Downtime
Recent Posts
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Alexa makes children rude
- Managing Editor 01 Feb 2018 -
Only the hardiest need apply for freezing Finnish startup fest
- Security Editor 25 Jan 2018 -
Branson’s pickle
18 Jan 2018
Smart speaker devices like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are making children ask for things without say "please", research from Childwise has found
If you’ve ever gone through the process of getting a tech startup off the ground, you’ll be familiar with the nerve-wracking process of pitching a group of stony-faced investors with your idea to ...
Richard Branson has overturned his Virgin Trains stooges’ decision to stop selling the Daily Mail, instantly pouring cold water over accusations that the billionaire who sued the NHS might be too ...
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Sophia 2020
10 Jan 2018 -
Chocolate coins, not bitcoins
04 Jan 2018 -
"Good morning, how may I assist you?"
- Computer Weekly 11 Dec 2017 -
Inside the pooh-pooh committee
07 Dec 2017 -
Alexa for work - the IT helpdesk's new best friend
- Editor in chief 01 Dec 2017 -
When Richard & Judy inspired Google
23 Nov 2017 -
This is an arty hack
15 Nov 2017
Time now to check in with Downtime linchpin Sophia the robot, who’s been dazzling the world once again – this time at CES 2018. No, it’s not wig-cleaning day for Ray’s wife at Disney World’s “Hall ...
Did anyone else notice how many people ruined the festive season’s pub visits by mistaking bitcoin for something resembling an entertaining topic of conversation? Suddenly all these bozos you grew ...
Robots should be ideal at home or in the workplace, right? These fully co-operative, obedient and reliable machines should make all our lives easier, right? They can’t think for themselves, they ...
The sole purpose of phone software updates is now universally regarded as a means of accessing the latest batch of emojis that may have been introduced, and somewhere in California, plans were in ...
Helpdesk technicians in IT departments around the world will rejoice at Amazon’s announcement of a corporate version of its voice-enabled assistant Alexa for use in the workplace. It cannot now be ...
Did anyone else catch Richard & Judy on 1 April 2003? In case you missed it, they pranked the nation with a segment on a device they claimed could convert sampled speech into other languages in ...
The Neil Buchanan of Vietnamese cyber security has pulled Apple’s pants down by making a mask that can trick the iPhone X’s facial recognition technology. Come and have a look at this. Now, to make ...
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Cockatoos stick their beaks into broadband
09 Nov 2017 -
Unleash the Aibos
01 Nov 2017 -
I always thought my boss was a robot
- Computer Weekly 20 Oct 2017 -
Lies, damned lies, and Neistats
19 Oct 2017 -
Virtual inanity
12 Oct 2017
Australia’s broadband is under siege from a group of vicious cockatoos with no known motive. The cables they’re eating are not thought to be made from any of the birds’ classic vices, such as fruit ...
Sony is bringing back Aibo, Japan’s original answer to a human hankering for a robotic dog that needlessly cocks its leg. How relaunching what is essentially an elaborate Furby helps the company’s ...
You: “You alright?” Boss: “Good morning Joe, I trust you slept well and the commute was satisfactory.” This could be a regular welcome if we start to work for robot bosses, and new research has ...
Celebrity man-child YouTuber Casey Neistat is the latest bizarre character to berate the nuances of the site’s recent algorithm tweaks, as they continue to put perfect lives under slight threat. We ...
Mark Zuckerberg has apologised for an insensitive Facebook Spaces broadcast in which his cartoon alter ego takes a chirpy virtual reality tour of hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico. Facebook’s cause ...