Uber treats drivers like Victorian “sweated labour”, says Frank Field in gig economy report December 9, 2016 Frank Field might be more commonly known as one of the thorns in Sir Philip Green's side, but Uber might now have a bone to pick with him too. The Labour MP and chair of the Work and Pensions Committee has uploaded a report to his site analysing the working relationship between Uber and its drivers, [...]
Shares in Nintendo jumped again today as anticipation around its Super Mario mobile game builds December 9, 2016 With the release of its hotly anticipated Super Mario iPhone game slated for next week, Nintendo's shares have got a power-star boost. Shares surged as much as five per cent immediately following the announcement of the game's release to Apple's App Store on 15 December. Read more: Yes, really. Japan's Prime Minister dressed up as Super [...]
London’s gig economy has grown 72 per cent since 2010 December 9, 2016 You might have suspected it given the influx of cyclists zooming by with Deliveroo boxes, and new research has confirmed it: the capital's gig economy is booming. In fact, it's grown 72 per cent, across the transport and storage sector, since 2010. The gig economy, driven by casual work, has become hugely popular in London, according to analysis [...]
Mark Carney is right; the robots are coming – but that doesn’t mean we should fear them December 9, 2016 On Tuesday governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, warned that up to 15m British jobs could be replaced by robots amid a merciless technological revolution. Unsurprisingly, the announcement sent headline writers into delirium and administrative staff up and down the country into a state of pre-Christmas anxiety rivaled only by that of a [...]
Facebook’s review of the year: What were the topics we discussed online in 2016? December 8, 2016 What sticks out about 2016 for you? Is it the massive political upheaval? The incredible number of global superstars who passed away? Or Pokemon? In case you need a bit of help recalling the events of what's been a fairly intense 12 months, Facebook has helpfully revealed the topics that got the most attention online [...]
Apple bought 9 startups in 2016. Here’s what they do December 8, 2016 Apple buys a lot of companies, but it doesn't talk much about them, making it hard to keep track. So we put together nine of its acquisitions reported this year. This list is not exhaustive, we know for sure some purchases have never been revealed. As expected, artificial intelligence companies remain the dominant category, but [...]
Top tech firms have formed a virtual reality supergroup December 8, 2016 Several of the biggest names in technology are joining forces to push forward innovation in the burgeoning world of virtual reality. Facebook, Google and Samsung are among the top tech companies to form the Global Virtual Reality Association (GVRA), tasked with promoting the global growth of the industry, which is expected to be worth $162bn by [...]
Minicab drivers in London are protesting against English language tests December 8, 2016 Minicab drivers in the capital will protest today against new rules on language tests which have been called "completely unfair". Drivers, represented by GMB union, will demonstrate at City Hall against the introduction of English language requirements by Transport for London. Hundreds of drivers are expected to turn out to protest against the "ludicrously priced" exam. All [...]
The Kodak Ektra half-asses two things when it should have just whole-assed one thing December 7, 2016 Approximately one hundred years ago, back when it was extremely novel and cool to have a mobile phone with a built-in camera, we would call such contraptions ‘cameraphones’. Nowadays we live in the future and we expect everything we own to have some type of camera embedded in it, but the new Kodak Ektra feels [...]
PlayStation VR review: An affordable entry into the world of virtual reality entertainment December 7, 2016 The PlayStation VR has made a right mess of my living room. Sony’s new headset requires the use of roughly seven thousand bits of cable, which snake and coil around your TV and your console and your neck like rubbery snakes. Truly, I have never felt more at risk of accidental self-strangulation than when reviewing [...]