Month: November 2023

Full-size portable speaker gets stereo and bass upgrade, plus better wifi, Bluetooth and touch controls Sonos’s top-class battery-powered wifi and Bluetooth speaker has been given an all-round upgrade with double the battery life, impressive stereo sound and new touch controls. The Move 2 is certainly not your average portable speaker. It costs £449 (€499/$449/A$799) and …

Sonos Move 2 review: serious quality sound with twice the battery life Read More »

The first in a series exploring the myths and realities surrounding EVs When a fire ripped through a car park at Luton airport last month it set off a round of speculation that an electric vehicle was to blame. The theory was quickly doused by the Bedfordshire fire service, which said the blaze appeared to …

Do electric cars pose a greater fire risk than petrol or diesel vehicles? Read More »

It can retouch, replace and remodel all it wants – I much prefer the fun and mess of unvarnished childhood snaps I love taking photos of my children. Not because I’m obsessed with sharing them on social media or anything like that (equally, I’m not one of those parents who considers doing this some sort …

The latest Google phone promises to transform my children into perfect, smiling angels. Why would I want that? | Tom Whyman Read More »

Braille is nearly two centuries old, but, rather than being supplanted by new technology, advocates say the script is having a new lease on life Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast Blind from birth, Graeme Innes can’t remember the last time he sat down to read a book …

Magic touch: how ‘revolutionary’ changes are making braille better than ever Read More »

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts For which tasks is artificial intelligence least well suited? Neil Hislop, Reading Post your answers (and new questions) below or send them to nq@theguardian.com. A selection will be published next Sunday. …

For which tasks is artificial intelligence least well suited? Read More »

Rising GMB membership, cross-border action and a probable new government point to better times for thousands of workers Ten months after their first historic walkout, GMB members at Amazon’s huge Coventry warehouse are staging a 28th day of strike action this week, to coincide with Black Friday. The seeds of the dispute were sown in …

Black Friday strike could mark the beginning of the end for Amazon’s war on unions Read More »

Boss was sacked by ChatGPT developer over failure to be ‘candid in his communications’ Altman ‘was working on new venture’ before sacking Opinion: Altman was trusted face of AI. His firm is more complex Sam Altman is being lined up for a surprise return as the chief executive of the ChatGPT developer OpenAI amid pressure …

OpenAI investors push for return of ousted CEO Sam Altman Read More »

The rise of intrusive software that lets employers monitor workers’ every move is part of ruthless corporate mindset, but its origins go back to 1900s scientific management theories “There are,” F Scott Fitzgerald once observed, “no second acts in American lives.” Except when there are. Exhibit A in this connection is Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915), …

If you think ‘bossware’ surveillance culture in the workplace is new, think again | John Naughton Read More »

The conflicts of interest built into OpenAI’s corporate structure may be a bigger story than the loss of its leader The news on Friday that Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, had been abruptly sacked by the company’s board came as a shock to the tech industry. “Mr Altman’s departure,” said the ponderous announcement, …

Sam Altman was the trusted face of AI. His firm, though, is much more complex Read More »

Another space launch failed, but it’s the loss of major advertisers on X that has enraged the tycoon It has been an explosive weekend for Elon Musk. The American billionaire has had to witness not only the public “rapid unscheduled disassembly” of another of his rockets, but also watch while a group of well-known global …

Rows and rockets blow up as Elon Musk’s firms endure turbulent weekend Read More »