Testimonial Reviews and Videos: January 2016

Sunday, January 31, 2016

UK spying law would undermine tech industry, MPs warn

The UK's planned surveillance law is "unambiguous", "confusing" and will cause disadvantages for technology companies in the country, according to a group of MPs looking at its implications.

By: Matt Burgess,

Friday, January 29, 2016

Transaction tax floated, again

Yesterday the New York Times Editorial Board wrote an piece supporting a tax on trading, which would include stocks, options and futures. Such a tax has been bandied about for years and has gained traction in Europe and elsewhere following the financial crisis and numerous trading scandals.

Star Wars Episode IX will be shot on traditional film

Did you enjoy the authentically retro visual trappings of Star Wars: The Force Awakens? Lucky you, because it's not going anywhere.

J.J. Abrams shot Episode VII on film, and it's a process that his successors are going to continue for at least the remainder of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Speaking at Sundance Film Festival, incoming Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow said he also intended to shoot the movie on actual film, rather than using digital cameras.

By: Matt Kamen,

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Destiny developer Bungie gets new CEO as fans lament delays

Change is afoot at game developer Bungie, as studio president Harold Ryan steps down and Pete Parsons takes over as new CEO.

By: Matt Kamen,

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

What the FOMC didn’t say

Today’s (Jan. 27) Federal Open Market Committee’s statement following its January meeting may have been the least anticipated FOMC statement in many years. The Fed had already tightened rates for the first time in a decade at its last meeting and there was no anticipation of another move until, at the very earliest, its March meeting.

Indie game bundle wants to finally reward 'Godus' winner

A new game bundle is set to launch in February, aiming to redress what some consider one of the great gaming wrongs in recent memory -- giving Curiosity: What's Inside the Cube? "winner" Bryan Henderson the prize he's never received.

By: Matt Kamen,

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Apple reports slowest-ever iPhone sales growth

Apple made more profit in the previous three months than any quarter in its history, but also saw iPhone sales grow at their slowest rate since the phone's 2007 introduction.

By: Michael Rundle,

Star Wars Battlefront DLC will take you back to the Death Star

Star Wars Battlefront has been a success for developer DICE and publisher EA, but neither party has been particularly forthcoming about its DLC plans for the sci-fi shooter -- despite charging players £40 upfront for an unspecified season pass.

While all players got the Battle of Jakku DLC for free -- serving as an interactive prequel to The Force Awakens -- details on what else to expect has been scarce. Finally, more information has been provided, via the PlayStation Blog, and it's looking food for fans of classic-style Star Wars.

By: Matt Kamen,

What is the Doomsday Clock and why does it matter?

If you were hoping for some good news about the future of the human race, you're out of luck -- the Doomsday Clock has been updated, and it's not budged.

By: Emily Reynolds,

Everything you need to know about the WIRED World in 2016

In these idea-rich pages you will discover our experts' views on the trends, products, businesses, people and issues that will be significant over the next year

By: Wired UK Staff,

Davos or Not Davos? Take the quiz

Can you tell the difference between Davos quotes and quotes from David Brent, dictators and movie villains?

By: Emily Reynolds,

The best digital decks for semi-pro DJs

Four semi-pro mixers battle for a spot on WIRED's set list.

By: Mike Lowe,

BBC Three reveals its post-reboot web-first programs

Come 16 February, the UK's TV landscape will look very different as BBC Three shifts from traditional broadcaster to an online channel. While that leaves a weird gap in the channel order -- BBC One, BBC Two, and BBC Four remain -- it also means a slate of new programming and web-optimised content for the youth-targeted network.

By: Matt Kamen,

Your phone's GPS can predict crime

MIT Media Lab professor Alex "Sandy" Pentland on what big data can reveal about us, and how it could make governments more accountable.

By: Gian Volpicelli,

Sony unifies PlayStation businesses as 'Sony Interactive Entertainment'

Over the last 22 years, PlayStation has been arguably Sony's biggest success story. It's also one that the electronics company is now restructuring its businesses to better support.

By: Matt Kamen,

Barclays will finally support Apple Pay from mid-April

Barclays will finally support Apple Pay by the middle of April, the company has confirmed.

By: Matt Burgess,

Uber is tracking dangerous drivers with smartphone sensors

Uber has started using smartphone sensors to record if drivers are going too fast or accelerating too aggressively.

By: James Temperton,

Jonathan Blow on his new indie game 'The Witness'

Explore the mazes of Jonathan Blow's desert island puzzle game The Witness.

By: Daniel Nye Griffiths,

'Autistic' monkeys created in Chinese lab

Scientists in China have genetically modified monkeys to give them autism in an experiment they hope will allow them to find better treatment for human sufferers of the disease.

By: Emily Reynolds,

Spotify is finally adding video to its apps

Spotify will start rolling out video content to its users this week, the company has said.

By: Matt Burgess,

WIRED Awake: 10 must-read articles for 26 January

Your WIRED.co.uk daily briefing. Today, Spotify is adding streaming video to its mobile apps, Wikipedia editors demand the departure of the Wikimedia Foundation's newest board member, astronomers have identified the largest solar system ever seen and more.

By: WIRED.co.uk,

Japanese police are now taking mugshots in 3D

Criminals in Tokyo have one more thing to worry about now -- police are taking 3D mugshots.

By: Emily Reynolds,

Sky Q: hands-on with the next generation of TV

WIRED tests Sky's reinvention of TV

By: Jeremy White,

Technologists now need to be psychologists

Businesses need to reward customer loyalty if they want to keep them coming back

By: Rory Sutherland,

Monday, January 25, 2016

Cattlemen say markets are broken: Is there a fix?

Below is a letter from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association to the CME that originally was posted on the “Points and Figures” blog (commentary follows below).

January 13, 2016

Terrence A. Duffy
Executive Chairman & President
CME Group

Dear Mr. Duffy:

Her Story 2 developer teases 'spiritual successor'

The creator of indie gaming hit Her Story has teased his next project, promising a new enigma for fans of the FMV sleeper hit to unravel.

By: Matt Kamen,

Friday, January 22, 2016

Your next smartwatch might be controlled with your eyes

Turning lights on and off; changing the volume of a song; flicking between TV channels, can all be operated watching a small dot move around a screen.

By: Matt Burgess,

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Vimeo launches initiative to support women filmmakers

Video platform Vimeo is looking to redress gender imbalance. Announced today at Sundance Festival, "Share the Screen" will aim to reduce the gender gap in filmmaking by investing in "a minimum of five projects" from women, as well as financing and offering workshops to female filmmakers. The films that result from these workshops will be released on Vimeo On Demand later in 2016.

By: Emily Reynolds,

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Apple targets mobile musicians with 'Music Memos' app

Do you fancy yourself a budding musical genius, but feel you're lacking time or opportunity to put your chart-topping compositions together? Apple may have the solution with its just-released Music Memos app for iOS devices.

By: Matt Kamen,

2015 'shatters records' as warmest year on record

2015 was the warmest year on record, according to a report written by Nasa and the Met Office.

By: Emily Reynolds,

Evidence of giant ninth planet found deep in Solar System

A team at the California Institute of Technology believe they have found evidence of a giant, icy world beyond Pluto.

By: Michael Rundle,

How to see the rare alignment of the planets

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are all currently visible in the night sky due to a rare arrangement of the planets.

By: James Temperton,

Norway hands down toughest ever sentence for online piracy

The operator of a pirate site in Norway has been handed one of the country's harshest sentences, in a trial that saw Warner, Universal, and Disney bringing action against the defendent.

By: Matt Kamen,

Why does the brain use so much energy?

We know more about what the brain does when it's active than we do when it's at rest, but new research is helping to unlock its mysteries

By: Emily Reynolds,

Driving a car will be illegal by 2030

In this era of endless innovation, humanity's century-long relationship with the automobile is about to be permanently disrupted.

By: Jay Samit,

How to discover your own prime number

The GIMPS project to calculate Mersenne prime numbers is one of the internet's longest running distributed computing projects. The recent discovery of the 49th Mersenne prime came with a $3,000 reward, and anyone can have a go

By: K.G Orphanides,

Uber claims 'common sense victory' as TfL backs down on regulations

Transport for London has backed down on controversial plans that would heavily regulate Uber and force its drivers to wait for five minutes before picking up customers.

By: Matt Burgess,

Games of the future will be developed by algorithms, not humans

Algorithms are on hand to help create new gaming worlds

By: Oliver Franklin-Wallis,

Deezer raises €100m, but won't be signing exclusive albums

Deezer has raised €100 million (£77m) in funding as it looks to keep pace with Apple and Spotify in the music streaming market

By: James Temperton,

Theresa May wants civilians to help police solve cybercrimes

Unpaid volunteers and "cyber-specials" will be given police-like powers and allowed to help investigations into cybercrimes, the Home Office has announced

By: Matt Burgess,

Genetic studies provide insight into ancient Britain's diversity

Genetic analysis of skeletons excavated around the UK shows ancient British migration patterns ranging from a Middle Eastern individual in York to the genetic link between Anglo-Saxon Britain and the modern Netherlands.

By: K.G Orphanides,

Tropes vs Women in Videogames gets shorter, and more frequent

Anita Sarkeesian's 'Tropes vs. Women In Videogames' has had a rough ride since it launched on Kickstarter. Although it's been hugely successful, it has also brought in its wake waves of harassment, doxxing and death threats not only for Sarkeesian herself but also for other female journalists and public figures who supported her cause. The project, which was meant to take six months, has now taken three years. "My work has become synonymous with constant daily harassment, death threats, bomb trheats, intense public scrutiny and violations of privacy," Sarkessian wrote this week.

In a post shared on Kickstarter this week, Sarkeesian announced that, because of this harassment, the Tropes series will change format.

By: Emily Reynolds,