The future of virtual reality: want to conquer vertigo or have a go at surgery?

Now you can with the next level of 3D technology – which defies gravity and lets you come squeamishly close to deathEver wondered what it would be like to tightrope walk above the city, dissect a human heart, and jump out of a plane at 10,000 feet – all in one afternoon? These are just some of the experiences on offer in a basement in east London, as part of the Digital Shoreditch festival ne

NatWest, RBS and Ulster Bank apps hit by glitches

Latest IT problem for banking group sees customers getting error message when logging on through appsAround two million NatWest, RBS and Ulster Bank customers found themselves unable to access their accounts via mobile apps for several hours on Friday in the latest in a series of glitches to hit the group's IT systems.Problems were experienced by customers trying to use all three brands' a

Sally Bercow's Lord McAlpine libel: Twitter is over. O.V.E.R. | Patrick Strudwick

The great modern sandpit will now have to rein it in, tamed by knowledge that the whiff of a suggestion could land you in courtToday I feel like my favourite ever TV character: Lexi Featherston, a filthy eyed, madly gesticulating Sex and the City cameo played by Kristen Johnston, who, at an arse-clenched Upper East Side cocktail do, climbs up onto a window ledge for a smoke, and rants at the

Bafta event: games writing discussion and Games Journalism Prize presentation

Next Wednesday sees Bafta hosting a panel discussion on games writing as well as the results of the Thumbstar Games Journalism Prize – we have tickets to give awayWith a new generation of games consoles on the way, the industry is going to be under huge scrutiny over the next five months. But are specialist journalists doing enough to really investigate the major publishers and manufacturers?

20 best iPhone and iPad apps this week

Kung Fu Robot, City Guides by National Geographic, Tetris Blitz, Mailbox for iPad, Symmetry School, Fry, Blip Blup, Disney Junior Appisodes and moreIt's time for our weekly roundup of brand new and notable apps for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. It covers apps and games, with the prices referring to the initial download: so (Free) may mean (Freemium) in some cases.Looking for Android apps? C

Google and Facebook battle over Waze

Search pioneer reportedly made approach after social network's $1bn offer was rebuffed, in move that could boost its maps appThe travel app company Waze is believed to be the subject of a billion-dollar bidding war between Google and Facebook, in a move apparently aimed at tying its social functions more closely into the rival firms' networks.A fortnight ago reports suggested that Facebook

George Galloway's finest moments - now available on iTunes

Download a selection of some of the combative MP's greatest political rhetoric – including the classic Galloway v Paxman and Galloway v the US SenateIf you have a long car journey or plane trip coming up and you like the sound of people being harangued in a hoarse Dundee accent then, boy, has iTunes got a treat for you. Download The Best of George Galloway, Vol 1, sit back and enjoy four hour

The future of media measurement should be people-based | David Gosen

Nielsen executive David Gosen responds to Frédéric Filloux's blog backing a site-centric approach using server logsWhen it comes to the development and distribution of content, the pace of innovation has been breathtaking. Today, people consume media on multiple platforms and devices and, with the rise of mobile technologies, they do it any time and in any place. So, how should this prolifera

Internet users' privacy concerns may mean cookies start to crumble

Firefox is about to follow Safari's lead by disabling third-party cookies, but the web simply would not work without themWhen the Cookie Directive, officially known as the EU e-Privacy Directive, was first drafted two years ago, tablets hadn't been adopted in their millions, and smartphones had nothing like their present-day ubiquity.Their rise in popularity raises a number of difficult is

YouTube Comedy Week, day five: David Brent's guitar hit a rare high note

Too many in-jokes, too much ephemera, and an overdose of online sterility – it's fair to say YCW hasn't been a huge successReading this on mobile? Click here to watchJudging by your comments on our daily roundups of YouTube Comedy Week, the event has not been a huge success. "I don't really understand the thinking behind a 'comedy week'," wrote CGB1991, "on a website where comedy is upload

Photographer documents a year in the life of a tree on his iPhone

Mark Hirsch publishes images taken using his smartphone through the changing seasons in a book called That Tree• That Tree: an iPhone photo journal – in picturesIt was a sight so familiar it was almost beyond noticing: a bur oak – though an old and particularly gorgeous specimen – towering above the corn fields that Mark Hirsch drove past daily on the road into town.Then Hirsch, a photog

That Tree: an iPhone photo journal – in pictures

Using his iPhone 4S, Mark Hirsch photographed a tree in Platteville, Wisconsin, every day for a year

The secret life of internet climate trolls: part three - video

Watch what happened when Climate Desk introduced the troll slayer Rosi Reed to the climate denier Hoyt Connell

Twitter users should learn lessons from Sally Bercow's libellous tweet

Golly gosh fellow tweeters… following the Sally Bercow libel verdict you should beware letting your fingers and thumbs run away with themselves.The high court ruling, though specifically dealing with Bercow's tweet about Lord McAlpine, will surely have wider ramifications. It is not the first example of a Twitter user being sued for libel, but it is such a high-profile case it should conce

Russian social network site banned 'by mistake'

VKontakte, which has 210 million users, was briefly put on 'blacklist' of sites barred from distributing content inside RussiaRussia's leading online social network was banned briefly on Friday in a move dismissed as a "mistake" but which follows intensifying official pressure on the company as President Vladimir Putin consolidates his power.VKontakte, Europe's largest homegrown social net

Zach Braff: 'I introduced Woody Allen to Kickstarter'

The Garden State star has explained how he instructed the veteran director in the ways of the crowd-funding platform – to reportedly great effectWoody Allen may be jumping onto the Kickstarter bandwagon after Zach Braff gave him a masterclass on crowd-funding when they met to discuss a potential future project.In an email to Braff, Allen's assistant reportedly revealed that the 77-year-old

New website displays celebrities of Jane Austen's youth

The What Jane Saw website, launching on Saturday, will allow the public to experience the 1813 exhibition of Joshua Reynold's paintings, as seen by AustenSome still think of Jane Austen as a modest country mouse, wedded to the quiet sameness of village life. In fact, she loved going to London and went there often. When she was in town she went to the theatre, sampled the shops and attended fa

How to take a serious bite out of corporate tax avoidance | Prem Sikka

A new system of unitary taxation must be debated at the next G8 meeting. It isn't perfect, but it would be a huge step forwardApple is the latest company under the spotlight for organised tax avoidance. In common with Starbucks, Google, Amazon, eBay, Microsoft and others it routes transactions through low- or no-tax jurisdictions to reduce its tax bill. Indignant ministers gnash their teeth a

Inspire magazine: the self-help manual for al-Qaida terrorists

Al-Qaida's slick and sinister magazine for jihadis, Inspire, suggests using a vehicle to mow down a target – which is apparently what happened in WoolwichIn the murky world of terrorism-watchers, the first port of call is often an unusual magazine called Inspire, a "self-help manual" for jihadis that is crammed full of dangerous advice, attractively presented.So it comes as no surprise, in

Sally Bercow tweet libelled Lord McAlpine, high court rules

Commons Speaker's wife agrees to settle with Tory peer after falsely linking him with allegation of child sexual abuseSally Bercow has lost her libel battle with Lord McAlpine over a tweet that falsely linked him with an allegation of child sexual abuse.The high court ruled on Friday that her tweet – "Why is Lord McAlpine trending? *innocent face*" – after BBC2 Newsnight allegations about

20 best Android apps this week

Tetris Blitz, Amazon Local, Blip Blup, Clueful, AppGratis, GPS Navigation & Maps, Epic and moreIt's time for our weekly roundup of brand new and notable apps for Android smartphones and tablets.It covers apps and games, with the prices referring to the initial download: so (Free) may mean (Freemium) in some cases. The equivalent iOS roundup will be published later in the day.For now, re

How to … use maps to raise awareness

How can maps be used to present a compelling and effective visualisation of an issue? Here are six practical tips, which use the Girls Discovered project as an exampleWith so many issues competing for the public eye, raising public awareness is a constant challenge. Hard data is often the most compelling means of making your case, but it needs to be presented in a user-friendly manner if an a

The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot: Archer trailer - video

This trailer shows off the Archer character and gives another glimpse into a charming game world

Media Talk podcast: Woolwich attack coverage and Boris ban lifted

On this week's programme, John Plunkett and Roy Greenslade discuss the graphic front pages of the national press in the aftermath of the Woolwich killings – were they justified in printing the photo? Did ITV handle their exclusive footage in the right way?Also in the podcast, Helen Zaltzman and Paul Robinson discuss the Competition Commission's disastrous ruling for Global Radio –- should hea

Press Start: next-gen consoles "ahead" of high-end PCs, Xbox One specs and more

Plus, EA supporting current gen until 2017, why Microsoft is wrong about indies, and why the games industry hates sharingA selection of links, hand-picked by the Guardian games writers.EA: Xbox One and PS4 "are a generation ahead of the highest end PC on the market" | MCVRajat Taneja, the executive VP and CTO of EA, from an article on LinkedIn:"These architectures are a generation ahe

Why is Anonymous helping teenage lesbians? | James Ball

Anonymous may not be known for its gay rights credentials, but this loose collective of libertarians loves an underdogAny experienced internet denizen might feel wary on seeing the words "teenage lesbians" and "hacker collective Anonymous" in close proximity. And, quite probably, with good reason, especially if they're using a work computer.But the situation isn't what they might fear: mem

Guardian Viral Video Chart: Jimmy Kimmel, Eurovision and sad cats

Breakfast by Morecambe and Wise, clothes by Abercrombie & Fitch and a sob story from the mayor of TorontoThis week's Viral Video Chart is guaranteed to give you a good cry – but we can offer you tears of laughter, as well as tears of sadness. We defy you to watch the last days of Zach Sobiech without grabbing a box of tissues. Zach's inspirational story - and his song, Clouds– have taken the i

Guardian to launch new platform to streamline access to web content

Theguardian.com will provide one destination for UK, mobile, US and Australian sites as monthly digital browsers hits 80mThe Guardian is to launch a new global web presence, theguardian.com, in recognition of the newspaper's increasingly international digital appeal.The move will streamline access to Guardian content – amalgamating the main entry point Guardian.co.uk, mobile site m.guardia

Boot up: Glass views, Surface v iPad, Bitcoin flourishes, SGS4 hits 10m and more

Plus broadband for Staffordshire, price elasticity in the smartphone business, how Chrome will dominate, and moreA burst of 8 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology teamGlass Questions >> ongoingTim Bray on Google Glass: Do They Meet a Need? · Seems pretty ob­vi­ous to me; I'm damn sick of haul­ing out my mo­bile to find out what time it is, or to check on my next mee

Mail Online scoops biggest ever digital day with Boston marathon bombing

'Abby Clancy poses in nothing but heels' story provides joint highest website traffic day for the SunThe Boston marathon bombing on 16 April provided Mail Online with its biggest ever digital day, attracting more than 9.5 million unique users.However, the bombing proved the 12th and 16th most popular web days in April for the Independent and Mirror websites respectively – while the Sun web