The photographer and film-maker celebrates the beauty of brotherhood and male companionshipBrotherhood and male affection are rarely seen in a culture typically painted as hyper-masculine by the west," says Justin Attah Mensah, a film-maker and photographer from Accra, Ghana. This image showcases the beauty in this companionship, and celebrates it."Mensah had travelled to Kokrobite beach, about an hour from Accra, for this photoshoot. In the foreground is ayoung model called Nii Sowah Laryea; behind him, amodel with albinism whom I have since lost touch with." He used an iPhone 7 Plus to take the photo, which he admits can bring limitations. Continue reading...
Other submissions included a vertical grand piano, smart goalie gloves and cheese made of potatoesA robot dog that does the vacuuming, a flatpack coffin and a cross between a cookie and a cake were among the things that UK-based inventors thought up last year.A Guardian analysis of patent applications listed by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) found 5,955 involving at least one UK-based inventor had been published in 2023. Continue reading...
The billionaire's accusations about his satellite internet company are false, Fema and transportation secretary sayPete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary, shot down criticism by Elon Musk on the government's handling of Hurricane Helene relief efforts, accusing the SpaceX CEO of spreading misinformation.Musk accused the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) of blocking his satellite internet company, Starlink, from delivering to parts of North Carolina decimated by the hurricane, a claim both Fema and Buttigieg said was false. Continue reading...
Universities are pivoting to incorporate generative AI into academic life - without the plagiarism - in the belief it will become an intrinsic part of life and work
Cody Matthew Johnson explains how he has scoured every sonic corner, from spider monkeys' chatter to gamelan, to write tunes a space travelling street thief would hearHave you ever thought what walking into a sweaty, dusty club on one of Star Wars' desert planets would sound like? About what plays on the radios in the casinos on those Las Vegas-like planets? What do the merchants and miscreants of Tatooine listen to when they're not working the moisture farms or fending off Tusken Raiders? Pondering questions like that has been Cody Matthew Johnson's life for the past few years. The composer and artist has flirted with video game music before, with credits on Devil May Cry, Resident Evil, Bayonetta, and the cult indie Kurosawa-inspired side-scroller, Trek to Yomi. But for Ubisoft's Star Wars Outlaws, he was tasked with making music for its seedy criminal underbelly.There is a limited scope of in-world musical expression in the original trilogy, and this was our opportunity to explore music canonically during that time in a much wider scope," said Johnson, when I asked how much of a guideline the original trilogy provided for his work on Outlaws. There are some rules', per se, to creating cantina music in the style of the original trilogy, and while this game does take place during that time period, we were encouraged to only be slightly influenced by the original trilogy cantina music." Continue reading...
X owner has spent tens of millions to fund conservative causes including anti-immigrant and anti-transgender adsElon Musk has given tens of millions of dollars to rightwing groups in recent years, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, revealing his backing for Republican groups began earlier than was previously known.Musk endorsed Trump earlier this year and has been a prolific booster of misinformation in support of the president's re-election bid on X, the website he owns. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that Musk had said he planned to donate $45m each month to a Super Pac backing Trump (Musk has denied the report). Continue reading...
This RPG is the third massively multiplayer online game Amazon has published in four years, and lets you morph your heroes into animals. Is it worth a shot?Amazon has been trying to break into the games industry for years, yet despite using the vast resources at its disposal to hire some of the best designers in the business, the company struggled for years to make headway. Lately, however, Amazon has found success publishing massively multiplayer online games. First came 2021's New World, Amazon Games' homebrew fantasy with an emphasis on survival and player-built settlements. The following year brought Lost Ark, developed by Korean studio SmileGate, which combined large-scale multiplayer with Diablo-style fighting. Critical reception was mixed, but both games proved popular with players. This week, Amazon publishes its third MMO in four years, Throne and Liberty, also developed in Korea. Here's everything you need to know about this latest free offering.What is Throne and Liberty? Continue reading...
Some California police departments are already using AI tools to help draft reports - and experts are concernedOfficer Wendy Venegas spoke softly in Spanish to the 14-year-old standing on the side of a narrow residential road in East Palo Alto. The girl's face was puffy from crying as she quietly explained what had happened.The girl said her father had caught her and her boyfriend doing stuff" that morning, and her dad had either struck or pushed the boy, Venegas later explained. Now, the police had arrived to interview all three of them. So far, this was all standard procedure. Continue reading...
by David Wolf, Hannah Verdier, Alexi Duggins, Hollie on (#6R6MQ)
In this week's newsletter: A serial killer strikes the seaside town in The Margate Murders. Plus: in celebration of its 10th anniversary, five of the best Guardian audio long reads Don't get Hear Here delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereThis autumn marks 10 years since we launched the Guardian long read. Looking back now, it is hard to remember how counterintuitive the idea seemed at the time - this was a moment when more and more people were wondering whether readers still had the appetite for anything longer than a few hundred words, or even 140 characters. Creating a dedicated space within the Guardian for multiple pieces of 5,000 (or more) words a week - many of which would take months, even years, to produce - seemed like a quixotic project. Thankfully, our readers felt otherwise, embracing our deeply researched stories about everything from the cruel, paranoid, failing" Home Office and the battle against Islamic State to the strange world of competitive ploughing and the rise of hygge.Just a few months after the long read launched, our audio team had the brilliant idea of launching the audio long read podcast. The idea was simple: get a great voice actor to read the articles aloud. That was it. It turned out that listeners loved it. (A few years ago, I briefly met Ed Miliband, who told me he liked to listen to the podcast when swimming lengths in the pool.) Continue reading...
The startup behind ChatGP, which is reportedly planning to become a for-profit business, is now valued on par with UberOpenAI has raised $6.6bn (5bn) in a funding round that values the artificial intelligence business at $157bn, with chipmaker Nvidia and Japanese group SoftBank among its investors.The San Francisco-based startup, responsible for the ChatGPT chatbot, did not give details of a reported restructuring that will transform it into a for-profit business. The funding round was led by Thrive Capital, a US venture capital fund, and other backers include MGX, an Abu Dhabi-backed investment firm. Continue reading...
Event will push for greater transparency and aims to rank AI firms in terms of ability to meet climate goalsWorld leaders at the next AI summit will focus on the impact on the environment and jobs, including the possibility of ranking the greenest AI companies, it has been announced.Rating artificial intelligence companies in terms of their ecological impact is among the proposals under consideration, while other areas being looked at include the effect on the labour market, giving all countries access to the technology, and bringing more states under the wing of global AI governance initiatives. Continue reading...
Many historians of a certain age admit that the game reinforced their passion for the past and got them into the field. Four of them explain what drew them inMy dad is the kind of man who will find a game he enjoys and stick to it. While I have always flitted about, hopping between different genres, he remains the only person I know who does absolutely everything it has to offer. When people ask, who actually finishes these enormous games?", I can respond with confidence that it is a geordie man in his 60s with a love of Lego and creative swearing. Age of Empires II had a grip on him for well over a decade.The game came out in 1999, when I was five years old, and I am not exaggerating when I say that it was a permanent feature of our domestic life right up to when I moved out thirteen years later. The only thing that changed were the laptops he played on, which became progressively less bulky over the years. The sound effects, from the iconic wololo" of the priests and the villagers' warbles of acknowledgment as you sent them to chop wood, were the soundtrack to my childhood. Continue reading...
EV maker delivered 462,890 vehicles in three months to 30 September while Wall street expected on average 469,828Tesla missed expectations for third-quarter deliveries on Wednesday, hurt by stiff competition from rivals in China and Europe, sending shares of the world's most valuable automaker down 3%.The electric vehicles maker handed over 462,890 vehicles in the three months to 30 September up 6.4% from the preceding quarter. Continue reading...
In this week's newsletter: Konami, cute RPGs, weird but wonderful indie games - everything I saw at Japan's biggest gaming convention Don't get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereTokyo Game Show takes place at the Makuhari Messe, a series of cavernous halls in a suburban complex about 45 minutes east of Tokyo city centre, and given its late September slot in the calendar, it is always either horribly hot or pouring with rain. Either way, it's humid as heck, and there are many thousands of people crammed in, creating what can only be described as a suboptimal sweat situation. Nonetheless, I've always had a soft spot for TGS. I attended my first one in 2008, and so the experience of playing games in packed halls while understanding very little about what is happening has become powerfully nostalgic.And I surely wasn't the only person feeling nostalgic in Tokyo last Friday, because the halls were filled with series and characters from 15 years ago. Silent Hill 2 was back on the Konami stand, along with Solid Snake's grizzled face for the upcoming Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater remake. Capcom had two huge areas given over to Monster Hunter, a series that was unbelievably popular in Japan throughout the 00s and finally broke through to the world with Monster Hunter World in 2018. Sony was also back at the show in a big way for the first time in five years, showing off the PlayStation 5 Pro, and its especially gorgeous-looking PlayStation 30th Anniversary special edition. The Japanese-made Astro Bot was also everywhere at the show - I hope its sales have reflected how brilliant it is. Continue reading...
NCA says cybercriminal gang used family links to spy agency to shield members targeted by US authoritiesA prolific Russian cybercriminal gang carried out attacks against Nato countries at the behest of state intelligence services and used family links with Russia's domestic spy agency to protect its members after being targeted by US authorities, according to the UK's National Crime Agency.The dramatically named Evil Corp group had an unusually close relationship with the Russian state, said the NCA. Continue reading...
As the Goodbye Meta AI meme proved, many of us vastly overestimate our abilities to discern what's true online - but spotting misinformation isn't something we can do alone Don't get TechScape delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the full article hereIt's a wild world out there online, with dis- and misinformation flying about at pace. I'm part-way through writing a book about the history of fake news, so I'm well aware that people making stuff up is not new. But what is new is the reach that troublemakers have, whether their actions are deliberate or accidental.Social media and the wider web changed the game for mischief-makers, and made it easier for the rest of us to be inadvertently hoodwinked online (see: the odd Goodbye Meta AI" trend that I wrote about this week for the Guardian). The rise of generative AI since the release of ChatGPT in 2022 has also supercharged the risks. While early research suggests our biggest fears about the impact of AI-generated deepfakes on elections are unfounded, the overall information environment is a puzzling one. Continue reading...
The 271-page file overlooks almost everything that average voters, especially women, might find distasteful about VanceThe public got a peek into the inner workings of the Trump campaign last week, when the independent journalist Ken Klippenstein did what major news outlets refused to: he published the opposition research dossier on JD Vance's electoral vulnerabilities that was written by the Trump campaign in the lead-up to the VP announcement.The dossier, which was obtained in a hack thought to have been perpetrated by Iranian state interests, would have been compiled by Donald Trump's camp as part of a routine vetting process as the Republican campaign surveilled possible VP picks and assessed their strengths and weaknesses. It is thorough: at 271 pages, it contains a robust and factual accounting of the vice-presidential candidate's public statements and associations going back years. As such, it offers a unique perspective into how the Trump campaign views the race - and how they understand the controversial man who is now in their No 2 spot. Continue reading...
As generative AI advances, it is easy to see it as yet another area where machines are taking over - but humans remain at the centre of AI art, just in ways we might not expectWhen faced with a bit of downtime, many of my friends will turn to the same party game. It's based on the surrealist game Exquisite Corpse, and involves translating brief written descriptions into rapidly made drawings and back again. One group calls it Telephone Pictionary; another refers to it as Writey-Drawey. The internet tells me it is also called Eat Poop You Cat, a sequence of words surely inspired by one ofthe game's results.As recently as three years ago, it was rare to encounter text-to-image or image-to-text mistranslations in daily life, which made the outrageous outcomes of the game feel especially novel. But we have since entered a new era of image-making. With the aid of AI image generators like Dall-E 3, Stable Diffusion and Midjourney, and the generative features integrated into Adobe's Creative Cloud programs, you can now transform a sentence or phrase into a highly detailed image in mere seconds. Images, likewise, can be nearly instantly translated into descriptive text. Today, you can play Eat Poop You Cat alone in your room, cavorting with the algorithms. Continue reading...
Fortnite maker's lawsuit says Samsung Auto Blocker deters users from app downloads outside Google's Play storeFortnite video game maker Epic Games on Monday accused Alphabet's Google and Samsung, the world's largest Android phone manufacturer, of conspiring to protect Google's Play store from competition.Epic filed a lawsuit in US federal court in California alleging that a Samsung mobile security feature called Auto Blocker was intended to deter users from downloading apps from sources other than the Play store or Samsung's Galaxy store. It's Epic's second antitrust suit against Google. Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#6R3T5)
Revamped open-fit earbuds improve popular formula with advanced features and smaller case, but are still disposableApple's latest AirPods have a new trick up their sleeves, offering noise cancelling without the need to block your ears with silicone tips.The AirPods 4 come in two versions. A standard set that are direct replacements for the outgoing model with a slightly refined shape, a smaller case and better sound for 129 (149/$129/A$219). But more interesting are the AirPods 4 with noise cancelling costing from 179 (199/$179/A$299).Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, SBC, AAC, H2 chipBattery life: up to five hours playback (30 hours with case)Water resistance: IP54 (splash resistant)Earbud dimensions: 30.1 x 18.3 x 18.1mmEarbud weight: 4.3g eachCharging case dimensions: 46.2 x 50.1 x 21.2mmCharging case weight: 34.7gCase charging: USB-C or wireless (Qi or Watch) Continue reading...
Abdul Hai, acquitted of murder over the death of Richard Everitt in 1994, said social media sites must be held accountableA man falsely accused of murder by Tommy Robinson on X has called for legislation to control Elon Musk's social media website, arguing it has become a platform for racism, bigotry, bias, prejudice and disinformation".Abdul Hai, who was acquitted of murdering the teenager Richard Everitt in 1994, told the Guardian that he is considering legal action against the social media site formerly known as Twitter, after Robinson, a far-right agitator, posted that he had been convicted of the crime. Continue reading...
by Carlos Mureithi in Kericho and Machakos on (#6R3RT)
AI apps are increasingly popular among small-scale farmers seeking to improve the quality and quantity of their cropSammy Selim strode through the dense, shiny green bushes on the slopes of his coffee farm in Sorwot village in Kericho, Kenya, accompanied by a younger farmer called Kennedy Kirui. They paused at each corner to send the farm's coordinates to a WhatsApp conversation.The conversation was with Virtual Agronomist, a tool that uses artificial intelligence to provide fertiliser application advice using chat prompts. The chatbot asked some further questions before producing a report saying that Selim should target a yield of 7.9 tonnes and use three types of fertiliser in specific quantities to achieve that goal. Continue reading...
New York Times reporters Kate Conger and Ryan Mac paint a damning portrait of the billionaire who turned the social media platform into a smaller business and a larger cesspoolIf Elon Musk is a name that sounds as if it was invented by Ian Fleming, there's more than a hint of the Bond villain about the South Africa-born American billionaire. It's not just the extraordinary wealth, which hovers around the quarter of a trillion dollars mark, but the SpaceX business that sends rockets into space and seeks Martian colonisation (very Hugo Drax and Moonraker) and the hypersensitive ego.All of these sides of Musk are on painful display in Kate Conger and Ryan Mac's book Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter. So unappealing is the portrait this pair of New York Times technology reporters paint that a more fitting title might be Character Assassination. Or it would if it wasn't for the fact that Musk himself provides most of ammunition discharged in this damning account. Continue reading...
By focusing on its strengths and pooling information, the west can disrupt Russia's war machine - but there's no time to loseRussia is a mafia state" trying to expand into a mafia empire", the foreign secretary, David Lammy, told the UN, nailing the dual nature of Vladimir Putin's political model. On one hand Russia represents something very old - a world of bullying empires that invade smaller countries, grab their resources and indoctrinate their people into thinking they are inferior. But it is also something very new, weaponising corruption, criminal networks, assassinations and tech-driven psy-ops to subvert open societies. And if democracies don't act to stop it, this malign model will be imitated across the globe.Ukraine is resisting the older, zombie imperialism every day on the battlefield, and democracies will have to arm Ukraine and ourselves to constrain Russia properly. But how should we fight the more contemporary tools of political warfare that Russia pioneers? These are becoming ever more prevalent. Globalisation was meant to make us all so integrated that it would diminish the risk of wars. Instead, the free flow of information, money and people across borders also made subversion easier than ever. At the Labour party conference, Lammy indicated that democracies need to work together to stop Russia: Exposing their agents, building joint capability and working with the global south to take on Putin's lies."Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...
OpenAI o1, AKA Strawberry, appears to be a significant advance, but its chain of thought' should be made public knowledgeIt's nearly two years since OpenAI released ChatGPT on an unsuspecting world, and the world, closely followed by the stock market, lost its mind. All over the place, people were wringing their hands wondering: What This Will Mean For [enter occupation, industry, business, institution].Within academia, for example, humanities professors agonised about how they would henceforth be able to grade essays if students were using ChatGPT or similar technology to help write them. The answer, of course, is to come up with better ways of grading, because students will use these tools for the simple reason that it would be idiotic not to - just as it would be daft to do budgeting without spreadsheets. But universities are slow-moving beasts and even as I write, there are committees in many ivory towers solemnly trying to formulate policies on AI use". Continue reading...
Mark Zuckerberg's new revamp is a far cry from the zip-up hoodies and suits emblematic of earlier eras of FacebookMark Zuckerberg is revamping his public image with new threads. With a trio of bold shirts worn in recent appearances, he's communicating that he came, he saw, he conquered and he will win again at any cost. The fits might be sick, but we would do well to beware.During a live, packed-auditorium podcast interview last week, the CEO of Meta wore a drop-shouldered black shirt reading pathei mathos", Greek for learning through suffering". At his 40th birthday party in May, he donned a black tee with the motto Carthago delenda est," which translates from Latin to Carthage must be destroyed." He wore a black shirt with black text that read Aut Zuck aut nihil" during Meta's Connect product demonstration on Wednesday. Continue reading...
The Italian photographer got more than just lunch when his visit to a cafe turned into a self-portrait opportunity with a novel backdropThe hilltop Roman town of Vasto, in southern Abruzzo, overlooks the Adriatic Sea. Seen here is the view from the Loggia Amblingh, a path along the medieval walls that still stand today. Except,that's not quite what is pictured.Davide Pitetti was indeed in Vasto's old town; that morning he had completed awallpapering job for alocal client and he had stopped for his lunch in a small shopping centre. The image in the background is in fact hand-painted on the wall of the cafe. Continue reading...
Hackers were trying to undermine Trump's campaign as Republican nominee for president, says Merrick GarlandThe US justice department unsealed criminal charges on Friday against three Iranian operatives suspected of hacking Donald Trump's presidential campaign and disseminating stolen information to media organizations.The US attorney general, Merrick Garland, said on Friday afternoon that hackers were trying to undermine Trump's campaign, as the Republican nominee for president. Continue reading...
Ex-employee William Saunders says he is also concerned by reports Sam Altman could hold stake in restructured firmOpenAI's plan to become a for-profit company could encourage the artificial intelligence startup to cut corners on safety, a whistleblower has said.William Saunders, a former research engineer at OpenAI, told the Guardian he was concerned by reports that the ChatGPT developer was preparing to change its corporate structure and would no longer be controlled by its non-profit board. Continue reading...
Mark Zuckerberg is embracing both AI and full-on imperial monomania. As for petty gripes about elections and teen mental health, so what?The good news is that Mark Zuckerberg has become bored of looking like an answer to the AI prompt efit of a teen villain". The bad? While the Meta overlord has grown out the Caesar hairstyle that has sustained him since 2016, he is now leaning in to open imperial monomania. This week's Meta Connect conference saw Mark take the stage in a T-shirt reading Aut Zuck Aut Nihil. Either Zuck Or Nothing. The original was Aut Caesar Aut Nihil and was enthusiastically adopted as a motto by one of the worst Borgias (tough field) ... but look, I'm sure it's ironic. Mark's such a gifted ironist.We'll get to the magic glasses and AI feedspam he was pushing at this week's event in a minute - but before we do, let's recap. Easily the most significant thing Mark Zuckerberg has said this year was that he isn't sorry any more - in fact, that he wished he'd never said sorry for most of what he'd ever said sorry for. I paraphrase only slightly. A couple of weeks ago, Zuckerberg appeared on stage for a podcast and called Facebook's willingness to offer stakes-free apologies for things he wasn't to blame for - like election manipulation or the effect of social media on teen mental health - a 20-year mistake". Continue reading...
Carmaker wants to appeal to employees' work ethic' but move prompts outrage from plant's unionThe boss of a Tesla factory has defended the decision to send managers to the homes of workers on long-term sick leave.In recent weeks, a director of Tesla's electric car plant in Germany sent managers to check up on about two dozen employees who have continued to be paid while being on sick leave over the past nine months. Continue reading...
X owner responds by saying people should avoid UK when they're releasing convicted pedophiles'Elon Musk has hit back at the UK government after he was not invited to an international investment summit following his controversial social media posts during last month's riots.Musk said on X on Thursday: I don't think anyone should go to the UK when they're releasing convicted pedophiles in order to imprison people for social media posts." Continue reading...
Reported move follows recent departure of senior figures from ChatGPT developerOpenAI is reportedly pushing ahead with plans to become a for-profit company, after more senior figures left the ChatGPT developer following the surprise exit of its chief technology officer, Mira Murati.The San Francisco-based startup is preparing to change its corporate structure as it seeks $6.5bn (4.9bn) in new funding, according to reports. Continue reading...
Though the message has been shared by many users, including celebrities, it offers no copyright or privacy protectionThe Goodbye Meta AI" message, which purports to protect the user from having the likes of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp use their accounts as an AI training camp, has become an increasingly common feature on timelines. It has been shared by actors and sports stars - including James McAvoy, Ashley Tisdale and Tom Brady - as well as hundreds of thousands of others.But why - and what effect, if any, will it have? Continue reading...
False information spurred these west African migrants to come to the US. Now they receive even more misleading guidance about navigating their new homeThis article is co-published with Documented, a multilingual news site about immigrants in New York, and the Markup, a non-profit, investigative newsroom that challenges technology to serve the public good.One video told viewers that new migrants easily get work permits and good jobs in the United States. Another warned viewers, once they are in the US, not to change their postal address or transfer their asylum case if they move to another state. Another instructed them to reapply for asylum if they do not receive an acknowledgment letter within a few months. Continue reading...
by Dan Milmo, Global technology editor on (#6R14C)
Online pledge by Smartphone Free Childhood signed by at least one parent at 6,537 schoolsAn online pledge to withhold smartphones from children until they are at least 14 has been signed by parents at 20% of schools across the UK, according to a campaign group.A parent pact" organised by Smartphone Free Childhood has been signed by at least one parent at 6,537 schools, with the signatories representing just under 35,000 children. There are 32,000 schools across the UK, including nurseries and pupil referral units. Continue reading...
by Alexi Duggins, Hannah Verdier and Hollie Richardso on (#6R12D)
In this week's newsletter: Slow Burn returns for a new season, examining the phoenix-like rise of the American media giant. Plus: five of the best reality TV podcasts Don't get Hear Here delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereWonder of Stevie
Chief technology officer had taken over the ChatGPT maker when its board ousted CEO Sam Altman in NovemberIn a surprise move, OpenAI's chief technology officer announced on Wednesday that she would soon leave the company after six and a half years.In a note shared with the company and then posted to Twitter/X, Mira Murati wrote she was leaving the tech company behind ChatGPT. After much reflection, I have made the difficult decision to leave OpenAI ... I'm stepping away because I want to create the time and space to do my own exploration," she said. Continue reading...
Mark Zuckerberg presents Orion, prototype that can project digital renderings of media, games and more onto real worldThe Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, presented new augmented reality glasses at the company's annual developer conference on Wednesday, debuting a prototype of the next phase in its expansion into smart eyewear. Zuckerberg also announced that Meta AI will be able to talk in the voice of Dame Judi Dench.The glasses, named Orion, have the ability to project digital representations of media, people, games and communications on to the real world. Meta and Zuckerberg have framed the product as a step away from desktop computers and smartphone into eyewear that can perform similar tasks. Continue reading...
The beauty trend that uses near-infrared light waves has surged in popularity - but can you achieve results at home?If you are interested in beauty trends and self-care, you've probably encountered red light therapy (RLT). Formally known as photobiomodulation, doctors first discovered that red and near-infrared light wavelengths sped hair regrowth in the late sixties. Later studies found it boosted wound healing. Since then, it has gradually entered the esthetics field, initially gaining traction as an in-office tool for post-operative recovery in plastic surgery patients, explains Dr Prem Tripathi, a facial plastic surgeon based in Alamo, California.By the mid 2010s, RLT devices emerged for use at home. These have surged in popularity as a non-invasive way to purportedly smooth wrinkles, heal acne and scars, improve skin tone and boost hair growth. Continue reading...
From playing Mario on a giant controller to spotting Pikmin hiding in corners, my visit to this delightful museum in Kyoto offered up experience over education Don't get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereNintendo was founded in 1889 in Kyoto, 100 years before the release of the Game Boy. Long before it was a video game company, it made hanafuda cards adorned with scenes from nature, used to play several different games popular in Japan. By 1969, Nintendo had expanded its business to include western-style playing cards and toys, and the company built a plant to manufacture them in southern Kyoto. Until 2016, the Uji Ogura Plant operated both as a card factory and as a repairs centre for the company's consoles. Now has been turned into a Nintendo Museum, opening on 2 October, where the gaming giant's entire history will be on display.Nintendo flew me to Kyoto to see the museum this week. Along with the Super Nintendo World theme park, at Universal Studios in Osaka, it will be a major draw for video game tourists in Japan. It's laid out across two floors: upstairs, there is a gallery of Nintendo products, from playing cards through to the Nintendo Switch. Downstairs are the interactive exhibits, where you can play snatches of Nintendo games on comically gigantic controllers that require two people to operate, and immerse yourself for a not-entirely-generous seven minutes in a NES, SNES or N64 game in the retro area. Or you can step into a re-creation of a 1960s Japanese home and whack ping-pong balls with a bat (the Ultra Machine batting toy was developed by Gunpei Yokoi, the inventor of the Game Boy, and released in 1967). Continue reading...
Many fear the arrival of tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google in the state of Queretaro will place too much of a strain on scarce water and electricity resourcesIn a nondescript building in an industrial park in central Mexico, cavernous rooms hold stack after stack of servers studded with blue lights, humming with computations and cooled by thousands of little fans and large vents blasting great columns of air across the room.Datacentres are the lungs of digital life," says Amet Novillo, the managing director of Equinix Mexico, a digital infrastructure company, as he stands in the middle of the airflows that stop the hardware overheating. Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#6R001)
Smart alarm clock ticks most boxes with distraction-free screen and room-filling soundAmazon's latest attempt to usurp the humble bedside alarm clock is the revamped Echo Spot, equipped with a speaker and small display for a customisable Alexa clock.The new Spot straddles the line between Amazon's Echo Show smart displays and its basic Echo smart speakers in price and capability. The Spot costs 80 (95/80/A$149), though frequently much less in Amazon's numerous sales.Dimensions: 113 x 103 x 111 mmWeight: 405gTouchscreen: 2.83inConnectivity: wifi 5 (ac), BluetoothSpeaker: 1.73in Continue reading...
by Blake Montgomery and Johana Bhuiyan on (#6QZK6)
Faulty update from cybersecurity company grounded hospitals, airports and payment systems in JulyA CrowdStrike senior executive apologized for causing a global software outage that ground the operations of hospitals, airports, payment systems and personal computers around the world to a halt in July.Adam Meyers, senior vice-president for counter-adversary operations at CrowdStrike, testified before Congress on Tuesday. Meyers will speak to the House homeland security cybersecurity and infrastructure protection subcommittee. In his testimony, he said: I am here today because, just over two months ago, on July 19, we let our customers down ... On behalf of everyone at CrowdStrike, I want to apologize." He will say the company has undertaken a full review of our systems" to prevent the cascade of errors from occurring again. Continue reading...