Innovation, Tech and Economic Development
By Andy Curtis | Brought to you by those lovely chaps at Global Innovation Partners.
Brexit phrasebook: a guide to the talks' key terms
Don’t know your EFTA from your EEA? Help is at hand with our comprehensive jargon buster<p>Acquis communautaire<p>The entire body of European laws: all the treaties, regulations and directives passed by the EU’s institutions, plus all the rulings of the European court of justice (see below). Every member …
BrexitJeff Bezos crowdsources ideas for his philanthropy
It's no secret that Jeff Bezos has made a massive amount of money from Amazon, so much so that he's the second richest man in the world according to <i>Bloomberg</i>. And now, he's ready to give his money away -- and wants you to help tell him how.<p>Yesterday, <i>The New York Times</i> posed questions to the …
Jeff BezosThe 10 biggest changes Apple didn't announce on stage at WWDC
The death of wired keyboards, less integration with Facebook and Twitter on iOS 11, and a £29 pencil case. Here’s what they didn’t tell you<p>Not everything Apple introduces at WWDC gets a big announcement on stage. Sometimes there are positive things that just aren’t big enough for a fancy executive …
iOSNon-Brits: here's what you need to know about the British election
A quick recap of how Theresa May’s gamble in calling an election to firm up support for Brexit backfired – and what it means going forward<p>Election 2017 - latest updates Seat by seat results guide<p>The British prime minister Theresa May’s gamble in calling an early election spectacularly failed on …
BrexitSteam brings virtual reality to macOS
Mac platforms have been too underpowered for virtual reality, requiring Apple diehards to bootstrap Windows for a ramshackle VR solution. But today at its annual WWDC conference, Apple announced a dedicated VR dev kit: A Thunderbolt 3 GPU enclosure powered by AMD Radeon processors and a software …
Virtual Reality1st Private Space Station Will Become an Off-Earth Manufacturing Hub
The first-ever commercial space station will become a manufacturing hub just a few years after reaching orbit, if everything goes according to …
NASAThe world's first commercial carbon-capture plant opens in Switzerland
A groundbreaking plant where carbon dioxide is sucked from the air before being resold has opened in Switzerland.<p>Founded by Climeworks, the direct …
SustainabilityRoomba creator wants to do for gardens what he did for your floors
Let's be honest: while planting your garden can be fun, weeding it usually isn't. Not unless you enjoy crouching down for long stretches, anyway. You might not have to endure the drudgery for too much longer, though. Roomba co-creator Joe Jones and Franklin Robotics are launching Tertill, a robot …
GardeningLorem raises $1.1M to connect small businesses and web developers for quick assistance
When small and medium businesses want to build a website, they can take advantage of easy-to-use web tools like Squarespace — but who do they turn to when they need more technical help?<p>New York City startup Lorem Technologies is trying to make this process easier. After all, CEO Sam Wilcoxon …
StartupsThis little gadget uses neural networks to help you take photos like a professional
Taking a decent photo on your smartphone is easier than ever, but if you want to graduate to the next level with a DSLR or mirrorless camera, there’s a lot more to think about. Factors range from focus to shutter speed, aperture to ISO, color range and more, and knowing how to balance them all …
BeerBucking Trump, These Cities, States and Companies Commit to Paris Accord
Representatives of American cities, states and companies are preparing to submit a plan to the United Nations pledging to meet the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions targets under the Paris climate accord, despite President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the agreement.<p>The unnamed group — …
CitiesSnapchat brings its hip round Spectacles to Europe
Snap Inc’s glasses that film circular videos of users’ everyday lives have been placed in vending machines in London, Paris, Berlin, Barcelona and Venice<p>Snapchat is bringing its Spectacles to Europe, placing five “snapbot” vending machines in London, Paris, Berlin, Barcelona and Venice to begin …
Snap Inc.Elon Musk and Disney boss quit Trump's business panel over Paris pullout
High-profile departures from business advisory role shine light on other panel members and their beliefs<p>Donald Trump may think tackling climate change is bad for business. But business? Not so much.<p>Two of the US’s biggest business leaders, Tesla founder Elon Musk and Disney’s Robert Iger, have quit …
ClimateI am slave to Apple Watch no more
I suffer from phantom smartwatch syndrome—an ailment that hopefully will disappear over time. Nearly four weeks ago, I put aside Apple Watch 2 …
SmartwatchesThe Future Of Coworking And Why It Will Give Your Business A Huge Edge
Here are the numbers that support the case for coworking–and why it’s not just for startups or freelancers anymore.<p>Fun. Friendly. Inspiring. Collaborative. Productive. If you wouldn’t define your workplace with any or all of those terms, you may have to ditch your own desk and take a seat at a …
The WorkplaceEbay accused of failing its sellers as fraudulent buyers manipulate the system
A website built on the premise that most people are honest is struggling. Now at last there is a promise of more protection, as Anna Tims reports<p>Last November Clive Rose* sold two handmade Japanese swords on eBay, worth a total of £1,940. The buyer, once he had received them, demanded that the cost …
FraudBrexit and the coming food crisis: ‘If you can’t feed a country, you haven’t got a country’
Britain’s food production depends on seasonal migrant labour from the EU. What will happen to those workers after Brexit? And how will it change the industry?<p>On 24 June last year, the few hundred residents of a temporary village, hidden from view in the middle of a West Sussex soft fruit farm, …
BrexitUK switches on the world's largest wind turbines
The largest wind turbines in the world have recently started producing energy for the UK. Dong Energy, the Danish company behind the project, has recently switched on the 32 gigantic structures in Liverpool Bay. The turbines are taller than some skyscrapers at 640 feet and have 262-foot-long blades …
Wind PowerGoogle Lens turns your phone into a super-intelligent camera
Google's image-recognition AI just got way smarter.<p>The company announced a new computer-vision platform, Google Lens, which could give our smartphone cameras even more power, during its I/O developer conference Wednesday.<p>CEO Sundar Pichai showed off Google Lens with an innocuous image of a little …
GoogleIs the editor of the Daily Mail the most dangerous man in Britain?
Under Paul Dacre’s 25-year reign, the paper has become the UK’s most fanatical anti-liberal voice. We trace its growing political influence through the past year’s headlines<p>For me, Brexit fell from the sky. On the night of 23 June last year, while the referendum count was in progress, I was flying …
ReferendumsToyota is set to finance a flying car project that could take flight by 2018
Toyota is set to finance a flying car project that could take flight by 2018.<p>The Japanese car firm will give engineers £274,000 to develop …
FaceApp changes old world art models from stoic to stoked
It's such an obvious idea, but it took a professional artist to think of it: use the FaceApp to give old world art portraits the smiles they deserve.<p>UK-based designer Olly Gibbs decided to take the app to the museum and apply its effects to classic paintings and sculptures and the results are …
ArtApple launches a set of tutorials for improving your iPhone photography
Smartphone cameras have become quite powerful. Because of this, it seems that more people get attracted to photography and want to explore all its …
PhotographyHow to escape the online spies
Whether you’re tweeting, shopping or just browsing, internet companies are monitoring you. Here’s how to evade the snoopers<p>Nobody likes being spied on. When you’re innocently browsing the web, it’s deeply unpleasant to think that faceless technology corporations are monitoring and recording your …
PrivacyLiveSmart, a London-based employee health platform, raises £700,000
LiveSmart, a London-based startup that offers a platform to help employees track and improve their health, has raised £700,000 in funding.<p>Investors include Matt Merrick (formerly the managing director of Virgin Active Health Clubs) and Lawrence Mitchell (formerly global marketing director and …
Digital HealthSurf fan who loves pizza: anonymous hero who halted cyber-attack
Known on Twitter as Malware Tech, the 22-year-old is a self-taught computer expert who reveals little about his true identity<p>His online avatar is a cat in sunglasses, he drools over surf pictures from Cornwall and orders three takeaway pizzas for lunch. But unlike other home-based computer whizzes …
SecurityFollow the data: does a legal document link Brexit campaigns to US billionaire?
We reveal how a confidential legal agreement is at the heart of a web connecting Robert Mercer to Britain’s EU referendum<p>This article is the subject of a legal complaint on behalf of SCLE and Cambridge Analytica.<p>On 18 November 2015, the British press gathered in a hall in Westminster to witness the …
ReferendumsDeath of '1.5m oldsters' could swing second Brexit vote, says Ian McEwan
At Brexit conference in London, author says ‘angry old men’ are shaping UK’s future and by 2019 the mood could be different<p>The novelist Ian McEwan has suggested that the death of many elderly Brexit voters over the next two years would help swing a second referendum in favour of Britain staying in …
BrexitSynthetic Sensors Is a Sensor That Could Soon Make Homes Scary-Smart
If you want to set up a connected home, you’ve got two options. You can buy a bunch of smart gadgets that may or may not communicate with other smart …
Machine Learning