General Tech

Following the NSA leaks, many people out there on the internet have suddenly become very conscious of their privacy and security. The sheer extent of unwarranted government surveillance going on behind the scenes was somewhat shocking. However, Google thinks that things may change for the better next year with surveillance …

A judge has rejected Sony's bid to get a class action lawsuit against the company dismissed. The lawsuit aims to refund those that bought PS4 launch title, Killzone Shadow Fall, after it was revealed that the game's multiplayer component did not run at 1080p resolution, despite all advertising claiming otherwise. …

The UK's four largest networks, EE, O2, Vodafone and Three have all agreed to work together to improve the country's patchy coverage areas by 2017. These particular coverage spots can often receive a signal from one or two networks, while those tied to other companies will find themselves without signal. …

Apparently, Nintendo is looking to buy ‘free form' LCD screens from display manufacturer, Sharp. These new free form screens rearrange the circuitry throughout the display, allowing for more unusual shapes, breaking away from the traditional rectangle screens we see these days. According to The Japan Times, Nintendo could be planning …

It looks like offline viewing is not on Netflix's radar and won't ever be a feature that comes to the service. Other online streaming sites, like Sky GO, BBC iPlayer and 4OD have offered downloads for offline viewing in the past and successfully put restrictions on files to prevent piracy but …

Apparently, Microsoft is working on a new game streaming technology codenamed Arcadia. New reports claim that the Arcadia team is currently working on building a streaming application and game service, with the new technology replacing Rio, which the company demonstrated during September last year. Arcadia is built on Microsoft's Azure …

Google is apparently looking to take on retailers with the launch of a ‘buy' button, which will allow searchers to purchase products directly from the Google search results page. The idea is very similar in concept to Amazon's own ‘one-click ordering' button, which you can add as an extension to …

BT has announced that it is looking to buy network operator, EE, for £12.5 billion, despite rumours suggesting that the company was going to acquire o2. The telecommunications company confirmed today that it has entered exclusivity agreement talks with Deutsche Telekom and Orange in an effort to pick up EE. …

ISOHunt, one of the bigger torrent sites still floating around today, has gone ahead and launched a fully functioning clone of The Pirate Bay, in an effort to “save the freedom of information on the Internet”. The site won't be running forever though, if The Pirate Bay should ever return following …

Google is set to shut down its Russian office, presumably due to growing restrictions on the internet freedom in the country, including a new law which is due to go in to effect next year targeting foreign web companies. Authorities say that the law will improve data protection but it …

Apparently Sony Pictures is developing an animated Super Mario Bros movie, leaked emails have revealed. The emails came from the recent Sony hack, which saw sensitive documents leaked on to the web. The negotiations for the movie apparently finished with Nintendo back in October. “I am the proud father of …

Reports are coming in suggesting that Apple has once again partnered up with Samsung for its next iPhone chip, the A9, which will power next year's iPhones and iPads. Additionally, the A9 processors are already in production at Samsung's plant. Korea's Electronic Times reported today that the new A9 SoCs …

Oculus VR, the Facebook owned company behind the well known Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, has just acquired two small companies that will allow it to augment what you see and make it possible to see your own hands too. While we still have not seen Oculus release a product of it's own …

Earlier this week, Sweden's police force managed to take down The Pirate Bay and it has been offline ever since. As it turns out, TPB co-founder, Peter Sunde, thinks that the site should stay offline because he's “not a fan of what TPB has become”. Following the raid that took …

Microsoft now allows customers to add funds to their accounts using Bitcoin, the new payment option was quietly added this week and quickly spotted on Reddit. Microsoft account funds can be used to purchase games, apps, music, movies and TV shows on both the Xbox consoles and Windows devices. Bitcoin …

Someone get the moon base ready, as we have a “laser” finally worthy of an evil genius. The United States Navy has just posted a video showing the test firing of it's Laser Weapon System (LaWS). In the video, you can see the LaWS weapons platform engaging both waterborne and airborne targets …

BitTorrent wants to take the internet in to a new direction with its new browser, Maelstrom, which will run on the BitTorrent protocol. The web browser is in the closed alpha testing phase currently but the development team wants it to solve several problems the internet is facing at the …

Amazon is threatening to move its drone research out of the US unless the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), gives the company permission to do test flights outdoors. The retailer first attempted to get permission for its Prime Air drone tests back in July. The company has now responded to the …

Wireless charging is set to get a fairly decent upgrade next year as new technology has been developed, capable of tripling current wireless charging speeds. At the moment, charging a device wirelessly can take quite some time as the technology can only run at 5 watts. This will change next …

We are slowly learning more and more about Google's plans for Project Ara and the modular smartphone's launch next year. For those wondering about the sale of modules and where to get them, apparently Google will be setting up its own store to act as a dedicated marketplace for all …

Of all the ways you could have envisaged the Royal Mail postal delivery service being revamped to be more competitive with the likes of international courier firms, who'd have thought 3D printing would be the way to go? But that's exactly what's happening, with the national postal service set to …

Bloodhound SSC has released a video showing the test firing of its 1,000mph hybrid rocket motor. The engine is designed to power the Bloodhound SSC vehicle into the record books and past 1,000 mph sometime in 2016. [yframe url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22_4ZGGnb_g'] While the first stage of the Bloodhound will use a Rolls Royce EJ200 engine (also …

Amazon has just announced that its streaming service, Prime Instant Video, will now be offering 4K streams in the US, making the company one of the first few service providers to launch ultra HD content, alongside Netflix and YouTube. The content selection is limited, as you would probably expect but …

The number of UK homes with a TV has fallen for the first time ever due to the rise in alternatives like tablets, which offer apps like 4OD, BBC Iplayer and Netflix to watch shows online. Ofcom has confirmed that after years of consistent growth, the number of houses with …

Google has gone ahead and started removing popular Pirate Bay applications from the Play Store. An email sent to developers noted that these apps violate intellectual property and Google's content policy. Google has slowly started getting more involved in the fight against piracy due to intense pressure from media outlets. …

Four UK cities have been chosen to begin testing driverless cars starting in January 2015 thanks to a £10 million funding donation from Innovate UK. These trials will begin in just a few weeks time, taking place in Milton Keynes, Bristol, Coventry and Greenwich. These trials will last 18 to …

It was revealed earlier this week that Google is currently working on the second iteration of its Google Glass wearable, with Intel possibly supplying the chip inside of it and now we have our first peek at what the updated headset will look like thanks to a recent patent. The patent …

Oculus CEO, Brendan Irbe, has decided to once again explain why the company ended up joining Facebook rather than Microsoft , Sony or even Google. The main reason being to avoid the limitations of a closed platform, which Microsoft and Sony both offer with their consoles. Speaking at the Business …

It is safe to say that the Amazon Fire phone hasn't lived up to the company's hopes or expectations, failing to appeal to both critics and consumers but at least Amazon isn't under any delusions as CEO, Jeff Bezos categorizes the device as a “smart failure”. Speaking with NBC, Bezos …

Nintendo and Philips have managed to come to a settlement agreement over a patent legal dispute. Back in May, Philips tried to stop the sale of a few Nintendo devices in the US, claiming that two of its motion control patents had been infringed, this claim was upheld in court …