BBC Click’s Dan Simmons looks at the best of the week’s technology news stories including; Britain’s National Health Service will be banned from buying fax machines and told to phase their use out by 31 March 2020 “Meghan Markle” was the most searched-for person’s name for the second year running on Google’s UK search service …

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Many people could get faster speeds but are not, Ofcom has found One in seven homes could be paying more than they need to for broadband and could get faster services for the same or less money, Ofcom has said. New research suggests that half of UK homes have …

Image copyright Reuters Image caption China’s purchase of 1.13 million tonnes of US soybeans has been hailed as a wonderful, great step by US officials. China has bought US soybeans for the first time since the trade war between the two countries started in July – a move hailed as a “great step” by US …

Image copyright Getty Images The UK’s advertising watchdog has said it will ban “gender stereotypes that are likely to cause harm, or serious or widespread offence”. The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) said harmful stereotypes in adverts “contribute to how people see themselves and their role in society”, and can hold some people back. The …

Image copyright Katy Straub There are discounts galore on the High Street, and online retailers have also started discounting products, 12 days before Christmas. Sales usually rise in the run-up to Christmas, so why are consumers spending less this year? In November, market research firm GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index dropped by three points to …

Image copyright Getty Images Travellers at some UK airports are barely being offered one US dollar for each of their pounds, following a month of Brexit uncertainty. Those exchanging pounds at the UK’s biggest airport, Heathrow, are finding as little as $1.05 coming back across the counter. Since 16 April the pound has fallen by …

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption What happens if it drops them? For years tech companies such as Amazon, Alphabet and Uber have promised us delivery drones bringing goods to our doorsteps in a matter of minutes. So why are they taking so long to arrive? One word: regulation. If our skies are to become …

Traffic lights. They’ve been keeping road crossings safe for over a century. They make the firms that manufacture them over a billion dollars a year. But the first one was a positive menace. Aaron Heslehurst tells the story of their creation. Video journalist: Jeremy Howell Source by [author_name]

Image copyright Eyevine/New York Times Image caption Evelyn Berezin said her word processor would help secretaries become more efficient at their jobs The woman who created and sold what many recognise as the world’s first word processor has died aged 93. Evelyn Berezin called the device the Data Secretary when, in 1971, her company Redactron …