Technology | The Guardian

Budget airline says screenscraper websites such as eDreams, which pay to appear top of search engine, charge consumers moreRyanair has called on Google to take action to protect customers from booking flights with the airline at inflated prices on websites that it claims are masquerading as its own.In a turn of events that would have appeared unlikely a few years back, the no-frills carrier will champion consumers over what it believes is misleading advertising on Google. Continue reading...

The European Court of Justice decision in the Facebook case is the latest evidence of difference in attitude towards data protection

Want to pimp out your Sparrow? You’ll be able to from 13 October, if you’re prepared to payAll the new story content for the next year of Destiny, Bungie’s first new franchise since it launched Halo in 2001, will be free, as the company continues with a major overhaul of the multiplayer online game following its troubled first year.To make up for the lost revenue from giving away the content for free, Bungie has announced plans to introduce microtransactions to the game for the first time, letting users spend real money to buy cosmetic items such as character gestures and visual changes to their “Sparrow” hover bike in game. Continue reading...

Resistance to autonomous cars is understandable but it comes mainly from people who haven’t tried one themselvesThe room went quiet, as if everyone had just held their breath. Sergey Brin, Google’s co-founder, had just walked in wearing Crocs. I think it was the fact it was billionaire Brin, rather than the Crocs. Brin has the loosest of schedules and works on whatever takes his fancy. This morning it was self-driving cars. Regularly deferring to his engineers for the detail, Brin was there to emphasise how important and impressive the technology is, as if we needed reminding.I asked Brin how he planned to humanise the technology, how to take it beyond Google’s privileged and pro-technology bubble into a real world where citizens are more sceptical and less trusting. He looked disappointed with the question. Continue reading...

Social media site announces move into news publishing with launch of standalone site – but users won’t be able to upvote, or commentReddit has announced its move into news publishing (along with everyone else) with the launch of standalone site, Upvoted. The new site intends to capitalise on the popular content posted to Reddit, which is often picked up by other online media organisations.Upvoted will be headed by former MySpace editorial director Vickie Chang, in charge of a team of around 10. Initially, the site hopes to produce around 20 stories a day, increasing to 40 later. Continue reading...

Staff benefit from shares windfall as social media site doubles profits and revenuesTwitter UK staff benefited from a £14m share bonanza last year as the social media site doubled profits and revenues.Twitter made a pre-tax profit of £3.2m last year, almost double the £1.7m reported in 2013, according to the latest financial records at Companies House.

European Court of Justice rules 2000’s data protection agreement with US invalid, but will that stop Facebook from transferring your EU data to America?The European Court of Justice has ruled that the “safe harbour” agreement that allowed the transfer of European citizens data to the US is no longer valid. But what does that mean for the Facebooks, Googles and Microsofts of this world?

Backlash prompts social media app to abandon raft of features including plans to let people give anyone a negative ratingPeeple, the controversial app that promised to let users “review” other people and give them a rating out of five, has softened its offering just weeks before its planned launch.The company had previously scheduled the launch of the new social app, dubbed “Yelp for people”, for November this year. Revealed in early October, the app promised users the ability to “revolutionise the way we’re seen in the world through our relationships”. Continue reading...

Mark Zuckerberg details plans on how company is ‘exploring ways to use aircraft and satellites to beam internet access down into communities from the sky’Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg took to his own timeline on Monday to announce that the company would be providing web access … from space. A new satellite called Amos-6 will make the web accessible from big chunks of sub-Saharan Africa, orbiting over the continent and serving what Zuckerberg characterized as “large parts of west, east and southern Africa”.

Ownership of tablet computers among under-fives in the UK is widespread, with a quarter of under-threes having one of their ownA third of pre-school children in the UK have their own iPad or a similar tablet that they use for an average of one hour and 19 minutes every weekday, often on their own without a parent or guardian, according to research.The study found that in households that have tablets, 31% of children aged five and under have their own tablet; among even the youngest children ownership is widespread with a quarter of those under three having a tablet of their own. Continue reading...

Apple’s latest iPhone has a better camera, pressure sensitive 3D Touch screen, faster processor and quick fingerprint sensor, but lives fast and dies before bedThe iPhone 6S is one of only a handful of smaller premium smartphones and promises fast performance, a great camera and new pressure-sensitive touchscreen.

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

Benjamin Wash says Uber must accept some responsibility for the attacks and urged immediate political action from the Palaszczuk governmentThe Taxi Council Queensland has called on the state government to intervene after conflict with the ride-sharing app company Uber escalated to physical violence.Two Uber drivers were bashed by a group of men in Fortitude Valley and Kangaroo Point early on Monday morning. A third motorist who did not work for Uber was also bashed. Continue reading...

Main companies in fantasy sports industry worth billions insist they monitor for fraud after admission that employee accessed data and then won $350,000DraftKings and FanDuel, the two major US sports fantasy companies, defended their businesses’ integrity on Monday after an employee released insider information and then placed winning bets in the unregulated industry worth billions.Related: SEC Network bans ads for DraftKings and FanDuel citing gambling concerns Continue reading...

Local artist Ivan Cash unveils himself as the perpetrator of the infamous signs, which have reappeared in several parks across the cityWhen an official-looking “No Tech Zone” sign appeared in San Francisco last month, authorities were left confused by its mysterious arrival.

Malware that was active for over a year could have ‘accessed payment card information as it was being inputted,’ Trump Hotel Collection executives sayPresidential candidate and real-estate baron Donald Trump’s chain of high-end hotels “may have been the victim of a data security incident”, the company has informed customers.Trump Hotel Collection (THC) executives ascribed the breach to malware that was active on its systems “between May 19, 2014, and June 2, 2015”.

Recent high-profile cyber-attacks have highlighted the importance of online security. But are technological solutions at the mercy of human error?Businesses are coming under frequent and increasingly brazen attacks from computer hackers looking to steal sensitive data about customers and disrupt their operations. But many organisations are failing to take adequate steps to repel these onslaughts and often seem clueless about what to do when they happen.This summer’s scandal, when hackers attacked the Ashley Madison adultery website – posting confidential details online about 33 million accounts – should serve as a wake-up call to businesses, especially those dealing with personal data. They need to protect their customers’ data from cyber-attack – or see their reputations shredded. Continue reading...

Monthly line rental fee will rise by 6%, with the cost of calls also rising sharplySky is to increase the cost of its landline and other telecoms charges just five months after it increased the cost of watching its TV packages.From 1 December Sky’s phone customers will see their line rental increase from £16.40 to £17.40 a month – a 6% increase. Continue reading...

Twitter co-founder returns to permanently head up company of which he was also the first chief executiveTwitter has confirmed Jack Dorsey as its new chief executive. Dorsey, currently the company’s interim CEO, co-founded Twitter in 2007 and was its first CEO.He has served as the interim head of the firm for the past three months, after former boss Dick Costolo stepped down on 1 July. Alongside his appointment, the company also promoted Adam Bain, formerly the company’s president of global revenue & partnerships, to a chief operating officer role. Continue reading...

Lego finally enters the popular toys-to-life genre with a consistently delightful game that adds bricks and building to its on-screen adventuresIt’s hard to believe now, but during the late 90s, the Lego company faced an enormous struggle to stay relevant and profitable as children turned elsewhere for entertainment. Now, however, the Danish toy outfit has established itself as a cultural giant built not just from little bricks, but from licensed toys, animated feature films and, of course, video games.The unique, symbiotic connection between key brands like Star Wars, physical Lego playsets and the hugely successful Lego series of games was always going to lead toward a “toys-to-life” title. In this genre, created by Activision’s Skylanders series, special action figures can be placed on a USB portal, which then renders them into the on-screen action (using a rather unglamorous technology close to that which sees an Oyster card open a Tube station’s gate). The only surprise is that it’s taken so long for Dimensions to arrive. Continue reading...

Alphabet’s code of conduct is slightly less strict than Google’sGoogle is now Alphabet. Temporary Holding Company Number Two is now Google. And “don’t be evil” is now one step closer to being a thing of the past.Following the corporate reshuffle at Google, the world’s largest search firm is now owned by a holding company called “Alphabet” – which, confusingly, was temporarily a subsidiary of Google but then executed a “reverse takeover” of its parent company to become the new boss, at which point Google spun off a number of its own subsidiaries such as its life sciences subsidiary Calico and “moonshot” division X to sit under Alphabet. Continue reading...

Pressure on taxi app increases ahead of court hearing after London mayor says its technology dodges the law by mimicking the act of hailing a cabUber is coming under increasing pressure after Boris Johnson accused the taxi-hailing app of systematically breaking the law.In his weekly column for the Telegraph, the mayor of London said Uber’s mobile phone technology is effectively mimicking the act of hailing a taxi – a process that only black cabs can legally carry out. Continue reading...

Fujisawa residents will be ferried in driverless cars, which, if successful, could be used to transport spectators for the 2020 Tokyo OlympicsDozens of people in Japan will be whisked to the local shops in driverless taxis from next year in an experiment with robot technology that could be fully commercial by the time Tokyo hosts the Olympics in 2020.

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

There’s been a reported increase in the number of serious accidents caused by smartphone users not looking where they are going. So what are people so absorbed by? We took to the streets to find out Continue reading...

In Silicon Valley, millions of dollars change hands every day as investors hunt the next big thing – the ‘unicorn’, or billion-dollar tech firm. There are now almost 150, but can they all succeed?

Startups vying for attention at TechCrunch’s recent Disrupt event in San Francisco talk about their dog-eat-dog world, and in one case, their dog-eat world

Whistleblower Edward Snowden made a barnstorming start on the micro-blogging site, and here are 10 othersNSA whistleblower Edward Snowden arrived on Twitter last week. Within half an hour of his @Snowden account launching, he’d beaten the 72,000 followers amassed by the only feed Snowden himself is following - that of the National Security Agency itself. He’s currently on 1.2m and rising, while his first Tweet was, “Can you hear me now?” – a jingle used by US telecoms giant Verizon in television ads. He’s right up there with our top 10 Twitter debuts… Continue reading...

Transport for London’s belated attempt to regulate the sector is wrongheadedUber is not perfect. It is important to make that point before analysing Transport for London’s attempts to curtail its expansion. The taxi app has not done enough to guarantee the safety of its passengers or stop its prices surging when cities face unique events. On a lighter note, its drivers’ obsession with rigidly following their satnavs can be hugely irritating when that means flying over speed bumps and avoiding traffic-free routes that as a local resident you know are quicker.However, this not an excuse for TfL’s ham-fisted attempt to protect the status quo. The organisation has launched a consultation on plans to overhaul the private-hire car market in London. The proposals include an interval of at least five minutes between booking a car and the start of a journey, a requirement for drivers to pass an English-language test and a map-reading assessment. Taxi firms may also have to operate a landline telephone service and accept bookings up to seven days in advance. Continue reading...

Apple has made ad-blocking mainstream, prompting fears in the $31.9bn mobile ad market. But those grappling with the problem say the user must come firstEveryone hates mobile ads – even advertisers.Related: Can publishers stop the ad blocking wave? Continue reading...

Women’s groups call for advertisers to boycott internet starOne of YouTube’s biggest stars has been accused of trivialising rape amid pressure for firms to distance themselves from the online sensation.Olajide Olatunji, better known as KSI, whose YouTube channel has more than 10.2m subscribers, has been criticised by a coalition of women’s groups for denigrating victims of sexual violence and propagating misogynistic views of women by calling them “sluts”. Continue reading...

European Court of Justice decision has ‘changed face of data protection’ for internet companies claim experts by changing rules of one-stop-shopThe European Court of Justice has ruled in favour of the Hungarian data protection authority in its case against Slovakian property site Weltimmo. It’s a landmark ruling that could have big implications for companies such as Facebook and Google, operating across multiple EU countries.

Holes in audio and video handling systems could allow hackers to take over your device by just visiting a website, warn security expertsMore than 1bn Android smartphones and devices are vulnerable to a new security vulnerability dubbed Stagefright 2.0, warn security experts.

Christopher Miller, Phil Lord and Fox 21 Television Studios option rights to chronicle making of podcast as it follows new caseHit true crime podcast Serial is to turned into a television series by the directors of The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street films.

Faster fingerprint sensor, slightly better camera, and novelties such as a pressure sensitive screen cannot make up for the lack of extended battery lifeThe iPhone 6S Plus promises richer interactions with a pressure sensitive screen, a better camera with new “Live Photos” and longer battery life, despite it having a smaller capacity battery. Does it deliver?

Unauthorised access involved names, email addresses, mailing addresses and order details of customers who have shopped on the store’s websitesThe details of David Jones online customers have been hacked after a vulnerability in the department store’s website was discovered.David Jones is not saying how many customers have been affected but has moved to reassure people no credit card details were accessed. Continue reading...

Hack of one of the largest data brokers and credit agencies in the world affects T-Mobile USA users who applied for credit checks, company saysExperian, one of the largest credit agency data brokers in the world, has been hacked. Some 15 million people who used the company’s services, among them customers of cellular company T-Mobile who had applied for Experian credit checks, may have had their private information exposed, the company confirmed on Thursday.Information from the hack includes names, addresses, and social security, driver’s license and passport numbers. The license and passport numbers were in an encrypted field, but Experian said that encryption may also have been compromised. Continue reading...

Cheating on vehicle emissions is not an industry-wide problem, insists UK’s top representative of the car industryThe row that has engulfed the diesel car industry over cheating on vehicle emissions tests is limited to one company and should not be taken to indicate an industry-wide problem, the UK’s top representative of the car industry insisted on Thursday.

Author Lisa Watts, who helped to teach a generation of children about computers a quarter of a century ago, hopes new books will inspire tomorrow’s programmers

Privacy company Second Circle releases the second version of its phone, created by an encryption expert and a member of Navy Seal Team SixCan you hear me now? Not if you’re eavesdropping on a Blackphone. Privacy company Silent Circle has released a second version of its signature handheld, a smartphone designed to quell the data scraping and web tracking that’s become such an integral part of the digital economy in the last few years (and whose results might well end up with the NSA, if the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act passes).Silent Circle is the brainchild of the inventor of the modestly named “Pretty Good Privacy” (PGP) encryption, Phil Zimmermann, and former Navy Seal Team Six sniper Mike Janke. In the beginning, Janke said, the Blackphone project was just a way for people working for his security firm SOC, since sold, to call home without having their communications intercepted. With its newer and easier to use model, it’s seeking industry clients in addition to individual security wonks. Continue reading...

Lord Drayson says diesel cars, which received subsidies from Labour in 2001, are ‘literally killing people’Former science minister Lord Drayson has admitted that the Labour government’s support for diesel cars was a mistake, and warned that diesels are “literally killing people”.The comments came a day after Volkswagen, the world’s biggest carmaker, admitted that almost 1.2m vehicles in the UK were involved in the diesel emissions scandal that has rocked the company. This means more than one-in-10 diesel cars on Britain’s roads are affected. Continue reading...

Unsolicited SMS messages are designed for our mobile-focused world, but they could face a similar fate to email spamA prescient episode of The Simpsons (season 12, episode 14) referred to advertising as a three-pronged attack – subliminal, where the message was hidden; liminal, which was conventional advertising; and superliminal, which was shouting the message at random people in the street.Today, some companies choose to take the superliminal concept further by effectively shouting at us via SMS. If your number gets onto an advertiser’s list, you are on the receiving end of a relentless stream of calls and texts. Many of these do not involve other people, since the calls are generated by automated software and if you pick up, you hear a recorded message. Continue reading...

New profile videos let you ‘show a part of yourself you couldn’t before’, says social media company

Nintendo’s domestic design sim is as cute as you’d expect, but although the lights are on, there’s nobody homeIn life, there are things you just know you shouldn’t do. Never eat the yellow snow. Never trust anyone who is rude to waiters. Never take on one last job before retirement. And, of course, the golden rule: never, ever go on Grand Designs if you don’t really know what you want, where you want it and whether or not you have the budget to build it anyway.Grand Designs is a show in which Kevin McCloud joins a series of couples as their ambitious home-building plans are crushed beneath the caterpillar tracks of fortune. Every single episode follows the same plot. A happy couple describes their perfect house, Kevin raises his eyebrows, then they embark on the project anyway. A year passes – then we see the couple, now a shadow of their former selves, squatting in a concrete house-shell, taking it in turns to wash themselves in a stagnant puddle. For some reason, they always decide to have a baby at this point. Then Kevin says: “I told you so”. This makes for entertaining viewing. Continue reading...

An upcoming app allows you to assign one- to five-star reviews to people you know – and its founders insist it will be used responsiblyIn our modern world, where there are online reviews for everything from specific brands of ballpoint pen to specific shades of eyeshadow, buyer’s remorse should be a thing of the past. There are no mistakes; only lack of research.Those who won’t go to a play, buy a new phone, or eat at an unfamiliar restaurant without reading what others had to say about their experience first might be early adopters of Peeple, a user-review site like Yelp – but for human beings. Continue reading...

The internet. Probably the best invention ever (with apologies to the wheel). But are you using it efficiently? Here are ten ways to improve the experienceEver checked Facebook on a friend’s or family member’s device and then realised, with horror, that you forgot to log out? Never fear, there’s a simple, but little known, way to log out of your profile remotely. Navigate to “settings” using the drop-down in the right hand corner of your screen, then “security”, then “when you’re logged in”. From this screen, you will be able to close an open session, on whichever device it’s still running on. Continue reading...

Social network’s UK and Ireland managing director to assist publisher with digital expansion

The place to talk about games and other things that matterHere’s Thursday. Continue reading...

Hackers disguised malicious software in emails purporting to be parking tickets sent to former secretary of state’s accountThe risks posed by Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while US secretary of state have been dramatically underscored by the disclosure of five attempts to break into her computer by hackers apparently based in Russia.

Biggest overhaul of law for years will see statutory rights traditionally covering cars and white goods extended to apps and music downloadsMillions of UK consumers who download music or buy ebooks can now claim a replacement if the digital content they have bought is faulty.