The new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission has ditched an investigation into “sponsored data” plans by mobile operators. It may be the first of many steps to loosen the FCC’s enforcement of net neutrality rules. Net neutrality has been at the heart of a long-running debate over the FCC’s powers to regulate internet providers. […]
Mozilla has abandoned work on a Firefox operating system. The system was first developed for smartphones and then repositioned for connected devices such as smart TVs. The Firefox OS project started back in 2011 with the idea of making a completely open mobile operating system that would make it easier for developers to make apps. […]
Google is ditching an experimental payment tool that let users pay by phone without removing the handset from their pockets. It says it may use some of the features of the Hands Free app to improve Android Pay. The idea was to make mobile phone payments less hassle than using a payment card, even one […]
Medical staff in the United Kingdom have been advised to use Bing after Google mistook the National Health Service for a botnet. The NHS, which provides and administers publicly-funded healthcare in the UK, employs more than a million people. Unfortunately that adds up to so many people searching Google via the NHS network (and its […]
An online grocery firm is testing a robotic hand that picks up fruit and vegetables without bruising or squashing them. The next step is for the hand to be able to detect the fruit’s ripeness. British-based Ocado is working alongside five universities and Disney on a project called SOMA, short for soft manipulation. Among its […]
Namco founder Masaya Namakura has died aged 91. A major player in the arcade game world, he was best known for releasing Pac-Man, a game he named. The company took its name from Nakamura Amusement Machine Manufacturing Company, having originally been Nakamura Manufacturing. It began with just a pair of mechanical horse rides but went […]
Chrome users should get fewer irritating waits when revisiting a web page since the latest browser update. Google has rethought the way Chrome validates pages before loading. The change involves the way that when a user returns to a page, the browser will, where possible, use files stored in its cache from the previous visit […]
Netflix downloads on Android can now be stored on SD cards. There’ll be a couple of big restrictions however. Downloading from the Netflix app launched last month but was originally restricted to the device’s on-board storage. While that wasn’t much of a problem for iOS gadgets, it was bad news for those Android owners who […]
Microsoft has unveiled a Copilot mode for the Xbox One that lets two players act as if they were using a single controller. It’s designed mainly for people with disabilities, but could also be useful for introducing less experienced players. The new mode is part of a package of updates to the system, including a […]
Google says every Chromebook released from now on will run Android apps. Whether that boosts sales depends on why people weren’t buying Chromebooks. At the moment, only three Chromebooks support Android apps. However, Google has not only announced Android support for all new models, but also that 60 existing models will be updated with the […]