Technology news

• Innovative electric go-kart packs Wi-Fi and GPS smarts - Roadshow

  11-02-2016 23:54 via cnet.com
  
  Silicon Valley startup creates an electric go-kart with high-tech smarts that both parents and kids can appreciate.
  
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• Uber agrees to settle safety lawsuits for $28.5 million

  11-02-2016 23:43
  By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Uber has agreed to pay $28.5 million to settle litigation brought by customers who alleged the ride hailing service misrepresented the quality of its safety practices and the fees it charged passengers, the company said on Thursday. The two proposed class action lawsuits said Uber charged passengers a "Safe Rides Fee" of as much as $2.30 per trip to support its "industry leading background check process." However, Uber does not use fingerprint identificati
  
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• Activision's revenue miss overshadows 'Call of Duty' success

  11-02-2016 23:03
  Activision Blizzard Inc's revenue and profit for the holiday quarter missed market estimates, as strong sales of its latest "Call of Duty" videogame failed to offset lackluster demand for role-playing title "Skylanders: SuperChargers". "Call of Duty: Black Ops III" was the highest-selling physical videogame in the United States for the whole of last year, according to research firm NPD, despite its launch in early November. Activision said performance of "Skylanders" took a hit from rising compe
  
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• Fruit and veg goes digital in South America

  11-02-2016 22:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The apps aiming to shake up grocery shopping in South America
  
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• Campaign signs get new life to help people with disabilities

  11-02-2016 22:41
  
  The oversized Carly Fiorina campaign signs along New Hampshire's Route 4 weren't enough to keep the Republican presidential hopeful's campaign alive past Tuesday's primary, but they could end up helping ...
  
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• VIDEO: The robot that camouflages itself

  11-02-2016 22:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC Click's Nick Kwek looks at some of the best of the week's technology news.
  
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• Last hours of armed standoff play out online for listeners

  11-02-2016 21:40
  
  The end of a nearly six-week-long standoff at an Oregon wildlife refuge played out live on the Internet, with tens of thousands of people listening as supporters encouraged the last armed occupiers to ...
  
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• Earnings bolster Cisco, but raise concerns for broader IT spending

  11-02-2016 21:36
  By Sarah McBride SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Networking giant Cisco Systems Inc reported it is weathering a global slowdown in information-technology spending, but signs potential customers are putting some projects on hold exacerbated concerns about broader IT growth. Cisco shares rose 10 percent on Thursday, bucking the overall market after it set a profit target in line with Wall Street expectations despite the weaker spending it noted around the world by businesses. Cisco Chief Executive Chuck
  
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• Review: Updated: Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 260

  11-02-2016 21:35 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Introduction and design ThinkPad fans have a few reasons to be excited right now, not least because Lenovo is putting a lot of effort into creating a new generation of ambitious business laptops that aim to blend the old and the new.There'll always be a new T-, W- or P-Series ThinkPad each year that makes a tweak here or there, but it's consumer-inspired models, like the ThinkPad Yoga 260, that are catching my eye.Sadly, Lenovo's latest laptop doesn't get a gorgeous OLED display, like the one un
  
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• Lyft settlement with drivers still in play as judge asks questions

  11-02-2016 21:34
  By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A proposed settlement between Lyft and its drivers came under close scrutiny from the U.S. judge overseeing it on Thursday, an indication that the agreement that maintains drivers as independent contractors is still in play. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco issued several written questions about the deal, including some on the key issue of whether drivers for Lyft should be independent workers or employees. Lyft and larger rival Uber fac
  
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• Google developing virtual reality headset: WSJ

  11-02-2016 21:13
  (Reuters) - Google is developing a virtual reality headset that works without a smartphone or computer, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The headset will include a screen, high-powered processors and outward-facing cameras, the Journal reported, citing one person. Alphabet Inc's Google currently sells a virtual reality device made of cardboard into which users slide in their mobile phones. Since the launch in 2014, Google has shipped five million Google C
  
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• The Netflix black market: why your login details may not be safe

  11-02-2016 21:07 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Users of the video streaming site are falling for phishing emails and fake sites that lure them into giving up their passwords – only to have them sold onlineHackers have long targeted credit card numbers, bank accounts and social media passwords. Now, like the rest of us, they want cheap Netflix. Continue reading...
  
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• Can Google say it pays close to the rate of UK corporation tax?

  11-02-2016 21:02 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Only by going back several years can the technology company say that the rate of tax it pays is anything like the rate of UK corporation taxIt was with a straight face that Google’s global head of tax, Tom Hutchinson told MPs on parliament’s public accounts committee that the search group’s worldwide tax rate over the past five years was about 19%.“To me, that appears to be a fair amount of tax to pay,” he said, deadpan. It was a number he and Google’s Europea
  
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• The beginning of time just got closer - CNET

  11-02-2016 20:58 via cnet.com
  
  Einstein was right. Scientists record gravitational waves created when two black holes collide.
  
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• If 'Deadpool' is a Valentine's Day movie, so are these - CNET

  11-02-2016 20:52 via cnet.com
  
  Commentary: High on heart-shaped candy, we take a fresh look at some action classics, from "Mad Max: Fury Road" to "The Silence of the Lambs."
  
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• Former Sainsbury's boss wades into tax row to criticise 'unfair' rates bills

  11-02-2016 20:52 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Justin King said traditional retailers paid huge bills for services, while online rivals paid little but received same benefits The former boss of Sainsbury’s has waded into the row over the tax paid by multinationals such as Amazon and eBay, saying it was unfair that that traditional retailers must pay huge rates bills for services such as roads and waste collection, while their online rivals paid little but received the same benefits.Business rates, said Justin King, are a bigger problem
  
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• Eight big movies even more romantic than 'Deadpool' (pictures) - CNET

  11-02-2016 20:44 via cnet.com
  
  Two baffled CNET reviewers do their best to look past the explosions in these classic rom-coms, from the touching Alan Rickman vehicle "Die Hard" to cutesy feel-good flick "The Hunger Games."
  
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• Want a job at Google's new self-driving car company? They're hiring

  11-02-2016 20:41 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  New job postings reveal how the company plans to bring its autonomous cars to market, pointing to a large manufacturing operationAlphabet, the holding company for Google, is pushing forward with plans to spin-out its self-driving car project into a standalone business making and marketing autonomous vehicles, according to new job listings.An advert posted last week for a marketing manager reveals that Alphabet – now the world’s most valuable technology company – intends to brin
  
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• The 2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro is an extreme off-roader (pictures) - Roadshow

  11-02-2016 20:35 via cnet.com
  
  Upgrades to the suspension, tires and wheels have the Tacoma TRD Pro ready to take on the toughest off-road trails.
  
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• 2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro Release Date, Price and Specs - Roadshow

  11-02-2016 20:35 via cnet.com
  
  Suspension upgrades, beefier tires and four-wheel-drive have the Tacoma ready to get down and dirty.
  
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• We designed a laptop bag and watched them make it video - CNET

  11-02-2016 20:32 via cnet.com
  
  Here's how you can win this bag from CNET.
  
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• Facebook director appointed to digital economy advisory group

  11-02-2016 20:31 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Social network’s Richard Allan and Brian McBride, former Amazon UK chief, to join government committee despite tax row The government has appointed a Facebook director and the former head of Amazon UK to a new advisory committee on the digital economy, despite the ongoing row over the amounts such companies have paid in tax to the UK exchequer.The appointments come days after it emerged that the Department for Work and Pensions plans to give a non-executive directorship to Amazon’s b
  
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• Ford's iconic Bronco throughout history (pictures) - Roadshow

  11-02-2016 20:18 via cnet.com
  
  Ford's original SUV began in the 1960s and continued its initial run through the mid-'90s. Now that its return is fueling the rumor mill, we thought we'd take a look back at the Bronco through its lifespan.
  
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• 10 ways to customize the taskbar in Windows 10 - CNET

  11-02-2016 20:15 via cnet.com
  
  How to get a sexy, streamlined taskbar.
  
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• Ford says it will add four new SUV nameplates in new segments in the next four years. - Roadshow

  11-02-2016 20:14 via cnet.com
  
  Ford doesn't see the SUV sales party ending any time soon. On the contrary -- it's adding four new nameplates globally over the next four years.
  
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• Google boss claims he does not know his salary in Commons grilling

  11-02-2016 20:02 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Public accounts committee chair tells internet company’s European boss Matt Brittin people are ‘very angry’ over tax dealGoogle’s executives have been accused of being out of touch with reality after the company’s most senior UK-based executive was unable to tell MPs how much he earned.Matt Brittin appeared before the public accounts committee on Thursday to be questioned alongside senior tax officials about £130m in back taxes that Google agreed to pay in a d
  
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• The young now most likely to use dating apps, Pew survey says - CNET

  11-02-2016 20:00 via cnet.com
  
  Technically Incorrect: It used to be they could meet in person. They're always around each other, right? No longer, it seems.
  
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• MySpace: site that once could have bought Facebook acquired by Time Inc

  11-02-2016 19:55 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Once the bastion of social networking, MySpace backed away from a ‘Space/Face’ merger in 2004. In the decade since, it has changed ownership three timesMySpace, Facebook’s one-time rival, has a new home. The fallen tech star is now owned by Time Inc, which acquired the company almost by accident after buying ad tech firm Viant.Viant, formerly Interactive Media Holdings, oversees a portfolio of businesses including ad-targeting firm Specific Media, video ad network Vindico, and
  
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• Chevrolet's Bolt is headed to Europe as the Opel Ampera-e - Roadshow

  11-02-2016 19:50 via cnet.com
  
  Despite an earlier flop with its Volt-based Opel Ampera, GM is headed back to Europe with the Ampera-e, a pure-electric hatchback based on the Chevy Bolt.
  
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• Iron Boy saves Sydney! And he's only 9 years old - CNET

  11-02-2016 19:47 via cnet.com
  
  A boy with cystic fibrosis saves the day in Sydney, with help from Make-A-Wish, dressing up as a pint-size Iron Man and fighting Ultron's henchmen.
  
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• Direct reservations help TripAdvisor book profit beat

  11-02-2016 19:35
  Travel review website operator TripAdvisor Inc reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit as more users reserved hotels using a new system that allows direct bookings from its website. The results follow a strong showing by online travel company Expedia Inc and indicate that travel demand in key markets such as the United States and Europe was resilient despite concerns of slowing global economic growth. TripAdvisor's shares surged as much as 19 percent to $64.72, registering the
  
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• Congress gives final OK to banning local Internet taxes

  11-02-2016 19:35
  
  Congress voted Thursday to permanently bar state and local governments from taxing access to the Internet, as lawmakers leapt at an election-year chance to demonstrate their opposition to imposing levies ...
  
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• Watch tonight's Hillary Clinton-Bernie Sanders PBS Democratic debate right here - CNET

  11-02-2016 19:22 via cnet.com
  
  PBS is hosting the next Democratic debate tonight. Here's how you can tune in.
  
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• Gravitational waves do exist, and astronomy will never be the same - CNET

  11-02-2016 19:22 via cnet.com
  
  The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory has obtained the world's very first proof of the existence of gravitational waves, ushering in a new era of discovery.
  
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• Eyefluence dreams of your eyes controlling VR without hands or blinking video - CNET

  11-02-2016 19:20 via cnet.com
  
  How eye-tracking in virtual-reality could make things happen like magic.
  
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• How to set default programs in Windows 10 - CNET

  11-02-2016 19:19 via cnet.com
  
  Need to get your BMP files to automatically open in MS Paint? Here's how.
  
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• 2017 Kia Niro Release Date, Price and Specs - Roadshow

  11-02-2016 19:18 via cnet.com
  
  Kia targets 50 mpg combined and a more dynamic driving experience with its latest hybrid entry.
  
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• Relive Nintendo's glory days with Duck Hunt in virtual reality - CNET

  11-02-2016 19:15 via cnet.com
  
  A fan project leads to a virtual reality version of the Nintendo classic, and the end result is glorious. In VR, the hunting dog laughs at you from every direction. ​
  
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• VTech 'is responsible' for kids' data

  11-02-2016 18:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The UK's data privacy watchdog confirms that VTech remains responsible for protecting users' data despite changes to its terms and conditions.
  
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• Batman v Superman final trailer promises epic superhero battles

  11-02-2016 18:12
  
    With just six weeks to go until Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opens in cinemas, Warner Bros has dropped an explosive final trailer for the superhero punch up.By: Matt Kamen, Continue reading...
  
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• Lack of exercise in mid life may age brain as well as body

  11-02-2016 18:09
  
  Bad news for those of you avoiding the gym -- you now have even fewer excuses. That's because a new study from the Boston University School of Medicine suggests that a lack of exercise during middle age is just as likely to affect the brain as the body. By: Emily Reynolds, Continue reading...
  
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• 2016 Sprinter Worker Release Date, Price and Specs - Roadshow

  11-02-2016 18:09 via cnet.com
  
  With straightforward packaging and a low cost of entry, Sprinter's new Worker van is a great way to get into a full-size cargo van without necessarily breaking the bank, even if you opt for a fully loaded model.
  
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• Vatican promotes Lent on Telegram

  11-02-2016 18:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Vatican is using the controversial instant messaging app Telegram to promote Lent
  
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• Livestream your gunshot wound? It may save your life - CNET

  11-02-2016 18:00 via cnet.com
  
  The GoodSAM app connects you with a verified medic nearby and sends a video feed of your injuries, helping first responders better prepare.
  
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• How much does Google's European boss really earn?

  11-02-2016 17:43 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Matt Brittin said that he couldn’t tell MPs how he is paid. He’s under no obligation to reveal the figure - but we can make an educated guessGoogle’s European boss prompted incredulity when he told MPs on the public accounts committee on Thursday that he could not disclose a figure for his pay.Matt Brittin did not make clear whether he really did not know the figure or simply did not want to reveal it. Continue reading...
  
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• Chrome on Android to get physical with new IoT beacon support

  11-02-2016 17:41 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Google will soon roll out support in Chrome on Android for its discovery project for the Internet of Things.
  
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• Paul McCartney creates Skype emojis

  11-02-2016 17:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Sir Paul McCartney has composed music for a series of 'audio emojis' on Skype
  
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• Review: Honor Band Z1

  11-02-2016 17:25 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Introduction, display and designAsk the average person on the street to name a fitness tracker and they'll probably say "Fitbit". The brand has become synonymous with the form factor, much like MP3 players became known as iPods to the general public. But Fitbit isn't your only option. The Honor Band Z1 is a useful reminder that Fitbit isn't the only manufacturer catering for those who just want a simple fitness tracker. A number of companies are vying for that space on your wrist.But the Honor B
  
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• Head of Google in Europe grilled by UK lawmakers

  11-02-2016 17:17
  
  LONDON (AP) — A British parliamentary committee has grilled Google's president of European operations, questioning in blunt terms whether the Internet giant had paid its fair share of taxes.
  
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• How I quit my smartphone addiction and really started living

  11-02-2016 17:00 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  I don’t like being bothered or bossed around. I hated that anyone, for any reason, could interrupt my life, and I could interrupt my life just the sameThe phone rings: it’s my friend checking to see if I can pick her up on the way to a dinner party. I ask her where she is and as she explains, I reach as far as I can across the countertop for a pen. I scribble the address in my trusty notebook I keep in my back pocket. I tell her I’ll be at her place in about 20 minutes, give or
  
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