Technology news

• Wynyard Group readies new cyber-crime platform, ASX listing

  24-08-2015 23:28 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  New Zealand-based crime analytics software company announces an increased $17.6 million first half loss.
  
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• Digital surveillance 'worse than Orwell', says new UN privacy chief

  24-08-2015 20:50 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Joseph Cannataci describes British oversight as ‘a joke’ and says a Geneva convention for the internet is neededThe first UN privacy chief has said the world needs a Geneva convention style law for the internet to safeguard data and combat the threat of massive clandestine digital surveillance.Speaking to the Guardian weeks after his appointment as the UN special rapporteur on privacy, Joseph Cannataci described British surveillance oversight as being “a joke”, and said t
  
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• Do Netflix, Spotify and Facebook know me as well as they think?

  24-08-2015 19:32 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Websites try to suggest everything from your next best friend to your next best shirt. But are these recommendations a help or a hindrance? Four writers look at how algorithms shape their online livesAlexis PetridisContinue reading...
  
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• Ashley Madison hack: police say suicides may be linked to leak – video

  24-08-2015 18:24 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Toronto police say at least two suicides may be linked to the hacking of infidelity website Ashley Madison which exposed exposed tens of millions of people’s personal information. Bryce Evans, acting staff superintendent, says the reports are still unconfirmed but possibly associated with the leak. Evans also details threatening messages sent to the site’s administrators, including the message ‘Time’s Up’, as the information was released Continue reading...
  
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• ICYMI: Valley stocks take a beating

  24-08-2015 18:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A round-up of interesting technology-related links you may have missed over the past weekend.
  
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• The dangerous spike in unicorns (no, not that kind)

  24-08-2015 18:01 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Tech companies valued at £1bn or more, once as rare as unicorns, are increasingly common – raising fears of another dotcom bubbleName: Unicorns.Age: About two. Continue reading...
  
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• Review: Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac

  24-08-2015 18:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Introduction, interface and collaborationMicrosoft Office may have started life on the Mac before it ever came to Windows, but for many Mac users it feels like that was the last time we ever had anything 'Officey' before our Windows-using brethren.This release of Office, then, is mostly about closing the gap with Office 2013 for Windows, in terms not only of feature parity and document compatibility but also by harmonising the interface across Mac, Windows and mobile – a boon to productivi
  
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• Munich wants Windows back for good

  24-08-2015 17:34
  
  Windows is back in favour in the German city of Munich as it explores the possibility of scrapping Linux after using the open source operating system for 11 years.First reported by Tech Republic, two senior staff members at the City Council have reportedly sent a letter to mayor Dieter Reiter to request Linux's removal as the OS in favour of Windows due to a wealth of complaints from staff members.One of the biggest gripes among staff is that Linux combined with OpenOffice or LibreOffice is ofte
  
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• HDR starts here - Amazon Prime launches high dynamic range

  24-08-2015 17:24
  
  Amazon has just announced the UK availability of high dynamic range (HDR) content on its Amazon Prime Instant Video platform.Starting today any Prime Instant Video subscribers can access Amazon Original series in HDR at no extra cost...so long as they have a compatible TV to watch them on.Amazon initially launched its first HDR content to its US subscribers on Samsung SUHD televisions back in June and is now bringing the service to the UK. Like the US launch content is mighty thin on the ground
  
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• Toronto police report two suicides associated with Ashley Madison hack

  24-08-2015 17:23 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Local police in Canada say two suicides are being investigated together because of the leak of millions of customer profiles for extramarital dating serviceUnconfirmed reports suggest that two people in Toronto have killed themselves over the Ashley Madison hack, local police said in a briefing providing details about the beginning of the leak. “As of this morning, we have two unconfirmed reports of suicides that are associated because of the leak of Ashley Madison customers’ profile
  
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• Gary Marshall: Happy birthday, Windows 95 - the OS that changed it all

  24-08-2015 17:15
  
  Windows 95 is twenty today. It's hard to imagine it now, but the launch was greeted with the sort of hype that only Apple generates today: the Empire State Building lit in Windows colours, midnight queues outside PC shops, wall-to-wall news coverage and that Rolling Stones riff. To some, the arrival of Windows 95 heralded a brave new world of personal computing; to others, it was the beginning of a long period of stagnation for the PC platform.There's no doubt that if you were running Windows 3.
  
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• How to survive when using your smartphone on your summer hols

  24-08-2015 17:10
  
  This may come as a shock...It's an all too familiar story: after a week relaxing in the sun you come home to find a nasty surprise on your door mat. No, not a smelly something from next-door's obnoxious kids, but a mobile bill that's higher than your hotel bill. 'Bill-shock' is a term that strikes fear into the hearts of even the most experienced travellers. Earlier this summer one O2 customer ran up a £15,000 bill while asleep in South Africa, while another Facebook-ed her way through &po
  
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• Torrent sites ban Windows 10 due to privacy concerns

  24-08-2015 17:05
  
  Torrent sites are dropping Windows 10 downloads left and right in reaction to Microsoft's recent privacy policy changes raised concerns in the Pirate Bay.First reported by WinBeta, torrent trackers taken the downloads of the OS offline following a controversial Microsoft Services Agreement update, which allows Microsoft to block pirated games and other content.Torrent groups have taken to the internet to make various complaints about privacy in relation to Windows 10 and one such outfit, BB, cla
  
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• Uber blocked on biggest Chinese messaging app

  24-08-2015 16:36 via feeds.theguardian.com
  WeChat has quietly disabled all of the minicab app’s accounts, apparently as part of the country’s taxi wars Uber has been blocked on China’s most popular messaging app WeChat, as the battle between taxi-apps in the country heats up.The blocking comes shortly after the leading Chinese minicab app, and Uber competitor, Didi Kuaidi, raised $2bn of private equity funding from a raft of investors including e-commerce websiteAlibaba and the state development corporation CDC. Continu
  
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• TechRadar Deals: 10 best Xbox One Deals in the UK - August 2015

  24-08-2015 16:30
  
  It's really not hard to find a great Xbox One deal at the moment.Retailers are discounting the console all over the place, offering constantly cheaper prices for standalone consoles while putting together better and better bundle packages with games and services.Cheapest Xbox One standalone price: The absolute cheapest Xbox One deal you can get right now is for the standalone console (without Kinect and with no games bundled) for just £239.99 at smartbuydirect on eBay.Compare all Xbox One
  
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• The great Uber fairness fallacy: as a driver, how do you bargain with an app?

  24-08-2015 16:24 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Businesses have been shedding their identity as employers for at least 30 years, profiting from the work performed by ‘independent contractors’ without the cost, risk or aggravation of actually dealing with employeesWhining about cab drivers transcends national boundaries. From New York to Sydney, the complaints are indistinguishable. Sitting among 450 of the world’s leading labour law scholars at the University of Amsterdam in June, I met a young Belgian scholar who confided t
  
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• Flash is dying a death by 1,000 cuts, and that's a good thing

  24-08-2015 16:24 via feeds.theguardian.com
  The end of Adobe’s video carrier is nigh as Amazon marks the first of the big-name advertisers to block Flash ads, while Google’s Chrome will ‘intelligently pause’ them
  Adobe’s Flash, hated the world over for slowing down computers, containing more holes in security than swiss cheese and stubbornly being the video carrier of choice until recently, is dying.
  Video players are migrating to other systems, even if Microsoft’s Silverlight isn’t much better. H
  
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• 'Suicides' over Ashley Madison hack

  24-08-2015 16:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Two individuals associated with the leak of Ashley Madison customer details are reported to have taken their lives, police in Canada say.
  
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• Nintendo has designed a new console that doesn't use discs

  24-08-2015 16:17
  
  Nintendo is expected to reveal its next console, codenamed the 'NX', next year, and a recently published patent filing might give us our first hint of what to expect.The patent, filed for in February and published in August (then surfaced on Neogaf), reveals the design for a system that does not include a disc drive, though does include input for a memory card and support for an external HDD.While that might agitate some gamers, who knows - maybe Nintendo will make its entire back catalogue avai
  
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• TechRadar Deals: 10 best PS4 deals in the UK - August 2015

  24-08-2015 16:00
  
  Looking for the best possible PS4 deal? Want to find an amazing PS4 bundle? You've come to the right place.We check every retailer every day to track down all the best prices on the PS4 console, whether it be for the standalone console or bundle deals with included games and/or peripherals.Follow @TRDeals on Twitter for the latest offersIf you want a bundle deal, check out our PS4 bundle deals chart to find the best one for you.Do keep checking back as well, because the PS4 price is fluctuating
  
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• Updated: Windows boot screens through the ages

  24-08-2015 15:44
  
  IntroductionWindows 10 finally arrived late last month, so we thought it would be a good time to take a trip down memory lane to check out those sepia-tinged boot screens of the past 30 odd years.The boot screen is the first thing you see when it comes to any new operating system, and as such is one of the best ways to have a glance back at all the different versions of Windows that have been released.It's true enough that Windows boot screens aren't exactly a scientific representation of the pe
  
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• Review: Updated: Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet

  24-08-2015 15:40
  
  Introduction, design and displayIf Android tablets are to have a shot at taking on the iPad, Sony's new challenger is exactly what they need.The tablet market has become a very different place since Sony last launched a 10-inch tablet. Where then the Xperia Z2 Tablet was a credible threat to the iPad in a new and exciting arena, the Xperia Z4 Tablet has landed in a very different world.Right now there isn't really any Android device standing up against the almighty iPad Air 2, with the Nexus 9 n
  
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• Netflix links up with Softbank for Japanese launch

  24-08-2015 14:51 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Partnership with telecoms firm is part of US streaming service’s plans to complete a global rollout by the end of 2016Netflix has linked up with telecoms firm Softbank for the Japanese launch of its TV streaming service next month.The deal will allow Japanese consumers to sign up to Netflix in SoftBank’s retail stores, large electrical retailers and via the company’s website and call centres by adding the cost of the service to their Softbank bill. Continue reading...
  
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• $300 Cyanogen-powered ZUK Z1 coming to Europe, US in September

  24-08-2015 14:22 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  A new budget smartphone with high-end specs is set to arrive next month.
  
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• Ashley Madison boss emails examined

  24-08-2015 13:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A swathe of emails from the inbox of Ashley Madison's chief executive is being inspected by security experts and journalists.
  
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• ​EU quizzes publishers about Google's advertising practices

  24-08-2015 12:59 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Europe is asking web publishers whether the search giant's advertising contracts are anti-competitive.
  
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• 'Experiment, incubate, pivot': Making the most of disruptive technology

  24-08-2015 12:46 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  How can established businesses embrace disruption before it sinks them? Tech chiefs share their secrets.
  
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• Swatch CEO: Apple Watch is ‘interesting toy’ that can't last more than 24 hours

  24-08-2015 12:43 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Chief executive of Swiss watchmaking group says its smartwatches will last nine months per battery and not collect user dataThe chief executive of watchmaking corporation Swatch has dismissed the Apple Watch as an “interesting toy”, as he set out the company’s smartwatch plans.
  Nick Hayek Jr said that later this year Swatch will sell smartwatches that last nine months per battery. The company launched its first smartwatch in 2003 in partnership with Microsoft, and have sold con
  
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• Pokemon championships duo arrested

  24-08-2015 12:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Two men due to compete in the event have been arrested at the venue after firearms, ammunition and a hunting knife were found in their car.
  
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• Are tablet computers harming our children's ability to read?

  24-08-2015 11:43 via feeds.theguardian.com
  The last few years have seen the biggest change in how young people spend their time since the invention of the television – but is it a good thing?Since the invention of the television, a box you could put a child in front of and leave them passively entertained, nothing has changed how children spend their time as much as the tablet computer. Four years ago, just 7% of 5- to 15-year-olds in the UK had access to a tablet. By last year it was 71%. Some 34% of this age group even owned the
  
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• ​Amazon kills off Flash ads amid industry push towards HTML5

  24-08-2015 11:41 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Amazon says it's ditching Flash ads for its own advertising platform thanks to browser settings in Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.
  
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• ​Amazon ditches Flash ads amid ad industry push towards HTML5 ads

  24-08-2015 11:41 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Amazon says it's ditching Flash ads for its own advertising platform thanks to browser settings in Chrome, Firefox and Safari.
  
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• Apple admits fault causes 'blurry' photos on some iPhone 6 Plus

  24-08-2015 11:09 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Company blames bad iSight camera component but says that only ‘a small percentage’ of devices are affectedIf you’ve had a run of blurry photos taken with an iPhone 6 Plus smartphone, the problem may not be your photographic skills.Apple has launched a camera replacement programme for the device after a number of owners complained about the quality of photos taken using its iSight camera. Continue reading...
  
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• Twitter blocks access to political transparency organisation Politwoops

  24-08-2015 10:47 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Group that archives deleted tweets from legislators has its access to social network shut offTwitter has shut off access to 31 accounts that chronicled and archived the deleted tweets of politicians, diplomats and embassies around the world.The move follows the social network’s earlier blocking of Politwoops US, which archived deleted tweets by American lawmakers. Continue reading...
  
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• South Korean watchdog gives Microsoft-Nokia approval after long patent abuse review

  24-08-2015 09:28 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  South Korea's Fair Trade Commission has approved Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia under conditions that put a number of restrictions on Redmond's use of patents against local companies.
  
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• VIDEO: Stems: A new music format

  24-08-2015 09:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  LJ Rich gets to grips with the new stems music format
  
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• ACCC cuts call, SMS charges for telcos

  24-08-2015 09:07 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  The ACCC has made the final decision on how much telcos can charge each other for receiving calls and text messages on their networks.
  
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• NBN costs balloon as Malcolm Turnbull says further $15bn may be needed

  24-08-2015 08:32 via feeds.theguardian.com
  The communications minister maintains earlier figures were known to be unreliable as they were based on inadequate financial informationThe costs of building Australia’s largest infrastructure project, the national broadband network, could rise by as much as $15bn according to a new corporate plan released on Monday.The communications minister, Malcolm Turnbull, acknowledged the forecast costs associated with the project had risen as he released the new corporate plan of the NBN Co –
  
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• Games reviews round-up: God of War 3 Remastered; Rare Replay; King’s Quest

  24-08-2015 08:00 via feeds.theguardian.com
  A revamped classic fails to measure up while a box set brings 30 of Rare’s best titles together – and the latest in a long-running serial cannot fail to please
  PS4, Sony, cert: 18 Continue reading...
  
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• ​Telstra Health secures new hospital contracts in Asia

  24-08-2015 07:34 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Telstra Health has secured four new contracts with hospitals in Malaysia and Thailand where it will be responsible for implementing its CloudMed Arcus hospital information system.
  
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• Intel's next frontier: Powering robots

  24-08-2015 06:38 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Intel largely missed the mobile revolution, but the company is now looking past mobile to robots and IoT. And in the process, it's also looking more like a software company.
  
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• Intel puts engineering and financial muscle behind OpenStack with $100m Mirantis funding boost

  24-08-2015 06:01 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  The OpenStack open-source cloud-computing platform stands to gain more enterprise features thanks to a major financial and engineering deal between Intel and Mirantis.
  
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• NBN to cost up to AU$56bn in peak funding

  24-08-2015 04:54 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  NBN has announced that it will cost between AU$46 billion and AU$56 billion in peak funding to roll out Australia's national broadband network.
  
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• Pokémon world championships: two arrested after firearms found in car

  24-08-2015 03:43 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Two men suspected of making social media threats stopped trying to enter competition in Boston, and guns and ammunition susequently foundBoston police have arrested two men heading to the Pokémon world championships after firearms and several hundred rounds of ammunition were allegedly found in their car.The men were originally suspected of making violent social media threats to people attending the gaming event in Boston. Security at the convention reported the threats on Thursday and th
  
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• Quickflix backs out on Chinese content company acquisition

  24-08-2015 03:37 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Streaming-video company Quickflix has cancelled its plans to acquire a Chinese content company, less than a month after revealing a 14 percent drop in customer base for Q2 due to the launch of Netflix in Australia.
  
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• iiNet boosts net profit and revenue by 11 percent in final results

  24-08-2015 02:54 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  iiNet reported that during the 2015 financial year total profit reached AU$70 million, due to an increase in customer numbers, and an expansion in products and services.
  
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• NBN doubles revenue and users in AU$1.5bn loss

  24-08-2015 01:58 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Over the past twelve months, NBN has more than doubled its revenue to AU$161 million as costs also appear set to rise for the network rollout.
  
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• NBN doubles revenue and users in AU$1.1bn loss

  24-08-2015 01:58 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Over the past twelve months, NBN has more than doubled its revenue to AU$161 million as costs also appear set to rise for the network rollout.
  
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• Teenage girls' mental health overlooked by parents, survey finds

  24-08-2015 01:16 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Parents worrying about drug and alcohol abuse by daughters than more prevalent issues such as cyberbullying, self-harming and finding a jobParents are worrying more about drug and alcohol use by their teenage daughters than the more prevalent “mental anguish” they face every day, a survey has suggested.Young girls said mental health, cyberbullying and jobs were the biggest worries in their lives and an increasing number considered self-harm and depression as the most significant heal
  
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