Technology news

• Google expects public in driverless cars in 2 to 5 years

  14-01-2015 23:44
  
  DETROIT (AP) — The head of self-driving cars for Google expects real people to be using them on public roads in two to five years.
  
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• ​Lime Rocket jets to Silicon Valley

  14-01-2015 23:27 via zdnet.com
  
  Australian technology startup Lime Rocket is set to get a shot at Silicon Valley, after being accepted into a Google-backed startup program based in California tech hub Palo Alto.
  
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• Updated: Google IO 2015: news, rumors and predictions

  14-01-2015 23:27
  
  Latest Google IO 2015 news and rumorsIn the months since the less-than-thrilling IO 2014, Google has unleashed a number of tantalizing products and intriguing concepts that have us looking forward it its 2015 conference. With Android L releasing into the wild, the revelation of the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9, Android Wear smartwatches winding up on wrists everywhere, and devices like Project Ara and Project Tango teasing us with possibilities, Google is setting itself up for even more innovation in 2
  
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• Obama criticizes state laws that hurt broadband competition

  14-01-2015 22:47
  
  Wading into a states' rights dispute over Internet access, President Barack Obama on Wednesday called for the repeal of laws that prevent local communities from creating their own broadband networks. Obama, ...
  
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• Jake Gyllenhaal gives stellar turn in Broadway's 'Constellations'

  14-01-2015 22:00
  
  By Patricia Reaney NEW YORK (Reuters) - Romance is intertwined with string theory, quantum mechanics and the idea of parallel universes in "Constellations," a two-character play starring Jake Gyllenhaal and British actress Ruth Wilson in their Broadway debuts. The 70-minute work by British playwright Nick Payne, which was first staged at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 2012, opened on Tuesday night with the New York Times hailing it as possibly the "most sophisticated date pl
  
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• VIDEO: Pardon? Testing new Google Translate

  14-01-2015 21:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Rory Cellan-Jones tries out Google's enhanced translation tool to see if it delivers on its ambitious promises.
  
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• Facebook launches mobile app offering free Internet in Colombia

  14-01-2015 21:24
  
  By Helen Murphy and Luis Jaime Acosta BOGOTA (Reuters) - Facebook Inc on Wednesday launched a mobile phone application that gives Colombian users free access to a handful of online services, broadening Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg's effort to boost Internet usage in developing markets. Colombia is the first nation in Latin America to receive the new Internet.org service, in partnership with local mobile phone provider Tigo, but the aim is to push the application across the region
  
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• In cyberattacks such as Sony strike, Obama turns to 'name and shame'

  14-01-2015 21:13
  
  By Aruna Viswanatha and Joseph Menn WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The unusually destructive cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment is providing an early test of a new Obama administration policy to reveal more of what it knows or suspects about hacking campaigns. President Barack Obama's decision last month to blame North Korea for the breach capped a year that saw the U.S. Justice Department file indictments against alleged Russian cybercriminals, as well as accuse five Chinese
  
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• U.S. states ask JPMorgan Chase for security data as they probe hack

  14-01-2015 20:55
  
  MIAMI (Reuters) - States probing last summer's massive hack at JPMorgan Chase & Co have asked for detailed data on the company's security practices and want to know whether the bank is certain that no sensitive account data was stolen. "Critical facts about the intrusion remain unclear, including details concerning the cause of the breach and the nature of any procedures adopted or contemplated to prevent further breaches," more than a dozen states said in a letter sent t
  
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• Review: Epson EX7235 Pro Projector

  14-01-2015 20:55
  
  Introduction and specificationsPortable projectors are important for users who want a light-weight device that doesn’t compromise image quality. The Epson EX7235 Pro ($599.99 USD, £385.24, AU$738.45) is perfect for this scenario. It is light (5.29 pounds), easy to use, and quick to boot. This is an ideal device for those who want to have a simple, portable projector for business or heavy-duty home use. In regards to portability, the ViewSonic PLED-W800, priced at ($693.31, £455.57, AU$851.26
  
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• Industry voice: Why data will be at the intersection of everything in 2015

  14-01-2015 20:45
  
  We are in the age of information and information mobility. Data will be at the intersection of everything in 2015; every industry, every innovation and every scandal. So what are the top seven data trends that will unfold over the coming year and shape 2015?1. Fragmenting into the cloudIn 2015 many businesses will be traversing the last mile of cloud adoption, moving traditional on-premise databases and architectures such as ERP and data centres into the cloud. This will amplify data fragmentati
  
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• Google's buildable Project Ara phone launching first in Puerto Rico

  14-01-2015 20:37
  
  Google will launch its modular Project Ara smartphone in a pilot program in Puerto Rico first, the company announced at its second Ara developer conference.The do-it-yourself phone will launch in Puerto Rico as a test market in the second half of 2015 through carriers OpenMobile and Claro.Project Ara lets users customize their phones with standalone modules for cameras, processors, storage, batteries, and other components that can be purchased individually and swapped out at will.The power of ch
  
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• Bruns-Pak: Datacenters vs. collocation vs. cloud computing

  14-01-2015 19:47 via zdnet.com
  
  Should your enterprise own its data center? Would it be better to use the services of a hosting or collocation company? Does the emergence of cloud computing make this decision easier?
  
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• Hands-on review: Sharp Aquos Beyond-4K Ultra-HD TV

  14-01-2015 19:43 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  There were some pretty impressive 4K TVs at CES 2015. LG had a brand-new 4K OLED. Sony showed off its super-slim XBR-X900C. And Korean manufacturer Samsung debuted its Quantum Dot-killer, the Samsung SUHD.But there was one TV that had twice as many sub-pixels as any of its competition: the Sharp Beyond 4K TV. Equipped with a new-and-improved 120Hz, Quattron+ panel, Revelation Upscaler and SPECTROS rich-color display perfect for HDR-quality streaming, Sharp's flagship tellie will take visual fide
  
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• Facebook expands into the office

  14-01-2015 19:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Facebook releases an app offering office workers a private alternative to email, challenging Microsoft's Yammer, LinkedIn and others.
  
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• Xiaomi: A bluffer's guide

  14-01-2015 19:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A bluffer's guide to smartphone upstart Xiaomi
  
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• Oh look, our first ever Facebook pics

  14-01-2015 18:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The latest craze is posting your first profile picture on Facebook and then nominating people, but why?
  
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• Review: BlackBerry Classic

  14-01-2015 18:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Introduction and designWhen you're down to 0.5% of the market share in global smartphone shipments, what do you do? If you're BlackBerry, the answer is go back to what you're best known for, namely full QWERTY keyboards, high-end security features and a focus on the business market.Enter the Classic, a handset that's very recognisably BlackBerry and which turns away from the iPhone-aping direction that last year's Z30 went in. The screen is touch-enabled but also square, geared more for spreadsh
  
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• Bitcoin price plunge sparks new crash fears

  14-01-2015 17:40
  
  Companies that borrowed real money to buy servers for mining the cryptocurrency may be selling reserves to repay loansThe price of one bitcoin has plunged by more than a quarter in just two days, prompting fears that the currency is in the midst of its fourth major crash.On Tuesday morning, the currency was being traded at $267 a coin on Bitstamp, the largest individual exchange. However, by late Wednesday afternoon that had collapsed to just $195 - a fall of 27%. Continue reading...
  
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• Charlie Hebdo: Turkey will block web pages featuring front cover

  14-01-2015 17:13
  
  Turkish court orders ban on accessing online news portals which feature satirical magazine’s depiction of the prophet Muhammad Continue reading...
  
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• New ZX Spectrum Goes On Sale In April

  14-01-2015 16:58
  
  A remodelled version of the classic 1980s ZX Spectrum console is to go into production in Nottinghamshire.
  
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• Disabled boy learns to play piano with his eyes using virtual-reality headset

  14-01-2015 16:57
  
  VR headset maker Fove is raising money to distribute its Eye Play the Piano device to Japanese schools for children with disabilities Continue reading...
  
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• Google battles lawsuit by Max Mosley over sex party images

  14-01-2015 16:38
  
  By Estelle Shirbon (Reuters) - Google Inc. sought on Wednesday to block a lawsuit filed against it by Max Mosley in the High Court in London over access through its search engine to images of the former motor racing chief taking part in a sex party. Google wants to avoid a legal obligation to monitor and limit the flow of data on the Internet. Mosley, who was present in court, argues the firm is breaching his fundamental right to privacy by allowing users to access the pictures. ...
  
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• Review: Sony Smartwatch 3

  14-01-2015 16:32 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Introduction and displayThe Sony SmartWatch 3 is more than just a smartwatch, it's also got ambitions as a sports watch thanks to the inclusion of GPS.It doesn't make the best first impression, as while the Moto 360 and LG G Watch R have shown that circular displays can work and look good too, the Sony SmartWatch 3 has stuck to a more conventional rectangular shape.But then it surprises in other ways. For one thing the mere fact that it runs Android Wear is a bit of a shock, given that Sony has
  
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• Review: Asus MeMoPad 7 ME572C

  14-01-2015 16:24 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Introduction and designWhen Asus built the Nexus 7 for Google, it produced one of the best budget tablets we'd seen. Clearly the Taiwanese manufacturer knows better than to mess with a winning formula. The Asus MemoPad 7 ME572C then, is the spiritual successor to the Nexus 7 and builds on it without really adding anything new.Currently the MemoPad 7 is only available at John Lewis for £179.95, putting it in a similar price range to the Amazon Fire HDX 8.9 (£199) and LG G Pad 8.3 (£169) but ab
  
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• Ryanair to test smartphone movies

  14-01-2015 16:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Ryanair says it plans to start streaming movies and TV shows to passengers' tablets and smartphones within the coming months.
  
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• Video game auction nears $100,000

  14-01-2015 16:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An auction on the site, which runs until Friday, has gone from $5,000 to nearly $100,000 in a little more than a week.
  
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• Tesco launches shopping app for Google Glass smart eyewear

  14-01-2015 15:57
  
  Seven months after revealing its wearable prototype project, supermarket chain says its app is ‘the beginning of the journey’British supermarket chain Tesco has launched a shopping app for Google’s Glass eyewear, with the aim of providing a faster way for people to add items to their online baskets within the company’s mobile applications.Tesco Groceries is a free download for the £1,000 smartglasses, which went on sale in the UK in June 2014 after a lengthy trial in the US.“The
  
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• Samsung finally releases Tizen-powered smartphone

  14-01-2015 15:13
  
  India is first market for a long-delayed handset running on the company’s homegrown operating system Samsung has at last released a smartphone running on the Tizen operating system in an effort to reduce its reliance on Android. The South Korean company first announced the platform in 2012 and a phone based on Tizen was set to go on sale in the second half of last year. However, its release was subsequently postponed to “further enhance” the operating system. Continue reading...
  
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• Facebook at Work: social network unveils 'pilot' for companies

  14-01-2015 15:00
  
  Tests underway for how employees can use news feed, groups and messaging for their work, but will be kept separate from personal profilesMany companies still ban staff from accessing Facebook during office hours, but the social network is hoping to win over the corporate critics with Facebook at Work, a version of its service designed for use within companies.The new service launched on Wednesday as a test for “pilot partners”, whose employees will be able to download the Facebook at Work mo
  
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• ZX Spectrum production set to begin

  14-01-2015 14:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Production is set to start on a remodelled version of the ZX Spectrum, which will come pre-installed with 1,000 classic game titles.
  
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• 'Choose your own adventure' Twitter game - review

  14-01-2015 14:34
  
  Call of Duty may be able to prop up a single-player campaign with a compelling online offering, but the Wanderer takes that and raises it to the next level
  “They’re here. Oh god! They’ve found you!” Do you run, or hide?That’s the choice that opens the Wanderer choose your own adventure, which uses a network of interconnected Twitter accounts to take the player on an enigmatic journey in which they escape – or don’t – from mysterious pursuers.All that glisters is not gold. The det
  
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• Facebook: share your first ever profile picture

  14-01-2015 14:26
  
  People are sharing their first ever profile picture uploaded to Facebook. Is this a good, fun trend? Or just vain? And we’d like to see readers’ photographs…
  Continue reading...
  
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• Smartphones, ultramobiles, and IoT drive semiconductor sales through 2015, says Gartner

  14-01-2015 14:21 via zdnet.com
  
  Worldwide semiconductor sales are expected to hit $358bn this year.
  
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• Phone bug wakes Australians early

  14-01-2015 14:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A computer systems bug causes smartphone alarms to trigger an hour early in Queensland, Australia, causing confusion.
  
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• ​Microsoft's super-cheap Lumia 435 and 532 ready to tangle with Android One

  14-01-2015 13:45 via zdnet.com
  
  Microsoft has unveiled two new Lumia smartphones that come in below the $100 mark, including the Lumia 435, it's cheapest smartphone to date.
  
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• Google Translate 'turns interpreter'

  14-01-2015 13:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Google says its Translate app can now act as an interpreter, with the addition of a real-time voice-translation mode.
  
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• Review: ZAGG Slim Book for iPad Air: A perfect 10

  14-01-2015 13:33 via zdnet.com
  
  I've used dozens of keyboards for the iPad Air; this is without a doubt the best.
  
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• A tale of two tablets: Is Nokia's N1 a return to form or a rerun of past failures?

  14-01-2015 13:28 via zdnet.com
  
  Nokia is having a second tilt at tablets with the release of the N1. Will it fare better than its last attempt?
  
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• 1D now more tweeted than Obama

  14-01-2015 13:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Louis Tomlinson's tweet to Harry Styles is now the second most shared tweet of all time behind that Oscar selfie.
  
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• My boyfriend in Dragon Age: Inquisition broke my heart when he told me he was gay

  14-01-2015 13:23
  
  The latest fantasy adventure from Bioware features a surprisingly deep and personal relationship system that players may literally fall in love with
  When I started playing Dragon Age: Inquisition, the latest narrative adventure from Canadian developer Bioware, I thought it was going to be like any other epic fantasy role-playing game – except that at some point, it would allow me to do the no-pants dance with a 10-foot man-bull voiced by Hollywood actor Freddie Prinze Jr.
  This is, after all
  
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• Microsoft Surface's real halo effect could come from SMBs

  14-01-2015 13:22 via zdnet.com
  
  Sales of Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 are expected to be strong and enterprise and SMB deals could keep the momentum rolling.
  
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• Online sexual blackmailer jailed

  14-01-2015 13:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A man who subjected dozens of young people to online sexual blackmail is jailed for 53 months.
  
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• Pro-Isis hackers attack North Korean airline Facebook page

  14-01-2015 13:13
  
  Hackers post image of black and white flag of Islamic State and brand Kim Jong-un a ‘crying pig’ on page promoting Air Koryo Continue reading...
  
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• Google Translate update seeks to break language barrier

  14-01-2015 13:02
  
  Improvements to the app’s Word Lens functionality means instant translation via your smartphone cameraYour smartphone can now instantly translate text across eight different languages, even without an internet connection, thanks to an update to Google’s Translate app.Google has updated the app’s Word Lens functionality so that words are translated instantly on your screen when you hold up your camera to them. Continue reading...
  
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• Samsung sells first Tizen phones

  14-01-2015 12:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Samsung launches the first smartphones to be powered by its Tizen operating system after aborted launches elsewhere.
  
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• Google and Microsoft fail to patch up security row

  14-01-2015 12:52
  
  Decision to publish details of non-critical flaw in Windows 8.1 before release of fix prompts angry response from Microsoft A war of words has broken out between technology giants after Microsoft accused Google of putting consumers at risk by publicising a vulnerability in its Windows code.The row centres on a fix for a flaw discovered in Windows 8.1 by Google on 13 October and reported to Microsoft. Continue reading...
  
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• Virtual debates about homelessness in Sim City hold up a mirror to real life

  14-01-2015 12:28
  
  A new art book, How to get rid of homeless, collects the virtual pleas for help from Sim City players, and rips them out of context to pose disturbing quetions about our attitude to homeless peopleAn Italian artist has written a 600-page, US$220, two-volume book on homelessness in the video game Sim City.Matteo Bittani’s “How to get rid of homeless” collects dozens of forum threads debating and discussing the homelessness that occurs in the game, highlighting the uneasy similarities betwee
  
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• ​Apple, Google, Intel, and Adobe find new deal in non-poaching suit

  14-01-2015 12:12 via zdnet.com
  
  A class action suit accusing four Silicon Valley heavyweights of conspiring to suppress tech workers' wages may come to a close following a new settlement offer.
  
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• The three keys to security: passwords, passwords, and passwords

  14-01-2015 11:54 via zdnet.com
  
  Insecure passwords continue to be the biggest system vulnerability for UK businesses.
  
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