marx challenged us to see technology as a means, not an end.“Progress towards what?” was his rhetorical turn. “What do we want beyond such immediate, limited goals as achieving efficiencies, decreasing financial costs, and eliminating the troubling human element from our workplaces? In the absence of answers to these questions, technological improvements may very well turn out to be incompatible with genuine, that is to say social, progress.” Continue reading...

We’ve got everything on our phones now so why not passports? An encrypted app would mean having a convenient ID on your phoneNothing matches that instant of cold fear when you realise you’re a long way from an essential item that you’ll need imminently. “You’ve brought some identification, haven’t you?” asked my wife as we headed off to the premiere of Spectre (where the presence of royalty might mean proving your identity before entering the premises).Ah. Well, that depends. I had tickets, a credit card and a smartphone. Would any of those count as “identity”? And what on earth is identity these days? Continue reading...

Stanford postdoctoral fellow Sebastian Alvarado helps studios build fictional worlds from scientific reality, for video gamesWhy do you need accurate science in largely fictional worlds?A player is more informed on their media than they have ever been before, and developers want to engage them with their best ideas. While accuracy isn’t the most critical part of our work, suspending disbelief with plausibility is. We carefully pick parts of our scientific discipline to facilitate this engagement. Continue reading...

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

The association’s CEO admits they have not responded well to customer criticism in the past and are now looking for honest feedback to remain competitiveVictoria’s Taxi Association has abandoned industrial action and campaigning as a response to Uber, admitting the industry has not responded well to customer criticism.On Monday the association’s chief executive, David Samuel, announced an initiative calling for honest feedback from taxi customers so that the industry could adapt and respond. Continue reading...

American vlogger has thousands of fans – online and in real life – who watch him discuss being gay, eating disorders and attacking small-town life and religionIf you’re over the age of 16, Tyler Oakley might be the most famous person you’ve never heard of. But this 26-year-old, from a small town in Michigan, has more accolades to his name than most. He’s interviewed Barack Obama, made a health vlog with Michelle Obama, can claim over 500m views on YouTube – and now has penned a New York Times bestselling book.Oakley is among the new generation of celebrities who have made their name entirely through YouTube. Posting videos of themselves from their bedrooms, discussing everything from pop culture and shopping to their own sexuality and mental health, teenagers across the world obsessively consume the content, interacting with the internet stars through comments, twitter and Snapchat. It is a highly profitable occupation – some of the biggest YouTube celebrities, Oakley included – are thought to earn six figure salaries through sponsorship and advertising alone. Continue reading...

The first proper look at the long-awaited big screen adaptation of popular video game World of Warcraft has hit the web, leaving our blogger wondering if he missed why we’re supposed to care about this formulaic fantasy universeThe race is on to be the first team to successfully adapt a hit video game for the big screen. Michael Fassbender and Justin Kurzel are currently in pre-production on Assassin’s Creed, which certainly has the potential to outgun its many disappointing forebears. And now comes Warcraft: the Beginning, with a highly-rated young director, Moon and Source Code’s Duncan Jones, who clearly cares enough about the outlandish fantasy world imagined in the game to risk his career on trying to convince non-believers.For let no one fool themselves, even with a whopping 5.5 million subscribers, Warcraft is not going to succeed at the box office unless it can convince those of us (myself included) who have never played the game that this is a universe worth delving into. That also means persuading mainstream film critics, most of whom don’t strike one as the type to spend their evenings battling through swords and sorcery-style adventures, to suspend their disbelief and immerse themselves in this world of giant, muscular orcs and beardy warrior humans. Continue reading...

Conservative price of $11 and $13 a share for company that deals in mobile debit and credit payment raises eyebrows across Silicon ValleyTwitter chief executive Jack Dorsey’s other company, Square, has seen at least a third shaved off its 2014 valuation at $6bn, resulting in an IPO share price of between $11 and $13 a share. To make up the shortfall, the company may have to issue extra stock to preferred shareholders.As more and more “unicorn” companies come under scrutiny for current financial practices rather than the hope of future returns, the conservative share price for Square, which deals in mobile debit and credit payment, raised eyebrows across Silicon Valley. Part of the reason for the drop may be Square’s partnership with Starbucks, a deal that has been leaking cash and is due to end next year. Continue reading...

List of names and social media accounts mentioned alleged FBI informants and those who already publicly identify as members of white supremacist groupThe hacking collective Anonymous has begun its promised leak of the identities of members of the Ku Klux Klan with a data dump of the names of more than 350 alleged members along with links to social media accounts. Many of the identities are already in the public domain.Only one of the names listed in the file, on the anonymous sharing site Pastebin, had a phone number attached. Fewer than five had email addresses. None returned requests for comment. Continue reading...

You take part in a game in a way unequalled by reading a book or watching a playAt a debate on technology and the future a few months ago, the panel chair confronted me with the line: “It turns out computer games merely teach you how to play other computer games.” What did I make of this, as a novelist? Wasn’t it damning? If true, didn’t it – the question implied – prove that games are practically worthless?Well, no. I’ve been puzzled for a long time by the modern tendency to try to justify life experiences by pointing to research about how they “make us better” in some way. You know the kind of thing. Walking in the countryside improves cardiovascular function by 14%. Believing in God increases lifespan by 2.6 years. Falling in love takes two swings off your golf stroke. (Note: some of these may be made up.) As if there are no other – important, immeasurable – reasons to go for an autumnal stroll or find a life partner. As if you should try to make yourself do things you really don’t want to do, like taking up religion, to reap the supposed “benefits”. Continue reading...

Chris Dring meets the man who turned a curious concept into one of the most eagerly awaited gamesIt was 6am on 15 June in LA, and Swedish developer Martin Sahlin was wide awake.He had been for a while, anxiously preparing for “his moment” on stage, when he would announce Unravel – a 2D adventure game starring an anthropomorphised ball of yarn – to an audience of millions. It would be the culmination of the most unlikely of partnerships, proving that a tiny spark of genius can still make its mark on gaming’s big hitters. Continue reading...

The latest title in the billion-dollar Call of Duty franchise is out today. Here’s our take on its futuristic campaignIt is the future and everything has gone really wrong. The looming threat of nuclear annihilation is over thanks to the development of super reliable air defences but this has only led to an endless state of paranoid cold war. Armed factions gather around the world’s dwindling resources, mega corporations obsess over new ways to push their expensive technologies and government agencies seek ever more inventive ways to assassinate privacy. It’s a big old mess.The third Call of Duty: Black Ops campaign, then, is another globe-trotting conspiracy thriller filled with secret bases, covert government programmes and wise-cracking solders just trying to keep their shit together as the galaxy collapses around them. You enter the maelstrom as fresh-faced rookie, fighting for the Winslow Accord, which sounds like a Terrence Rattigan play, but is actually a gathering of countries looking to ring fence themselves from swarthy foreigners. An Egyptian minister has been kidnapped by the evil Nile River Coalition, and you need to get him back. Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Call of Duty day, suckers! Continue reading...

Whether it’s voice control and fingerprint recognition you’re after, or improved ways to save time, energy and memory, this expert list will help you unlock Google’s latest confection Continue reading...

James Alan Craig, 62, tweeted bogus posts about two tech firms, causing their shares to crash before he tried to buy the stock at deflated pricesA Scottish man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in San Francisco for using Twitter to make bogus claims that drove down the stock prices of two companies, in an effort to profit from illegal trading.

Thousands of protesters, many wearing Guy Fawkes mask, gathered in London on Bonfire night to take part in the Million Mask march and demonstrate against the government’s austerity cuts and increased state surveillance Continue reading...

Email provider headquartered at Cern in Switzerland has internet connection cut off by hackers who did not cease attack even after $6,000 ransom was paidProtonMail, a Switzerland-based encrypted email provider, was forced offline on Thursday after hackers held the company’s internet connection for ransom by using a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.“ProtonMail is likely under attack by two separate groups, with the second attackers exhibiting capabilities more commonly possessed by state sponsored actors,” the company said. “It also shows that the second attackers were not afraid of causing massive collateral damage in order to get at us.” Continue reading...

The Bank of America Merrill Lynch report (Resistance is useless, 5 November) misses the point. As robots take over the jobs in the service industries of bankers, doctors and drivers, as well as many manufacturing jobs, there is the potential for many new directions, with associated jobs. This fourth industrial revolution, led by robots, signals both doom and opportunity – but this time the route taken rests even more on intelligent human reaction: in this case, education.Related: Robot revolution: rise of 'thinking' machines could exacerbate inequality Continue reading...

US officials working on Iran policy appear to be focus of recent surge in cyber attacks that could be linked to Iranian American’s arrest, Wall Street Journal saysIran’s Revolutionary Guards stepped up hacking of email and social media accounts of Obama administration officials in recent weeks in cyber-attacks believed linked to the arrest of an Iranian-American businessman in Tehran, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Kerry wants to buy her son a notebook or laptop for his ninth birthday and doesn’t want to spend too muchWe are thinking of getting our son a notebook or laptop for his ninth birthday. He will need software such as Word, PowerPoint and Excel, and in time he may get into internet coding. I also think it would be a good idea if he could dock it so he can use a separate mouse and keyboard.We want to ensure it lasts him for a while but we can’t afford to spend lots of money. KerryAs far as I can tell from my annual visit to BETT (formerly the British Educational Training and Technology Show), most schools now use consumer-grade Android/Apple tablets and Windows laptops. However, BETT 2015 showed a trend towards Windows 2-in-1 “detachables”, which is what I’d recommend. Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other things that matterThursday cometh. Continue reading...

ACT attorney general says federal government’s proposed scheme would allow police access to personal information without sufficient safeguards restricting its useA new facial recognition database would give police “unprecedented and extraordinary” access to personal information without adequate safeguards restricting its use, the attorney general of the Australian Capital Territory has warned.Simon Corbell met his state and federal counterparts in Canberra on Thursday during a meeting of police, justice and law ministers. The issue of the National Facial Biometric Matching Capability database was raised, with Corbell expressing the ACT’s outright opposition to the federal government’s scheme. Continue reading...

Designer Stephanie Liu has come up with the Lumoscura mask to combat bad air beautifullySculpted, pristine and sparking with fibre optics, this mask is certainly a breath of fresh air for wearable tech, bringing style to the problem of pollution.Recently on show at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts Fashion 4wrd exhibition, the Lumoscura mask is the idea of designer Stephanie Liu, who created the piece this year while completing her industrial design degree at the Rhode Island School of Design. Continue reading...

Swedish car manufacturer has fitted anti-moose and -reindeer systems in northern hemisphere but says 60km/h, 90kg marsupials much more challengingVolvo is developing a kangaroo detection system designed to avoid collisions that can be deadly to man and beast.The Swedish car manufacturer has fitted some of its northern hemisphere models with systems tailored to moose and reindeer. But a senior safety engineer, Martin Magnusson, said dodging 60km/h marsupial missiles was much more challenging. Continue reading...

The social media site also made more money in mobile advertising alone than the entire business did, according to quarterly results announced WednesdayFacebook now averages 1.1 billion users per day, according quarterly results announced on Wednesday, which also revealed the company made more money on mobile advertising alone than the whole business took in during the same period last year.When its flagship product hit the billion-user milestone on 24 August, the company took a victory lap; now that appears to be slightly below the norm. Continue reading...

After Finland announced it would release some national symbol emojis, what should Australia choose if it were to follow suit?The Finnish government has launched a set of 30 national emojis, including people in a sauna, a headbanger and a Nokia 3310.If Australia were to follow suit, what items should be emojified? There’s already a surfboard and a snake in the standard set, but perhaps texters would find a use for an icon depicting a meat pie, or Warnie? Removed from any context, what would be the semiotic significance of a southern cross? Continue reading...

Tweets by former NSA whistleblower claim Theresa May’s plans are akin to compiling ‘a list of every book you’ve ever opened’Edward Snowden has outlined his opposition to the British government’s investigatory powers bill, arguing that Conservative politicians were “taking notes on how to defend the indefensible”.The former National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower, whose disclosure of top-secret documents ultimately led to the home secretary, Theresa May, proposing the bill, made a series of tweets on Wednesday warning that the communications data covered by the legislation was “the activity log of your life”. Continue reading...

Theresa May makes dramatic admission that ministers have directed firms to hand over communications data of UK citizens on day that redrafted bill is unveiledThe total redrafting of UK surveillance laws was under growing challenge on Wednesday night after an initially broad political welcome gave way to alarm at the detail of the proposed sweeping powers for spies.MPs and privacy groups raised concerns about the proposed judicial oversight regime set out by the home secretary, Theresa May, who made the dramatic admission that ministers had issued secret directions since 2001 to internet and phone companies to hand over the communications data of British citizens in bulk. Continue reading...

The new program will save time by studying how you communicate and answering emails for you. Here’s a quick sampling of what users can expectThis week Google – the enormous corporation that largely controls all of the information you see and share on the internet – is releasing a new program dedicated to making your life easier, by answering your email for you.The program, called Smart Reply, will pay attention to the way you communicate and over time manage to respond to certain emails based on your habits. Here’s a sampling of what users can expect from the new program: Continue reading...

Early UK-based internet mapping company Streetmap suing Google over alleged conduct that led to ‘dramatic loss of traffic’Google has been accused of abusing its search dominance to promote Google Maps over rivals by UK-based Streetmap.Streetmap, one of the first online mapping providers that launched in 1997, says Google is engaging in “anticompetitive conduct” and that its launch of Google Maps in 2007 lead to a “dramatic loss of traffic” to Steetmap’s website. Continue reading...

Legislation from Jason Chaffetz would make it illegal for Stingray technology to be deployed without a warrant: ‘If you’re just on a surfing expedition, back off’A bill has been introduced in Congress that aims to control the use of the sophisticated surveillance equipment known as Stingray, following a Guardian investigation which revealed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as the 13th federal agency known to possess the devices.Stingrays are one of a class of suitcase-size devices known as “cell-site simulators”, which work by pretending to be a cellphone tower in order to strip data and metadata from any phones which connect to them. Continue reading...