Technology | The Guardian

While taking shots of her daughter during a holiday in France, memories of the photographer’s own youth flooded backIt was a stiflingly hot day in the south of France and editor and photographer Gerry Brakus and her 15-year-old daughter, Honor, had gone indoors to cool off. Along with her husband – the couple are both half English, half French – and beloved dog Rudy, the cavapoo, they were holidaying near Avignon. “I spent a lot of my own childhood in France,” Brakus says, and when she photographed her daughter there, “my old childhood memories came rushing back – things I’d completely forgotten.”“The French are very resistant to change, very traditionalist, so the interiors and colours have hardly moved on at all,” she adds. “I’m never deliberately looking for something that emulates my childhood; it’s just bizarre how similar it all is – like revisiting that time in vivid, high definition.” Continue reading...

Report cites concerns over foreign investors funding Twitter takeover and increasingly strategic role in Ukraine of StarlinkUS officials are considering whether to subject some of Elon Musk’s business ventures to national security reviews, including his proposed acquisition of Twitter and his satellite internet company Starlink, according to a report.Bloomberg wrote on Friday that Biden administration officials were concerned by the Tesla chief executive’s plan to buy Twitter in a deal part-funded by non-US investors and his recent threat to pull the plug on the Starlink service to Ukraine, as well as the publication of a series of tweets containing proposals over the Ukraine conflict favourable to the Putin regime. Continue reading...

Cybersecurity specialists raise concern over potential for claims about integrity of leadership ballot

The media giants have allegedly released ‘new’ podcasts mirroring those made by the likes of Gizzi Erskine and Pandora Sykes. So why is it so hard to make a case against them?Claims of intellectual property theft have long been a contentious issue within the world of podcasting. It’s a podcast wild west out there – an expansive, creative landscape with concepts seemingly being borrowed, adapted and pillaged. In the last couple of weeks alone, two David v Goliath pod battles have again raised the question: why does it seem so easy to get away with stealing podcast ideas?Award-winning food writer Gizzi Erskine, 43, and Sydney Lima, 29, are the co-creators and hosts of the hit Spotify Original podcast Sex, Lies & DM Slides, which launched in 2020. The pair are now accusing Spotify of “daylight robbery” and claim that they have been unceremoniously ousted from their podcast, after it has been rebranded and relaunched with 22-year-old influencers Saffron Barker and Anastasia Kingsnorth as replacement hosts. Continue reading...

Chinese-based team at parent company ByteDance alleged by Forbes to have planned to collect location informationTikTok has denied it is used to “target” US citizens following a report that its Chinese parent planned to track the location of people via the video-sharing app.A report by Forbes on Thursday claimed that, in at least two cases, a China-based team at ByteDance, the platform’s owner, planned to collect TikTok data about the location of a US citizen. Continue reading...

Martha is fed up with at her mate’s flakiness. Niamh says living five time zones away makes communication difficult. You make the call on who’s in the right

The news comes at a difficult time for the company, which had announced hiring freezes and has seen low employee moraleElon Musk told prospective investors that he plans to eliminate nearly 75% of Twitter’s staff as part of his deal to take over the social media company, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.Job cuts are expected in the coming months no matter who owns the company, according to the report, which cited interviews and documents. Continue reading...

In the second part of our Electric dreams series looking at the UK’s automotive battery industry, we visit an area whose industrial past is being revitalised

Litigants say millions of online consumers have paid too much and been denied choiceA £900m class action claim against Amazon accuses the company of pushing customers towards “offers” that benefit the online retailer, but are not good deals for users.The complaint, which is to be filed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal, focuses on the company’s “Buy Box” feature, which artificially promotes certain items above the rest in response to user searches. Continue reading...

PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X

101, 102, 103, 104 … It wasn’t fast, but it was breathtakingly revolutionary, and Ceefax still has its share of devotees, 10 years after it was turned off. They explain how they are keeping the newsfeed aliveIt is 10 years since Ceefax ceased to be, at 23:32:19 BST on 23 October 2012, when the last analogue TV signal was switched off in Northern Ireland. It seems longer ago than that – probably because most of us had stopped using it years earlier. With its pixelated graphics and agonisingly slow rolling screens, it had long since been usurped by new media.But if Ceefax was a relic by the end, it’s easy to forget that its birth was an information revolution, and a breathtaking technological accomplishment. It was a precursor to the world wide web, only without the porn and arguments. In his eulogy to the service, Guardian columnist Barney Ronay pithily referred to it as “the horse-drawn internet”. Continue reading...

In this week’s newsletter: We Were Three, from the makers of Serial, delves into a story of strained family relationships brought to a head by the pandemic – and vaccine misinformation

Small smartwatch gets much right but comes up short versus cheaper rivals and cannot be repairedGoogle’s first Pixel smartwatch is finally here after years of waiting, integrating the company’s Fitbit health-tracking tech and hoping to take on Samsung and the dominant Apple Watch.The Pixel Watch costs £339 ($350/A$549) and, while designed as a companion for the company’s smartphones, it will work with most Android phones with access to the Google Play Store but not with Apple’s iPhone. It runs Google’s Wear OS software based on Android but is heavily integrated with Fitbit – the fitness tracker firm Google bought in 2019 – potentially making it the best of both worlds. Continue reading...

The legendary psychological horror franchise will return with three video games, a movie and an interactive streaming seriesAfter 10 years in exile, fans of gruelling psychological horror can finally pack their bags: Silent Hill is reopening to visitors. During a YouTube presentation on Wednesday evening, Konami announced a reboot of the acclaimed sequel Silent Hill 2 and two new adventures, Silent Hill Townfall and Silent Hill F. A new movie tie-in, Return to Silent Hill, and an interactive live stream series, Silent Hill Ascension, were also teased.The remake is being developed by the Polish studio Bloober Team, known for horror titles such as Blair Witch and The Medium. Also involved are key members of the original Silent Hill development team, including the composer Akira Yamaoka and concept artist Masahiro Ito, best known for his creation of Silent Hill’s most infamous monster, Pyramid Head. Continue reading...

The online delivery service can now supply legal marijuana from several dispensaries in Toronto – as well as pizza for the munchiesPass notes: Uber Eats.Age: Launched by ride service Uber in 2014. Continue reading...

You can use the internet to buy uranium on the dark web or laugh at this list, which includes Aunty Donna, a bad Drake cake and a sketch so funny that Dave thought he might die

The artist now known as Ye wants to buy the ‘free-speech’ social network Parler after being banned from major sites. But hopes for a rightwing splinternet, where anything goes, is not so easy

Mia Landsem, whose ex spread an intimate photo of her online, now spends hours each day helping others get images removed“Faces of exes,” Mia Landsem read out loud, as she clicked on a link to a forum exposing intimate images of ex-girlfriends, her frowning brow illuminated by a three-screen computer. On the 25-year-old’s neck, underneath wisps of blond hair, are tattooed reminders in Norwegian to be “brave” and “don’t give a fuck.” An internet security expert by day, by night she has made it her mission to hunt down and report such images from her apartment in Oslo. “I try to focus on the worst ones,” she said. “I can maybe get a few groups removed in a day, but then 20 more appear.”Digital image-based sexual abuse – a catch-all phrase that includes deepfake pornography, so-called “upskirting” and “revenge porn”, a term rejected by activists for implying the victim has done something wrong – is a global problem on the rise. Almost three out of four victims are women, according to a 2019 study by the University of Exeter. But there are male victims and female perpetrators. Continue reading...

Washington’s ban on hi-tech exports to China marks a huge gambit for economic supremacy for the next decadesThe US has taken unprecedented steps to limit the sale of advanced computer chips to China, escalating efforts to contain Beijing’s tech and military ambitions.The moves are designed to cut off supplies of critical technology to China that may be used across sectors including advanced computing and weapons manufacture. Continue reading...

CMA says takeover of gif creation website limits choice for social media usersFacebook’s parent company, Meta, has been ordered by the UK competition watchdog to sell the gif creation website Giphy, the first time the regulator has blocked a deal struck by a big Silicon Valley company.The Competition and Markets Authority told Meta in November that the only way to resolve competition concerns was to dispose of Giphy, the largest supplier of animated gifs to social networks such as Snapchat, TikTok and Twitter, which it acquired two years ago for $400m (£290m). Continue reading...

Stars of huge titles claim they get peanuts as games companies rake in millions. Now the lead actor on Bayonetta is asking fans to boycott its new game in protest

Asobo; PC, PS5, Xbox Series S/X

Exposed passport numbers blocked from being used in national Document Verification System

A video game exploring the treatment of women in Hollywood has set a new standard of sophistication. We talk to its creator and starEvery now and then you play a video game that you just cannot stop thinking about. Candy Crush might leave colourful imprints on the back of your eyelids. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild may creep into your dreams. And then, very occasionally, a game comes along that is so entirely unlike anything you’ve ever played that it becomes an obsession. Immortality, the latest from lauded game-maker Sam Barlow and his studio Half Mermaid, is one of those. It is something that has never existed before: a video game that is also three feature-length films, wrapped around a mystery so compelling that I couldn’t concentrate on anything else for days. It is so delicate and complex that it’s difficult to figure out how it even works.The first thing you see when you load up Immortality is a talkshow clip from the late 1960s, in which a bright-eyed, red-haired young actor is being interviewed about her recent starring role in a film called Ambrosio, an adaptation of a 1796 novel about a devil temptress who draws a monk down the path of sin. This is Marissa Marcel, who was at this point on the brink of stardom – but this film she appears in, with an eminent but slimy director, is never released. Her next picture, an erotic thriller about art and murder, also never makes it into theatres. She retreats into obscurity for a long time, before emerging for a comeback in the 1990s in a Lynchian thriller about artifice and celebrity – but that film, too, is lost, and after that she disappears entirely. Continue reading...

Hellena Taylor, who voiced title character, says she was offered an ‘insulting’ $4,000 to reprise roleThe English actor who stars in the hit Bayonetta video game series has asked fans not to buy the latest release in the franchise, after revealing that she was offered just $4,000 (£3,500) to reprise the role.In an emotional series of videos posted to social media, Hellena Taylor, who voiced the title character of Bayonetta,said she had been replaced in the forthcoming third game in the series because she the proposed fee was an “insult”. Continue reading...

The photographer braved the cold to capture this striking shot – before Chicago’s salt machines could melt all the snow awayWhen a winter storm ends in Chicago, the temperature rises just enough for Cocu Liu to take a brisk walk. Armed with his thickest coat, the photographer was passing over the Michigan Avenue Bridge when he stopped to shoot the ice floating on the river beneath, and an anonymous passing man.“I was drawn to the simplicity and the composition, the contrast of left and right,” he says. “Because of the wind chill, before and during a storm the weather is too bitter. But I love the four seasons, and especially the snow, so I always made the effort to head out.” Continue reading...

Experts say it is the roboticists we need to hear from – and the people and jobs AI is already affectingWhen it announced that “the world’s first robot artist” would be giving evidence to a parliamentary committee, the House of Lords probably hoped to shake off its sleepy reputation.Unfortunately, when the Ai-Da robot arrived at the Palace of Westminster on Tuesday, the opposite seemed to occur. Apparently overcome by the stuffy atmosphere, the machine, which resembles a sex doll strapped to a pair of egg whisks, shut down halfway through the evidence session. As its creator, Aidan Meller, scrabbled with power sockets to restart the device, he put a pair of sunglasses on the machine. “When we reset her, she can sometimes pull quite interesting faces,” he explained. Continue reading...

Voracious Games/XSEED Games; PC

Ebb Software; PC, Xbox

Scammers posing as immigration lawyers targeted Facebook groups with tens of thousands of users, new report revealsScammers posing as Canadian immigration lawyers have targeted Facebook groups with tens of thousands of users, a new report reveals.The posts, documented in a new report by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), the research arm of watchdog group the Campaign for Accountability, have been flagged as potentially fraudulent by Latin American and Canadian authorities but continue to proliferate. Continue reading...

Samaritans among those calling for people of ‘all ages’ to be safeguarded from suicide and self-harm materialThe government must ensure the online safety bill protects adults from dangerous suicide and self-harm content, a group of charities including Samaritans has said, as ministers prepare to alter the legislation’s approach to legal but harmful content.The bill is set to resume its progress through parliament but the culture secretary has signalled that a key area, which contains provisions related to suicide and self-harm content, will be altered.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org. Continue reading...

Court filing made public by social media company does not state what is being investigated, nor which federal authorities are involvedElon Musk is under a federal investigation related to his $44bn takeover of Twitter, the social media company has said in a court filing made public on Thursday.While the filing said he was under investigation, it did not say what the focus was, or which federal authorities were investigating. Continue reading...

In this week’s newsletter: From Geli Raubal’s life and death to the mystery of Prince George, the Duke of Kent, this new series shines a light on the untold tales of our past. Plus: five podcasts on rock’n’roll excess

In government, party says it would stop inflation-busting price rises and take action on mid-contract hikesA Labour government would enforce a cheap broadband tariff for low-income families as well as taking action on mid-contract price hikes, the shadow culture secretary will announce.Labour will say broadband is an essential utility and that figures from the regulator Ofcom show almost a third of households (8 million) are having problems paying their broadband, phone and streaming bills. That is double the number a year ago. Continue reading...

LinkedIn posts suggest it is looking to operate its own warehouses to compete with other social commerce firms such as MetaTikTok appears to be deepening its foray into e-commerce with plans to operate its own US warehouses, the kind of packing and shipping facilities more associated with Amazon or Walmart than the social media platform best known for addictive short videos.In the past two weeks, TikTok has posted several job listings on LinkedIn looking for candidates to help it develop and grow its “Fulfillment by TikTok Shop” in the US to accommodate sellers using the app. According to the listings, TikTok plans to provide warehousing, delivery and item return options to sellers. Continue reading...

New iPhones which can detect car crashes and notify emergency services appear confused by thrill ridesApple’s newest phone has been automatically calling emergency services from the pockets of people riding rollercoasters in the US, mistaking the bumps and jerks of the rides as car crashes.The latest iPhone 14, as well as newer Apple watches, includes a feature that detects the signs and vibrations typical of a serious car accident – and calls 911 if the owner does not respond to a prompt to cancel. Continue reading...

Comments on China-owned app come after Liz Truss expressed a desire to crack downThe director of GCHQ, Jeremy Fleming, said he would encourage young people to use TikTok, despite a campaign pledge by the prime minister, Liz Truss, to “crack down” on the Chinese video app and companies like it.The spy chief was asked on Tuesday morning if he would be concerned if his children were to use TikTok after he had warned that China was seeking to “impose its values” in other strategic areas of science and technology. Continue reading...

Money from crypto exchange was allegedly used to buy four houses worth $4m, vehicles, art and furniture, police officer tells court

Parent company of Australian telco says that the personal data of 129,000 customers and 23 businesses was obtained in a cyber-attack two years ago

Musk, the world’s richest person, suggested giving China some control over the island to resolve the cross-strait dispute

In Mirror Mirror, the former advertising executive argues technology is an unregulated psychological experiment that is changing our brains

Ian Russell, whose daughter took her own life, says ‘waiting around’ leaves children exposed to harmful contentFurther delays in implementing the online safety bill will endanger young people at risk of harmful social media content, Molly Russell’s father has warned.Ian Russell said he received a phone call last week from the culture secretary, Michelle Donelan, in which she pledged to resume the bill’s progress through parliament before Christmas. Continue reading...

Geography of Robots; Raw Fury; Xbox, PlayStation

If the deal does not close by 28 October, a November trial will be scheduledA Delaware judge has postponed the Twitter v Elon Musk trial in order to give the Tesla chief executive time to complete his proposed $44bn takeover of the social media platform.The litigation was halted until 28 October to allow both parties to close the transaction, after Musk said he needed time to put together the funds for the deal. Judge Kathaleen McCormick said if the deal did not close by her deadline the parties were to contact her to schedule a November trial. Continue reading...

Activists fear Flock, whose tech reads license plates, might endanger women seeking abortionsFlock Safety, a rapidly expanding company that sells license plate readers to police and neighborhoods across the US, has an ambitious mission: to eliminate crime.Since being founded in 2017, Flock says it has contracted with more than 1,200 law enforcement partners in more than 40 states. It provides its services to more than 2,000 neighborhoods, and is expanding the products it offers beyond license plate readers to include a gunshot detection system. Continue reading...

In this week’s newsletter: the reality star examines the case of Kevin Keith in The System – can she pull off another rebrand? Plus: five of the best podcasts about money

Some people use it to improve their focus while others use it to drop off to sleep. The writer Zadie Smith says she listens to it day and night. But what is brown noise? And does it work?There’s a new buzz on TikTok – well, not a buzz exactly. It’s more of a hum, maybe waves crashing, a purring fan or steady, heavy rain. To me, it sounds like an empty aeroplane, cruising peacefully at altitude. It’s brown noise, a close cousin of the better-known white noise, and TikTok users, particularly the platform’s ADHD community, are all over it: there are 85.3m views for the #brownnoise hashtag.One top-rated video (1.3m views) shows user @NatalyaBubb trying brown noise. She looks initially startled, then spellbound. “Where did all the thoughts go?” reads the caption over her wide-eyed face. Commenters on her and other brown-noise clips are mainly – though not exclusively – rapturous. “I closed my eyes and literally thought of NOTHING … it makes my brain feel soft in the best way possible”; “This felt like fresh air to my ears”; “Like a soft weighted blanket that I’ve safely swathed my brain in,” says one writer with ADHD. Continue reading...

In this week’s newsletter: The question of tougher regulation is back following an inquest into the death of a 14-year-old who viewed significant amounts of harmful online content

Smaller, cheaper bass add-on for wifi speakers and soundbars delivers in all the right areasThe Sonos Sub Mini is a more compact bass upgrade at a slightly more palatable price, adding big boom and greater range to the firm’s wifi speakers and soundbars.The Mini costs £429 ($429/A$699) and is for Sonos fans who want more bass for their movies and music but can’t stomach the £749 outlay for its big Gen 3 Sub. Continue reading...

Elon Musk will proceed with the $44bn buyout of Twitter, but a bumpy road still lies ahead for the companyElon Musk was always going to struggle to win in Delaware. He had signed a binding agreement to buy Twitter for $44bn and to make his “reasonable best efforts” to complete the deal. Saying he didn’t want to buy it any more wasn’t going to work in Delaware, the state where Twitter is incorporated and one that carries a reputation for making sure agreed company transactions happen.And so it appears that Musk has chosen the least bad option, which is going ahead with the deal before spending millions more dollars trying to convince a judge that he should be allowed to walk away even though he had no grounds to do so. Continue reading...