Apple boss 'to donate $800m fortune'

Tim Cook, the latest billionaire to pledge give away his fortune to charity

The chief executive of Apple, Tim Cook, has announced he is donating most of his wealth to charity before he dies.

The head of the world's most profitable company is worth over $800m (£537m).

Mr Cook told Fortune Magazine that he would leave his wealth to philanthropic causes but not before paying for his 10-year-old nephew's college education.

He joins a growing number of the world's super-rich who are giving away their wealth, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Five years ago, billionaire investor Warren Buffett and Microsoft founder Bill Gates launched the campaign The Giving Pledge.

It aims to convince billionaires to give at least half of their fortunes to charity. Mr Zuckerberg and over 100 others have so far signed up to the "moral commitment".

Mr Cook's base salary went up by 43% in February 2014, rising to $9.2m (£6.2m) a year.

According to Fortune Magazine, he holds $120m (£81m) worth of Apple shares and a further $665m (£447m) of restricted stocks.

A US university education costs an estimated $30,000 (£20,000) a year on average. Some private universities cost more than $50,000 a year.

Harvard, one of the most prestigious colleges in the country, charges $43,938 per year in tuition alone for students not receiving financial aid. That rises to $58,607 with room and board, according to its website.

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Safari users win right to sue

Google faces legal action from Safari users

Google has lost a Court of Appeal bid to stop consumers having the right to sue in the UK over alleged misuse of privacy settings.

A group of users claim that Google bypassed security settings on the Safari browser to install tracking cookies on their computers in order to target them with advertising.

Google said it was "disappointed with the court's decision".

One of the claimants called it a "David and Goliath victory".

The case revolves around a so-called Safari workaround, which allegedly allowed Google to avoid the Safari web browser's default privacy setting to place cookies, that gathered data such as surfing habits, social class, race, ethnicity, without users' knowledge.

Safari is a browser used on Apple computers, iPads and other devices while cookies are small text files stored by browsers which can record information about online activity, and help some online services work.

Google had attempted to prevent the action, claiming there was no case to answer because consumers had suffered no financial harm.

In its judgement, the Court of Appeal said: "These claims raise serious issues which merit a trial.

"They concern what is alleged to have been the secret and blanket tracking and collation of information, often of an extremely private nature… about and associated with the claimants' internet use, and the subsequent use of that information for about nine months. The case relates to the anxiety and distress this intrusion upon autonomy has caused."

"The Court of Appeal has ensured Google cannot use its vast resources to evade English justice," said Judith Vidal-Hall, one of three claimants.

"Ordinary computer users like me will now have the right to hold this giant to account before the courts for its unacceptable, immoral and unjust actions."

The landmark case potentially opens the door to litigation from the millions of Britons who used Apple computers, iPhones, iPods and iPads during the relevant period, summer 2011 to spring 2012, said Jonathan Hawker who represents the Google Action Group, a not-for-profit company set up to manage claims against the internet giant for breach of privacy.

Dan Tench, a partner at law firm Olswang who is acting for the claimants, welcomed the decision.

"Google, a company that makes billions from advertising knowledge, claims that it was unaware that was secretly tracking Apple users for a period of nine months and had argued that no harm was done because the matter was trivial as consumers had not lost out financially.

"The Court of Appeal saw these arguments for what they are: a breach of consumers' civil rights and actionable before the English courts. We look forward to holding Google to account for its actions."

Google has already paid fines of over $40m related to this incident in the US. It was fined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and separately by 38 US states.

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Europol chief warns on encryption

Encrypted communications are the biggest problem for police, says European police chief

A European police chief says the sophisticated online communications are the biggest problem for security agencies tackling terrorism.

Hidden areas of the internet and encrypted communications make it harder to monitor terror suspects, warns Europol's Rob Wainwright.

Tech firms should consider the impact sophisticated encryption software has on law enforcement, he said.

Mr Wainwright was talking to 5 Live Investigates.

There is a significant capability gap that has to change if we're serious about ensuring the internet isn't abused and effectively enhancing the terrorist threat.

Rob Wainwright, Director, Europol

A spokesman for TechUK, the UK's technology trade association, said: "With the right resources and cooperation between the security agencies and technology companies, alongside a clear legal framework for that cooperation, we can ensure both national security and economic security are upheld."

Mr Wainwright said that in most current investigations the use of encrypted communications was found to be central to the way terrorists operated.

"It's become perhaps the biggest problem for the police and the security service authorities in dealing with the threats from terrorism," he explained.

"It's changed the very nature of counter-terrorist work from one that has been traditionally reliant on having good monitoring capability of communications to one that essentially doesn't provide that anymore."

Mr Wainwright, whose organisation supports police forces in Europe, said terrorists were exploiting the "dark net", where users can go online anonymously, away from the gaze of police and security services.

Secret messaging

But he is also concerned at moves by companies such as Apple to allow customers to encrypt data on their smartphones.

And the development of heavily encrypted instant messaging apps is another cause for concern, he said.

Edward Snowden revealed that the UK's GCHQ was also involved in widespread surveillance of communications

This meant people could send text and voice messages which police found very difficult or impossible to access, he said.

"We are disappointed by the position taken by these tech firms and it only adds to our problems in getting to the communications of the most dangerous people that are abusing the internet.

"[Tech firms] are doing it, I suppose, because of a commercial imperative driven by what they perceive to be consumer demand for greater privacy of their communications."

Surveillance

Mr Wainwright acknowledged this was a result of the revelations by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who exposed how security services were conducting widespread surveillance of emails and messages.

He said security agencies now had to work to rebuild trust between technology firms and the authorities.

The TechUK spokesman told the programme: "From huge volumes of financial transactions to personal details held on devices, the security of digital communications fundamentally underpins the UK economy.

"Encryption is an essential component of the modern world and ensures the UK retains its position as one of the world's leading economies.

"Tech companies take their security responsibilities incredibly seriously, and in the ongoing course of counter-terrorism and other investigations engage with law enforcement and security agencies."

The programme also found evidence that supporters of the Islamic State (IS) are using encrypted sites to radicalise or groom new recruits.

Europol director Rob Wainwright says IS is believed to have up to 50,000 different twitter accounts

On one blogging website, a 17-year-old girl who wants to become a "jihadi bride" is told that if she needs to speak securely she should use an encrypted messaging app.

The family of 15-year-old Yusra Hussein from Bristol, who went to Syria last year, also believe she was groomed in this way.

Twitter terrorism

The extent of the challenge faced by security services is shown in the scale of social media use by IS.

Mr Wainwright revealed that IS is believed to have up to 50,000 different Twitter accounts tweeting up to 100,000 messages a day.

Europol is now setting up a European Internet Referral Unit to identify and remove sites being used by terrorist organisations.

Mr Wainwright also says current laws are "deficient" and should be reviewed to ensure security agencies are able to monitor all areas of the online world.

"There is a significant capability gap that has to change if we're serious about ensuring the internet isn't abused and effectively enhancing the terrorist threat.

"We have to make sure we reach the right balance by ensuring the fundamental principles of privacy are upheld so there's a lot of work for legislators and tech firms to do."

BBC Radio 5 live Investigates is on BBC 5live on Sunday 29 March at 11am or download the programme podcast.

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Children on screens six hours a day

Children are spending far more time watching a screen, even though traditional TV viewing has dropped

The amount of time children spend glued to a screen has risen dramatically in the last 20 years, a new report suggests.

Children aged five to 16 spend an average of six and a half hours a day in front of a screen compared with around three hours in 1995, according to market research firm Childwise.

Teenaged boys spend the longest, with an average of eight hours.

Eight-year-old girls spend the least - three-and-a-half hours, according to the study.

Screen time is made up of time spent watching TV, playing games consoles, using a mobile, computer or tablet.

Changing times

The Connected Kids report, compiled by market researcher Childwise, has collated data from 1995 to the present day to create a comprehensive picture of children's media habits.

Each year, its report, which is not available online, surveys around 2,000 children, aged five to 16.

It finds that teenaged girls now spend an average of seven-and-a-half- hours watching screens, compared with 3.5 hours of TV viewing in 1995.

Younger children fare slightly better - in 1995, five to 10-year-olds averaged around two-and-a-half-hours of TV.

Fast-forward to 2014 and screen time has risen to four-and-a-half hours.

Children are also now multi-screening - using more than one device at the same time, for example, watching TV while surfing the internet on a tablet or mobile so some of the screen time will be concurrent.

"The main difference from the 1990s is that then TV and magazines were the main ways for connecting kids to the media and now they have different devices from tablets, mobiles, games consoles and they have a much higher screen time," said research executive Matthew Nevard.

Back in 1995 children's main interaction with the media was via TV or comics like The Beano

Children's TV viewing habits have changed dramatically, with the majority now watching television via catch-up services and YouTube rather than the traditional TV set, according to the report.

YouTube is the most popular on-demand service with more than half of respondents accessing TV and video via the site since 2013.

Paid-for on-demand services, such as Netflix, have also risen rapidly in recent years and are expected to continue to grow in popularity.

It is not great news for the terrestrial channels - BBC One has seen its audience of seven to 16-year-olds drop from over 80% in 1995 to just over 40% in 2014. ITV's audience follows a similar trajectory.

The transition to digital, coupled with dedicated children's channels, is another reason for the the drop in children's viewing of the main channels with children now watching more content on dedicated channels such as CBBC, CITV, Nickelodeon and Disney.

Demanding connectivity

Children growing up now have never known a time without the internet

The study also looks at how the internet has changed the way children engage with information.

"The internet is pivotal to their lives and they are now able to access a wealth of content," said Mr Nevard.

The internet has given children more freedom to explore their own interests rather than being tied into the content offered to them from the TV schedules or magazines.

"They can find the content that they want," he said.

The study describes connectivity as "a fundamental need for young people now".

"Children now don't remember a time before the internet," said Mr Nevard.

Ubiquitous online access is also likely to influence the way children interact with their families and "their willingness to participate in family holidays and trips out", the report finds.

Image culture

Will all children own a virtual reality headset?

For the last 10 years, Childwise has charted the most popular websites for young people.

YouTube has remained in the top three since 2007 while Facebook has seen its appeal dip in recent years, as children turn to newer services such as Snapchat.

Children enjoy the privacy of WhatsApp and Snapchat, according to the survey, and the use of such services is also changing how they communicate.

"It reflects the image culture which has emerged, where pictures are utilised to give a better representation of current moods and or activities," the survey said.

Google is one of the few sites to remain popular across 10 years of data with sites.

Wearable tech

The report also attempts a bit of future-gazing and predicts that in the next 10 years, children growing up will have little understanding of a world without the internet.

The internet of things - where household objects communicate and share data - will be regarded as normal, it suggests.

"Having appliances which cannot be controlled using a smartphone or some kind of online dashboard may be seen as outdated, or at least increasingly rare," the report concludes.

It also thinks that most children will have some form of wearable technology, be it a smart watch, smart glasses or a virtual reality headset.

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PayPal fined for illegal payments

PayPal said it had voluntarily shared details about the payments

PayPal has agreed to pay $7.7m (£5.1m) to the US government following claims it allowed payments that violated sanctions against Iran, Cuba and Sudan.

The US Treasury Department said the payment firm had failed to adequately screen and prevent transactions.

They included a $7,000 transaction from someone listed by the US government as being involved in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

PayPal said it had improved the real-time scanning of payments.

In a statement, it said it had "voluntarily" reported to the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) certain payments it had processed between 2009 and 2013.

Delays in scanning had allowed some prohibited payments to be processed, PayPal said.

"Since then, we've taken additional steps to support compliance with Ofac regulations with the introduction of real-time scanning of payments and improved processes," a PayPal representative told the BBC.

One of the cases involved Kursad Zafer Cire, who was named by the US State Department in 2009 as a person linked to programmes involving weapons of mass destruction.

Between October 2009 and April 2013, PayPal reportedly processed 136 transactions to or from an account registered in his name.

Other payments involved goods and services going to and from Cuba, Sudan and Iran.

In total, according to the Treasury Department, nearly 500 PayPal transactions, worth almost $44,000, had potentially violated sanctions that ban US companies from doing business with individuals or organisations on a blacklist.

Under the settlement, PayPal did not admit or deny it had violated the sanctions.

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Tinder prank 'tricked flirting men'

An anonymous developer reportedly manipulated the app to allow him to match up men who both thought they were flirting with a woman

A prank played by a developer has exposed a "serious lapse of security" in the dating app Tinder, according to one expert.

The developer reportedly tricked men into flirting with each other, using fake profiles he created as bait.

Men who sought to contact one of the fake women were matched up with each other, rather than with her.

Security consultant Prof Alan Woodward said the episode "cannot help but knock one's confidence" in Tinder's security.

'Surprisingly easy'

The Verge reported on Wednesday that the anonymous developer had managed to manipulate Tinder's application program interface (API), which controls how apps and programs interact.

The developer reportedly created a program that could detect when men on Tinder expressed an interest in talking to the fictitious women portrayed in his bait profiles.

The developer reportedly collected the messages and passed them to the Verge

Two men who did so were then put in touch with each other, rather than with the woman, with the messages relayed via the dummy account. The developer, named by the Verge as "Patrick", then collected the messages they sent each other.

The process had been, he said, "surprisingly easy".

'Security lapse'

Prof Woodward told the BBC: "Put simply, it shouldn't be possible for someone to do this, so the fact that Tinder was 'tweaked' in this way is a serious lapse in security.

"I am surprised that a company that is dealing with such sensitive interactions, which are billed as being truly private, has not seen this loophole in its own penetration testing."

He said that companies that dealt with sensitive data were "trusted by default" by their users, adding: "I would have hoped that such companies would exercise the most stringent efforts as part of their duty of care".

Patrick told the Verge that he was a Tinder user himself and had met his current girlfriend using the app.

He was motivated, he said, by a desire to draw attention to the sometimes harassing nature of the messages many women received from men on it.

"The original idea was to throw that back into the face of the people doing it to see how they would react," he said.

He said that the first matches had been made within minutes of the program's activation and that he had been overseeing 40 conversations between men within 12 hours.

Patrick told the website that he had intervened if a real-world meeting was imminent.

Of the people he pranked, he said: "They ignore all the signs, they ignore all the weird things. When someone is so quick to meet up without any detail or know anything about the person at all, maybe it's deserved."

Users of the app can express an interest in each other - or not - by swiping right or left on their smartphone screens

While he sympathised with the developer's reasoning, Prof Woodward said: "There is no excuse for exploiting any such vulnerability and mounting this kind of interference.

"If someone is researching security, then most companies now have a bounty programme that pays them for reporting problems such as this."

It is not the first time Tinder has faced scrutiny over its security. In 2013, it was reported that some users could have been tracked to within 100ft (30m). That flaw was later patched.

The developer could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for Tinder did not respond to a request for comment.

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Silicon Valley firm wins bias case

A California jury has found that a venture capital firm did not discriminate against a female partner in a closely watched case in Silicon Valley.

Ellen Pao claimed she missed out on promotions at Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers because of her gender.

Ms Pao, now an executive with the website Reddit, says she was dismissed after complaining.

The firm has said its decisions were based on her performance.

The case has drawn attention to a lack of gender diversity in the technology industry - particularly among its top executives.

Venture capital firms are a chief source of funding for many start-up companies in Silicon Valley. Kleiner Perkins - as it is commonly known - has invested in companies including Snapchat, Spotify, Uber, Twitter, and Google.

In addition to punitive damages, Ms Pao was also seeking $16m (£10.7m) in compensation for lost wages.

During closing arguments, jurors heard conflicted stories of Ms Pao's tenure at the firm.

John Doerr (right), one of the firm's venture capitalists, on stage with Apple's Steve Jobs in 2008

Her attorneys portrayed her as a successful junior partner who was discriminated against because the firm judged men and women differently.

Ms Pao's lawyer, Alan Exelrod, said two of her male colleagues had been promoted, despite the fact that one was called confrontational and the other was accused of having "sharp elbows" - an apparent reference to his attitude towards other workers.

The firm's legal team said Ms Pao was a failed investor and sued to get a big payout as she was being pushed out.

They said she was a difficult person to work with and had a history of conflicts with colleagues, all of which contributed to the decision to dismiss her.

A study given as evidence during the trial said that women are largely underrepresented in top roles in the venture capital industry.

Californian investor and entrepreneur Eric Ries told the BBC the wider issue of gender bias in Silicon Valley is well documented but can be unintentional.

"Silicon Valley aspires to be a meritocracy so we have a culture that values outsiders and the perspectives they bring, and there is this idea that good ideas can come from anywhere... that's our aspiration but the reality is in many ways we fall short," he said.

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Smart meter 'IT disaster' warning

Nearly 1.4 million UK households have already had a smart meter fitted

The government's smart meter scheme could be an "IT disaster", the Institute of Directors (IoD) has said.

The risks involved with "the largest UK government-run IT project in history" were "staggering", a report said.

It recommended that the government drastically scale back the programme or abandon it altogether.

Smart Energy GB, the independent body set up to publicise smart meters, said the IoD wanted to take the UK "back to an analogue dark age".

Energy-saving digital smart meters, designed to replace existing analogue gas and electricity meters, should help householders to monitor their energy-use far more accurately, and energy companies to do away with estimated bills.

'Technological innovation'

By some estimates, the new meters could save us £17bn on our energy bills.

But the IoD believes the government's plan to roll out smart meters to all 30 million UK households by 2020 is far too ambitious.

"The pace of technological innovation may well leave the current generation of meters behind and leave consumers in a cycle of installation, de-installation and re-installation," it said.

Under the scheme, energy companies must begin offering free smart meters to their customers from the autumn. Despite the £11bn estimated cost to the industry, it will not be compulsory to have one.

Responding to the IoD report, Sacha Deshmukh, chief executive of Smart Energy GB, said: "The IoD does not understand what's needed to secure Britain's energy infrastructure for the future.

"The smart meter rollout must be for everybody. It will only deliver the national transformation Britain needs if every home is part of this national upgrade."

Nearly 1.4 million households have already had a smart meter installed, he added.

Costly mistake?

But the IoD isn't the only body concerned about the smart meter programme.

Earlier this month, the Parliament's Energy and Climate Change Committee said the project was in danger of becoming a costly mistake.

The MPs are concerned that allowing each energy company to come up with its own smart meter solution, rather than adopting an industry-wide approach, could lead to inefficiency and further delay.

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Graphene light bulb set for shops

Sir Konstantin Novoselov showed Chancellor George Osborne the bulb when he opened the institute

A light bulb made with graphene - said by its UK developers to be the first commercially viable consumer product using the super-strong carbon - is to go on sale later this year.

The dimmable bulb contains a filament-shaped LED coated in graphene. It was designed at Manchester University, where the material was discovered.

It is said to cut energy use by 10% and last longer owing to its conductivity.

The National Graphene Institute at the university was opened this month.

The light bulb was developed by a Canadian-financed company called Graphene Lighting - one of whose directors is Prof Colin Bailey, deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Manchester.

It is expected to be priced lower than some LED bulbs, which can cost about £15 each.

Based on traditional light bulb design, the use of graphene allows it to conduct electricity and heat more effectively.

Prof Bailey told the BBC: "The graphene light bulb will use less energy. We expect it to last longer. The manufacturing costs are lower and it uses more and more sustainable components."

The discovery of graphene in 2004 by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, two Russian-born scientists at the University of Manchester, earned the pair the Nobel Prize for Physics and knighthoods.

A micro-thin layer of graphene is stronger than steel and it has been dubbed a "wonder material" because of its potential uses.

The National Graphene Institute was opened at the university this month

The government has invested £38m in the National Graphene Institute via the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, with an additional £23m provided by the European Regional Development Fund.

Chancellor George Osborne, who opened the site on 20 March, has said he hopes the UK can see off competition from China and South Korea to become a centre of excellence in graphene technology.

More than 35 companies worldwide have already partnered with the university to develop projects.

The race is now on to develop other practical and commercial uses, including lighter but more robust car and aircraft frames and false teeth. The material has already been incorporated into products including tennis rackets and skis.

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Best Buy closes Canada's Future Shop

US consumer electronics chain Best Buy has announced that it is closing its Canadian subsidiary, Future Shop, and converting 65 of its 131 stores into Best Buy outlets.

As a result of the move, 500 full-time jobs and 1,000 part-time jobs will go, the retailer said.

Future Shop, Canada's biggest electronics brand, had been owned by Best Buy since 2001.

After the changeover is completed, Best Buy will have 192 Canadian stores.

Best Buy said it would be investing C$200m (£106.5m; $158m) in its operations there over the next two years.

There would also be restructuring costs of at least C$200m, it added.

Analysts say the move will rationalise Best Buy's offer in Canada and get rid of duplication. Best Buy and Future Shop outlets are often found in close proximity, they say.

Other observers took a mixed view of the development. "Best Buy may now be the 'de facto' big-box tech store in North America, but that power grab is coming at a stiff price," said technology news website Engadget.

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Uber overtakes yellow taxis in NYC

19 March 2015 Last updated at 21:57

For the first time, there are more black Uber cars on the streets of New York City than traditional yellow taxis, figures have revealed.

The New York Taxi and Limousine Commission said there were 14,088 registered Uber cars compared with 13,587 yellow cabs.

However, the number of trips taken in yellow cabs far outpaces Uber rides.

That is because many Uber drivers work part-time, whereas taxis often operate all day.

Uber, which was introduced in 2011, claims that its UberX rides are often the same price - or cheaper - than the average yellow taxi ride.

But many users have complained about extra fees and so-called "surge pricing", when Uber charges more for rides during busy periods like New Year's Eve.

Furthermore, traditional taxi owners and operators have said that the company's labour model - in which worker's generally operate as at-will, freelance contractors - is not sustainable.

"Uber having an unlimited number of cars means no drivers - taxi or black car and livery - will earn a decent living," said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, an advocacy group for drivers of both Uber cars and yellow taxis.

Uber has been expanding rapidly across the globe, and recently announced plans to hire one million female drivers by 2020.

However, it has come under fire for both breaking local laws regarding transport, as well as for various safety issues with some of its drivers.

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End online humiliation says Lewinsky

19 March 2015 Last updated at 20:28 By Jane Wakefield Technology reporter, Vancouver

Monica Lewinsky has taken to the stage at the Ted (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference to call for a more compassionate internet.

The former White House intern's love affair with President Bill Clinton made headlines around the world in 1998.

Describing herself as one of the first victims of cyberbullying, she said the internet had created a culture where people enjoyed viewing other's shame online.

Her speech received a standing ovation.

It is only the second time she has spoken publicly since disappearing from the public eye in 2005. In October she spoke at Forbes' Under 30 Summit.

She began her speech by joking she was the only 40-something who did not wish to be 22 again.

"At the age of 22, I fell in love with my boss. At the age of 24, I learned the devastating consequences."

The internet, she said, had made her own personal humiliation far worse.

"In 1998, after having been swept up in an improbable romance, I was then swept up into the eye of a political, legal and media maelstrom like we had never seen before."

And this particular scandal was, she said, "brought to you by the digital revolution".

"When the story broke it broke online. It was one of the first times that the traditional news had been usurped by the internet for a major news story," she told the Ted audience.

Although there was no social media in 1998 as we know it today, images of Ms Lewinsky famously wearing a black beret quickly went viral online as did comments posted in response to online articles while jokes based on the details of her affair were emailed around the world.

"I went from being a private figure to being a publicly humiliated one worldwide. There were mobs of virtual stone-throwers."

"I was branded a tart, a slut, a whore, a bimbo. I lost my reputation and my dignity and I almost lost my life."

"Seventeen years ago there was no name for it but now we call it cyberbullying or online harassment," she said.

UK charity Childline reported a 87% increase in calls related to cyberbullying last year and, according the children's charity NSPCC, one in five children is now bullied online.

Last year, a study conducted in the Netherlands found that cyberbullying was more likely to lead young people to suicide than its offline equivalent.

What is cyberbullying?

It can include:

• Texting scary or rude messages by mobile phone

• Sending unpleasant photos by mobile phone

• Using online message boards, chatrooms or social networks to post cruel messages

• Deleting the victim's name or ignoring their messages on groups or social networks

What to do about cyberbullying

• Tell someone, be it a family member, teacher or other trusted adult, if something upsets you

• Don't respond to messages but save evidence

• Don't take everything to heart; know yourself

• Don't give out your own or friends' personal information

• Be careful about what you write and post online

• Know how to block or report people

• Don't add to the problem by liking or sharing an unkind image or comment

Ms Lewinsky told the story of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi, who was a student at Rutgers University in New Jersey when his roommate set up a webcam and captured video of him in bed with another man.

The resulting online harassment led Mr Clementi to suicide, jumping from the George Washington Bridge.

"Tyler's tragic, senseless death was a turning point for me," said Ms Lewinsky.

"It served to re-contextualise my experiences. I began to look at the world of humiliation and bullying around me and see something different … every day online, people -especially young people who are not developmentally equipped to handle this - are so abused and humiliated that they can't imagine living to the next day. And some don't."

That, she said, was unacceptable. She urged people to approach their online communications with more compassion.

"Post a positive comment, imagine walking a mile in someone else's headline," she said.

Culture of shame

Technology, she said, had extended the "echo of embarrassment".

"It used to only extend as far as your family, your school, your village, but now it is to the whole online community.

"The more shame, the more clicks and the more clicks the more advertising dollars. We are making money off the back of suffering."

She pointed to recent cases such as the leaking of nude photos of celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence.

"One gossip website had five million hits for this one," she said.

And when Sony Pictures was hacked, the private emails between executives and actors were the ones that garnered the most interest because they were ones that would lead to "the most public humiliation" she said.

The internet had made people numb to the suffering and humiliation of others, she concluded.

Ms Lewinsky ended her talk on a personal note, explaining why she had decided to speak out after a decade of silence.

"It was time to stop tip-toeing around my past, it was time to take back my narrative and let others know that you can survive it."

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Anti-censorship activists 'attacked'

19 March 2015 Last updated at 18:37 By Kevin Rawlinson BBC News

A campaign organisation that circumvents Chinese website blocks has said it has come under distributed denial of service attack (DDoS).

Greatfire called the attack, which aimed to take sites offline, an attempt to enforce censorship.

It said it did not know who was behind it, but pointed out that it coincided with pressure from Chinese authorities.

One expert called the attack "censorship by brute force", saying it could put Greatfire out of business.

Greatfire has tracked which sites are blocked in China and recently began offering a mirroring service to try to restore them for Chinese users.

Protection

Similar to the campaign started by Reporters Without Borders last week, it set up content distribution networks (CDNs) using the same hosting services as many entities on which China relies.

Those networks created copies of banned websites and made them available to Chinese users.

In theory, the method provided protection to Greatfire because, to be sure that the blocked websites remained inaccessible, attackers would have to take down the whole hosting service - including many sites that China wanted to remain live.

However, in practice, the attackers managed to find the individual URLs of the sites the authorities sought to block - which are normally masked - and bombarded them, in a more targeted attack, said Prof Alan Woodward of the University of Surrey.

'Attack'

"It is difficult not to conclude that someone, most likely a government annoyed that Greatfire has enabled previously censored websites to neuter their censoring technology, has decided to fight back," he told the BBC.

He added that keeping the sites online would require the purchase of more bandwidth, adding that he consequently believed the Chinese authorities wanted to put financial pressure on Greatfire.

"The big question will be whether the big companies that run the CDNs... will actually key the charges Greatfire is being forced to incur, or whether they believe the censorship avoiding method should be supported when under attack in this way."

'Help'

In a statement published on its website, Greatfire said the attacks started on 17 March and "we are receiving up to 2.6 billion requests per hour which is about 2,500 times more than normal levels".

It said: "We are under attack and we need help.

"Likely in response to a recent story in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), we've experienced our first ever distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.

"This tactic is used to bring down web pages by flooding them with lots of requests - at the time of writing they number 2.6 billion requests per hour. Websites are not equipped to handle that kind of volume so they usually 'break' and go offline."

'Anti-China'

"We don't know who is behind this attack. However, the attack coincides with increased pressure on our organisation over the last few months.

"The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) publicly called us 'an anti-China website set up by an overseas anti-China organisation'."

The BBC was not able to verify the identity of the alleged attacker.

A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in London did not respond to a request for comment.

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Tag Heuer to make Android Wear watch

19 March 2015 Last updated at 13:01 By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer has announced it is to build an Android Wear-powered smartwatch.

The firm - which is part of the luxury goods-maker LVMH Group - is forming a partnership with Google and the chipmaker Intel to create the device.

Switzerland dominates the high-end watch sector. This marks the first of its companies to join Google's wearable tech ecosystem.

One analyst linked the move to Apple's entry into the market.

The announcement was made at the Baselworld trade show in Switzerland.

Jean-Claude Biver, president of LVMH's watch division, told the BBC that it made sense to look beyond Switzerland's borders once his firm had decided to enter the smartwatch market.

"There are two operating systems: one is Apple's iOS, the other is Android Wear - who are we to invent another language at that level?" he said.

"It would be absurd, it would be arrogant to believe that we could develop our own [operating system]. It would be a catastrophe to believe such a stupid thing.

"There is no doubt that we could eventually go to Apple, but why should we do a partnership with Apple, who is producing watches? On the one side they would be partners, on the other a competitor.

"Google is not producing watches, so the relationship is perfect."

Intel noted that Tag Heuer's 155-year-old brand had long been associated with "being dynamic, disruptive and modern" making it a good partner.

But it added that it wanted to pursue other tie-ups with traditional watchmakers.

"Our hope is that this type of partnership will set a precedent for other brands to consider diversifying into wearable tech and enhancing their products with technology," said spokeswoman Ellen Healy.

'Palpable buzz'

About 720,000 watches powered by Android Wear were shipped in 2014, according to market research firm Canalys.

To date fitness tracking wristbands have outsold the smartwatch sector as a whole by a wide margin.

However, next month's launch of the Apple Watch - backed by a big budget marketing campaign - is expected to raise interest in the sector.

Apple's wearable is only compatible with its own handsets, and phones powered by the Android operating system are much more widespread.

"The palpable buzz around the Apple Watch has raised consumer awareness levels to a point that traditional watchmakers can no longer ignore this emerging opportunity," commented Ben Wood from the tech consultancy CCS Insight.

"Tag Heuer's decision to partner with technology companies to deliver a smartwatch will likely be the first of many similar deals. As the Baselworld event shows, the luxury goods space is big business."

Emotional smartwatch

The Swiss firm has not revealed any images of what the device will look like yet.

But Mr Biver suggested it would stand out from other smartwatches.

"The whole look of the watch will be different," he said.

"It will be a traditional look. It will not look like an Apple Watch. An Apple Watch looks like a miniaturised copy of its phone. Our watch will never look like a phone.

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WATCH: The BBC's Richard Taylor has a hands-on with Android Wear

"Our watch will [have] all the emotion and the DNA of Tag Heuer and it will fit into our collection."

Earlier in the day US-based watchmaker Fossil Group gave a foretaste of its forthcoming "connected accessories" range. It will include Android Wear-powered smartwatches as well as other sensor-equipped models, as part of the firm's own tie-up with Google and Intel.

The company makes a wide range of watches under its own name and for other brands including Emporio Armani, Diesel, Michael Kors and Burberry. To do this it creates modular components that can be used across multiple designs.

'Fusion'

Fossil signalled that it would take a similar approach to creating a diverse portfolio of tech-enhanced wristwear.

"There are many many products coming to market that all look the same," said Theresa Palermo, a marketing executive at Fossil, at the firm's Baselworld press conference.

"[But] what we all know and love about fashion is the ability to be unique, the ability to be different.

"That is what we see as the big opportunity - merging the fusion of technology that users need and want… with our incredible ingenuity and design innovation."

She added that the first products would be released this year.

Fossil recently reported a 1% year-on-year drop in watch sales at a time many of its rivals were reporting growth.

It accounts for about 6% of all watch sale revenues, according to market research firm Euromonitor, making it one of the five biggest firms in the sector.

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US approves Amazon drone trial

19 March 2015 Last updated at 22:38

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved Amazon's plans to begin testing drones for online deliveries.

The FAA said it had granted Amazon a certificate for people with pilot's licenses to test the unmanned aircraft.

The drones must be flown at 400 feet or below during daylight hours, and must remain within sight of the pilot.

Under US law, operating drones for commercial purposes is illegal.

However, those rules are under revision by the FAA, which is expected to issue new rules regarding the operation of unmanned aircraft for commercial and recreational purposes.

Long wait

Amazon had asked the US regulator for approval to begin the tests last July.

In December, the firm warned that it might begin testing the programme - known as Amazon Prime Air - in other countries.

"Without approval of our testing in the United States, we will be forced to continue expanding our Prime Air R&D footprint abroad," wrote Paul Misener, Amazon's vice president of global public policy, in a letter to the FAA at the time.

As part of this ruling, the internet retail giant must also provide data on the number of flights conducted and any other relevant information, on a monthly basis.

Amazon announced in December 2013 that it was going to begin trialling delivery to some customers by drone.

Chinese internet giant Alibaba, Google and parcel service UPS are among other companies carrying out more private trials of drones.

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Online farm payment system ditched

20 March 2015 Last updated at 10:37

A multi-million pound government IT system to process EU subsidy payments for farmers in England has been largely abandoned after "performance problems".

The system will be re-launched next week with farmers asked to submit Basic Payment Scheme claims on paper forms.

Farmers say they have struggled with the £154m website for months.

Mark Grimshaw, chief executive of Defra's Rural Payments Agency (RPA), said the decision had been made "having listened intently" to farmers.

He made the announcement on BBC Radio 4's Farming Today programme.

Defra made the decision to "blend" new and existing forms and processes "to ensure that everyone who wants to make a claim this year can do so", the chief executive added.

Farmland boundaries

The Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) is the European Union's biggest rural payments subsidy scheme for the farming industry.

Defra has said the registration part of the system will continue. The RPA will then input the data on to the system.

However, a digital "mapping tool" to measure farmland boundaries - which has been the most problematic element of the system - has been replaced with paper maps and forms.

Farmers and their agents will be able to receive assistance at 50 digital support centres in England, which will now act as drop-in centres.

Richard Cotham, farmer, Shropshire

I usually leave it to the last minute with the paper forms because it only takes about three hours to do, but so far I have spent three days doing the online version and I am only halfway through it.

We don't have all the codes - we have to put down what you're growing in each field and a code for each crop.

It is just lack of information really, there is just no information and the people on the switchboard when you ask the helpline are as much in the dark as we are.

Also talking to Farming Today, Guy Smith, from the National Farmers Union, said he had found the mapping programme "beyond comprehension".

"Our patience is worn really thin now and if we think that they've launched this again half baked, not ready to go, without proper back-up we will be complaining in the strongest terms," he said.

Brian Glick, editor in chief of Computer Weekly, said: "The system hasn't been permanently abandoned, it's an embarrassment rather than a failure."

Analysis By environment correspondent Claire Marshall

For anyone who's been farming for a decade or more, this kind of Defra IT system fiasco will be horribly familiar.

The head of the Tenant Farmers Association has called it "the ghost of Christmas past".

When the Common Agricultural Policy was last reformed in 2005, the £350m, implementation IT system disintegrated.

Farmers ended up not being paid the EU funds they were entitled to, or they got paid the wrong amounts.

It took years to sort out. The system was dismantled and the Rural Payments Agency was told that it "must learn" from its costly mistake.

This time another eye-watering sum has been paid to technology suppliers and consultants: £154m.

Defra officials had reassured farmers they would ensure there was "no repeat of the 2005 payments fiasco".

So it is time to ditch the keyboard and download the claim forms.

Scotland had already prepared its paper-based forms. The question will be asked: why was there no plan B in England?

The European Commission has extended the deadline for basic payment scheme applications until 15 June.

"We've put in place some processes which we know (farmers) are familiar with, so they can have the certainty of being able to submit their applications on time," Mr Grimshaw added.

Farmers have repeatedly been reassured the online system would be fixed.

Defra has said two forms will be available to download from the RPA's website from 23 March.

Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have their own rural payment schemes.

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Google thwarts legal threat in US

20 March 2015 Last updated at 12:29

Google narrowly escaped being prosecuted by the US government in 2012, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Regulators at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had been investigating complaints from Google's rivals about its dominance of the internet search industry.

An internal report obtained by the paper showed that some FTC officials had wanted to prosecute.

Instead, the regulator persuaded Google to change the way its software worked.

Google said the "exhaustive" review showed there was no harm to competitors or consumers.

The FTC began its probe of the search market in 2011 following complaints from Google's competitors.

During the investigation the regulator's officials gathered nine million documents and obtained evidence from firms such as Yelp, TripAdvisor and Amazon, who had accused Google of taking content from their web pages.

The information Google gleaned was allegedly used by the firm to improve its own search ranking system.

The evidence gathered was enough to convince some FTC investigators that legal action should be taken, said the paper.

However when the regulator's investigation ended, the agency concluded that the company had not abused its market position to hurt rivals.

Even so, the FTC arranged a deal with the company to end some of the practices that its rivals had complained about.

The report was inadvertently sent to the Wall Street Journal when it asked for details of a separate FTC investigation.

The agency has not commented on the accidental release of the report.

In a statement Google said: "After an exhaustive 19-month review, covering nine million pages of documents and many hours of testimony, the FTC staff and all five commissioners agreed that there was no need to take action on how we rank and display search results."

It added: "Speculation about potential consumer and competitor harm turned out to be entirely wrong."

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Facebook hoax suicide ends in arrest

20 March 2015 Last updated at 11:59

A man who posted a hoax suicide threat on Facebook ending up being arrested and put in a psychiatric institution for nearly three days.

Shane Tusch, 48, a part-time electrician from San Mateo, California, said he wanted to test Facebook's revamped suicide prevention programme.

But after threatening to hang himself from the Golden Gate Bridge, a reader alerted police who then arrested him.

Mr Tusch says he was denied "any humane care" and subjected to medical tests.

Facebook locked his account as well.

Facebook extended its suicide prevention programme in February, enabling concerned readers to flag up posts that indicate someone may be suicidal and get help from trained professionals.

Once alerted, Facebook contacts the potentially suicidal person the next time he or she logs on and offers ways to get help.

Or if Facebook thinks there is an "imminent threat" it may contact local police and ask them to carry out a "welfare check".

'Checks and balances'

But Mr Tusch, who is married with two children, said that his experience illustrates the dangers of the social media platform's approach.

"Facebook needs to leave suicide prevention to family and friends," he wrote on his Facebook page.

"There are no checks and balances! I was only proving a point that Facebook should not be involved in this. . . "

The person who flagged up his "suicidal" post was almost "a complete stranger", he maintained.

US lobby group Consumer Watchdog agreed with Mr Tusch's concerns and wrote a letter to Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg asking him to "suspend the suicide prevention program until it is fully protective of the rights of all individuals and contains safeguards against abuse".

Consumer Watchdog president Jamie Court wrote: "Facebook facilitated this man's loss of freedom for 70 hours and other innocent victims will be caught in Facebook's web if you do not improve the suicide prevention program's procedures."

Mr Tusch says that prior to his fake suicide threat, which used protracted disagreements with his lender Bank of America as a pretext, he had not used Facebook for two years.

Facebook was not immediately available for comment.

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Scores charged in paedophile inquiry

20 March 2015 Last updated at 16:36

Teachers, civil servants and police staff are among 264 people who have been charged in a probe targeting child abuse images online.

A total of 745 suspected paedophiles have been arrested in the National Crime Agency's Operation Notarise, launched just over a year ago.

The agency said 518 children had been protected as a result.

Of those charged, 47 were employed in positions of trust or voluntary roles with access to children, the NCA said.

Those facing charges include:

• 16 teachers, school or college staff
• Six government workers, including three civil servants
• One retired magistrate
• One person working in the office of a police and crime commissioner
• One person retired from "police service" work
• One former UK Border Agency officer

The charges range from taking indecent images of children to committing sexual offences.

In addition 16 other people have been cautioned by police.

'Difficult lessons'

Operation Notarise is the largest UK inquiry into people sharing child abuse images online since Operation Ore in 2002.

NCA director general Keith Bristow said the organisation's response to the problem was "improving significantly", but warned "further difficult lessons" may lay ahead.

He said the volume of work related to online paedophile cases had placed a strain on investigators and said the criminal justice system may need to adapt to cope with the scale of offending.

Mr Bristow expressed concerns about the ability to identify suspects quickly enough by "resolving" their internet protocol (IP) addresses, and establishing evidence to bring perpetrators to justice.

He added: "We are going to need to think differently about what the criminal justice process might look like for some of these people.

"We absolutely don't subscribe to the view that people who have accessed images should be offered an outcome that falls short of criminal justice outcomes.

"But our judgment is that criminal justice intervention will potentially need to offer some sort of support to prevent people from reoffending."

He said investigations increasingly took into account the risk posed by individuals who access images of abuse.

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McCann 'troll' suicide conclusion

20 March 2015 Last updated at 17:34

A woman who "trolled" Madeleine McCann's family on Twitter killed herself days after she was challenged by reporters, an inquest concluded.

Brenda Leyland, 63, from Leicestershire, was found dead after she was confronted by Martin Brunt from Sky News over the abuse.

Mr Brunt told the inquest in Leicester he had been "devastated" by her death.

Coroner Catherine Mason concluded she had killed herself and called for sales of helium to be regulated.

Confronted at home

The inquest heard that divorcee Mrs Leyland, of Burton Overy, posted 400 tweets about the McCann family between November 2013 and September 2014.

Madeleine went missing while on a family holiday in Portugal in 2007.

Mr Brunt told the inquest he and a cameraman confronted Mrs Leyland after Sky News obtained a dossier of alleged Twitter "trolls" handed to police.

She initially told him she was "entitled" to send the messages, later inviting him into her home for an interview.

He told the hearing he kept her informed of his plans - which included picturing but not naming her - because he was aware it could have an impact.

Asked by the coroner if there was anything which indicated a concern for her life, Mr Brunt said: "No, but when I asked her how she was, she said 'oh I have thought about ending it all but I am feeling better - I have had a drink and spoken to my son'".

He said he thought her comments were a throwaway remark and had no idea about her history of depression or a previous attempt at suicide.

She was found dead in a Leicester hotel after an overdose on 4 October.

"I was devastated, I still am and the enormity of what's happened will always be with me," Mr Brunt added.

'Panic and fear'

The court also heard evidence from her son Ben, who said he believed the confrontation had been the final straw.

In a statement, he said he believed she was "completely destroyed" by what had occurred.

He said he heard "panic and fear" in her voice when he spoke to her after the Sky interview.

A Sky News spokesman said the news team had followed its editorial guidelines "in a responsible manner", adding the story was "firmly in the public interest".

"Brenda Leyland's tragic death highlights the unforeseeable human impact that the stories we pursue can have, and Sky News would like to extend its sincere condolences to her family," the Sky statement said.

None of the messages sent by Mrs Leyland were directed personally at the McCanns, who have "no significant presence" on social media.

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BBC in school computer giveaway

12 March 2015 Last updated at 11:27 By Jane Wakefield Technology reporter

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Rory Cellan-Jones explains what Make it Digital is all about

The BBC will be giving away mini-computers to 11-year-olds across the country as part of its push to make the UK more digital.

One million Micro Bits - a stripped-down computer similar to a Raspberry Pi - will be given to all pupils starting secondary school in the autumn term.

The BBC is also launching a season of coding-based programmes and activities.

It will include a new drama based on Grand Theft Auto and a documentary on Bletchley Park.

Digital visionaries

The initiative is part of a wider push to increase digital skills among young people and help to fill the digital skills gap.

The UK is facing a significant skills shortage, with 1.4 million "digital professionals" estimated to be needed over the next five years.

The BBC is joining a range of organisations including Microsoft, BT, Google, Code Club, TeenTech and Young Rewired State to address the shortfall.

At the launch of the Make it Digital initiative in London, director-general Tony Hall explained why the BBC was getting involved.

"This is exactly what the BBC is all about - bringing the industry together on an unprecedented scale and making a difference to millions," he said.

"Just as we did with the BBC Micro in the 1980s, we want to inspire the digital visionaries of the future. Only the BBC can bring partners together to attempt something this ambitious, this important to Britain's future on the world stage."

It is hoped that the Micro Bit will encourage children to get involved in coding and programming.

The BBC Micro, launched in the 1980s, played a big role in making computing mainstream but it was not without controversy.

The broadcaster's decision to link up with Acorn Computers angered Sir Clive Sinclair as he prepared to launch a rival machine, the ZX Spectrum.

Meet the Micro Bit

The BBC does not see Micro Bit as a rival to similar computing devices such as Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Galileo and Kano, but rather hopes it will act as a "springboard" to these more complex machines.

The tiny programmable machine is still a prototype and the BBC is working with several partners, including chip-designer Arm, Microsoft and Samsung, to get the end product right.

When it launches in September it will be compatible with three coding languages - Touch Develop, Python and C++.

The device is tiny - fitting easily into the palm of a hand. Children will be able to create text via a series of LED lights and they will also be able to use it to create basic games.

The final version will have a Bluetooth link enabling it to be hooked up to other devices such as a Raspberry Pi.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation is helping to develop learning resources for it and the BBC is being careful not to repeat the mistakes of the BBC Microcomputer launch, which angered rivals such as Sinclair.

BBC Learning's Gareth Stockdale, who is developing the device, said: "The BBC's role is to bring focus to the issue, and then we will withdraw from the market."

After the first million Micro Bits go out to schools, there will be no more.

One day they might become a museum piece like the BBC Micro, which is now housed at the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley.

'Get creative'

As part of its Make it Digital programme, the BBC has also launched an apprenticeship scheme for 5,000 young unemployed people to boost their digital skills.

The scheme is the first of its kind to be developed in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions.

Radio 1, which is closely involved in the initiative, will offer top-performing trainees the opportunity to go on to an apprenticeship at the station.

The nine-week traineeship, which will include training from the BBC Academy, aims to teach basic digital skills such as creating websites and short videos for the web.

The BBC is also drawing on its vast vault of content to bring digital content into shows such as Doctor Who, EastEnders and the One Show. Radio 4 will have a series of programmes that look at the history of coding, digital content and future technologies.

"With a dedicated season of programming on the BBC, 5,000 digital trainees, one million children who take their first steps with a Micro Bit, and a host of educational activity, we hope to inspire a new generation to get creative with digital," said Jessica Cecil, controller of Make it Digital.

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EU plans to target cyber-terrorism

12 March 2015 Last updated at 12:11 By Kevin Rawlinson BBC News

Plans for a new Europe-wide counter-terrorism unit are being presented to European ministers.

The Internet Referral Unit would be part of law enforcement agency Europol and would seek to remove jihadist content from the internet.

EU policy makers want to pool member states' resources to deal with the "sheer volume" of such material.

The Paris terror attacks had pushed the item up the EU's agenda, said a senior official.

"The internet is a major facilitator for radicalisation to terrorism. Addressing this matter poses a number of different challenges," a briefing document detailing the plans says.

It adds: "The sheer volume of internet content promoting terrorism and extremism requires pooling of resources and a close cooperation with the industry."

Extremist content

The proposal from European security officials is for an extension of an existing Europol tool used to store information on Islamist extremist websites into a continent-wide referral unit.

It will be presented to ministers from the governments of EU member states at a meeting of the EU's Justice and Home Affairs Council.

The new unit will be expected to flag "terrorist and extremist online content" and to support investigations by law enforcement agencies.

Under the proposals, which have come from the Latvian presidency of the council, each member state would be expected to nominate a partner authority to work with the new unit.

"This can be the national cybercrime or internet safety department, or a dedicated unit dealing with terrorist content on-line," the document says.

The council wants the unit to be operational by 1 June this year, with the funds being provided by member states.

'Urgency'

The news follows the attacks in Paris and the unmasking of Jihadi John as Mohammed Emwazi, who has appeared in numerous Islamic State propaganda videos posted online.

According to the Financial Times, Gilles de Kerchove - the EU's counter-terrorism chief - said: "[The Paris attacks] have added... urgency to countering the extremism problem. Dealing with material online is the first item on the agenda."

The newspaper reported that the EU unit would be modelled on the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU), which was set up in 2010 by the UK's Home Office and Scotland Yard to prevent the spread of extremist content online.

The Home Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Star Wars stand-alone film is named

12 March 2015 Last updated at 17:35

Star Wars producers have announced the name of the new stand-alone film, to be directed by Brit Gareth Edwards and starring Felicity Jones.

Rogue One is the title of the first film in a series of big-screen adventures exploring characters from the core Star Wars saga.

No details have been released on the character to be played by The Theory of Everything star Jones.

Rian Johnson has been asked to write and direct Star Wars: Episode VIII.

The film - which will follow on from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, out later this year - will be released on 26 May 2017.

That date and the Rogue One title was revealed on Thursday in San Francisco by Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger at a shareholders meeting.

Edwards' film begins shooting this summer in London and is due for release on 16 December 2016.

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Genetics company plans research unit

12 March 2015 Last updated at 17:39

Personal genetics firm 23andMe is planning to use its database of health information to research possible cures for a range of diseases.

Its new research group has appointed a head and will begin recruiting scientists next month.

They will use the genetic data to help identify new therapies for common and rare diseases.

Around 80% of 23andMe's 875,000 customers have agreed that it can use their health data for medical research.

It will eventually share its research with drug companies, although the details are yet to be worked out.

The company already has deals with 14 pharmaceutical companies, allowing them to trawl its database for specific health information.

It hopes that mutations and other genetic information in the database will reveal potential drug targets for a range of diseases. Healthy carriers of mutated genes may offer insights into why some people do not develop disease.

Dr Richard Scheller, former vice-president of research at biotechnology firm Genentech, will head up the new group.

He said: "I have dedicated my life to research aimed at fulfilling unmet needs for very sick people. I believe that human genetics has a very important role to play in finding new treatments for disease. I am excited about the potential for what may be possible through 23andMe's database. It is unlike any other."

FDA ban

23andme attracted half a million customers after it launched in 2007. Users could order its $99 test (which costs £125 in the UK) and send back a sample of saliva to receive a health report about what genetic conditions they may be predisposed to.

But the test proved controversial and, in November 2013, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulator ordered the company to halt selling its kits for medical or diagnostic use, saying it had failed to comply with requests for more information about the service.

It meant that the explosive growth the service had seen slowed considerably.

The company was allowed to continue selling its kits for non-medical purposes, such as ancestry discovery, and the FDA recently approved a version of the test that can check whether a healthy person carries a rare genetic mutation for Bloom syndrome, a rare disorder.

It expects the regulator to approve other specific tests and hopes to have a new version of its original test available for sale in the US by the end of this year.

It recently launched in the UK but has not disclosed how many customers it has.

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Swatch counter-attacks smartwatches

12 March 2015 Last updated at 18:46 By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

Swatch Group, the world's bestselling watchmaker, is to introduce models that can make contactless payments and display data sent by smartphones.

The Swiss company's chief executive said the first of the tech-enhanced timepieces would go on sale in May.

But he said he had no plans to sell the kinds of fully featured smartwatches being offered by Apple, Motorola, Pebble and others.

Swatch accounts for 18% of all watch sales, according to industry data.

The company, which makes devices under the Omega, Breguet, Calvin Klein, Rado and other brands, as well as its own, has consistently increased its market share over the past five years.

It recently reported 8.7bn Swiss francs ($9.2bn; £6.2bn) of sales for its last financial year, a 3% improvement on the previous period.

However, some observers believe it and other mainstream watchmakers face disruption from tech industry giants who have begun selling wearable products.

NFC and Bluetooth

Swatch's chief executive Nick Hayek said his company was planning to introduce two types of wireless communication tech to its wristwear:

• NFC (near-field communication) - a chip that can be used to trigger contactless payments and open hotel doors and other compatible locks. The first NFC-capable watches are set to be released in two months.
• Bluetooth - this chip will allow watches to send and receive data to smartphones. This could be used to show news updates, text messages and other notifications. Mr Hayek said the first Bluetooth-enabled models were due in "the summer"

Swatch said it had teamed up with China UnionPay, a Chinese credit card association, to provide touchless payments in that country. Reuters news agency reported that a similar deal with Visa is believed to be in the works for other parts of the world.

However, Mr Hayek indicated that Swatch would leave it up to others to unlock the full potential of its moves.

"Whatever usage you want, you ask some creative people to create some apps and then our chip has different layers that you can program yourself - we give it to you," he told a press conference in the Swiss town of Corgemont.

"You buy your Swatch, the one you like, and then you configure it."

He added that he believed that his company's expertise in manufacturing "ultra-low power" watches gave it an advantage over tech firms, whose products typically need to be recharged daily.

But he made clear that he had no intention of developing a product to go head-to-head with Android Wear or Apple's Watch OS.

"We are not a consumer electronics company," he said.

"We are not going to transform and put the mobile phone on the wrist. Let the others do it. Samsung did it, Sony did it. Everybody does it."

But Swatch is releasing an update to its existing fitness tracker.

The new waterproof Swatch Touch Zero One is targeted at beach volleyball players and can track their number of footsteps and measure how hard they smack the ball with their hands.

It uses one of the company's standard batteries, which Swatch says lasts months between needing to be swapped.

Lesson from history

Earlier this week, Elmar Mock - one of Swatch's original engineers, who now heads the Creaholic consultancy - said his former employer risked underestimating the threat it faced from Silicon Valley

"It's understandable why [luxury brands] Breguet, Rolex, Cartier or Patek Philippe are disinterested," he told the Swissinfo news site.

"Swatch, on the other hand, should be taking a leading role.

"Swiss watchmakers seem to have forgotten how they underestimated Japanese quartz watches in the 1970s as mere gadgets and not real watches. That mistake led to the near-collapse of the watch industry."

However, one industry analyst told the BBC he thought that Swatch was relatively well placed to maintain its lead.

"I like that Swatch has its own strategy - we have seen so many me-too products over the past year, and it's good that Swatch is putting a very strong focus on battery power," said Pascal Koenig, of the Smartwatch Group consultancy.

"It also has desirable strong brands, a very good retail network - especially in Asia - good production and impressive hardware know-how.

"I do think, however, that Swatch is not good on the software side. It needs to do more on apps.

"But it has a lot of cash on its balance sheet that could be used for an acquisition to help with that."

Other leading watchmakers, including Fossil and Tag Heuer, are expected to outline their smartwatch strategies at the Baselworld trade show in Switzerland next week.

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Antivirus labels itself as malware

12 March 2015 Last updated at 18:03

An antivirus program labelled itself as malware, causing some computers it was running on to stop working.

After an update, essential components in two Panda Security antivirus programs became corrupted, leading them to be mistakenly identified as malign and quarantined.

Panda said a fix had been released and warned that rebooting affected systems could exacerbate the issue.

It asked those affected to get in touch so it could help fix their machines.

One security expert noted the irony. "People's first response is to turn [their computer] off and back on again, but in this case it seems like the wrong thing to do," said Prof Alan Woodward, of Surrey University.

The "last thing" people would expect to cause their computers to break down was its security software, he said.

Corrupted files

Panda Security said that the signature file in both its PCOP and its Retail 2015 packages became corrupted.

"The signature file was repaired immediately. Additionally, a solution for all affected products has been automatically deployed. However, in certain environments it is possible for the incident to persist."

It added a list of steps that affected users could take to ensure that their system was clear of the issue.

Prof Woodward said the episode was "not a great advert for Panda". He said he had heard of some companies losing the use of multiple computers to the issue. He added that data loss was a risk if machines were rebooted.

But Panda Security said it was helping people whose machines had stopped working to restore them and that it had no evidence anyone had experienced permanent data loss as a result of the issue.

A Panda Security spokeswoman said: "We have solved 90% of the incidents, and support is being given in real time to the ones that still have some issues."

The company said that only 8% of the "millions" of PCOP and Retail 2015 customers were affected by the issue. A spokeswoman refused to be more precise about the figures.

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Destiny shocks at Bafta games awards

12 March 2015 Last updated at 23:45 By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

Destiny has been named as best game at 2015's British Academy Game Awards.

The post-apocalyptic first-person shooter was developed by Bungie. It was the US studio's first release after quitting the Halo series.

The title attracted mixed reviews, and its relatively bare-bones plot continues to divide gamers.

The award surprised many in the audience at the London ceremony as it had not won any of the other categories it had been nominated for.

However, Bungie's skill at crafting alien-slaying gunfights appears to have helped it seize the top prize.

Accepting the award Bungie's president thanked Destiny's players.

"It's always a labour of love that we do because of the passion of the fans," said Harold Ryan.

"They really are the ones who drive you to put the energy and time into putting the game together."

Several other biggest-budget nominees - including Assassin's Creed Unity, Mario Kart 8 and Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare - walked away without a prize.

Big name losers

In fact, many of the winners managed to secure what might be seen as David-and-Goliath battles.

OlliOlii - the low-budget skateboarding video game from London-based studio Roll7 - beat both Fifa 15 and Forza Horizon 2 for the best sport video game.

The actress Ashley Johnson defeated the Hollywood star Kevin Spacey to win the best performance award for Ellie in The Last of Us: Left Behind.

And the puzzle game Lumino City - which was created using real-world models made out of paper, card, miniature lights and motors - beat Ubisoft's Far Cry 4 and Assassin's Creed Unity for artistic achievement.

Monument Valley won British game of the year. Its developers, UsTwo Games sparked a brief backlash in November after charging £1.49 for extra levels - a fee many gamers thought justified after trying them out.

The title also took the mobile and handheld category.

Alien: Isolation, by Sussex-based The Creative Assembly, only walked away with the audio achievement prize despite entering the ceremony as the favourite with six nominations.

Return winner

The awards were hosted by the comedian Rufus Hound - his first time in the role.

His opening monologue poked fun at the rising number of video games that sell expensive downloadable content in the months following the original title's release.

However, that did not stop last year's big winner, The Last of Us, from also scooping up the best story award for its add-on tale, Left Behind.

Analysis: Adam Rosser, presenter of Radio 5 live's Game On

There was an audible ripple of surprise in the press room as Destiny took the best game Bafta.

Destiny has been criticised in many quarters for being the epitome of "grind", suffering from a sparsely populated game world and repetitive gameplay.

In many people's minds the game has struggled to integrate two genres: the first-person shooter and the massively multiplayer online (MMO) game.

That was always going to be a tall order.

As was following the well-thought of Halo series, which Bungie built its reputation on.

Destiny took the template that Halo established and spun a similar aesthetic out into a different kind of universe.

One in which Earth is threatened by "the Darkness", a nebulous adversary that wouldn't be out of place in a Luc Besson film, and the central "character" in the game, The Traveller is a mute orb in whose shadow the last safe city on Earth is founded.

There are good ideas scattered through the game but at present, several DLC (downloadable content) releases in, it still manages to feel unfinished.

In a strong category - up against Alien: Isolation, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor and even Mario Kart 8 - the decision to give the most high profile award to Destiny looks, to many, like an eccentric one.

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Paying respects

The awards this year introduced a new category - best persistent game, representing titles whose action continues even when the player is not taking part.

Destiny had been nominated for the prize, but it went instead to Riot Games' hugely popular League of Legends.

Following the announcement, Mr Hound paused to pay tribute to the fantasy author Terry Pratchett, whose death had been announced hours earlier, and the late Star Trek actor Leonard Nimoy, who voiced several video games.

There was also a sombre moment following the award for "original property" when the team behind Ubisoft Studio's Valiant Hearts paid their respects to the Word War I soldiers who had inspired its puzzle adventure.

This year's winner in the "ones to watch" category was Overly Kinetic, a development team made up of students from the University of Southern California.

They created the distinctive "stealth-deathmatch" multiplayer game Chambara, in which four players camouflage themselves in the game's environment while trying to sneak up on and attack each other.

The category is linked to the Dare to be Digital competition run by Abertay University, which gives contestants nine weeks to create a prototype, and is intended to bring attention to new talent.

Another American team, albeit a more experienced one, celebrated taking the "multiplayer game of the year" prize - Blizzard Entertainment for Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft.

The developer beat Destiny for the prize.

The creators of the strategy card game revealed during their acceptance speech that some in their studio were dubious about its prospects before its release.

The title - which is a spin-off from the role-playing game World of Warcraft - recently revealed it had attracted 25 million registered players.

Fellowship

David Braben - the creator of Elite and its most recent sequel Elite: Dangerous - received a standing ovation when he took to the stage to be given the Bafta fellowship by another British gaming legend, Ian Livingstone.

Mr Braben suggested that we are on the "cusp of a golden age for video gaming".

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WATCH: David Braben spoke to the BBC shortly before being presented his award

"The rise of the indies is truly amazing," he said. "It's the best time there has been to be in this wonderful industry."

He thanked members of the public who had crowdfunded his latest title and his colleagues at Frontier Developments.

At one point it had seemed that Elite: Dangerous would not raise its target of £1.25m on Kickstarter, which would have meant it would have missed out on the seed money.

Microsoft recently revealed that the title would soon be released for its Xbox One console following its success on PC.

Category	Winner
Best game	Destiny (Bungie)
British game	Monument Valley (UsTwo)
Debut game	Never Alone (Upper One Games)
Story	The Last of Us: Left Behind (Naughty Dog)
Performer	Ashley Johnson for The Last of Us: Left Behind
Artistic achievement	Lumino City (State of Play)
Audio achievement	Alien Isolation (The Creative Assembly)
Family game	Minecraft: Console Editions (Mojang/4J Studios)
Game design	Middle-earth Shadow of Mordor (Monolith Productions)
Game innovation	The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (The Astronauts)
Mobile and handheld game	Monument Valley (UsTwo)
Multiplayer game	Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment)
Music	Far Cry 4 (Cliff Martinez, Tony Gronick and Jerome Angelot)
Original property	Valiant Hearts (Ubisoft Studios)
Persistent game	League of Legends (Riot Games)
Sport game	OlliOlli (Roll7)
Ones to watch	Chambara (Overly Kinetic)
Bafta fellowship	David Braben (Frontier Developments)

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