City & Gild: Build, don’t block the sharing economy May 9, 2014 I travel to New York on business a lot and have in the past paid a small fortune to stay in hotel rooms which have the good grace to just about let you walk around the bed, carefully watching out for your shins. And then along came Airbnb. Not only could I rent a whole [...]
Sheer satisfaction: Zendesk founder Mikkel Svane on providing better customer service July 13, 2014 Harriet Green talks IPOs, big data and radical taxis with Zendesk’s founder Mikkel Svane. An O2 survey last year found that 70 per cent of people wouldn’t forgive a company for bad customer service. Two thirds also said they’d share their experience with an average of eight friends and family members. Mikkel [...]
5 tech IPOs to watch out for in 2014 March 25, 2014 Box’s $250m initial public offering (IPO) is far smaller than the Twitter’s, Alibaba’s and King’s of the world, but it marks the first in a long line of mid-sized tech firms who could be planning a float in the near future. DropboxOnline storage services Dropbox and Box were reported to be neck and neck in [...]
Bank staffer Ben Broadbent: Housing market is greatest threat to UK outlook June 11, 2014 Fear housing market risks, not bond market bubbles, says Bank of England staffer Ben Broadbent. When quizzed by MPs on the potential for emerging bubbles in the UK economy, his words clashed with those of Andy Haldane, now the Bank's chief economist. He disagreed with Haldane's claim that the central bank has "intentionally blown the [...]
How Google’s driverless cars could save your life – and make you money May 28, 2014 WHEN the man behind the Segway, the battery-powered personal mobility scooter, died after riding one of his products off a cliff, it seemed like a grim end to yet another transport fad. After the Sinclair C5, the hovercraft, the poweriser and the Segway, it’s easy to be sceptical about the next sci-fi “leap” in transportation. [...]
How Google’s driverless cars could save your life – and make you money May 28, 2014 WHEN the man behind the Segway, the battery-powered personal mobility scooter, died after riding one of his products off a cliff, it seemed like a grim end to yet another transport fad. After the Sinclair C5, the hovercraft, the poweriser and the Segway, it’s easy to be sceptical about the next sci-fi “leap” in transportation. [...]
Video: We check out the Breitling flight simulator in Canary Wharf February 19, 2014 Ever flown a fighter jet? No? Us neither, but we've had a go on a fighter jet flight simulator as of today. Uber swanky watch brand Breitling set up the simulator in Canada Square shopping centre, Canary Wharf in a bid to encourage bankers and other Canary Wharf-ite's to battle against each other for the [...]
The 5 best ways commuters are beating today’s tube strikes February 5, 2014 With delayed services, and stations so crowded that they've had to be closed (and we can see why) many have decided to experiment with new ways to get to work. If you don't fancy using our guide to navigating the tube strikes, then here are some more innovative options. On your bike While this option [...]
Pictures: Snoop’s in the Dogg House March 12, 2014 Uber trendy travel startup Airbnb, which lets holidayers book stays at regular people’s homes, has roped rapster-extraordinaire Snoop Dogg in to help with its pop-up event at SXSW festival in Austin, Texas this year. The rapper, who briefly re-styled as Snoop Lion before seemingly going Dogg again, has designed a pop-up house which reflects [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 14 February 2014 February 13, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Apple to cut use of ‘conflict minerals’ Apple is extending its supply chain clean up beyond Chinese factories and into African mines, using name-and-shame tactics to cut the amount of “conflict minerals” that end up in its iPhones and iPads. As it touts fresh improvements to working conditions in the factories that produce [...]