Category: Gadgets
Amazon Alexa’s Echo Buttons can now activate smart home routines
Amazon’s Echo Buttons accessory for its Alexa-powered smart speakers are now capable of doing much more than simply playing games. The companion device, which first launched in September 2017, has received an update allowing people to use the Buttons to activate smart home routines – meaning it could serve as a button to switch on…
Alibaba’s $30 billion Singles Day helps power UK brands including Dyson, Jaguar Land Rover
Forget Black Friday. Alibaba's Singles’ Day is the biggest online sales day and this year it helped power UK brands as sales topped $30 billion. The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s Singles’ Day sales soared to £23.81 billion ($30bn) last Sunday (November 11th). And the international delivery company ParcelHero says the strong demand for quality products means…
EU copyright directive risks cutting people off from YouTube videos, site boss warns
Musicians were joined by Tom Watson MP in September outside YouTube’s UK headquarters, in support of the copyright directive (PA/Jonathan Hordle) YouTube viewers across the EU could be cut off from videos as a result of the controversial Article 13 copyright directive, platform boss Susan Wojcicki has said in a fresh…
People Just Do Nothing cast ‘kidnap viewers’ in BBC’s first-ever comedy VR short
Viewers are promised an up close and personal encounter with the Kurupt FM crew, as the cast of hit comedy series People Just Do Nothing 'kidnap them' in the BBC’s first-ever comedy virtual reality film. The five-minute VR film imagines the viewer as a record company boss that has been kidnapped by the crew of…
Twitter boss Jack Dorsey considers edit button – again
Twitter (PA/Andrew Matthews) Twitter boss Jack Dorsey has talked about the possibility of adding an edit button to the social network in the future, but only when he is sure that such an option can be done in the right way to prevent abuse. Speaking at an event in Indian…
Facebook commissions news from Channel 4 ‘to combat sensationalism’
Channel 4 is to provide news content to Facebook in a bid to increase the reach of “high-quality” and credible journalism on the social media platform. The social media giant has commissioned a new weekly show from Channel 4 News for its video on demand service, following a commitment made by founder Mark Zuckerberg to combat…
Xbox One keyboard and mouse support to arrive this week
Gamers who prefer to use a keyboard and mouse instead of a controller will soon be able to do so on the Xbox One. Following Microsoft’s announcement of support for the input in September, users will be able to play some games with a keyboard and mouse from Wednesday. However only Insiders - those signed…
Netflix leaves original Wii as Nintendo ends streaming on console from January
The Wii was launched back in November 2006 (PA/Matt Faber) Netflix and other streaming services are set to leave the first Wii console next year as Nintendo starts winding down the 12-year-old console. The company behind hit series, including Stranger Things and Orange Is The New Black, is set to…
Deliveroo riders display missing person posters on backpacks
Deliveroo riders in four cities are to display missing person posters on their backpacks as part of a campaign to find them in time for Christmas. Five hundred of the food delivery app’s riders in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol will display 'Ride to Find' posters on the bags used to carry food as part…
Health secretary heads to Paris GovTech Summit in search of technology for NHS
Health Secretary Matt Hancock is heading to Paris to meet world leaders to discuss ways to fast-track new healthcare technologies for the NHS. He is due to attend the GovTech summit alongside Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron and other EU ministers on Monday. The summit will look at how emerging…
