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Sega and Nintendo are releasing new games within days of each other this October, both nostalgic callbacks to the era of 2D platformers. Can they push the genre forward? Don't get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereRivalry is a vital element of fandom. Whether its punks v rockers, Star Trek v Star Wars or Marvel v DC, subcultures have always defined themselves by what they're not as much as what they are. Which is why I'm secretly delighted that Sega and Nintendo are apparently releasing their new Sonic and Mario games within days of each other this October. Both Super Mario Bros Wonder and Sega Superstars are nostalgic callbacks to the era of 2D platforming. Both games allow players to select from a range of classic characters and take on the rich, lushly colourful environments in cooperative modes, and both supplement the retro aesthetics with new abilities. Mario can transform into an elephant and use his trunk to batter enemies. Sonic can harness chaos emerald power to, say, transform into a watery version of himself so that he can swim up waterfalls.After visiting the Summer Games Fest in Los Angeles earlier this month, I am thrilled to hear other attendees vividly debating the merits of the two titles. At the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago in 1991, Sega made its rivalry with Nintendo the theme of its stand, where the Mega Drive console (known as Genesis in the US) was being shown to American audiences for the first time. Visitors could watch a video demo of Sonic the Hedgehog playing side-by-side with Super Mario World on a big CRT monitor in the centre of the space. While the latter was sedate, comfortable and somewhat childish, Sonic pelted across the screen like a comet, synth-rock blaring. Famously, when tech reporters tried to talk to Sega about the much smaller colour palette of the Mega Drive hardware compared to the Super Nintendo, Sega's then head of marketing Al Nilsen would point at the games running side by side and yell: Which has more colours? Can you tell? Nobody cares!" Continue reading...

Google has said the study makes extremely inaccurate claims" and stated that advertisers are only paying for ads when they are viewedGoogle may have misled dozens of business and government advertisers about the viewership of ads running on third party websites and apps, while charging for them, a new report has claimed.Google's TrueView is the company's proprietary video ad product that is displayed not only in YouTube but on third party sites and apps across the internet. Users can skip the ad after five seconds, but an advertiser only gets charged if a user watches 30 seconds - or the length of the ad if under 30 seconds - and if the video is playing audio, and isn't activated by a user passively scrolling past it on the page. Continue reading...

From illustration to translation, young people worry that they will have to choose their paths carefullyRonan Carolan has always been the creative type, and after attending an art school's open day last autumn he thought he had settled on illustration as a degree.But as the Ucas deadline approached, he began to have second thoughts. I noticed more and more things drawn by AI," he says, referring to a magazine cover among other examples. Considering that only a few years ago, the images it generated were entirely nonsensical, it is scary how fast it has progressed." Continue reading...

As countries scramble to deal with the risks and rewards of AI, the European Union is way ahead on the first laws regulating artificial intelligence. Here's what's really in the new AI Act Don't get TechScape delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the full article hereDeepfakes, facial recognition and existential threat: politicians, watchdogs and the public must confront daunting issues when it comes to regulating artificial intelligence.Tech regulation has a history of lagging the industry, with the the UK's online safety bill and the EU's Digital Services Act only just arriving almost two decades after the launch of Facebook. AI is streaking ahead as well. ChatGPT already has more than 100 million users, the pope is in a puffer jacket and an array of experts have warned that the AI race is getting out of control. Continue reading...

The head investor of Norway's sovereign wealth fund worries more about AI affecting the country's portfolio than his own collection of paintingsFor a prolific art collector, Nicolai Tangen is remarkably relaxed about the prospect of masterpieces created by robots. The threat of AI-made paintings, impossible to distinguish from human brushstrokes, has sparked soul-searching and paranoia in the art world, but not with Tangen.Hey, if it creates better art that's fantastic," says the Norwegian philanthropist, art historian and boss of the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund. If you create something which is even more aesthetically pleasing, what's wrong about that?" Continue reading...

John Goodenough's research enabled the technological revolution that powers most of our gadgets and toolsJohn Goodenough, who shared the 2019 Nobel prize in chemistry for his pioneering work developing the lithium-ion battery that transformed technology with rechargeable power for devices ranging from cellphones and computers to pacemakers and electric cars, has died at 100, the University of Texas announced on Monday.Goodenough died on Sunday at an assisted living facility in Austin, Texas, the university announced. No cause of death was given. Continue reading...

Artificial intelligence can't replace human professionals but it could transform the way they treat diseases such as cancer, and save lives

A Freddie Mercury act is among the performers protesting as a Meta ban on impersonators threatens their careersBig music festivals are not the only places to enjoy a headline act such as Adele, Taylor Swift or Dolly Parton.Convincing impersonators of the biggest names in music, and of other late, great stars, such as George Michael and Freddie Mercury, also regularly entertain the crowds at civic centres, summer fairs and even the odd golden wedding. Continue reading...

Prototypes are finally taking off after a difficult time for investors, and some surprising challengers have joined the raceAmong the fighter jets and military helicopters performing for the crowds at the Paris airshow last week, a strange two-seater craft lifted off the runway. Like a drone crossed with a helicopter, the Volocopter has an electric motor and a white wasp-shaped body, on top of which sits a circular frame supporting 18 separate sets of blades, or rotors. With that short flight, the dream of making flying taxis for the masses moved a little closer to becoming reality.Made by a German startup, Volocopter was the only such vehicle actually flying at the show, while other companies displayed mock-ups. Getting from the costly design and testing phase to even costlier manufacturing will be a major challenge for the industry. Not all of the competitors will survive. Continue reading...

Rapid developments in AI are forcing managers and politicians alike to confront profound questions about the future of jobsWith a low electrical hum, a small team of boxy, wheeled robots called ants" criss-cross the top of a giant 3D grid of grey storage crates - 60,000 of them - ceaselessly arranging and rearranging them to order.Down on the warehouse floor, flat-topped ranger" robots ferry cardboard packing boxes around. Just one man, jokingly known as the robot whisperer, walks among them with a laptop. Continue reading...

In one of his favourite communities to shoot in, the Ghanaian photographer spotted four brothers ...Dressed in matching golden shorts to signify their brotherhood, and helmets to symbolise protection, siblings Ibrahim, Nana Kofi, Benjamin and Kojo were smiling down the lens of Derrick O Boateng's iPhone 12. The Ghanaian photographer was in Nungua town, in the capital, Accra - one of his favourite communities to shoot in. There are always all sorts of cool things happening there: the busy market, kids on the beach, people fishing or playing football," he says.Bold colours are typical of his work; he coined the term Hue-ism to create a bigger podium for artists like myself, painting with the colours of the continent, creating colour therapy and visual poetry showcasing the African perspective." Continue reading...

Exclusive: Researcher Dr Larissa Suzuki tells how Nasa is developing a ChatGPT-style interfaceIn the film 2001: A Space Odyssey the sentient supercomputer, HAL 9000, chats conversationally to the mission pilots on a Jupiter-bound spaceship, executing their orders and alerting them to onboard faults - and eventually going rogue.Now Nasa engineers say they are developing their own ChatGPT-style interface that could ultimately allow astronauts to talk to their spacecraft and mission controllers to converse with artificial intelligence-powered robots exploring distant planets and moons. Continue reading...

A major Newcastle venue had to be shut down after it was targeted by a ransomware attack

This week in artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence is either going to save humanity or finish it off, depending on who you speak to. Either way, every week there are new developments and breakthroughs. Here are just some of the AI stories that have emerged in recent days ... The Wimbledon tennis tournament revealed it will be introducing AI-generated audio and text commentary in its online highlights this year. The All England Club has teamed up with the tech group IBM to provide automatically created voiceovers and captions for its footage. The move, which is separate to the BBC's coverage of the tournament, follows use of the cloned voice of a British athletics commentator, Hannah England, for online coverage of the European Athletics Championships. Generative AI refers to the creation of text and images from a human prompt - think ChatGPT and Midjourney - but voice is becoming a prominent development in this area as well. Continue reading...

Law firm also penalised after chatbot invented six legal cases that were then used in an aviation injury claimA US judge has fined two lawyers and a law firm $5,000 (3,935) after fake citations generated by ChatGPT were submitted in a court filing.A district judge in Manhattan ordered Steven Schwartz, Peter LoDuca and their law firm Levidow, Levidow & Oberman to pay the fine after fictitious legal research was used in an aviation injury claim. Continue reading...

Bloc officials enter company's headquarters to test its controls on issues such as Russian propagandaTwitter has agreed to comply with tough new EU laws on fake news, Russian propaganda and online crime after a team of officials from the European Commission entered its headquarters to stress test its capacity to operate legally in Europe.The move came just weeks after Elon Musk, Twitter's owner, quit the bloc's voluntary code of practice on disinformation. Continue reading...

Musician clarifies how artificial intelligence was applied to vocals by John Lennon, amid anxiety over how the technology will affect musicPaul McCartney has clarified how artificial intelligence has been used to create a new Beatles song, saying that nothing has been artificially or synthetically created".Last week, McCartney announced that he had employed AI technology on an unreleased Beatles demo from the 70s, telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme that AI had been used to extricate" John Lennon's voice from a cassette recording of the demo. Continue reading...

Bereaved families welcome online safety bill amendment that hands greater powers to coronersOfcom will be able to force tech platforms to hand over the personal data of children whose deaths are suspected to be related to online harm, the government has confirmed.On the last day of the online safety bill's passage through parliament, the government accepted an amendment backed by a group of bereaved parents that will give coroners the power through Ofcom to force cooperation when investigating the deaths of children. Continue reading...

Key executive at Chinese-owned company says I feel the time is right to move on and refocus on my entrepreneurial passions'TikTok's chief operating officer, V Pappas, is stepping down after five years with the short-video company.In an email to staff on Thursday, the Australian said they would be taking on an advisory role for the company during the transition. Continue reading...

Zuckerberg has been competing in Brazilian jiu-jitsu; Musk has size on his side - and a move called the Walrus'In the red corner, the world's richest person, and in the blue corner, the world's richest millennial: Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have agreed to a cage match, after Musk jokingly suggested the bout in response to efforts by Meta to launch a Twitter competitor.I'm sure Earth can't wait to be exclusively under Zuck's thumb," Musk tweeted on Wednesday in response to a post about Meta's rumoured Threads app. The app, previously known inside Instagram as Project 92 and Barcelona, has been pitched to celebrities and influencers as a stable place to build and grow" their audiences. Continue reading...

Spencer played down concerns about AI being used to streamline the video game production process and said it had a role in moderationArtificial Intelligence is very much on the news agenda right now. The unstoppable rise of ChatGPT and the seemingly imminent prospect of generalised AI able to re-create broad human thinking processes has seen concerns raised by everyone from major business CEOs to Geoffrey Hinton, one of the godfathers of AI research. AI has been an element of video game design and production for at least two decades, but now with AI art programs and the rise of procedurally generated game dialogue, there are growing questions over how AI is going to effect not just the content of games, but the teams that make them.Talking at the Xbox games showcase in Los Angeles recently, Xbox chief Phil Spencer played down concerns that AI could be used to streamline the game production process and therefore lead to smaller teams. Continue reading...

Battery fires put gig workers at particular risk - but safer alternatives are often out of reachTwisted mountains of charred bikes, scooters, wheels, and battery casings. The distinctive, acidic smell of burnt chemicals. And where delivery workers once stood in line chatting while waiting for repairs, now blackened ruins and a somber crowd of neighbors behind police tape. This was the scene - one that's become horrifyingly common - after yet another deadly lithium battery fire in New York City.Four people, including a 71-year-old man and 65-year-old woman, died in the inferno just after midnight on Tuesday - the latest victims of a growing problem that's now claimed the lives of 13 people this year in the nation's densest city, compared with six such deaths in all of 2022. The fires are caused by the cheap, dangerous electric batteries powering the two-wheeled devices that the city's 65,000 delivery workers use to meet the demands of Silicon Valley gig platforms. And without decisive action, more carnage is guaranteed. Continue reading...

In this week's newsletter: The comedian answers made-up reader questions and meets showbiz stars in Lolly Adefope's Fanmail. Plus: five of the best agony aunt podcasts

Sky Live camera is hoped to cement firm's Glass TV as centre of all home entertainmentSky has launched a smart camera for its streaming television to allow customers to watch live and on-demand TV remotely with friends, place video calls via Zoom, track workouts and play motion-controlled games.The Sky Live camera is an add-on service for the firm's broadband-powered TV set and forms part of its attempt to cement the traditional television as the centre of all home entertainment in the face of competing technologies and streaming services. Continue reading...

A legal battle is brewing over how giant firms will be able to appeal against new unit's decisionsBig tech is trying to use its vast coffers to neuter the powers of the UK's new tech regulator, Rishi Sunak has been warned, as a fight over the courts becomes the latest battleground for overseeing Silicon Valley.Under the digital markets, competition and consumers bill, which is passing through parliament, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will be empowered to set strict new rules on large online platforms such as Apple's App Store, Amazon's Marketplace and Google's search engine. Continue reading...

Federal Trade Commission alleges Bezos firm used manipulative and deceptive user-interface designs to trick consumers'The US Federal Trade Commission has sued Amazon for what it called a years-long effort to enroll consumers without consent into its paid subscription program, Amazon Prime, and making it hard for them to cancel.The FTC, the US agency charged with consumer protection, filed a federal lawsuit in Seattle, where Amazon is headquartered, alleging that the tech behemoth knowingly duped millions of consumers into unknowingly enrolling in Amazon Prime" through a secret project internally called Iliad". Continue reading...

Square Enix; PS5

From Untitled Goose Game to Octodad and even Tears of the Kingdom, it's always games with silly physics or absurd set-ups that crack me up the most. Plus: Final Fantasy XVI Don't get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereI was reminded of the understated farcical comedy masterwork that is Untitled Goose Game recently, after walking through Regent's Park and seeing Canada geese and their goslings honking at tourists. I was with a friend who had never heard of it, and so a couple of hours later we were playing it on the Switch in a pub, honking and flapping and making life difficult for any human unfortunate enough to cross our path. The sheer physical comedy of the game - the goose's waddling gait, the appalled reactions of the villagers, the mischievous glee of running away from a gardener with a trowel in my beak and throwing it into the pond - is delightful. If anything, it's even funnier now, because you can play with two geese (one of you can run interference while the other steals sandwiches).When people talk about funny video games, they often mention Monkey Island or Sam and Max - games with quippy writing and witty characters, wordplay, and self-referential puzzle design. But those games have only rarely made me laugh; an appreciative smile, sure, but never an involuntary hoot of amusement like those Untitled Goose Game embarrassingly elicits. Perhaps my comedy tastes lean more slapstick, but it's always the games with dumb physics or amusing controls or absurd set-ups that crack me up - games where the experience of play itself is what's funny. Continue reading...

Conservatives say liberals want to kill talk radio. But there's plenty else on the AM dial - much of it essentialCharlie Kirk, radio host and founder of the rightwing youth group Turning Point USA, believes that a conspiracy may be afoot. Whether they're doing this intentionally or not, the consequence will be ... an all-out attack on AM radio," he told the listeners of his popular syndicated show.In an appearance on Fox, the television and radio host Sean Hannity gave his viewers a similar warning: This would be a direct hit politically on conservative talk radio in particular, which is what most people go to AM radio to listen to." Mark Levin, another longtime radio host, agreed: They finally figured out how to attack conservative talk radio," he told his listeners in April. Continue reading...

Senator seeks information about systematically underreported' injury rates and turnover at US's second-largest employerBernie Sanders has launched an investigation into Amazon that will focus on working conditions inside the warehouses of the online marketplace, which is also the nation's second-largest employer.In a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, the 81-year-old US senator from Vermont and chair of the influential Senate committee on health, education, labor and pension (Help) demanded information about systematically underreported" injury rates, turnover, productivity targets, and adherence to federal and state safety guidelines at the e-commerce giant. Continue reading...

Moderators flood feeds with pictures of TV comic as they fight owners' plans to go publicA civil war between Reddit's owners and the volunteer moderators it relies on has taken an odd turn, with some of the biggest subreddits" on the site devoting themselves to sharing pictures of one man and one man only - British TV comic John Oliver - in a cunning play in an increasingly fractious battle. Continue reading...

We scrutinised the latest games showcases to pick out the most interesting titles, from wacky races to medieval BaghdadViewfinderCombining elements of popular world-manipulating puzzlers such as Monument Valley and Chicory, Viewfinder has you exploring a lush, possibly post-apocalyptic environment, where you're able take photos, paintings and sketches and superimpose them on to the world to change the layout, reach fresh areas or open new explorable domains. It's an intriguing premise with a cool, minimal visual style. Continue reading...

The social network is changing how it works with third parties - but some argue that a push for profit could bring a wave of misinformation Don't get TechScape delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the full article hereWelcome back to TechScape, where I - along with a rotating cast of tech writers - will help fill Alex Hern's shoes while he's on parental leave. He'll make the first of some occasional appearances in the newsletter in a few weeks, but what might not return any time soon are some of Reddit's most popular communities.Last week, the pages of Reddit went dark - with thousands taking their forums offline to protest against a decision by the platform to impose fees on third-party tools many rely on to make the site more efficient. Continue reading...

The US novelist shaped the modern idea of the post-apocalypse. Without him, games such as The Last of Us and Red Dead Redemption would not be the sameCormac McCarthy, one of the most significant figures in modern American literature, died last week aged 89. While the tributes have mostly come from within the literary world, he had a huge impact upon modern culture as a whole - including video games. McCarthy's work reshaped the way that the world looks at the post-apocalyptic genre, a flavour of fiction that video games have long called home. And Rockstar's western opus Red Dead Redemption vividly recalls the Border Trilogy - particularly the twisted figure of Dutch van der Linde.The developers of The Last of Us have specifically cited The Road as a key influence, and it's easy to see why Naughty Dog drew upon McCarthy's parent-child journey across a post-apocalyptic America to inform their own. While the main thrust of the game's story fits neatly into Joseph Campbell's monomyth, it is the nihilism and bleakness of The Road that determines its mood. Both feature ruined worlds, full of marauders and cannibals, and Joel's sickness parallels the Man's fading condition in the novel. Both endings are bleak, the horrors of the world swallowing characters up bodily and mentally. Continue reading...

Magnetic charging speaker dock makes this tablet useful when idle, while software and app improvements are paying offGoogle's long-awaited Pixel Tablet has finally landed to try to tempt users away from Apple's dominant iPad and make the large-screen devices useful in the home by becoming a smart display when not in active use - a feature that seems so obvious it's a wonder why no one has tried it before.The Android tablet costs 599 ($499/A$899) and comes with a magnetic charging speaker dock to enable its dual function super power. It is Google's first Android tablet in eight years and marks the company's attempt to reignite the category following up on its recent software efforts. Continue reading...

At the start of 2023, the UK postal service Royal Mail was hit with an ultimatum: pay $80m (67m) or continue to have international shipments blocked. The demand came from Russian-linked hackers the LockBit group, who had infiltrated Royal Mail's software. Royal Mail refused to pay and eventually reinstated its overseas deliveries, but the cyber-attack came at a huge cost to the company and others that depend on its service.Ransomware attacks like this one are on the rise. So too are phishing attempts, emails and texts that try to fool recipients into clicking on links that contain malware or ask for personal information. Ian Sample speaks to the Yale law professor and author Scott Shapiro about cybercrime, how attacks hack into our psychology and what individuals and governments could do to stop itClips: Today, ABC News, BBC News,Scott J Shapiro's book Fancy Bear Goes Phishing is available here. Continue reading...

Petting pups and cleaning up digital dog poo makes me happy. What does that say about my headspace right now?Not long ago, I was interviewing someone over the phone when I suddenly became transfixed by a soft bark that emitted from my iPad. The bark came with a tantalising notification: Your new rustic lantern is ready to decorate your sanctuary!"My hands instinctively moved to swipe before I managed to contain myself. The lantern wasn't real. The lantern could wait. I have a job. Continue reading...

The suction-padded joystick was once the games controller sans pareil until it was usurped by the multi-button joypad - but with the return of retro gaming, it's making a comebackFor home computer gamers in the 1980s, your choice of joystick was a matter of intense importance and debate. Unlike buying a console, you didn't get a controller with your machine, so every player had this vital input decision to make from the offset. Most of my friends went for the ubiquitous Quickshot II, a great hulking giant of a controller, designed to resemble a fighter jet joystick, complete with multiple fire buttons and an autofire switch so that you could cheat on R-Type. It was reasonably delicate, though, so a session with a joystic-waggling sports game such as Daley Thompson's Decathlon could see over-enthusiastic players wrenching the shaft clean off - surely the most Freudian mishap ever to befall a schoolboy.When I asked Twitter users for their favourite ever joysticks, the Quickshot got many mentions but so did the Super Pro Zip Stik and the pastel-coloured Powerplay Cruiser, both rugged, dependable stars of the Amiga era. More eccentric designs were also recalled - the squat little Cheetah Bug, the Konix Speedking (also known as the Epyx 500XJ), an ergonomic oddity designed to sit in the palm with the fire buttons on the side. Continue reading...

Cybersecurity firm says Anonymous Sudan is unlikely to be authentic hacktivist group, as initially believedThe hackers believed to be behind a recent attack that took some of Microsoft's services offline are likely to be a Russian-linked group rather than a grassroots pro-Islam collective operating out of Sudan, experts say.Anonymous Sudan, which surfaced in January 2023, has also claimed responsibility for at least 24 distributed denial-of-service attacks on Australian companies, including healthcare, aviation and education organisations. Continue reading...

Next-gen heart rate sensor, clearer screen, epic battery life and new metrics upgrade top multisport smartwatchGarmin has been on a roll recently, upgrading various versions of its most popular sports smartwatches. Now it is the turn of its top adventure watch to be enhanced with next-gen tech and new tools in the new Fenix 7 Pro.The new torch-equipped, go-anywhere watch costs 750, putting it very much in the luxury category alongside Apple's 849 Watch Ultra and the 800 and up Epix line. That's also 150 more than the cheapest Fenix 7 but roughly in line with the cost of the previous solar-charging models. So what more do you get for your money? Continue reading...

Campaigners say bill in serious peril' of passing without powers to make platforms more transparentOnline safety experts will struggle to sound the alarm about harmful content if landmark legislation does not allow independent researchers to access data from social media platforms, campaigners have warned.The government is being urged to adopt amendments to the online safety bill enabling researchers to access platform data in order to monitor harmful material. Access would be overseen by Ofcom, the communications watchdog, and would protect user privacy. Continue reading...

Ted Kaczynski's prescient' views have been praised by Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson - and continue to draw misguided new followersThe bomb was disguised as a tangle of wooden planks and protruding nails, and when he encountered it in the car park behind his computer-repair store, Gary Wright thought nothing of pushing it from his path.I put my thumb and middle finger on the end and moved it," he recalls. In this way alone, he was lucky. Had he reached over the top, he says, I'd have no hand." Continue reading...

Keyhole surgery using robotic arms has transformed medicine. But the next generation of advanced robotics might be able to surpass the skills of surgeonsNeil Thomas wished he could have been awake during the operation to remove a 6cm cancerous tumour from his colon. He was one of the first people to go under the scalpel of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board's new robotic systems in June 2022. And, as the founder of a software company, the technology interested him.Thomas's surgeon, James Ansell, would once have stooped over his patient's body to perform the operation. Instead, he stood behind a console on another side of the theatre wearing 3D glasses. His hands grasped two joysticks, which controlled the four robotic arms that huddled around Thomas's unconscious body. Continue reading...

CEO Steve Huffman says tech giants should not be able to trawl Reddit's huge store of data for free. But that information came from users, not the companyLike Wikipedia, Reddit is one of the wonders of the online world. Its founders once described it as the front page of the internet", which is perhaps a bit hyperbolic but not entirely wide of the mark. It is, after all, the 11th most visited website in the world (and the sixth most visited in the US). Many of my friends, colleagues, acquaintances and contacts use it every day, and for some it is their favourite online site.If this comes as a surprise to you, then here's what you need to know. Reddit is basically a bulletin board on steroids. It's a news-aggregation, content and discussion website. Continue reading...

Intrigued by skimpily dressed mannequins outside a suburban house, the Australian photographer knocked on the door to find out moreIt was approaching Christmas last year and Australian photographer Glenn Homann was exploring Brisbane’s heritage-rich satellite city of Ipswich with his iPhone. “I tend to go out looking for locations and objects to shoot. But occasionally, for whatever reason, a person appears on the scene,” says Homann, who lives about a half-hour’s drive away in the suburb of Inala. “I passed this green house with skimpily dressed mannequins propped up outside – an unusual take on Christmas decorations. I knocked on the door to find out more. Ron answered.”The pair chatted and developed an easy rapport, and an unlikely friendship was born. A few weeks later Homann returned, hoping to shoot inside Ron’s shed. “He has two old motorbikes, a go-kart, model airplanes, more mannequins and these crazy paintings he’s created up on the walls. We stepped into his kitchen and he mentioned something about having a couple of kilts in his cupboard. He had grandparents from Scotland and Ireland, and is very proud of his heritage, so he pulled out his Irish one. I had intended to find some moodier lighting out in the shed, but it was such a hot day, the air-conditioning unit was right there, and this picture happened, with his dog, Teddy Bear, at his feet.” Continue reading...

Streamer and couple said it was a mutual decision but a PR expert says it looks bad for their brandWhen the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their $20m, multi-year deal with Spotify in 2020, it was hailed as the centrepiece of the couple’s growing business empire.So when news broke that the deal had come to an end after just one series, questions arose over why the partnership had broken down so quickly and what it meant for the Harry and Meghan brand. Continue reading...

The task of radically reducing our greenhouse gas emissions is daunting, the former chief scientist says. But it’s also a huge opportunity“It won’t be easy getting to zero, Kathleen.”We were at a dinner party soon after the May 2022 Australian election, which saw the Labor party, led by Anthony Albanese, form government, with an unprecedented number of seats won by the Greens and by climate-focused independents. Rolling her eyes, Kathleen pressed on in a triumphal tone. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Calls for Meta to curb rise in scams on its platforms, which will cost UK households £250m this year

Guardian investigation reveals the human stories behind the scams on Meta’s social media platforms

Nintendo’s new record-setting Zelda game allows players to get creative and make madcap vehicles and contraptions. Readers share their favourite experiences so farThe best thing is doing something random in the game – climbing up something, fighting something big and boss-like – before you’re actually supposed to in the story. I have been playing games since I was four, and I’ve always loved Zelda games for the freedom you get and the feeling you’ve done something you’re not supposed to that isn’t found in many other titles. I’d say so far – and I’m only a few hours in – there are two favourite moments for me. One is when cooking and hearing Link humming music from the series. The other was climbing a Skyview Tower, assuming I had to so I could see the world map, and reaching the top only to find ... nothing. Then moving along in the story and finding out what it was actually for! As always, pre-empting what I’m supposed to do in a Zelda game. Tom Fogden, 43, France Continue reading...