Uber drivers are more productive than taxi drivers – National Bureau of Economic Research March 14, 2016 Uber drivers are more productive than taxi drivers, according to a new paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research in the US. However, this conclusion has been made based on figures from five US cities – Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Seattle – so London's black cab drivers should not feel [...]
Missguided website crash: 50pc off sales causes technical problems for online retailer and leaves customers unable to complete orders March 14, 2016 The website of online retailer Missguided has suffered technical problems after announcing a sale leaving many of its customers unable to complete orders. An offer for 50 per cent off appears to have left the retailer, which counts Asos and Boohoo.com among its rivals, struggling to cope. Shoppers turned to Twitter to express their disappointment and frustration [...]
Mars mission: The Exomars launch date is here – everything you need to know about when and where to watch the take off live stream and what the red planet mission is all about March 14, 2016 European scientists are right now shooting a rocket into space from the deserts of Kazahkstan with the ambitious intention of landing it on Mars. The ExoMars mission, a collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russia, will send an orbiting spacecraft and rover on its journey firstthing on Monday morning. By October, seven months later, they will conduct studies to shed light on the mysterious [...]
SSE sells stake in its Scottish Clyde wind farm March 14, 2016 Energy giant SSE has sold a stake in its Clyde wind farm to Aim-listed Greencoat UK Wind and a pensions partnership for £355m. UKW will acquire 28.2 per cent of Clyde and GLIL will acquire 21.7 per cent in the deal which is expected to complete on complete on 18 March. SSE will continue to hold 50.1 per cent. One the [...]
Student lender Future Finance announces fintech investments totalling £119m as it reports rocketing demand for loans March 14, 2016 Student lender Future Finance has raised £119m from fintech investors. Investors in Future Finance Loan Corporation – which has loaned nearly £25m to students since May 2014 – include QED Investors, Blackstone Strategic Opportunity Fund and Colchis Capital. The new investment takes the company's total funds to £185m. Read more: The future of education finance is here [...]
AlphaGo fourth Go game result: Google DeepMind’s artificial intelligence just made a mistake and lost to human player Lee Sedol March 13, 2016 The machines this week triumphed over man, as Google DeepMind's artificial intelligence (AI) took on the top – and very human – player in the ancient chess-like Chinese game of Go, winning three of their matches. However, the fourth bout between them has reversed the tables and resulted in Lee Sedol triumphing over AlphaGo for the first time. The technology "pressured AlphaGo into a [...]
Budget 2016: Chancellor George Osborne to announce UK will test driverless cars on motorways from next year March 12, 2016 Driverless cars could transverse the UK's motorways for the first time in 2017, bringing Britain a step closer to its goal of having autonomous cars fully operational by 2020. Chancellor George Osborne is expected to announce plans in next week's Budget to test vehicles on motorways and say the government will bring forward proposals to remove regulatory [...]
New iPhone SE launch and rumours: Everything we know so far about Apple’s event on 21 March March 11, 2016 Apple is set to showcase its new iPhone SE – 'special edition' – at a launch event on March 21, finally putting the rest rumours about the design and specifications of the smartphone that have been circling the internet for months. The iPhone SE is rumoured to have a 4-inch display while keeping many of [...]
General Motors accelerates in driverless car race as it buys Cruise Automation March 11, 2016 General Motors (GM), owner of such marques as Vauxhall, Cadillac and Chevrolet, has just come closer to taking pole position in the race to develop a driverless car, after it bought San Francisco-based startup Cruise Automation. The company, which is developing autonomous vehicle software, was founded in 2013. It has tested its technology "in San Francisco's [...]
US justice department files iPhone encryption case response, accusing Apple of creating “barriers” against FBI March 10, 2016 The United States Department of Justice has filed its latest response to Apple in the legal fight over iPhone encryption. In the document, filed today, the DOJ wrote: "Here, Apple deliberately raised technological barriers that now stand between a lawful warrant and an iPhone containing evidence related to the terrorist mass murder of 14 Americans. [...]