If you’re a Gmail user, you might have recently noticed a ghost-like presence in your email account. It’s light grey, and it comes and goes, sometimes when you’re not expecting it. And, like most ghost sightings, glimpses of it have been reported to be a little creepy.
If you’re sharing your Spotify account with… well, anyone, you’ll know that it has a talent for throwing up some odd suggestions based on what the other person listens to. That tendency increases if the person you’re sharing that account with is still primary-school age. You don’t have to live in fear of an unexpected animated Disney medley in the middle of your thrash-metal-Thursday outing any more, though — Spotify Kids is here to help.
Here’s what you need to know about DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH). A new technology promises to make your web browser more private than ever, keeping your internet activity from prying eyes. But some argue your data won’t actually be all that private. And others are worried it could actually help criminals including child abusers to avoid justice.
We know it’s unlikely but it’s not that unlikely. Apple’s devices tend to have long lifespans, far longer than most tech does. So it’s not out of the question that some of you are still using an Apple iPhone 5, even though the handset first launched in 2012. The question now is: do you want to keep using it?
The tech giants Amazon, Google and Facebook have all begun to use machine learning to give you tips on what to wear. Is fashion styling the next field to be disrupted by artificial intelligence (AI), or will the human eye remain supreme?
The City of Johannesburg has shut down its website and online services, reporting a cyber-attack following a series of ransom notes sent to the city. The ransom, sent by a group calling itself the Shadow Kill Hackers, is demanding 4.0 bitcoin from City of Joburg.
Big data hasn’t levelled the playing field. It has simply allowed wealthy organisations and individuals to further entrench their dominance. And regulators can’t keep up. New technologies make it almost impossible to trace the global flow of money World4Brexit may receive to fund its political campaigning
Digital platforms, the websites and apps which compete for our precious screen time, have successfully invaded the traditional territory of many sectors of the “old economy”. They have become the preferred – expected, even – domains for many kinds of human behaviour, from banking and property buying, to dating and entertainment.
This week in Light Start – no more loot boxes for Activision, Windows 7 will run out of time, Samsung losing its grip on China, and the ultimae hacker.
Reports of Facebook moderators’ appalling working conditions have been making headlines worldwide. Workers say they are burning out as they moderate vast flows of violent content under pressure, with vague, ever-changing guidelines. They describe unclean, dangerous contractor workplaces. Moderators battle depression, addiction, and even post-traumatic stress disorder from the endless parade of horrors they consume.