From the future of bitcoin to Facebook, 2018 in technology

Echo and Home will start to talk back

Both of the major smart home platforms have a long-running problem with “discoverability”: it’s very hard to let users know what their devices can do, particularly if they’re always improving thanks to rapid software updates.

Amazon and Google are constantly experimenting with ways to get around this, but so far they have been timid. Amazon sends a weekly email, while Google includes some tips in its app. Expect to see them be bolder, particularly as powerful rivals such as Apple appear on the scene with worse AI but better sound.

So don’t be surprised if your Google Home or Amazon Echo begin to talk back, rather than simply following commands. They might ask for a bit more contextual information, to better carry out the role you’ve assigned them, or they might suggest something that you hadn’t even thought to ask them, based on your use patterns (and, in Google’s case, near-omniscient knowledge of your movements and habits).

Tech Tent: What a year for Bitcoin

Rejoice everyone, it is that time of the year again. This week's edition of Tech Tent is our annual festive quiz - and although I am writing this before taking part on one of the teams, I suspect that Bitcoin will feature among the questions.

What a year it has been for the crypto-currency, which started 2017 worth less than $1,000 and by last weekend had climbed to within a few dollars of the $20,000 mark. For all of that period, sceptics have been predicting that the bubble would burst and in the past 24 hours it has seemed at times that this was happening.

Apple faces lawsuits over slowed iPhones

Two class action lawsuits have been launched against Apple in the US following the tech giant's admission that it slows down older models of the iPhone as they age.

Apple has said that it did this to "prolong the life" of the devices and maximise diminishing battery power.

The lawsuits were filed in California and Chicago by groups of iPhone users representing others, who they claim have suffered "economic damage".

Fyusion is bringing 3D vision technologies to a device near you

More than 15 million users a week launch the Fyuse app to take and share the 3D interactive pictures the technology enables. But what these users may not realize is that their pictures are actually a training tool to help train the eyes of a new generation of devices.

Fyusion, the San Francisco-based developer of these 3D photography applications, has spent the past three years building out its app for consumers — as the first step toward becoming the default 3D imaging technology for consumers and businesses.

Twitter suspends Britain First leaders

Twitter has suspended the accounts of two leaders of a British far-right group shortly after revising its rules on hate speech.

Paul Golding, Britain First's leader, and Jayda Fransen, his deputy, can no longer tweet and their past posts no longer appear.

The organisation's official Twitter page has suffered the same fate.

It appears that three of Ms Fransen's posts that President Trump retweeted have gone from his feed as a result.

The messages had featured anti-Muslim videos and proved highly controversial when the American leader shared them in November.

British Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman said it had been "wrong for the president to have done this".

Ban sale of mini mobile phones, justice secretary says

Online retailers should ban the sale of miniature mobile phones designed to be smuggled into prisons, the justice secretary has said.

David Lidington said the devices were advertised as being able to go undetected by the body orifice security scanners used in England and Wales.

"Beat the BOSS" phones can be bought for £25, but are reportedly changing hands for up to £500 inside jails.

About 20,000 illicit phones and Sim cards were recovered by guards in 2016.

It is estimated that up to a third of mobiles found are "beat the BOSS" phones, the Ministry of Justice says.

Some as small as a lipstick, the mini mobiles are readily available from online marketplaces.

They are marketed as being virtually metal-free and therefore able to beat the detectors anyone entering a prison must pass through.

"It's pretty clear that these miniature phones are being advertised and sold with the purpose of being smuggled," Mr Lidington will say in a speech on Monday.

"I am calling on online retailers and trading websites to take down products that are advertised to evade detection measures in prisons."

Star Citizen game makers being sued

The makers of the crowdfunded space game Star Citizen are being sued for copyright infringement and breach of contract by development studio Crytek.

Crytek claims Roberts Space Industries (RSI) and Cloud Imperium Games "have caused substantial harm" to them.

Crytek said it would seek damages and an injunction that stopped further use of its CryEngine game engine software.

Facebook's Snooze button lets you mute news feed distractions

The new feature, previously only in testing, arrives as Facebook faces criticism from former employees over social media's impact on our well-being.

Sometimes there are people on your Facebook feed you just don't want to see for a while. The social network says it wants to help.

Facebook on Friday globally released a feature called Snooze that lets users hide certain people, groups or brand pages for up to 30 days, without permanently unfriending or unfollowing them. When the snooze window is about to end, you'll get an alert to let you know or renew the snooze. The tool was previously only in testing.

The idea is for people to have more control over their news feeds -- in case they are having tensions with a friend or partner, or if people want to avoid certain topics. But the feature is also good for Facebook, which benefits from its users having expansive networks on the site so they can target ads to users. Temporarily muting a connection is better for Facebook than someone permanently cutting it off.

Amazon backs down in Google streaming spat

Amazon has started selling Google's Chromecast devices two years after it originally removed them from its store.

Amazon said it removed them to end customer confusion about which services were available on which device.

Analysts said it was because they let people watch services that competed with Amazon's Prime Video.

Uber used undercover agents, court letter says

Uber set up a covert unit tasked with stealing competitors' secrets and engaging in undercover surveillance, a letter published by a US court on Friday has alleged.

It is critical evidence in Uber's legal battle with Waymo, the self-driving car company that accuses the ride-sharing firm of stealing its technology.

The letter, sent by lawyers representing a former Uber employee, sparked an internal investigation when it was sent to Uber in May, but has not been made public until now.

In a statement, Uber said: "While we haven’t substantiated all the claims in this letter - and, importantly, any related to Waymo - our new leadership has made clear that going forward we will compete honestly and fairly, on the strength of our ideas and technology."