Technology | The Guardian

The way a game lets you treat its non-player characters can tell us volumes about the limitations of interactive adventuresWe all know that video games offer us the chance to do things we’d never dream of doing in real life – robbing banks, slaying dragons, sorting falling shapes into the right position to make them disappear. Crazy stuff.But in structural terms, games are nowhere near as rebellious and anarchic as they appear. Most are packed with rules and frameworks which are specifically designed to restrict the player – and there is usually a central narrative that you have to follow if you want to see the end. This is fine in a lot of genres, where rules are obviously necessary to create a tight play structure. But only a select few titles labelled as “open world” or “sandbox” adventures let you completely and utterly shatter the experience intended for you by the developers – or at least punish you in an imaginative way. Continue reading...

Users were unable to access social networking site on Monday afternoon, following similar outage on ThursdayFacebook was inaccessible for some users on Monday afternoon, its second outage in less than a week.

Body slamming US stars beat nursery-rhymes channel Little Baby Bum with 456.4m views of their videos, boosted by Summerslam 2015WWE wrestling, children’s nursery rhymes and Turkish music videos were the biggest hits on YouTube in August 2015, according to the latest chart of the online video service’s top channels.The American wrestling channel topped that month’s chart of the most-viewed YouTube channels, published by analytics firm OpenSlate and industry site Tubefilter, with 456.4m views of its videos. Continue reading...

A German transport ministry spokesman gives a statement on Monday saying the government had no prior knowledge of VW’s emission manipulation. The spokesman, Martin Susteck, says the car manufacturer had been given until 7 October to present a timetable for a mechanical solution to the emissions scandal Continue reading...

Discount grocer opens up new line of attack in supermarket wars by selling wine per case in its first online ventureAldi is to open a new front in its assault on the UK grocery market early next year when it begins selling wine online.The move comes despite the impact of the continuing price war on the group, which has suffered its first fall in operating profits in six years. Matthew Barnes, chief executive of Aldi in the UK and Ireland, said a huge part of an £11m decline in operating profits last year, to £260m, was due to price cuts, as Aldi responded to waves of activity by its bigger rivals. Continue reading...

Smart TVs aren’t always that smart, meaning a streaming box normally offers much more. But which one is best for you?Want more from your television without having to buy a new one? You need a streaming box. Here are five of the best on the market. Continue reading...

YouTube beefed up its live streaming and Amazon’s Twitch added video uploads, but it’s their gaming audiences that will define which advances fastestSoon, ridiculing the idea of watching other people play video games will seem ridiculous in itself. People do, and in increasingly large numbers online.YouTube has “hundreds of millions” of people watching “billions of hours” of gaming videos every month, with its top 100 games channels generating 7.3bn video views in July 2015 alone. Continue reading...

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

Roads and Maritime Services say taxi and hire car services must have authorised and accredited operators and a licensed and insured vehicleUber says it is “shocked” and seeking legal advice after 40 of its New South Wales drivers had their vehicle registration suspended.Roads and Maritime Services director of safety and compliance Peter Wells said the government was cracking down on those who allowed their vehicles to be used for illegal ride-sharing. Continue reading...

Narendra Modi and CEO both get emotional at event at Facebook headquarters in California, as pair discuss the role of internet and technology in IndiaThe Indian prime minister Narendra Modi seemed at home at Facebook headquarters on Sunday, in a town hall event seen by many as an attempt by Facebook to gain much-needed support for its expansive ambitions in India.Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was certainly in a welcoming mood, changing his profile picture to include an Indian flag and writing: “I changed my profile picture to support Digital India, the Indian government’s effort to connect rural communities to the internet and give people access to more services online.” Continue reading...

A chunky PC, lava lamp and the 1998 Google logo encourage users to wish the company a happy birthdayThere was a beautiful array of autumnal vegetables for the Google doodle marking the change of the season, and a rugby player looking suspiciously like an American footballer for the start of the Rugby World Cup. But to mark its 17th anniversary, Google has gone for a retro commemorative doodle, referencing a simpler era when Larry Page and Sergey Brin could leave a doodle of a stick man to tell users that they were out of office at the Burning Man Festival.Google has celebrated its anniversary with a doodle every year since its fourth in 2002, and has at times sparked controversy: in 2014, the company used a rainbow-coloured doodle to mark the opening of the Sochi Winter Olympics, declaring where it stood on Russia’s gay rights record. Continue reading...

No need for coffee for a post-lunch lift, the Doppel can enliven or relax users with a gentle change in pulse, its creators claim

Taking its name from the legendary DS of the 1950s, this saloon is trying too hard to stand out from the crowdPrice: £25,980

The sisters have launched their own internet channel, the latest and most popular of a new genre that is revolutionising celebrity cultureThe idea seems to be one from some dystopian novel: a world where every celebrity has their own internet channel, exhaustively promoting their brand to eager fans, who pay to tune in and watch their favourite stars selling themselves online.In truth, that future is already upon us. This month, four of the five Kardashian/Jenner sisters – Kim, Khloé, Kendall and Kylie – launched their own subscription-based digital hubs through media company Whalerock Industries. Fifth sister Kourtney’s hub is in the pipeline. Continue reading...

Veteran head of Porsche division Matthias Müller takes over car giant and blames ‘small group’ of staff for emissions scandalVolkswagen has blamed its emissions scandal on a “small group” of people and has suspended a number of staff as Matthias Müller was unveiled as its new chief executive.

Huge amounts of data are being generated by Facebook users around the world, at a rate that doubles every 18 months. The Luleå centre is a part of the global infrastructure connecting 1.3 billion users. Guardian photojournalist David Levene went to the Arctic circle to take a tour of the pioneering facility Continue reading...

Not much is new about Apple’s iPhone 6S, but it does come in a new colour. But is it baby pink? Salmon pink? Hot pink? Or maybe blood orange? We wish it would make its mind up, but whatever the colour, it certainly doesn’t look like ‘rose gold’ (whatever that is) Continue reading...

Twitter trials new functionality in native applications, allowing users to click one of two options and see resultsTwitter has introduced the ability for some users to create polls within its mobile app and desktop site during a significant feature trial.The polling feature, which takes the form of a two-option choice, has been rolled out to Twitter staffers and certain – but not all – verified accounts. Continue reading...

Remote datacentre in Luleå cools itself using freezing outside air, has a fence to keep moose out and processes your selfiesFrom the outside, it looks like an enormous grey warehouse. Inside, there is a hint of the movie Bladerunner: long cavernous corridors, spinning computer servers with flashing blue lights and the hum of giant fans. There is also a long perimeter fence. Is its job to thwart corporate spies? No – it keeps out the moose.Related: Data centre emissions rival air travel as digital demand soars Continue reading...

Remember all those sites you used to use? We’d like to know what you used to get up to on the internetRemember a time before Twitter? Before Facebook? The internet used to be a completely different place. Continue reading...

Elena and Alex get misty eyed about the days of ye olde internete when the world wide web was black and white and needed winding up in the morningIn this week's instalment of Updog – our podcast dedicated to internet memes and all things digitally viral – Alex Hern and Elena Cresci trawl through the dusty corners of the internet to look back at the days of dial-up modems, LiveJournal and neopets.Elena's finally admits to her career plan B, Ginny Weasley Fanfic. Continue reading...

Winter games: the big video game releases of 2015 and what they tell us about the state of the industryWe're heading into video game release season, when all the major blockbuster titles are flung onto the market in the hope of snaring those Christmas millions. However, amid the flood of sequels, shooters and sci-fi epics it seems that variety and diversity of experience are being increasingly overlooked in the rush to give a certain demographic exactly what they think they want.Can big publishers really sustain this hugely expensive Triple A model into the next decade? On this week's games takeover podcast, Keith Stuart and Jordan Erica Webber take look at all the biggest releases with independent games developer Holly Pickering, journalist at Kotaku, Keza Macdonald and Nicholas Lovell from Gamesbrief to ask if creativity is being strangled in the mainstream video game sector. Continue reading...

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

Transport minister and aviation authority chief clash over couple’s demand for drones, helicopters and a hot air balloon to record happy dayThe imminent wedding in Israel of the supermodel Bar Refaeli would usually be the territory of celebrity magazines. And yet Thursday night’s event has stoked a bitter political spat between the country’s transport minister and the head of Israel’s civil aviation authority.The point of dispute is whether the 30-year-old celebrity and her husband-to-be, the billionaire Israeli businessman Adi Ezra, should have the airspace above their nuptials at a spa in the Carmel forest resort closed to all but a fleet of aircraft they have hired. Continue reading...

Vehicle with the power of 180 F1 cars is put on display in Canary Wharf ahead of plan to break current world land-speed record of 763mphFor the last two years a supersonic car has taken shape in an ordinary-looking unit on an industrial estate near Bristol, a joinery on one side, a plumbers’ merchant on the other.On Friday, the car, Bloodhound SSC, will be unveiled for the first time in the much more glitzy surroundings of Canary Wharf in east London. Continue reading...

Social network giving virtual-reality content a boost in its news feed, with other partners including GoPro, LeBron James and ViceFacebook users watch more than 4bn videos a day on the social network. Soon, they’ll be able to watch some of them in 360 degrees.The company has begun supporting videos that allow viewers to pan round the scene in a full circle, six months after YouTube added a similar feature to its service. Continue reading...

How do you block ads without ‘leeching’ free content? This chrome plugin could be the answer. Provided you’re OK with the internet becoming a bit… sparseThe adblocking debate might just have been solved with the launch of the Ethical Adblocker.Adverts suck, and many people would prefer not to see them. But the economics of the internet are such that adverts are also the effective payment for reading free content online (such as this article here). Continue reading...

Daily Mail & General Trust reports digital ad revenue growth of 16% in 11 months to the end of August, compared to 49% in the same period last year.Mail Online has reported digital advertising growth of 16% in the 11 months to the end of August, a significant slowdown on the almost 50% rate of growth seen a year ago.Parent company Daily Mail & General Trust said Mail Online has reported ad revenue growth of 16% year on year, a £9m revenue increase to about £62m, in the year to the end of August. Continue reading...

Smartwatch update brings forth improved Siri, added widgets, more watchfaces and good nightstand mode, but still lacks consistency and does nothing for battery lifeApple has updated the operating system of its first smartwatch with native apps, added complications and a few interface tweaks.

The findings, launched by VicHealth, come from a national survey of 1923 people aged between 16 and 24 about attitudes towards violence against womenAlmost half of young Australians believe tracking their partner by going through their computer or phone, or by installing phone and computer tracking software, is acceptable.This was one of the findings from a nationally representative survey of 1923 people aged between 16 and 24 about their attitudes towards violence against women. The results were launched by VicHealth in Melbourne on Thursday. Continue reading...

Office of Personnel Management hack, which US believes China is responsible for, originally thought to have compromised prints of only 1.1 million workersThe number of people applying for or receiving security clearances whose fingerprint images were stolen in one of the worst government data breaches is now believed to be 5.6 million, not 1.1 million as first thought, the Office of Personnel Management announced on Wednesday.The agency was the victim of what the US believes was a Chinese espionage operation that affected an estimated 21.5 million current and former federal employees or job applicants. The theft could give Chinese intelligence a huge leg up in recruiting informants inside the US government, experts believe. It also could help the Chinese identify US spies abroad, according to American officials. Continue reading...

Photo and video-sharing app’s current challenge, however, is to make money from a youthful audience for whom Twitter is ‘barely on the radar’Instagram, with its Kardashian selfies, retro filters and endless stream of images of meals, has reached 400 million active users, the company has announced. Facebook’s photo and video-sharing app has added 100 million users in the last nine months, with three-quarters now based outside the US.“While milestones like this are important, what really excites us is the way that visual communication makes the world feel a little bit smaller to every one of us,” the company said in a blog post, revealing that its fastest-growing countries include Brazil, Japan and Indonesia. Continue reading...

Cross-platform smartwatch company releases new circular e-paper model that claims to beat all others on weight and thicknessSmartwatch pioneer Pebble has unveiled a new round model, which the company claims is the world’s thinnest and lightest, beating Apple, Samsung and Motorola.

Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn resigns, taking responsibility for the German carmaker’s rigging of US emissions tests of which he had no knowledge, according to the supervisory board. The head of IG Metall Trade Union, Berhold Huber, said the resignation was received with the greatest respect Continue reading...

The answer isn’t complicated, it’s just hard: find a way for publishers and advertisers to deal with one another directlyThe news that Apple was opening the iOS app-store to ad blockers for mobile devices created a storm in publishing circles, which meant that we heard a lot about them, because publishers publish things that are important to publishing.

Indian PM sees visit to America as opportunity to enlist global IT industry leaders to help push for technological modernisation in his homelandThe flags are ready, the stadium is too. The dinner with the Fortune 500 CEOs is scheduled, and so is the one-on-one with president Obama.Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, will be welcomed in New York on Wednesday with much goodwill – but also increasing doubts about his ability to deliver promised reforms in the emerging south Asian power.

The original toys-to-life series is back with a new driving feature and some neat tweaks to the well-known formulaThe novelty of the awkwardly named toys-to-life genre has well and truly passed. When Skylanders first appeared four years ago, the idea of unlocking characters and levels by placing toys on a “portal” peripheral was fresh and interesting. Now we’re on the fifth instalment and Activision has Disney Infinity, Nintendo Amiibos and Lego Dimensions to compete with. The emphasis now is on finding new gimmicks to keep things fresh.This year the theme is racing and with that a new line of air, land and sea vehicles have been added to the Skylanders ecosystem. This not only brings driving missions and a new racing mode but finally adds proper articulated toys along with the static collectable figurines. Kids can play with the cars even when they’re not on the console.

Gavin Patterson promises more services as Ofcom reviews BT ownership of Openreach and rivals criticise its dominanceBT has pledged to ensure every home in the UK has access to a minimum standard of internet access and to accelerate its rollout of faster fibre connections in an effort to head off criticism over its dominance of the UK broadband market.Gavin Patterson, the chief executive of BT, called for a “collaborative effort across industry and government” and a supportive regulatory and policy environment to help provide faster and more comprehensive internet coverage. Continue reading...

They can shoot Live Photos, have pressure-sensitive screens, an always-listening Siri, and faster fingerprint sensors, but look identical to last year’s modelsApple’s new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus smartphones land in customers hands on Friday, but a select bunch of reviewers have been given early access.The Guardian is not one of those picked by Apple to receive a sample of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus ahead of its release, and will publish a review after buying one at the same time as consumers. Continue reading...

Michael Horn admits carmaker was dishonest with US regulators as France calls for Europe-wide inquiry into emissions-fixing scandalThe US chief executive of Volkswagen has said the company has “totally screwed up” over the emissions scandal that has rocked the automotive industry.

Music-streaming service with 6.3m subscribers could be valued at €1bn in upcoming Paris IPOMusic-streaming service Deezer is planning to float on the Paris stock exchange by the end of the year in an attempt to keep up with larger, deeper-pocketed rivals such as Apple and Sweden’s Spotify.The company, founded in 2007 in Paris, has 6.3 million subscribers who can listen to a catalogue of 35m songs for a monthly fee of €9.99 (£7.20). Continue reading...

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

German carrier struck deal with Deutsche Telekom and satellite company Inmarsat for short- and medium-haul flightsHigh-speed internet access via smartphones could become a feature on European airline flights following a deal involving the German carrier Lufthansa – but voice calls will be blocked at first.Lufthansa will offer Wi-Fi on its short- and medium-haul flights from 2017, provided by the satellite firm Inmarsat and Deutsche Telekom. Continue reading...

Data regulator’s opening volley in privacy lawsuit claims Facebook is contucting NSA-like snooping on citizens declaring that Belgium shouldn’t be intimidatedFacebook acted like the US’s National Security Agency, spying without authority on European users, lawyers representing the Belgian data protection authority said on Monday.In opening arguments in a closely watched case being brought against the social network company, Frederic Debussere, representing the Belgian privacy commission (BPC), referred to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden’s revelations about surreptitious mass surveillance by the spy agency. Continue reading...

Shares fall by almost a fifth as economy minister says US claims over falsified data threaten reputation of German car industryThe German government has warned that the Volkswagen emissions fixing scandal is putting at risk the reputation of the country’s automotive industry, as shares in Europe’s largest carmaker slumped by nearly 20%.Shares plunged as investors responded to US accusations that the German carmaker falsified emissions data, an action that could attract penalties of up to $18bn (£11.6bn). The German economy minister, Sigmar Gabriel, expressed concern over the impact of what he called “a bad case” for the country’s vital car industry and he urged VW to clear up the allegations.

Big internet names have been cutting out and dropping off in the last week. Why are they playing with us in this way?First it was Twitter, the desktop client of which went down for over an hour last week, (that’s almost a year in Twitter time). Then it was Amazon Web Services, which glitched and took with it the likes of Netflix, Medium and Buffer over the weekend. Today, Skype has lost connection, scuppering those wishing to talk to long-distance other halves or interviewing for that job on a different continent.What is happening? Why is the internet breaking? And isn’t this all a bit Paper magazine November 2014? Continue reading...

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

A lame outing for the Road Warrior, but an old run-and-gun favourite finds a great new home on the 3DS while Forza roars back into top formFrom Fury Road to the middle of the road: this adaptation does nothing wrong but equally, nothing to stand out, which is a disappointment given its source material. Continue reading...