The European Commission said on Tuesday it would continue its investigation into Luxembourg’s tax treatment of Amazon after reports the online retailer had changed its tax practices in Europe. The Commission launched an in-depth investigation last October into alleged state aid Luxembourg was granting to Amazon by offering a low corporate tax rate on European profits, most of which are booked in the Grand Duchy.
An Italian court on Tuesday banned unlicensed car-sharing services such as those offered by Uber, in another setback for the fast-growing U.S. car service whose smartphone app summons rides at the touch of a button. Uber has been gaining popularity among passengers seeking lower cost car rides, triggering protests across Europe by heavily regulated traditional taxi drivers. The court in Italy’s business capital Milan said the Uber POP service, which
If you thought the idea of barking commands into a cylindrical black box to order supplies from Amazon was strange, get a load of what Google may be planning for the next generation of internet-connected smart toys. The US Patent and Trademark Office (via Engadget) published a patent application from Google late last week entitled “Agent Interfaces for Interactive Electronics that Support Social Cues,” which could wind up being little
If you thought the idea of barking commands into a cylindrical black box to order supplies from Amazon was strange, get a load of what Google may be planning for the next generation of internet-connected smart toys. The US Patent and Trademark Office (via Engadget) published a patent application from Google late last week entitled “Agent Interfaces for Interactive Electronics that Support Social Cues,” which could wind up being little
Introduction Those who work with email detest it, but it is still a daily part of many of our lives – and the provisions made for email within Windows leave a lot to be desired. As someone who works online, I send and receive many emails a day and need a trusty email client that won’t break or falter. After the disaster that was Windows Vista, Microsoft ditched Windows Mail
If you’ve got two pencils, some paper, a cameraphone and no problem with looking ridiculous on the internet, you can take part in the Charlie Charlie Challenge that is currently taking over Vine and Twitter. Once we had chain emails that promised a grizzly end if you didn’t forward them on to everyone in your address book, now we have Vine-based Ouija boards. By drawing a grid, writing yes in
The iPhone 6 is fine, sure, but with its massive footprint it’s also kind of a hassle if you have tiny hands. Take navigating back to the inbox from an email in Mail, for example; the gymnastics your thumb needs to undertake if you only have one hand available are Olympic-level. Enter Halo Back: not a Gwen Stefani remix but a smart screen protector that uses a capacitive channel to
One day in the not-too-distant future you’ll get in your self-driving car, speak out your destination and put your smartphone down on the arm rest – where it will begin charging automatically. Daimler (owner of Mercedes-Benz) and Qualcomm have announced a new partnership to work towards in-car wireless charging. The companies are also going to develop ideas for charging electric cars without cables. The days of fiddling around with cables
Introduction The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has finally seen its long-awaited release, and by all accounts, happiness should reign. Instead, its launch has been soured by one accursed word – downgrade. In a nutshell, the final game doesn’t look as good as players were expecting after early footage, and to add insult to injury, it’s because while the first two games were developed for the PC – the second one
German carmaker Daimler is to make software from web services company Baidu available in its Chinese Mercedes-Benz cars as part of a trend of deepening ties between carmakers and consumer technology companies. Carmakers are seeking to extend information and entertainment services available in vehicles, as well as smartphone compatibility, in an era of increasingly congested traffic. Daimler and Chinese tech giant Baidu announced their tie-up on Monday at consumer electronics
