Technology news

• Amazon's UK business paid just £11.9m in tax last year

  24-06-2015 19:29
  
  Online retailer’s Luxembourg unit took £5.3bn sales from British internet shoppers, a rise of 14%, but Amazon.co.uk Limited recorded profit of just £34.4m
  Amazon’s booming UK business paid just £11.9m of tax last year, while the online retailer’s Luxembourg unit took £5.3bn of sales from British internet shoppers without being subject to UK tax, according to company filings. The Amazon group posted a strong UK performance in 2014, with overall takings rising by more than 14%
  
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• Google executive dies in Cannes

  24-06-2015 19:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A Google executive has been killed in an accident in Cannes, the search company confirms.
  
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• Royalty-creating app targets Spotify

  24-06-2015 18:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A New York-based electronic pop band creates a web app that artificially generates royalties on Spotify.
  
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• Newsbeat's mobile app is here!

  24-06-2015 17:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Now you can keep up with all the news from the Newsbeat team at Radio 1 and 1Xtra on our brand new app.
  
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• Will being able to 'unsend' email save the day?

  24-06-2015 17:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Will being able to 'unsend' email save the day?
  
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• Journalist Laurie Penny banned from Facebook for using pseudonym

  24-06-2015 17:43
  
  New Statesman columnist tweets displeasure after being kicked off social media site, saying she used alias to avoid being trolledFacebook has been accused of putting users at risk “of rape and death threats” by a journalist who was banned from the social networking site for using a pseudonym.Laurie Penny, a contributing editor at the weekly political magazine the New Statesman, who also writes for the Guardian, said she had been kicked off Facebook for using a fake name to avoid being trolle
  
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• Five awkward emails Google's 'Undo Send' will save you from

  24-06-2015 17:40
  
  From the unintended reply all to the email bitching about your boss that you accidentally send to your boss, here’s how we can now be savedThe wheel, the telegram and now, Google’s “Undo Send” email feature. There’s nothing like an invention that truly changes the fabric of life. Even better are those that save us: hydraulic braking, say, or rehab.This is the news that the tech giant is rolling out a feature allowing users to pull back emails – up to 30 seconds after hitting send. Th
  
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• Who uses Reddit in the UK?

  24-06-2015 17:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  What's most popular on the "front page of the internet"?
  
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• Google executive dies in tragic accident at Cannes Lions festival

  24-06-2015 17:05
  
  Employee understood to be member of company’s UK team
  A Google executive has died in an accident at the Cannes Lions festival. The employee is understood to be a member of Google’s UK’s marketing team and is understood to have died in a traffic accident.Google, which in recent years has become one of the biggest companies to attend the annual advertising industry award event, released a brief statement. “We lost a loved and respected member of our team,” said a spokeswoman for the comp
  
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• Meet Sarah Schaaf, queen of Imgur

  24-06-2015 16:28 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  And why the company puts a premium on community.
  
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• Gmail adds an 'undo send' email tool

  24-06-2015 16:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Gmail adds an "Undo Send" email tool to stop the wrong emails being sent.
  
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• Kim Kardashian says her Instagram account is 'off limits' to ads

  24-06-2015 16:00
  
  Reality TV star says she is choosy about promoting products, and reveals husband Kanye West inspired her to launch a computer gameKim Kardashian West has revealed that she never allows her Instagram account to be made part of promotional brand deals – and why she owes her husband Kanye West for pushing her to break into the world of video games.The reality TV star said that her single biggest social media bugbear is those celebrities who over-promote products on Instagram.Continue reading...
  
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• Indies now back Apple Music, while Pharrell becomes first exclusive

  24-06-2015 15:50
  
  Independent bodies WIN and Merlin give licensing deals their backing, while Happy star Pharrell Williams gives streaming service his new Freedom singleTwo independent label bodies have given Apple’s new music streaming service their backing, after the company abandoned its plans not to pay royalties during its three-month free trial.Meanwhile, Pharrell Williams has been confirmed as the first exclusive for Apple Music, which launches on 30 June, with his new single set to debut the same day on
  
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• ​Kong firm Mashape unveils real-time analytics for APIs and microservices

  24-06-2015 15:00 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  The company behind the Mashape.com API hub is now offering its internal analytics software in SaaS and on-premise form to developers and DevOps teams.
  
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• Michael Westbrook obituary

  24-06-2015 14:49
  
  My father, Michael Westbrook, who has died aged 88, was one of the first professionally trained electronics engineers in the UK and, during a long career in the field, invented and patented a number of useful devices, including a fuel injection system for cars and a photoelectric fog detector for ships. He also became an early expert in the technology behind electric vehicles.Born an only child into a farming family in Preston Candover, Hampshire, to George and Phyllis (George’s cousin, also b
  
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• AT&T Samsung Galaxy S6 Active hands-on: Battery life and protection all Galaxy S6 owners should have

  24-06-2015 14:47 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  The Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are great smartphones, but both have limited battery life and lost the water-resistance found in the Galaxy S5. The Galaxy S6 Active is the device you really wanted.
  
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• US probes 'insider trading' hackers

  24-06-2015 14:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Hackers who target company emails to get secret financial information are being investigated in the US.
  
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• Samsung disables Windows Update, leaving laptops open to hackers

  24-06-2015 14:17
  
  Samsung software updater disables Microsoft’s built-in Windows Update, which delivers critical patches for security bugs and holes among other fixesSamsung is disabling Windows Update on some of its computers, leaving users exposed to security holes and bugs according to an independent Microsoft support engineer.
  A system designed to help update Samsung’s pre-installed software, called Samsung SW Update, used a program called “Disable_Windowsupdate.exe.” to, as the name implies, disable
  
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• Chinese tech firms fight over Wi-Fi router with 'pregnant women' setting

  24-06-2015 13:50
  
  Xiaomi accuses rival Qihoo of scare tactics after it markets router complete with safety mode for women expecting a childMove over Apple and Samsung, the latest tech rivalry is in town – and it’s to do with a router aimed at pregnant women.Chinese tech firm Qihoo has launched an upgrade to its P1 router, which features three settings: “wall penetration”, “balance” and … er, “pregnant women”. Continue reading...
  
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• Apple reaches indie streaming deal

  24-06-2015 13:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Apple reaches a deal with two leading indie music groups, paving the way for thousands of labels to join its new streaming service.
  
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• Eachine 6,000mAh power bank: Small, shiny and powerful external charger

  24-06-2015 13:35 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  The four ounce Eachine 6,000mAh charger gives you a quick charge and extra LED torch light functionality whenever you need it.
  
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• TouchArcade Patreon raises wider issues of online journalism economics

  24-06-2015 13:35
  
  Games site turns to crowdfunding to survive, matching music site Drowned In Sound – their struggles may spark a debate about independent specialistsMobile game reviews website TouchArcade has launched a fundraising campaign on crowdfunding site Patreon, admitting that the evolution of app store marketing and online advertising has put “our existence in jeopardy”. It’s the latest independent journalism site to try crowdfunding as a solution, with the US website’s struggles and strategy
  
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• Minecraft on Hololens: the future of gaming is right in front of your eyes

  24-06-2015 13:25
  
  Microsoft demoed two fascinating Hololens experiences at E3: a robot invasion game and a holographic version of Minecraft. We played them bothThere are robot insects bursting in through the walls. Everywhere I look, the plaster is cracking, then suddenly, out they spew, their metallic claws aimed at my jugular. It sounds like the sort of techno-hallucinogenic nightmare that filmmaker David Cronenberg may concoct in one of his woozy sci-fi horror flicks. But it isn’t. This is a demo for Microso
  
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• Most-powerful Ubuntu smartphone yet goes on sale from tomorrow

  24-06-2015 13:03 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  The Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition will be available to buy across Europe for €299 - but only via random invitations to interested buyers.
  
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• EC Scoreboard shows massive growth in LTE and high-speed broadband availability in Europe

  24-06-2015 11:53 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  LTE availability has almost tripled to 79.4 percent in the past two years, and 68 percent of EU homes can now get fast (30+Mbps) fixed broadband, according to the European Commission.
  
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• Boris Johnson calls for mini-Knowledge for Uber drivers

  24-06-2015 11:43
  
  Mayor speaks out in defence of black-cab drivers and says Transport for London are consulting on language and geography tests for minicab firmsBoris Johnson, the mayor of London, has suggested that Uber drivers should have to pass language and geography tests before being allowed to operate in the city.Speaking at his last ever State of London debate, Johnson came to the defence of black-cab drivers, who have been locked in a rivalry with cab app Uber since the firm came to the UK. Continue read
  
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• Electronic music website Resident Advisor takes its club listings mobile

  24-06-2015 11:00
  
  RA Guide app released for iPhone with Android to follow, promising a more dance-focused alternative to apps like Songkick and DiceElectronic music site Resident Advisor has launched its first app for its community of fans, taking its listings for clubs and concerts mobile.The free RA Guide app has been launched for iPhone, with an Android version to follow at a later point, and will provide listings for more than one million artists, venues and events, and provide a ticket-selling service. Conti
  
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• Google calls for anti-Isis push and makes YouTube propaganda pledge

  24-06-2015 10:59
  
  Executives vow video site will not be used as a platform for ‘brutally violent propaganda produced by terrorists’, but argue against blanket censorshipGoogle has issued a call to arms against Isis, arguing that the terror group has engineered a “viral moment” on social networks with propaganda and beheading videos that needs to be challenged.Two of Google’s top executives – legal chief David Drummond and policy director Victoria Grand – used the Cannes Lions advertising festival to
  
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• An end to email shame? Gmail's 'Undo Send' comes to the masses

  24-06-2015 10:49
  
  Popular feature that recalls email after sending will become standard part of Google’s webmail after years in beta mode If you’ve ever drunkenly emailed your devotion to a former partner or accidentally used reply-all on an email thread to thousands of colleagues, good news: Gmail’s “undo send” feature has come to the masses.The feature, which can prevent massive social embarrassment and help avoid long chats with the HR department about what you just mistakenly sent to a colleague, is
  
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• VIDEO: The lab hoping to make stronger metals

  24-06-2015 10:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC Click talked to scientists behind the BP International Centre for Advanced Materials in Manchester
  
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• Google launches free streaming service

  24-06-2015 10:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The company already has a subscription streaming service but is launching a free version of Play Music.
  
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• Samsung allegedly disabling Windows Update for its own updater

  24-06-2015 09:41 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  According to Microsoft MVP Patrick Barker, Samsung laptops are being sold to users with a custom software updater that disables Windows Updates -- without any user interaction.
  
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• Review: Jawbone UP3

  24-06-2015 08:45 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Introduction and DesignJawbone had big plans for its UP3 fitness tracker. When it was first announced, Jawbone was happy to boast that the UP3 would be the first 24/7 tracker you could use to not only track your steps throughout the day, but also track your laps while swimming.But it turns out that Jawbone's eagerness to create an all-encompassing tracking device were not to be. As production scaled up, the company couldn't actually deliver on its claims the device was waterproof.So, after a lon
  
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• Dromana Estate to acquire Fastbrick for robotic building technology

  24-06-2015 08:28 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Dromana Estate has announced that it will be acquiring Fastbrick Robotics, nearly a year after its last takeover deal fell through with CloudCentral.
  
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• Empired ups guidance following AU$65m in contracts

  24-06-2015 04:39 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Following recent contractual successes, ASX-listed IT firm Empired has projected a profitable FY15, with a positive outlook for 2016.
  
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• Samsung heir apologizes for MERS spread in South Korea

  24-06-2015 04:09 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong has apologised for a Samsung hospital's role in the outbreak of South Korea's Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.
  
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• Google adds Undo Send as default setting to Gmail

  24-06-2015 03:42 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  While it's still unavailable on hosted emails for companies, Gmail web users will be able to cancel a sent message seconds after sending it with the Undo Send setting.
  
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• Optus hands over customers' numbers to websites

  24-06-2015 03:19 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Optus has admitted that it hands over the mobile phone numbers of customers to websites that have a commercial relationship with the company, without its customers' knowledge.
  
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• Apple's design inspired by Chinese consumers' taste: Cook

  24-06-2015 02:56 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  ​The CEO of the US technology giant has said that the company began launching products in the colour gold in consideration of Chinese consumer tastes.
  
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• Global Mode dead in New Zealand as ISP settles

  24-06-2015 00:16 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  ISP service that unblocks access to international content will end in New Zealand at the beginning of September.
  
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