When will the Oculus Rift launch? Pre-orders for the virtual reality headset open on 6 January January 4, 2016 Oculus has revealed that it will be opening pre-orders for its hotly anticipated Rift virtual reality headset on Wednesday 6 January in a major step forward for consumer virtual reality. The headset is set to ship sometime in the first quarter of 2016, as the firm announced last summer. The upcoming release of the Rift [...]
Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife and Eastenders: Here’s how much timeshifted Christmas TV we watched on catch-up services January 4, 2016 It may have been the classic Queen’s speech which got us tuning in on Christmas day, but it was Downtown Abbey and Call the Midwife which we settled down to watch on catch-up in the days afterwards, as we continued to stuff ourselves with festive food. Britain’s on-demand TV habits meant that both the popular dramas, on ITV [...]
Mike Tyson joins the bitcoin fight by launching his own mobile wallet brand with Bitcoin Direct January 4, 2016 Mike Tyson is joining the bitcoin mobile wallet fight. The former boxer has announced plans to launch a bitcoin wallet together with Bitcoin Direct, hoping to convert the general public to the digital currency. With the announcement, Tyson is continuing his love story with bitcoin, having launched a branded bitcoin ATM in Las Vegas in [...]
Brent and US crude oil prices rise amid escalating political tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran January 4, 2016 Oil prices dipped again after it rose as much as four per cent today, wiping out gains made earlier in the day as rising political tension between two of the biggest powers in the Middle East stoked concern about potential supply disruptions. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell to $37.06 per barrel, having risen as high [...]
Mark Zuckerberg, artificial intelligence and Iron Man’s Jarvis: How close are we really to having artificial robot butlers? January 4, 2016 It’s great to hear that Mark Zuckerberg is planning to build his own personal artificial intelligence service for helping him around the home and the office. It sounds wonderful doesn’t it? Perfectly paradoxical in the sense that it simultaneously feels like both science fiction and something that’s already happening in our homes today. In truth, [...]
Junior doctors strike dates: Action will take place 12 January, 26 January and 10 February after talks with government and health minister Jeremy Hunt fail January 4, 2016 Thousands of junior doctors will go on strike next week after last ditch talks with the government to agree new contracts failed to come to a resolution. Doctors will go on strike for 24 hours on 12 January while a second 48 hour strike is scheduled for 26 January. Only emergency care will be offered [...]
EU referendum: Societe Generale analysts say chances of Brexit are nearing 50/50 January 4, 2016 Analysts at Societe Generale have warned there is a "high risk that the UK could vote to leave the European Union" this year. In a note out last night, Soc Gen said it is placing a 45 per cent probability of "Brexit", something analysts said would result in "significant economic damages". "To date, financial markets seem [...]
Tech share prices are tumbling: Netflix, Tesla, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Apple and more stock fall amid China rout January 4, 2016 Tech stocks have not escaped the market rout that has seen billions wiped of global markets on the first major day of trading in 2016. Tesla and Netflix both fell by more than seven per cent, with a downgrade for the movie streaming service by Baird, while the electric car company yesterday delivered sales figures at [...]
2016 London mayoral election: Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith gets housing boost from Prime Minister David Cameron January 4, 2016 Prime Minister David Cameron has given Conservative candidate for mayor of London Zac Goldsmith a boost today by announcing that he will amend the national government's housing bill to address concerns over a lack of affordable housing in the capital. Cameron said that he is incorporating an amendment put forward by Goldsmith to create a binding [...]