Elon Musk’s insane Hyperloop transport system is coming soon to a difficult-to-pronounce European city near you January 18, 2017 Hyperloop, the so-crazy-it-might-just-work ultra-speedy transportation system invented by Tesla founder and general mad professor Elon Musk, took another step forward today, after three European cities signed a deal to start exploring the technology. By Musk's reckoning, the system, which is essentially a giant vacuum tube, will suck pods through its tunnels at 760mph, cutting the three-hour [...]
MEPs vote to put robots on the agenda to tackle safety and legal concerns January 17, 2017 MEPs have started on a European health and safety standard for robots – before the fracking toasters short circuit and become our overlords. Or before other countries like Japan and the US establish their standards first. A “kill” switch and creating a status for “electronic persons” that would bear legal responsibility are among recommendations that MEPs on [...]
The reading recommendations of today’s corporate titans January 12, 2017 What makes successful people successful? The world’s top entrepreneurs, chief executives and entertainment elite come from all walks of life, so perhaps – good fortune aside – it’s the way they think which propels them above the competition and to the top of their respective fields. The books high achievers choose to read can offer [...]
Here’s some of the best (and weirdest) new technology from CES 2017 January 11, 2017 Audio The Doppler Labs Here One wireless earphones returned to CES this year. A more practical alternative to the rather silly Apple AirPods, they’re controlled with an app via Bluetooth and can bionically enhance your hearing in a given direction or block out external sounds, as well as the usual music playback features. If you’re [...]
UK car sales hit a record high in 2016 – but industry boss says we’ve reached peak car January 5, 2017 UK car sales hit a record high in 2016, new figures have shown – but the boss of the industry's largest body said the UK may have reached "peak car". The figures, by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), showed 2.69m new cars were registered in 2016, up 2.3 per cent on the [...]
Meet the Faraday Future, an electric car to rival Tesla that goes from 0 – 60mph in 2.39 seconds January 4, 2017 It wowed us last year with a Batmobile-style concept car, and now Faraday Future has unveiled its first full production vehicle with all the fanfare one might expect of Apple's latest iPhone. Understated is not on the horizon for the startup, which showed off its FF 91 electric car that boasts a not too shabby [...]
Oof: Tesla didn’t quite deliver on its promise of 80,000 cars in 2016 January 4, 2017 Tesla may be the darling of Silicon Valley, but if you were awaiting a shiny new Model S in 2016, you may have been disappointed. The company said last night it had made 76,230 deliveries in 2016 – not quite the 80,000 to 90,000 it had promised. In the fourth quarter it delivered 22,200 vehicles, [...]
Top secret Tesla rival Faraday Future is about to reveal its much-hyped “Batmobile” electric car January 3, 2017 It's time for car lovers to get excited. A year since its Batmobile-style concept car hit the headlines, top secret startup Faraday Future will finally unveil its electric car in a bid to rival the likes of Tesla. The lid will be lifted on its first production car at the massive Las Vegas tech event [...]
Volvo V40 Cross Country T5 review: A car that defies categorisation for motorists that defy categorisation December 19, 2016 We love to label things. “The tendency to classify and categorise objects is a deeply ingrained aspect of human nature,” Dr Scott Barry Kaufman once wrote in Psychology Today. Maybe you were the kind of person who took pleasure in arranging your CD collection in alphabetical order, or perhaps labelling people is the sort of [...]
Oracle chief executive Safra Catz to take lead role in Donald Trump’s transition team December 15, 2016 US President-elect Donald Trump has added another business executive to his circle of advisers, with Oracle chief executive Safra Catz joining the executive committee of his transition team. Catz will remain at the California-based software giant, according to Reuters. She had been present at a meeting of technology business leaders earlier in the week at [...]