Technology news

• Tripadvisor fined by Italy regulator

  22-12-2014 23:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Italy's competition watchdog fines travel website Tripadvisor €500,000 (£392,000) for publishing misleading information in its reviews.
  
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• North Korea experiencing severe Internet outages

  22-12-2014 23:38
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — North Korea experienced sweeping and progressively worse Internet outages extending into Monday, with one computer expert saying the country's online access is "totally down." The White House and the State Department declined to say whether the U.S. government was responsible.
  
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• Telstra buys Pacnet for $700m

  22-12-2014 23:32 via zdnet.com
  
  Australian telecommunications giant Telstra has announced that it will acquire Asian telecommunications network company Pacnet for $697 million in a deal that will double the telco's size in the Asia region.
  
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• North Korea suffers Internet outage, says U.S. expert

  22-12-2014 23:03
  
  By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea experienced Internet outages on Monday, a U.S. company that monitors Internet infrastructure said, adding that the reason for the problems was not known. "For the past 24 hours North Korea's connectivity to the outside world has been progressively getting degraded to the point now that they are totally offline," said Doug Madory, director of Internet analysis at New Hampshire-based Dyn Research. "There's either a ben
  
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• As dust clears, what's next for Sony?

  22-12-2014 22:40
  
  ATLANTA (AP) — The Sony hacking attack continues to deliver more dramatic plotlines than any fictional movie, but meanwhile the movie studio must move forward and tackle the next steps in minimizing the mess. Will Sony eventually release "The Interview" in some form? In theaters, on DVD or online? And what recourse does the company have against the North Korean-linked hackers?
  
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• Review: Acer TravelMate B115

  22-12-2014 22:13 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Overview and specsAcer’s TravelMate B115 laptop ($379, £243, AU$466) features a 11.6-inch touch-screen display, measures to 11.5” x 8.3” x .83” (W x D x H; 292.1 mm x 211 mm x 21 mm), and runs Windows 8.1 in 64 bits. Breaking from tradition when it comes to smaller PC laptops, it makes no attempt to ape any other designs in the industry, unlike the Chromebook market, which are all aesthetic descendants of Apple’s MacBook Air, which costs $1,299 (about £1,129/AU$1,449. Lightweight, a
  
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• North Korea suffers internet blackout – reports

  22-12-2014 21:35
  
  Connectivity problems not immediately linked to US threats of retribution over Sony Pictures hacking Continue reading...
  
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• It's down to the wire for online shopping

  22-12-2014 19:21
  
  ATLANTA (AP) — As the holiday shopping season winds down, FedEx, UPS and online retailers are using the last few days to try to avoid the problems that occurred last year when severe winter weather and a surge in late orders from shoppers caused delivery delays.
  
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• Cheap spyware used by stalkers

  22-12-2014 18:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Stalkers and abusers are increasingly using cheap spyware to monitor and harass their victims, a new charity claims.
  
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• Top bankers urged to take cybercrime threat more seriously

  22-12-2014 18:24
  
  Bank of England policymakers issue warning over cyber criminals who cost the global economy £285bn a year Continue reading...
  
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• Telefonica adds fibre optic contracts as regulator mulls action

  22-12-2014 18:10
  
  MADRID (Reuters) - Telefonica retained its grip on Spain's lucrative fibre optic market in October, data showed on Monday, days after the Spanish regulator warned it could force the former telephone monopoly to open up its next-generation network to competitors. Telefonica added 91,264 contracts in the fast-growing fibre optic business in October to reach a total of 1.16 million, according to data released by Spain's telecoms watchdog, putting its market share at 86 percent. ...
  
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• Microsoft quietly kills free Public Websites feature

  22-12-2014 18:04
  
  A little known feature that some described as Microsoft's online version of "FrontPage", the company's ill-fated WYSIWIG HTML editor, will be dropped within weeks according to a Knowledgebase post.The latter confirms that the SharePoint Online Public Website feature will be deprecated from January 2015 and will be available for existing user for a minimum of two years. New Office 365 users won't have access to it.Moving forward, the statement says, "Office 365 customers will have
  
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• Intel betting on semi-custom designs for 2015

  22-12-2014 17:56
  
  Intel's head honcho for anything data-centre related has confirmed that the company is betting big on semi-custom designs for next year. Diane Bryant told the New York Times that she expects half of the chips it sells to public clouds to use custom designs. That amounts to about nine million units annually.Intel's top clients, those that can order hundreds of thousands of chips, include Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Facebook (but not Apple) as well as Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu. Outside this group
  
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• ARM server startup Calxeda back on track

  22-12-2014 17:41
  
  Remember Calxeda? This startup was the first one off the blocks with design wins for ARM-ready server chips. It was good enough for HP to adopt it in its first Moonshot server back in 2013. It did come as a shock to a lot of analysts later that year when Calxeda shut down citing a lack of funds.It was especially ill-timed as the ARM server market was just about to warm up with Broadcom, Qualcomm, AMD, Cavium, Marvell and Applied Micro announcing products or at the very least a definite interest
  
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• Apple readying 'ultra-thin' Retina MacBook Air and Apple Watch in spring 2015

  22-12-2014 17:10
  
  Apple's long-rumoured Retina MacBook Air may finally be getting a launch next year following a new report that it will enter mass production in spring 2015, along with the Apple Watch.Citing anonymous sources on the supply chain side, Digitimes reports that a 12-inch Retina MacBook Air featuring Intel's new Broadwell processor is on the way.The notebook, which has been rumoured to exist since 2012, has been pushed back due to the slow supply of components from the Cupertino-based company's suppl
  
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• Review: Alcatel OneTouch Idol Alpha

  22-12-2014 17:08
  
  IntroductionIt's always tricky for a budget brand to climb the ladder and Alcatel's attempt to break out of the basement and claim some mid-range success with the Idol Alpha is a good example. At first glance this looks like an expensive smartphone, but the premium aluminium exterior and intriguing translucent strips are concealing a multitude of sins. Looking past the beautiful body we find a 4.7-inch 720p screen, a quad-core processor clocked at 1.2GHz, just 1GB of RAM and a 13MP main camera.
  
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• Argos enters the mini-tablet market with a £100 Windows 8.1 machine

  22-12-2014 16:46
  
  If you haven’t finished your Christmas shopping, Argos has joined the rising tide of companies selling Microsoft Windows 8.1 tablets at giveaway pricesArgos took a beating when it launched its first Android-based Bush MyTablet last year. Happily, this year’s Windows 8.1-based version seems to be one of the better models in a growing market. It’s good value at its current £99.99 price, reduced from £129.99. However, it faces stiff competition from similar products from Tesco, Sa
  
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• Nintendo is working on its next console, which may be powered by AMD

  22-12-2014 16:07
  
  Nintendo's dropped several hints that it's already looking ahead to the Wii U's successor, but it's now being a tad more explicit about its plans.Nintendo game design chief, Shigeru Miyamoto, has confirmed that the next console is in development, and even dropped a hint about who might be helping to launch it."While we're busy working on software for the Wii U, we have production lines that are working on ideas for what the next system might be," he said in an interview with the Associ
  
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• Internet problems hit food shoppers

  22-12-2014 15:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Hundreds of online supermarket shoppers have been experiencing frustrating technical problems amid the rush for Christmas.
  
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• South Korean nuclear operator hacked amid cyber-attack fears

  22-12-2014 15:23
  
  Operator begins two-day exercise after suspected hacker tweets information on KHNP plants and its staff Continue reading...
  
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• Bitcoin entrepreneur sentenced to two years in prison

  22-12-2014 14:52
  
  Charlie Shrem, the former chief executive of BitInstant, will serve jail time for his part in bitcoin sales on the Silk Road black market Continue reading...
  
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• S Korea holds cyber drill after hack

  22-12-2014 14:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  South Korea's nuclear plant operator is to conduct drills testing its ability to withstand a cyber-attack, after a data leak and threats from a hacker.
  
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• Nintendo is working on next games console, says Mario creator

  22-12-2014 14:38
  
  The legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto has told press that the company is working on a console to follow the Wii U
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• VIDEO: How to get the internet in a desert

  22-12-2014 14:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The satellite communication tech which is bringing the price of remote connections down to earth
  
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• VIDEO: How to get online in a desert

  22-12-2014 14:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The satellite communication tech which is bringing the price of remote connections down to earth
  
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• VIDEO: The robot that paints your nails

  22-12-2014 14:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A Japanese robot has been programmed to take on a range of tasks - from painting nails to cooking.
  
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• Attempt to use data protection laws to silence Guinea mining critic defeated

  22-12-2014 14:07
  
  Global Witness not obliged to surrender personal information gathered during investigation into Simandou mine Continue reading...
  
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• Hack causes 'damage' at steel works

  22-12-2014 14:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A blast furnace at a German steel mill suffered "massive damage" following a cyber attack on the plant's network, says a report.
  
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• VIDEO: The 'first 3D video game' redeveloped

  22-12-2014 14:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The 1984 video game Elite - thought to be the first to produce genuinely 3D graphics - has been redeveloped for a modern audience.
  
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• Jail over Silk Road bitcoin deals

  22-12-2014 13:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Bitcoin trader Charlie Shrem has been sentenced to two years in jail for indirectly helping people swap cash for bitcoins on the Silk Road marketplace.
  
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• ​Microsoft sues US-based 'phony tech support' outfit

  22-12-2014 13:41 via zdnet.com
  
  Microsoft has filed a suit against a US-based operation for misusing its trademarks.
  
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• This is Samsung's Z1 Tizen phone, launching in January

  22-12-2014 13:37
  
  It's been a long wait for Samsung to push out a smartphone powered by its own Tizen software, but it looks like the much-anticipated handset is almost upon us. There were expectations that it would launch this month, however according to The Korea Economic Daily it's now been pushed back to January. A Samsung official is quoted as confirming that the handset will launch on January 18, 2015 in India.We had hoped to see a high-end Tizen smartphone, dubbed the Samsung Z, appear this summer. Samsung
  
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• John Westcott obituary

  22-12-2014 13:36
  
  Pioneer in the field of control engineering Continue reading...
  
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• Google releases Android Lollipop 5.0.2 for the 2012 Nexus 7

  22-12-2014 13:00 via zdnet.com
  
  Hot on the heels of Android 5.0.1 for most Nexus devices, Google has released what appears to be a special update for the 2012 Nexus 7 wifi model.
  
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• Google releases Android 5.0.2 for the 2012 Nexus 7

  22-12-2014 13:00 via zdnet.com
  
  Hot on the heels of Android 5.0.1 for most Nexus devices, Google has released what appears to be a special update for the 2012 Nexus 7 wifi model.
  
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• Downloads: Christmas crackers: Foobar2000

  22-12-2014 13:00
  
  Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without a little music, and whether you're listening to traditional tunes or something a little different, Foobar2000 can take care of all of your music needs. This free player keeps things wonderfully simple with its clean, uncluttered interface.There's support for a wide range of popular audio formats including MP3, AAC, FLAC and many more, as well as audio CDs and CD ripping.If you have existing playlists, they can be easily imported into Foobar2000 and a
  
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• Best video games of 2014: the ones that got away

  22-12-2014 12:41
  
  Our top 25 couldn’t contain all our favourite gaming moments from the year, so here are the hidden gems that almost made the cut
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• Two months in, Apple Pay is doing impressively well

  22-12-2014 12:25
  
  Tech-savvy punters in the US have been able to use Apple Pay in stores since October 20, and now we have our first indication of just how well it's doing. Analyst firm ITG has reported that the tech accounted for 1% of all digital payments made in the US in the month of November. That's a solid start for Apple considering you need an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus and iOS 8.1 to be able to use it on the go.By comparison, the more established Google Wallet accounted for 4% of transactions in the same
  
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• Star threatened with sex tape release

  22-12-2014 12:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Iggy Azalea denies having a secret sex tape after hackers threaten to release a recording of the rapper.
  
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• Uber business model faces legal scrutiny in Taiwan, Chinese mega city

  22-12-2014 11:19
  
  By Michael Gold and Adam Jourdan TAIPEI/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc is under fire in Taiwan and the Chinese mainland mega city Chongqing over concerns that it and its drivers are not appropriately licensed, adding to a string of official complaints aimed at the fast-growing U.S. start-up. Uber has been subject to similar action in economies as varied as Thailand and Spain. ...
  
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• ​Google begins Android One expansion with three new countries

  22-12-2014 10:45 via zdnet.com
  
  Google has launched its Android One program in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, bringing its stock version of Android to an extra 200 million potential customers.
  
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• Far Cry 4 review – ambitious open-world game delivers

  22-12-2014 09:30
  
  PS4, PS3, Xbox One, 360, PC, Ubisoft, cert: 18 Continue reading...
  
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• China 'is against cyber attacks'

  22-12-2014 09:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  China is "against all forms of cyber attacks", its foreign minister says in a conversation with John Kerry about the Sony hacking controversy.
  
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• Tech that wants to get inside your head

  22-12-2014 09:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  How tech can help you concentrate better
  
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• Taiwan says Uber 'violating law' by operating without licence

  22-12-2014 09:04
  TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's transport ministry said Uber Technologies Inc is operating a taxi-hailing service "in violation of the law", and that it is investigating the possibility of blocking access to the U.S. company's website and mobile app. Ministry of Transportation and Communications Deputy Director Liang Guo Guo said on Monday that Uber only possesses a licence to provide information services, rather than transport services. "If Uber obtains the proper licence i
  
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• The best Android apps of 2014

  22-12-2014 09:00
  
  The Guardian’s pick of Android apps that launched for the first time this year, taking in music, productivity, messaging, maps and more• The best Android games of 2014
  What we say: Mailbox is one of the better ways to attain the fabled Inbox Zero – or at least try to – by swiping unwanted emails aside like they’re unwanted matches in Tinder. Slick design, its integration with Gmail and the ability to “snooze” non-urgent emails made it a useful productivity tool. Continue reading...
  
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• LittleBigPlanet 3 review – ‘a wonderfully atypical platformer’

  22-12-2014 09:00
  
  PS3, PS4, Sony, cert: 7 Continue reading...
  
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• The best Android games of 2014

  22-12-2014 09:00
  
  Monument Valley, The Room Two, Clumsy Ninja and much, much more in our pick of games released this year through the Google Play store.• The best Android apps of 2014
  What we say: Beautiful puzzler Monument Valley won bags of critical acclaim in 2014, deservedly. It’s a surreal shape-shifting game that sees you guiding a mysterious princess through a series of impossible-architecture levels by tapping and swiping. Short, but wonderfully sweet. Continue reading...
  
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• Review: Viewsonic VX2880ml

  22-12-2014 09:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Design, setup and specificationsThe falling cost of 4K monitors has led to the first budget panels shuffling into view, and ViewSonic's VX2880ml is looking to lead the line.4K monitors come in all different shapes and sizes, but none have looked quite like 28-inch VX2880ml. It's distinctive, for sure, thanks to a two-part stand that makes it look like its rearing up on its hind legs. Like ViewSonic's logo (a pair of Gouldian Finch birds), the VX2880ml could be described as a bit of an animal.Vie
  
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• What were your biggest technology stories of 2014? Open thread

  22-12-2014 08:30
  
  Have your say on the big themes of 2014, as well as The Interview, Facebook censorship in Russia, TaskRabbit and more Continue reading...
  
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