Driverless cars, artificial intelligence and blockchain: Meet the Gartner Hype Cycle of 2016 August 16, 2016 Driverless car technology is careering towards the trough of disillusionment after hitting the peak of hype, according to Gartner analysts monitoring the progression of the world's emerging technology trends. The firm's annual Hype Cycle tracks where trends such as virtual reality, robotics, personal voice assistants and, of course, driverless cars, are in their journey from talked-about technology to [...]
Apple is increasing its investment in China August 16, 2016 Apple is planning to increase its investment in China and will build its first ever research and development facility in the country, the tech company has revealed. Boss Tim Cook is visiting the country and commented on the plans during a meeting with China's vice premier Zhang Gaoli, according to China's official state broadcaster. "We look [...]
If security breaches are inevitable, what are businesses to do? August 16, 2016 "It's not if, but when your company will be breached.” This is an oft-repeated line in the cyber security industry, and it puts business executives in a catch 22 position. They care about security and know how important it is, but the message they are hearing is: “the hackers will always win”. Bosses are left [...]
Deliveroo: Startup surprised and sorry after pay row August 15, 2016 One of Britain's hottest startups, Deliveroo, has apologised to its drivers for poorly communicating a new trial pay structure which had led to protests in central London. UK managing director Dan Warne told City A.M. the company was surprised and upset over the matter, but admitted something had clearly gone wrong in the way it consulted drivers on the changes, which it says have already [...]
Twitter cracks $20 for first time since March August 15, 2016 Twitter's stock has cracked the $20 mark for the first time in months and for only the second time since January, after opening as much as four per cent higher on Monday morning trading in New York. The beleaguered social network was likely buoyed by reports that it is in the midst of negotiating an ambitious deal [...]
London cabbies welcome a review of new Uber rules August 15, 2016 London's black cab drivers expect the Mayor of London to look again at the way the industry is regulated in the capital after arch-rival Uber called on the Mayor of London to do just that. Business groups and entrepreneurs yesterday backed a rethink, calling on Sadiq Khan to review the new rules governing Uber and other minicab firms [...]
Sage leads FTSE 100 fallers after data breach August 15, 2016 Shares in Sage opened more than four per cent lower and as the biggest faller on the FTSE 100 on monday morning after it revealed nearly 300 UK company records may have been compromised. The accountancy software firm told affected customers on Friday that their information — including employee bank details and salary information — may [...]
Fintech is thriving in Edinburgh too – and it’s great news for the whole of the UK August 15, 2016 One of the good things about the Rio Olympics, quite aside from the sport, is the fact that it reminds us of four years ago when we hosted the Games. It was a month of celebration and positivity for the whole UK, not just London, and it showcased the best that Britain has to offer. [...]
New fintech strategy group will help Scotland capitalise on sector growth August 14, 2016 | City Talk A new national fintech strategy group has been launched by Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE) in Edinburgh, to help Scotland capitalise on the growth within the sector. The SFE Fintech Strategy Group has brought together over 30 leading figures from the world of fintech in Scotland and met for the first time this May in Scotland's [...]
How Edinburgh-based firm Krotos gave Avengers: Age of Ultron a monster August 14, 2016 | City Talk An Edinburgh-based audio software specialist is attracting increasing interest from film, TV and game studios thanks to its innovative vocal processor software. Krotos has developed audio software that is now being used by Hollywood film and game studios. The company’s software – Dehumaniser – is a vocal processor which allows the production of high quality [...]