Technology | The Guardian

Game designer Hidetaka Miyazaki no longer has novelty on his side, but the genius behind the Souls series still has plenty of tricks to surprise us withWhen Dark Souls emerged, so brooding and so strange, in 2011, it had that most treasured of all video game attributes: novelty. Dark fantasy action games are a staple of a medium that rarely ventures from the agreed confines of genre. But only players of Hidetaka Miyazaki’s little-known game, Demon’s Souls, were familiar with the director’s talent for arranging castles, knights, swords and dragons in such a beguiling manner.As a child, Miyazaki would borrow western fantasy books from the library, then, unable to read them, would imagine stories to accompany the illustrations. Through his games he has revealed an understanding of the power of enigma. Where most designers gingerly lead the player while explaining every rule and backstory nugget in wearying detail, Miyazaki constantly withholds information, thereby provoking a much keener interest – which is then compounded by the fact that every enemy encounter is a life or death battle. Continue reading...

Nations worldwide are struggling to address issues such as harassment, defamation or revenge pornographyOnline abuse is rife on social media and other sites across the globe but countries are attempting to deal with it in very different ways. As part the Guardian’s Web we want series investigating the dark side of the internet - and the efforts people are making to clean it up - we look at what different legislatures are doing. Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other things that matter.It’s Tuesday. Continue reading...

Chris Bishop fears concern over Terminator-style scenarios could deprive humanity of one of the most powerful technologies ever createdThe promise of artificial intelligence could be lost to humanity because people fear Terminator-style robots and other doomsday scenarios, an expert has warned.Hyperbole about the risks of artificial intelligence threaten to scupper developments that could assist humanity, from driverless cars that could cut down road accidents to medical systems that could revolutionise healthcare, said Chris Bishop, director of Microsoft Research in Cambridge. Continue reading...

Dock workers carry out rolling 48-hour strikes across Australia in face of lockout threat, sparking comparisons with 1998 waterfront disputeAs wharfies prepare to go on a 48-hour strike at Patrick Stevedores’ Port Botany site, memories of the historic 1998 waterfront dispute are fresh.Related: Crew forced off Alcoa cargo ship after two-month industrial dispute Continue reading...

Issue has been raised that foreign firms do not pay same rate as Israeli ones; affected companies expected to include Google , Facebook, Amazon and eBayIsrael is to start collecting value added tax (VAT) and income taxes from foreign companies that do substantial business over the internet in Israel.

Napster founder, backed by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, is pushing Screening Room: a plan to release films in theatres and at home on the same day – for a priceA gathering this week of Hollywood stars, studio bosses and cinema owners will climax with “big screen achievement awards”, but the focus will probably not be on achievements or awards – or even the big screen.Most of the attention at CinemaCon, an annual film industry jamboree, will instead be on a controversial plan to enhance the small screen by beaming new film releases into homes on the same day they open in cinemas. Continue reading...

First rolled out to customers in September 2015, Tesla has had to recall Model X made before 26 March owing to a fault with second and third row seatsTesla Motors will recall 2,700 Model X sport utility vehicles in the United States due to a faulty locking hinge in the third-row seats that increases the risk the seats could fall forward in a crash, the electric car maker said on Monday.

The freedoms of the internet are too often abused. Tech companies need to face up to the problem, and so – in close consultation with their readers – do publishers, including the GuardianIn the beginning was the web. A playful, creative and open space, where anyone could connect, and every assumption, every hierarchy, could be challenged. Instead of textbooks and newspapers handing down fact and opinion from on high, there was a blossoming of online communities, sparky self-starting blogs, and Wikipedia to set the wisdom of crowds to work.Somewhere along the way, however, as the internet moved from the computer on your desk to the phone in your pocket, it ceased to be a quirky corner of life, and instead became the environment in which much human life was lived – for better, and for worse. The engagement continued, of course, but along with online camaraderie, the vituperative modes of interaction took hold: bullying, shaming and intimidation. Worse, instead of upending old assumptions, much of this new online abuse works to reinforce ancient prejudices. For women it frequently assumes a particularly violent and sexualised form, sometimes extending to public rape threats; for ethnic minorities it is often racist. Continue reading...

Here are some of the treasures we found at the annual celebration of PC and indie games, from burly sailors to cyberpunk assassinsOver the weekend, the annual Rezzed festival filled London’s Tobacco Dock venue with hundreds of forthcoming PC and console titles. As ever, the emphasis was on offbeat and independent titles, making it a fascinating place to pick up on the stars of tomorrow.Despite such an embarrassment of riches, we managed to pick out our 12 favourite experiences. Continue reading...

They face harassment including death threats and racist abuse. Why are social media sites and police unable or unwilling to tackle the problem?For the past 16 months, Suzanne Fernandes has been targeted online with racial abuse, pornography and death threats. The two individuals she believes are responsible share many similarities: an interest in far-right politics, an ability to create multiple anonymous fake social media accounts, and past convictions for extreme internet harassment.Related: Top tech firms urged to step up online abuse fightback Continue reading...

Facebook, Google and Twitter are working with women’s groups to challenge hate speech – but critics attack secrecy over scale of problemTop tech companies are talking to grassroots organisations across the globe to organise a fightback on their platforms against online abuse, hate speech, misogyny and stalking. Continue reading...

Almost 55 million Filipinos are at risk of cybercrime after a database was stolen from Comelec, the country’s electoral commissionThe personal information of more than 50 million Filipinos has been exposed in a breach of the Philippine electoral commission.According to security researchers at Trend Micro, the hack contains a huge amount of very sensitive personal data, including the fingerprints of 15.8 million individuals and passport numbers and expiry dates of 1.3 million overseas voters. Continue reading...

Latest robot from Alphabet-owned University of Tokyo spin-out Schaft can traverse uneven terrain and stairs, and carry up to 6okgGoogle’s Alphabet has a new walking robot that wouldn’t look out of place in Interstellar or science-fiction homes of the future.

Narrative designer Cara Ellison looks at Brothers, Full Throttle, Journey and Half-Life and asks, how exactly do they do this games writing thing so well?Video game writing is still something of a misunderstood art form. Can’t you just pluck someone out of whatever breeding pool Michael Bay incubates his screen writers in? Surely telling a story is the same in any medium – you just call up some scruffy, caffeine-crazed underfed, and watch them work their dark art on your sprawling epic, right?Hold your dismissive rhetorical tone, I’d say to me. It’s not quite that simple.

Did you talk too little? Or too much about sex? Knowing your rating is a small step to an obsession with the unknowable ways you have offended drivers“If you can’t handle me at my worst, you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best,” Marilyn Monroe may have said. But then she lived in the world before Uber.In the so-called sharing economy, we’re all reduced to a star rating or a decimal point. Conscious of being under assessment – and the risk of our privileges being revoked – we are our best, most considerate selves when in the passenger seat of an Uber or packing up at the end of an Airbnb stay. Continue reading...

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

Xbox One, PC, Microsoft, cert: 16Remedy, it seems, is a studio that would rather make movies than games. Their biggest hit, the 2001 revenge thriller Max Payne, was inspired by Hong Kong action flicks, while Alan Wake, the 2010 cult horror title, owes a huge debt to David Lynch.Quantum Break takes this love of celluloid to its natural conclusion. A sci-fi time-travel adventure, it boasts an impressive cast including Shawn Ashmore (X-Men), Dominic Monaghan (Lord of the Rings), Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones) and Lance Reddick (The Wire). It also contains multiple 15-minute segments of live action film starring said actors. Continue reading...

PS Vita, Idea Factory, cert: 16Among the sadly many disappointing aspects of Trillion: God of Destruction, perhaps the worst is the overwhelming sense of wasted potential. With its promises of twists on the JRPG-strategy mould and the perpetual threat of an undefeatable foe, it’s clear that developer Compile Heart has tried to do something innovative. Unfortunately, it has resoundingly failed. The titular god of destruction lives up to its name, with a trillion health points. As Zeabolos, lord of the underworld, your task is to train six demon vassals – all nubile anime girls, of course – to slowly chip away at Trillion through repeated encounters, while building relationships with the vassals through conversation scenes.It could be a clever way to reinvent the level-up grind common to JRPGs, with the narrative of a visual novel. Instead, it has a nigh-impenetrable battle system coupled with character training that is nothing more than diving through menu screens. Worse still, it’s utterly devoid of fun. There are 10 different endings to Trillion. Only masochists will see even one. Continue reading...

Daily Mail and General Trust aims to take on news and media properties if a private equity company strikes a dealThe publisher of the Daily Mail has confirmed it is in talks with private equity companies about a takeover of Yahoo.Ailing tech firm Yahoo, which has a market capitalisation of $38bn (£27bn), put its core business up for sale in February with bids due by 18 April. Continue reading...

Blind users of the social network can have images described to them – although we shouldn’t stop captioning and tagging just yet

Technology might like to think of itself as the antithesis of the stuffy east coast old boys’ network, but really it’s just a reimagined, west coast version of itThe more diverse we are, the better we are at making smarter decisions. So why, oh why, is what should be our most innovative industry – technology – also our most homogeneous?

Compact SUVs usually have plenty of bark and very little bite. But Suzuki’s latest Vitara S is a surprise packagePrice: £20,899

A bespoke frame is the ultimate luxury for discerning riders, and Jake Rusby is part of a growing wave of talentAmong the two-wheeled disciples who spend their Sundays sweating into expensive Lycra, few things elevate you above the masses more quickly than a handmade bicycle. A bespoke frame is completely unique. It’s engineered to your exact specifications and riding style. It’s you in a bike. They are expensive, but not crazily so, and they’ll last you a lifetime in the saddle.This weekend the sixth annual Bespoked show takes place in Bristol, showcasing dozens of small-scale builders and suppliers. One to look out for is Jake Rusby. He’s a sculptor turned frame builder whose bikes really are works of art. You can even visit his studio to watch your bike being welded together and your chosen components added. Just don’t hang it on the wall (rusbycycles.co.uk). Continue reading...

As Helen Mirren’s new film Eye in the Sky is released, an expert reflects on the morality of how and when to use drones in warG avin Hood’s film Eye in the  Sky is a thrillingly intelligent exploration of the political and ethical questions surrounding drone warfare. It has been carefully researched and is on the cutting edge of what is currently possible. (Full disclosure: I offered the screenwriter early advice.) But there’s a longer history and a wider geography that casts those issues in a different light.As soon as the Wright brothers demonstrated the possibility of human flight, others were busy imagining flying machines with nobody on board. In 1910 the engineer Raymond Phillips captivated crowds in the London Hippodrome with a remotely controlled airship that floated out over the stalls and, when he pressed a switch, released hundreds of paper birds on to the heads of the audience below. When he built the real thing, he promised, the birds would be replaced with bombs. Sitting safely in London he could attack Paris or Berlin. Continue reading...

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster makes a successful landing on an ocean platform. The Falcon 9 was launched from Florida on a Nasa cargo mission to the International Space Station on Friday. Minutes later, its reusable main-stage booster landed on an ocean drone platform. Elon Musk, the tech billionaire who owns SpaceX, has said he hopes to pioneer reusable rockets that will make spaceflight vastly less expensive Continue reading...

They can run up huge charges, or someone else can if they lose the handset. Here’s how to mitigate the risksIt’s every parent’s nightmare. The monthly mobile phone bill lands on the doormat to reveal that their teenage son or daughter has massively overspent – and £100-plus is about to be taken by direct debit. Or you get a tearful call at work – the expensive smartphone they got last Christmas has been stolen … and there’s worse to come: the thief has run up a huge bill calling premium rate numbers, and you’re liable.According to the telecoms regulator Ofcom, a third of children aged five to 15 in the UK now own a smartphone. It seems that providing a mobile for your children has become one of those rites of passage that modern parents have to go through. Continue reading...

Joao Soares made the comment in response to a critical editorial in the Publico newspaper that claimed his appointment was ‘inexplicable’Portugal’s culture minister resigned on Friday after triggering a social media storm by threatening to give two journalists a “good slap” on his Facebook page.

It looks like the car for someone who wants to be seen driving a Volvo but can’t afford oneThe SsangYong Korando sends out mixed messages, and I don’t mean, “It’s a family car that looks like a sports car”. Large, high-riding and flat-faced, it looks like the car for someone who wants to be seen driving a Volvo but can’t afford one. I don’t understand it, since it’s a kind of symbol without the status, and what exactly does that symbolise?Everything about it, especially its rather compacted SUV-style, shouts “responsible road user”: “I’m bulky but not too bulky, I can tow a boat but would never collide with a bull, I care about my own children and the world’s children.” Yet the fuel consumption feels greater than necessary, and not responsible at all, more in the region of a Lexus or drunk driver. Continue reading...

Content removed after pages and groups emerge discussing everything from handguns to anti-aircraft systemsFacebook has removed pages offering weapons for sale.Revolvers, rifles and submachine guns built or designed in Britain were listed for sale in secret arms-trading groups on the website, according to the Times. Continue reading...

Falcon 9 rocket takes off with a cargo capsule bound for International Space Station before successfully landing on drone barge in fifth attemptSpaceX landed a reusable rocket on a robotic drone on Friday, its fifth attempt and a historic achievement in a budding space race between billionaires to revolutionize spaceflight.Related: Space mission to test billionaire's plan for astronauts to live in a bubble Continue reading...

Twitter has been criticized for lacking diversity and innovation on its board, and new appointments comes as Peter Currie and Peter Chernin plan to exitTwitter has announced that Martha Lane Fox, a former digital champion for the UK government and co-founder of travel website lastminute.com, and PepsiCo’s chief financial officer, Hugh Johnston, are to join its board as part of its latest management shakeup.The appointments, which take effect immediately, came as board members Peter Currie and Peter Chernin decided not to stand for re-election, Twitter said in a regulatory filing. The terms of Currie, the president of a private investment firm, and Chernin, a Hollywood executive, are set to expire at the company’s annual meeting in May. Continue reading...

The latest research into facial recognition technology used by police across the US has found that systems disproportionately target vulnerable minoritiesCameras are used routinely by police across the US to identify citizens, their faces cross-matched against databases of suspects and past criminals.Yet researchers claim there is too little scrutiny of how these tools work, and have found inherent racial bias in the system. So does a sophisticated, visual analysis tool reflect human prejudice and if so, who does that effect? Continue reading...

The US government is pushing a federal court in New York to force Apple to unlock a drug dealer’s device even after the man pleaded guiltyApple and the US Justice Department are headed back to court over a locked iPhone. And once again, both sides are accusing the other of being duplicitous.This time, the US government is pushing a federal court in New York to force Apple to unlock a drug dealer’s device even after the man pleaded guilty. A federal magistrate has previously turned down that request, but the government counters that, in this case, Apple has the technical means to help, and should be compelled to do so. Continue reading...

Since conflict in Syria began in 2011, experiences have been documented by films shot using mobile phones. This innovative festival in Berlin brings them to a global audienceSince 2011, conflict has raged in Syria. And since then, thousands of locals have recorded it on their smartphones. Such firsthand footage has become a powerful expression of freedom against the regime.Tonight marks the opening of the Syria mobile film festival in Berlin, showcasing 11 documentary shorts shot by 12 Syrian film-makers. Continue reading...

Former Top Gear presenter reveals what won’t be in the title of his new series – and asks his Twitter followers for suggestions

Airline launches broadside over fact that eDreams, a travel booking firm, is displayed first on Google searches for RyanairRyanair has launched a new broadside against Google in its battle with other websites selling its flights, accusing the internet firm of profiting at the expense of consumers through misleading adverts and paid-for search results.The airline called on businesses in the UK and Europe to stand up to Google over practices that it claims breach trust, confuse customers and make firms lose out. Continue reading...

Users discover hundreds of ‘filtered’ messages buried behind a series of menus that they didn’t know existedUsers have discovered hundreds of messages locked in a hidden inbox within Facebook’s messaging system.

For Silicon Valley’s successful tech entrepreneurs the world is a playground of creative ways to unwind, and even boost productivityLong hours, high stress and overwhelming pressure to succeed: the work culture of Silicon Valley is notoriously unforgiving, so it’s not surprising that tech entrepreneurs find creative ways to blow off steam in their spare time.Google co-founder Sergey Brin, for example, spends time learning flying trapeze, while former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo is an avid beekeeper. From DIY rocketry and zero-gravity flight through to sonic meditation, many tech execs need more than yoga to claim their “me” time, and say it helps them feel more fulfilled, relaxed and productive at work. But it’s also a revealing insight into what makes them tick. Here, in their own words, eight entrepreneurs explain their favorite extracurricular activity. Continue reading...

The place to talk about games – when the Guardian remembers to post it onlineOops. I really am having a stupid week. Continue reading...

We speak to the big winners of the night, Chinese Room, Psyonix and Sam Barlow about the shocks, joys and themes of this year’s eventThere are, perhaps, more important prizes on the games industry calendar. The annual Game Awards held each December in LA draw a huge online audience and can add considerably to a game’s sales figures. But the Baftas have a status and romance that nothing else in this medium can really match.After the ceremony, then, the big winners were understandably ecstatic. The big theme of this year’s event was the domination of independent games. Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture by The Chinese Room, Rocket League by Psyonix and Her Story by Sam Barlow, were all low-budget projects that beat major releases such as Witcher 3, Destiny: The Taken King and Fifa 16. It was a night of leftfield success – as a Bafta night probably should be. Continue reading...

With no branches or call centres, all contact is via an app through which customers can talk to a 30-strong service teamYour iPhone can now be your bank branch as a result of a new digital banking service that launched on Tuesday.Based in Durham, Atom Bank has become the first of a number of aspiring digital-only banks to start offering products. It has no branches or vast call centres. All contact is via an app, through which customers are able to talk to a 30-strong service team. Continue reading...

A cast of characters invite players into the world of Overwatch – but even Blizzard will struggle to make esports easygoingBuilding a multiplayer game isn’t cool any more. You know what’s cool? Building an eSport.

Search term brings back mainly results of black women, which some say is evidence of bias. But algorithms may just be reflecting the wider social landscapeRecently, an MBA student named Rosalia discovered something alarming: Googling “unprofessional hairstyles for work” yielded image results mainly of black women with natural hair, while searching for the “professional” ones offered pictures of coiffed, white women. Often the hair styles themselves were not vastly different -- only the hair type and the wearer’s skin.Rosalia’s tweet has since been retweeted thousands of times - more than 6,200 in the first 24 hours, she says - as her discovery sparked discussion on implicit racial biases against black people in the workplace. Can an algorithm itself be racist? Or is it only reflecting the wider social landscape? Continue reading...

More than 7,400 of the shotguns have entered Australia after importer Robert Nioa modified banned weaponMore than 7,440 Adler rapid-fire shotguns have been imported into Australia in the past six months, despite a review now considering claims the gun type seriously undermines post-Port Arthur gun control laws.

Graphics tablet maker’s new paper system tracks your pen strokes on normal A5 paper and outputs it as an image, PDF, text or digital ink, but can’t match competitorsThe Wacom Bamboo Spark is the stylus-maker’s first attempt to make a hybrid paper notepad that records your scribbles and doodles in a digital form.

The Pentagon hails a major advance in robotic warfare which promises to drastically reduce the cost of some naval operationsThe US military has christened an experimental self-driving warship designed to hunt for enemy submarines, a major advance in robotic warfare at the core of America’s strategy to counter Chinese and Russian naval investments.

District attorneys in San Francisco and Los Angeles sued in 2014, saying Uber falsely claimed its criminal screening of would-be drivers led the industryUber could pay up to $25m (£18m) to settle a lawsuit in California over allegations that the company services aren’t as safe as it claims.The suit is the second this year over the same issue, and Uber has already paid $28m in a class-action claim from riders. Continue reading...

Rocket League, Her Story and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture beat the blockbusters on an interesting night for the games industry

Elon Musk’s SpaceX will attempt to launch a resupply mission to the International Space Station on Friday. It follows hard on the heels of the Cygnus resupply mission a fortnight ago, conducted by another commercial company, Orbital ATK Inc.Nasa retired the Space Shuttle in 2011. Since then, it has been relying on Russian capsules to transport astronauts, and commercial companies to haul freight to the ISS. Yet there is more than just three tonnes of supplies riding in the Dragon capsule atop Friday’s Falcon 9 rocket launch. Continue reading...