Foxconn delays $4.3bn takeover of Sharp which would unite major Apple iPhone suppliers February 25, 2016 A billion dollar deal that would create a merger between two of Apple's biggest suppliers has already hit a road block just hours after the takeover was confirmed. Foxconn has put the $4.3bn (£3.08bn) deal to takeover Sharp on hold, according to several reports, after receiving new information regarding financial risks. The struggling Japanese electronics maker earlier gave [...]
Cyber crime rockets: Shocking rise in senior staff attacking businesses as threat levels continue to soar following hacks at TalkTalk and Sony Pictures February 24, 2016 Cyber crime targeting British businesses has rocketed 130 per cent over the past two years, with so-called “silver fraudsters” stepping up their fraudulent activity. The full scale of computer crime is laid bare in a new investigation by accountancy giant PwC that ranges from senior managers dipping their fingers in the digital till to large-scale cyber [...]
HP share price rises despite revenue dip in first results since spin off from Hewlett Packard Enterprise February 24, 2016 HP reported a 12 per cent decline in revenue during the first quarter of 2016, with sales dropping to $12.2bn (£8.75bn) from $13.9bn in the same three months of 2015, as demand for PCs and printers fell away. Shares in the company rose by 1.3 per cent in after hours trading. HP is the legacy hardware [...]
MWC 2016 roundup: the biggest new phones announced at this year’s Mobile World Congress February 24, 2016 LG G5 LG’s new flagship handset is one of the first modular designs to market, allowing you to remove part of the phone to snap on new accessories to upgrade or add functionality. So far LG has shown the G5 customised with a camera grip – which adds additional battery capacity as well as shutter [...]
Facebook unveils new “Reactions”, allowing users to express love, anger, sadness, laughter and… say wow February 24, 2016 Facebook has launched its new function, Reactions, which it describes as "the new Like button with more ways to express yourself" – but there's still no dislike button. The social network first announced the new Reaction buttons in October 2015, and allowed users in Spain and Ireland to test them out initially. From today, they [...]
Blackberry acquires British cybersecurity company Encription and launches business security consultancy February 24, 2016 Former smartphone king Blackberry is doubling down on its security credentials revealing that it has acquired UK-based cybersecurity consultancy. Midlands-based Encription has been snapped up for an undisclosed sum by the struggling smartphone maker which once dominated the market. Encription counts the government and local authorities among its clients, conducting testing that emulates the way a hacker would work in order [...]
Boston Dynamics’ eerily man-like Atlas robot can walk, lift – and stand up to human bullies February 24, 2016 Remember Boston Dynamics' dystopian Christmas reindeer? Now the company has unveiled its latest futuristic offering – and it's so eerily human-like, it can stand up to bullies. A video released by Boston Dynamics showed its 5'9" Atlas robot opening a door, lifting boxes and wandering through a snow-blanketed wood, a la Snow White. In a move its team [...]
Neuroscientists joke reading is a form of brainwashing February 24, 2016 Thought literacy was a good thing? Think again – one neuroscientist has joked that it "makes us defenceless against an army of 26 letters". Lidia Stanton, a specialist in dyslexia at the University of Leicester, posted a response to the Quora question "what are some things that neuroscientists know but most people don't?". Stanton said cognitive [...]
Bill Gates backtracks on Apple versus FBI comments on iPhone encryption and “backdoors” stance February 23, 2016 Bill Gates has backtracked on earlier comments he made suggesting that he sided with the FBI in its request for Apple to break encryption on the iPhone of a mass shooter who killed 14 people in San Bernadino. Apple has argued against complying with the order, saying that it amounts to weakening encryption with a so-called [...]
Powa layoffs off 74 of around 100 London employees after entering administration February 23, 2016 Powa Technologies, once billed by its chief executive Dan Wagner as the future biggest tech company in the world, has made 74 of its London employees redundant after burning through its massive cash pile. Powa Technologies Group was placed into administration on Friday, appointing Deloitte to oversee a potential sale after lead investor Wellington Management called in its loans. [...]