At this point, smartphone companies suing each other over what often seems like trivial, pointless reasons is no surprise. This week, Huawei has stepped into the legal ring with Samsung over infringement on 11 different patents, which are filed in both the US and China. In this specific case, Huawei is …
Read More »Investigators raid Google’s Paris HQ over €1.6 billion in unpaid taxes
It looks like Google has caught the attention of the authorities over in France as the search giant's Paris headquarters were raided this morning. Over 100 investigators entered the campus in search of evidence of €1.6 billion in unpaid taxes. The probe at Google's offices has been under way since …
Read More »Drone-powered industrial re-forestation to combat climate change
One of the big issues facing the natural world is human deforestation on an industrial scale. Illegal logging, land clearance and habitat destruction are causing all sorts of issues that seem near impossible to stop. One solution though, could be utilising drone power to plant trees on a previously unheard …
Read More »Google has an AI processor and it already works well
The development of ever smarter artificial intelligences is going to be a major component of high-tier tech firms over the next few years, but Google looks to have the jump on most of them. It's developed its own AI processor, specifically designed for high-operational tasks and it's been testing its …
Read More »The EU said to hit Google with huge €3 billion fine
The European Commission currently has several anti-trust cases out against Google, one of which focuses on the company's monopoly on Search Engines. Some companies have accused Google of favouring its own services in search results and while Google has made its defence, reports this week are saying that the EU …
Read More »$100 3D printer kickstarter set back by massive theft
A couple of years ago, the Peachy Printer hit Kickstarter, promising backers the world's first $100 3D printer. The team behind the product wanted just $50,000 Canadian dollars to get the project off of the ground but the project caught on with the wider web and they ended up with well …
Read More »Samsung launches 256GB EVO micro SD card
Several companies have been pushing for larger storage options on micro SD cards recently. SanDisk launched a massive 200GB micro SD card earlier this year and now Samsung is pushing the tiny storage option even further with a 256GB EVO model of its own. The EVO Plus 256GB offers the …
Read More »Hyperloop transport is becoming a more likely reality
Hyperloop transport is a very futuristic sounding method of traversing large distances in exceedingly short time-spans, but it's looking more and more like a feasible technology. On top of one firm pursuing it achieving a licensing deal for its technology, another, Hyperloop One, has secured another $80 million in funding. …
Read More »This smart plug will reset your router for you if your internet dies
It can be a frustrating experience when your internet connection dies, particularly if you have to mess around turning your router on and off again until it works. However, the ResetPlug may be able to help out with that, by checking that everything is connected and then resetting the router …
Read More »HBO sends out letters to suspected Game of Thrones pirates
Most people know that Game of Thrones is the most pirated TV show around at the moment, including HBO, who have sometimes seemed proud of the amount of downloads its hit show generates. However, it looks like the network is now looking to dissuade those possibly downloading its TV show …
Read More »Space X lands Falcon 9 rocket on drone barge again
It was no fluke when Space X landed its Falcon 9 first stage rocket on its automated drone barge last month, as it's managed to do it again. This time following stage separation, sending the JCSAT-14 payload off into orbit, the first stage booster returned to Earth, landing smoothly on …
Read More »Self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator no longer wants to provide proof
Earlier this week, Craig Wright decided to out himself as the creator of Bitcoin and while some proof was provided at the time, many across the web remained sceptical. At first, Wright said that he would provide additional proof to support his claim but now, he appears to have backed …
Read More »This robot could be the first humanoid on Mars
For many scientists, physicists and fans of space venturing, getting to Mars could be the most important thing we do in the 21st century. But we have a long way to go before touching human feet on the red planet, so perhaps the best way to prepare the way for …
Read More »YouTube is apparently planning a TV streaming service
YouTube has been expanding a lot in the last couple of years, not only have we seen the launch of YouTube Music but the popular video site also launched YouTube Red, a paid subscription service that removed ads and gives access to exclusive original shows from specific content creators. Now, …
Read More »UK’s ad watchdog is making ISPs simplify broadband pricing
The UK's Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has confirmed that it is introducing new guidelines that would put ISPs in a position where they would need to make broadband pricing more transparent and simplify packages. This comes just a day after TalkTalk confirmed that it would be taking the first steps …
Read More »UK’s red telephone boxes to be converted to micro-offices
The red phone box is a little like the red double decker bus in the UK: a major part of 20th century culture. Of course today though, the phone box is rather useless for most, so one company is looking to change that, by turning them into micro-offices, for use by …
Read More »Google announces Fiat partnership with driverless cars
While Google has spent many years developing autonomous vehicles, many wondered if it would eventually get into car manufacturing itself, or partner with a more traditional company. It looks like the latter may be the most true of those ideas, as it's now announced a partnership with Fiat to help …
Read More »Vivendi buys up even more shares in Ubisoft
While Activision may have managed to escape the clutches of Vivendi, attention has now turned to Ubisoft. A few months back, Vivendi began buying up shares in Ubisoft and the publisher's CEO spoke openly about opposing any form of takeover. However, this week, Vivendi bought even more shares in Ubisoft …
Read More »Judge rules Amazon at fault for child in-app purchases
We have all heard horror stories of children being left with smartphones or tablets and running up insane charges on in-app purchases. This issue has been brought to the attention of the likes of Apple, Google and Amazon plenty of times in the past and it took a while for …
Read More »YouTube is making a big change to its Content ID system
Over the last couple of years, YouTube's Content ID copyright system has been a bit of a pain for quite a few YouTubers, particularly those that rely on Fair Use. Currently, if a claim is made on a video, monetization immediately stops, which means the creator isn't making any money …
Read More »Virgin Media to expand FTTP to one million UK homes and businesses
While BT is looking to offer better speeds on its entry-level fibre optic broadband package, Virgin Media is looking to raise the bar on its higher-tier packages, with plans to expand its fibre to the premises (FTTP) offerings to one million UK homes and businesses, paving the way for future …
Read More »China is gunning hard for driverless cars too
We've heard a lot about western companies like Google, Tesla and various traditional manufacturers working on autonomous vehicle technology, but China is making a big play for it too. Along with Baidu, many Chinese firms have been working on developing self-piloting vehicles, many of which showed off their latest efforts …
Read More »Storing cat pictures in DNA: Microsoft buys up 10 million strands
While the world of mainstream computing seems to have finally caught on that an SSD is the only place to put your operating system, some companies are already looking to the future of long-term storage. One solution Microsoft is experimenting with, is very different than the norm: DNA storage and …
Read More »Space X kills decade long ULA military contract monopoly
For the first time in more than a decade, a company other than Boeing or Lockheed Martin will be launching American military hardware into orbit, ending a monopoly the two had created in a very lucrative industry. The company that dismantled that long-running tradition? Space X, the relatively young space …
Read More »Intel also wants to replace the 3.5mm headphone jack
It looks like the 3.5mm headphone jack is going to suffer an abrupt end over the next few years. Not only is Apple planning to ditch it entirely on its next iPhone but now Intel has weighed in on the conversation and it seems that the chip making giant would …
Read More »Getty Images accuses Google of promoting photo piracy
Getty Images, a well-known US-based photography agency has accused Google of promoting photo piracy and undermining its business. This will lead to yet another formal antitrust complaint being filed against the company with the European Commission, which already has two antitrust cases out against Google at the moment regarding Android …
Read More »Would you spend £300 on a Dyson hair dryer?
Dyson is a company that has revolutionised blowing or sucking air for a couple of decades now, changing the face of vacuum cleaners and bathroom hand dryers the world over. Now it wants to change how those with long hair dry it, with a new near-silent hair dryer that while …
Read More »In-road LED lighting to help smartphone distracted pedestrians
Although there are some parts of the world that have considered banning the practice of texting while walking, the German city of Augsburg, just outside Munich, is trying something different. To prevent its smartphone users from endangering themselves on the roads, it's added LED traffic lights to crossings at different …
Read More »You can now buy games on Steam using Bitcoin
While the fanfare surrounding digital currencies like Bitcoin seems to have settled down a bit over the last year, plenty of people still have some left over to use and now, you can use your Bitcoins on Steam. We first heard that Valve may roll out Bitcoin payments on the Steam …
Read More »Elon Musk claims Tesla autopilot halves the number of crashes
Although there are a lot of companies out there testing autonomous vehicle features like lane assist and smart cruise control, Tesla was the first to provide a near-fully driverless motorway option to Model S owners. While it's had some hiccups, CEO of Tesla Elon Musk, has announced that it has …
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