General Tech

As requested, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared in front of US Congress to be probed over the recent Cambridge Analytica data scandal. While the questions mostly pertained to the data harvesting itself and the subsequent aftermath, many were directed at Facebook’s monopolisation and regulation. Zuckerberg used cookie cutter statements for …

Spotify opened itself up to public investment last week and in the build up to that, we received some interesting news. Over two million mobile Spotify users resorted to modified versions of the app to access features locked behind a pay wall. Now in light of this, Spotify appears to …

With the unified opinion that passwords are increasingly insecure, Chrome, Firefox and Edge browsers are following in the footsteps of Yahoo to get rid of them entirely. This is thanks to the WebAuthn open standard which is already supported on Firefox, and is soon to make it over to Chrome …

Over the last few weeks, Facebook has been embroiled in a huge data scandal, after it was revealed that a firm known as Cambridge Analytica harvested the Facebook details of millions of users to help sway elections. Now starting from today, Facebook will begin notifying the 87 million users that …

It’s fair to say that the reveal of Cambridge Analytica’s Facebook data harvesting in the past couple of weeks has kicked off a worldwide concern over how data is handled online, placing many websites and platforms under the microscope. YouTube is the latest to be scrutinised, with 23 groups across …

Since 2015, Google has been continuously supporting its lineup of Pixelbook laptops, all sporting Chrome OS. In October, we finally got a hardware revision, with beefier processors and better battery life, but it looks like the next upgrade could be just around the corner. Reports this week claim that Google …

YouTube’s California headquarters was devastated earlier this week, as an armed woman stormed the working grounds, injuring three people before ending her own life. The video platform has since responded, stating that it will increase the security across all of its offices worldwide to ensure employee safety. Parent company Google …

Mozilla has begun preparing itself for the future of web browsing this week with the announcement of Firefox Reality, a dedicated version of the browser for Virtual and Augmented reality headsets. Currently, most people browse the web on a PC with a monitor, or on a mobile device. In the …

Thanks to a Facebook policy that has since been rectified, Cambridge Analytica managed to get its hands on mass amounts of user data. This has caused a major fallout for the social media platform, with numbers hitting as high as 50 million affected. Chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer has now …

Earlier this week, we were quick to notice that Valve had quietly removed the link to Steam Machines from the front page of the Steam Store. Now, Valve has spoken publicly about this decision, stating that it was part of a “routine cleanup” and admitting that while the Linux powered …

While many nations and companies are scrambling to tighten data regulations in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica information harvesting scandal, the European Union is already set to introduce its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) across Europe. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has revealed that he agrees with the practice “in …

A few weeks ago, we learned that BlackBerry had filed a lawsuit against Facebook, claiming that the company had infringed on patents for messaging and security. Now, it turns out that Facebook isn't the only social network in BlackBerry's sights, with the Canadian firm also filing a lawsuit against Snap. …

Police were rushed to YouTube’s Californian headquarters on Tuesday, after a woman launched an assault against company employees. Three were injured by gunshot wounds before the assailant fatally turned the gun on herself. San Francisco General Hospital has clarified that of the three victims, a 36-year-old man was in critical …

Since the cryptocurrency boom in popularity, scammers have taken the opportunity to exploit newcomers and enthusiasts with all manners of illicit mining. Following on from its ban on cryptocurrency advertisements last month, Google is now taking a stand by blocking any Chrome extension that can mine cryptocurrency from entering the …

In February last year, the European Union began preparing new laws to do away with region blocking on services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video when traveling. It has taken a while, but the new law is finally in effect, allowing those who subscribe to streaming services to access their …

Google has offered its own URL shortener since 2009 in the form of goo.gl. The site has multiple advantages, allowing users to create easily sharable short links and track the number of clicks. Unfortunately, the service will shutting down soon in favor of ‘Firebase Dynamic Links'. Over the weekend, Google …

We travelled to the home of Overclockers UK to take a look at some of the fastest PCs money can buy. Ian '8PACK' Parry shows Briony two of the updated ultimate watercooled PCs in the 8PACK range. Each system can be fully customised in a range of colour combinations and only the best performing components make the final cut!

Back in September, after months of back and forth negotiations, Toshiba finally landed an $18 billion deal to sell off its chip business ‘Toshiba Memory Corp'. The massive sale was expected to complete by the end of March, but this week, Toshiba has announced that it will miss the agreed …

A few years ago when Satya Nadella first took over Microsoft, the company went through a major internal shakeup and formed the Windows and Devices Group, just ahead of the launch for Windows 10. Now this week, another major shift has occurred, reorganising Microsoft, diminishing the role of the Windows …

For quite some time, Nvidia has been a part of the self-driving car race, attempting to perfect vehicle automation to rid the need of a driver and, in turn, human error. In the wake of fatal accidents from tests involving Uber and Tesla, the company has since suspended all of …

Last year, we first heard about Facebook's plans to compete with Amazon, Google and Apple in the ‘smart speaker' market. The speaker was apparently set to be revealed in May at a conference, but recently, Facebook has found itself in the middle of a major data usage and privacy scandal. …

Today, most advertising takes place on the internet because that’s where people spend their time. Direct mail isn’t dead, but it has taken a backseat to platforms like Facebook ads and Google Adwords. While Facebook’s ads are seen only on Facebook, Google’s ads can be seen on a good number …

Foxconn has been working on expanding over the last few years. The company broke into the display business a while back after taking over Sharp and now, Foxconn appears to be focussing on smart home and networking with the acquisition of Belkin, Linksys and Wemo. Today, Foxconn announced that it …

Earlier this month we saw Broadcom's attempts to acquire Qualcomm foiled by the US committee for foreign investment (CFIUS) and President Trump. The deal was labeled as a potential risk to national security, but it looks like things might not be over yet. In April, Broadcom will be moving its …

It looks like the European Union is concerned about Google once again. This time around, the EU's competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, voiced “grave suspicions” over Google's growing dominance online. Previously, the EU has fined Google £2.1 billion for prioritising Google Shopping in search results over competing services. Now, the competition …

A few weeks ago, Spotify began cracking down on Dogfood, a modded version of the music streaming app for Android that allowed users to take advantage of ad-free listening for free. Now it turns out that around two million people were using this version of the app to skirt around …

It is no secret that large tech companies often use various methods to lower the amount of tax they owe in different continents. This has riled up the European Union in the past and now, they intend to do something about it. A couple of weeks ago, reports began surfacing …

We’ve all come across those sites that load up and begin auto-playing a video at some obnoxiously loud volume. Over time, Google has been trying to tackle this with various Chrome updates. Back in January Google pushed out a Chrome update that allowed users to permanently mute certain websites, but …

Crytek today has announced another change to its business model. In an effort to monetise the CryEngine once again, Crytek will begin requiring developers using the engine to sign up to a five percent royalty fee for game sales using the engine. This new royalty-based model comes into effect with …

It looks like Facebook could find itself in trouble with the European Union again, as the EU Parliament announced today that it will be investigating the social network on suspicion of data misuse. The EU reckons that more than 50 million Facebook users have had their data misused, violating the …