Five tech stories you might have missed last week
Google's ongoing court battle, the iPhone's forgotten users and Wallace and Gromit-inspired tech trousers all feature in our weekly round-up
CRN's weekly round-up of the more unusual tech stories that happened last week.
1. Google battles global 'right to be forgotten'
The EU legislation that allows an individual to have their identity scrubbed from internet searches may extend worldwide, according to the BBC.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in 2014 that information deemed "inaccurate, inadequate, irrelevant or excessive" should be delisted from search engine results. Google complied with the ruling, but delisted requests only on local country domains. The internet giant - which is shaping up to re-enter the Chinese market with a limited version of its search engine - has battled the law for the past four years and argues that extending the rule beyond its current boundaries could turn Google into a tool for censorship in "less democratic" regimes. The ECJ will make its ruling next year.
2. New Apple phone neglecting major demographic: women
The Independent reported on an oversight in the design of Apple's new iPhone XS Max - it is too big to be held by most women. Campaigners argue that the width of a woman's hand is on average an inch shorter than a man's, making it harder to grip the new XS iPhone which has a screen size of 6.5 inches. One campaigner pointed out that research showed women were more likely to be iPhone consumers than their male counterparts.
3. Archbishop calls Amazon a "leech", despite Church of England being a major shareholder in firm
The Church of England stated that it will keep its shares in Amazon, despite Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby saying that the firm was "leeching off the taxpayer", the BBC reported. Welby's comments came on the heels of another statement he made, calling for higher taxation on tech giants and the wealthy. Amazon was one of the 20 biggest global investments made by the church last year, according to the BBC article.
4. Wallace and Gromit inspire AI clothing
The classic Wallace and Gromit cartoon The Wrong Trousers has inspired the design of a pair of smart trousers with artificial muscles which has the potential to aid people with mobility issues, the Guardian reported. Nicknamed "the right trousers" by its developers at the University of Bristol, the wearable technology may allow people to continue to use their own muscles while wearing them, striking a balance between assistance and physical rehabilitation for its users.
5. This week in Elon MuskSpaceX, the space exploration company set up by Tesla founder and CEO Musk, will this week reveal the name of the first paying passenger it will send into space, The Independent reported. The announcement is set to made today (Monday), with Musk hinting via a tweet that the person may be Japanese. The passenger will be launched via SpaceX's Big Falcon rocket and is speculated to have paid around $150m (£114.5m) for the space tour.