Synopsis
How the technology business is transforming the way we live and work.
Episodes
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Amazon gives Parler the boot
15/01/2021 Duration: 23minThe social platform favoured by Donald Trump supporters loses its online home after Amazon Web Services withdraws its cloud hosting. Plus, how the pandemic has fired the imagination of gadget-makers exhibiting at CES. And why the tech behind apps to help women track their menstrual cycles is leaving many users disappointed. Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, with BBC Online tech team Chris Fox, Leo Kelion, and Zoe Kleinman. Produced by Jat Gill.(Image: Composite image of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and the Parler logo. Credit: BBC).
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Facebook and Twitter block Trump
08/01/2021 Duration: 23minSocial giants act after the President praises supporters who broke into the US Congress building. Plus, how Singapore’s Covid-19 contact tracing data may be accessed by police despite earlier assurances it would only be used to control the pandemic. And we look ahead to next week’s CES, the biggest annual tech event. Can it deliver in a virtual format? Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, with BBC senior tech reporter Jane Wakefield. Produced by Jat Gill.(Image: Donald Trump rallies supporters to march on the US Capitol to protest against the certification of the election result. Credit: Getty Images).
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Tech Trends for 2021
01/01/2021 Duration: 23minRory Cellan-Jones and guests on how tech will shape the coming twelve months. Featuring BT innovation researcher Dr Nicola Millard, and BBC senior tech reporter Jane Wakefield. With contributions from remote working consultant Dave Coplin, futurist Peter Schwartz, and Kate Bevan, editor of Which? Computing. Produced by Jat Gill.Image: Stock photo of a woman runner checking and logging health data. Credit: Getty Images.
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Tech Quiz of the Year 2020
25/12/2020 Duration: 24minTest your knowledge of the year’s biggest tech stories with Rory Cellan-Jones and the Tech Tent team. With BBC tech reporters Chris Fox, Zoe Kleinman, David Molloy, and Jane Wakefield. Produced by Jat Gill.Image: Stock photo of a man sitting outdoors in front of a festive background, listening to earphones. Credit: Getty Images.
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Hackers breach US government
18/12/2020 Duration: 24minKey government agencies are among thousands of organisations believed to have been hit using compromised network software from SolarWinds. Plus Facebook goes to war with Apple over its plans to restrict the targeting of iPhone users by advertisers. And the man whose school photograph became a viral meme without him knowing it. Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, with BBC tech reporter Jane Wakefield. Produced by Jat Gill.
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Will Facebook be broken up?
11/12/2020 Duration: 24minUS regulators launch lawsuits accusing the giant of buying rivals to stifle competition. Plus, does Uber’s sale of its autonomous driving division indicate a roadblock for driverless tech? And why a paper by leading AI ethics researcher Dr Timnit Gebru has caused a storm at her employer Google. Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, with BBC cybersecurity reporter Joe Tidy. Produced by Jat Gill.(Image: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies at a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, October 2019. Credit: REUTERS/ Erin Scott/ File Photo).
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Life after Covid
04/12/2020 Duration: 23minWill a digital means of showing you’ve been immunised be the passport to living normal everyday life? Plus, what does China’s new law banning the export of goods deemed important for national security mean for Western tech giants? And we attend Web Summit - virtually - to consider whether the future of giant conferences is online. Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, with BBC tech reporter Jane Wakefield. Produced by Jat Gill.(Image: A health worker processes a sample for a Covid test in New Delhi, India. Credit: EPA/ RAJAT GUPTA).
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Tesla’s $500bn valuation
27/11/2020 Duration: 23minDoes the electric car pioneer’s technology justify its stock value exceeding that of the major traditional carmakers combined? Plus, will Apple’s new M1 silicon chips end the decades-long dominance of Intel and Microsoft in computing? And have you received an Amazon delivery you didn’t order? We find out what’s going on. Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones with BBC tech reporter Zoe Kleinman. Produced by Jat Gill.(Image: Tesla Model 3 cars at the company’s Shanghai factory, Credit: REUTERS/ Aly Song/ File Photo).
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Electric cars in the fast lane
20/11/2020 Duration: 24minThe UK government says new petrol and diesel-powered cars will be banned by 2030. Will developments in battery tech deliver electric vehicles for the mass-market? Plus how Kenya is looking to wind energy to bring cleaner power to off-grid communities. And has the pandemic permanently changed how we look at screen-time? Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, with BBC tech reporter Jane Wakefield. Produced by Jat Gill.(Image: Electric Mini Cooper charging on a central London street, Credit: BBC).
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Will Biden go after Facebook?
13/11/2020 Duration: 23minFacebook faces more criticism for its handling of misinformation around the US election, this time by members of Joe Biden's team. Could the next US president lead a crackdown on the social media giant? We speak to Siva Vaidhyanathan, professor of media studies at the University of Virginia and author of Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy. Also on the show: Apple launches a range of new laptops, but it's the chips inside them that are causing a stir. We ask Raspberry Pi creator Eben Upton if it's the end of the road for endlessly faster processors. Plus Hyperloop makes some headlines with a high-speed test in the desert, but is it really going to revolutionise transport systems around the world? Railway engineer and writer Gareth Dennis has his say. Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones with BBC tech reporter Zoe Kleinman.(Photo: Cutouts of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg outside the US Capitol, Credit: Getty Images)
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Social giants label Trump’s posts
06/11/2020 Duration: 23minFacebook and Twitter warn President Trump’s post-election remarks may be misleading. Plus, what a verbal battle between chatbots tells us about machine learning. And the plan to beam 5G connectivity from hydrogen-powered drones. Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, with BBC reporters Jane Wakefield and Marianna Spring. Produced by Jat Gill.(Image: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters about the 2020 presidential election at the White House in Washington DC, Credit: Carlos Barria/ Reuters).
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Senators accuse big tech of bias
30/10/2020 Duration: 23minUS politicians clash over how social media firms will moderate content in future. Plus, how inkjet printing tech could help ramp-up Covid-19 testing and research. And a solar-powered solution to a shortage of medical oxygen in developing countries. Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, with BBC tech reporters James Clayton, Leo Kelion, and Jane Wakefield. Produced by Jat Gill.(Image: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifies remotely to the US Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Credit: EPA/ Greg Nash/ POOL).
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Election stakes for US tech
23/10/2020 Duration: 23minWhat changes will a new Presidential term bring for the tech we use? Plus, how TikTok may be influential in the vote, despite paid political ads being banned. And what the social platforms are doing to try to stem disinformation ahead of polling day. Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, with BBC reporters James Clayton, Sophia Smith Galer, and Marianna Spring. Produced by Jat Gill.(Image: Combination of images showing Donald Trump and Joe Biden at the first Presidential debate, Credit: Jim Watson/ Saul Loeb/ AFP/ Getty Images).
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iPhone 12 goes 5G
16/10/2020 Duration: 23minApple pushes 5G as a key selling point of its new iPhone 12. But is it useful anywhere right now? We get the view from South Korea, where 5G has been available for 18 months, and from Ghana where the previous 4G network is just rolling out. Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, with BBC tech reporter Jane Wakefield. Produced by Jat Gill.(Image: Illustration of the iPhone 12, Credit: Apple/ EPA).
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US Congress slams big tech
09/10/2020 Duration: 23minGoogle, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple are compared to oil barons by US lawmakers. But the firms insist they are not monopolies and they operate in a competitive market. Plus, Facebook takes further action to ban content relating to the QAnon conspiracy theory across its platforms. And the opportunities for women whose jobs have been hit by the pandemic to retrain as programmers. Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, with BBC tech reporter Chris Fox. Produced by Jat Gill.(Image: Congresswoman Val Demings, (D-FL), questions tech leaders during a hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law on "Online Platforms and Market Power", Credit: Graeme Jennings/Pool via REUTERS).
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A Pixel for the times
02/10/2020 Duration: 23minGoogle pushes affordability and 5G for its flagship Pixel 5 mobile handset. But can it compete in a crowded middle-market? Plus, has quantum computing reached a point at which it is genuinely useful for businesses? And the push-back against China-led plans to replace the internet’s underlying protocols. Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, with BBC tech reporter Jane Wakefield. Produced by Jat Gill.(Image: Press photo of a woman using the Pixel 5 smartphone, Credit: Google).
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How misinformation spreads
25/09/2020 Duration: 23minRory Cellan-Jones examines how misinformation spreads across online platforms. Plus, why Tesla’s Elon Musk is promising a $25,000 fully autonomous electric car. And former Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, co-chair of Facebook’s new oversight board, on how the body will handle controversies relating to the US election. With BBC tech reporter Jane Wakefield. Produced by Jat Gill.(Image: Anti coronavirus-lockdown protest in Trafalgar Square, London, August 2020. Credit: Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images).
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The TikTok saga hots up
18/09/2020 Duration: 24minAfter shunning Microsoft, will a deal with Oracle work? The BBC's Asia business correspondent Karishma Vaswani joins Rory Cellan-Jones and Jane Wakefield in the tent to discuss what the US and China want out of a deal for TikTok. Plus: An earthquake in the computer chip industry - why selling chip designer Arm to US firm Nvidia is proving controversial. And as Facebook launches a new VR headset and PlayStation and Xbox go head to head, what is the future of gaming? Keza MacDonald, the Guardian's video games editor, discusses.(Photo: TikTok logo displayed on a phone screen, Credit: Getty Images)
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Berlin’s tech bounceback
11/09/2020 Duration: 23minRory Cellan-Jones visits the German capital Berlin to see how the tech sector is faring post-lockdown. Plus how TikTok has been struggling to remove a disturbing suicide video. And we discover the games tech being used to create virtual art galleries. With BBC tech reporter Jane Wakefield. Produced by Jat Gill.(Image: An employee wearing a face mask sets up smartphones at the IFA tech fair in Berlin, Sept 2020. Credit: Michele Tantussi/ Reuters).
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Tech and working life
07/09/2020 Duration: 23minRory Cellan-Jones explores how tech firms are influencing the way people work and what changes might lie ahead in the months and years to come. Plus, why has the internet evolved as it has and is it too late to reclaim it from big tech firms for the common good? And, has the Covid-19 pandemic boosted the gig-economy? With BBC tech reporter Jane Wakefield. Produced by Jat Gill.(Image: An employee working at an Amazon fulfilment centre in India, Credit: REUTERS/ Abhishek N. Chinnappa/ File Photo).