Technology news

• N Korea proposes joint Sony probe

  20-12-2014 20:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  North Korea proposes a joint inquiry with the US into a cyber-attack on Sony that led to the studio cancelling the release of the film The Interview.
  
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• North Korea denies hacking Sony, U.S. stands by its assertion

  20-12-2014 20:38
  
  By Jack Kim and Steve Holland SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea said on Saturday U.S. accusations that it was involved in a cyberattack on Sony Pictures were "groundless slander" and that it wanted a joint investigation into the incident with the United States. An unnamed spokesman of the North's foreign ministry said there would be serious consequences if Washington refused to agree to the probe and continued to accuse Pyongyang, according to North Korea's U.N. missio
  
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• Sony saga blends foreign intrigue, star wattage

  20-12-2014 19:21
  
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — The hackers who hit Sony Pictures Entertainment days before Thanksgiving crippled the network, stole gigabytes of data and spilled into public view unreleased films and reams of private and sometimes embarrassing executive emails.
  
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• Why the Sony hack isn't big news in Japan

  20-12-2014 17:33
  
  Japan's biggest newspaper, Yomiuri Shimbun, featured a story about Sony Corp. on its website Friday. It wasn't about hacking. It was about the company's struggling tablet business.
  
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• Mississippi attorney general calls 'time out' in legal battle with Google

  20-12-2014 17:17 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Jim Hood had challenged search engine to limit third-party informationInternet giant says request was made at behest of Hollywood lobby firm Continue reading...
  
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• From the Moon to mongooses, crowdfunding rescues science research

  20-12-2014 15:48 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Online donors have pledged more than £3bn to help science studies Continue reading...
  
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• N. Korea proposes joint probe over Sony hacking

  20-12-2014 14:30
  
  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Saturday proposed a joint investigation with the U.S. into the hacking attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment, warning of "serious" consequences if Washington rejects a probe that it believes will prove Pyongyang had nothing to do with the cyberattack.
  
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• Roundup: We played with the worst apps in the world, so you don't have to: Christmas edition

  20-12-2014 14:01
  
  Worst apps in the world: Christmas editionThere's something magical about opening that new tablet or smartphone on Christmas morning, plugging it in, and then opening the app store for the first time. Wonderful, isn't it? Like a toy store that never ends, filled with promises of fun and delight. Then you download some of the apps on our list and the magic is instantly asphyxiated. Santa's dead. The tree's on fire. Grandma's in tears.Yes, as a special Christmas treat we've brought back our worst
  
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• Is California's Hyperloop train closer to reality? Startup CEO has 'no doubt'

  20-12-2014 14:00 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  The 800mph train still sounds like the stuff of science fiction – Los Angeles to San Francisco in 35 minutes – but it’s found a new champion in crowdfunded engineer collective Continue reading...
  
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• North Korea demands joint inquiry with US into Sony Pictures hack

  20-12-2014 13:46 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Pyongyang denies responsibility for cyber-attack and threatens grave consequences if Washington continues to blame it Continue reading...
  
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• North Korea says did not hack Sony, wants joint probe with U.S.

  20-12-2014 12:39
  
  By Jack Kim and Steve Holland SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea said U.S. accusations that it was involved in a cyberattack on Sony Pictures were "groundless slander" and that it was wanted a joint investigation into the incident with the United States. An unnamed spokesman of the North's foreign ministry said there would be "grave consequences" if Washington refused to agree to the joint probe and continued to accuse Pyongyang, the official KCNA news agency repor
  
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• Deutsche Telekom in talks to sell T-Online to Axel Springer - magazine

  20-12-2014 11:39
  
  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom is in preliminary talks to sell its Internet portal T-Online to publisher Axel Springer, German weekly Wirtschafts Woche reported on Saturday, citing company sources. That would combine Germany's No.1 and No.3 online portals, T-Online and Springer's Bild.de, with 314 million and 295 million views in November, respectively. Weekly Wirtschafts Woche said Deutsche Telekom had not yet decided whether to sell all parts of T-Online, adding it may keep t
  
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• Week in Gaming: Xbox looks to VR, Android gets Hearthstone, GTA 5 gets snowed under

  20-12-2014 11:00
  
  Christmas is less than a week away, which means, friends, that this is the final Week in Gaming you'll read/endure in 2014 - please weep/rejoice as appropriate.There was probably a moment many years ago, around the time you first saw Back to the Future Part II, that you imagined what 2015 might look like. It was the year Marty McFly famously stepped on the hoverboard, and maybe you hoped we'd all be playing games with our minds and eating pills instead of meals.Now take a look out the window. Di
  
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• In depth: Microsoft in 2014: your new "platforms and productivity" provider

  20-12-2014 09:00
  
  Introduction and Windows 10As the clock struck 12 on January 1, 2014, Microsoft still had a soon-to-be-departing Steve Ballmer in charge, we had no idea who was taking over and Windows 10 was still known as Threshold. Since Satya Nadella was named Ballmer's successor on February 4, the firm has been rebranded as a "platforms and productivity" company and undergone a transformation that has seen significant changes at every turn.Nadella's arrival and reshaping of MicrosoftOne of the fir
  
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• The Guide's review of 2014

  20-12-2014 07:00 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Welcome to the Guide’s end of year review, a tradition as beloved as turning down the volume on the telly and smelling vodka on Santa’s breath. We’ve got special contributions from Vic Reeves, Sara Pascoe, David Hepworth, Roger Mellie, Stacey Dooley, Clem Fandango and many more
  Continue reading...
  
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• On the road: Smart ebike – bike review

  20-12-2014 07:00 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  It may be big and burly, but there’s a lot to like about the Smart ebike Continue reading...
  
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• The best video games of 2014

  20-12-2014 06:59 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  A recap of the best games of the year, from the family-friendly weaponry of Mario Kart 8 to Alien: Isolation’s calmly murderous androids Continue reading...
  
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• The Interview: just one subplot in Sony's troubled big picture

  20-12-2014 06:32 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Japanese conglomerate’s CEO already faced flagging sales of electronic goods before movie brought North Korean fury down on his head Continue reading...
  
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• ISS astronaut uses 3D printer to make socket wrench in space

  20-12-2014 04:03 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Digital design emailed to zero-gravity printer on International Space Station and used to produce working ratchet Continue reading...
  
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• Sony 'will not drop' N Korea film

  20-12-2014 02:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Sony Pictures says it is looking at alternative ways to release film satire The Interview, cancelled in the wake of a cyber-attack.
  
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• Opinion: 5 reasons why the Apple Watch will fail

  20-12-2014 01:43
  
  Earlier this week I listed five reasons why the Apple Watch will succeed, and now I'm back to look at the glass half-empty. The device is sure to sell like gangbusters out of the gate, but to achieve long-term success, Apple needs to find solutions to the following problems.1. It lacks a defining must-have featureThe iPod promised a thousand songs in your pocket; the iPad packed the most popular functions of a PC into a portable package; and the iPhone brought smartphones out of the BlackBerry a
  
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• Booking.com fraud network revealed

  20-12-2014 01:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Details are revealed of a network which attempted to defraud thousands of customers of the online travel agent Booking.com.
  
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• Hacker wars in the Ukraine conflict

  20-12-2014 01:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Virtual battle for eastern Ukraine
  
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• Review: Samsung Gear S

  20-12-2014 01:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Introduction and displaySamsung has jumped into the wearables war with gusto and launched quite a lot of smartwatches and fitness trackers in 2014. Aside from odd features here and there - like the camera on the Gear 2 which it thankfully got rid of with the Gear 2 Neo - Samsung looks like its slowly but surely improving its wearables selection.The Gear S for instance, is the first from the company that acts as a standalone mobile phone - but that doesn't mean there aren't some caveats - you sti
  
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• Samsung might launch its own, superior Apple Pay competitor

  20-12-2014 01:03
  
  Samsung will launch its own mobile payment company to rival Apple Pay in 2015, according to a pair of new reports.The Korean company is in talks with a payments startup called LoopPay, Re/code reported this week.The real kicker? That Samsung's version will be compatible with retailers' existing credit card machines, which would give Samsung an automatic advantage over Apple Pay.LoopPay's existing technology lets users tap a key fob, an electronic card or a smartphone "ChargeCase" on cr
  
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• IN DEPTH: 7 best iPhone health apps for iOS 8

  20-12-2014 00:49
  
  What is The Apple Health app and best fitness With the arrival of iOS 8, health is suddenly a big focus for Apple. So much so that the iPhone maker has made a dedicated Health app. This official iPhone Health app keeps track of everyone's important biometric data and also records steps though the Apple's M8 and M7 co-processor within the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 5S.What's more, these fitness metrics can be corralled from and shared with many of the third-party health apps on i
  
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• Chromebooks can now listen up when you say 'OK Google'

  20-12-2014 00:21
  
  There's a Chrome browser extension that lets users activate voice commands by saying "OK Google," but Chrome OS users soon won't need it anymore.The browser extension required users to have a specific page open for it to work, but Google has built the feature right in to the latest developer build of Chrome OS.That means the operating system listens for the words "OK Google" all the time, no matter what you're doing or which pages are open.This is, of course, an option, so if
  
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