Budget 2016: Tax breaks for Airbnb hosts and eBay sellers as George Osborne rewards sharing economy bedroom entrepreneurs March 16, 2016 Millions of people renting out their homes to holidaymakers on Airbnb or selling items on eBay will be rewarded with tax breaks on earnings up to £2,000. George Osborne announced the so-called "digital tax break" for those bedroom entrepreneurs forming part of the sharing economy in his Budget statement today. "We’re going to help the new world of micro-entrepreneurs [...]
Pay-by-selfie? Amazon wants to patent the facial recognition technology March 16, 2016 Soon you could be paying for cheese – and the bill for anything else – by saying cheese for a selfie, with a number of firms working on replacements for pins and passwords. Major companies such as Mastercard, HSBC as well as startups are playing around with technology that uses facial recognition for security. Now Amazon has [...]
WanDisco share price plummets despite narrowing losses and reducing costs March 16, 2016 Shares in the big data software company WanDisco have taken a dive on the (AIM) dancefloor despite narrowing its losses and reducing costs. Chief David Richards' confidence failed to reassure investors and shares slipped more than 20 per cent. Sales fell 48 per cent for the year to the end of December, but deferred revenue from multi-year contracts resulted in [...]
Apple’s new iPhone 7: Leaked pictures reveal rumoured dual camera March 16, 2016 Apple fans (or anyone else about to go shopping for a new smartphone) – behold the latest iPhone ahead of the tech company's secretive launch in less than a week's time. New leaked pictures of the iPhone 7 claim to show Apple's newest handset for the first time, and reveal the phone will have two rear cameras. [...]
Oracle share price up in after-hours trading as software company reveals $10bn share buyback alongside results for its third-quarter of 2016 financial year March 15, 2016 Share price in Oracle was up in after-hours trading today after the software company announced an extensive buyback offer alongside its most recent set of results. The company revealed that it had pulled in revenue of $9bn (£6.4bn) during its third quarter of its 2016 financial year, down three per cent from $9.3bn the year before, [...]
Google Maps update integrates black cab ordering option via Gett and Hailo alongside Uber in iOS and Android app March 15, 2016 Anyone searching for journey information on Google will now be offered fares in one of London's black cabs in map search results, giving the traditional industry a leg up in its battle with Uber. The latest Google update for iPhone and Android phone users will include integration with Gett and Hailo, the London-based apps for ordering a [...]
Apple’s Siri and other virtual assistants from Google, Microsoft and Samsung can’t help with tough questions about depression, suicide, rape, and domestic violence, study finds March 15, 2016 Siri may be able to tell you the weather forecast and show you where the nearest Pret is, but Apple’s digital helper and those from the likes of Google, Samsung and Microsoft, are unable to help with some of life’s toughest questions. Who hasn’t googled those niggling little health symptoms? But now that we use those [...]
British Gas Boiler IQ will text you when it’s faulty with latest smart home device after Hive March 15, 2016 A boiler that can diagnose its own faults and text you about it is the latest device from British Gas in its mission to make the nations homes smarter. BoilerIQ uses sensors to identify data which can reveal a problem before a customer has even noticed. They'll then receive a message to let them know something's [...]
Top 10 UK cities for mobile performance: Move to Manchester to make your phone work better March 15, 2016 It's time to leave London and move to Manchester if you want your mobile to work better. The northern city is ranked the best city in the UK for using a mobile for calls, texting and data, leaving the capital languishing at number 13. The performance is based on reliability, data speeds across the networks EE, O2, Three [...]
A third of business chiefs think they’ll be hacked with telecoms and utility companys most at risk March 15, 2016 More than a third of business chiefs in the UK believe their companies will be hacked at some point in the next 12 months and it's telecoms and utility firms that are most at risk. More than half of top executives working in the two sectors believe they will be targeted – more than those in the banking, [...]