Europe’s digital single market 16 point plan unveiled: What is it, what does it mean, why does it matter? May 6, 2015 Europe wants to build a digital single market – and now it has a 16-point plan of how it's going to make that happen. What is it? The European Commission intends to bring a whole number of markets that are digital, from ebooks to parcel delivery and video on demand to VAT, in line with [...]
Why lonely Apple Watch owners are sharing their heartbeats with strangers May 6, 2015 If you share a heartbeat and there's no one at the other end to feel it, has that heartbeat been shared at all? Apple Watch users have clubbed together on Reddit to solve that very problem – by creating a board just for those feeling a bit isolated with their newly-acquired Apple Watches. Let's explain: [...]
Former Burberry boss banks big bucks in US May 5, 2015 Apple’s head of retail Angela Ahrendts was awarded pay of $82.6m (£54m) in 2014, according to Bloomberg. It made the former chief executive of Burberry the highest paid female executive in the US last year.
EU mulls McDonald’s tax probe: Margrethe Vestager considers investigation into sweetheart deals May 5, 2015 The EU’s competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager is considering adding McDonald’s to the list of companies being investigated over sweetheart tax deals. The Danish commissioner is weighing up an inquiry following claims by campaigners and unions of an alleged deal with Luxembourg that allowed the fast-food chain to massively reduce its tax bill on European sales. A [...]
Mix it up: Why you should forget about tomorrow’s election and give Pimms your vote instead May 5, 2015 Tomorrow you’ll be able to decide who leads our great country. Of course, you won’t actually decide anything at all, with the chances of your vote mattering somewhere between zip, zilch and zero. There may be a better way of getting what you want – as Gandhi is (wrongly) thought to have said: “Be the [...]
Apple turns Nasdaq sour – New York Report April 30, 2015 US STOCKS sold off yesterday, led by a drop in the Nasdaq, as Apple shares declined and results in tech and biotech names disappointed. Upbeat economic reports added to uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates, a day after data showed the US economy slowed to a crawl in the first quarter and the Federal [...]
If you really want to have a healthy diet, make it convenient April 30, 2015 Make no more plans to spend hours putting together complicated salads and homemade juices – it's time to get real. Most of us just won't put in the effort to become culinary health food wizards with the limited free time we have, and we only end up consuming lots of good foods if it is [...]
Architects of the future: How young designers are taking on space constraints, the cost of living and technology April 30, 2015 As property prices continue to rise and land available for development dwindles, architects and designers are tasked with devising ways to recommission and re-purpose spaces to make them suitable for modern life. Five architects and designers under 40 explain how they are taking inspiration from these challenges, and how they see their industry changing in [...]
Microsoft Band review: The ultimate fitness tracker or another “wearable” damp squib? April 29, 2015 Back in the dark ages of the mid 2000s, the “quantified self” movement barely existed. Disparate groups of fitness and data geeks had just begun to measure every aspect of their lives, entering the results into creaking spreadsheets in the hope of gleaning some insight into the mysteries of the human body and soul. [...]
Baidu revenue falls short of expectations, but mobile continues to grow April 29, 2015 Baidu's revenue failed to meet expectations in the first quarter, but mobile growth brought some success. The figures During the three months ended March, the Chinese internet search provider's total revenue was $2.053bn (£1.33bn), which was 34 per cent higher than in 2014 but slightly shy of the $2.08bn analysts expected. The $1.22 earnings [...]