Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer who started his career on PC World and has written for dozens of computer and technology magazines, as well as numerous national newspapers, business and in-flight magazines. He has also written two novels.
He thinks wires are evil and had a custom desk made to hide them, known as the OC Desk for obvious reasons.
He considers 1000 miles a good distance for a cycle ride, and Chernobyl a suitable tourist destination. What can we say, he’s that kind of chap.
He speaks fluent English but only broken American, so please forgive any Anglicised spelling in his posts.
Downloading Netflix shows for offline viewing is going to get a little easier. The company has announced that an auto-download feature is available for the Android app from today, and will be added to the iOS app later in the year …
Timehop, an app which resurfaces memories from your past social media posts, says that it has been hacked. Names, email addresses and phone numbers have been obtained, and the company urges users to take urgent steps to protect their cellphone numbers …
Net neutrality protection looks set to return to California after nationwide rules were repealed by the Trump administration in December of last year …
There’s potential good news for anyone who uses a combination of Windows PC and Android phone/tablet: Microsoft is planning an Android app that allows you to access the Windows Movies & TV service …
2018 sales of Samsung’s Galaxy S9 are lagging behind 2017 sales of the S8, say analysts. This year’s flagship Samsung smartphone is said to be facing tougher competition from Chinese models …
Twitter says that it is taking extra steps to address fake accounts – often used to post spam, fake news or abuse – as well as taking tougher action against trolls …
If you’re in the market for a new wireless router, you’d be well advised to look out for models which support a new security standard. After relying on WPA2 for security for more than a decade, the Wi-Fi Alliance has just begun certifying products that use its replacement: WPA3 …
Uber was banned from operating in London back in September of last year, but immediately launched a legal appeal which allowed it to continue on a temporary basis until a court ruled on the matter …
Smart home technology is being used to inflict new forms of domestic abuse on partners and former partners. Example include everything from video surveillance through cameras to blasting out loud music through smart speakers and turning up thermostat temperatures to oppressive levels …
Google StreetView cars will soon be used to create maps of air pollution in London. They previously did the same in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the Central Valley regions of California …
Access to Facebook groups has always been free, but that could be about to change. The company is currently trialling subscription access to some groups …
Microsoft today has officially rolled out its brand new ‘Microsoft News’ apps on iOS and Android. The company boasts that this new platform is a way to “keep you informed in an easily accessible, compressive, and trustworthy way.”
Apple’s Tim Cook yesterday described the Trump administration’s new policy of separating children from the parents of asylum speakers and suspected illegal immigrants as ‘inhumane’ – and the leaders of a long list of other tech companies are expressing similar views …
We heard earlier this month that Instagram was planning support for long-form videos of up to an hour, and a new report suggests that the feature will launch today, with a few more details emerging …
A new survey of smart speaker owners found that only 6% of them are currently using the device to control smart home devices like lighting and heating.
Interestingly, playing music was only the third most common use …
A new medical study suggests that children who listen to portable music players are three times more likely to suffer hearing loss than those who don’t …
Regular Uber users will know that the same journey can be charged at quite different rates, depending on demand for rides and how many drivers are available in the area to provide them …
Sharing contacts between phones doesn’t yet seem to have taken over from handing out business cards, but if you want to keep things paperless there are a number of apps that allow you to scan a card and save it to your contacts.
Most require some kind of manual edit, however, particularly when it comes to getting information into the correct fields – a problem Adobe claims to have solved with the latest version of its Android Adobe Scan app …
At a time when there’s increasing focus on ‘digital health’ – ensuring that usage of devices like smartphones doesn’t take over our lives – gaming addiction is to be officially classified as a disease …
My iPhone feels like a much calmer device since I went on a notifications diet, but if you can’t switch off email alerts because you need to know when important ones arrive, Google thinks it may have the solution. It’s iOS-only for now, but is coming ‘soon’ to Android …
Given the popularity of the PBS show The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross, you might not be surprised that someone has turned it into an app. What is surprising, however, is that the latest version of the app is audio only …
If you’ve ever been unfortunate enough to be close to the scene of a major emergency, you’ll know that mobile networks quickly get congested …
Google could face a massive fine of up to $11B when a ruling is reached on a long-running European antitrust investigation into Android – with potentially even worse news for the company.
A decision is reportedly expected to be made sometime in July …
Microsoft has confirmed reports that it is acquiring software development platform GitHub. The firm is paying $7.5B in stock …