Slow iPhone? This hidden trick can speed up your handset

If you've had the same iPhone for a couple of years or more, you've probably started to notice its performance slowing down a little, especially on newer versions of the software. Apple has even been sued for the slow performance in iOS 9 when it is used on an iPhone 4s.

But for anyone not up to taking such drastic measures, a solution has emerged that can provide an immediate speed boost by clearing up memory in the phone's App Store.

San Francisco developer Zachary Dryer shared the hidden trick on Twitter, revealing that pressing a series of buttons in the iOS App Store can get rid of a backlog of stuck app updates.

On the App Store, press any one of the five buttons along the bottom of the app 10 times in a row to clear the cached memory. This is data that is meant to be held temporarily but can continue to take up precious resources due to a software error.

As long as the same button is pressed in succession, the screen should go white for a couple of seconds and return to the App Store's homepage, with any app update backlogs cleared.

This is a useful trick if your App Store gets stuck, which can mean app updates not coming through, but should also provide a speed boost. The trick will also work on the iPad.

Clearing temporary memory can often provide a speed boost, and has been a popular trick in the iPhone's web browser, Safari. However, doing the same with apps has not always been so easy. The same trick can be used in iTunes, iBooks and the Apple Store app if those are used often.

Microsoft to warn users about government spying!

US company reportedly kept quiet after thousands of email accounts were compromised in 2011

Microsoft has said it will tell customers if they are being targeted by government spies after it was reported that thousands of Hotmail accounts had been hacked by the Chinese government.

Users of Outlook email and other services will be alerted by the company with a special message saying that details may have been compromised by state-sponsored attackers, Microsoft said.

The move, which follows other tech companies including Facebook andTwitter this year, comes amid growing concerns about governments spying on individuals by accessing their email and social media accounts.

However, it could put Microsoft at odds with the British government, which has said that telling internet users about attempts to access their communications could jeopardise investigations. It emerged this week that employees at Twitter and other internet groups could face up to two years in prison if they tip off customers about state monitoring.

A "disclosure provision" in the draft Investigatory Powers Bill will make it illegal for companies to tell the subject of a surveillance exercise that requests for their data have been made, without express permission. Although the wording of the bill specifically mentions data requests, while Microsoft's new policy covers attacks, governments have become increasingly frustrated at tech companies not co-operating with surveillance attempts.

Uber claims one billion journeys in five years since launch!

                              

Uber claims to have made one billion journeys since its launch in 2010, underlining the massive growth of the ride-sharing service and its challenge to the traditional taxi industry.

The company said its billionth trip was completed in London on Christmas Eve - five and a half years after its first journey in San Francisco.

The figure suggests that Uber has averaged more than 600,000 rides a day since its driver-hailing app went online, although the figure today is much higher. Uber said last year that it was arranging 1 million trips per day, and has since expanded in dozens of new cities around the world.

The company - whose app connects prospective passengers to freelance drivers, charging the passenger's credit card and taking a cut - has raised billions of dollars at a valuation of $62.5bn, which would make it the world's most valuable startup.

However, it has faced a series of threats from regulators in cities where it operates, including London, where the capital's transport authority hasproposed regulations that would damage its ability to operate. Last week, Transport for London closed a consultation on 25 proposals for minicabs, such as a minimum five-minute wait time between ordering a ride and it starting. It will unveil plans in the new year.

First pictures of new Google Glass emerge a year after sales pulled

                            

Pictures of a new version of Google Glass have emerged in filings with American authorities, revealing a bendy design more akin to typical glasses.

Google pulled sales of its £1,000 wearable headset almost a year ago and cancelled the "Explorer" programme for testing it, despite spending years on its development. The move was seen as a major U-turn at the time, although Google insisted that it had not cancelled the Glass project and that it would focus on business users.

Now, images of a new model have appeared on the Federal Communications Commission website. They show a new, foldable, design that will let owners store Glass in their pockets or cases like normal spectacles, as well as a manual for the device.

Some photos show Glass with the nose bridge that helped the earlier version stay on an owner's face, while others do not, although the latter may just be to show the design better.

                          

Google was one of the first big companies in the wearable tech space, unveiling Glass in 2012. The headset was designed to take pictures, respond to voice controls and display other smartphone-style features on a small screen on the edge of the right eye.

It went on sale to some people in 2013 before a general release in 2014, and several popular services developed apps for the technology. However, many were quickly abandoned, and Glass drew controversy, especially over surreptitious filming. Google even had to explain to users how not to be a "glasshole".

In January, Google pulled sales of the original device, but said it would release a new version, focused on enterprise users, when it is ready. The new device is already being quietly used in some businesses, although a consumer version, if it emerges, is believed to be some way away.

At the same time, other wearable tech products, such as Apple's Watch, have emerged, while a series of other augmented reality products like Microsoft's Hololens are due to go on sale in 2016.

Apple to pay €318m to settle Italy tax case

                                     

Apple has agreed to pay €318 million (£235 million) to settle a tax investigation in Italy.

A spokesman for Italy's tax office said the tech company's Italian subsidiary had agreed to pay the sum to end the investigation, with Apple agreeing to pay what the authorities had demanded. However, it is less than the €880 million that Apple had reportedly been accused of hiding by the authority.

According to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Apple had been accused of tax evasion over five years, from 2008 to 2013, by booking sales in Italy through its Irish subsidiary. Apple has claimed that it pays "every dollar and euro it owes in taxes" but did not comment on the Italian payment.

The settlement comes after lengthy negotiations between Italian authorities and the company.

Italy's squeezed public finances have seen an increasing focus on corporate tax payments, and many governments around the world have zeroed in on multinational tech companies. Google, Starbucks and Amazon have faced particular scrutiny in the UK.

Apple, like many tech multinationals, base their international operations in Ireland, where corporation tax is among the lowest in the world. However, a deal between the company and the Irish government is being investigated by the European Union, with a decision expected next year.

The EU has previously ordered Luxembourg and The Netherlands respectively to recoup millions in unclaimed tax payments from Fiat and Starbucks, and analysts believe an unfavourable decision on Apple's part could lead to a bill worth billions.

Google replaces passwords with your phone itself

                               

Passwords are the bane of modern tech - not only are good ones hard to come up with, but they also have to be constantly changed, could be the targets of phishing attacks and have inane rules about letters, characters and numbers that are impossible to remember. Which is why most people use simple, easy-to-recall passwords, or recycle the same old ones for several different accounts - as this report from security firm Kasperskyclaimed 1 in 7 people do.

Google wants to end that. This week they rolled out trials for a new log-in system that does away with passwords entirely. Instead, you can log in securely to your Google account - including Gmail, YouTube etc - just by tapping "Yes" on your iOS or Android smartphone.

A Google spokesperson said: “We've invited a small group of users to help test a new way to sign-in to their Google accounts, no password required. 'Pizza', 'password' and '123456'—your days are numbered.”

Reported on Reddit by user Rohit Paul, with screenshots of how to use it on a Nexus 6P, the process is straightforward. Here's how it worked, according to Paul:

1. First, set up your phone to act as a sign-in authenticator (it needs to have a screen lock which is how it is encrypted)
2. Go to a Google log-in screen on your computer and put in your email
3. Unlock your smartphone, and just tap Yes on the Google notification asking if you're trying to sign in

If your phone is lost or stolen, you can sign in to your account using your regular password, and un-authorise the stolen phone from signing in.

Currently, Googe offers 2-factor authentication, which involves putting in your password, as well as a numerical code that appears as a text or in an app on your phone. This new method would save the effort of putting in the code, but would be equally as secure.

When Paul tried it a second time, he was asked to complete another step on his mobile phone - enter a two-digit number after clicking yes.

                                    

This isn't the first security or phishing-protection mechanism that Google has implemented.

This year, it introduced Password Alert which is a simple Chrome extension that will show you a warning if you type your Google password into a site that isn’t a Google sign-in page.

It has also tested "on-body detection" in its Android 5.1 version which only locks when the phone has been put down, but remains unlocked if you've got it in your hand - measured by the phone's accelerometers.

Google said it could not comment on when the feature might be rolled out more widely.

Apple warns: Snoopers' Charter will 'spark serious international conflicts'

                            

Millions of innocent consumers will be put at risk by the so-calledSnooper’s Charter, while terrorists and hackers will continue to operate unhindered, Apple has claimed.

In a submission today to MPs scrutinising the Investigatory Powers Bill, the Californian giant said the proposed laws will “spark serious international conflicts” by forcing non-UK companies to break data encryption, hack their customers and violate international laws in their home countries.

According to the bill, data encryption need only be broken under a warrant from intelligence agencies. However, “a key left under the doormat would not just be there for the good guys. The bad guys would find it too,” Apple cautioned.

The company’s chief executive Tim Cook made it clear in an exclusive interview with the Daily Telegraph last month that: “We don’t think people want us to read their messages. We don’t feel we have the right to read their emails. We believe very strongly in end to end encryption and no back doors.”

In fact, several core Apple features like iMessage and FaceTime already have end-to-end encryption baked in, which means it is impossible for Apple to comply with the law in its current form.

To obey a warrant today, the company would have to build entirely new services, which is highly unfeasible.

Apple is also concerned that the law reaches beyond UK borders, requiring any overseas company with British consumers to comply, even if their home countries have conflicting laws, as the United States currently does.

This would paralyze several multinational corporations, particularly those in the tech sector who would have to contend with dozens of contradictory country-specific laws.

“For the consumer in, say, Germany, this might represent hacking of their data by an Irish business on behalf of the UK state under a bulk warrant – activity which the provider is not even allowed to confirm or deny,” Apple said. "Maintaining trust in such circumstances will be extremely difficult."

The committee has until the middle of February to collect evidence and recommend changes to the proposed law.