Dementia: The war on this illness will not be won in isolation March 17, 2015 “If our brains were simple enough to be understood, we wouldn’t be smart enough to understand them.” The truth of this well-worn adage can be debated. But it certainly goes some way to explaining the enormous challenge we’re facing in our search for new medicines to fight dementia. We are lucky enough to live in [...]
Facebook now lets you send money to friends via Messenger app March 17, 2015 Facebook is making a move into the ever growing mobile payment and money transfer space by letting users send money to friends via its Facebook Messenger app. Facebook users simply need to register a Visa or Mastercard debit card the first time they use the service, and then create a pin for added security or use [...]
Microsoft is killing off Internet Explorer for new browser codenamed Project Spartan on Windows 10 March 17, 2015 Microsoft is killing off Internet Explorer. Sort of. It’s unlikely anyone will shed too many tears over the demise of the browser which is hated by many for a number of reasons, from its slowness down to its market dominance and lack of support. After nearly 20 years, Microsoft has realised Internet Explorer has become [...]
UK information requests from Facebook rise 16pc to 4,416 March 16, 2015 Whitehall is making more requests for citizens’ personal information, Facebook reported yesterday. The social media giant’s Global Government Requests Report for the second half of 2014 said: “The vast majority of these requests relate to criminal cases, such as robberies or kidnappings.” Requested data ranged from “basic subscriber information, such as name and length of [...]
Uber’s finance chief Brent Callinicos is leaving the taxi startup March 16, 2015 Uber’s finance chief Brent Callinicos is driving off into the sunset and leaving one of the most highly valued tech startups in the world in the rear-view mirror. The former Google executive who has been with Uber for less than two years will stay on as an advisor, chief executive Travis Kalanick told investors. “Almost [...]
No sunglasses, selfies or staring: How to look at the solar eclipse on March 20 without getting a “solar burn” March 16, 2015 You might be tempted to line up a solar eclipse selfie this week – but experts have warned that doing so could put you at risk of causing serious damage to your eyes. On the morning of March 20, we will see a near total eclipse – the best places to see it in the [...]
Rosetta mission: The European Space Agency is hoping comet lander Philae is about to wake up March 16, 2015 The European Space Agency is eagerly awaiting signs that the Rosetta probe Philae – which successfully landed on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in November – is about to wake up. It was an historic moment last autumn when the signal was received in ESA's German mission centre that the probe had landed on the comet's surface. But [...]
Boutique tech bank Restoration Partners backed by ex King.com chair Mel Morris March 16, 2015 Boutique merchant bank Restoration Partners announced that technology entrepreneur Mel Morris has made “a significant investment” in the firm and joined its advisory board. The company, which works alongside visionary entrepreneurs in the technology sector, refused to reveal how much Morris had invested, but said it was looking forward to working with him. “In the [...]
Uber rival Lyft valued over £1.5bn after £353m funding round March 12, 2015 Taxi app Lyft has raised $530m (£353.6m) from a new funding round, softening the blow dealt by a US judges’ ruling against the ride-sharing service. Lyft is now valued at more than $2.5bn (£1.67bn) after a funding round led by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten closed this week. Rakuten now owns an 11.9 [...]
Jay Z’s £37m offer for loss-making Swedish streaming service accepted March 12, 2015 Jay Z has paid $56.2m (£37.5m) for Swedish media technology company Aspiro, according to local news reports. Aspiro, which reported an operating loss of SEK41.5m (£3.23m) last year, has accepted the offer from S. Carter Enterprises’ Project Panther Bidco, despite opposition from minority shareholders. The Swedish company owns music streaming services WiMP and [...]