Tay, Microsoft’s racist chatbot, made a tired and emotional return last night March 31, 2016 The robots are already turning against humanity – although for now, they're sticking to causing red faces. Tay, an artificial intelligence chatbot on Twitter which Microsoft was forced to shut down last week after it started, among other things, spouting racist diatribes and denying the holocaust, made an ignominious return last night. After a silence lasting almost a week, [...]
London has the worst 4G download speeds – but these are the best and worst networks March 31, 2016 Ever feel like it's taking forever to download the latest episode of your favourite TV show to catch up with on the way to work? Londoner's in fact suffer the worst download speeds of five major cities in the UK tested for 4G mobile network performance by Ofcom. Read more: One simple map showing UK's mobile coverage by poscode Residents of the [...]
iPhone SE review: Does Apple’s miniaturised phone live up to the hype or does size really matter? Here’s our day one verdict March 30, 2016 I feel like a giant. I feel like a god. My fingers feel as long and slender as a concert pianist’s. My thumbs reach right to the top corner of my phone screen for the first time in years. I feel alive. Apple today releases the iPhone SE, which looks almost identical to 2013’s diminutive iPhone [...]
Apple’s iPhone SE is the world’s best little phone March 30, 2016 Apple today releases the iPhone SE, which looks almost identical to 2013’s diminutive iPhone 5, with its 4” screen (how tiny!) and chamfered edges. Only little details like the gleaming Apple logo, matt edges and duel flash allow you to tell them apart by sight alone. It’s a sign that the Cult of Big may [...]
Gett is buying black cab firm Radio Taxis March 30, 2016 On-demand black cab app Gett is buying up a long-established black cab fleet, upping its stake in the battle for London's roads. Gett has made an all-cash offer for Radio Taxis owner Mountview House Group. It's understood to be a multi-million pound deal, however, the terms and value have not been disclosed. "Radio Taxis has a long, proud history and we [...]
The Sharp Foxconn deal is go – here’s four things you need to know about two major Apple iPhone suppliers uniting March 30, 2016 The Foxconn Sharp deal has been as on-again off-again as Elon Musk's marriage – but the deed is finally done after much back and forth, finally uniting two of Apple's major suppliers. 1. The deal Hon Hai Precision, or Foxconn as it's more widely known, will pay 389bn yen (£2.4bn) for a 66 per cent stake in Sharp. That amount is [...]
Tinder swipes right to acquire contact management startup Humin and “accelerate our product roadmap” March 30, 2016 Dating app Tinder has swiped right on Humin, agreeing a takeover deal for the contact management startup. Tinder's founder and chief executive Sean Rad said the company and its apps would be used to "accelerate our product roadmap". Like Tinder, Humin was founded in 2012. It has two contact management apps – Humin Contacts and Knock Knock. [...]
Revealed: Here’s how much Google’s top boss Sundar Pichai gets paid March 29, 2016 Newly minted Google boss Sundar Pichai can clock the past year up as a rather successful one career-wise. Not only did he become the boss of one of the world's biggest tech companies, he landed almost $300m (£200m) in stock and pay in the past year to go along with that impressive promotion. He was handed $99.8m in equity which will vest in 2017 after [...]
Seals with smartphones in Orkney and three more animals embracing technology – from bees to pigeons March 29, 2016 Scottish seals are getting smartphone-style technology to help scientists track their lives at sea. The cute sea mammals around the coast of Orkney will be connected to the so-called Internet of Things via devices attached to their fur. It will be able to send important data about its habits back to scientists at the University of St [...]
Take that, banks: The UK’s online financial marketplaces attracted $253m in VC money last year as LendInvest, Transferwise and Funding Circle made their mark March 29, 2016 Financial marketplaces – crowdfunding platforms and other fintech sites – have proven irresistible to the City, it turns out, after figures released today showed venture capital funding for the sector has shot up five-fold in the last two years. Data released today by payment startup Stripe showed investors are backing developers in their bid to reshape how people buy and sell [...]
