Review: Pebble's smart watch doesn't try too hard - but does what you need

Born in a Kickstarter campaign that raised over $10m in a month, Pebble's watch is wearable computing made real. Cleverly, the designers make sure it does a few things really wellNowadays, when my phone rings, my wrist buzzes. When someone texts me, I don't look at my phone to find out what they said; I look at my watch.Why? I've got a Pebble - the "smartwatch" launched on Kickstarter last

Xbox 720: Microsoft banking on entertainment services in the next generation

Rival to Sony's PlayStation 4 due to be revealed in Washington on Tuesday, with name of latest incarnation still a mysteryThe world's gaming press is descending on Redmond, Washington, on Tuesday, as Microsoft gears up to reveal the successor to its hugely successful Xbox 360 machine. After months of speculation, and following the announcement of the PlayStation 4 in February, tech pundits ar

Boot up: Intel v big data, wearable and health, Apple on tax, Google Island and more

Plus Dell blames Windows 8 (again), Jolla hopes with Sailfish, southeast Asia's smartphone growth, and moreA burst of 9 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology teamIntel's data economy initiative aims to help people capture the value of personal data >> MIT Technology ReviewIntel is a $53bn-a-year company that enjoys a near monopoly on the computer chips that go into PCs.

Marissa Mayer announces Yahoo Tumblr acquisition via animated GIF

Setting up her own Tumblr, dropping Google+ from her Twitter profile, rolling with the zeitgeist - the chief executive of Yahoo has got internet style to burnMarissa Mayer: she's got style. First she buys Tumblr - which, OK, is one of those Big Corporate Acquisitions that gets everyone het up (if they're on Tumblr) or analysing the cash flow (if they're on Wall Street).But Mayer? She took

Yahoo's $1.1bn Tumblr gamble is a power bet on native advertising

Tumblr's acquisition by Yahoo looks like an investment not in search advertising but in contentIn its latest attempt to inject some energy through acquisition, Yahoo is buying content creation platform Tumblr for $1.1bn. But what does Marissa Mayer see in Tumblr's 26-year-old founder David Karp, and what does the deal mean for the rest of us?This is a rational deal at a good time for both

Why Google will crush Nielsen

Internet measurement techniques need a total overhaul – new methods make it hard for incumbent players to stay in the gameThe web user is the most watched consumer ever. For tracking purposes, every large site drops literally dozens of cookies in the visitor's browser. In the most comprehensive investigation on the matter, The Wall Street Journal found that each of the 50 largest websites in

Boot up: Samsung's 10m S4s, NFC's double counts, Google's un-openness, and more

Plus Nokia Asha's unique selling point, the point of a Google Music service, what Apple needs at WWDC, and moreA burst of 10 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology teamMac malware signed with Apple ID infects activist's laptop >> Ars TechnicaStealthy Mac OS X spyware that was digitally signed with a valid Apple Developer ID has been detected on the laptop of an Angolan a

Moshi Monsters' founder: the shift to mobile caught us by surprise

With a dip in desktop users, Moshi is racing to keep kids entertained on tablets and mobiles. By Jemima KissLondon-based Mind Candy was stalling five years ago, but took a punt on an idea for a social networking game site for children.By 2013, the children's game network had become ubiquitous at every supermarket checkout and at every toy store - a runaway brand extension success.Founde

Boot up: Surface Pro reviewed, Google mapped, LulzSec's voice speaks, and more

Plus the messaging mess, Glass intentions, how to get hold of a Chromebook Pixel, the scammer who cost Google $500m, and moreA burst of 8 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology teamMicrosoft Surface Pro review >> PC ProSasha Muller: Stop to consider what you're getting, however, and the Surface Pro really isn't bad value for money at all. The hardware is impeccably we

Boot up: Google I/O, Android profit share, Thorsten Heins v PCs, and more

Plus Taiwan's problems in consumer electronics, European PC sales slump, Google's 'pure' GS4 and moreA burst of 8 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology teamGoogle I/O: the liveblog >> Guardian TechnologyAmanda Holpuch at the keyboard, with Dominic Rushe checking the audience for Jon Hamm sightings.Samsung captures 95% share of global Android smartphone profits in Q1 2

Boot up: the Net v middle classes, missing apps on Windows, Twitter hacks, and more

Plus Windows Blue named and priced, Acer and Asus revenues, how to beat clickjacking, Adobe cloud priced, and moreA burst of 10 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology teamWindows keeps getting better >> Windows BlogToday at the JP Morgan Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in Boston, Tami Reller shared with the audience that the update previously referred to as "Windo

Boot up: AT&T kills HTC First, Apple's maps mystery, another Google shutdown, and more

Plus Wikipedia's Middle Earth bias, more on Windows Blue, caption glasses for deaf cinemagoers, graphene gets magnetic, and more_Note: the daily launch time for this post will in future be 0730 UK time._A burst of 8 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology teamHTC First discontinued by AT&T: first 'Facebook phone' a flop >> BGRZach Epstein: The HTC First, or "Faceboo

Tesla's Elon Musk enjoys sweet revenge

His company has just scored its first profitable quarter and consumer reports put the Model S at the top of its rankingPalo Alto is known, primarily, as the cradle of high-tech. Its birth registry stretches from pre-World War II Hewlett-Packard, to Cisco, Sun Microsystems (after Stanford University Network), Logitech, and on to Google and Facebook.But there's an aspect of the town that's r

New York Times v Washington Post – a tale of two strategies

Both are great American newspapers, both suffer from the advertising slump and from the transition to digital. But the NYT's paywall strategy is making a huge differenceThe Washington Post's financials provide a good glance at the current status of legacy media struggling with the shift to digital. Unlike others large dailies, the components of the Post's P&L clearly appear in its statements,

Why Songkick's new paternity policy is good for women

Startups can 'change business norms', founders sayThere's a consensus among the entrepreneurs and technologists I talk to that many of the way to encourage more women into the industry is by challenging and changing the way a business operates, and often that means relatively subtle changes that will have a long-term impact. Leaving aside the more fundamental crisis of IT education in scho

Boot up: Google's card nixed, Samsung's ITV exclusive, space station Linux and more

Plus DRAM prices rise, learn vim by adventure, more on app pricing, the US cyberwar strategy, why mobile web is slow, and moreA burst of 10 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology teamPrivacy advocate Jonathan Mayer has had it with 'Do Not Track' >> Ad ExchangerAsked what the ideal solution to the DNT row would be, Mayer says: "Consumers don't have a great handle on wh

Boot up: Apple v photos, Amazon's 3D phone?, ninja Google searching and more

Plus Bitcoin gets some venture capital, high-frequency trading visualised, 3D gun downloads and moreA burst of 10 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology teamDear Apple, let's talk about photos >> Peter NixeySo Apple, I think you've got a bit confused. Don't worry about sharing, we don't need you for that. Your job is to take photos, organise them and make sure they don't

Boot up: Google v Amazon, Galaxy S4 build cost, luminous plants! and more

Plus Spotify fixes download exploit, Gatwick's head in the clouds, more on Windows 8 and RT, Alex on gadgets, and moreA burst of 10 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology teamGodzilla vs. Mothra, the sequel >> Fortune TechFormer eBay manager and now venture capitalist Jeff Jordan: In Google's case today, I am becoming increasingly convinced that their most challenging

Boot up: app price woes, Syria traffic stops, Prenda Law phasered, and more

Plus Nokia's new China boss, first-quarter Windows 8 PC sales analysed, Google Glass positive and negative, and moreA burst of 10 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology teamApps are too cheap >> Dave AddeyAddey is behind the UK Train Times, Qi and Malcolm Tucker apps: Implementing time-limited trials isn't a new feature for the iTunes Store – this principle already ex

Mobile phone networks must think consumers are idiots

Carriers are confident we won't read the small print in their adverts – why are they so rarely called to account?'My goal in life has been to have just enough money to ignore 8-point Helvetica!' Thus spake a close friend one night in a quiet San Francisco bar. His objection was neither stylistic nor ophthalmologic. We were, once again, lamenting the shenanigans and ruses, the hidden fees and

UK top 20 video games chart

Dead Island: Riptide knocks Injustice: Gods Among Us off top spot as BioShock Infinite continues its slide from number oneUKIE Games Charts © compiled by GfK Chart-Track*Games*PS3*PlayStation*Xbox*Wii U*Wii*PCguardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More

Boot up: Google product lives, Motorola slapped, Apple's missed chances, and more

Plus Google Australia gets hacked (sorta), the sensory computer?, Android virus bypass and moreA burst of 8 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology teamPredicting Google closures >> gwern.netGwern Branwen: Naturally, we are preached at by apologists that Google owes us nothing and if it's a problem then it's all our fault and we should've prophesied the future better (

Boot up: Kurzweil at Google, iPhone v Windows Phone, more efficient porn!, and more

Plus Dediu on emerging markets and smartphones, Bitcoin and hackers, where Microsoft's Android revenue lives, and moreA burst of 13 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology teamGecko-like drone can land on walls and ceilings [updated] >> Popular ScienceWhy make a drone that can cling to walls and land on ceilings? Sometimes, there is no other surface available, especially

Boot up: Bitcoin gaming, Android leads tablets, a year offline, and more

Plus mapping bus routes via mobile, Ghana's ISP woes, HTC v Samsung, what not to put in Google Docs, and more_We're experimenting with different launch times for the Boot Up series. We'll fix on a time within the next week._A burst of 9 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology teamRogue employee turns gaming network into private Bitcoin mine >> Wired.comIf you've been p

Boot up: Google Now v iPhone, Pirate Bay sets sail, China's PC lead, and more

Plus Bitcoin mining rigs, who's got your back over data?, the troubled life of a patent, BlackBerry says UK is big, and more_Please note: we're experimenting with later launch times for this post - between 0630 BST and 0830 BST. We'll settle it again on a new time (or the same time) after a week or so._A burst of 10 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology teamThese 7 Bitc

Tech City – believe the hype?

Technology clusters in areas such as Cambridge, Newcastle and Brighton may have a better case for getting exposure – and cashSince the Coalition came to power in May 2010, the Tech City initiative has had significant money, PR and industry support thrown behind it. Tech City is often trumpeted as the saviour of the UK's flagging economy and the ultimate replacement for a broken financial serv

Boot up: Path's spam burst, the curly smartphone, Galaxy S4 v iPhone 5 (redux)

Plus Jawbone tries BodyMedia for size, the endless meme of the 'smaller iPhone', original iPhone approaches obsolescence, and moreA burst of 8 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology teamThe antisocial network: Path texts my entire phonebook at 6am >> Branded3Stephen Kenwright: 6am: When I rolled out of bed this morning the first I knew about what had happened was when

Boot up: Google's Motorola puzzle, iPhone 5 v Galaxy S4 and more

Plus thoughts on Lumia, Microsoft breaks up the wedding, the storm over 'orphan works' and moreA burst of 8 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology teamNew Google Play terms ban non-store app updates >> The RegisterGoogle has amended the policies of its Play app store for Android to prohibit third-party app update mechanisms, in a move seemingly designed to put the kibosh

Jawbone's UP wristband could affect healthcare for all of us Wristband Could Change Healthcare

Beyond the quirky gadget lies a much larger project: changing healthcare – for better or for worse Hyperkinetic as he is, Hosain Rahman, the Jawbone founder, must be saturating his Jawbone UP wristband with data. The rubberised band, nicely designed by Yves Behar, is filled with miniaturised electronics: accelerometers and sensors monitor your activity through out the day, recording every mot

Boot up: BlackBerry's Q10 sellout, Google Glass views, Samsung grows and more

Plus the Windows number mystery, NFC dissed by Tesco, the puzzle of the misdirected uploaded photos, Amazon's attractive app store, and moreA burst of 9 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology teamBlackBerry sells out in 90 minutes at Selfridges >> Seeking AlphaMichael Collins: Upon arriving, there were lots of exporters buying 20+ units each. They had suitcases, and o