Welcome to our tech news round-up from October 2019, designed to find those subtler stories you may have missed rather than the ones you know already. Do please add any similarly obscure ones that you’ve spotted in the comments section below!
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Netflix warns of ‘headwind’ as new rivals loom
Netflix has warned investors that it faces a “headwind” in coming months, as rivals such as Apple and Disney launch competing services. -
Banning out-of-hours email ‘could harm employee wellbeing’
Banning staff from accessing their work emails outside office hours could do more harm than good to employee wellbeing, a study suggests. -
Robot hand solves Rubik’s cube, but not the grand challenge
A remarkable robot, capable of solving a Rubik’s cube single-handedly, has demonstrated just how far robotics has advanced – but at the same time, experts say, how far we still have to go. -
Google chief: I’d disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home
The concession came at the end of one-on-one interview given to BBC News to mark the launch of Google’s Pixel 4 smartphones, a new Nest smart speaker and other products. -
Holy tech! Churches try new ways to connect
According to the church’s data, monthly reach on social media has doubled from 1.2 million in 2017 to 2.44 million in 2018. -
Payments giants abandon Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency
Mastercard, Visa, eBay and payments firm Stripe have pulled out of Facebook’s embattled cryptocurrency project, Libra. -
First British eRacing champion banned for using bot to gain unfair advantage
Held on the online training platform Zwift, it was alleged that the Cornwall-based rider used a bot to give him an unfair advantage over his competitors.