3DS; Nintendo; £8.99Pullblox was a deceptively simple puzzle game for Nintendo’s handheld 3DS, its plump little hero walking up to irregularly shaped blocks and either pulling them forwards or pushing them backwards in order to form stairs towards a flag perched at the top of each puzzle. Fullblox sticks with this formula, but adds the ability to stretch blocks sideways, along with enemies who can harm you but can also be hopped on and used as moving step ladders to reach otherwise inaccessible blocks. In typical Nintendo style, it’s polished to perfection, wringing astounding ingenuity from a simple premise and dressing it all up in charming, childlike trappings. Its introductory portion is free, and packs of new levels range from £2.69 to £4.49, with the whole game available for a very reasonable £8.99. Along with levels made by Nintendo, which include one nostalgic tranche based on characters and settings from its ancient back catalogue, you can also use the Fullblox Studio to build your own puzzles and play other people’s, a feature that’s unlocked as soon as you’ve spent any money. Cheerful, fun and incredibly taxing, Fullblox is a solidly constructed and subtle set of challenges.ALSO OUT THIS WEEK Continue reading...

The Strong museum in New York has opened a World Video Game Hall of Fame – here are the historic titles that won’t be included any time soon

The lip-syncing app has been downloaded more than 50 million times, but what is it? And why is it so popular with everyone from kids to celebrities?Miming into a hairbrush, reeling off favourite quotes from films, and covering internet catchphrases – all a lot easier since the arrival of lip-syncing app, Dubsmash.The mobile app allows users to take videos either of themselves or others miming to pre-recorded audio clips. Film, music and internet snippets are popular, but users are also able to upload more personal clips. Continue reading...

When communication goes through encrypted channels, rather than in public, the FBI has a hard time intercepting itThe FBI has again waded into the debate around encryption, with the bureau’s assistant director of counterterrorism telling the US congress that tech companies should “prevent encryption above all else”.Michael Steinbach, speaking at a hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee, explained how the the FBI uses technology to track and intercept supporters of Isis in the Middle East and elsewhere. Continue reading...

Social network’s plan to attract next billion people sees launch of new app for developing nations that consumes a fraction of dataFacebook’s new app for Android has all the features of its full app, but is faster, smaller and lighter on data.

EFC reports bitcoin and images and videos of child abuse used as currency after conventional payment systems decline in popularityA pan-European drive to use the financial system to fight online child abuse has succeeded in reducing sales of child abuse material using conventional payment systems – but research suggests that abusers have been driven underground, turning to anonymiser technologies to evade law enforcement, and bitcoin to pay for material.Experts from the European Financial Coalition Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation Online (EFC) report that images and videos of child abuse have become a currency in their own right, with abusers expected to provide new material in exchange for access. Continue reading...

MCN regularly sees its videos uploaded without permission to social network: ‘I’m shocked that a rights holder with deep pockets has not sued’Facebook’s native video features have the potential to “eclipse” YouTube according to the boss of multi-channel network Fullscreen – but only if the social network tackles the issue of videos being uploaded without the permission of their creators.Fullscreen is one of the MCNs that has built a big audience on YouTube, with its network of 70,000 channels accumulating more than 635 million subscribers. Continue reading...

NSPCC says video which has gone viral depicts child abuse, but Facebook says allowing it to be shared could lead to the child being rescuedFacebook has defended its decision to allow its users to share disturbing video of a screaming baby being roughly dunked in a bucket of water, despite calls from campaigners for government action to prevent the dissemination of such images.Children’s welfare charity the NSPCC said the video, which has gone viral on Facebook, depicted child abuse. Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Friday, comments are actually switched on, so let’s chat! Continue reading...

Pac-Man, Tetris and World of Warcraft also make grade in US museum’s homage to industry rivalling Hollywood in entertainment pecking orderThe first inductees into a new video game hall of fame include Pong, the game that introduced millions to electronic play, Doom, which triggered a debate over the role of games and violence in society, and Super Mario Bros., whose mustachioed hero has migrated to everything from fruit snacks to sneakers.The first six games to enter the World Video Game Hall of Fame cross decades and platforms, but all have impacted the video game industry, popular culture and society in general, according to the new hall at The Strong museum in Rochester, New York, where the games were enshrined on Thursday. Continue reading...

Authorized by a 2008 revision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act known as Section 702, these searches reveal insufficiency of USA Freedom Act Continue reading...

Music-tech startups are coming together to help fans go to more gigs, and musicians to sell more tickets directly to themTwo of the technology startups trying to shake up the live music and ticketing market – Songkick and CrowdSurge – are merging.The new company will keep the Songkick brand, with the merger accompanied by a $16m funding round from venture capital firms Index Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Access Ventures – the latter also owns major label Warner Music Group, and is a major investor in streaming music service Deezer.Related: Songkick hits 10 million users and generates $100m in ticket revenue Continue reading...

Indian PM appears alongside gangsters, murderers, dictators and Justin Bieber in image searches for phrase Continue reading...

Last week’s column on Windows 10 resulted in more than 60 further questions from readers. Here’s another two handfuls from those who might want the new operating system – and Dolores, who doesn’t

Partnership with licensing agency Merlin also covers the company’s plans for a paid music subscription service later in 2015SoundCloud has struck a deal with licensing agency Merlin that it says will help independent labels start making money from plays of their songs on the streaming service.It’s a significant partnership for SoundCloud, since Merlin negotiates streaming deals on behalf of more than 20,000 labels and distributors, including well-known labels such as Beggars Group, Domino, Ninja Tune and Warp Records.Related: 10 things we learned from a day of indie labels talking digital musicRelated: British songwriters body BASCA takes aim at Google and SoundCloud Continue reading...

Mobile phone company introduces mid-contract rises despite undertaking made last year Continue reading...

‘China’s Apple’ rise rapidly to account for a quarter of market, but effect of Apple Watch launch remains to be seen

Pebble’s latest smartwatch is more capable and useful when connected to Android over an iPhone, but the competition is stifferThe Pebble Time is a smartwatch focused on doing notifications on the wrist and telling the time, but when paired with an Android smartphone it’s a lot more capable than with an iPhone.

The controversial murder spree shooter is a monochrome menace to the legacy of glorious twin-stick shooters like RobotronHatred is a game that longs to be hated, but it’s difficult to work up the enthusiasm for a half-hearted eye-roll.It’s been controversial but, honestly, most of the controversy has been about the feuding around the game rather than the game itself. Now that it’s here, it’s officially about as dangerous as the interactive movie Night Trap, which caused a similar fuss over nothing in the 1990s. We’re at a point in gaming history where we’ve seen everything from GTA to Carmageddon to Hooligans: Storm Over Europe to JFK Reloaded to three Postal games to Super Columbine Massacre RPG … so a potty-mouthed guy in a trenchcoat deciding to play Human Robotron isn’t so much shocking as endearingly quaint. No matter how hard it tries, how stabby it gets, playing it begs only one question: is this all you’ve got, you sulky bastard? Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Thursday everyone! Continue reading...

The UK government appears to have swallowed a fly – and it’s not the bad guys who’ll die, but our libertyShe swallowed the dog to catch the cat/She swallowed the cat to catch the bird/She swallowed the bird to catch the spider/She swallowed the spider to catch the fly/I don’t know why she swallowed the fly/Perhaps she’ll dieIt’s happened: David Cameron is prime minister, and he’s following through on his promise to ban effective cryptography. Continue reading...

Facebook’s chief operating officer writes an emotional post about the ‘void’ of the month since her husband, David Goldberg, died in an accidentSheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer at Facebook, has written an emotional post on the social networking site about mourning for her husband, David Goldberg, who died in an accident last month.“Today is the end of sheloshim for my beloved husband—the first thirty days,” Sandberg wrote. “Judaism calls for a period of intense mourning known as shiva that lasts seven days after a loved one is buried. After shiva, most normal activities can be resumed, but it is the end of sheloshim that marks the completion of religious mourning for a spouse.

With 1m listeners and $2m funding, Scott Keeney wants ‘to make radio good, and take it back to its roots’ – competing with Spotify and AppleInternet radio service Dash Radio has signed up more than 1 million users since its beta launch in 2014 as a way for people to listen to streaming radio stations.Now it’s emerging from that beta with new iOS and Android apps, and $2m of seed funding from investors including former Facebook executives, music and radio industry veterans, and US sports stars. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Federal agency is developing technology to track commercial and civilian drones via cell coverage, with first tests of air traffic control system set for this summerVerizon, the US’s largest wireless telecom company, is developing technology with Nasa to direct and monitor America’s growing fleet of civilian and commercial drones from its network of phone towers.

Oscar-nominated team behind The Square to probe story of cyberattack on studio emails that sparked diplomatic rows and distressed starsThe emails leaked from Sony Pictures in 2014 deteriorated US-North Korean diplomatic relations, slurred a president and embarrassed an Affleck. No wonder the story behind the Sony hack is getting a film treatment.Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer, the married film-makers behind the Oscar-nominated Egyptian revolution film The Square, are working on a feature-length documentary about cybercrime, with a focus on last December’s security breach at Sony, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Continue reading...

Company asks customers to stop using speakers, promising refund after discovering that ‘in rare cases’ they may catch on fireApple has issued a voluntary recall of its Beats Pill XL speakers, after discovering that the device’s battery can overheat and catch on fire.While the company claims that this is “rare”, it is nevertheless asking customers to stop using the speakers and return them, claiming a full refund of £215 in the UK, and $325 in the US. Continue reading...

Is an automotive revolution just round the corner?Cars have evolved gradually over the past century, but we're suddenly on the cusp of an four-wheeled revolution.Driverless cars, electric vehicles, car-sharing … how do these latest developments change the way we drive, and how will they affect the way our roads look in five, 10, or 20 years time? Continue reading...

Woman seeking damages and criminal prosecution alleging former boyfriend posted secret video of them having sex before breakup launches complex legal challenge in UK courtsAn American woman is aiming to make legal history in England as the first person to seek both a civil action for damages and the criminal prosecution of a former partner she accuses of posting revenge pornography of her on the internet.Speaking exclusively in a Guardian documentary on her search for justice, Chrissy Chambers, 24, claims that her ex-boyfriend recorded them having sex without her knowledge and subsequently posted the footage on an amateur porn site without her consent. The man, whom the Guardian has chosen not to name, is British and Chambers alleges he posted the footage while in England, which has led her to seek legal recourse in the UK. Continue reading...

Facebook-owned photo-sharing service forges ahead with advert plan, opening it up to local and global marketersInstagram is opening up its advertising to all businesses regardless of size to expand its money-making efforts, meaning more ads in user feeds.

Game publisher Bethesda has teased the arrival of a new instalment in its hugely-successful post-apocalyptic role-playing series. Here’s what we’re hoping forOn Tuesday, Bethesda stuck a 24-hour countdown on its website, and Twitter blew up like a nuclear warhead. The ticker was, of course, leading us toward the official announcement of Fallout 4, which is set for release on PC, Xbox One and PS4. And that sound is my head exploding with excitement like a radroach blasted with a plasma rifle.When it comes to post-apocalyptic open-world video games, the Fallout series is the genre’s gruesomely mutated king. Heavily inspired by the Mad Max movies as well as end-of-the-world fiction like A Boy and His Dog, its combination of 1950s Americana and desolate, nuclear-grade violence, has struck a chord with millions of gamers. Desperately scavenging for irradiated Nuka Cola in a collapsed house before a robot with a flame thrower jumps you shouting “you ready to die for your country you commie son of bitch?!”, is just one of the crazed moments these games throw at you with nihilistic abandon. Continue reading...

Social photo-sharing service moves into e-commerce, creating option for users to browse items by price and colour – and purchase with a clickSocial photo sharing service Pinterest is introducing a “buy button” allowing users to purchase products pinned to its boards.The site and mobile app has long been the destination for browsing aspirational products, such as home ware, clothing and gadgets, but until now there has been no purchase option for users. Continue reading...

Glitch causes Skype apps on iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows to crash and permanently lock upMicrosoft’s Skype chat service is vulnerable to a simple booby-trapped text message that causes the app to enter a crash loop that permanently breaks the app on iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows.

Campaign against ‘censorship’ hits front page of image-sharing website popular on Reddit, after it finally acts on rules banning obscene and explicit commentsImage-sharing website Imgur accidentally sparked a user revolt on Tuesday, after it began removing obscene and sexually explicit comments from the site.Imgur, which is in practice one of the largest social networks on the internet with 5 billion page views each month, has always had a rule in its community guidelines, under the rubric “always be civil”, which bans obscene and sexually explicit comments – but until recently, the site’s enforcement of the rules was lax. Continue reading...

Released 40 years ago this week, Jaws didn’t just invent the summer blockbuster – it also kickstarted the love affair between games and filmsThe moment will be familiar to a generation of Jaws fanatics. Early in the movie, after the first mangled victim is discovered, the highly strung police chief Martin Brody is certain a great white shark is lurking in the waters surrounding Amity island – but it’s the Fourth of July and the mayor insists that the beach has to stay open. With the expectation of more carnage in every viewers’ mind, the camera cuts to a beachside arcade, and one machine in particular. On the cabinet screen we see the visually arresting depiction of a shark thrashing about in its bloody death throes, before the camera draws back to the player operating a harpoon-gun shaped controller. It’s effectively Brody’s nightmare, and his objective, rolled into one flickering image on an ancient coin-op display for a few redolent seconds.In a movie filled with legendary cinematic moments, this brief sequence is a minor one, but as with many other elements of Steven Spielberg’s 1975 picture, it was also prescient. The director, a keen games player and watcher of pop culture trends, foresaw an era in which Hollywood would be seduced by the popularity and the visual spectacle of the emerging video game arcade scene. He got the appeal of these new entertainment machines, but he also understood how computer graphics represented a new way to present narrative to audiences – even if, in Jaws, it was a few seconds of footage.Related: Jaws, 40 years on: ‘One of the truly great and lasting classics of American cinema’ Continue reading...

Facebook VR subsidiary’s in-house studio follows up its first film with ‘a heartwarming comedy’ created by Pixar and DreamWorks veterans Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other things that matter Continue reading...

Device for children will cost £119 or £139 and come bundled with built-in subscription for unlimited use of apps, ebooks and videosAccording to the latest figures from communications regulator Ofcom, 71% of British children aged 5-15 have access to a tablet in their home, including 34% who own their own device. .Now Amazon is hoping to boost the latter figure with the UK launch of its dedicated children’s tablet: the Fire HD Kids Edition, which originally launched in the US in October 2014.Related: 10 children's app trends for 2015Related: Parents! Focus less on worrying about Minecraft and more on understanding it Continue reading...

Profits likely to exceed forecasts with 13% increase in sales on anniversary of merger between Carphone Warehouse and Dixons Continue reading...

Web rivals’ business models undermine users’ privacy, says Tim Cook, who also warns governments on pursuing ‘dangerous’ encryption policiesApple chief executive Tim Cook has delivered his sharpest attack yet on rivals Google and Facebook, with a speech criticising their advertising-supported business models for their disregard for users’ privacy.Cook also used his speech to the EPIC Champions of Freedom event in Washington to fire a broadside at governments pushing for backdoors to encryption systems used by Apple and other technology companies on national-security grounds, describing the prospect as “incredibly dangerous”.Related: Secret report urges treaty securing US web firms' cooperation in data sharingRelated: Apple CEO Tim Cook challenges Obama with impassioned stand on privacyRelated: Apple's Tim Cook attacks Google and Facebook over privacy flaws Continue reading...

An animated film featuring the popular Manga comic book figure is playing to packed cinemas in mainland ChinaJust a few months ago, Chinese media denounced him as a counter-revolutionary.Now, though, Doraemon – Japan’s beloved robot cat – is easing diplomatic tensions between Tokyo and Beijing, and breaking box-office records in the process. Continue reading...

Lawyer for former partner at venture capital firm files two-page notice in case at center of concerns over inequality in the tech world Continue reading...