CES 2016 trends: Five things we learned from the biggest tech show on earth – from VR to voice controlled smart homes January 11, 2016 Unlike previous years, where much of the focus was on smartphones and tablets, the “bell of the ball” at this year’s CES in Las Vegas was virtual reality and the intelligent home. Virtual reality steps into the spotlight While virtual reality still has hurdles to overcome, including developing a sustainable content creation model and reliable way to monetise [...]
Another hint at the worst-kept secret ever? Apple just registered two decidedly automotive domains – suggesting cars are in development January 8, 2016 Apple's decision to create a car may be the worst-kept secret since – well, the Apple Watch – but here's another giant clue that's what it's working on. Apple blog MacRumours has spotted the tech giant has registered a clutch (see what we did there?) of suspiciously automotive-sounding internet domain names, including Apple.car, Apple.cars and Apple.auto. Hmmm. [...]
Moganshan project in pictures: The tree-covered building Heatherwick Studio is planning for Shanghai January 8, 2016 Images of one of what one of Heatherwick Studio's most ambitious projects yet – a 300,000 sq ft tree-covered building in the heart of Shanghai – could look like have been unveiled. Based on a 15-acre site near Shanghai's arts district, the striking Moganshan development is being built by the minds behind the London Routemaster [...]
WhatsApp users targeted by cybercriminals in new malware attack January 7, 2016 A malware campaign specifically targeting businesses and customers using the WhatsApp messaging app has been uncovered. Cybercriminals are sending emails that spread malware when clicked. Craftily disguised as genuine WhatsApp content, the emails contain an attached zip file with malware. Comodo Antispam researchers first discovered the phishing scam, which uses a number of different email [...]
Facebook Messenger app passes 800m users and David Marcus predicts decline of SMS and text messaging January 7, 2016 Facebook is predicting the decline of SMS in 2016 as it revealed its Messenger app has passed the 800m user milestone. David Marcus, the vice president of Facebook messaging products said there is still "much more opportunity ahead" and the app, which launched in March 2014, was still in its early days. The figures mean Messenger [...]
Twitter, Facebook, Google and US tech giants blast “snooper’s charter” and encryption demands of Draft Investigatory Powers Bill January 7, 2016 Facebook, Google and Twitter are among the US tech giants to blast the so-called snooper's charter, raising several concerns about the new legislation for monitoring communications. The tech companies, which took the unusual step of making a submission to the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill committee together and also includes Yahoo and Microsoft, highlighted concerns over the cross-border [...]
CES 2016: The weirdest new gadgets from the CES consumer tech conference January 7, 2016 An activity tracker for your dog £39.99 – pitpatpet.com “What has your dog done today?” is the faintly accusatory tagline for this pooch-centric activity tracker. The PitPat attaches to your dog’s collar and sends live information about your canine friend’s movements to your phone. A built-in accelerometer monitors how often he’s running, walking, playing or [...]
The Ehang 184 Jetsons-style drone can carry people in ambtious plans for driverless flying cars January 7, 2016 We've already had a batmobile-style car, now CES has delivered a drone that can carry people, turning the famous flying car from cartoon The Jetsons into reality. The futuristic, if slightly terrifying sounding vehicle, has been unveiled by Chinese tech company Ehang and manages to combine the top two trends predicted to dominate this year's biggest tech show – drones and [...]
Good-looking women get better grades (but for men, looks don’t matter) January 6, 2016 In an ideal world, brains and hard work would be all that influenced your grades, but it turns out that for women there’s an unexpected factor at play: their looks. Researchers have found that unattractive women were given significantly lower grades than their more good-looking counterparts. Male students’ results, however, were unaffected by their looks. [...]
Oculus Rift: March shipping date and price for UK and 20 countries revealed by Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg January 6, 2016 Mark Zuckerberg has revealed Facebook's Oculus will ship its first virtual reality device on 28 March after becoming available for pre-order today. Tech fans will be able to get their hands on the headset in these 20 countries initially: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States. Shops will also stock Oculus from April and the company said it had [...]