How Yo inspired the Jonas Brothers to create apps

 Remember that silly app, Yo, where you could ping someone with just a tap? Well, Kevin Jonas does. At the Fast Company Innovation Festival in New York, the Jonas brothers talked about why they are creating apps. After seeing the Yo app raise over $1 million in funding, Kevin said it made launching startups look easy. “If they could do that, look what I can do,” said Kevin, about… Read More

Sony shares a list of 39 titles that will be optimized for the PS4 Pro at launch

 Next Thursday is PS4 Pro day. Announced two months ago at an event in New York, the souped up version of Sony’s console has been designed with 4K and high dynamic range gaming in mind, featuring amped up specs, including an eight-core x86-64 AMD Jaguar CPU, a GPU offering double the power of the earlier PS7 and a 1TB hard drive. Until now, however, Sony hasn’t offered up a list… Read More

Chinese conquest

Chinese investors are spending billions buying Western games companies - what are the pros and cons?

Assistive tech helps paralysed man cycle competitively

Athletes with disabilities have been competing in Cybathlon - a competition highlighting how tech can help people with disabilities.

Kodak Ektra smartphone inspired by 1940s

Photography brand Kodak reveals a smartphone that takes its name and looks from a 1941 camera.

The chain-smoking robot and other tech news

BBC Click's Marc Cieslak looks at some of the best of the week's technology news.

Gawker settles Hulk Hogan privacy case for $31m

The defunct US news website Gawker settles a privacy lawsuit won by retired wrestler Hulk Hogan.

Microsoft Teams challenges work chat rival Slack

Microsoft unveils a workplace chat tool that resembles Slack, a popular app from a Canadian start-up.

Facebook warns advertising revenue growth will slow

Facebook warns advertising revenue growth will slow, sending its shares down 7% in New York.

Ukraine hackers claim huge Kremlin email breach

Two Ukrainians tell the BBC how they hacked top Russian officials' emails revealing Kremlin plans.

Privacy complaint for fitness wristband makers

Norway's consumer watchdog complains about the privacy policies of four fitness wristband companies.

'Bustling' web attack market closed down

A "bustling" marketplace that offered tools and services to mount massive web attacks is closed.

Google fights EU price comparison case

Google again rejects the EU's objections to how it displays shopping links in its search results.

Huawei Mate 9 phones unveiled after Note 7 meltdown

Huawei unveils new large-screened Android phones a month after Samsung pulled the Note 7 from sale.

Facebook face off

Parents are recording their children's lives through social media. But what will their children say about all those pictures when they get older.

No Man's Sky company Hello Games say it's Twitter account was hacked

A gaming company says a tweet posted on its account which read "No Man's sky was a mistake" was a hack.

Three ways hackers can invade your home

Even your kettle could give them a way in, as cyber security expert Ken Munro explains.

Montreal police monitored journalist Patrick Lagace's phone

A Montreal newspaper says police monitored a journalist's phone for several months.

Tesla boss Musk 'optimistic' on SolarCity takeover

Tesla founder Elon Musk backs shareholders to approve its $2.6bn (£2.1bn) deal for solar panel company SolarCity.

Facebook blocks Admiral's car insurance discount plan

Facebook blocks an insurer's plan to view young drivers' profiles to set car insurance premiums.

Drone-hacking cybersecurity boot camp launched in UK

Budding cyberspies will learn how to hack into drones and crack codes at a new government-backed cybersecurity boot camp.

British Airways to offer wi-fi on short-haul flights

British Airways will offer wi-fi internet access on short-haul flights from 2017, owner IAG says.

Why Windows hack is being blamed on Russia-linked group

Microsoft says a notorious group of hackers are exploiting a flaw in its Windows operating system.

UK government cracks down on tax cyber-fraudsters

The UK's chancellor reveals how cyber-fraudsters using spoofed email addresses have been tackled.

Berners-Lee: Right to worry about cybersecurity

The inventor of the World Wide Web says government "absolutely right" about cyber security concern

Swiss railway ticket machines to sell Bitcoin digital currency

Switzerland's national rail service will begin selling the digital currency Bitcoin at ticket machines.

Broadband advert rule changes come into effect

New rules forcing broadband firms to be clearer on contract costs have come into effect.

Forged rail tickets sold on 'dark web', BBC investigation reveals

Forged rail tickets are being sold on the "dark web" and used at stations without detection, a BBC investigation finds.

SKT crowned 2016 League of Legends world champions

South Korean team SKT Telecom T1 wins the 2016 world championships of the League of Legends (LoL) video game.

'Bionic' plants can detect explosives

Scientists have transformed the humble spinach plant into a bomb detector.

Teen hacker 'accidentally' causes 911 attack

An 18-year-old is charged with three counts of computer tampering after "accidentally" swamping Arizona's emergency services with thousands of bogus 911 telephone calls.

Lincolnshire operations cancelled after network attack

Hundreds of planned operations and outpatient appointments are cancelled across Lincolnshire after an NHS computer network was attacked.

Nintendo Switch is the spiritual successor to the Nvidia SHIELD

 Nintendo has revealed its new console, the Switch (which was codenamed the NX prior to its public debut). The thing that makes Switch different from any other console out there by a major game maker is its ability to quickly transition from home console to portable, thanks to a tablet format for the primary gaming hardware, and modular a modular ‘Joy-Con’ controller design. Is… Read More

Zwift merges indoor fitness with massive multi-player online gaming

 At its core, Zwift is indoor cycling software. But layered on top of its functionality is a community that in the two years the company has been operating has grown in both scale and shear strength. At an event at Rapha’s cycling in SF, I found myself surrounded by core users proudly flaunting their team names and meeting, often not for the first time. Even Barry Bonds showed up to… Read More

Six reasons to be hyped for the Nintendo Switch (and four reasons to worry)

 Yesterday saw the introduction — after many leaks and rumors — of the Nintendo Switch, the company’s next game console. It isn’t due to arrive until March of next year, which is infinitely frustrating because it looks amazing for several reasons, not all of them obvious. Here’s why I’m more excited about the Switch than for any Nintendo product in a long time. Read More

Pokémon Go’s first ever in-game event ups the candy count for Halloween

 Pokémon Go players will get the chance to participate in the game’s first ever in-game event this Halloween, starting Wednesday October 26 and running through November 1. The event will feature higher encounter rates for spooky Pokémon, including Drowzee, Zubat, Gastly, Gengar, Golbat, Haunter and Hypno, and trainers will also get more candy for catching, buddy training and… Read More

Xiaomi beefs up its mobile virtual reality push with Mi VR

 Xiaomi has added another mobile VR headset to its portfolio: announcing the Mi VR today — which it says is its first virtual reality headset with an inertial motion controller. Read More

Gaming features in Windows 10 Creator’s Update include native Beam streaming

 Game Broadcasting for Windows 10 is coming, which brings built-in game streaming to the platform at the OS level. The tech for this is built using Beam, the TechCrunch Battlefield company acquired by Microsoft earlier this year. The Game Broadcasting tools provided by Beam incorporate interaction options for spectators, including the ability to make suggestions. On stage at the Windows… Read More

Minecraft comes to Apple TV

 Minecraft, having already come to just about every other platform, is now on Apple TV, or will be soon at any rate. Well, that’s pretty much the news! Read More

PlayStation VR is easily the winner in virtual reality right now

 Consumer virtual reality has a clear new leader today, and it’s the just-launched PlayStation VR. Unequivocally, this is the best VR experience currently available outside of the kinds of high-flying, super-secret test rigs that exist out there for army training or whatever that cost millions of dollars. That includes top-of-line hardware like HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, as well as… Read More

Six new Sun and Moon Pokémon evolutions revealed

 Pokémon Sun and Moon’s release for 3DS rapidly approaches, and the Pokémon Company is unveiling eight new Pokémon unique to the new games, including six evolutions of Sun/Moon characters and two Alola-region variants of existing pocket monsters. The new Pokémon include two evolutions of a new dragon/fighting type that looks like a good candidate for inclusion in my primary lineup of six. Read More

Rockstar teases Red Dead Redemption follow-up

 Rockstar is toying with the emotions of fans of its popular western adventure game Red Dead Redemption, with a couple of teaser images that are clearly leading up to a big announcement. Fans and industry observers suspect we could finally see the studio announce a sequel to the 2010 Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game. Red Dead Redemption was itself a follow-up to Red Dead Revolver, a… Read More

Razer acquires audiovisual icon THX as it explores growth beyond the games industry

 Razer, the company that develops hardware and services for gamers and the world of gaming, has made an acquisition to catapult it to more platforms and more people: The company has acquired THX, the legendary audio and video quality assurance company that was originally founded by George Lucas as part of Lucasfilm. Razer’s CEO Min-Liang Tan said in an interview that the terms of… Read More

Red Dead Redemption 2 confirmed for Fall 2017

 Rockstar games confirmed a sequel to Red Dead Redemption is on the way for release in Fall 2017, tweeting the date along with the promise of a trailer arriving this Thursday, October 20. The follow-up to Rockstar’s epic Western action-adventure game series has been teased through Rockstar’s account, leaving many to suspect a sequel was planned, but now we know for sure. The… Read More

Nintendo’s NES Classic Edition is a lovely piece of self-contained 80s nostalgia

 Nintendo’s got a gift for repurposing. In the 30+ years since it was first released, the NES and its beloved range of intellectual properties have been repackaged in just about every way imaginable – and heck, even that system’s most beloved protagonist was on-loan from a platformer about a giant ape with a princess-stealing problem. Mind, none of this is a criticism, really.… Read More

HP’s OMEN 17 is an epic gaming laptop that needs just a tweak or two

 HP Inc. isn’t a name that comes to mind when you think of “enthusiast PC gaming system,” but the more endearing folks at HP think that recent tweaks made to OMEN gaming brand can change brand perception in the eyes of PC gamers, like myself. Read More

Is VR a leap back in time for the games industry?

 When we look back through the annals of time, there, etched in the history books will be “2016: The year of VR.” And what a year it’s been. We’ve already seen the Samsung VR launch to great applause, but with the imminent release of the PlayStation VR and Oculus Rift devices, the sector is about to shift into overdrive. But VR is not exactly new — the concept has… Read More

Nintendo added $1.36 billion in market cap after Nintendo NX teaser

 In just a few minutes, Nintendo will unveil (update: meet the Nintendo Switch) the first official teaser for the Nintendo NX, the company’s next flagship console. While the console isn’t supposed to come out until March 2017, people are excited — including investors. A few minutes after Nintendo teased the NX preview on Twitter, Nintendo’s shares jumped. The company… Read More

Nintendo wants all third-party games on the Nintendo Switch

 Nintendo finally unveiled the successor to the Wii U and 3DS — the Nintendo Switch. Interestingly, Nintendo won’t just be showing off its own games before the release. In the press release, the company announced that it has partnered with most of the big video game companies. For once, Nintendo wants to partner with third-party developers in a big way. While many video game… Read More

The new Remix Android set top box adds 4K video

 Even with an abundant number of Android set top boxes floating around, the promise of the Remix Mini managed to capture Kickstarter’s imagination in a big way, pulling in $1.6 million in pledges when it closed in August of last year. The device’s success was due in no small part to pricing – the company was offering early birds a first-gen version of the system for $20, a… Read More

Osmo’s new Pizza Co. game uses augmented reality to teach kids about running a business

 With its latest title, educational game-maker Osmo is tackling a subject that’s close to CEO Pramod Sharma’s heart — entrepreneurship. Co-founded by Sharma and Jérôme Scholler (both former Googlers), Osmo makes iPad games that combine touchscreen gameplay with real-world objects and physical activities in front of the screen. Past games have covered topics like coding,… Read More

A short list of some games we want to see on the Nintendo Switch

 Nintendo showed off its new console, the Nintendo Switch, for the first time, in a video earlier today. It’s basically a tablet to which you connect two controllers when you’re carrying it around, and then you use a regular controller when the tablet is plugged into the TV. In other words, it’s a kind of hybrid console where you can play both while you’re on the move… Read More

Meet the giant robot equipped with a paintball cannon

Why engineers want to build giant robots which can battle each other.

Drones carry patients' blood for a fee in Rwanda

A drones start-up is launching a service that will deliver blood, plasma and coagulants to hospitals in Rwanda.

PlayStation VR headset: The verdict

BBC Click's Marc Cieslak reviews Sony's PlayStation virtual reality headset.

Let's play!

Firms are increasingly using game play to encourage greater engagement from customers and staff - but does gamification work?

Life streamed online

In 1996 Jennifer Ringley switched on a webcam and opened her life to the public for seven years. Then she logged off - completely. What was it all about?

Robot rage

Will human drivers take advantage of driverless cars' safety-first caution and simply ignore them?

Clicks and bricks

The building industry has not been known for digital innovation, but virtual reality design and project management software are changing perceptions.

Selfie blackmail

Smartphones and social media are colliding with notions of honour and shame in conservative societies - with devastating effects on the lives of some young women.

Real-world VR

VR is increasingly being used in real-world situations by schools, charities, hospitals and... kitchen retailers.

Skype sex scam

Arab men are being targeted by blackmailers who trick them into them masturbating on webcams - then make them pay for it.

Blockchain bandits

Are hack attacks aimed at the technology behind Bitcoin and other virtual currencies undermining confidence in the digital cash world?

Smart home threat

Recent cyber-attacks using botnet armies of hacked "internet of things" devices highlights the pressing need for improved security.

The Pompeii house recreated in 3D and other tech news

BBC Click's Stephen Beckett looks at some of the best of the week's technology news.

'Emoldjis': Gran's call for older people's lives to be reflected

False teeth and bad back emojis, the brainchild of a frustrated grandmother, could soon be in use after being sent off for official approval.

Here are some of the best Vines ever made - according to the internet

With Twitter closing down its micro-video sharing service, Vine, have a look back at some of its best bits.

The smart mirror which makes customised makeup patches

BBC Click's Dan Simmons looks at some of the latest technology on show in Japan.

The suitcase with a built-in scooter and other travel tech

Tommy Sandhu looks at some of the latest travel gadgets

The drone designed to fly on one propeller

BBC Click's Spencer Kelly finds out why a drone with one propeller was created.

Vine star Charlie Murphy discusses the service's end

Charlie Murphy posted one of the most watched videos on Vine, but says that he is not surprised the service is being shut down.

The robotic caterpillar powered by light and other news

BBC Click's Lara Lewington looks at some of the best of the week's technology news.

Gotcha! Norwegian prime minister caught playing Pokémon GO during parliamentary debate

 Pokémon GO fever may be receding in the U.S., but in Norway it’s still raging. The country’s prime minister, Erna Solberg, was caught red-handed playing the game in parliament. Read More

Panasonic reveals bendable battery at Ceatec

A bendable battery could be the first stage for new "disruptive" electronics, say experts.

Which report: UK 'lags behind' London on 4G coverage

A Which report into the state of UK broadband finds that the rest of the UK is lagging behind London when it comes to accessing 4G data services.

Google Pixel phones and Home speaker take on Siri and Echo

Google unveils two phones and a voice-activated speaker, both powered by its new virtual assistant.

Facebook apologises for baby hedgehog Marketplace ads

Baby hedgehogs, illegal drugs and guns were listed for sale on the new Marketplace section of Facebook's app.

TalkTalk fined £400,000 for theft of customer details

UK telecoms firm TalkTalk is given a record £400,000 fine for security failings which let customer data be stolen "with ease".

Blackberry not giving up on smartphones

Blackberry says it will continue to be a smartphone brand, after announcing it will end in-house development of devices.

NSA government contractor 'stole classified files'

A National Security Agency contractor is accused of stealing top secret files that could have caused "exceptionally grave damage to national security".

Samsung takes over AI pioneer and creators of Apple's Siri

Smartphone giant Samsung steps up its focus on artificial intelligence (AI) by taking over Viv, a new digital assistant developed by the creators of Apple's Siri.

Fujitsu shares jump on takeover rumours

Shares in Japanese electronics company Fujitsu jump more than 7% on media reports it will sell its computer business to Chinese firm Lenovo.

RBS, NatWest and SEB banks employ virtual staff

Chatbots are being rolled out in customer service departments at Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest and Swedish bank SEB

Yahoo 'scanned emails to help FBI hunt terrorists'

Yahoo was ordered to scan users' emails to help the FBI hunt terrorists, reports the New York Times.

Spotify ads 'launched virus pop-ups'

Spotify says it has fixed a problem in its software that let advertisements automatically open virus-infected websites on a victim's device.

Hack warnings prompt cyber 'security fatigue'

Endless warnings have given people "security fatigue" that stops them keeping their devices safe, suggests a study.

Twitter shares plunge by a fifth

Shares in social media website Twitter plunge by a fifth on Thursday amid worries about a lack of takeover interest.

Pokemon Go is making it easier to catch rare characters

Pokemon Go is trying to lure back players by making it easier to catch rare Pokemon characters.

Lady Gaga: Clips from new album 'leak' on Amazon

Snippets of Lady Gaga's new album have been shared online after fans "tricked" the Amazon's virtual assistant into playing preview clips.

How the street light got a hi-tech makeover

Next time you're out after dark, spare a thought for the humble street light - because it's not so humble anymore.

Credit card with fraud-busting display

A credit card with an ever-changing security code is being launched in France and may also come to the UK.

Google’s new VR headset is a hipster Daydream

 Looking cool has never been Google’s strong suit. This is the engineer-led company that brought us Google Glass, after all. Yet some beanie-clad Mountain View designer seems to have had a vinyl-fueled revelation. Google is late to the game of non-cardboard virtual reality headsets. Oculus, Samsung, HTC, and others have popularized sci-fi looking VR masks. So to standout, Google needed… Read More

Play this killer self-driving car ethics game

 Should a self-driving car full of old folks crash to avoid puppies in the cross-walk? Is it OK to run over two criminals if you save one doctor? Whose lives are worth more, seven-year-olds or senior citizens? In, This new game called the “Moral Machine” from MIT’s researchers, a car’s breaks fail and you have to choose whether it crashes into a barrier, killing the… Read More