An ally of the US has used a Patriot missile to shoot down a small quadcopter. A US general revealed the incident but noted it’s not exactly an economical tactic. The Patriot missile system has been in use since 1984 but came to prominence during the first Gulf War. It’s primarily designed to use radar […]
Google says it will limit the amount of processing power that background tabs can consume in Chrome. The change is designed to increase battery life on mobile devices without affecting usability too much. It builds upon an existing policy that means any background tab can only carry out actions (such as reloading data) once a […]
Dungeons & Dragons is getting an official app bringing together rules, character management and discussion forums. It’s being marketed under the slogan “beyond pen and paper.” The app, titled D&D Beyond, will cover both Dungeon Masters and players. It’s designed for the fifth edition rules and will include: a digital version of the D&D compendium […]
World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee has labelled fake news as one of three trends that must be tackled to keep the web on track. He also targeted all-or-nothing conditions on personal data, along with unethical political advertising. Writing in The Guardian to mark the 28th anniversary of his original proposal for the web, Berners-Lee […]
Panasonic has made a washing machine for India that has a dedicated button for cleaning curry stains. It’s one of five custom cycles on the machine designed to meet the specific stains that Indian customers said were often not removed by washing machines. The others cover hair oils, sauces, general sweat, and tide marks on […]
With any new hardware release, there’s somebody who experiences problems. For one Nintendo Switch buyer, that problem is particularly bizarre. YouTube user Shokio, who regularly posts game videos, says he was hoping to livestream a session with Zelda. Unfortunately that proved impractical thanks to a spectacular bug that means his device is now emitting a […]
A secret elite section of Tinder has been running for at least six months. If this is the first you’ve heard of it, you’re not one of the elite. Tinder Select is by invite only and is aimed at “CEOs, super models, and other hyper-attractive/upwardly affluent types” according to Tech Crunch. Writer Jordan Crook says […]
Netflix is reportedly working on a “choose your own adventure” style feature with branching endings. It will test the concept with an upcoming kids’ show before moving on to more complex uses of the technology. The reports come from the Daily Mail newspaper, quoting both an unnamed source and Netflix chief Reed Hastings. The newspaper […]
A site that offered help to cheat at League of Legends has been ordered to shut down and pay $10 million to developers Riot Games. A court ruled LeagueSharp had violated digital copyright laws. The website charged would-be cheats $15 a month to run one account and $50 a month to automate multiple accounts. It […]
IBM has been granted a patent on a variant the out-of-office email. But it’s already agreed to release it into the public domain. The application dates back to 2010 but only made it through the US Patent Office review procedure a few weeks ago. It’s in the usual legal jargon, including a 314 word sentence, […]