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Drone sighting disrupted departures at Heathrow
Flights out of Heathrow airport were suspended for an hour last night following reports of a drone sighting, with police officers among the witnesses (The Register).
This the second time in as many months that a major UK airport has been shut down over drone activity and once again it's not immediately apparent who is responsible for the disruption or whether it might have been a false alarm. Heathrow has now returned to normal operation and police are continuing to investigate.
Apple is ready to move into the 'services' industry
Apple CEO Tim Cook has indicated that the firm will be extending its reach into providing unspecified "services" this year in the wake of declining sales growth for its smartphones (The Verge). Unfortunately, Cook didn't go into any detail about exactly what kind of services the company will offer, although Apple is increasingly making deals with TV manufacturers to support its hardware and app ecosystem, which may point to a major multi-platform launch when its long-reported streaming TV plans come to fruition.
US carbon emissions suffer 3.4 per cent increase
After years of small decreases, preliminary data from independent research firm Rhodium Group indicates the US carbon dioxide emissions increased a massive 3.4 per cent in 2018 (Ars Technica). The increase is being largely driven by natural gas plants, which energy firms have been running and installing more of in response to increased consumer demand for electricity, as well as air travel, long-distance road transport, building and industry.
CES 2019 is upon us, which means a furious few days of gadgets and product launches (). Cut through the chaff with our guide and keep track of the tech that will shape 2019, from HTC's latest VR kit and the folding phone that beat Samsung to the punch to a smart toilet.
Sex toy stripped of CES award over 'immorality'
The Consumer Technology Association revoked an innovation award for Lora DiCarlo's Osé, a small hands-free sex robot designed to simultaneously stimulate the G-spot and clitoris, saying that entries it deems to be "immoral, obscene, indecent, profane or not in keeping with the CTA’s image will be disqualified" (TechCrunch). It's certainly puritanical, but the stripping of both the award and the company's right to exhibit at CES also seems deeply hypocritical from a show that cheerfully allows VR porn and sex doll robots aimed at men, and the decision indicates an unusual level of discomfort with women's sexuality from the CES organiser.
Podcast 399: How Netflix built Black Mirror's interactive Bandersnatch episode
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This article was originally published by WIRED UK
