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Social network launches See First tool, allowing users to take more control over which stories appear at the top

Music streaming company tells customers they can save money by subscribing directly via website, preventing Apple from taking 30% cut

London cab drivers and users of the taxi-booking app criticise its ‘surge pricing’ policy, when fares rise due to increasing demand, during strikeUber, the app-based taxi-booking business, has been accused of exploiting customers by tripling fares during London’s tube strike.

Doncaster resident made a comment on the Facebook page of South Yorkshire police that identified the victimA Doncaster man who published the name of the victim of a sexual offence on the Facebook page of South Yorkshire police has been charged.Shane Ward, 31, of Edlington, commented on the police’s Facebook page post about the sexual offence court case and identified the victim. He was charged under Section 5 of the Sexual Offences Amendment Act 1992 for breaching the victim’s right to anonymity. Continue reading...

Cold, silly, downright terrifying – at first I was unstirred by the allure of VR pornography. That was, until I met Adrian …Pornography often helps to drive new technology into the mainstream. Everyone knows that. In fact, by now the point has become rote. It’s the sort of thing that needlessly contrarian dinner party guests routinely trot out 20 minutes before embarking upon trickier subjects like “Hitler had some good ideas” and “Female drivers, eh?”Still, an element of truth remains. Print, film, video, the internet, ebook readers – they’ve all been given a tremendous boost by their ability to show or describe sexual practises to the public. However, now that I’ve been forced to experience porn on the next wave of popular technology – lightweight virtual reality units Oculus Rift and Sony’s Project Morpheus – I think we might be selling it short by calling it a catalyst for popularity. In fact, VR porn might even bring about a new era of world peace. Continue reading...

Sources tell a music and tech site that the social media giant is to follow its video programme with an expansion into streamingCan’t decide between Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal? Your choices are only going to get harder. Now Facebook is set to enter the music streaming race, with the social media giant reportedly planning to launch its own streaming service.According to the music and tech news website Music Ally, which cites sources speaking off the record, Facebook is planning to follow its trial of native videos – videos that play only within Facebook, rather than on a parent site such as YouTube, and an experiment that is likely to include music videos – with an audio streaming service. Music Ally notes that “its plans to monetise music videos [are] an important stepping stone towards the on-demand audio service”. Continue reading...

The files on Tara’s PC have been encrypted by CryptoWall malware, and she wonders if she can rescue anything without paying the criminals a ransomI have been hit by a CryptoWall attack. My files are encrypted. I presume I have lost everything, but is there anything I can do to rescue them? TaraIf you have been hit by the latest CryptoWall 3 then your presumption is probably correct – unless you pay the criminals who are holding your files hostage. Ransomware is getting more and more sophisticated, and making it harder to recover files. However, it doesn’t always work properly, so it is still worth trying. Continue reading...

Design-led Quasar project steers VR away from adrenalin-fuelled experiences to create calming space environments that focus on the sensesWant to get into VR but can’t stomach a rollercoaster ride? London-based design studio FIELD has an alternative.Dubbed “Quasar”, the project consists of three sculpted helmets, containing fibreglass, each kitted out with an Oculus Rift headset that plunge wearers into futuristic scenes while motion-tracking armbands allow them to interact with each virtual environment. “Each experience has a slightly different control mechanism and completely different visuals and sound,” Field’s creative director, Marcus Wendt, told Tech Monthly. Continue reading...

Petals, developed with the help of Coventry schoolchildren, aims to give teenagers facts about female genital mutilation without detectionThe UK’s first web app designed to allow teenagers to learn about female genital mutilation (FGM) anonymously, and get help if they are at risk, has been launched.Related: I witnessed FGM. That’s why I know we need to talk about it | Domtila Chesang Continue reading...

Airline says service has resumed after technical issues forced grounding of all planes in the US, but delays are expected throughout the dayThousands of United Airlines flights across the US were grounded for two hours on Wednesday, after what the airline said was a “network connectivity issue”.The airline has said it is working to restore flight operations but residual delays were expected throughout the day for all 4,395 daily departures. Continue reading...

Experts warn that ‘magical thinking’ of a security flaw only the US government could exploit could easily be utilized by hackers, foreign spies and terroristsThe director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation has warned US senators that the threat from the Islamic State merits a “debate” about limiting commercial encryption – the linchpin of digital security – despite a growing chorus of technical experts who say that undermining encryption would prove an enormous boon for hackers, cybercriminals, foreign spies and terrorists.In a twin pair of appearances before the Senate’s judiciary and intelligence committees on Wednesday, James Comey testified that Isis’s use of end-to-end encryption, whereby the messaging service being used to send information does not have access to the decryption keys of those who receive it, helped the group place a “devil” on the shoulders of potential recruits “saying kill, kill, kill, kill”. Continue reading...

‘It seems like the whole world cares more about how much money I make than I do myself,’ says online gaming star in video posted for fansYouTube star Felix ‘PewDiePie’ Kjellberg has responded to online criticism after it was revealed that he earned $7.4m in 2014 from his gaming videos.The earnings were published in a financial filing in Sweden by his company PewDie Productions and reported on news site Expressen. Continue reading...

Automated testing and analysis of company’s advertising system reveals male job seekers are shown far more adverts for high-paying executive jobsFemale job seekers are much less likely to be shown adverts on Google for highly paid jobs than men, researchers have found.

Fancy dating a Hollywood actor – or a pop princess, such as Katy Perry? Well, thanks to this app, now you canFancy dating Cara Delevingne or Kit Harington? Who doesn’t fancy dating Cara Delevingne or Kit Harington? Well, now you can – as long as they’re on Tinder.The dating app has rolled out verified profiles, which means now you’ll know if “celebrity” profiles on the app are for real – instead of having to rely on whether or not the profile picture is a heavily pixellated crop from a website, complete with watermark still attached. Continue reading...

What are your alternatives to travelling by underground across the capital? Now you can use your smartphone to find out instantly

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

Swiss postal service says tests will run until the end of July although the widespread use of drones is not likely to kick in for another five yearsSwitzerland’s postal service said on Tuesday it had begun testing parcel deliveries by unmanned drones, although widespread use of the flying postmen is not likely to kick in for another five years.

Vast sums are handed out in corporate welfare and official silence is skewing the debate, so the public don’t know where billions of their own taxes are goingIn 2013, just days before laying out his autumn statement, George Osborne told the BBC: “The cost of welfare is one of the things that makes the public finances unsustainable. We need an affordable state.” The government had to cut the bloated welfare state because it was sucking up too much money.Yet in the financial year ending March 2013, the Guardian can reveal, Britons handed £93bn in welfare to corporations. That is enough to wipe out at a stroke this year’s budget deficit – and it was given to companies in direct aid, subsidies and tax breaks. Continue reading...

Guardian’s analysis reveals that hidden subsidies, direct grants and tax breaks to big business amount to £3,500 a year given by each UK householdTaxpayers are handing businesses £93bn a year – a transfer of more than £3,500 from each household in the UK.Related: Direct aid, subsidies, tax breaks – the hidden welfare budget we don’t debate Continue reading...

Spark Movement collective honours the historic achievements of women by developing an app for Google’s Field TripAn app that can signal where a woman made a historic achievement is being developed.Women on the Map is aimed at 13- to 22-year-olds and hopes to address the lack of recognition and honours for women. Continue reading...

Social network criticises application of privacy ruling while backing Irish watchdog and EU data protection reformsFacebook has criticised European countries for using the “right to be forgotten” ruling on a Spanish case to challenge privacy regulation.

Influential group of international cryptographers and computer scientists says proposals will open door to criminals and malicious nation statesDemands by US and British security agencies for access to encrypted communication data have been dealt a serious blow in a report by an influential group of cryptographers and computer scientists who dismiss the move as unprincipled and unworkable.They warn that such access “will open doors through which criminals and malicious nation states can attack the very individuals law enforcement seeks to defend”. Continue reading...

Robin Hunicke, producer of Journey, on the joyous celebration of friendship and intuition she has developed with Katamari creator Keita TakahashiRobin Hunicke, the CEO of San Francisco-based game studio Funomena, is kind of worried. We’re standing in a corner of the Los Angeles convention centre amid the cacophany of the E3 games expo. Metres away, a large crowd has gathered around the game she has brought to show off. It is called Wattam. It is not a typical E3 game. There are no guns, there is no dark, cyberpunk imagery. On the screen a small group of apples is being chased by a toilet.“I’m the first to say: ‘I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the person running this company has no idea what she’s doing,’” says Hunicke. “I’ve never been a CEO before, I literally have no experience in marketing or PR. I have a very weird feeling about being on camera. I may not be the best person. I may not be cut out for this job.” Continue reading...

Coalition of free-speech and anti-harassment campaigners, the Online Abuse Prevention Initiative, calls for internet governing body not to enact proposalA coalition of anti-harassment initiatives and digital rights organisations is fighting a proposal from the internet’s governing body, Icann, to strip anonymity from website owners.

Corporation understood to be looking into future of £66.2m TV channel and how live news is covered, with final decision yet to be madeThe BBC is considering making its news channel online only following a similar cost-cutting move for its BBC3 TV channel, it has emerged.

Actor in anti-vaccine protest on Twitter comes under fire after attaching picture, but apologises after contact from boy’s familyJim Carrey has been forced to apologise after tweeting a picture of a child suffering from autism and tuberous sclerosis without his family’s permission.Carrey tweeted the picture of Karen Echols’ son Alex as part of a protest against recent legislation in California that removed the personal-belief exemption from public health vaccination programmes. Continue reading...

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

Internet taxi firm says decision to provide security was made after ‘recent intimidation’ and protests from other taxi operatorsInternet taxi firm Uber said on Monday it was providing security for its drivers in South Africa after verbal threats from other taxi operators in the latest outbreak of friction to hit the fast-growing company.Uber drivers in Johannesburg have been targeted by meter taxi drivers and a protest was held outside Uber’s offices on Friday, local media reported. Continue reading...

Research projecting to 2030 says self-driving taxis and specialised one-person vehicles would greatly cut inefficiencies in current human driving patterns

Chief executive John Riccitiello explains why being popular with small independent studios is a mixed blessing

Minecraft Stop-Motion Movie Creator, BuzzFeed News, BitTorrent Shoot, The Executive, Lego Minifigures Online and moreWelcome to this week’s roundup of the latest, greatest new iPhone and iPad apps and games. All prices are correct at the time of writing, with “IAP” indicating use of in-app purchases.You can read the previous Best iPhone and iPad Apps roundups for more recommendations, but if Android is your platform of choice, check the Best Android Apps roundups. On with this week’s selection. Continue reading...

Test footage from abandoned 1997 Tim Burton superhero film has been unearthed for a forthcoming documentaryNever-before-seen test footage has emerged of Nicolas Cage as Superman from an infamous abandoned Tim Burton film which would have been the director’s follow-up to Mars Attacks.The 1997 video shows Cage, with shoulder-length hair, trying on a sculpted, skintight electric blue bodysuit. The actor, who appears lean and athletic even without the figure-forming effect of the outfit, asks if the suit will “feel looser the more I wear it” as he tests the limits of the outfit by swinging his arms back and forth and reaching towards the ceiling. Continue reading...

Living beings aren’t the only ones who suffer when a heatwave strikes – smartphones and portable electronics hate the heat just as much as we doOverheating, sluggish, running out of energy faster than usual? Have you noticed how it’s not just you that suffers in the heat, your smartphone does too? Don’t worry, you’re not imagining it, the heat really does make a difference.Unlike people, phones can’t sweat, and while this may be good news for your pocket, it’s bad news for them. Without a way to cool themselves, phones suffer: the battery dies, the processor melts and the screen can crack.

Cybersecurity firm has 400GB of what purport to be its own documents published via its Twitter feed after hackThe cybersecurity firm Hacking Team appears to have itself been the victim of a hack, with documents that purport to show it sold software to repressive regimes being posted to the company’s own Twitter feed.The Italy-based company offers security services to law enforcement and national security organisations. It offers legal offensive security services, using malware and vulnerabilities to gain access to target’s networks. Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and everything else that mattersMonday? So soon? Continue reading...

They wanted to make a medieval Fistful of Dollars. They ended up with a cult hit that triggered the sword and sorcery boom. Now, Hawk the Slayer is set to return – with better fights and special effects, but still plenty of cheeseBack in 1980, Terry Marcel kicked off the cinematic sword and sorcery boom that would give us Excalibur, Conan, Dragonslayer and Willow with a low-budget opus called Hawk the Slayer. Shot in six weeks in Buckinghamshire for £600,000, it featured the handsome but wooden John Terry as Hawk, who – with his flying “mindsword” and mismatched allies (witch, elf, dwarf, giant) – sets out to rescue a nun from his own deformed brother Vultan, played by Jack Palance at his scenery-chewing worst. Now, 35 years on, Marcel is finally preparing the follow-up: Hawk the Hunter. It’s not quite the longest a British director has waited to make a sequel to a cult hit, but damned close.“We have a studio deal and a sales deal,” says Marcel, himself quite elfin at 73. Games company Rebellion has also signed up to produce a Hawk game and a putative range of books or comics, and to provide CGI and funding for the sequel. Rebellion’s co-founder Jason Kingsley described the original Hawk as “a touchstone” of his life and said he was “delighted and slightly awed” to be part of the new venture. Continue reading...

Wii U, Nintendo, cert: N/A, out nowAnother intriguing direction for the Wii U here, with Art Academy: Atelier offering a good basic toolkit for learning to paint and draw. It does so through rather charming lessons that communicate the fundamentals of visual art in a laid-back, step-by-step format. Each stage features detailed explanations and animations that do an admirable job of explaining concepts such as the rule of thirds or colour theory.The Wii U gamepad, it has to be said, is slightly awkward for accurate drawing, but with practice it is possible to create good-looking work. However, finished pieces can create large files that will eat up storage space, so it may be worth investing in SD cards for back-up. Continue reading...

Mojang reveals what’s next for its popular game, YouTube explains how to become an online games star, and more live from London

Tim Adams was invited to hang out at Google’s California HQ, where some of the world’s brightest minds are working on innovations, such as driverless cars, that will transform our lives. But is society ready to go along for the ride?Whatever happened to wonder? The most unnerving thing about sitting in the back of a driverless car is how quickly you get used to it. After 10 minutes cruising Californian streets in the rear seat of one of Google’s “autonomous” Lexus 4x4s, the “look, no hands!” miracle of the Google “driver” in the front already feels old hat. Approaching a complicated four-way junction, every nearby moving or stationary object – lorries, wheelie bins, birds, trees, pedestrians – mapped and colour-coded instant-by-instant on the car’s computer console, I find myself thinking not, “Look out!” but rather, “Speed up!”The car, one of 24 that have now done a collective million miles on the roads around Google’s campus in the city of Mountain View, and further afield on freeways, and even out in San Francisco, behaves – not surprisingly – somewhat like a cautious learner driver. Its sensors, bolt-on radar and lasers and cameras, are twitchily hyperactive. They can monitor unexpected movements two football pitches away. Now they are calculating from memory what the dad and his toddler passenger on a bike on the right are likely to do next, now processing the probabilities that the car approaching the stop sign at some speed is actually going to stop. Continue reading...

Annual Minecraft conference kicks off in London: we’re there to cover the sights, news, YouTube stars and more from Mojang’s event

Mojang and Telltale Games’ partnership will take a narrative approach to popular game, but players will have to play as male character Jessie.

Since her husband, Iain, died seven months ago, Caroline Twigg has had to face an unexpected problem – what to do with his online legacynyctwigg: Ah, there you are; a Skype username you created while working in New York for a month. And here I am, trying to call someone yet absent-mindedly pulling up your profile. In the tiny square picture icon, you are there in your blue T-shirt, leaning over the table and smiling at the camera. Next to your name it says, “Hear me now”.That drove me mad; you’d sit there and repeat, “Hear me now? Hear me now?” A deliberately annoying mantra, because you knew I could hear you perfectly well. I would hang up and redial to a laughing you and we’d catch up, but today I sit and stare, wishing I could conjure up that annoying voice again. Even just once. Continue reading...

Smart plugs, facial-recognition cameras and even potted plant monitors can help automate your home – but is this first generation of products worth the effort?It’s early days for the Internet of Things: we’ve been promised smarthomes, and so far we can turn on the lights from our phones. It’s a start.The arrival of Apple’s HomeKit and Google’s Brillo will likely help speed smarthomes along, making them easier to install and manage, but in the meantime there are options for home automation. Continue reading...

American Registry for Internet Numbers calls for switch to new protocol after being unable to fulfil a request for new numbersSorry, the internet is full - in North America at least.The organisation that hands out IP addresses has finally run out of numbers. Continue reading...

Sony, Microsoft and Valve all have immersive technologies to push this year, but are the big games publishers aboard the VR express?Virtual reality was a big deal at this year’s E3 video game expo in Los Angeles. Oculus was there showing off the latest build of its Rift headset, Sony revealed a new multiplayer shooter demo for the Project Morpheus, and Microsoft announced a partnership with Valve, seeking to make Windows 10 the software platform for the HTC Vive as well as all other PC-based VR devices. It also brought the “mixed reality” device Hololens along for the ride. There was much excitement.But what do the mainstream games publishers really think about this new era of immersive technology? The spectre hanging over the whole industry right now is that, behind all the hype, very few VR or AR headsets have actually been sold to the public. The only commercially available mainstream products right now are Android phone extensions like the Samsung Gear VR and Zeiss VR One; Google ditched its Glasses project this year. The first big player to get a launch is likely to be the brilliant HTC Vive this winter, but it’s going to require an ultra high-end PC, limiting its user base – at least at first – to enthusiasts. Continue reading...

Tech firm opens up its image processing neural-network algorithm and people create awesome imagesGoogle has made its “inceptionism” algorithm available to all, allowing coders around the world to replicate the process the company used to create mesmerising dreamscapes with its image processing neural-network.The system, which works by repeatedly feeding an image through an AI which enhances features it recognises, was first demonstrated by Google two weeks ago. It can alter an existing image to the extent that it looks like an acid trip, or begin with random noise to generate an entirely original dreamscape. Continue reading...