Contactless and mobile payments surge in UK in 2018 June 6, 2019 The number of contactless payments made in the UK surged in 2018, new figures have shown, as all Britons’ from grandparents to teenagers increased their use of the technology. Read more: Credit card spending shoots up as customers turn to extra protections Meanwhile, the use of cash continued to decline, with only four per cent [...]
Microsoft and Oracle team up to take on Amazon Web Services June 5, 2019 Microsoft and Oracle will connect their cloud services in an effort to woo big businesses and take on market leader Amazon Web Services (AWS). The combined service will enable users to connect Oracle’s autonomous databases with Microsoft services, such as Azure analytics and artificial intelligence. The new high-speed link between the two company’s data centres [...]
Surface Studio 2 review: Microsoft’s shape-shifting iMac killer June 5, 2019 The Surface Studio 2 is the latest addition to Microsoft’s Surface range, which began in 2012 with a series of hybrid tablet computers. But while those first devices were popular, it wasn’t until the launch of the Surface Book laptop in 2016 that the company really started upping their design game, and stealing Apple’s brushed [...]
Apple asks developers to put its new sign-in button above Facebook and Google’s June 5, 2019 Apple is set to ask developers to put its new “Sign in with Apple” button above those of rival services Google and Facebook on iOS apps. Apple unveiled its new login button at its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday. Many users sign in to apps using their Facebook or Google accounts because it saves them [...]
Cryptocurrency pioneer pays $4.57m for lunch with Warren Buffett June 4, 2019 Cryptocurrency pioneer Justin Sun has bid a record $4.57m (£3.6m) to have lunch with Berkshire Hathaway’ Warren Buffett, a longtime critic of cryptocurrencies. Read more: Bitcoin hits 10-month high after strong start to 2019 The 28-year old submitted the winning bid during a five-day online charity auction on eBay which ended on Friday. Previous winners [...]
Swansong: Is Apple about to kill iTunes at WWDC 2019? June 3, 2019 If reports are true, iTunes could be about to play its last ever track at Apple’s WWDC 2019 event tonight. The beloved music player has been going strong for 15 years since its introduction in 2004. Read more: Apple takes on Netflix with TV streaming service But Apple CEO Tim Cook wants to boil it [...]
Mountain Warehouse eyes store expansion as profits jump May 31, 2019 Outdoor clothing group Mountain Warehouse is eyeing an expansion on the high street this year after reporting today a double-digit rise in annual pre-tax profits and sales. The retailer, which currently runs 350 stores and employs 3,500 staff, is planning to open a further 50 stores this year, including roughly 20 in the UK, following [...]
Mark Zuckerberg survives shareholder revolt at annual Facebook meeting May 30, 2019 Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has survived a shareholder revolt which sought to strip him of his chairman title, and reduce his monopoly over the firm's controlling shares. Zuckerberg owns 60 per cent of Facebook's voting shares, and acts as both its chief executive and chairman. Other motions, which requested the breakup of Facebook as a [...]
Notifications to EU Commission about unlawful tax breaks rocket in state aid crackdown May 30, 2019 The number of notifications to the EU Commission about potentially unlawful tax breaks has rocketed as countries take a tougher stance on state aid. In the last five years the Commission was notified about 385 potentially unlawful tax breaks, compared to just 80 between 2007 and 2013. Over the 12 months to 31 March the [...]
Bristol scaleup Ultrahaptics buys US augmented reality rival for $30m May 30, 2019 Bristol-based firm Ultrahaptics has acquired one of its main Silicon Valley rivals in a deal valued at $30m (£23.8m). Leap Motion, which specialises in hand-tracking technology, will join Ultrahaptics, bringing over its staff and technology to the combined group. The two companies had been partnered for almost six years before the tie-up. Ultrahaptics' technology projects [...]