Interview with a robot: Life, love and everything as seen by a sentient machine June 30, 2015 Do androids dream of electric sheep? Actually, they are far more concerned with their own mortality. That’s how it is with Bina48, at least. She's a humanoid robot and, just like us humans, she suffers from the occasional nightmare. One, where she is back in her box having been disassembled and used to build other [...]
City minister Harriett Baldwin wants financial services to secure economic recovery – but not at the expense of trust June 30, 2015 Economic Secretary to the Treasury Harriett Baldwin said she wants the UK to retain a "globally competitive finance sector", but added that it must also focus on building trust. Financial services are "visibly successful", contributing to economic growth at a high level, she said. Her vision for the sector, however, is for it to play [...]
Microsoft sells display advertising business to AOL and map technology to Uber June 30, 2015 Microsoft has sold its mobile and video advertising businesses to AOL in the US, UK and seven other key markets as it looks to focus on search advertising. Read more: Verizon swoops for AOL in $4bn bid to boost ads AOL, recently purchased by US telecoms giant Verizon, will take control of all display advertising on [...]
Uber bosses questioned by French police amid government attempts to enforce ban June 29, 2015 Two executives of the controversial taxi app Uber have been questioned by French police as the startup faces a government crackdown following violent protests Simphal Thibault and Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, general managers for France and Western Europe respectively, are being questioned over the US company's activities, a French prosecutor said, amid tighter restrictions on the ride-sharing app in [...]
Broadband prices more important than speed for buyers June 29, 2015 Price, not speed, is the most important factor to customers when considering a broadband package, according to a new survey. Whether a package allowed unlimited usage or not was the next most important factor, before consumers considered speed. All those broadband adverts seem to not be having much effect though, as advertising is deemed the [...]
Barclaycard’s bpay wearable band and contactless devices let you pay with just a swipe of your wrist, key or phone June 29, 2015 Shoppers heading to the tills and travellers passing through ticket gates will soon be able to pay with just a simple swipe of the wrist using Barclaycard's new wearable technology. The new bpay band, due to launch next month, will bring an end to rummaging through bags for contactless cards and is one of three [...]
“Upmarket Airbnb” Onefinestay beds $40m funding from hotel group Hyatt, Intel Capital and others June 29, 2015 A London startup which offers Airbnb style rentals with the full service of a top end hotel has bedded $40m (£25.5m) in funding to fuel expansion. Global hotelier Hyatt has invested in the London-founded startup, along with Intel Capital, Quadrant Capital Advisors and angel investors Joss Kent, Richard Chen, and Mark Dempsters, in the series [...]
Bill-paying app Velocity raises $12m in venture funding June 28, 2015 A smartphone app which lets diners pay for their meal and drinks without requesting the bill has raised $12m (£7.6m) in one of the largest first funding rounds for a tech business in the UK. Velocity, which was founded by two childhood friends in March 2014, has already signed 300 high end restaurants to [...]
Elon Musks’ SpaceX resupply rocket explodes just few minutes after take-off June 28, 2015 SpaceX's latest mission didn't last long – its Falcon 9 rocket exploded just a few minutes after being launched from a base in Florida this morning. Read more: SpaceX launch Q&A: Expert explains the science behind landing a reusable rocket The company, which was set up by entrepreneur Elon Musk in 2002, said the [...]
The second machine age is coming, and it’ll be bigger than the industrial revolution, says AI boss June 26, 2015 Before the industrial revolution, work was a very different experience for most humans. We were on our feet, working in the fields and interacting with people rather than technology – a world away from the desk-based computer jobs we have now. Read more: Darpa invents technology to let humans see beyond reality And once [...]
