Amazon wants to make talking to robots an everyday event with Echo June 25, 2015 Amazon is aiming to make talking to robots as normal an event as turning on the TV or checking your phone. The company has ambitious plans to make voice control ubiquitous in households and has started by launching the Amazon Echo, a wireless speaker you can control through voice commands by saying “Alexa”. Alexa is [...]
Men should freeze their sperm now if they plan to have children later in life, says scientist June 25, 2015 Men ought to freeze their sperm as young as 18 if they want to ensure having healthy children, according to a British bioethicist. Writing in the Journal of Medical Ethics, Dr Kevin Smith from Abertay University in Dundee said although men are able to have children well into old age, leaving it too late [...]
Ocean London: An ocean of possibilities for the city’s event scene June 24, 2015 It seems there is such a thing as too much choice. Even deciding where to see a film on a roof is a headache when you live in a city as large and diverse as London. This predicament has given rise to a number of event planning apps that aim to make your leisure time, [...]
Best of the rest: five event planning apps June 24, 2015 Culture Key This picture-heavy app basically turns Time Out into Tinder. Leisurely swipe through beautiful, full-screen pictures of all the art, music, theatre, festivals and walks currently happening in London, all hand-picked by its discovery team. Free for iPhone Frugl If you normally stay in at the end of the month because your bank account [...]
New York provides a better environment than London to foster innovation June 24, 2015 New York is the city that best fosters innovation and entrepreneurship, closely followed by London, according to a report that has just been launched. The city initiatives for technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship (CITE) report analysed 40 world cities to see where policy has created the best environment for entrepreneurship and disruption. The cities were tested [...]
Boris Johnson says Uber drivers must pass black cab style Knowledge test June 24, 2015 Fresh from his expletive-ridden verbal tussle with a cabbie, the Mayor of London has come out on the side of London's black cab drivers in their rivalry with Uber. Boris Johnson has promised Knowledge style tests and language requirements for Uber drivers who London's traditional taxi drivers believe should be better regulated. Speaking at the [...]
Living near a noisy London road could shorten your life June 24, 2015 Living near a noisy main road in London shortens life expectancy, according to a new report published in the European Heart Journal. Read more: Living in a noisy area increases your chance of being overweight By comparing noise levels with incidences of death across the whole M25 zone between 2003 and 2010, researchers at [...]
Analysts warn that Ladbrokes – Gala Coral mega merger odds on for competition issues June 23, 2015 Analysts are warning that Ladbrokes' multi-million pound merger with Gala Coral could have to jump serious competition hurdles. The combined company would command 4000 retail shops – about 45 per cent of the UK market – and give the group much better odds in the online gaming space too. The retail position in [...]
Tidal chief executive is out: Peter Tonstad exits as boss of Jay Z’s music streaming service June 23, 2015 The boss of Jay Z's fledgling music streaming service has left after less than three months in charge. The company which was launched by the music superstar in March with backing from fellow musicians such as Kanye West and Daft Punk, said Peter Tonstad was stepping down as interim chief executive in a statement. "Current executives [...]
Blackberry share price rises despite decreasing smartphone revenue June 23, 2015 Canadian smartphone maker Blackberry has announced its results for the first quarter for the three months to the end of May – and things do not look like turning around the struggling firm. It reported revenue for the quarter of $658m (£416m), and income before taxes of $73m. Blackberry's handsets used to be a staple [...]