Machinal at the Almeida review: Sophie Treadwell’s play is a wild, expressionistic ride through the Kafkaesque production-line of life June 15, 2018 Machinal opens in a loud and lairy 1920s office. Overlapping conversations about sex and romance are given a staccato rhythm by the clack and ding of a dozen typewriters. The question on everyone’s lips is: who’s sleeping with who? The juiciest gossip focuses on the girl who’s missing, her empty desk made all the [...]
Coinbase granted licence from FCA as it ramps up UK presence March 14, 2018 One of the world's top cryptocurrency exchanges has received a licence from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as it seeks to ramp up its British arm. Coinbase, which is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, said the new e-money licence from the FCA was an endorsement that its business meets certain anti-money laundering [...]
iPhone X review: A decade after the release of the first phone, Apple hasn’t lost its Midas touch November 16, 2017 The iPhone X is the biggest reinvention of the iPhone since… well, the iPhone. Apple is hardly shy when it comes to boasting about a new handset – every year Tim Cook takes to the stage and breathily exalts whatever happens to be in his hand as “the best phone we’ve ever made” – but [...]
The march of time: How war led to some of horology’s finest innovations, from diving watches to the chronograph November 2, 2017 Halfway through Pulp Fiction, with typically unnerving intensity – not to mention outrageous casual racism – Christopher Walken’s Captain Koons coaxes a young Butch Coolidge from his TV cartoons and presents him with ‘The Gold Watch’. This time-piece, he explains, was so important to his father that, while detained in a Vietnamese prisoner of war [...]
Droning on: How drones are transforming marketing February 28, 2017 From publicity stunts to epic and cost-effective aerial photography, marketers are getting increasingly creative with how they use drone technology. Prior to the rise in camera-equipped drones in recent years aerial photography was restricted to those who could afford helicopter support. All that has changed. As City A.M. reported last year, the drone [...]
How can we build a culture of better decisions? April 20, 2017 We could all make better decisions. Whether it involves buying or selling an investment, hiring an employee, or considering an important life choice, making better decisions produces non-linear returns. Repeated bad choices, on the other hand, lead to a long road of frustration. As anyone who’s read Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow or Michael [...]
Sandwichgate: How Sports Direct spied on MPs with a camera hidden in sandwiches November 7, 2016 Shocked MPs were left fuming after staff at Mike Ashley's Sports Direct apparently attempted to spy on them using a camera hidden under a plate of sandwiches. Members of the business select committee paid the controversial retailer's Shirebrook site a surprise visit earlier today, as part of a long-running investigation into conditions at the company. [...]
Hidden in plain sight: A visually confounding art piece questions our relationship with social media November 23, 2016 Before the invention of radar technology, warships would disguise their true shape and heading using patterns and colour. Zig-zagging lines, high contrast and sharp angles would confuse gunners, who struggled to accurately determine the distance and speed of their targets. “Dazzle camouflage” drew inspiration from the natural world – zebra herds use this kind of [...]
Navigating the post-truth world: How businesses can earn trust February 15, 2017 Welcome to the post-truth world. Society has become tribal and echo-chambers shape the way we see reality. There are few trusted facts, only trusted voices. Who is doing the talking has become more important than the things they say. For brands that want to earn trust, that sounds like a Catch-22, but companies can find their [...]
Black Friday: Rumours, deals and speculation at retailers including Amazon, Argos and Tesco November 11, 2016 Ah, Black Friday. It may have started as an American tradition – but in recent years it's become more British than watching the Queen's speech while wearing a jauntily-angled Christmas cracker hat. This year, Black Friday falls on 25 November. But sharpen those elbows, people, because the Black Friday 'period' begins NEXT WEEK. Here's what retailers [...]