Games round-up: Observation and Heaven’s Vault reviews June 5, 2019 Observation Platform: PC, PS4 Observation is one hell of a proposition: a follow-up to the superlative indie horror game Stories Untold, set in a space station designed by alumni of Alien: Isolation, in which you control a rogue AI inspired by HAL from 2001. And for the most part, it lives up to that promise. [...]
Microsoft and Oracle team up to take on Amazon Web Services June 5, 2019 Microsoft and Oracle will connect their cloud services in an effort to woo big businesses and take on market leader Amazon Web Services (AWS). The combined service will enable users to connect Oracle’s autonomous databases with Microsoft services, such as Azure analytics and artificial intelligence. The new high-speed link between the two company’s data centres [...]
Surface Studio 2 review: Microsoft’s shape-shifting iMac killer June 5, 2019 The Surface Studio 2 is the latest addition to Microsoft’s Surface range, which began in 2012 with a series of hybrid tablet computers. But while those first devices were popular, it wasn’t until the launch of the Surface Book laptop in 2016 that the company really started upping their design game, and stealing Apple’s brushed [...]
Samsung cuts output at its last Chinese smartphone factory June 5, 2019 Samsung will cut production at its last remaining smartphone factory in China, as its loses ground on domestic rivals. Read more: Trump: US and UK will reach an agreement on Huawei The reduction comes just six months after the South Korean firm announced the closure of its factory in Tianjin. Another factory in Shenzhen closed [...]
Apple asks developers to put its new sign-in button above Facebook and Google’s June 5, 2019 Apple is set to ask developers to put its new “Sign in with Apple” button above those of rival services Google and Facebook on iOS apps. Apple unveiled its new login button at its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday. Many users sign in to apps using their Facebook or Google accounts because it saves them [...]
Government must do more to protect UK from cyber attacks, MPs warn June 5, 2019 The government has not done enough to protect the UK from the growing risk of cyber attacks, MPs have warned. The influential Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today published a report criticising the government for not making sufficient progress in its cybersecurity strategy. Read more: Less than one per cent of cyber crimes lead to prosecution [...]
Softbank earns $11bn for selling some of its huge Alibaba stake June 4, 2019 Japan’s Softbank will book a pre-tax profit of $11.1bn (£8.75bn) for selling part of its stake in Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba. The sale forms part of a three-year-old deal to sell assets in order to buy British chip designer ARM for $32bn in 2016. Read more: Uber IPO: Shares slide on second day of trading [...]
Trump: US and UK will reach an agreement on Huawei June 4, 2019 US President Donald Trump has said his country will be able to work out any differences with the UK over Chinese tech firm Huawei. Read more: Huawei to sell undersea cable business amid trade feud with US Speaking to reporters in London during a three-day state visit to the UK, Trump denied the US would [...]
Shares fall in Google parent Alphabet as Justice Department probe looms June 3, 2019 Shares in Google parent Alphabet took a beating this afternoon after reports that the company is about to be hit with a competition investigation. The company tumbled more than six per cent as markets opened in New York, its biggest drop since 30 April when it showed low revenues in its financial results. Read more: [...]
Swansong: Is Apple about to kill iTunes at WWDC 2019? June 3, 2019 If reports are true, iTunes could be about to play its last ever track at Apple’s WWDC 2019 event tonight. The beloved music player has been going strong for 15 years since its introduction in 2004. Read more: Apple takes on Netflix with TV streaming service But Apple CEO Tim Cook wants to boil it [...]