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'Not Tonight' makes you a bouncer in post-Brexit Britain
In exactly 12 months, Britain will leave the European Union. It's a troubling time for the island state as politicians squabble over exit conditions and citizens grapple with a deep divide in their economic, societal and cultural values. For many, the future seems bleak, but it shouldn't compare to the one found in Not Tonight, an upcoming video game by Tiki Taka Soccer developer Panic Barn. In this alternate version of Britain, one ruled by an extreme right-wing government, you're forced to work as a bouncer that gets paid for identifying and turning away European citizens. It's a horrific job, but one that's necessary to pay the bills and keep your British citizenship.
Twitter told to dig deeper in Brexit interference inquiry
Twitter has been asked once again to comply with a request for information about possible interference on its platform during Britain's EU referendum. Back in October, the UK's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee asked Facebook and Twitter to investigate the possibility of social and political engineering by Russia-controlled accounts. It followed research by a London university which found that 13,500 fake accounts had tweeted shortly before the vote in 2016.
The true extent of Russian meddling in Brexit remains murky
In late October, Chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Damian Collins called upon Facebook and Twitter to report back with any evidence of Russian meddling in the UK's vote to leave the EU. It's an evolution of the committee's inquiry into the problem of fake news, which Collins considers a pretty serious "threat to democracy." Responses from Facebook and Twitter have landed this week, and if you haven't been following along, it's safe to say Collins isn't particularly impressed with how deep the social networks are digging to identify the true scale of political misinformation and influence exerted by Russia.
UK officials want to know if Russia meddled in the Brexit vote
UK officials are wondering if Russia tampered with its Brexit referendum and they've now officially asked Mark Zuckerberg to look into whether Facebook possibly played a role, The Guardian reports. Damian Collins, the UK's chair of digital, culture, media and sport committee sent Zuckerberg a letter saying that the committee was investigating fake news and wanted Facebook to provide them with any information it had on politically-divisive advertisements purchased by Russian actors.
Brexit is even making 'League of Legends' champions pricier
As if the prices of tech hardware shooting up as a result of last summer's Brexit vote wasn't disappointing enough, now it's making the cost of entirely virtual items more taxing on the wallet. League of Legends developer Riot Games has announced that from July 26th, it's adjusting the UK prices of Riot Points (RP) -- which players use to unlock champions and buy skins/other in-game swag -- to compensate for the decline in the value of the pound.
Microsoft hikes UK Surface prices because Brexit
Thanks to the Brexit vote, the weakened pound is causing many companies to adjust prices to cover the shortfall, and today you can add Microsoft to that list. The cost of the company's enterprise software and cloud services increased at the start of the year, but this morning Microsoft quietly hiked prices of some of its consumer devices and software too, as spotted by a TechCrunch tipster.
Sonos to raise prices by up to 25 percent over Brexit
If you live in the UK and have been mulling a Sonos purchase recently, take note: the company's prices will soon be going up. Through an online support page, the company has confirmed that its premium speakers and soundbars will be rising by up to 25 percent on February 23rd. Some tweaks are marginal, such as a £30 rise for the £169 Play:1 (soon to be £199). Others are more significant, however. The larger Play:5, for instance, is rising £70 to £499, while the Playbar and Sub are climbing £100 to £699 each. The Connect:Amp, meanwhile, is going up £100 to £499.
Brexit's good for tech, Brexit's bad for tech
Ever since 52 percent of referendum voters helped decide that life would be better outside of the European Union, Britain's economic future has been less than certain. The government continues to insist "Brexit means Brexit" and is attempting to negotiate trade terms before invoking Article 50 early next year, leaving markets and statisticians to estimate its true impact. While those talks are held behind closed doors, in the past week, some of the world's biggest technology companies -- Google, Facebook and IBM -- have seized the opportunity and confirmed their commitment to the UK. "Leavers" may see it as justification of their vote, but there's more to these announcements than meets the eye.
'Football Manager 2017' will simulate the effects of Brexit
With Football Manager, developer Sports Interactive has always tried to make the most authentic manager simulator possible. Juggling transfers, training and match tactics -- it's a deep, addictive blend of strategy, statistics and luck. For the latest version, Football Manager 2017, the team is going one step further by including the British EU referendum. The UK will trigger Article 50 by the end of March 2017, beginning its separation with the EU. It could have financial and legal repercussions for the football industry too, which Sports Interactive is keen to emulate. The problem is that until it happens, predicting the exact consequences is tricky.
Apple has quietly hiked the price of key products in the UK
The price of admission for Apple's gadget wonderland is slowly rising in the UK. The company announced a slew of new products yesterday, including the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2, with a flurry of slides and promotional videos. But behind all of the grandstanding were some notable price increases; the smaller iPad Pro, for instance, now starts at £549, rather than £499. The 128GB model has been bumped to £639 -- up from £619 -- and all of the 4G-ready models have been notched up too. Weirdly, however, the standard 256GB model has been dropped by £10.
Fox News broke UK broadcasting rules with pro-Brexit views
UK communications regulator Ofcom has ruled that Fox News broke broadcasting guidelines when it aired a program discussing the EU referendum on the day of the vote. Your World with Neil Cavuto, a show produced in the US, was broadcast in the UK at 9pm on June 23rd, one hour before the polls had closed. During the business and financial news program, Cavuto said:
OnePlus 3 gets a £20 price bump after Brexit madness
As the UK government crumbles before our very eyes, the fallout from the vote to leave the European Union is even starting to impact our beloved gadgetry. OnePlus was eager to warn us last week that the falling value of the British Pound might cause the company to revisit handset pricing -- much in the same way a Euro exchange rate slump was reflected in a jump in the cost of the OnePlus One early last year. That warning has become a reality today, with the announcement that as of July 11th, the price of the much-praised OnePlus 3 will increase from £309 to £329.
Brexit: Where UK tech companies stand on the EU referendum
The political mud-slinging that has defined Britain's EU referendum has almost come to a close. At 7am tomorrow morning, polling stations will open and UK citizens will be allowed to vote on whether to leave or stay in the European Union. Arguments have been drawn up on either side, contesting how the economy, jobs and immigration would be affected by a hypothetical split. In truth, nobody knows what would happen if Britain left the EU -- there are too many factors and decisions to consider. On the eve of such an important vote, Engadget contacted 50 technology companies that are either based in the UK or wield significant influence there, be it through sales, users or general operations. We posed a simple question: should Britain leave or remain in the EU? While many declined to pick a side, the majority that did were in the "remain" camp. Only one, in fact, thought it was best for Britain to cut its ties with the European Union.
Registration for EU referendum vote extended after site meltdown
The window for online registration to vote in the upcoming EU referendum has been extended after the portal crashed late last night. Many tens of thousands of visitors hit the site shortly after David Cameron and Nigel Farage were finished airing their respective views on the referendum live on ITV. The huge influx brought the website down around 10.15PM, and normal service did not resume until after the registration deadline of midnight. However, thanks to emergency legislation, registration remains open and the Prime Minister is encouraging people to keep signing up. The extension will last until midnight tomorrow (June 9th), so head over to the site when you get a chance if you want your say in the referendum on June 23rd.
Tinder is helping Brits understand the EU referendum
Nothing gets a Tinder match swooning like a well-informed political debate. Quite fitting, then, that the dating app has added a new, temporary feature for UK users to help them to brush up on EU referendum issues when they've exhausted their daily Super Like allowance. In collaboration with non-profit Bite the Ballot, Tinder has created a true-or-false quiz covering key topics such as benefits and human rights -- with the idea being you swipe your way to a better understanding of the key issues ahead of the referendum vote on June 23rd.
