TV box helps colour-blind viewers

3 December 2014 Last updated at 15:29 By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News Continue reading the main story

A set-top TV box that can help people with colour blindness better differentiate shades has been developed by a Cambridge firm.

Eyeteq, from University of East Anglia-based company Spectral Edge, alters colours frame-by-frame - without spoiling them for the non-colour-blind.

The technology could also be used on video games, the company said.

A colour-blindness awareness group has called for Eyeteq to be part of all televisions as standard.

The condition affects one in 12 men, and one in 200 women, with red-green colour blindness the most common.

According to Spectral Edge's website: "Eyeteq gently modifies colours in images in such a way that colour-blind observers enjoy both improved visibility as well as the overall appearance."

"With careful design using mathematical perception models," it adds, "we are able to remap colours to maximise discrimination for colour-blind people, at the same as minimising the strength of the effect for non-colour-blind people."

The company says those who are not colour blind do not mind the colour change as it is slight. It also said there is no noticeable lag as pictures are remapped in real-time, a process that takes milliseconds.

Liverpool woe

The technology had now reached proof-of-concept stage, Spectral Edge's managing director Christopher Cytera told the BBC.

"The next step is to refine and upgrade that proof of concept," he said.

"At the moment it's working at 720p resolution, we want to get it to 1080p."

Spectral Edge then plans to license the technology to manufacturers to include in new televisions.

Are colour blind gamers left out?

Next time you are playing a video game online and a member of your own team shoots you, spare a thought - they could be colour blind.

Read more

Colour Blind Awareness, a group promoting the needs of colour-blind people, said it believed Eyeteq should become a standard feature.

"It has such good feedback," said founder Kathryn Albany-Ward.

"When I tried it on my son, he gave it 10 out of 10 - it was like opening his eyes up."

She told the BBC the technology would greatly help when watching certain sporting events.

A recent European football match between Liverpool and Bulgarian side Ludogorets left colour-blind viewers frustrated as the teams played in red and green.

Continue reading the main story

Can you see a number in the image above? If not, you may suffer from colour blindness.

Those with the condition said it was like watching 22 players in the same kit.

Big market

Mr Cytera said he hoped his company's technology would become a "badge of honour" for manufacturers promoting accessibility credentials.

"There is a big market - 8% of men worldwide are affected, which is a huge number.

"Lots of great work done in audio description, and subtitling, but nothing so far for colour blindness."

Eyeteq works by presenting the viewer with a slider, allowing adjustments for severity.

The company has released a free mobile app for people to test out the system.

Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC

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N Korea 'denies' Sony Pictures hack

4 December 2014 Last updated at 12:17

A North Korean diplomat in New York has said his country was not behind a cyber-attack on Sony Pictures, according to reports.

The film giant suffered a huge leak of information after last month's breach.

US broadcaster Voice of America quoted the unnamed diplomat as saying claims North Korea had been responsible were a "fabrication".

Sony has hired security specialists but has not yet made any suggestion as to the source of the attack.

Independent security researchers said there were solid clues that the attack had originated in the secretive nation.

Sony has brought in the services of security specialists FireEye to investigate the breach, which reportedly saw computers across Sony Pictures rendered unusable, with staff told to switch off their technology.

The FBI is also involved - it alerted businesses to be aware of "destructive" malware that had recently been discovered.

Technology news site Recode on Wednesday said Sony Pictures and FireEye were poised to announce that North Korea had been responsible - although the companies have since denied this.

However, independent researchers have pointed out similarities in the malicious code used to hit Sony and a similar attack on South Korea last year.

The South Korean government said the attack, dubbed Dark Seoul, had been carried out by North Korea - although, like many cyber-attacks, the source was never confirmed.

Film anger

The suggested motivation for a hack from North Korea, commentators said, had been the country's anger at an upcoming Sony film, The Interview.

In the film, set for release at Christmas, Seth Rogen and James Franco play two reporters who have been granted an audience with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The CIA then enlists the pair to assassinate him.

North Korea said the film was "the most undisguised sponsoring of terrorism as well as a war action".

The country's UN envoy Ja Song-Nam said there would be a "merciless response" if the film was not cancelled.

However, the diplomat quoted by Voice of America - who asked to remain anonymous - dismissed reports his country had been involved in the attack on Sony.

"Linking [North Korea] to the Sony hacking is another fabrication targeting the country," he told the broadcaster.

"My country publicly declared that it would follow international norms banning hacking and piracy."

Earlier this week, a separate North Korean official gave a more ambiguous response, saying: "Wait and see," in response to a question about the attack.

Analysis: Leo Kelion, technology desk editor

Suggestions North Korea could be behind the Sony Pictures hack has drawn incredulity from some, surprised that the "Hermit Kingdom" might be able to pull off such a stunt.

In fact, experts say Pyongyang's cyber-skills should not be underestimated. One US government adviser warned last year that North Korean hackers posed "an important 'wild card' threat" to US and international security.

Being sure about how far its cyber-capabilities extend isn't easy. A report by Hewlett Packard's security division noted that most North Koreans were restricted to an intranet system, separate from the wider internet, which limits their links to the outside world.

But the report noted that the state's education system places special emphasis on mathematics, which has helped it develop skilled programmers, cryptographers and security researchers.

According to a report by Al-Jazeera, North Korean defectors have spoken of promising students going on a two-year accelerated university course before heading to China and Russia for a year to hone their hacking skills.

A US analyst quoted a defector who claimed to be part of North Korea's Unit 121 hacking squad until he escaped in 2004. He said some operations had been carried out from a Pyongyang-owned hotel in Shenyang, China.

According to HP, North Korea's "cyber-warriors" are thought to have carried out a wide variety of attacks, including:

• Spreading malware via video games
• Stealing details of foreign technologies stored on computers
• Carrying out distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS), which knock services offline by flooding them with traffic sent from hijacked foreign computers
• Cyber-psychological operations - posting propaganda to social networks and "trolling" message boards

However, hacking a major corporation to make threatening demands is not a behaviour that has been linked to North Korea in the past, and the hashtag #GOP (Guardians of Peace) - used in the Sony attack - is not known to have been used by Pyongyang.

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UK chipmaker reveals Raspberry Pi rival

4 December 2014 Last updated at 13:18

British chip designer Imagination has produced a barebones computer to compete with the Raspberry Pi.

Called the Creator CI20, the board has a more powerful processor than the Pi, more memory and more onboard storage.

For its graphics, it uses a version of the Imagination chip that is also found inside Apple's iPad tablet.

The small computer enters a growing and competitive market, with the Raspberry Pi already having sold almost four millions units.

The CI20 will cost £50 ($65) and can be ordered now, though the first units will not be dispatched to customers until January 2015.

As a chip designer, Hertfordshire-based Imagination is better known for drawing up the plans and specifications for processors that are used to handle graphics in Apple gadgets as well as phones from many other manufacturers.

With the CI20, Imagination is entering a market that is crowded with small form-factor, barebones computers that are being used by hobbyists and others for small embedded computing projects.

Anyone looking to buy a small computer can choose from the Raspberry Pi, the BeagleBone Black, Arduino Uno and Intel's Galileo and NUC devices.

Like its rivals, the CI20 can run many different versions of the open source operating system Linux and it can also run the latest edition of Google's Android mobile operating system.

It also has wi-fi and Bluetooth connectors onboard. By contrast, the BeagleBone Black and Raspberry Pi B+ devices have only Ethernet connectors built in.

Tony King-Smith, a spokesman for Imagination, said the CI20 was aimed at people who wanted a "high-performance" board for their development projects.

Writing on the Bit-Tech reviews site, Gareth Halfacree said there was no doubt that the CI20 was seeking to take part of the market that the Pi currently dominates.

However, he wondered, if the high price and "uncommon instruction set architecture" would limit its appeal.

One expert who has had time to test the kit also had doubts about its potential.

"There will be a modicum of pick-up, especially for people trying to develop for Android it could be a very useful low-cost device to have," said Chris Green, principal technology analyst at the Davies Murphy Group consultancy.

"But do I think it will make much wider impact? The answer is no.

"It just doesn't have the momentum that the Raspberry Pi has.

"The Pi was seen as a good cause and had backing from various corporations, the media and even government departments that gave it a good word because of the educational potential it had.

"The Creator CI20 is just a product, the Raspberry Pi is a movement."

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Google plans child-friendly products

4 December 2014 Last updated at 11:23

Google is developing child-friendly versions of its search site, Chrome browser and video-sharing service YouTube, according to a US report.

Pavni Diwanji, Google's vice-president of engineering who is heading the project, revealed the plans in an interview with USA Today.

Ms Diwanji said the company was aiming to make modified versions designed for children aged up to 12.

Google has not said when the child-friendly products will be released.

"The big motivator inside the company is everyone is having kids, so there's a push to change our products to be fun and safe for children," Ms Diwanji told the newspaper.

As an example, she said a child searching for "trains" on a modified version of Google's search page might get back information about Thomas the Tank Engine rather than links to timetables and ticket-booking sites.

Wrapped around the child-friendly versions will be tools that let parents monitor and manage how much time their offspring spend online and where they go.

These novel versions of its products will be likely to go further than the "safe search" tools found on browsers and search sites available from Google and many others.

Google's initiative follows other projects it has run that are aimed at children. These include its virtual Maker Camp, a Doodle 4 Google competition for young people and its Made with Code initiative.

The company's plans could be limited by the US Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (Coppa), which specifies how much data can be collected about children and how it can be used. Heavy fines have been levied on firms that flout Coppa.

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Steam Broadcasting takes on Twitch

3 December 2014 Last updated at 15:20

Steam - the popular PC video gaming platform - is adding the ability to stream gameplay so that others can watch online.

The move presents a challenge to Twitch, which is built around a similar service, and was acquired by Amazon for $970m (£618m) in September.

Steam has more than 100 million active accounts, nearly double the 60 million visitors a month claimed by Twitch.

But one expert suggested Twitch was still likely to dominate the sector.

Privacy options

Steam is software provided by the US company Valve that allows people to buy, support development of, play and discuss titles created by thousands of video game publishers.

It has emerged as the most popular way to buy Windows PC games. It also offers Mac and Linux-based software.

Steam's new facility can be accessed three different ways:

• via the Community section of its platform in a new sub-section called Broadcasts, which provides a list of games currently being played by random users
• via the platform's Friends menu or from a specific friend's profiles, which allows a user to follow the action of people in their social circle
• via an invitation sent by a friend who is already playing

Anyone playing a game via Valve's software can opt to let their progress be watched by others, and they are offered various privacy options that allow them to control who can activate a stream.

Broadcasters can provide voice-over commentary and text chat, but cannot appear in a superimposed webcam feed window as is common on Twitch, although they can show other computer desktop activity when not in-game.

Other restrictions include the fact that broadcasts cannot be saved to be watched back later, and that players have no obvious way to make money from their streams - two activities Twitch allows. However, Steam benefits from the fact that it does not require visitors to watch adverts before game streams begin.

"Valve has listened to what its customers have been asking for and has offered live broadcasting in its own way, which basically provides it with free marketing for the games sold on its platform," said Lewis Ward, a video games analyst from the IDC consultancy.

"Getting into the streams is very easy, and it seems it's done enough on the security side so if you don't want certain people to view your activity or are a parent who has concerns about your kids, there are ways to block it.

"So, it's done the core of what Twitch does but still lacks some aspects that make Twitch distinctive. And while I think it's a very interesting first step, I don't think it matches where Twitch is today."

The two companies are not alone in efforts to make gaming a spectator sport.

Google's YouTube is another major force, allowing players to stream and watch live gameplay as well as pre-recorded clips.

Hitbox.tv, Ustream and the in-development GamingLive.tv provide other alternatives.

But Mr Ward suggested that Steam Broadcasting should be able to co-exist alongside the dominant player.

"Twitch is platform-agnostic - it's kind of like Switzerland - and that neutrality means it can partner with lots of different companies," he said.

"It can focus on mobile and consoles as well as PCs - Twitch and Steam started allowing account linking over a year ago - so, I think it can take a broader view of gaming broadcast capabilities, which is where the market is going.

"And so long as Valve stays focused only on broadcasts of games played on its platform, then that's going to limit the potential growth of the new service."

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Driverless car UK test cities named

3 December 2014 Last updated at 18:04

The four English locations picked to test driverless cars have been named.

Greenwich, in south-east London, and Bristol will each host a project of their own, while Coventry and Milton Keynes will share a third.

The decision was announced by the quango Innovate UK, after George Osborne's Autumn Statement.

The chancellor also announced an additional £9m in funding for the work, adding to the £10m that had been announced in July.

The businesses involved will add further funds.

Bristol will host the Venturer consortium, which aims to investigate whether driverless cars can reduce congestion and make roads safer.

Its members include the insurance group Axa, and much of its focus will be on the public's reaction to the tech as well as the legal and insurance implications of its introduction.

Greenwich is set to run the Gateway scheme. This will be led by the Transport Research Laboratory consultancy and also involves General Motors, and the AA and RAC motoring associations. It plans to carry out tests of automated passenger shuttle vehicles as well as autonomous valet parking for adapted cars.

In addition, a self-drive car simulator will make use of a photorealistic 3D model of the area to study how people react to sharing the driving of a vehicle with its computer.

"The combination of TRL's independent expertise; robust, reliable testing protocols and driving simulation facilities alongside the diverse and high calibre qualities of our consortium means we can safely demonstrate automated vehicles to build acceptance and trust in this revolutionary technology," said the firm's chief executive Rob Wallis.

Milton Keynes and Coventry will host the UK Autodrive programme.

This involves Ford, Jaguar Land Rover and the engineering consultancy Arup among others, and will test both self-drive cars on the road as well as self-driving pods designed for pedestrianised areas.

Part of this group's work will be to develop the technologies that will need to be built into roads and the surrounding infrastructure to aid vehicle navigation.

"Our plan with the practical demonstration phases is to start testing with single vehicles on closed roads, and to build up to a point where all road users, as well as legislators, the police and insurance companies, are confident about how driverless pods and fully and partially autonomous cars can operate safely on UK roads," said Tim Armitage from Arup.

The tests will last from between 18 to 36 months and begin on 1 January.

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Gangnam Style 'broke' YouTube limit

4 December 2014 Last updated at 07:21

The music video for South Korean singer Psy's Gangnam Style exceeded YouTube's view limit, prompting the site to upgrade its counter.

YouTube said the video - its most watched ever - has been viewed more than 2,147,483,647 times.

It has now changed the maximum view limit to 9,223,372,036,854,775,808, or more than nine quintillion.

Gangnam Style became a worldwide hit when it was released in 2012, largely due to the surreal video.

How do you say 9,223,372,036,854,775,808?

Nine quintillion, two hundred and twenty-three quadrillion, three hundred and seventy-two trillion, thirty-six billion, eight hundred and fifty-four million, seven hundred and seventy-five thousand, eight hundred and eight.

YouTube's counter previously used a 32-bit integer, which is a unit used to represent data in computer architecture. This means the maximum possible views it could count was 2,147,483,647.

On 1 December, it posted a statement saying: "We never thought a video would be watched in numbers greater than a 32-bit integer... but that was before we met Psy."

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In 2012 the BBC's Rico Hizon asks Gangnam Style's Psy the story behind his name

Google, which owns YouTube, later told website The Verge that engineers "saw this coming a couple months ago and updated our systems to prepare for it".

YouTube now uses a 64-bit integer for its video counter, which means videos have a maximum viewer count of 9.22 quintillion.

Psy has yet to comment although news of YouTube's change was posted on his Facebook and Twitter pages.

The second most-watched video on YouTube - Baby by Justin Bieber - lags behind Gangnam Style by more than a billion views.

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Apple 'wiped' rival music from iPods

4 December 2014 Last updated at 12:17

Apple has been accused by lawyers in a court case of "deleting" songs from rival services from some iPods during the past decade.

Users with non-iTunes music received a message telling them to restore devices to their factory settings when they tried to sync them, the court heard.

Apple said that the move was a legitimate security measure.

The competition case is examining whether Apple tried to lock down its iPod and iTunes market in 2007-09.

Apple's security director Augustin Farrugia said the company's attempt to keep iPods clear of any non-iTunes music was done to protect consumers from hackers and malicious content.

He added that the error message that appeared when users tried to sync the content of an iPod to an iTunes account was vague because the firm did not want to "confuse users" with too much information.

Jobs video testimony

Earlier the court saw the contents of an email that then Apple chief executive Steve Jobs sent in 2005 after learning that a rival company was about to introduce a program that would let music fans buys songs anywhere and play them on iPods.

"We may need to change things here," the email read.

Lawyers argue that there was an internal campaign to keep Apple's iPods free of music that was not purchased from the iTunes store.

By updating the iTunes and iPod software to block music from competing online stores, Apple operated a closed system which froze rivals out of the market, they say.

Later in the trial, jurors will hear from a Stanford economist who will claim that Apple inflated the price of iPods by nearly $350m.

Jurors will also see video testimony from Steve Jobs, filmed six months before he died.

The class action lawsuit, brought by individuals and businesses, is being heard in a US district court in California.

They accuse Apple of abusing a monopoly position in the digital music player market. The case has been going on for more than a decade and could see Apple pay out $1bn in damages.

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Shops ban 'sexually violent' GTA 5

4 December 2014 Last updated at 13:41

Two Australian retail chains have removed video game Grand Theft Auto V from sale in its stores, following complaints about the depiction of violence towards women.

Target and Kmart stores pulled the game after a petition launched by three female survivors of violence gained more than 40,000 signatures.

Target said the decision "was in line with the majority view of customers".

Some fans of the game accused the stores of censorship.

The decision was made after three women set up a petition on change.org urging Target to withdraw the game.

"It's a game that encourages players to murder women for entertainment. The incentive is to commit sexual violence against women, then abuse or kill them to proceed or get 'health' points," the petition reads.

"To see this violence that we lived through turned into a form of entertainment is sickening and causes us great pain and harm."

It goes on to say that games like GTA 5 are "grooming yet another generation of boys to tolerate violence against women".

A rival petition was launched soon after, urging the stores to continue sales.

"This game may allow you to kill, hurt, bash and shoot anyone not just females and this game should be on the shelves all over the country. It's made for adults not children, we have the right to buy games despite their content," said Brett Herbert, who launched the petition.

Customer feedback

Jim Cooper, general manager of corporate affairs at Target, said that the decision to withdraw the game had not been taken lightly.

"We've been speaking to many customers over recent days about the game and there is a significant level of concern about the game's content," he said in a statement.

"We've also had customer feedback in support of us selling the game, and we respect their perspective on the issue.

"However, we feel the decision to stop selling GTA 5 is in line with the majority view of our customers."

Target Australia posted on its Facebook page the news it was withdrawing the game and immediately received thousands of comments, many of them criticising the decision.

Kmart also decided to pull the game - both it and Target are owned by the retail group Wesfarmers.

Strippers and prostitutes

Set in the fictional city of Los Santos, Grand Theft Auto V allows gamers to control three criminals as they rampage through the town committing a series of crimes.

The game, developed by UK-based Rockstar North, was released a year ago and was immediately criticised for the levels of violence, particularly for its depictions of torture and the way it often portrays women as strippers and prostitutes

It carries an 18 certificate in the UK and an equivalent R18+ rating in Australia.

Despite criticisms about its content, it became the fastest-selling entertainment product in history, passing $1bn of sales in the first three days. It has also won 33 awards.

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Kenya breaks 'cyber crime network'

4 December 2014 Last updated at 13:49

Kenyan police say they have cracked a cyber crime centre run by 77 Chinese nationals from upmarket homes in the capital, Nairobi.

Police believe they were involved in hacking and money laundering. The group has been remanded in custody for five days to allow for further investigations.

The foreign ministry summoned a Chinese diplomat to discuss the arrests.

A Chinese official said the embassy was co-operating with investigations.

It was checking the passports of the suspects to see whether they were, in fact, Chinese nationals, the official told the BBC on condition of anonymity.

'Military-style dormitories'

Police raids were triggered by a fire on Sunday at a home in Nairobi's Rhunda estate in which one person died.

"Preliminary findings show the fire was caused by one of the servers they were illegally operating," the director of Kenya's Criminal Investigations Department, Ndegwa Muhoro, told the privately owned Standard newspaper.

Numerous telephone headsets, computers linked to high-speed internet and monitors were found.

"The suspects are being interrogated to establish their mission in the country and what they wanted to do with the communication gadgets," Mr Muhoro is quoted by AFP news agency as saying.

The charges against the 77 so far include "being in the country illegally and operating radio equipment" without the necessary permits, AFP quotes an unnamed source as saying.

The suspects had been living in "military-style dormitories", and Chinese officials were shocked by the revelations, the Standard reports.

The group had been preparing to "raid the country's communication systems" and had equipment capable of infiltrating bank accounts, Kenya's M-Pesa mobile banking system and ATM machines, according to Kenya's privately owned Daily Nation newspaper.

Kenya's Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed summoned China's ambassador on Wednesday and "made it clear that the Chinese government should fully cooperate on this matter," Fred Matiang'i, the communications minister, said.

"China promised to send investigators to work with ours on this matter," he added.

The BBC's Paul Nabiswa in Nairobi says the raids come at a time when many Chinese companies are investing heavily in Kenya, especially in the construction industry.

The Kenyan government has signed many bilateral agreements with China and Chinese nationals have roles in government programmes, including in higher education institutions, he says.

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Headset guides blind people in cities

6 November 2014 Last updated at 00:36

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WATCH: Rory Cellan-Jones puts the headset to the test

A headset that talks visually impaired people around cities has been designed by Microsoft.

It works with a Windows phone and uses location and navigation data with a network of information beacons in urban locations to describe routes.

The headset was tested on a journey from Reading to London, including shopping, bus and train travel.

The charity Guide Dogs, which helped develop the technology, said it could help improve lives.

Of the two million registered visually impaired people in the UK, 180,000 rarely or never go out, according to the charity.

"People living with sight loss face a multitude of challenges every day that can prevent them from getting where they want to be in life," explained Jenny Cook, head of strategy and research at Guide Dogs.

"Currently, visiting a new city is often daunting, even for people with enough confidence to tackle the challenge independently. For others, who rarely leave home alone, the thought of an unfamiliar journey leaves them stressed and anxious and visiting a new area is an impossible dream."

The BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones tested out the headset.

Before trying out Microsoft's headset I put on a blindfold, picked up a white stick and went for a short walk along London's Grand Union Canal.

All the way, I was being helped by a tutor from the Guide Dogs organisation - but even so I found it an exhausting and disorientating experience. That gave me some context for when I used the experimental audio system on the trial route in Reading.

At first I found it distracting rather than helpful, a clippety-clop sound echoing around my head plus a repeated ping to say I was on track. But as I hesitantly made my way down a residential street, across a road and to a bus stop, the instructions - "parked cars and overhanging trees ahead" - gave me added confidence and the 3D sound provided me with a somewhat better feel for my surroundings.

For me it was all about feeling a little less scared - but for the visually impaired people who have been testing the technology for some weeks, it seemed to have increased their confidence in taking new routes up to a new level.

The headset is an adapted version of one already on the market. Designed for cyclists, it sits in front of the ear so as not to drown out traffic and environmental noise.

Sound is conducted through the jawbone and the headset gives a series of verbal and non-verbal descriptions.

For someone who has requested a specific route, it will make a series of clicking noises to assure them they are on the right course and it will provide specific instructions such as "turn right".

It also provides information about the route and points of interest.

Greater freedom

Eight people with sight loss have tested the headset and five of those reported feeling safer and more confident wearing it.

Kirstie Grice, one of those to trial the technology, said: "We want to live like normal people. We don't always want to plan ahead to see if we can get community transport or a taxi or something, we want to be able to just jump on a bus and go somewhere and have that freedom."

The idea for the headset, which has been designed in partnership with the UK's Future Cities catapult and Guide Dogs, came from a Microsoft employee.

Amos Miller is visually impaired and realised that technology might be able to help him "enjoy everyday experiences outside of the home" after his daughter was born.

Some experts have questioned if the technology is capable of being rolled out widely as it is to rely on a network of beacons attached to street furniture.

A Microsoft spokesman said: "A lot of the information comes from GPS and annotated maps in the cloud which provide as much, if not more than, the beacons."

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Government crackdown on 'notspots'

5 November 2014 Last updated at 08:36 By Jane Wakefield Technology reporter

The government plans to oblige mobile operators to improve their coverage, possibly by sharing rivals' networks.

Partial 'notspots', where there is coverage from some but not all of the mobile networks, affected a fifth of the UK, leaving people unable to make calls or send texts, it said.

One possible solution would see people transferred to rival networks when they lose signal.

But experts are not convinced this would work.

Culture Secretary Sajid Javid said he was determined to sort out the issue of mobile notspots.

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Culture Secretary Sajid Javid speaking on BBC Radio Four Today programme

A series of talks held with mobile operators has so far failed to find a solution.

"It can't be right that in a fifth of the UK, people cannot use their phones to make a call. The government isn't prepared to let that situation continue," he said.

The proposals to end the frustration - currently only aimed at improving 2G services - are as follows:

• National roaming - phones would use another network when theirs was unavailable, similar to how roaming works when abroad

• Infrastructure sharing - mobile networks would be able to put transmitters on each other's masts

• Reforming virtual networks - agreements that companies such as Tesco and Virgin currently have with single operators would be extended to all four networks

• Coverage obligation - obliging the networks to cover a certain percentage of the UK - and leaving them to decide how to do it

The government has given the industry, businesses and the public until 26 November to respond to the proposals.

Leaked letter

Mr Javid may face opposition to the move from within his own party.

The Times newspaper has reported that a leaked Whitehall letter contains a warning from the Home Secretary Theresa May that allowing people to roam between networks could compromise efforts to track criminals and terrorists.

"[It] could have a detrimental impact on law enforcement, security and intelligence agency access to communications data and lawful intercept," states the letter.

It adds that further research is needed to ensure the change would not make it more difficult for police to access information about calls and emails that is "crucial to keeping us safe".

The Labour Party has seized on the apparent clash.

"The detail of this policy needs careful consideration," said Harriet Harman, shadow culture secretary.

"Rather than briefing against each other as part of the ongoing Tory leadership squabble to replace David Cameron, cabinet ministers should be making clear what the impact will be on 4G services for consumers and the emergency services, as well as any possible implications for national security and the fight against serious crime."

Phone masts

BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones said mobile phone operators had indicated that national roaming would be bad for the consumer.

"Operators argue that roaming would shorten battery life as phones searched for the strongest signal, and pose a risk to the security of their networks," he said.

He said the operators wanted changes to planning laws and the ability to build and share more phone masts.

Matthew Howett, an analyst with research firm Ovum, also thinks that the government's preferred plan of national roaming is "a messy solution that ought to be abandoned".

"The cost, complexity and side-effects of national roaming make it such an unworkable fix that the industry thought had been dropped," he told the BBC.

"What needs to happen over the next month is collectively for the the mobile operators to work with government to come up with an agreeable fix that addresses not only poor voice coverage, but also data too," he added.

Making it easier for operators to put up masts quickly in a cost-effective way would also help current coverage issues, he added.

Mobile spectrum auctioned last year was well-suited to covering rural areas and operators were starting to make use of it and that too should help improve the situation, he said.

While the government's consultation is looking specifically at 2G services, a study commissioned by consumer watchdog Which indicates 3G and 4G coverage is also patchy around the UK.

The report into the state of the mobile phone network found big differences between the four operators in different parts of the country.

• Both 3G and 4G are best in London and worst in Wales
• Three had the best 3G coverage and Vodafone the worst, but Vodafone offered the fastest 4G speeds
• Three was the slowest 4G network and had the worst coverage, while EE had the best 4G coverage

The report, compiled by OpenSignal, a company that crowd sources phone signal strength, looked at the 3G and 4G mobile signals of nearly 40,000 phone users of EE, 02, Three and Vodafone's networks.

It found that 4G speeds have almost halved in the past year as more people sign up to such services.

The difference between operators in different parts of the country highlighted the need for detailed information for consumers before they signed up to a particular service, said Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which.

"We're calling on providers to publish the reliability and speeds their networks actually achieve, so people can make an informed choice before signing on the dotted line," he said.

Vodafone agreed that an industry-wide standard for measuring network performance was needed.

"We've now had numerous different reports with different conclusions," said a spokesman.

All the operators are currently investing in their networks and offering more rural coverage.

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STD dating site faces $16.5m penalty

5 November 2014 Last updated at 12:01

The operator of a dating site for people with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) faces paying out $16.5m (£10.4m) after losing a privacy case.

The owner of PositiveSingles was accused of sharing photos and profile details from its site with other dating services, despite promising a "confidential" service.

A jury found the Californian firm had broken local consumer laws.

It also decided the business was guilty of fraud, malice and oppression.

The case dates back to 2011 when an unnamed claimant sued the parent company - SuccessfulMatch - as part of a class action case.

SuccessfulMatch runs a number of niche dating sites and also manages an affiliate scheme for those wishing to set up sites of their own. It offers both software and databases containing details of "hundreds of thousands of profiles" registered to its existing services.

Court papers state, however, that the PositiveSingles site advertised itself as a "100% confidential and comfortable community" and stated: "We do not disclose, sell or rent any personally identifiable information to any third-party organisations."

'Misleading promises'

The plaintiff acknowledged that after completing a registration page, a link to the terms of service was provided, which noted that profile details - which contained information about HIV and other STD statuses - might be shared with other sites within the SuccessfulMatch network and that by posting a profile users had agreed to this.

However, he suggested that few members would ever click on or read the terms.

Court filings highlighted that examples of other sites operated by SuccessfulMatch included AIDSDate, Herpesinmouth, ChristianSafeHaven, MeetBlackPOZ and PositivelyKinky.

"Plaintiff is... not black, gay, Christian or HIV positive and was unaware that defendant was creating websites that focused on such traits that would include his profile, thus indicating that he was all of these things and more," his lawyers said.

The jury agreed that SuccessfulMatch had made misleading statements and ordered it pay $1.5m in compensatory damages and another $15m in punitive damages.

The verdict follows a previous attempt by two women to sue SuccessfulMatch on similar grounds.

A judge dismissed their claims in April after ruling they had failed to specifically allege they had actually read the sign-up promises they had claimed were misleading before using PositiveSingles.

Their case is still active, however, as they have filed an amended claim.

When contacted by the BBC, a spokesman for SuccessfulMatch was not able to say whether the company planned to appeal against the latest ruling.

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Jawbone wristband targets sleep data

5 November 2014 Last updated at 14:58 By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

Jawbone has a new wristband that uses a relatively unusual technique to provide feedback about sleep patterns.

The Up3 measures the wearer's heart rate via metal-covered sensors that protrude from its underside to press against the skin.

This contrasts with the approach of rivals that combine infrared and visible-light LEDs with photosensors, which are more battery-intensive.

However, it faces further competition from more feature-laden smartwatches.

The Up3 wristband uses a technique called bioimpedance to track its owner's pulse. This involves passing an imperceptible electrical current through the body to measure its resistance to the effect.

The process is already used by several specialist medical devices to measure heart rate, body fat, fluid levels and other body composition readings, and has featured in a few consumer devices such as Fitbit's Aria weight scales.

However, Jawbone is pioneering its use in a mass-market wristband. It follows the firm's takeover of Bodymedia, a Pennsylvania-based company that had been carrying out research into the technology.

"Because bioimpedance requires significantly less power compared to optical sensors for the same level of accuracy, we can deliver a smaller form factor and longer battery life," said Jawbone of the innovation.

Initially, the sensors will be able to accurately measure the Up3 owner's heart rate only while they are resting and just after they wake up, but the company intends to extend their use with a software update to other times of the day.

One feature that will be offered at launch is the ability to continuously record a user's pulse when they are asleep, to show when they shifted between the REM (rapid eye movement) stage - when their heart rate should be fairly irregular - and deep sleep, when the rate should be more steady.

Jawbone believes this will provide more accurate readings than other devices that rely on accelerometer sensors to deduce changes via body movements.

To make use of the data, Jawbone is also providing software to measure the user's response to suggestions - including late-night showers and cooling the bedroom - to determine which best help the wearer get a better night's rest.

"There are a lot of people out there who feel they don't get enough sleep or feel they are stressed and want to monitor their levels from a healthy lifestyle standpoint," said Tim Shepherd, a wearable tech specialist at the market research firm Canalys.

"We are seeing a surge in interest in people getting data on their lifestyles, but the important thing is to offer not just data but a means of analysing it, graphing it and telling you what it means, and vendors still need to have to prove they can be relevant."

The Up3 costs £150, is waterproof up to depths of 10m (33ft), and promises up to seven days' battery life between charges.

Unlike some rivals, however, it lacks a display and relies on a connected smartphone, tablet or PC to provide feedback, beyond a few LEDs that signal the mode it is in.

Crowded market

Jawbone is already the world's second best-selling fitness band manufacturer, behind only Fitbit, according to Canalys.

But the market is becoming more crowded, with Microsoft the latest of the major tech firms to unveil a device of its own.

Its Band features 10 different kinds of sensors, including an optical heart rate component that is capable of being used during activities.

Intel is also putting its Basis Peak fitness and sleep tracker on sale this month, which promises to automatically detect users' sleeping cycles.

And Fitbit has released new devices of its own ahead of Christmas shopping season, including the Surge, which integrates a GPS part to track the wearer's location, allowing it to offer more accurate data about their runs.

The sector also faces increased competition from smartwatches, which are capable of running a wider range of apps.

Motorola, LG and Samsung are among those with new Android Wear devices, while Apple has promised to launch its Watch next year.

"There are going to be consumers who will purchase a smartwatch and will therefore not need to buy a separate device to activity track," said Mr Shepherd.

"But there is still plenty of growth potential for dedicated devices that are priced aggressively.

"And almost invariably you have to take a smartwatch off to charge at night.

"An activity-tracking device is more capable of offering sleep-tracking data because of its longer battery life, plus it's smaller and lighter and therefore more comfortable to wear through the night."

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Tech giant funds 13-year-old inventor

5 November 2014 Last updated at 17:05

A 13-year-old boy from California has secured funding from Intel to bring a low-cost Braille printer to market.

Intel has not disclosed the exact sum it is giving to Shubham Banerjee, but the Reuters news agency reported it was "a few hundred thousand dollars".

The teenager rose to prominence after showing off a prototype version made with Lego kit, at the White House, when he was aged just 12.

Only a minority of blind people use Braille.

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) estimates that about 4% of visually impaired children and young people in England currently use it.

Even so, the charity greeted the news.

"We welcome investment in technology that aims to improve everyday life for blind and partially sighted people, and especially applaud this brilliant initiative from such a young entrepreneur," said Clive Gardiner, RNIB's head of reading and digital services.

"Electronic Braille has great potential, but has been hindered to date by high device costs for users.

"New innovations for low-cost Braille printers such as this one... can transform reading choices for people with sight loss who read Braille.

"We look forward to hearing more about its progress."

Braille 2.0

Until now, Mr Banerjee's company - Braigo Labs - had relied on $35,000 (£21,920) worth of cash from his parents to turn what was originally a science fair project into a proper Silicon Valley start-up.

The original Braigo v1.0 printer used Lego's Mindstorms EV3 robotics kit as well as parts from a local home renovations store.

Users wrote text via an attached keypad, which the machine then converted into Braille, bashing out the raised bumps on a scroll of paper.

The invention won Mr Banerjee several awards and a place at the White House's inaugural Maker Faire in June, attended by President Barack Obama.

He has since begun work on a follow-up version, which is powered by Intel's budget-priced Edison chip and uses 3D-printed parts.

"It is less power-hungry and has the future possibilities of using batteries... in remote places of the world," Mr Banerjee said when he showed off the work-in-progress at an event hosted by Intel in September.

"The capabilities of Edison enabled me to do a whole set of use cases I hadn't previously thought about.

"For example, when we wake up in the morning we look at our smartphone or tablet to see the headline news.

"With Edison, we've set it up so the CNN headlines are printed off automatically every morning."

The teenager hopes in time to sell a commercial model that will cost around $350 - about a fifth of the price of the lowest-cost alternatives.

But while he is one of the youngest tech entrepreneurs to find success, he is not dedicating his life to the project at this stage.

"It's an after-school thing," he told Reuters.

Such investments can make good business sense for large tech firms.

Yahoo gained both a project chief and a lot of positive publicity when it employed British app developer Nick D'Aloisio in 2013, when he was 17-years-old.

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Twitter makes it 'easier' to tweet

Twitter has announced they have made it "easier" for users to tweet, by developing a new layout.

For everyone using Twitter on their mobile, there isn't any difference, but desktop users will notice that the box they type their 140 characters in has moved.

Instead of being on the left-hand side of the screen, it's now directly above the timeline.

There's no word yet from Twitter on the reasoning behind this change.

The company only shared the news on Twitter and has released no other statements, nor responded to a request from Newsbeat for further information.

Some of the replies to this tweet seemed to be from users who were not keen on the new design.

Others took it as an opportunity to request features not currently available on the social network.

Previous changes to the site, such as the linking together of conversations outside of Twitter's chronology, have been accepted by users after an initial outcry.

Others, such as the #music service and its blocking policy changes in December last year, have been quickly dropped.

Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

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Inflatable baby incubator wins award

6 November 2014 Last updated at 05:01 By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

A prototype inflatable incubator for prematurely-born babies has been picked as the international winner of this year's James Dyson Award.

Mom costs a fraction of the price to make than commonly-used alternatives.

The project's inventor - Loughborough University graduate James Roberts - said he hoped the final product would be used in the developing world.

One expert said it should be a good stand-in so long as the babies using it were not too premature.

Mr Roberts said that he had begun work on Mom as part of a final year project inspired by a TV documentary.

"I was watching a Panorama programme on BBC about Syrian refugees, and they had a segment about how there are loads of premature kids dying because of the stresses of war and specifically the lack of incubators out there and the infrastructure to support them," he recalled.

"I thought there has to be a way to solve that."

He added that the £30,000 award meant that he could continue work on the machine, which he now hopes to bring to market by 2017.

Jaundice lamp

The device is designed to be delivered as flat-packed parts that are assembled at their destination.

At its heart is a sheet of plastic containing inflatable transparent panels that are blown up manually and then heated by a ceramic element. This wraps around the interior of the unit to keep a newborn warm.

"When it's opened it won't collapse in on the child and will maintain its shape," Mr Roberts stressed.

An Arduino computer is used to keep the temperature stable, control humidification, and manage a phototherapy lamp that can be used to treat jaundice, as well as sound an alarm.

The electronic components are designed to use as little power as possible and can be run off a car battery for more than 24 hours when mains electricity is not available.

The modular design of the kit allows damaged parts to be replaced without compromising the whole unit. And after the child is taken out of the incubator, it can be collapsed and the plastic sheet sterilised so that Mom can be easily transported for re-use elsewhere.

"Normally with incubators it costs loads to get them anywhere because you need huge boxes to put them in, and that can cost a lot to put on a flight," Mr Roberts said.

"This one can go in a care packages already used for refugee camps."

He estimated that the current prototype would cost about £250 to manufacture, and suggested it would offer a similar level of performance to modern systems that cost £30,000.

'Fantastically elegant'

Mom's design was praised by one of the UK's leading neonatal experts.

"In resource-poor settings, the cold is one of the biggest killers of babies that are born slightly premature," said Dr Martin Ward Platt, a consultant paediatrician at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary.

"Just being able to maintain a good and stable environment is of enormous importance.

"We mustn't lose sight of the fact you can achieve a huge amount of that simply by keeping a baby in contact with a mother's body. But for a variety of reasons, that isn't always going to be possible, particularly if the mother becomes ill herself.

"And in a refugee camp, where it may be necessary to separate a baby from her mother, this provides a fantastically elegant and cheap solution."

Dr Platt added that normal hospital incubators cost so much because they were designed to cope with babies born with as little as a seventh of the normal birth weight, who would need intensive care for weeks or even months - which Mom is not designed for.

But, the doctor said, doing away with some of the "bells and whistles" in order to "do the basics very well" made sense in situations where expensive kit was not available.

However, he was sceptical of Mr Roberts' suggestion that a version of Mom might end up being stored in ambulances and used in remote parts of the UK to transport prematurely born babies to hospital.

Even so, the inventor suggested that the modular nature of the incubator could make it easy to adapt its parts for different needs.

"I've been approached by a few companies who want to work with me on it, but I have to decide what I want to do," Mr Roberts added.

The runners-up in the competition were:

• Qolo - an electric chair that can be controlled by the user tilting and twisting their upper body
• Suncayr - a pen with colour changing ink that can be applied to the skin to let the user know when they should reapply sun cream
• Bruise - an injury detection suit for disabled athletes

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Apple malware affects Chinese users

6 November 2014 Last updated at 11:25 By Rajeshni Naidu-Ghelani & Leo Kelion BBC News

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The BBC's John Sudworth explains how the malware affects Apple products

New malware targeting Apple products is mostly affecting Chinese users, warned an online security researcher.

US-based Palo Alto Networks said WireLurker which is infecting Apple's desktop and mobile operating systems appears to have originated in China and is mostly infecting devices there.

The malware spreads through apps uploaded from a third-party store and can steal information.

More than 400 infected apps have been downloaded over 350,000 times, it said.

"WireLurker is unlike anything we've ever seen in terms of Apple iOS and OS X malware," said Ryan Olson, the company's intelligence director.

"The techniques in use suggest that bad actors are getting more sophisticated when it comes to exploiting some of the world's best-known desktop and mobile platforms."

WireLurker has the ability to transfer from Apple's Mac computer to mobile devices through a USB cable.

The security firm said the malware was capable of stealing "a variety of information" from mobile devices it infects and regularly requested updates from the attackers' control server.

"This malware is under active development and its creator's ultimate goal is not yet clear," the company added.

Apple has issued a brief statement.

"We are aware of malicious software available from a download site aimed at users in China, and we've blocked the identified apps to prevent them from launching," it said.

"As always, we recommend that users download and install software from trusted sources."

Work apps

According to Palo Alto Networks, WireLurker was first noticed in June when a developer at the Chinese firm Tencent realised there were suspicious files and processes happening on his Mac and iPhone.

Further inquiries revealed a total of 467 Mac programs listed on the Maiyadi App Store had been compromised to include the malware, which in turn had been downloaded 356,104 times as of 16 Oct.

Infected software included popular games including Angry Birds, The Sims 3, Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

Once the malware was on the Mac, it communicated with a command-and-control server to check if it needed to update its code, and then waited until an iPhone, iPad or iPod was connected.

When an iOS device was connected the malware would check if it was jailbroken - a process used by some to remove some of Apple's restrictions.

If it was jailbroken, WireLurker backed up the device's apps to the Mac, where it repackaged them with malware, and then installed the infected versions back on to the iOS machine.

If it was not jailbroken - which is the case for most iOS devices - WireLurker took advantage of a technique created by Apple to allow businesses to install special software on their staff's handsets and tablets.

This involved placing infected apps on the device that had been signed with a bogus "enterprise certificate" - code added to a product that is supposed to prove it comes from a trustworthy source.

To ensure the devices accepted this certificate, a permissions request was made to pop up on the targeted iOS device on the user's first attempt to run an infected app.

It simply asked for permission to run the app, but if the user clicked "continue" it installed code called a "provisioning profile", which told the iOS device it could trust any other app that had the same enterprise certificate.

Palo Alto Networks remarked that while this technique was not a new concept, it was the only known example of it being used to target non-jailbroken iOS devices in the wild.

Once active, the malware is used to upload information about the machine to the hackers, including phone numbers from its Contacts app, and the user's Apple ID.

Different versions of WireLurker also automatically installed new apps on the devices - including a video game and a comic book reader.

While these were innocuous, experts warn they could represent a test run for other more damaging software.

"People have got very used to iOS being secure and there is a danger they may be complacent about the risk this presents," said Prof Alan Woodward, from the University of Surrey.

"Now Apple knows what it's looking for, it should be able to shut it down relatively easily. But it shows that people are trying to attack Apple's operating system and the firm can't take security for granted."

Under attack

News of the attack comes after tech giant Apple's iCloud storage service in China was attacked by hackers trying to steal user information just last month.

Chinese web monitoring group Greatfire.org said that hackers intercepted data and potentially gained access to passwords, messages, photos and contacts. They believed the Beijing government was behind the move.

But, the Chinese government denied the claims and was backed by state-owned internet provider China Telecom, which said the accusation was "untrue and unfounded".

China is home to the world's biggest smartphone market and Apple saw its iPhone sales there jump 50% in the April to June quarter from a year earlier.

To minimise the risk of attack, Palo Alto Networks has recommended that users:

• Do not download Mac apps from third-party stores
• Do not jailbreak iOS devices
• Do not connect their iOS devices to untrusted computers and accessories, either to copy information or charge the machines
• Do not accept requests for a new "enterprise provisioning profile" unless it comes from an authorised party, for example the employer's IT department

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Murder arrest linked to 4chan post

6 November 2014 Last updated at 11:58

A man arrested on suspicion of murdering his girlfriend Amber Lynn Coplin in Washington State, has been linked to an earlier online confession.

An anonymous user on popular internet forum 4chan had posted pictures of what appeared to be a woman's dead body.

As well as detailing how he killed her, the user also explained how her body would be found by her son when he returned from school.

Police say that the photos match the crime scene.

According to the Wilsonville Police Twitter feed, 33-year-old David Kalac was detained "without incident and co-operative".

Deputy sheriff Scott Wilson told the AP news agency: "He's our primary suspect. It stands to reason that in all likelihood he is the person who posted those photographs."

Previously the police were investigating pictures of a dead body posted anonymously on 4chan.

When other 4chan users questioned the authenticity of the photo, the user replied: "Her son will be home from school soon. He'll find her, then call the cops. I just wanted to share the pics before they find me."

According to the police, Ms Coplin's body was discovered by her 13-year-old son.

The pictures were deleted from 4chan shortly after they were posted.

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Warning on effects of 3D on vision

6 November 2014 Last updated at 15:04

A French health watchdog has recommended that children under the age of six should not be allowed access to 3D content.

The Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (Anses) added that access for those up to the age of 13 should be "moderate".

It follows research into the possible impact of 3D imaging on still-developing eyes.

Few countries currently have guidelines about 3D usage.

According to Anses, the process of assimilating a three-dimensional effect requires the eyes to look at images in two different places at the same time before the brain translates it as one image.

"In children, and particularly before the age of six, the health effects of this vergence-accommodation conflict could be much more severe given the active development of the visual system at this time," it said in a statement.

Nintendo warning

It is not the first time questions have been raised about the safety of 3D, which is used in many feature films as well as on some video games, TVs and computer screens.

Italy has sought to restrict the use of 3D glasses by young children, following a similar warning from its national health agency last year.

When Nintendo released its 3D video console in 2010 it warned that playing games on it could damage the eyesight of children under six.

More and more firms are creating 3D-enabled products and Apple is rumoured to be developing a 3D display that can be viewed without the need to wear special glasses.

The American Optometric Association has said that it has had no reports of eye damage as a a result of viewing 3D content.

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Lenovo completes Motorola takeover

30 October 2014 Last updated at 12:34 By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

Lenovo has completed its takeover of Google's Motorola Mobility division.

The acquisition gives the Chinese firm control of the unit's Moto and Droid-branded handsets as well as its 3,500 employees, 2,800 of whom are based in the US.

Lenovo said the deal made it the world's third bestselling smartphone-maker after Apple and Samsung.

That knocks its country-mate Xiaomi back down into fourth spot, based on data from two market research reports.

Lenovo stated that a total of 100 million mobile devices were on course to be shipped from its existing mobile phone business combined with that of Motorola's over the current fiscal year, which ends in March.

Little overlap

Motorola has found recent success with its "budget" Moto G models. The original version, released last year was the bestselling phone in the business's history.

More recently it has also entered the wearables sector with the Moto 360 smartwatch, and announced its first Nexus device - a 6in (15.2cm) "phablet" marketed by Google, which will be one of the first phones to offer the Android 5.0 operating system.

Lenovo is the world's bestselling PC maker, a position it attained after the takeover of IBM's personal computer business in 2005.

Its smartphones are already big sellers in Asia and the Middle East, but they have not been sold in North America and Western Europe.

While Lenovo and Motorola handsets do compete for sales in India, there is little overlap elsewhere between the two divisions at this point.

"We're now planning to introduce Motorola-branded products back into China," Aymar de Lencquesaing, Lenovo's president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, told the BBC.

"But right now what we intend to do is leverage the stronger brand in each particular market.

"For the most part, think of the developed mature world - that's going to be Motorola-driven. Emerging markets will be Lenovo-driven.

"Some markets will overlap and over time nothing says that in any given market we couldn't have a dual brand strategy. But, let's put it this way, it's probably smarter for us right now to walk before we run."

He ruled out cutting jobs at Motorola and confirmed that the division would remain headquartered in Chicago.

'Quality phones'

Lenovo had previously stated that one of the reasons it bought the division for $2.9bn (£1.8bn) was to take advantage of Motorola's existing relationships with network operators in North America and Europe.

One analyst said that this could offer a way to launch Lenovo-branded handsets in those regions if the company later decided to make the move.

"Lenovo has proven it can manufacture quality phones and it is already well known as a PC brand in Europe and the US," said Ronan de Renesse from the telecoms consultancy Ovum.

"So, it doesn't have the cheap aspect to its brand that some of the other Chinese manufacturers have to deal with."

Mr de Lencquesaing added that a nearer-term advantage to the tie-up was that Motorola would benefit from his company's supply-line efficiencies.

The takeover does not include Motorola Solutions, which makes communications equipment for utility and emergency workers. The two Motorola businesses formally split in 2011.

Google paid $12.5bn to acquire Motorola Mobility in 2012. It said the key motivation for the deal was the firm's patents, which it is keeping hold of.

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Android smartwatch 'runs for a week'

29 October 2014 Last updated at 15:18 By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

One of China's leading tech firms has unveiled two Android-powered smartwatches that it says can last about a week between charges.

That represents a substantial gain on alternatives that can struggle to run longer than a day.

The Geak Watch 2 models achieve the feat by using a hybrid screen that switches between a "high definition" LCD colour display and a "standby mode" battery-saving e-ink one.

One expert said this was "very clever".

"One of the big challenges that smartwatch manufacturers have had is that people stop using the devices, and one of the reasons they do so is that they have to be charged on a regular basis, whereby they are being taken off constantly," said Ben Wood from the tech consultancy CCS Insight.

"Anything that enhances the battery life is a big win.

"That's why we've seen people who have Pebble devices typically using them longer than some of the rivals with daily charging requirements."

Pebble smartwatches also promise "up to seven days" between charges thanks to the use of a black-and-white e-paper display, but lack the ability to switch to a colour LCD screen or run Android, restricting the amount of apps they offer.

Two models

The new smartwatches are made by Shanda, a Shanghai-based company that helped pioneer the sector with its first Geak Watch in 2013.

Reviews at the time indicated that the first-generation device lasted between 10 and 15 hours.

Early adopters are being rewarded with an offer to trade in the old watch for a free new one.

Shanda says:

• the basic Geak Watch 2 lasts six days on a single charge with normal use or 15 days if restricted to standby mode. It costs 1,999 yuan ($327, £203)
• the Geak Watch 2 Pro lasts seven days with normal use or 18 days if kept in standby mode. It costs 2,499 yuan ($409, £254).

Owners can alternate between the two display modes by pressing a power button.

Both watches feature a circular 1.3in (3.2cm) display offering a resolution of 254 pixels per inch when the LCD is in use - roughly the same specifications as LG's G Watch R, which does not include the e-ink component.

Shanda's Pro model features a metal, rather than plastic, bezel and also includes a built-in heart rate monitor.

The models are powered by Geak Watch OS, a proprietary "skinned" version of Android 4.3 that has its own app store and user interface, rather than Google's Android Wear software.

This helps it overcome the fact that Google Now - the anticipatory search service that provides much of Android Wear's functionality - is blocked in China, where the Geak devices are sold.

Price erosion

Mr Wood said it was not yet clear whether the hybrid screens matched existing watches in terms of display quality, but said that if they did other companies might follow with similar products made available worldwide.

"We're seeing a tremendous amount of innovation in wearables coming out of China," he said.

"It's amazing how all of the different manufacturers quickly follow successful ideas.

"But China is not only the epicentre for innovation, it's also the source of extreme price erosion, which is making things challenging for the established players."

Samsung, LG, Motorola, Sony and Asus are among other companies to offer smartwatches that typically last about a day per charge.

Many analysts have speculated that Apple's Watch - a smartwatch to be released in 2015 - would boost sales across the sector.

But there has been concern about Apple's admission that battery life will be constrained.

"I think given my own experience, and others around it, that you're going to wind up charging it every day because you're going to use it so much," Apple's chief executive Tim Cook said at the WSJD Live conference, according to a transcript by the Verge news site.

Long-life LCDs

While improvements in the efficiency of computer processors are helping compensate for the relatively slow pace of battery tech advances, they can go only so far.

But research elsewhere in China might offer an alternative to falling back on e-ink.

Researchers at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have reported that they have created a new type of LCD screen that can hold a static image for years without requiring power.

This could be suited to smartwatches that change only a single digit every minute to show the time when not running more complex apps.

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Big firms 'must condemn GamerGate'

29 October 2014 Last updated at 23:59 By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News

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Zoe Quinn talks to Dave Lee about 'GamerGate'

Games publishers and industry figures must "stand-up and condemn" the movement referred to as "GamerGate", developer Zoe Quinn has told the BBC.

Ms Quinn has been at the centre of a furore which some argue is about ethics in journalism, but others consider to be a largely misogynist hate campaign.

The 27-year-old was forced to leave her home after receiving death threats.

She said publishers must "say GamerGate, and what it's been doing, is wrong".

"The fact that so much of the responsibility is offloaded to the people most harmed by it, when somebody in a much safer position than I am can stand up and condemn it... it's frustrating."

Intimate details

In a highly-emotional interview, Ms Quinn told the BBC how her life had "completely changed" after she had become embroiled in the row.

In August, an ex-boyfriend of Ms Quinn published a blog post, that ran to thousands of words, detailing intimate details about their relationship.

Continue reading the main story

I don't want to set an example that you can do this and get what you want."

End Quote Zoe Quinn Developer

The posts detailed that Ms Quinn had had a relationship with a journalist at prominent games site Kotaku - prompting accusations from others she had done so in an attempt to get positive reviews for her game, Depression Quest.

While the relationship happened, the review did not. The debate continued, however, and is now approaching its third month.

Ms Quinn, who has not returned home since the initial threats, had been speaking at the annual Gamecity event in Nottingham - despite a previous threat she would suffer a "crippling injury" the next time she went to a games conference.

"I used to go to games events and feel like I was going home," Ms Quinn said.

"Now it's just like... are any of the people I'm currently in the room with ones that said they wanted to beat me to death?

"It's terrifying. It sucks to not have any privacy. This has all been so public. It's more scrutiny than a politician faces - it's living with constant fear in a place I called home."

The ex-boyfriend, Eron Gjoni, has said he did not support the "abuse and harrasment" of Ms Quinn.

'Horrible misrepresentation'

Some firms - such as Ubisoft - have come forward and said they were strongly against "harassment, bullying and threats".

The Entertainment Software Association, a trade group for US developers, released a statement saying: "Threats of violence and harassment are wrong."

But Ms Quinn said she did not feel it went far enough.

"We need everybody to stand-up and condemn it - and not in this milquetoast 'harassment is bad you guys' way - because they don't think that what they're doing is harassment."

She added: "When people that are prominent in the industry can stand up and say 'I'm part of games, I love games, this hate mob doesn't speak for me, this is not welcome in games', it has the two-fold effect of making it less damaging to those that this can hurt, and it does something repair this horrible misrepresentation of this medium that so many of us love.

"Condemning them and say they do not speak for games - it's so fundamental, otherwise this is going to keep happening."

'Pure toxicity'

Analysis of discussion about GamerGate has indicated that misogynist abuse - and vitriolic messages in general - is not limited to either "side" of the argument.

Journalist Allum Bokhari, a writer for TechCrunch, has said there was credible evidence that at least one well-known trolling group was "working to provoke both sides against each other".

Meanwhile, some people previously offering highly vocal support of GamerGate have backed off.

"Through a snowball effect of misinformation, trolling, and ideological/emotional bias on both sides, the issue is quickly descending into a quagmire attracting trolls, extremists, and opportunists needlessly stirring the pot of controversy," said one prominent figure who backed GamerGate, but wished to remain anonymous in this article.

"The harassment is ultimately an unfortunate variable affecting both sides of this situation, and it distresses me to see anyone live in fear.

"Dismissing GamerGate as a misogynist hate movement is not going to make it go away, because it just simply is not that - it's a consumer boycott.

"Until we act like adults and come together to have a conversation on the ethics of games journalism, it's only going to get worse and worse - that's why I'm now choosing to distance myself from the issue."

Ms Quinn herself suggested that the gaming ethics argument could progress - but only if it distanced itself fully from GamerGate tag.

"If you have any care for this industry, if you have any care for the future of games, you need to leave.

"If you have actual concerns, start over without [GamerGate]. If your concerns can't exist on their own, if they have to be supported off the backs of ruining lives, then how legitimate are your concerns?"

'Maybe they'll be back'

As well as Ms Quinn, other women in the games industry have had to leave home due to threats to their safety, including Brianna Wu, a developer in Boston, and Anita Sarkeesian, a feminist writer and commentator.

Ms Sarkeesian had published a series of YouTube videos criticising the depiction of women in many popular games. Some felt it was applying a level of political correctness not needed in gaming.

Ms Quinn said it was important to keep talking about the issue openly.

"I don't want to set an example that you can do this and get what you want.

"I have a folder on my desktop called 'those who left' - every time somebody sends me a message saying 'hey, I really admire your strength, but it's not worth it for me, I'm leaving', I save these.

"I'm going to hopefully go back through it in a few years, and maybe they'll be back."

As for whether she would be able to continue her own career, she said: "I love games more than they hate me."

Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC

An extended interview with Zoe Quinn will be published later on Thursday.

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Software 'predicts' gang violence

29 October 2014 Last updated at 19:48 By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

Police in London have tested software designed to identify which gang members are most likely to commit violent crimes.

The 20-week pilot study is thought to have been the first of its kind in the UK, although similar experiments have been carried out elsewhere.

It used five years worth of historic data, but the idea would be to analyse up-to-date details if it is deployed.

Civil liberty campaigners have voiced concerns.

But Accenture - the firm that developed the software - highlighted the potential benefit it offered.

"You've got limited police resources and you need to target them efficiently," said Muz Janoowalla, head of public safety analytics at the company.

"What this does is tell you who are the highest risk individuals that you should target your limited resources against."

Flagging threats

The software works by merging together data from existing systems already used by the Metropolitan Police and carrying out predictive calculations.

Types of information ranged from previous crimes to social media activity.

"It's previous offending and various different sources that are used for intelligence, in terms of who they are involved with and who they associate with," explained Sarah Samee, a spokeswoman for the Met's Trident Gang Crime Command.

Mr Janoowalla added: "For example if an individual had posted inflammatory material on the internet and it was known about to the Met - one gang might say something [negative] about another gang member's partner or something like that - it would be recorded in the Met's intelligence system.

"What we were able to do was mine both the intelligence and the known criminal history of individuals to come up with a risk assessment model."

The study used data gathered about known gang members across London's 32 boroughs across a four year period to forecast their likelihood of committing further violent acts.

This was then compared to known acts of aggression that took place in the fifth year to give an indication as to whether the software was accurate.

Mr Janoowalla said the intention was to identify groups of gang members that were at the highest risk of reoffending rather than singling out specific individuals.

He said that he was confident the experiment had been a success, but added that he was not allowed to disclose the exact criteria on which the software was being scored.

Privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch has asked for more information to be made public.

"The police need to be very careful about how they use this kind of technology," said research director Daniel Nesbitt.

"Big data solutions such as this can run the risk of unfairly targeting certain groups of people and potentially making them feel stigmatised as a result.

"The Metropolitan Police must ensure that they are fully transparent about how they intend implement this technology and what type of information will be used in the process."

In response Mr Janoowalla noted that the Ministry of Justice already operated the Offender Assessment System and Offender Group Reconviction Scale (Oasys) - a computer-based system used to predict the likelihood of different types of released criminals reoffending.

He said the key difference with Accenture's software was that it was specifically tailored to tackle gang violence.

Data-driven policing

While Accenture and the Met believe this is the first test of its kind in the UK, the company has carried out other crime-prevention analysis elsewhere.

In Spain it has tried to identify locations where crimes are most likely to happen, and in Singapore it has tested software that monitors video feeds of crowds, traffic and other events to alert the authorities to potential risks.

Other companies are pitching rival tools. IBM has explored how factors including weather patterns, past crimes, and surveillance efforts can be combined to predict threats.

And police in Kent, Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and Yorkshire have all trialled software from PredPol, a US start-up, to help tackle street crime.

However, campaign groups have warned against the danger of police gathering too much personal data.

"It is clear that harnessing and analysing vast data sets may simplify the work of the police," said European human rights group Statewatch earlier this year

"However, this in itself is not a justification for their use. There are all sorts of powers that could be given to law enforcement agencies, but which are not, due to the need to protect individual rights and the rule of law - effectiveness should never be the only yardstick by which law enforcement powers are assessed.

"The ends of crime detection, prevention and reduction cannot in themselves justify the means of indiscriminate data-gathering and processing."

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Speed boost for 4G in some cities

30 October 2014 Last updated at 13:56

Browsing speeds on some 4G handsets in some UK cities are set to accelerate as two UK operators switch on an improved version of the mobile technology.

Called 4G+ by EE and 4.5G by Vodafone, the technology can offer data rates of 150 megabits per second (Mbps).

In practice, those signing up to use the service should see speeds of up to 90 Mbps - much faster than standard 4G.

However, the technology is only usable on two handsets currently available in the UK.

'Slow rollout'

EE announced that its 4G+ service should now be available in 150 sites across central London. It has been testing the technology in the Tech City area of the capital since late 2013.

The whole of EE's 4G London network should be upgraded for 4G+ by June 2015, it said. By then upgrades to its network in Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester will also be under way.

Currently, EE offers only two handsets - Samsung's Galaxy Alpha and Note 4 - that can take advantage of the higher speeds available with 4G+.

Vodafone's rollout of the improved 4G technology began on 15 October in three cities - London, Manchester and Birmingham. It said other cities would be added later this year and throughout 2015.

Although only owners of phones that can use the upgraded 4G will get the headline speeds, other 4G customers should see average browsing speeds improve because the technology involves improving a network's data-handling capacity.

Ernest Doku, mobile expert at USwitch said: "We may eventually see the same tech deliver speeds faster than fixed line broadband in the UK, which could be a life-changing concept for those people stranded by a painfully slow rural rollout."

The upgrade comes soon after research into the UK coverage offered by mobile networks found it was often poor. The research by Global Wireless Solutions said many busy commuter rail routes were "mobile dead zones".

It said EE, Vodafone and O2 all heavily relied on their 2G networks to cover the data demands of commuters.

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