Technology | The Guardian

After battling its Chinese rival for driver and rider loyalty, it appears that Uber has lost – but the deal is not quite that simpleUber has sold its Chinese operations to rival Didi Chuxing, the country’s biggest ride-hailing firm, signalling the end of a fierce price war waged between the two companies over the past two years.Uber, last valued at around $68bn, lost an estimated $2bn fighting Didi Chuxing in China, giving out incentives for drivers and free rides in an attempt to compete for market share. Didi was doing the same, but had around 85% of the market share compared with Uber’s 8%. Continue reading...

Harmless toy takes place of deadly weapon amid growing concern over shootings in the USApple has replaced its hand gun emoji with a water pistol – reflecting growing despair in America and worldwide over gun crime.The change comes in the wake of continuing gun violence in the US, including the killing of two black men by police and the resulting spate of deadly attacks against officers. Continue reading...

Denton’s filing follows the news organization filing for bankruptcy in June, after Hulk Hogan was awarded $140m in damages and costs in a lawsuitGawker Media founder Nick Denton has filed for personal bankruptcy in the wake of Paypal billionaire Peter Thiel’s proxy war against the news organization and its individual journalists.Gawker itself filed for bankruptcy in June. “[I]t’s a disturbing to live in a world in which a billionaire can bully journalists because he didn’t like the coverage,” wrote Denton in a memo to staff on Monday. Continue reading...

Noise-canceling headphones can make it hard to hear when a person actually needs your attention, and Amazon wants to fix thatNoise-canceling headphones provide a peaceful haven for those trying to work or sleep in loud environments, but make it difficult to hear when someone really needs your attention.

Lawsuit filed on Monday alleges that Comcast ‘grossly misrepresented’ its consumer protection plan and charged for repairs that should have been freeWashington state has filed a $3.7bn lawsuit against the telecommunications firm Comcast alleging that the company violated the state’s Consumer Protection Act almost 2m times.

Sex therapists say virtual reality porn can support men in feeling more comfortable, empowered and confident in real-life situationsThe porn industry has been an early adopter of virtual reality, which allows the viewer to feel more like a participant in the action than a voyeur.Now one of the companies pioneering VR porn is branching out into sex therapy, creating content designed to not only titillate but to educate and improve performance in the bedroom. Continue reading...

The internet giant’s partnership with GlaxoSmithKline is the latest in a long line of projects and experiments in the medical sectorAlphabet’s partnership with GlaxoSmithKline is by no means its first foray into the world of biotechnology. Google’s parent also owns Verily Life Sciences, which works on futuristic projects that marry technology with medicine. Aimed at tackling everything from relatively minor ailments to cancer, some of its innovative products are closer to becoming a reality than others. Continue reading...

Some see Mark Zuckerberg’s plan to wire up the continent as a philanthropic gesture, others suspect a cynical marketing ployFacebook has signed up almost half the countries in Africa – a combined population of 635 million – to its free internet service in a controversial move to corner the market in one of the world’s biggest mobile data growth regions.Facebook’s co-founder and chairman, Mark Zuckerberg, has made it clear that he wants to connect the whole world to the internet, describing access as a basic human right. His Free Basics initiative, in which mobile users are able to access the site free of data charges, is available in 42 countries, more than half of them in Africa. Continue reading...

Uber is entering the mapping business, taking on Google, Apple and TomTom. And this isn’t just about taxi pickups – the future of driverless cars is at stakeUber is spending half a billion dollars to develop its own maps so that it can ditch Google, which sounds roughly as sensible as Tesco piling millions into inventing its own shelves. Other people make shelves – good shelves. Why waste money on your own shelves?Because in the latest arms race in tech, the three biggest prizes are location, location, location. And Uber, the global taxi service valued last year at more than $60bn (£45bn), has bigger plans than getting you home after a night out. Continue reading...

When real life seems so dark, it’s no wonder people welcome the chance to add a little magic. But games have been with us for thousands of years – and the crazes of different eras tell us more than you would expectIt’s Saturday night and I’m standing in a crowded bar talking to a man dressed as a Pokémon. This isn’t a Tinder date gone wrong; rather, I’m on a Pokémon Go pub crawl. These are now “a thing”, attracting hundreds, sometimes thousands, of participants. They’re just one of the many weird symptoms of Pokéfever: a mania currently afflicting large swaths of society.If you’re yet to be infected then you may be somewhat sick of the incessant Pokémon headlines and hokey Pokéjokes. You may well feel an urge to stab (or at the very least poké) yourself in the eye when you come across yet another Pokémanteau. Please don’t. Rather, I urge you to join me in an annotated-reality game called “Pokémon Go: the Quest for Sociohistorical Perspective”. Traverse paragraphs and collect points as you uncover the millennia of meaning behind the recent madness! Ready? Let’s go. Continue reading...

Musk describes the sale of SolarCity to Tesla Motors for $2.6bn as a ‘no-brainer’, as companies expect to save $150m in first year of mergerElon Musk’s electric vehicle company, Tesla Motors, has bought Elon Musk’s solar power company, SolarCity, in an all-stock transaction worth $2.6bn (£2bn), the companies have confirmed.The new firm sees Tesla emphasise its battery power storage technology as a natural fit to SolarCity’s solar generation. Musk called the merger a “no brainer”, saying: “Instead of making three trips to a house to put in a car charger and solar panels and battery pack, you can integrate that into a single visit. It’s an obvious thing to do.” Continue reading...

Windows 10 free upgrade offer has ended, but those who require assistive features such as screen readers can still upgrade for free – and some people are taking advantageWindows 7 and 8 users who missed Microsoft’s free Windows 10 upgrade offer, are lying about their need for assistive features in order to upgrade without paying.Windows 10 introduced a collection of new features for those who need help accessing a computer, including an improved screen reader that can read faster and be tuned to be more or less verbose depending on what the user needs. As part of Microsoft’s efforts to make Windows easier to use, those who use assistive technologies can continue to upgrade to Windows 10 for free for the foreseeable future. Free upgrades for other users stopped on 29 July 2016. Continue reading...

Sites and apps that allow trainers to locate specific Pokémon have been shut down after game update removes nearby trackingPokémon Go players are up in arms after an update to the game removed a feature that helped locate nearby Pokémon and forced third-party maps of Pokémon locations to shut down.

Britain’s biggest drug company and Verily Life Sciences, a division of Alphabet, have teamed up to tackle chronic conditionsGlaxoSmithKline has teamed up with Google’s parent company Alphabet to develop miniature electronic implants for the treatment of asthma, diabetes and other chronic conditions.GSK, Britain’s biggest drug company, said it would form a joint venture with Verily Life Sciences, a division of Alphabet, to work on research into bioelectronic medicines. GSK will own 55% of Galvani Bioelectronics, and Verily will hold 45%. Continue reading...

Uber China will merge with local rival to create $35bn ride-sharing giantUber’s seemingly unceasing expansion across the world has finally had the brakes applied as the ride-sharing company plans a deal to sell its Chinese operation to local rival Didi Chuxing, according to Bloomberg News.The new company will valued at around $35bn (£19bn) – given Didi’s previous $28bn valuation, that values Uber China at $7bn – and puts an end to a year-long standoff that has led to both Uber China and Didi losing money in an effort to secure a lasting victory. Uber alone has lost more than $2bn in the fight. Continue reading...

I’d normally rather stay at home with a virtual romance, but the game allowed me to build a comfortable – and perhaps long-lasting – bond while out and aboutI can feel my shoulders freckling in the summer sun. The heat borders on oppressive and a thin line of sweat beads at my hairline, barely cooled by a passing breeze. I am standing next to a pond, atop a giant sundial where high noon betrays no shadows, and I am sending a Tentacruel – a giant poisonous jellyfish – to attack the man across from me. There are no tumbleweeds to set the scene, no spaghetti-western whistles or wide-frame cuts to layer on the tension, but my finger still twitches to the countdown of our duel.Three. Two. One. Go.

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

Shanghai-based studio Pixpil is trying to bring video games into Chinese homes – no easy feat in a country that only just lifted its ban on foreign consoles such as PlayStation and XboxThink of the word “China” and one of two ideas should come to mind: either the country, or the crockery sat in your kitchen cupboard. This synonym in the English language is testament to the reputation of China’s porcelain trade around Europe in the 16th century. China was top of the line. But when it comes to video games, China sits at the opposite end of the spectrum; Chinese games are often associated with cheap Mario clones and free-to-play RPGs that look like they’re designed by business executives. It’s not good.Shanghai-based game developer Tommo Zhou dreams of changing that stigma. He hopes one day to release a video game on a console with a global reach. The PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Wii U (or the upcoming NX) are the dream. Zhou’s friend and colleague, known as Feng, goes so far as to say it would be a “great honour” to have a game on one of these consoles. It’s not necessarily the potential sales numbers and the success that might come with such a move, it’s what the principle itself represents.

New life, so to speak, for the zombie genre in a fun indie adventure, and a fine puzzling platformer from Curve Digital Continue reading...

Further automation of the retail sector raises issues far beyond the needless luxuries of choice, convenience and speed of delivery (Amazon to test drone deliveries in British skies, 27 July). I wonder if the “demand” for stuff to be delivered by robot to our door within 30 minutes of ordering really exists – is modern satisfaction really that shallow? But in an increasingly automated society, where are the wages to buy these goods going to come from?While Brexit showed that politicians were detached from the anger of the dispossessed of this country, where are they on the automation of yet more of the jobs that so many people depend on? It seems they are keen to race headlong into a very misty future. Continue reading...

Want the best apps and breaking news on the go without breaking the bank? These may be the devices you’re looking forRRP £109 Continue reading...

A revolution in politics is under way, and it is being fought 140 characters at a time. Gaby Hinsliff reports on how Twitter is fuelling a political race to the bottomWhen Hillary Rodham Clinton became the first woman in American history to clinch a major party’s presidential nomination, her rival responded with all his customary grace.“Obama just endorsed Crooked Hillary. He wants four more years of Obama – but nobody else does!” Donald Trump sneered on Twitter. Continue reading...

Apple’s tablet has a host of easy-to-miss tricks, many of which work on the iPhone too. We take a tour… Continue reading...

If the Russians were behind the attack on the Democrat convention – and the evidence suggests they were – this represents a major shift in Putin’s military doctrineLast month, it was discovered that the computer networks of the US Democratic National Committee (DNC) had been penetrated by two sets of intruders, who appear to have been unaware of one another’s activities. The hackers seem to have been able to do whatever they liked, including accessing the DNC’s email servers. As a result, some (perhaps most) DNC emails found their way into the public domain via a number of routes, including WikiLeaks.It’s been dubbed Watergate 2.0. And as in 1972, the key questions are: who were the burglars? What were their motives? Continue reading...

Virtual weapons won in some games can be bought for real money and used like casino chips on online gambling websitesIn what could prove a world first, an Australian politician is seeking to have games such as the hugely popular Counter-Strike series defined in law as gambling.Nick Xenophon, the independent senator for South Australia, on Sunday announced a bid to have multiplayer first-person shooter games defined as gambling in an update to the current Interactive Gambling Act of 2001. Continue reading...

Whether for taxi drivers or Hollywood stars, the world’s most famous hybrid always puts in a great performancePrice: £23,295

A radical new design brings multiple benefits to the humdrum city slickerIt seems incredible that the basic ingredients of a bicycle – frame, wheels, saddle and bars – can be almost infinitely reworked to produce dynamic bikes of endless variety. Take a look at this one. It’s the new Commuter 8.0 from Canyon. The German firm, based in Koblenz and set up in 1985, has always championed cutting-edge design. But doing away with the traditional headset to create a ‘cockpit’, in which the handlebars, stem and lights all form a single unit, seems drastic even by its standards. It gives the bike a weird ‘neckless’ look. It looks like its lines were inspired by a hyena. However, it rides brilliantly and handling is ferociously direct. It benefits from a greaseless silicon belt drive, and a low-maintenance gear hub saves you money and hassle in the long term. Internal cabling and seamless welds also help create its clean and simple look. It comes in this ‘espresso’ colour or a cool grey. A powerful dynamo supplies electricity through clever contacts in the dropout points, which means your lights will never dim. It’s bright stuff! (canyon.com)Price: £1,749

Pope tells young people ‘we didn’t come into the world to vegetate ... We came to leave a mark’Pope Francis urged “drowsy and dull kids” to swap their sofas and video games for walking boots on Saturday at an international Catholic youth festival in Poland.

With state television the main source of news, accusations of email hacking and the doping of athletes are met with incredulityA T-72 tank roared into the jump at full speed, launching several feet into the air. “Ooooohhhh!” several spectators yelled as it slammed back down so hard its gun barrel nearly hit the ground. A second T-72 followed behind, but suddenly everyone’s attention was directed behind them as strong winds ripped the metal-and-tarpaulin roof off the grandstands. The spectators climbed over the barriers to escape as rain poured down.This was the tank biathlon, a sport devised by Russia in 2013, ostensibly to allow its own tank forces and those of other countries to test their preparedness and equipment. But it also serves as a patriotic spectacle and a show of military might held with an eye on the west. It’s part of the huge Army Games taking place across Russia and Kazakhstan, which also include competitions among jet fighters, air-defence systems, artillery and paratroopers. More than 3,000 personnel are taking part from Russia and 18 friendly countries, such as Angola, Venezuela, Serbia and several former Soviet republics. Continue reading...

Tim Cook – and his investors – seem confident that TV programmes, music and software are the path to the futureApple has been punished by investors in the wake of recent financial results that have posted growth in revenues, iPhone sales and business in China. Shareholders were concerned that the tech group’s growth was not as meteoric as expected, so they sold down the stock.Related: Apple plans to invest in augmented reality following success of Pokémon Go Continue reading...

Three teenagers were playing game in park when apparently armed robbers struck, prompting safety warning from policeThree teenage Pokémon Go players have been robbed of their mobile phones at gunpoint in a north London park, prompting police to warn of the dangers of roaming the streets with expensive mobile phones on show.The victims, aged 15, 16 and 18, were playing the popular mobile phone game in Whittington Park in Holloway on Tuesday night when three male teenagers approached them. Continue reading...

‘Acceleration is nothing to boast about, even in the most advantageous circumstances, such as going down a hill’The highpoint of life with the jaunty little DS3 Cabrio was when I filled it with children, opened the retro fabric roof and worked out how to Bluetooth my phone to the hi-fi. We sat in a layby – there were more children than seatbelts, so I had to decant some before we could move – waving our hands in the blue, blue sky and singing to Little Mix: children like to stick their hands out of roofs the way dogs like to stick their noses out of windows. There is nothing about this car, from its contrasting blue-and-white colour to its curiously inaccessible letterbox boot, that doesn’t make perfect sense if you’re eight. I guess we have to assume 18-year-olds are the same.The cabin is well-designed; it doesn’t feel cramped in the front, the dash is pleasing and I am such a convert to the leather steering wheel that I now feel something like the sharp offence of shiny bogroll whenever I’m required to touch anything else. It also has a leather handbrake, leather door trim and a gloss black knob, if you please. Personalisation is a big thing for this model, with a thousand variations in trim and colour to allow full expression of your, erm, personality. Continue reading...

From a Nigerian living in the shadow of Boko Haram to a 70-year-old farmer in Zimbabwe, technology is transforming what is possible in AfricaAfrica is in the throes of a technological revolution, leapfrogging computers in favour of internet connections through mobile phones. A fifth of the continent now have access to a broadband connection, a figure predicted to triple in the next five years.But how are phones and the internet changing the lives of ordinary Africans? And what barriers do people still come up against when trying to connect?

As the mobile game spreads its tentacles around the world, our readers let us know where they’ve managed to play the game so far

On the trail... Continue reading...

IRS has been exploring how the tech company transferred assets to Ireland and whether it deliberately tried to minimize the tax it paid in the USFacebook could be liable to pay between $3 to $5bn in extra US tax after an extensive investigation by the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) into the way the tech company transferred assets to Ireland.The tax agency has been exploring whether Facebook deliberately deployed complex financial processes designed to minimize the amount of US tax it paid. Continue reading...

Tesla is considering whether the radar failed to detect the truck or detected it but ‘tuned it out’ as a structure such as a bridge to avoid triggering brakingTesla Motors told the US Senate commerce committee staff it is considering two theories that may explain what led to the 7 May fatal crash that killed a Florida man who was using the car’s Autopilot system, a person familiar with the meeting told Reuters on Friday.

Startup founder built the derelict ‘experiment in sustainable living’ without proper permits and failed to demolish it when requested, city authorities sayRob Rhinehart, the founder of food-substitute drink Soylent, is facing criminal charges over his installation of a now-derelict and graffiti-strewn red shipping container on a hill overlooking Los Angeles.

Hubs in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as website of national airline, showed message criticising sovereignty claims in South China SeaHackers have attacked the website of a national airline and flight information screens at Vietnam’s two biggest airports, posting notices that state media said criticised the Philippines and Vietnam and their claims in the South China Sea.Operators of airports in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City briefly had to halt electronic check-ins when systems were attacked on Friday afternoon, the country’s civil aviation authority said. Continue reading...

The committee, which is the political arm of House Democrats, says the FBI is investigating the breach and that it resembles the recent DNC email hackingThe computers of the House Democratic campaign committee have been hacked, an intrusion investigators say resembles the recent hacking of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for which the Russian government is the leading suspect.Related: Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear: did Russians hack Democratic party and if so, why? Continue reading...

Amazon has been granted permission for small-scale testing of drone deliveries in the UK, but don’t expect all your shopping to start arriving by air soonRelated: Amazon to test drone delivery in partnership with UK governmentAre drones really going to deliver my shopping? Continue reading...

Virginia’s Smithfield Police Department invited eight ‘random citizens’ to catch super-rare Ditto in their processing room, after New Hampshire police employed same tacticThere can’t be any doubts now of Pokémon Go’s world domination – even the police are getting in on the action.A police station in Virginia is using its Facebook page to invite “random citizens” to try and catch a super-rare Pokémon in their processing room. Continue reading...

Twelve Against the Gods by William Bolitho becomes Abebooks’s busiest search term after Tesla chief declares it ‘really quite good’A forgotten, out-of-print history book from 1929 has sold out across the internet after it was praised by Elon Musk.The Tesla chief executive and billionaire told Bloomberg on Thursday that he was currently reading a book called Twelve Against the Gods by William Bolitho. “It’s really quite good,” Musk added, sending the price of the now obscure text up from $6.35 (£4.82) on Amazon.com for a secondhand paperback edition, to $99.99, before it sold out at the online retailer. Shortly after, used books marketplace Abebooks reported that it had also sold out, with the 13 copies available quickly snapped up and Bolitho’s book the most sought for on the site all day. Continue reading...

Lifeboat launched to rescue group who became trapped on Birnbeck Island in Somerset before finding their way to safetyA group of six teenage Pokémon Go players had a lucky escape on Thursday night after almost getting cut off by the rising tide off Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.Weston’s volunteer lifeboat crew were alerted by Milford Haven coastguard shortly before 9pm to rescue the teenagers, who were searching for Pokémon on Birnbeck Island, which is cut off from the mainland at high tide apart from the partly collapsed, and unsafe, old pier. Continue reading...

MelaniaTrump.com has disappeared, and a kerfuffle over a college degree may be to blame. But experts say it could amplify what they hope will remain unseen

Microsoft’s constant upgrade notifications should end by Sunday as free offer expires for Windows 7 and Windows 8 usersMicrosoft’s controversial year-long free Windows 10 upgrade offer for users of Windows 7 or 8 ends today (Friday), which means now is the time to claim a free licence or be forced to pay upwards of £80 for a copy.

Analysts and the US government suspect an official hand behind the breach of the DNC’s emails – but if so it would represent a major escalation of cyber-activityIn April of last year, at 10pm on a Wednesday, French network TV5Monde suddenly began to broadcast Islamic State logos and slogans in French, Arabic and English. Simultaneously the broadcaster’s Facebook page began to post inflammatory messages. “Soldiers of France, stay away from the Islamic State!” read one. “You have the chance to save your families, take advantage of it.”“Je suIS IS,” read another. Continue reading...

In the first of a four-part series, we explore the United Nations’ resolution that considers internet access to be a basic human rightOn 1 July the United Nations resolved that access to the internet is to be considered a basic human right. While this decision may seem straightforward, with the complex nature of human rights law considered, the resolution is far from simple.To investigate, we talk to the United Nations’ special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye; the co-creator of the internet, Vint Cerf; and the human rights lawyer and founder of rightsinfo.org Adam Wagner. Continue reading...