Debunking the dropout-hero narrative June 19, 2019 It often happens. In meetings, at networking events, or even around dinner tables. “So, where did you go to college, Andrew?” “MIT,” I respond. Naming the Institute usually draws impressed looks. “But I left before graduating to build my own company.” Choosing not to complete university historically evoked suspicion, even sympathy. But that is not [...]
Google Calendar down: Worldwide outage hits users June 18, 2019 Google Calendar has suffered an outage, leaving desktop users with no idea what meeting they should be rushing to next. The Calendar tool, used by millions of overly busy office workers worldwide, is currently down. Google’s G Suite status page marked the Calendar orange, meaning it is suffering from service disruption. “We’re investigating reports of [...]
Pokemon Go creator Niantic buys London startup Sensible Object June 18, 2019 Pokemon Go developer Niantic has acquired London-based games studio Sensible Object for an undisclosed sum as it continues to expand its gaming platform. Read more: Pokemon Go creator Niantic valued at $4bn Sensible Object, which uses voice AI and augmented reality (AR) in its games, will continue life as Niantic London after the acquisition. Founder [...]
Sainsbury’s Bank outage: Customers locked out of online banking June 18, 2019 A Sainsbury’s Bank outage spurred customers to take to Twitter today to complain they could not access their accounts online. Read more: The UK banks with the most IT outages Neither the supermarket’s new app nor online banking service wereworking for customers, with Down Detector reporting dozens of complaints this morning. An outage map showed [...]
Ad industry ‘faces brain drain’ amid creativity crisis June 18, 2019 The advertising industry could face a brain drain as employees increasingly look outside adland for their fill of creative work, according to a report published today. Research by ad agency Impero revealed 62 per cent of people in the industry have interviewed for a job in another sector over the last 12 month, while the [...]
Social media firms team up with advertisers to fight online harms June 18, 2019 Social media giants including Facebook and Google have formed a new alliance with brands and ad agencies in a bid to crack down on harmful material online. A total of 16 brands, including Unilever, Diageo and Procter & Gamble, have signed up to a new working group that will lobby publishers and platforms to remove [...]
Facebook launches cryptocurrency with backing of Uber, Visa and Spotify June 18, 2019 Facebook has today published the white paper for its widely anticipated cryptocurrency initiative, with the founding support of several major businesses across multiple sectors. Named libra after the Roman unit of measure once used to mint coins, the cryptocurrency will be managed by an independent eponymous association consisting of 28 initial founding companies. Alongside Facebook [...]
Small steps to giant leaps: The new space age is just beginning June 18, 2019 Next month marks the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landings, possibly one of the most important moments in human history. That one small step was not only a giant leap for mankind, it also became a giant leap for technological innovation, as President John F. Kennedy’s mission to put a man on the moon, announced [...]
London named top city for EU ‘tech for good’ June 17, 2019 London’s burgeoning socially-responsible tech sector has made it the top city in Europe for so-called ‘tech for good’, thanks to stellar support for entrepreneurs and small businesses. The European Digital Social Innovation Index by Nesta, published for the first time this year, found London came out on top in a ranking of 60 EU cities [...]
Huawei expects revenue to drop by billions amid US ban June 17, 2019 Huawei international smartphones sales dropped 40 per cent last month as the Chinese tech firm felt the immediate impact of the US ban. Chief executive said sales were expected to drop to $100bn (£79.5bn) this year and in 2020 and that production would be reduced by $30bn in anticipation of the decline. The revised revenue [...]
