Device prices may rise, as Acer’s chief operating officer says that on any given day the firm can only fill half of worldwide demandOne of the biggest laptop makers in the world, Acer, has said the worldwide global chip shortage will continue to have a “severe” impact on its production capabilities until at least the first or second quarter of next year.The shortage of semi-conductors across the globe has resulted in supply issues for everything from computers, phones and gaming consoles to new cars. Continue reading...
From live streams of new plays to classics from the archive, here are some of the top shows online now or coming soonThe stage on screen: our guide to films about theatrePaul Miller, artistic director of Richmond’s Orange Tree theatre, continues his fine run of George Bernard Shaw productions with this pair of one-act plays about desire, How He Lied to Her Husband (1904) and Overruled (1912). The 70-minute double bill runs at the Orange Tree until 26 June but will be livestreamed on 3 and 4 June. Read the full review. Continue reading...
Study claims firms paid $96bn less in tax between 2011 and 2020 than the notional figures cited in their annual reportsThe giant US tech firms known as the “Silicon Six” have been accused of inflating their stated tax payments by almost $100bn (£70bn) over the past decade.As Chancellor Rishi Sunak called on world leaders to back a new tech tax ahead of next week’s G7 summit in the UK, a report by the campaign group Fair Tax Foundation singled out Amazon, Facebook, Google’s owner, Alphabet, Netflix, Apple and Microsoft. Continue reading...
Gaming is task-driven, repetitive and often frustrating – just like having a job. Childhood isn’t supposed to be so seriousThere are currently three computer games occupying the house: the 13-year-old (M), sometimes in conjunction with the 11-year-old (F), plays Fortnite, a game mainly about shooting people; the 13-year-old (F), also sometimes with the collaboration of the 11-year-old, plays Genshin Impact, a whimsical, open-world environment game, whatever the hell that means. Avatars dressed as pirates or fairies wander about the place, doing chores, occasionally fighting giant warthogs. Mr Z plays Hitman, another shooting game with very densely layered storylines, though he always skips them so never knows what’s going on beyond that; the aim is to leave everyone else dead in a laundry hamper.Observing all this, I feel like the manager of a hi-tech sweat shop. Everyone is locked in concentration, shouting over headphones at other people who may or may not be in the same house, a cross between high-intensity data inputting and horribly frazzled air traffic control. I know what I should be worrying about – are they getting enough fresh air? Will they become addicted? Is this a useful life lesson, to find meaning through shooting others? Continue reading...
Doctors say NHS Digital’s proposals could erode the relationship between them and their patientsDoctors have warned that plans to pool medical records on to a database and share them with third parties could erode the relationship between them and patients.The warning came as the Royal College of GPs wrote to NHS Digital urging it to better communicate with the public about the plans and their options for opting out. Continue reading...
Our reliance on technology means ever more devices and apps and ever less interoperability – and the ubiquity of Apple hasn’t helpedIn 2001, if you listened to digital music, you did it with a large folder of MP3 files. How you acquired them is probably best left between you and a priest, but you may have ripped them from a CD, downloaded them from a file sharing service, or bought them from one of a few nascent download sites.Whichever option you picked, you’d play them on your computer with a program built for the task. And if you were lucky enough to have an early standalone MP3 player, it was probably made by another company again. Continue reading...
The pay-TV giant has the chance to turn popular films into ‘universes’ of stories – and steal a march in the content-hungry streaming warsAmazon’s $8.5bn deal to buy MGM, the Hollywood studio behind James Bond, The Handmaid’s Tale and Gone With the Wind, has secured it the rights to a century’s worth of TV and film titles that the streaming giant intends to exploit with a wave of remakes, reimaginings and spin-offs.The deal to buy the 97-year-old Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which has an immense library of 4,000 film titles and 17,000 hours of TV programming, is designed to supercharge Amazon’s content pipeline, which is the lifeblood of any competitor in the global battle for streaming supremacy. Continue reading...
AmaZen, a small box for employees’ ‘mental wellbeing’, came under fire as critics called out the company’s problematic working conditionsAmazon was lampooned on social media Thursday after sharing a video highlighting “AmaZen”, a small enclosed booth installed in an Amazon warehouse where employees can go to “focus on their mental wellbeing”.Related: Amazon must ‘do a better job’ for its workers, says Jeff Bezos Continue reading...
Button-bashing arcade sports vied with the thrill of urban planning, Pac-Man ate up everything, and Super Mario Bros smashed gaming into the mainstreamThe 1980s were crammed with wonderful adventure games – The Hobbit, King’s Quest, Leather Goddesses of Phobos – but the first point-and-click title to be designed by comic genius Ron Gilbert using the SCUMM scripting language is the classic that busted out of the genre ghetto. Filled with great jokes and B-movie cliches, the game made brilliant use of its accessible and intuitive interface, as well as seamlessly integrating cutscenes and non-sequential puzzles. The start of a weird and special era. Continue reading...
We asked our favourite funny people for their favourite links. For the Kates, it’s sketches, news fails and a silly amount of raccoonsKates McLennan and McCartney – of Get Krack!n and The Katering Show – have a new comedy podcast out, titled Slushy: eight episodes of a workplace sitcom, set on an Antarctic research station.To celebrate, they supplied this list of other funny online things. Continue reading...
Labor is set to question executives in an estimates hearing after data reveals employees were paid $77.5m in cash bonuses in 2020Hundreds of NBN Co staff on $200,000 and above a year were paid an average bonus of almost $50,000 last year, according to new data.Earlier this year – while everyone was talking about the $20,000 worth of Cartier watches purchased for Australia Post executives as bonuses – it was revealed staff and executives at the government-owned business enterprise NBN Co were paid $77.5m in cash bonuses in 2020. Continue reading...
Cumberbatch and McKellen among big names to appears in live-recorded stage shows to feature on PrimeAmazon has partnered with the National Theatre to stream four high-profile live-recorded stage shows, including Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag.The shows, which include Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller in 2011’s Frankenstein, will be made available to Amazon’s Prime Video customers in the UK and Ireland from 11 June. Continue reading...
by Kalyeena Makortoff and Jillian Ambrose on (#5J6C4)
Ofgem to build infrastructure for 3,550 new ultra-rapid charging points on motorways and in townsBritain’s energy regulator has approved a £300m investment spree to help triple the number of ultra-rapid electric car charge points across the country, as part of efforts to accelerate the UK’s shift to clean energy.Ofgem has given the green light for energy network companies to invest in more than 200 low-carbon projects across the country over the next two years, including the installation of 1,800 new ultra-rapid car charge points for motorway service stations and a further 1,750 charge points in towns and cities. Continue reading...
Investors are betting the big chains won’t be able to compete with startups that bring your shopping within minutesOver the past year, you may have noticed the rapid growth in all kinds of app-based delivery services. For a while, supermarkets weren’t involved: traditionally, the industry does not grow very much. The margins are small, but predictable.But something strange has happened: interest and investment in app-based delivery has exploded, with various fast-track services offering to have groceries at your door within a specified number of minutes. Weezy is the market leader in the UK, but you may also have heard of Fresh Direct or Sainsbury’s 60-minute delivery option, Chop Chop. Grocery is a multibillion-pound industry that appears to be in the midst of a massive disruption. Continue reading...
Historians are aghast that the National Archives have had to resort to crowdfunding to protect irreplaceable historical recordsHistorians are calling it an international embarrassment for Australia and saying it is “inconceivable that it has come to this”, as they preemptively mourn the loss of “irreplaceable national history”.The National Archives of Australia doesn’t often make headlines, but when it does, it’s rarely good news. Continue reading...
The scientist on why studying elementary particles is only one way of explaining phenomena, how the 3D printer could change the world, and her optimism about women in scienceChiara Marletto is a research fellow at Wolfson College, University of Oxford. Her research is in theoretical physics – especially quantum computation, thermodynamics and information theory. Her broader interests include theoretical biology, epistemology and Italian literature. The Science of Can and Can’t: A Physicist’s Journey Through the Land of Counterfactuals attempts to forward a new foundational basis for physics. It is her first non-academic book.You argue for a radically different approach to physics, which you call the science of can and can’t. What does that mean?
The company has revealed 47,700 faulty boxes had to be replaced in just four months to March 2021 in NSW homesNBN Co has revealed it has been forced to replace close to 50,000 faulty broadband devices in homes across New South Wales in just four months due to lightning damage.Last week Guardian Australia reported NBN Co had been forced to replace 10,000 modems in the Blue Mountains after they had been fried after being struck by lightning. One resident reporting seeing blue sparks shooting out of the modem during a severe lightning storm this month. Continue reading...
Players such as Weezy or Getir aim to make ordering milk, wine or crisps as easy as turning to Spotify or NetflixCheap groceries, free delivery, on your the doorstep in 10 to 20 minutes. Fast-track grocery services have sprung up like weeds during the pandemic with players pulling out all the stops to tempt in shoppers.At least seven key players are vying for dominance in the UK. Most are currently focused on London, with only Weezy, Fancy and Gorillas venturing outside the capital so far. But all the major players, who also include Getir, Dija, Zapp and Jiffy, are planning to expand into new cities this year with Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and beyond in their sights. Continue reading...
False Covid claims, including that Scott Morrison faked getting his vaccine, among the content removed from the popular platformFalse claims about Covid vaccines – including that the Australian prime minister faked getting his jab – were among some of the hundreds of Australian videos TikTok removed from its platform as part of a misinformation crackdown.In February, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Microsoft, Redbubble, Apple, Adobe and TikTok signed on to a new voluntary industry code aimed at combating misinformation and disinformation online. Continue reading...
The Fortnite maker, the most popular game in the world, claims the way Apple runs its App Store amounts to a monopolyTim Cook, the chief executive of Apple, took the stand on Friday as the star witness in a high-stakes case brought by Epic Games that could upend the company’s business model.The trial stems from an antitrust lawsuit filed last year by Epic Games, the maker of the wildly popular video game Fortnite. The game became the most popular in the world in recent years, generating more than $9bn total for Epic in 2018 and 2019. Continue reading...
Retail giant offering $100,000 reward for more information on nooses, the first of which appeared on 27 April in ConnecticutAmazon has closed a construction site in Windsor, Connecticut, after seven nooses were discovered there in the past month.The retail giant is offering a $100,000 reward for more information on the nooses, the first of which appeared on 27 April, hanging from a steel beam of the building. Continue reading...
Justin McLeod, boss of the dating app, talks about its massive rise in users, his difficult romantic past – and why people are now ditching their partners and looking for someone newThe whiteboard on the living room wall behind Justin McLeod’s sofa frames his head like a halo. But it is also symbolic of the chasm between good intentions and reality that many of us may have experienced recently. This high-achieving CEO says that, while working from home, he was “going to write a lot on that”, but didn’t. He turns to look at its blank expanse. It’s comforting for those of us who also haven’t used this change of pace for vast plans and self-improvement. Which is not to say that McLeod has had a quiet year – far from it. Isolating at home, without the usual options of meeting people, he saw a 63% rise in the number of people downloading Hinge, his dating app. And revenues tripled.McLeod seems grounded and realistic – a romantic who doesn’t believe in “the one”, a tech founder with a concern about what tech is doing to us and a husband with a romcom-worthy story about how he met his wife, but who also admits to weekly couples’ counselling. The pandemic has had a big impact on the dating landscape, he says. People switched to video dating, for a start. It was moving that way anyway, he says, but the “pandemic accelerated it”. Continue reading...
Apps tracking hormones and a gadget combatting hot flushes are some of the latest innovations in the femtech market, which is predicted to be worth $60bn by 2027When lifelong worrier Louise Stevenson asked her husband whether her anxiety was damaging, his answer stopped her in her tracks. “He said it had a negative impact on absolutely everything.” It was the prompt she needed to seek help.Diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder, she searched for tech-based tools to complement her therapy. “But I couldn’t find an app that offered what I wanted,” she says. “I was literally scribbling down my worries on backs of envelopes.” So the 41-year-old mum from Herefordshire ditched her job in financial services, created Worry Tree – one of 15 approved mental health tools in the NHS app library – and entered the flourishing femtech sector. Continue reading...
The tech giant says it has taken down posts on fake preventative measures and exaggerated cures as part of a new voluntary industry codeFacebook has removed more than 110,000 pieces of Covid-related misinformation generated by Australian accounts in the first year of the pandemic, the company has revealed.In February, Facebook, along with Twitter, Google, Microsoft, Redbubble and TikTok, signed on to a new voluntary industry code aimed at combating misinformation and disinformation online. Continue reading...
There are nearly 10bn Google searches for skin, nail and hair issues each year, prompting the tech giant to create a ‘dermatology assist tool’Google’s entry into health diagnostics has alarmed health experts who fear a new artificial intelligence tool to identify skin conditions could lead to overdiagnosis, or rare and complex skin conditions being missed.At a technology conference in the US on Tuesday, Google revealed there are almost 10bn Google searches related to skin, nail and hair issues every year. In response, Google has developed an artificial intelligence “dermatology assist tool” for people with concerns about their skin. Users of the app can use their phone to take three images of their skin, hair or nails from different angles. Continue reading...
by Kalyeena Makortoff and Graeme Wearden on (#5J0WE)
Digital currency under pressure from payment crackdown and tweets from Elon MuskThe price of bitcoin fell by almost 30% on Wednesday, after a Chinese government crackdown on banks’ use of cryptocurrencies accelerated a long-predicted sell-off, in a day of chaotic trading.The world’s largest digital currency tumbled to about $30,000 (£21,000) amid frenzied trading, a drop of more than 50% since it hit record highs of more than $64,000 in mid-April. However, by 10pm UK time, the bitcoin price had risen back to about $38,500, still down 11% on the day, according to Refinitiv data. Continue reading...
Zhang Yiming will change role after saying he lacks the right skills to manage and prefers ‘reading and daydreaming’The Chinese boss of TikTok’s parent company has said he is leaving the role because he lacks managerial skills and preferred “reading and daydreaming” to running the tech giant.Zhang Yiming, the co-founder of Bytedance – which created the popular short video TikTok app – said on Thursday that he will step down as chief executive and trainsition to a new role by the end of the year focusing on “long-term strategy”. Continue reading...
Riders say their pay rates don’t sufficiently account for time spent waiting for orders or time taken travelling to the restaurantUber Eats riders in Australia are earning as little as $5 for individual deliveries that cross multiple suburbs, as riders complain that their pay was cut by the global tech giant during the pandemic.New data provided to Guardian Australia by riders has revealed pay rates as low as $5.01 for a nearly 4km trip. Continue reading...
The company’s CEO authorized the payment as a means to restart the pipeline’s systems quickly and safelyThe operator of the nation’s largest fuel pipeline confirmed it paid $4.4m to a gang of hackers who broke into its computer systems.Colonial Pipeline said Wednesday that after it learned of the 7 May ransomware attack, the company took its pipeline system offline and needed to do everything in its power to restart it quickly and safely, and made the decision then to pay the ransom. Continue reading...
by Presented by Anushka Asthana with Alex Hern; produ on (#5J114)
The video game Fortnite has become a cultural phenomenon in recent years with up to 100 million users a month logging in to play the free online game. But for users of iPhones and iPads, the wildly popular game has been unavailable ever since it was ejected from the App store. This followed an attempt by Epic, the maker of Fortnite, to offer its own payment service for players, with a 20% cut in cost if they decided to bypass Apple’s in-app purchases.As the Guardian’s UK technology editor, Alex Hern, tells Anushka Asthana, the feud has now landed in court, in what could be a defining moment for the app industry: if (as many analysts predict) Apple wins, it will help consolidate its power in the mobile economy. But if it loses, it could radically alter what apps are available on iPhones and what users can do with them.
A number of cryptos are losing value after China signalled a Bitcoin crackdown. We’d like to hear from small investors – what will you do next?Amid a sudden crash of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin and Cardano, we’d like to hear from amateur investors on how they feel about this latest bout of extreme market volatility affecting alt coins.Whether you have invested a lot or a little in cryptos, we’re keen to hear what you’ll do next, whether you’ll hold or sell, whether you’ve lost money and whether you have any concerns. Continue reading...
The value of the most well-known cryptocurrency has plunged by nearly 30% after a massive rise in value. Here’s what you need to knowBitcoin is the world’s most popular digital currency. It allows people to bypass banks and traditional payment methods and is not controlled by any single entity, country or central bank. There are more than 18m bitcoins in existence. Continue reading...
From Mainstream to Profile to Sweat, three films released this summer attempt the rare feat of capturing the experience of being online in a hyper-connected worldThere are several elements of Mainstream, Gia Coppola’s dark satire of YouTube stardom released in theaters this month, that resemble a stick-figure rendering of internet fame. The film, written by Coppola, supposes that a technophobic, shady drifter named Link (Andrew Garfield) morphs, under the guidance of aspiring film-maker Frankie (Maya Hawke) into a messianic, exhibitionist star somewhat of the trolling Jake Paul variety; his avatar, No One Special, appears to aim for the irony-poisoned, frenetic attention spans of Gen Z, but is a thirtysomething whose gameshow specials are filmed on a Hollywood set with a live audience, as opposed to the DIY aesthetic massively popular on the video platform.Related: Rebels with a cause: how teens on screen grew up and found their voice Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#5J0JC)
Super-premium tablet has TV-beating display, M1 chip from the Mac and smart camera for video callsApple’s latest iPad Pro gets upgraded with the game-changing M1 processor and a new screen that rivals the very best TVs, let alone tablets and laptops.The fifth-generation iPad Pro comes in two versions, one costing £749 with an 11in screen and the top dog with a 12.9in screen costing £999. Both have the new M1 chip, but only the larger model – reviewed here – has the stunning new screen. Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#5J0BP)
Upgrade is big design overhaul, improves speed and privacy and adds new features to Maps and PhotosGoogle has announced its big update to Android 12, which will soon roll out in beta to the company’s Pixel devices and those made by third-party manufacturers.Announced as part of Google’s I/O developer conference in California, Android 12 introduces its biggest visual overhaul since 2014 along with improved performance, a new privacy dashboard and updates for Google Maps and Photos apps. Continue reading...
New privacy controls include allowing people to quickly delete the last 15 minutes of their search history and more reminders about location trackingGoogle is attempting a rebrand with a suite of new privacy controls that give people more power over their personal data – but the move may conflict with its core business of online search advertising.Being able to target people based on data collected by Google about their interests or demographics has been immensely valuable for advertisers, but a growing number of people are becoming more privacy-conscious and there is pushback from regulators and rivals such as Apple. Continue reading...
Joint venture shows deepening convergence between tech sector and car industry with software a key battlegroundStellantis and the iPhone assembler Foxconn have agreed a deal to work together on in-car information and entertainment technology, in a sign of the accelerating convergence between the tech and automotive sectors.On Tuesday, the companies revealed a 50-50 joint venture to develop touchscreens to control many of the car’s functions, as well as providing entertainment for passengers and “seamless” integration with apps on customers’ smartphones. Continue reading...
by Paul Haskell-Dowland for the Conversation on (#5HWZN)
The tech giant says it has security safeguards in place. But these tracking devices can be hacked and put to other nefarious purposesApple has launched the latest version of its operating system, iOS 14.5, which features the much-anticipated app tracking transparency function, bolstering the tech giant’s privacy credentials.But iOS 14.5 also introduced support for the new Apple AirTag, which risks doing the opposite. Continue reading...
Nurgul Sawut, who has been named on a Chinese blacklist, says she’s experienced online trolling, nasty messages and malwareA Uyghur activist in Australia who has been the target of cyber-attacks by hacker groups in China says the Australian government needs to do more to educate the Uyghur community in Australia to protect themselves online.Uyghur activists outside of China are frequently the target of hackers based in China. Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#5HVMA)
Technology can help make your trip more fun. Here’s a guide to the most useful gearSummer is rapidly approaching and with it the possibility of getting away, whether within the UK or to one of the countries on the green list.It’s 2021 and holidays no longer mean leaving all your worldly possessions behind but your phone, tablet, e-reader, headphones and even your smartwatch all need to be kept ticking. To keep them charged, organised and ready to go, here’s a quick guide to the best tech gear. Continue reading...
Perhaps we wasted energy achieving privacy concessions, when we should have been building a more foundational critique of the power of big techFor privacy activists, 2021 brings one big victory after another. First, Alphabet, the parent company of Google, announced in March that it would stop tracking individual users as they roam from site to site. This decision was part of Alphabet’s broader campaign to phase out the use of third-party cookies – an old but controversial technology, increasingly blamed for today’s lax culture of data-sharing.Related: You should be worried about how much info WhatsApp shares with Facebook | Burcu Kilic and Sophia Crabbe-Field Continue reading...
The police cyber crime squad and IT forensic experts are investigating the ransomware attack by AvaddonNew South Wales Labor has warned its members their data could be posted online as early as Saturday after the organisation was targeted by a ransomware attack and the hacker group’s deadline passed.On 5 May, NSW Labor’s systems were taken offline after the party fell victim to a ransomware attack by a hacker group known as Avaddon. Continue reading...
IT systems shut down and some medical appointments cancelled after attempt to access dataIreland’s state health services provider has shut all its IT systems and cancelled some medical appointments after what it described as a “significant ransomware attack” overnight caused widespread disruption.Paul Reid, the Health Service Executive chief executive, told RTÉ there had been a “human-operated” attempt to access data stored on central servers for a presumed ransom. “There has been no ransom demand at this stage. The key thing is to contain the issue. We are in the containment phase.” Continue reading...
Technology | The Guardian