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Updated 2024-11-21 16:33
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl review – transfixing Ukrainian dystopia built on underlying tragedy
GSC Game World; PC, Xbox
Google must sell Chrome to end search monopoly, says US justice department
Court filing comes after landmark ruling in August and judge will consider arguments from both sides next yearThe US Department of Justice has proposed a far-reaching overhaul of Google's structure and business practices, including the sale of its Chrome browser, in a bid to end its monopoly on internet search.The DoJ proposals follow a landmark court ruling in August in which a federal judge ruled that Google maintained an illegal monopoly over search services. Continue reading...
How an IRA spy named ‘Stakeknife’ got away with playing both sides
A new BBC Sounds show investigates the complicated case of Freddie Scappaticci. Plus: five of the best podcasts to switch off to
Apple Watch Series 10 review: thinner, lighter and basically the same
Tenth generation Apple smartwatch gets a bigger screen and body overhaul, but blink and you might miss itA larger screen and thinner body mark the biggest change to the Apple Watch in years, but you might have to squint to see it.That is because Apple has kept much the same design on the outside despite requiring significant changes on the inside to make the watch thinner and lighter. As a result, the Series 10 feels like another evolutionary, rather than revolutionary step for the Apple Watch's 10th year.Case size: 42 or 46mmCase thickness: 9.7mmWeight: 30/29.3g or 36.4/35.3gProcessor: S10Storage: 64GBOperating system: watchOS 11Water resistance: 50 metres (5ATM)Sensors: HR, ECG, spO2, air and water temp, depth, mic, speaker, NFC, GNSS, compass, altimeterConnectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, wifi 4, NFC, UWB, optional 4G/eSIM Continue reading...
Nvidia earnings: AI chip leader shows no signs of stopping mammoth growth
World's most valuable company delights investors as it reports $35bn of revenue in quarterly resultsThe AI chipmaker Nvidia, the world's most valuable company and the engine of the artificial-intelligence boom, rolled out another set of quarterly results on Wednesday to investors' delight.The company, whose value has soared by $2.2tn this year to $3.6tn on the back of near-doubling of chip sales, said it had revenue of $35.08bn, against expectations of $33.15bn. Its profits more than doubled year-over-year. Revenue surged 94% from the same quarter last year. The company projected that revenue would increase by 70% in the coming quarter. Continue reading...
FTX co-founder Gary Wang receives no prison sentence for crypto fraud
Prosecutors hailed first FTX cooperator to come in the door', helping put away Sam Bankman-Fried for decadesAn apologetic FTX co-founder was sentenced on Wednesday to no time in prison after a prosecutor and a federal judge praised his cooperation against Sam Bankman-Fried and his efforts to recover money for victims of the cryptocurrency fraud.Gary Wang testified three partial days at Bankman-Fried's trial last year, explaining his role as FTX's chief technology officer in a fraud that the judge Lewis A Kaplan described as one of the two or three biggest in US history. Continue reading...
Opt out: how to stop tech companies spying on your phone as Trump promises mass deportations
There are no federal privacy regulations to protect your information - here's how you can do it yourselfWelcome to Opt Out, a semi-regular column in which we help you navigate your online privacy and show you how to say no to surveillance. The last column covered how to talk to your family about not posting your baby's photos on the internet.President-elect Donald Trump has promised to execute the largest mass deportation of undocumented immigrants in American history, and many rights groups are concerned he'll also introduce or reinstate rules that target broader immigrant communities as well - even if they've come through legal pathways or have been naturalized. If his prior administration is any indication, that can include people from certain Muslim-majority countries, asylum seekers and refugees. Continue reading...
From Astro Bot to Balatro, the 2024 ‘game of the year’ race is too close to call
In this week's newsletter: The shortlist for December's Game Awards is out, and the top contenders are neck and neck Don't get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereMuch like Christmas is a lot less enjoyable for the person who has to organise all the presents and cook the dinner, game-of-the-year season is rather intimidating for the people who have to put together the shortlists. Every November, I tot up all of the year's acclaimed games I've yet to play, the underground recommendations I've yet to follow up on and the games I loved back in February but forgot about. I feel a mounting panic. And when all of the year-end lists come out, I inevitably find I've missed something anyway.The Game Awards have just announced the nominations for this year's ceremony, taking place on 12 December in Los Angeles. (Disclosure: the Guardian is one of 130 voting outlets for the awards, but my knowledge and involvement with them is limited to sending Geoff Keighley our ballots every year, usually a day or two late. Sorry, Geoff.) There are few surprises in the nominations, but I am pleased that one of the top two most nominated games is Astro Bot, with seven nominations, a game that cannot get enough praise as far as I'm concerned. (The other is Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, up for six awards, which our critic dubbed a miracle of fan service; alas, I remain immune to the charms of Final Fantasy despite many attempts over the years to get into it). Continue reading...
Saudi dissident pursues X legal case amid fears of transnational repression
Omar Abdulaziz, critic of crown prince now living in Canada, targeted by Saudi agents in 2014 security breachA prominent Saudi dissident who worked closely with Jamal Khashoggi said he will pursue further legal action against X after a US appeals court said that a 2014 security breach of the company - then known as Twitter - by agents of Saudi Arabia caused him injury.Private identifying information about Omar Abdulaziz, who lives in Canada and has been an outspoken critic of Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, was obtained by the Saudi government after Riyadh recruited two Twitter employees to access information about dissidents - including those who used anonymous accounts to criticize the kingdom. Continue reading...
Can a fluffy robot really replace a cat or dog? My weird, emotional week with an AI pet
Casio says Moflin can develop its own personality and build a rapport with its owner - and it doesn't need food, exercise or a litter tray. But is it essentially comforting or alienating?It looks faintly like one half of a small pair of very fluffy slippers. It squeaks and wriggles and nestles in the palm of my hand, black eyes hidden beneath amop of silvery-white fur. It weighs about the same as a tin of soup. Itdoesn't need to be fed or walked and it doesn't use a litter tray; it's guaranteed not to leave gifts" onmy doorstep. Which is just as well, because Moflin is about to become my pet.Before I am entrusted with the welfare of Japan's latest AI companion robot, I meet its developers at the Tokyo headquarters of Casio, the consumer electronics firm that launched it commercially this month, priced at 59,400 yen (about 300). Moflin's role is to build relationships with humans," says Casio's Erina Ichikawa. I have just a week to establish a rapport with mine, which I remind myself not toleave on the train home. Continue reading...
MPs to summon Elon Musk to testify about X’s role in UK summer riots
Commons inquiry into rise of harmful content on social media also expected to call Meta and TikTok executivesMPs are to summon Elon Musk to testify about X's role in spreading disinformation, in a parliamentary inquiry into the UK riots and the rise of false and harmful AI content, the Guardian has learned.Senior executives from Meta, which runs Facebook and Instagram, and TikTok are also expected to be called for questioning as part of a Commons science and technology select committee social media inquiry. Continue reading...
Donald Trump joins Elon Musk for SpaceX Starship rocket launch
The launch was Starship's sixth experimental flight following first successful test in JuneDonald Trump joined Elon Musk in Texas on Tuesday to watch a successful test launch of SpaceX's Starship rocket, a demonstration of the unprecedented closeness between the world's richest man and the newly chosen president of the United States.Trump tweeted in advance of the launch: I'm heading to the Great State of Texas to watch the launch of the largest object ever to be elevated, not only to Space, but simply by lifting off the ground. Good luck to @ElonMusk and the Great Patriots involved in this incredible project!" Continue reading...
US justice department plans to push Google to sell off Chrome browser
Authorities seek to dismantle monopoly on search market and also want action related to AI and Android
TechScape: Betting markets come for everything – and the FBI comes for a betting market
This week in tech news, online predictors are riding high after a slew of accurate US election wagers. Plus, Trump and Musk try to weaponize the communications regulator Don't get TechScape delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereGambling on the outcome of the presidential election became legal in the US at the start of October after decades of prohibition, becoming a new type of pre-election poll. Online prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket accepted billions of dollars in wagers on the outcome, with their users favoring Donald Trump with a 70% chance of beating Kamala Harris, out of sync with mainstream polls. Trump's camp trumpeted the predictions.In the UK, election gambling is legal and takes a very different form. Traditional bookmakers and betting firms take players' wagers and set prices and odds. The bets are not as similar to prediction markets as they are to horse racing. These markets are prone to their own scandals. Kalshi and Polymarket offer an online vision of betting that encompasses a wider range of subjects, algorithmically sets prices and relies on cryptocurrency.We're just getting started," said Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour. Kalshi is adding close to 100" new markets to its platform every day and plans to launch combination-based markets, allowing users to bet on a bundle of different outcomes, and conditional markets (for example, if Trump wins, where will GDP be?") within weeks. I think that just accelerates from here ...Only terrorism, assassination and violence" are off limits for Kalshi. What about Ukraine? While the conflict falls into the platform's banned category, Russia's invasion and the ensuing war have certainly moved stocks and commodities since February 2022. We'll see over time," said Mansour. Continue reading...
Meta pushes AI bid for UK public sector forward with technology aimed at NHS
Tech giant awards funding to project to shorten waits in A&E, after hackathon' on using Llama system in BritainMeta's push to deploy its artificial intelligence system inside Britain's public sector has taken a step forward after the tech giant awarded development funding to technology aimed at shortening NHS A&E waiting times.Amid rival efforts by Silicon Valley tech companies to work with national and local government, Meta ran its first hackathon" in Europe asking more than 200 programmers to devise ways to use its Llama AI system in UK public services and, one senior Meta executive said, focused on the priorities of the Labour party". Continue reading...
AI cloning of celebrity voices outpacing the law, experts warn
David Attenborough among famous people whose voices have been exploited by fraudstersIt's the new badge of celebrity status that nobody wants. Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey and Kylie Jenner have all had their voices cloned by fraudsters. Online blaggers used artificial intelligence to fake the Tiggerish tones of Martin Lewis, the TV financial adviser. And this weekend David Attenborough described himself as profoundly disturbed" to have discovered that his cloned voice had been used to deliver partisan US news bulletins.Now experts have warned that voice-cloning is outpacing the law as technologists hone previously clunky voice generators into models capable of emulating the subtlest pauses and breathing of human intonation. Continue reading...
Minecraft enters real world with $110m global theme park deal
Exclusive: Block-building game to appear in theme parks, hotels and stores, starting in UK and USThe global gaming phenomenon Minecraft is coming to the real world for the first time in a global deal to open themed rides, attractions, hotel rooms and retail outlets, starting with the UK and US.Minecraft has struck a deal with UK-headquartered Merlin Entertainments - Europe's largest theme park operator and the second biggest globally after Disney - which runs more than 135 attractions in 23 countries including Alton Towers, Legoland, Sea Life, Madame Tussauds and the London Eye. Continue reading...
John Oliver on potential US TikTok ban: ‘May not be necessary, but it isn’t sufficient’
Last Week Tonight host looks into looming US ban over privacy concerns and fear of its Chinese parent companyOn Last Week Tonight, John Oliver looked into the looming US ban of TikTok, the social media app many are addicted to thanks to its cooking tutorials and dances that are impossible for anyone born before 1985 to look cool doing".TikTok has 170 million active users in the US - a third of US adults, and the majority of people under 30, use the app. All of which makes it pretty remarkable that it may be on the brink of going away," said Oliver. In April of this year, the Senate passed a bill giving the app's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, and ultimatum: sell TikTok or face a ban in the US over national security risks. Continue reading...
Lend me your ears: great Shakespearean actors given hi-tech talking portraits
A radical new exhibition celebrates stars including Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart by combining subtly moving artworks with their own voices. The results are uncannyGreat actors have always attracted artists. I think of Edmund Kean looking wild-eyed and demonic as Sir Giles Overreach painted by George Clint; Ellen Terry as a green-gowned Lady Macbeth preserved by John Singer Sargent; and Ruskin Spear's study in oils of Laurence Olivier as a tormented, guilt-haunted Macbeth. For well over a century, it has also been possible to record the voices of our leading actors. But what would happen if image and sound were combined?One answer is to be found in a radical new exhibition called The Shakespeare Portraits on view at the Red Eight Gallery, which can be found in the City of London's Cornhill alongside the Royal Exchange. The show consists of 10 digital portraits of living actors accompanied by speeches from Shakespeare plays. I can best explain by example. I sat beneath a large, framed image of Ian McKellen and as I spoke to the exhibition's creative director, Arsalan Sattari-Hicks, I realised that Sir Ian's head was occasionally moving, that his gaze was subtly shifting and his features expressing a variety of emotions. At one point I even heard him speaking a fragment of All the world's a stage" from As You Like It with characteristic virtuosity. Richard Brierley, the gallery's director, put it succinctly when he told me: Normally the portrait is passive and you are the active one. In this case the portrait is active and you are passive." Continue reading...
Roblox to give parents more control over children’s activity after warnings over grooming
Parents will be able to see who children interact with and ensure they cannot play games with graphic violence as report accuses company of lax safety controls
Australian parliamentary inquiry stops short of backing social media ban for under-16s
Joint committee supports giving users the power to alter, reset or turn off algorithms but hedges on key question of age bar
China’s ‘mind-blowingly’ cheap shopping app Temu hits roadblocks in south-east Asia
Known for its deep discounts and viral marketing, the online marketplace has fallen afoul of regulators for threatening the livelihoods of local vendorsChinese online marketplace Temu has enjoyed explosive international growth off the back of an eye-catching and often absurdly cheap range of products, but those cut-price tactics have met increasing roadblocks as it seeks to conquer new markets in south-east Asia.Indonesia ordered Temu to be taken down from app stores in October, a move it said would protect the country's smaller merchants. Last week, Vietnam threatened to ban Temu and fellow Chinese-owned fast-fashion outlet Shein by the end of the month, saying they had not been approved to do business in the country. Continue reading...
People everywhere are head down, lost in the oblivion of infinite scroll. Just stop and let the moment breathe | Justine Toh
The pull of our feeds reduces our capacity to be present. Practising relaxed attentiveness - or prayer - can bring us back to what really matters
My child is at camp and my phone pings nonstop with photos. Does anyone really want this? | Celina Ribeiro
Streams of images sent to parents not only threaten children's privacy - they can damage their sense of self
Lost your sense of direction? Turn off your phone and you’ll soon reconnect
Tech giants said today's digital native kids would be the first generation who would not know what it meant to get lost. But is that a good thing?We've lost direction and our brains are shrinking - at least, our hippocampi are. These seahorse-shaped parts of the brain measure about 5cm, sit just above both ears and drive our spatial awareness and orientation. London taxi drivers, famed for taking the Knowledge, a test that involves memorising the central streets of the capital, have full-sized hippocampi. But in 2011, neuroscientists at University College London discovered that the cabbies' hippocampi shrunk significantly after retirement.The development of the hippocampus can also be stunted in childhood. Children living in urban environments rarely see the sun rise or set and cannot tell the difference between east and west. When I volunteered to go into my local school to teach kids about direction, I found they struggled to distinguish north from south and east from west - though they could do so if allowed to use their phones. Continue reading...
Is this (finally) the end for X? Delicate Musk-Trump relationship and growing rivals spell trouble for platform
The former Twitter could fade away, or help shape a dark future hosting voices of a new authoritarian worldWas that the week that marked the death of X? The platform formerly regarded as a utopian market square for exchanging information has suffered its largest exodus to date.Bluesky, emerging as X's newest rival, has amassed 16million users, including 1 million in the course of 24 hours last week. Hundreds of thousands of people have quit the former Twitter since Donald Trump's election victory on 6November. Continue reading...
‘Have your bot speak to my bot’: can AI productivity apps turbocharge my life?
I tried out organisational software to help streamline my work and build a second brain'. I never knew there were so many different ways to take notes...Steven Johnson has a reputation as a research software nerd. The author of 13 nonfiction books, he's constantly looking for digital tools to streamline his creative process. So when large language models - which power text-generating AI tools such as ChatGPT - started getting attention, he was most interested in what they could mean for organising information.In 2022, an article Johnson wrote about LLMs for the New York Times caught the eye of researchers at Google Labs, the tech company's experimental AI arm, who came to him with a proposition: would he help them develop the kind of digital research assistant he'd been dreaming of? The result is NotebookLM, a note-taking tool that uses AI to help organise, summarise and answer questions about any information you give it. The way we think about it is it's a tool for understanding things," Johnson says. Continue reading...
Get away, grizzly: why scientists are chasing bears with drones
Wildlife experts in US west have found small aircraft are ideal for protecting humans and livestock from predatorsThe first time that Terry Vandenbos watched a bear run from a drone, on a spring day two years ago, he was chasing the animal himself. After he saw the grizzly cross a road near his property, the Montana rancher hopped on his all-terrain vehicle, planning to scare it away from his cattle if needed.But the bear began sprinting away when he was still far from it, looking over its shoulder as it ran, and Vandenbos looked up too; overhead, a small drone was following the bear, its four propellers emitting a high-pitched whine as it sent the animal towards a nearby lake. Continue reading...
Elon Musk is not America’s new king. But he might be its new Thomas Cromwell | John Naughton
The billionaire was indispensable to Trump's campaign and now has a senior job. He is about to become dangerously usefulPicture, if you will, the scene in Mar-a-Lago on election night at the moment when it's become clear that Trump has won. The atmosphere is hysterical. Trump is in expansive form. He stands surrounded by his ghastly tribe of dependants, plus AN Other. In his victory speech, the president-elect praises his campaign staff, his prospective vice-president, and his family. Each gets a few seconds of adulation.But AN Other gets a whole four minutes. He is Elon Musk, the richest manchild in history. Trump calls him a super genius", a special guy" and a star". He has flown straight from Texas in his Gulfstream to bask in the adulation of his new lord and master. He has also paid several hundred million dollars, plus a month of his time, to be here. But now his time has come. Continue reading...
Best Christmas gifts for tweens, as chosen by 9- to 12-year-olds themselves, from Jellycat toys to slime
Put Santa on alert - it's Deadpool figures, bracelet-making kits, laptops and, yep, slime sets that are topping tweens' Christmas present listsThe pros of buying a Christmas present for a tween (age nine to 12): they'll tell you exactly what they want. The cons: they'll tell you exactly what they want, and could very well change their mind 17 times before Christmas.Time moves fast for Gen A tweens, who start as children with a love of Beyblades and end as teens who likely have a more expensive skincare routine than you. So, we spoke to several tweens to find out what they really want for Christmas (for now, at least). Continue reading...
What is Bluesky and why are so many people suddenly leaving X for the platform?
Users turn to the heavily moderated network after warnings about misinformation on Elon Musk's XThe great X-odus is under way. More than 1 million new users have joined the social media platform Bluesky since the US election.Many are seeking to escape Elon Musk's X amid warnings from anti-hate speech campaign groups and the EU about misinformation and extremism on the platform. Continue reading...
Turns out the zombie apocalypse isn’t as fun as they said it would be – Rebecca Solnit on our dangerously disconnected world
A population numbed, dazed, present-but-not-present - had it happened overnight it would be a sci-fi horror movie. And if you looked up from your phone for long enough, you might notice it's started already...Nobody's home. Not in the young woman with the big headphones cycling against the light. Not in the person in the middle of the crossing staring at their phone, or the person talking to someone who's not there and ignoring the one they're pushing in the baby carriage, or the distracted driver who doesn't seem to notice those cyclists and pedestrians. So I move through a world of people who are not all the way there and sometimes hardly there at all - and who don't seem to want anyone else to be there either.Aversion to direct contact with others has become so normal in my home town - San Francisco, a city swallowed up by Silicon Valley - that I've become avoidant myself after too many encounters with people who seem to find it bafflingly transgressive to engage with any casual remark or question from a stranger, and mostly fail to respond. I wander in a city that feels ghostly, depopulated, even when bodies are on the street, and I feel like a ghost myself in the lack of acknowledgment, in others' blank reluctance to utter even those tiny excuse me" negotiations to get around someone or warn someone. Continue reading...
Elon Musk targets Microsoft in expanded OpenAI lawsuit
Billionaire alleges Microsoft and OpenAI illegally sought to monopolize AI market and sideline competitorsElon Musk has expanded his lawsuit against the ChatGPT maker OpenAI, adding federal antitrust and other claims and adding OpenAI's largest financial backer, Microsoft, as a defendant.Musk's amended lawsuit, filed on Thursday night in federal court in Oakland, California, said Microsoft and OpenAI illegally sought to monopolize the market for generative artificial intelligence and sideline competitors. Continue reading...
Companies building AI-powered tech are using your posts. Here’s how to opt out
Even if you haven't knowingly opted in, companies are still scraping your personal information to train their systemsWelcome to Opt Out, a semi-regular column in which we help you navigate your online privacy and show you how to say no to surveillance. If you'd like to skip to a section about a particular site or social network, click the Jump to" menu at the top of this article.The competition to make the latest, greatest, most advanced artificial intelligence thing has turned an already data-hungry tech industry ravenous. Companies looking to build out their AI-powered search engines, smart email composers or chatbots are scraping your posts and personal data and using them to train those systems, which need ever-increasing amounts of text and images. Continue reading...
NSO – not government clients – operates its spyware, legal documents reveal
Details of emerge in sworn depositions by employees of Israeli company as part of lawsuit brought by WhatsAppLegal documents released in ongoing US litigation between NSO Group and WhatsApp have revealed for the first time that the Israeli cyberweapons maker - and not its government customers - is the party that installs and extracts" information from mobile phones targeted by the company's hacking software.The new details were contained in sworn depositions from NSO Group employees, portions of which were published for the first time on Thursday. Continue reading...
AI isn’t about unleashing our imaginations, it’s about outsourcing them. The real purpose is profit
Artificial intelligence doesn't just incrementally erode the rights of authors and other creators. These technologies are designed to replace creative workers altogether
UK flying taxi firm pins hopes on investors as cash runs short
Vertical's crash and cash crisis highlight challenge of making flying taxis a reality after nearly a century of effortsOn a dreary November day in the Cotswolds, England, the VX4 - a cross between a plane and a helicopter - rose from an airport runway, hovered a few feet off the ground and set back down.It might not have reached a heady altitude, but for its British owner, Vertical Aerospace, it was a crucial moment. The company, which has received millions of pounds in UK taxpayer support, is running short of cash. Continue reading...
‘We don’t go to Ravenholm’: the story behind Half-Life 2’s most iconic level
On the 20th anniversary of the seminal game, we look back at the extraordinary moment where sci-fi dystopia turned into tense and terrifying body horrorAt the start of Valve's Half-Life 2, the seminal first-person shooter game that turns 20 this month, taciturn scientist Gordon Freeman is trapped within a dystopian cityscape. Armed soldiers patrol the streets, and innocent citizens wander around in a daze, bereft of purpose and future. Dr Wallace Breen, Freeman's former boss at the scientific research centre" Black Mesa, looks down from giant video screens, espousing the virtues of humankind's benefactors, an alien race known as The Combine.As Freeman stumbles through these first few levels of Half-Life 2, the player acclimatises to the horrible future laid out before them. It's hardly the most cheerful setting, but there are some friendly faces (security guard Barney, Alyx and Eli Vance) and even moments of humour, as Dr Isaac Kleiner's pet, a debeaked face-eating alien called Lamarr, runs amok in his laboratory. It feels safe. It feels fun. It feels familiar. There's even a crowbar! And then, the foreshadowing. That's the old passage to Ravenholm," mutters Alyx Vance during Freeman's chapter five tour of the Black Mesa East facility. We don't go there any more." You feel a shiver down your spine; you know you will end up going there. Continue reading...
Companies building AI-powered tech are using your posts. Here’s how to opt out
Even if you haven't knowingly opted in, companies are still scraping your personal information to train their systemsWelcome to Opt Out, a semi-regular column in which we help you navigate your online privacy and show you how to say no to surveillance. If you'd like to skip to a section about a particular site or social network, click the Jump to" menu at the top of this article.The competition to make the latest, greatest, most advanced artificial intelligence thing has turned an already data-hungry tech industry ravenous. Companies looking to build out their AI-powered search engines, smart email composers or chatbots are scraping your posts and personal data and using them to train those systems, which need ever-increasing amounts of text and images. Continue reading...
Musk asks ‘high-IQ revolutionaries’ to work for no pay on new Trump project
World's richest man solicits applications for tedious work' in newly formed Department of Government EfficiencyElon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are asking Americans who are high-IQ small-government revolutionaries" and willing to work over 80 hours a week to join their new Department of Government Efficiency - at zero pay.In a new X post on Thursday that doubled as a job announcement and another one of Musk's trolling attempts, the account for the newly formed Doge wrote: We don't need more part-time idea generators. We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting." Continue reading...
Distant Memories of the Near Future review – dating dystopia makes you glad to be alive now
Arcola theatre, London
Sophie Turner to lead Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Tomb Raider series
Game of Thrones actor reportedly in talks to play Lara Croft in Fleabag creator's new take on the gaming franchiseSophie Turner will take on the role of Lara Croft in Phoebe Waller-Bridge's new Tomb Raider series.According to Deadline, the Game of Thrones actor is in negotiations to take on the lead in the Amazon series based on the hit gaming franchise. It had been reported last month that Turner was competing against Bohemian Rhapsody's Lucy Boynton for the role. Continue reading...
New York City police will send drones to sites of reported robberies and gunshots
Despite civil liberty and accuracy concerns, the NYPD will dispatch drones to gunshots reported by ShotspotterThe New York police department (NYPD) announced it will begin using drones to respond to reports of robberies and alerts from a city-wide gunshot detection system.The drones will fly to the scene, piloted by an NYPD officer, and record video and audio that will be sent to police officers' smartphones in real time, according to a press release. The integration of these two surveillance technologies is part of a broader Drone as First Responder" program that has existed since 2018. The New York city mayor, Eric Adams, and the city's interim police commissioner, Tom Donlan, announced the expansion on Wednesday afternoon. It will be initially rolled out to five precincts in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan. The drones will also be used to collect evidence for investigations, aid in searches for missing people and respond to natural disasters, according to the announcement. Continue reading...
‘Smart’ devices have serious downsides | Letter
Dr Jan Udris notes the catastrophic contribution to global warming, and says the more complex technology is, the more likely it is to go wrongVictoria Turk (As a jaded tech journalist, I'm in a battle to keep smart' devices out of my home - despite my partner's efforts, 9 November) makes animportant point about the excesses of smart" internet-connected appliances, and it is certainly true that many of us are truly spoilt: not only do we have devices that make it unnecessary for us to make any physical effort, we are now browbeaten into giving up any vestige of real control overthose devices. But there are two other crucial points that Turk fails to make.First, the more complex the technology, the more likely it is to go wrong. When a vacuum cleaner malfunctions, I can usually fix it. Ifa smart" device malfunctions, most of us don't know where to start. Hence wasted time, frustration and a predictable tendency to throw it away and get a new one. This benefits only the grotesque late capitalism that cares nothing about the consumer or theplanet. Continue reading...
Rise of the Golden Idol review – a gruesome, bizarre and brilliant 1970s detective game
PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PlayStation 4/5, smartphones (via Netflix); Color Gray Games/Playstack
‘Fastest-growing fire risk’: why do lithium batteries keep exploding across Australia?
Fire and Rescue NSW responded to 272 battery-related fires last year, while Victoria and Queensland authorities say they happen almost every day
Seven tips to be better at Call of Duty Black Ops 6 – from professional players
Have you reduced your recoil, picked the best perks and maxxed out your XP gains? If you're not sure ... you're in the right placeLet me guess: you recently bought Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, strayed into the multiplayer mode and now you're being mercilessly pummelled by hundreds of teenagers with suggestive usernames? Don't worry, that's perfectly normal. Call of Duty has always been the arcade twitchfest of the online shooter scene, but Black Ops 6 has a whole new feel thanks to its omni-movement system, which lets you dive, roll and sprint in every direction. And the weapons have all been completely redesigned. It is, as Olivia Rodrigo put it, brutal out there.So I asked two excellent pro players - Ethan Fifakill" Pink and Liam Jukeyz" James - for their tips. Instead of laughing and pointing at me, they agreed. Continue reading...
Best podcasts of the week: Serial tells the true tale of Free Willy’s titular whale
In this week's newsletter: For its 13th season, the investigative titan explores the complicated story of Keiko. Plus: five of the best podcasts to dip into Don't get Hear Here delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereThe Mysterious Affair at Styles
Mark Zuckerberg releases cover of Get Low with rapper T-Pain
The Facebook and Meta founder said he recorded the track as a tribute to his wife, Priscilla Chan, in honour of their dating anniversary'Facebook and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg has collaborated with US music star T-Pain on a cover of Get Low by rap group Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz.Zuckerberg said he recorded the track, under the band name Z-Pain, as a tribute to his wife, Priscilla Chan, in honour of their dating anniversary". Continue reading...
The 8 best video doorbells, tried and tested
Whether you want to bolster your home's security or simply make sure you know when someone is at the door, the latest generation of smart doorbells will help put your mind at easeDoorbells have evolved. Today, they watch us as we approach, let the people inside the home know we're coming sooner than our finger can hit the button, and give them a good look at our faces before they open the door. They're essentially security cameras with a chime function.If you haven't already installed one of these handy tools, there's a huge array available. Choosing the best video doorbell can be a bewildering task, with various factors to consider, including how much of your doorstep you want to see or whether you're prepared to pay for a subscription. To help make the decision a little bit easier, I've tested eight popular video doorbells to find the best.Best overall video doorbell:
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