Thailand's ex-PM develops food robot

30 September 2014 Last updated at 17:27

A machine that can scientifically evaluate the make-up of Thai food has been developed with the help of the country's ex-prime minister.

Fed up with poor Thai food when visiting other countries, Yingluck Shinawatra came up with the idea of a machine to rate food samples against authentically-prepared dishes.

The food robot was due to be unveiled in Bangkok on Tuesday.

It is part of a growing trend to use computers to analyse food.

The machine, dubbed e-delicious, has ten sensors which create a chemical signature for food, which is then measured against a gold standard recipe, as approved by 120 taste testers.

According to the website, the machine is composed of three parts:

"An electronic nose for measurement of smell by an array of 16 gas sensors, an electronic tongue that allows us to measure sourness, sweetness, saltiness, spiciness, and a central processing unit that gathers data and interprets the result."

Each test takes no more than 30 minutes.

Thai food is one of the world's most popular cuisines but, according to the website, "the flavours of Thai food in many restaurants and in hotels abroad are deviating from the authentic ones."

The government, which was ousted by a military coup in May, was so concerned about the idea of inferior Thai food that it set up the Thai Delicious committee and gave it $100,000 (£61,000) to build the machine.

Each recipe has had its chemical make-up recorded in a database to compare with other versions.

Food samples are inserted into the box to be analysed and are rated out of 100.

In the case of a Thai green curry, the dish will be tested to ensure it has the right mix of basil, curry paste and coconut cream.

The team from the Thai Delicious committee has also created an app with authentic recipes for chefs to use.

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Threat posed by voice activation

30 September 2014 Last updated at 13:35

Voice-activated smartphones and other devices can be a significant security risk, warn researchers.

An expert at security firm AVG found some voice-activated systems responded just as well to fake voices as they did to that of the owner.

Clever fraudsters could subvert this to send bogus messages or compromise gadgets in the future, said AVG.

Voice-activated systems needed to do a better job of checking who is talking, said a security expert.

Bogus message

Problems with voice-activated systems were found by Yuval Ben-Itzhak, chief technology officer at anti-virus firm AVG who managed to turn on and control a smart TV using a synthesised voice. The attack worked, he said, because the gadget did nothing to check who was speaking.

Voice-activated functions on Apple and Android smartphones were also vulnerable to the same attack, he found. In one demonstration, he used the synthesised voice to send a bogus message via an Android smartphone telling everyone in the device's contacts book that a company was going out of business.

Mr Ben-Itzhak also wondered if children could exploit the flaw and use it to turn off safety features that stop them seeing or using inappropriate content.

In the future, when homes and offices are peppered with more and more devices that are controlled via voice, attackers might well be tempted to abuse them, he warned.

"Utilising voice activation technology in the Internet of Things without authenticating the source of the voice is like leaving your computer without a password, everyone can use it and send commands," he wrote in a blog about the research.

Mr Ben-Itzhak said AVG undertook its research purely as a demonstration and there was no evidence of voice-based attacks being used.

Independent security expert Graham Cluley said there was no doubt that voice-activated systems could be more secure.

"It would obviously be preferable if devices were to learn our voices, and ask for some form of authentication if they determined that an unauthorised user might be giving commands," he told the BBC.

However, he wondered why attackers would use voice-based attacks rather than the more tried-and-tested techniques that currently work so well.

"If malware can get on an Android device to speak a command and order the Android to send an unauthorised email, it could just as easily do that without using speech," he said.

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Ireland gave 'state aid' to Apple

30 September 2014 Last updated at 14:50

The European Commission (EC) has told Ireland it believes it gave illegal state aid to Apple.

It has published a letter, originally sent to the country in June, accusing it of helping the computer giant through special tax arrangements.

The EC is looking at whether some countries, including Luxembourg and the Netherlands, unfairly favour multinationals.

Apple says it has received "no selective treatment".

The company employs more than 4,000 people in the Republic of Ireland, mainly assembling computers and providing technical support.

Ireland's corporate tax rate is set at 12.5%, but Apple enjoys an effective rate of tax of 2%, due to the way it channels overseas sales through its subsidiaries.

Repayment

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Apple... paid just £11.4 million in corporation tax in 2013 after declaring UK revenues of just £100m. Given the company has 37 UK stores, and the average Apple store took over £30 million last year, you can see how much of that revenue is being diverted through Ireland"

End Quote

In a statement, the company said: "Our success in Europe and around the world is the result of hard work and innovation by our employees, not any special arrangements with the government.

"Apple has received no selective treatment from Irish officials over the years. We're subject to the same tax laws as the countless other companies who do business in Ireland."

It goes on to say, though, that it believes "comprehensive corporate tax reform is badly needed".

As well as Apple, Fiat and Starbucks are also in the EC's sights.

The Commission told Fiat on Tuesday its preliminary view was that its tax arrangement with a subsidiary of Fiat also constituted state aid. Fiat has not yet commented.

The Commission said it appeared it had the effect of reducing the charges Fiat would normally pay "and that it must consequently be considered as operating aid".

If either company is found to have benefitted from illegal state aid, it will have to repay any tax benefit it received.

There is a wide range of estimates as to the sum that Apple would have to repay - anything between a few tens of millions to billions of euros.

'No breach'

In the letter, the European Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told Ireland: "The Commission's preliminary view is that the tax ruling of 1990 (effectively agreed in 1991) and of 2007 in favour of the Apple group constitute state aid."

Ireland's Department of Finance said in a statement earlier this week: "Ireland is confident that there is no breach of state aid rules in this case and has already issued a formal response to the Commission earlier this month, addressing in detail the concerns and some misunderstandings contained in the opening decision,"

Ireland's flexible approach to tax is designed to attract investment and jobs to the country. But other European countries say their treasuries lose out, as corporations funnel profits through Irish registered companies that are not resident for tax anywhere.

The EU's move comes as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development begins a broader crackdown on aggressive tax avoidance by multinational companies.

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Digital divide opening in UK schools

30 September 2014 Last updated at 14:06 By Jane Wakefield Technology reporter

Half of pupils in UK state schools have slow broadband or unreliable wi-fi, according to a new report.

It says 65% of primary schools and 54% of secondary schools complained about a lack of wi-fi connectivity.

Nearly half of primary schools and a third of secondary schools reported inadequate broadband.

The authors from the British Educational Suppliers Association (Besa) called on the government to fix the issue.

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• There will be 378,000 tablets in primary schools by end of 2016
• In secondary schools this rises to 500,000
• 45% of tablets will be iOS-based by that date
• 34% will be Android-based
• 66% of schools say budget will be a significant barrier to the adoption of tablets in schools

Source: Besa

The report found that there is a big correlation between those schools with poor use of ICT in the classroom and the UK's broadband not-spots as identified by Ofcom.

Areas where schools are struggling with bandwidth issues include Cumbria in England, East Ayrshire in Scotland and Gwynedd in Wales.

Speedy action

"It is of great concern that pupils are being denied access to innovative and effective digital learning because of poor internet connectivity in more than half of the UK's schools," said Besa's director Caroline Wright.

"In today's digital society, classroom connectivity to an online world of knowledge and resources should be a right for every student in their place of learning and not a lottery."

Schools that are struggling with poor internet access also report low uptake of tablet computers, risking a big digital divide opening, warned Ms Wright.

"If a teacher standing at the front of the class knows that they have unreliable wi-fi they are less likely to use internet-connected resources and devices," she said.

She called on the government to "take speedy action" to make sure all children could benefit from "an education that harnesses the power of educational technology".

Andrew Ferguson, founder of broadband news site ThinkBroadband, put into perspective the challenge many schools face when it comes to providing adequate bandwidth.

"A class of 30 pupils doing media-rich research can easily fill a 100 Mbps connection and without sufficient management of the connection it is possible for one pupil to use all the available bandwidth."

The findings are not all bad though.

The report found that schools are rapidly increasing the number of laptops in classrooms and many are using lower-cost tablets to offer more children access to a device during lessons.

The report also found that technology budgets are growing in schools and will be at an average of £14,450 per primary school and £64,400 in a typical secondary school by the end of 2016.

A copy of the report has been sent to the Department for Education's technology action group.

It did not respond to requests for a comment by the time of publication.

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Microsoft beats Sony to China launch

29 September 2014 Last updated at 12:40 By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News

Microsoft has launched the Xbox One in China - becoming the first major console maker to enter what could be a massively lucrative market.

The first consoles were sold in Shanghai, priced at 4,299 yuan ($699, £430). Sony and Nintendo are yet to launch their respective products.

In January, the Chinese government lifted a 14-year ban on consoles, made because of worries over content.

However, many popular titles, such as Call of Duty, will still be banned.

Only 10 games were available to buy on the Xbox One's release - but Microsoft has said 70 titles are in the pipeline.

Beating its rivals to the market may give Microsoft a much-needed sales boost. Its console is currently being outsold by Sony's PlayStation 4 in all major markets.

But Piers Harding-Rolls, a games analyst from IHS, told the BBC: "There's advantages and disadvantages in being first.

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The BBC's Martin Patience reports as the Xbox console goes on sale in China

"There's obviously potential. Overcoming the issues of piracy, overcoming the issues of pricing, having the right content to connect with the local audience - those are all big issues."

Sony has set up business partnerships to launch the PS4 in China, but a date has not yet been set.

Both companies will compete with a thriving black market in illegally imported consoles playing pirated versions of games.

The firms will also come up against mobile games, which are not banned in China and are extremely popular.

Ticking the boxes

The Xbox One launch was originally set to happen last week but was delayed - Microsoft did not give a reason why.

The US firm is currently the focus of an anti-monopoly investigation relating to its Office software.

The company's chief executive Satya Nadella visited the country last week, and pledged to help the government with its investigation.

Getting games to market is likely to require negotiation with regulators, who favour educational games over those with violent themes.

But that could play well for Microsoft thanks to its recent acquisition of Minecraft - a block-building online game that is massively popular in the Western world, particularly with young children.

"I don't think Minecraft has been heavily exposed to the Chinese market," Mr Harding-Rolls said.

"It ticks all the boxes for regulatory requirements in China. It's educational, it's not heavily violent.

"I would suspect that they're thinking very seriously about bringing it to China. It sits well with the regulatory demands."

Microsoft bought Minecraft's Swedish developer Mojang earlier this month for $2.5bn (£1.5bn).

Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC

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Netflix to release full-length film

30 September 2014 Last updated at 07:51

The video streaming site Netflix will release its first feature-length film next year after striking a deal with the Weinstein Company.

The sequel to Ang Lee's Oscar-winning martial arts drama Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will be shown on Netflix and in Imax cinemas in August.

Netflix has over 50 million subscribers, in more than 40 countries.

The firm already produces its own TV programmes, notably the politically-themed House of Cards.

"The movie-going experience is evolving quickly and profoundly, and Netflix is unquestionably at the forefront of that movement," said Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of the Weinstein Company.

"We are tremendously excited to be continuing our great relationship with Netflix and bringing to fans all over the world the latest chapter in this amazing and intriguing story."

The sequel, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend, will see former Bond girl Michelle Yeoh reprise her role as warrior Yu Shu-Lien, while Chinese action star Donnie Yen joins the cast as a character called Silent Wolf.

However, director Ang Lee will not be returning to film the sequel. Those duties have been taken over by Chinese director Yuen Wo-Ping, who has already started filming in New Zealand.

This is not the first time that Netflix has worked with the Weinstein Company. The two are set to release a drama series about Italian explorer Marco Polo in December.

Last week, Netflix bought the rights to historical drama Peaky Blinders, first aired on the BBC, in a separate deal with the Weinstein Company and production group Endemol.

Record nominations

The entertainment company, which started in 1997 as a postal DVD rental service, has seen its profits surge in recent months.

In July, it reported profits of $71m (£43.8m) for the second quarter of 2014.

Last year, Netflix's original programming was nominated for 14 Emmy TV awards, winning three, and this year its programmes received a record 31 nominations.

The alliance with the Weinstein Company may give Netflix a shot at winning an Academy Award, which requires feature films to be played in cinemas for at least a week to qualify for a nomination.

However, Netflix has suffered some setbacks in the US, and is engaged in a battle with internet service providers such as Verizon over who should pay for the increasing strain that streaming video puts on download speeds.

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Thousands flock to 'anti-Facebook'

30 September 2014 Last updated at 00:42 By Zoe Kleinman Technology reporter, BBC News

Social media network Ello is currently receiving up to 31,000 requests an hour from people wishing to join its platform, its founder has told the BBC.

It was initially designed to just be used by about 90 friends of its founder Paul Budnitz.

But the bike shop owner, from the US state of Vermont, opened it to others on 7 August.

It has been dubbed the "anti-Facebook" network because of a pledge to carry no adverts or sell user data.

However some experts have cautioned that it might struggle with plans to charge micro-payments for certain "features".

The site has a minimalist design and does not appear as user-friendly, at first glance, as more established networks.

It has already survived a reported Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack - a targeted flood of internet traffic - which briefly knocked it offline over the weekend.

"We're learning as we go but we have a very strong tech crew and back end," founder Paul Budnitz told the BBC.

"It's in beta and it's buggy and it does weird stuff - and it's all being fixed as quickly as we can."

Mr Budnitz added that he was "flattered" by the "anti-Facebook" description, but said that was not the way he saw his service.

"We don't consider Facebook to be a competitor. We see it as an ad platform and we are a network," he explained.

The network will eventually make money by selling access to features, Mr Budnitz added.

"Like the app store, we're going to sell features for a few dollars," he said.

Members can already check out features in development on the page and register their interest.

Free likes

However, the traditional model of a free-to-use network has historically been the key to success, said James McQuivey, an analyst at tech research firm Forrester.

"Over all the other social media experiences from Whatsapp to Instagram to Pinterest - the reason they work is because they're free," he told the BBC.

"You don't invite your friend to connect with you if it costs your friend money. Even in the world of digital music - you can pay for services but most people don't."

"Ello is walking into a habit which consumers already have about digital services that they can't change on their own."

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Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee discusses the rise of Ello and privacy on social networks

Mr McQuivey also suggested that people's attitudes towards advertising and data mining might not be as negative as they seem.

"We may all think we don't like advertising, we may believe we think it's wrong for companies to profit from our personal data but our behaviour suggests these companies give us what we want and we don't mind what they do in return," he said."

"The fact is nobody has ever made a significant move away from any internet provider because of advertising or data."

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Instagram appears blocked in China

29 September 2014 Last updated at 11:52

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Micha Benoliel, CEO of the firm that makes Firechat, spoke to BBC Trending about the app's surge in popularity in Hong Kong

Instagram has reportedly been blocked in China following a weekend of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

Photos shared on Weibo, a microblogging platform similar to Twitter, also seem to be hidden if they contain certain keywords.

Searches for phrases like "Occupy Central" and "Hong Kong students" are blocked, says the BBC's Beijing bureau.

The Occupy Central movement and students in Hong Kong are leading the protest.

Instagram told the BBC it was aware of the reports and was looking into the situation.

"It's commonplace for China's internet censors to go into overdrive during politically sensitive events," said Celia Hatton, the BBC's correspondent in Beijing.

"However, the decision to block Instagram, a relatively popular photo-sharing application, takes the attempt to manage communications around the Hong Kong protests one step further, revealing Beijing's fears that some in mainland China might be inspired by activists in Hong Kong."

Following a call from student activist leader Joshua Wong, 100,000 people downloaded Bluetooth-powered messenger app Firechat, founding company Open Garden told news website Tech in Asia.

Firechat allows users to take part in group chats with between two and 10,000 people, without the need for an internet connection.

Using a technology known as mesh networking, messages can be sent to people within the immediate vicinity, as long as they too have the app installed. However, discussions are not private, and can be seen by anyone in the area.

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Snapchat hit by weightloss spam scam

29 September 2014 Last updated at 16:31 By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News

Accounts on messaging service Snapchat have been hijacked to send spam - but the site has said it was not the victim of a hack.

User profiles were used to send out advertisements for a weightloss site.

It's not clear how many people have been affected, but Snapchat users in several countries took to Twitter to complain about the problem.

Snapchat has suffered breaches in the past, including the leak of 4.6m usernames and phone numbers in January.

In that instance, a website called SnapchatDB released the personal data but censored the last two digits of phone numbers. Those behind it said they wanted to raise awareness of a vulnerability that Snapchat had not fixed.

In a statement, Snapchat said the latest incident was due to user credentials being found on other sites.

"We have seen evidence that hackers who have access to a trove of credentials leaked from other websites, have started using them to gain access to Snapchat accounts," the service told the BBC.

"In many instances, our defences have notified the user that their account has been compromised.

"We recommend using a unique and complex password to access your Snapchat account."

Wojciechowski

The breach takes control of a person's account to send an image to everyone in a user's contact list.

Users who log back into their accounts are then emailed by Snapchat, warning that they should change their password.

The image sent out does not appear to cause any harm to the sender or recipient, and instead promotes a website offering suspect weightloss products.

The web address is registered under the name of Stanislaw Wojciechowski - the former president of Poland.

Snapchat, which launched in 2011, has been hit by a number of security set-backs.

The app is designed to send pictures and messages that self-destruct after a short time. However, an app called Snapchat Hack allowed users to save messages permanently.

Security researcher Brian Honan said the service's track record was not encouraging - and that it could soon put users off.

"One thing that moves people off apps is if it's not cool anymore, or it's been replaced by another fantastic service. Or that people have lost confidence in it.

"For apps like Snapchat, they're competing with other applications and newcomers - if people lose confidence in them, they're going to stop using them."

Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC

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eBay to split off PayPal business

30 September 2014 Last updated at 16:11

E-commerce site eBay is planning to split off its payments system PayPal into a separate company.

News of the move, which is expected to be completed in the second half of 2015, sent eBay's shares 7% higher.

It is a reversal of strategy for the company, which has previously resisted pressure to split. However, the boss John Donahoe said the logic for running the companies jointly had changed.

PayPal's revenues are growing at 19% a year, twice as quickly as eBay's.

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Its payment system is available in 203 markets worldwide and is expected to process one billion mobile payments this year.

PayPal's annual revenue is $7.2bn (£4.5bn), while eBay's is $9.9bn and is growing at 10% a year.

"A thorough strategic review... shows that keeping eBay and PayPal together beyond 2015 clearly becomes less advantageous to each business strategically and competitively," EBay's chief executive John Donahoe said.

Resistance

Earlier this year the activist investor Carl Icahn began pressing for eBay to sell PayPal, a plan that was resisted by the eBay board. He stopped pushing after failing to gain enough support.

Analysts cheered the move, because it is seen as strengthening PayPal's position as more e-payment systems, such as Apple Pay and Alibaba's Alipay, enter the marketplace.

"Breaking off from eBay will provide PayPal with more autonomy to compete in the payments space, particularly with respect to Apple Pay and other emerging mobile wallet providers," wrote online advertising analytics firm eMarketer in a note.

EMarketer estimates that in the US, mobile payments using smartphones will reach $3.5bn in 2014 and then balloon to $118bn by 2018.

Leadership change

EBay bought PayPal in 2002 for $1.5bn, and the payments company is now eBay's fastest-growing business, with 143 million active users at the end of 2013, up 16% from a year earlier.

PayPal's new president and chief executive will be the current American Express co-executive Dan Schulman.

Meanwhile, Devin Wenig, currently president of eBay Marketplaces, will become the new chief executive of eBay.

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