British smartphone users couldn’t care less about gimmicky features like curved displays – they care more about basics like battery life and reception August 18, 2015 Forget the curved screens and eyeball trackers – just get us a phone with a battery life worth having. This is the message smartphone users have for manufacturers, according to a new survey from price comparison site uSwitch. Wacky features abound when smartphone manufacturers launch their flagship models, with Samsung unveiling a curved display in [...]
Bank of England analysts believe Twitter could help predict a bank run, early signs of unemployment data and market movements August 18, 2015 Bank of England analysts believe Twitter and other social media give “much potential for central banks” to predict market movements, indicate unemployment data ahead of time and even give signs of an impending bank run. In the run-up to the Scottish independence referendum a team of analysts and IT experts within the BoE built [...]
Inmarsat’s new rocket I-5 F3 launches on 28 August 2015 August 17, 2015 Inmarsat has scheduled the launch of the third satellite of its Global Xpress array, after a delay in May caused the satellite telecommunications company to reduce its revenue and earnings forecast for the year. The Inmarsat-5 F3 is scheduled for launch at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 28 August 2015. The final satellite completes [...]
What’s it really like to work at Amazon? Jeff Bezos says it’s not a bad place, the NYT says it’s hell – here’s what the employee data says August 17, 2015 What's it like working at one of the leading technology companies in the world which pioneers new business models and is disrupting traditional industries left, right and centre, from books to groceries? Exciting? Dynamic? A fun working day filled with office slides, nap pods and free food? Hellish more like. That's according to the New [...]
Diabetes has become a huge problem in the UK – here are four recent breakthroughs that could keep it under control August 17, 2015 Thanks to our unhealthy lifestyles and expanding waistlines, the number of diabetes sufferers in the UK has gone up significantly over the last decade. Read more: Metformin: The world's first drug to increase life expectancy could go on trial next year Figures released today by the charity Diabetes UK show that there are currently [...]
The kids are alright: Ecigarettes “aren’t a gateway to smoking” for young people August 17, 2015 Vaping isn't a "gateway" to smoking for the yoof, a new study has found – suggesting fears over the effects of ecigarettes are misplaced. Read more: A smoking ban in pub beer gardens? Stop persecuting smokers The study, by anti-smoking charity Ash, found there was "no evidence" young people were being enticed towards real-life fags by [...]
It’s official: The smarter you are, the fitter you are in your forties and fifties August 17, 2015 Everyone's aware of the phenomenon of middle-age spread – but it turns out the clever ones do something about it. A study by the University of Copenhagen's Centre for Healthy Ageing has found that the higher a person's IQ, the fitter they are likely to be when they hit middle age. The study, of Danish [...]
Investec Comment: Why UK investors have warmed to tech firms August 16, 2015 London has all the ingredients to remain an attractive location for technology companies to grow and seek investment. The capital has thriving public markets that have warmed to tech stocks. More and more VCs are putting money into London startups. There’s a greater number of incubators and accelerator programmes around. UK investors have also [...]
You could soon travel into space via this space elevator – and it would be 20 times higher than any building on earth August 16, 2015 Unless you're an astronaut or extremely wealthy, travelling into space is practically impossible. But that could soon change, thanks to a Canadian company that hopes to build the world's first space elevator. Read more: A history of human space travel: Here's what we've achieved since the first trip into space Thoth Technology has just [...]
Smartphone battery life: MIT researchers develop battery that charges in minutes and lasts for three days August 13, 2015 A smartphone battery that charges in minutes and lasts for three days? Sounds like a dream, right? But MIT researchers reckon they can turn it into reality, having developed a smartphone battery that could hopefully solve that impossibly frustrating first-world problem of having your phone die on you halfway through the day. The battery lasts [...]