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.

Facebook to pay workers up to $15,000 to live within 10 miles of office

                               

Facebook is offering employees at its Silicon Valley headquarters at least $10,000 (£6,700) to move closer to the office, a reflection of the challenges many tech companies face in the increasingly expensive and congested San Francisco Bay area.

To qualify for the payment, which the social networking firm started offering in the last 12 months, according to current and former Facebook workers, employees must buy or rent a home within 10 miles of the Facebook campus at One Hacker Way, a desolate strip of road overlooking a marsh about 30 miles south of San Francisco.

Some Facebook employees with families to support could earn a one-off payment of $15,000 or more for housing costs.

Facebook's efforts could help ease a major source of tension in San Francisco: an influx of young, wealthy tech workers who commute to Silicon Valley on private buses and often displace lower-income residents. But Silicon Valley has a housing affordability crisis of its own, and if Facebook's program gains traction it could further accelerate the gentrification of nearby communities, especially the low-income city of East Palo Alto.

"A lot of local families are going to get hurt," said John Liotti, chief executive officer of East Palo Alto community advocacy group Able Works. Facebook says the program is not about social engineering. "Our benefits at Facebook are designed to support our employees and the people who matter most to them at all stages of life," a Facebook spokesman said.

Apple snubs 'marriage' with Alibaba to launch Apple Pay in China

                             

Apple has partnered with bankcard association China UnionPay to launch its contactless payment service Apple Pay in China from early 2016.

The move comes as a direct challenge to Alibaba's Alipay and messaging app WeChat's Wechat Pay payment systems, both of which are already enormously popular in the region, with the former accounting for some 82 per cent of mobile payment transactions according to iResearch.

Alibaba's Jack Ma expressed interest in partnering with Apple in an electronic payment "marriage" back in October 2014, saying: “I hope we can do something together.” Cook said he planned to meet Ma to discuss potential partnerships, but nothing seemed to come from the discussions.

Apple's platform, first announced in September 2014 and launched in the UK this July, allows users to make swift payments by registering their credit or debit card to their iPhone 6, 6s or Apple Watch and holding it up to a contactless terminal thanks to embedded near-field communication (NFC) chips.

Bank of China and China Construction Bank are among the 15 banks to sign up to the scheme as part of the UnionPay network, in both urban and rural parts of the country. It needs to complete relevant tests and obtain certification from Chinese regulators before it can be fully rolled out.

                    

China represents a vast and lucrative market for Apple, as the country's insatiable desire for iPhones - sales of which have grown 65 per cent year-on-year - demonstrates. More than 7 million Apple Pay-compatible iPhone 6s and 6s Plus models were activated within days of going on sale, according to TalkingData.

Apple is the nation's second most popular smartphone brand behind homegrown hero Huawei, growing its market share to 22.9 per cent in the the three months to October, data from Kantar found.

In fact, chief executive Tim Cook took the unprecedented move ofreassuring worried investors back in August that Apple's performance in China remained strong despite fears over the cooling economy.

Facebook enters transport business with Uber

                              

In Facebook's first foray into the transportation business, the firm has agreed to work with Uber to allow users to hail Uber cabs directly from the Messenger app.

The new service means Messenger users will be able to ask for an Uber vehicle without leaving the Facebook software.

Users will not need to download the Uber app separately.

"Uber on Messenger" began in parts of the US this week, the two firms said.

The companies announced their new venture via separate blogs.

Facebook has some 1.5 billion users globally and Uber is the world's biggest driver-hailing app in terms of financing.

If successful, the partnership between the firms will give Uber access to many new and potential clients - Facebook's Messenger app has some 700 million users worldwide.

"With the ability to request, view, and pay for an Uber ride in Messenger, taking your next ride is as simple as sending a message," Uber said on its news blog.

"You can request a ride from a car service without ever needing to download an extra app or leave a conversation," Facebook explained.

The social media giant said the new transportation function on its Messenger app was part of its ongoing development.

"More countries and other transportation partners will be available soon," it added.