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Updated 2025-09-13 15:48
This fiendish mashup of solitaire and poker has taken over my life
Last week, I downloaded a game called Balatro for a few casual turns on Steam Deck. I haven't been able to think of much else sinceI am one of those people who feels like crying when the rules of a board game are explained to me, so card games are generally not my thing. In real life poker, I inevitably get bored after a few rounds, go all in, and crash out spectacularly, just so something will happen. But real life poker is not Balatro. Balatro might be the best card game you will ever come across. I specifically left my Steam Deck at home this morning so that I would not sit at my desk playing Balatro instead of doing all the other, less fun things I am supposed to do at work, such as staring disconsolately at my perpetually overflowing email inbox. I think it will be one of the breakout games of the year. Join me, and it will suck you in, too.Here is how you play. You're dealt a hand of nine normal playing cards, and then you play the best four or five-card poker hand you can muster from them: flush, straight, three of a kind, all that. Then you're scored on the hand, with satisfying, ratcheting ding!"s, and you move on to the next one. You're only ever playing against yourself: beat the points target, which at the beginning is maybe a few hundred easily scored points, and you move on to the next round. Continue reading...
Elon Musk makes ‘things good’ with California bakery after $2,000 pie fiasco
Tesla had ditched an order for 4,000 mini pies, but the X owner paid the debt after the incident received attention
US supreme court appears skeptical of social media content moderation laws
World's biggest social media firms challenge state laws blocking them from moderating certain content or banning usersMembers of the United States supreme court expressed skepticism regarding two laws being debated in oral arguments on Monday, both of which deal with how social media platforms moderate content and could have broad implications for freedom of speech online.Filed by NetChoice, an association representing the world's largest social media firms, both cases challenge state laws blocking social media platforms from moderating certain user content or banning users. Arguments on Monday lasted longer than many experts anticipated, extending into a marathon four-hour session. Continue reading...
Is a smartphone and social media ban the best way to protect young people from internet dangers? | Letters
Stuart Harrington doubts that such a ban will work, while Oscar Acton spells out the benefits of smartphone access for school studentsThe members of the WhatsApp group Smartphone Free Childhood have an unrealistic expectation if they believe that banning under-14s from possessing smartphones and trying to prevent under-16s accessing social media is a practical way of protecting them from the very real dangers that the internet can unveil (It went nuts: Thousands join UK parents calling for smartphone-free childhood', 17 February).If the first duty of any parent or guardian is to provide a safe and healthy environment for their children, then showing them how to access and use the internet safely is their responsibility. Roads are also potentially dangerous for children, but we do not ban cars - instead we spend time teaching young people the safe way to navigate through busy traffic. Continue reading...
Russia-based LockBit ransomware hackers attempt comeback
Gang sets up new site on dark web and releases rambling statement explaining how it was infiltrated by law enforcement agenciesThe LockBit ransomware gang is attempting a comeback days after its operations were severely disrupted by a coordinated international crackdown.The Russia-based group has set up a new site on the dark web to advertise a small number of alleged victims and leak stolen data, as well as releasing a rambling statement explaining how it had been hobbled by the UK's National Crime Agency, the FBI, Europol and other police agencies in an operation last week. Continue reading...
Do electric cars have an air pollution problem?
In part seven of our series exploring myths surrounding EVs, we look at claims friction on brakes and tyres will affect air quality
‘Disinformation on steroids’: is the US prepared for AI’s influence on the election?
Robocalls of President Biden already confused primary voters in New Hampshire - but measures to curb the technology could be too little too lateThe AI election is here.Already this year, a robocall generated using artificial intelligence targeted New Hampshire voters in the January primary, purporting to be President Joe Biden and telling them to stay home in what officials said could be the first attempt at using AI to interfere with a US election. The deepfake" calls were linked to two Texas companies, Life Corporation and Lingo Telecom. Continue reading...
A new tool targets voter fraud in Georgia – but is it skirting the law?
A tech company supported by Trump's former lawyer is injecting chaos into the state's vote-counting processA tech company supported by Donald Trump's former lawyer has been facilitating mass challenges to voter registrations in Georgia. State officials say its methods are inaccurate and likely skirt state law.Founded in the wake of the 2020 election, EagleAI, pronounced Eagle Eye", offers a tool that streamlines challenges to voter registrations. Pulling data from both public and purchased information, it allows anyone to investigate potential errors on voter registrations forms. With a few clicks to attach evidence of alleged disqualifying mistakes, EagleAI automatically fills out challenges to registrations. A local volunteer then downloads and emails them to their county election board. A successful challenge stops a person from voting unless they reregister. Continue reading...
UK’s enemies could use AI deepfakes to try to rig election, says James Cleverly
Home secretary, who is due to meet US tech bosses, says states such as Russia and Iran could target other countries as wellCriminals and malign actors" working on behalf of malicious states could use AI-generated deepfakes" to hijack the general election, the home secretary has said.James Cleverly was speaking before meetings with social media bosses and said the rapid advancement of technology could pose a serious threat to elections across the globe. Continue reading...
Hackers for sale: what we've learned from China's massive cyber leak
Data from cyber security firm I-Soon offers a rare glimpse in to the inner workings of China's hacking programA massive data leak from a Chinese cybersecurity firm has offered a rare glimpse into the inner workings of Beijing-linked hackers.Analysts say the leak is a treasure-trove of intel into the day-to-day operations of China's hacking programme, which the FBI says is the biggest of any country. The company, I-Soon, has yet to confirm the leak is genuine and has not responded to a request for comment. As of Friday, the leaked data was removed from the online software repository GitHub, where it had been posted. Continue reading...
Readers reply: does spam email actually work?
The long-running series in which readers answer other readers' questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical conceptsDoes spam email actually work? I don't mean dodgy phishing emails, but the annoying ads and sales pitches. Presumably the answer is yes, otherwise the spammers wouldn't bother, but I find it hard to believe. Ali Farhan, ManchesterSend new questions to nq@theguardian.com. Continue reading...
The latest billionaire trend? Doomsday bunkers with a flammable moat
Is all this bunker-building a sign the 1% know something we don't and are preparing for end times?What's your plan for the apocalypse? I'll tell you what mine is: death. I am not really built for battle - I need five cups of coffee just to function and I have terrible allergies. My body can't even handle pollen, it's not going to do well with nuclear war. Plus, even if I was hardier - who wants to live a few extra months in a completely destroyed world?Billionaires. Billionaires do. As you have probably noticed bunkers have become the ultimate status symbol among the 1%. The bunker craze, accelerated by the pandemic, has been going on for a while now. However I'm starting to think that bunker-fever is getting out of hand. The rich are no longer content with run-of-the-mill $500,000 survival shelters, they're taking things to the next level: a development which should probably worry us all. Continue reading...
Revealed: car industry was warned keyless vehicles vulnerable to theft a decade ago
Experts alerted motor trade to security risks of smart key' systems which have now fuelled highest level of car thefts for a decade Gone in 20 seconds: how smart keys' have fuelled a new wave of car crimeThe car industry ignored warnings more than a decade ago that keyless technology on modern vehicles risked a surge in vehicle thefts, an investigation by the Observer can reveal.Legal and computer researchers claimed keyless entry and vehicle software would be subverted" because of inadequate security. Continue reading...
Gone in 20 seconds: how ‘smart keys’ have fuelled a new wave of car crime
One London resident watched on CCTV as a thief walked up to his 40,000 car and drove away. Now manufacturers say they are being drawn in to a hi-tech arms race' with criminals Read more: car industry was warned keyless vehicles vulnerable to theft a decade agoWhen Steve Jessop's electric Hyundai car was stolen outside his west London house on a rainy day earlier this month, he appealed to neighbours for potential footage of the crime.He quickly secured a CCTV video and was stunned at the ease with which his car had been taken. A hooded figure approached it, opened the doors without forced entry, started the engine and drove off. Continue reading...
The week in audio: One Person Found This Helpful; Straight to the Comments!; The Rise and Rise of the Microchip; Capital Breakfast – review
Frank Skinner's new Radio 4 panel show is a winner; the Daily Mail goes below the line; Misha Glenny gives us microchips with everything; and Capital gains Radio 1 star Jordan NorthOne Person Found This Helpful (BBC Radio 4) | BBC Sounds
Can we have our cake and eat it? Welcome to the world of sugar elimination
Our sugar problem could be solved by counteracting it after we've eaten it, as stomach sponges' and fibre-making enzymes head to marketI am in a kitchen shared by bio-based startups in San Francisco looking forward to a chocolate chip cookie. Having been diagnosed with prediabetes a few years ago, I usually stay well away from sweet treats. But I have a secret weapon: a sachet of Monch Monch, a proprietary plant fibre-based drink mix that has been engineered to expand in my stomach like a kitchen sponge and soak up sugar in food, rendering it unavailable for early absorption.The idea is that, locked in the sponge", a significant amount of the sugar will simply pass through. One gram of the product can absorb six grams of sugar according to lab tests by the startup behind it, BioLumen. Sucrose (table sugar), glucose, fructose and to a lesser extent simple starches can all be sequestered. Given there's just over four grams in the sachet, I calculate it should - if it works - nicely nullify the sugar in my treat and give my gut a fibre boost to boot. How do you eat food without paying the health price? We think we have figured out a way," says Paolo Costa, co-founder and CEO of the company, as I mix the powder in the sachet with water and drink it. Continue reading...
Elon Musk steps in after California bakery jolted by cancelled Tesla order
A Tesla employee ordered 2,000 mini pies from San Jose's Giving Pies, only to later cancel the $6,000 order from the small bakeryBillionaire Elon Musk has promised to make things good" with a California bakery after his company backed out of a pie order that cost the owner thousands of dollars.Just hearing about this. Will make things good with the bakery," Musk said on X (formerly Twitter) in response to a story about the cancelled order. Continue reading...
‘Their happiness is imprinted upon my mind’: Kyaw Zay Yar Lin’s best phone picture
On the banks of Myanmar's largest river, the photographer captured the joy and spontaneity of five young boysAyeyarwady River is Myanmar's largest, andit was on its sandbanks near Sagaing Bridge that Kyaw Zay YarLin found these children playing.I often go there, because it's such abeautiful place," Kyaw says. I go to relax, enjoy the weather and the views, but that day I approached these five boys playing in the mud and asked permission to take their photo. Continue reading...
How a TikTok clip led demand for 177-year-old sourdough starter to rise
US enthusiasts who follow the tradition of sharing dough are now receiving about 1,000 requests a week, up from 30 to 60There's an old pioneer tradition" dating from the earliest days of the colonisation of the US west, says Mary Buckingham, that you shared your bread starter with anyone who asked."Which was all very well until TikTok came along. Continue reading...
‘Amazing Grace’: the name behind Nvidia’s $2tn chip empire
R Adm Grace Hopper, namesake of the tech titan's new superchip, pioneered the idea of automatic programmingIn the arid tech sphere of semiconductor manufacturing, one hardback book-sized processor stands out: Nvidia's H-100. On Friday, the Santa Clara, California, company surpassed $2tn in valuation. Where it goes next will be down to a chip named after Amazing Grace" Hopper, a US navy rear admiral who became instrumental in the development of design and implementation of programming languages.Nvidia supplies approximately 80% of the global market in chips used in AI applications. The company's H-100 chips - the H is for Hopper - are now so valuable they have to be transported by armored car, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, and demand is so great that some customers are waiting as long as six months to receive it. Continue reading...
Why has Nvidia driven stock markets to record highs?
What you need to know about the company, its importance to AI and whether the stock market boom is sustainableInvestor excitement over artificial intelligence reached a new peak this week when better-than-expected results from chipmaker Nvidia drove stock markets in three continents to record highs.The rally began on Thursday and continued into Friday, as Nvidia overtook Google's parent group, Alphabet, to become the third most valuable company in the US. Its market capitalisation hit $2tn (1.58tn), surpassed only by Microsoft and Apple. Continue reading...
‘We milked the hell out of it’: what happens after local food places go viral?
Social media sensations such as the Spudman, Binley Mega Chippy, Get Baked and Wakey Wines cope with the crowds - and the falloutBen Newman, also known as the Spudman, spends as much time posing for selfies these days as he does selling jacket potatoes from his van in the middle of Tamworth.His shop is the latest viral sensation on TikTok and has seen people travel from all over the world to try his food - jacket potatoes with classic toppings such as butter, cheese and beans - although Newman isn't quite sure why. Continue reading...
Tyler Perry halts $800m studio expansion after being shocked by AI
US film and TV mogul says he has paused his plans, having seen demonstrations of OpenAI video generatorTyler Perry has paused an $800m (630m) expansion of his Atlanta studio complex after the release of OpenAI's video generator Sora and warned that a lot of jobs" in the film industry will be lost to artificial intelligence.The US film and TV mogul said he was in the process of adding 12 sound stages to his studio but has halted those plans indefinitely after he saw demonstrations of Sora and its shocking" capabilities. Continue reading...
I swore I’d never go back … but here I am, jonesing for Fifa | Dominik Diamond
After a very public breakup, Dominik Diamond had avoided the addictive football game for two years - until he was suckered in with a free trial of EA Sports FC 24I fell off the wagon recently. Two and a half years, and all it took was one little slip. I was home one night and there it was, offered to me: a little free taste to suck me in. Before I knew it, I was hooked. I know it's a terrible thing to do; I know it serves no purpose other than to get me to do more of it, taking my money in ever larger fistfuls as I plunge deeper and deeper into the mire of addiction. But there I was. I was back on the Fifa. (Or rather, the EA Sports FC 24, as they lost the official rights.)It was a 10-hour free trial on Xbox Live. Ten hours, that'll be OK, I told myself. Just a taste. See what it's like after 30 months away. And before I know it, I'm into Ultimate Team again. This is the gaming equivalent of standing outside your ex-wife's house trying to see what toys her new fella has bought for your kids. Continue reading...
OnePlus 12 review: smartphone left behind by top rivals
A slick screen, top chip and long battery life are let down by lack of advanced AI and short support lifeOnePlus's latest top phone can't shake the feeling of being left behind by rivals.Even with a sleek appearance, speedy software and longer battery life the OnePlus 12 is devoid of the much-hyped AI tools packed into handsets from Samsung, Google and others. It feels more like a phone from 2020 than from the new era of artificial intelligence. Continue reading...
Huge cybersecurity leak lifts lid on world of China’s hackers for hire
Leaked files shows range of services offered and bought, with data harvested from targets worldwideA big leak of data from a Chinese cybersecurity firm has revealed state security agents paying tens of thousands of pounds to harvest data on targets, including foreign governments, while hackers hoover up huge amounts of information on any person or institution who might be of interest to their prospective clients.The cache of more than 500 leaked files from the Chinese firm I-Soon was posted on the developer website Github and is thought by cybersecurity experts to be genuine. Some of the targets discussed include Nato and the UK Foreign Office. Continue reading...
Large-scale cellular phone outage hits AT&T customers across the US
More than 70,000 affected as users of AT&T report disruptions including to emergency service callsA cellular phone outage hit cities across the US early on Thursday. Thousands of AT&T customers reported service disruptions that rendered them unable to send texts, access the internet or make calls, even to emergency services via 911.More than 50,000 incidents were reported at about 7am ET, according to data from the outage tracking website Downdetector.com. Outage reports spiked above 70,000 around 9am ET. Continue reading...
AI deepfakes come of age as billions prepare to vote in a bumper year of elections
Governments and tech companies are locked in debate over how best to police an information ecosystem that is at serious risk of disruptionWhat a bunch of malarkey."Gail Huntley recognised the gravelly voice of Joe Biden as soon as she picked up the phone. Huntley, a 73-year-old resident of New Hampshire, was planning to vote for the president in the state's upcoming primary, so she was confused that a pre-recorded message from him was urging her not to. Continue reading...
Reddit files for initial public offering ahead of stock market debut
The platform's listing, expected in March, would be the largest IPO by a social media company since Pinterest went public in 2019Reddit set the stage for its highly anticipated stock market debut, preparing investors for the largest initial public offering by a major social network in four years.A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday disclosed the financial performance of the social media group, and revealed that Sam Altman, the OpenAI founder and CEO, is its third-largest shareholder, with an 8.7% stake. Continue reading...
Apple says Spotify wants ‘limitless’ access to its tools without paying
US tech firm condemns streamer for seeking to overturn its App Store rules as EU judgment is expectedApple has condemned Spotify over the long-running competition complaint filed with the EU that could see the tech company face a huge fine if found guilty.After reports the bloc has concluded its investigation into the music streaming service's claims of anti-competitive behaviour by Apple over its App Store rules, with the prospect of a 500m (425m) fine, the iPhone manufacturer has accused Spotify of trying to get limitless" access to its tools without paying. Continue reading...
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth review – a miracle of fan-service
PlayStation 5; Square Enix
Google pauses AI-generated images of people after ethnicity criticism
Company says it will adjust its Gemini model after criticism of ethnically diverse Vikings and second world war German soldiersGoogle has put a temporary block on its new artificial intelligence model producing images of people after it portrayed German second world war soldiers and Vikings as people of colour.The tech company said it would stop its Gemini model generating images of people after social media users posted examples of images generated by the tool that depicted some historical figures - including popes and the founding fathers of the US - in a variety of ethnicities and genders. Continue reading...
Best podcasts of the week: Joe Lycett finally explains his poo podcast prank
In this week's newsletter: The comedian, with the help of Gary Lineker, unveils his Turdcast, and it's tummy-achingly joyful. Plus: five of the best survival stories Don't get Hear Here delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereElectoral Dysfunction
Nvidia reports enormous revenue as AI hits a tipping point
Revenue at artificial intelligence chipmaker up more than 250% as CEO says demand is surging worldwide'The artificial intelligence boom is pushing demand for Nvidia's products past Wall Street's already lofty expectations.The chipmaker beat analyst expectations on Wednesday by leaps and bounds when it reported fourth-quarter earnings, posting $22.1bn in revenue on an expected $20.55bn and $4.93 in earnings per share against an expected $4.64. Revenue was 22% higher than the previous quarter, up 265% from a year ago. Continue reading...
German town votes against Tesla plans to expand ‘gigafactory’
Bosses promise to go back to drawing board while carmaker faces industrial action from another union in SwedenThe people of a small German town where Elon Musk has built a Tesla factory have thrown a spanner in the works by rejecting plans to expand the complex.The majority of residents of Grunheide in Brandenburg, an hour's drive south-east of Berlin, voted against proposals to build new infrastructure intended to improve access to the site and allow easier transport of the finished vehicles, including a freight depot and warehouses. Continue reading...
Pushing Buttons: The end of the toxic ‘console war’ between Xbox and PlayStation
In this week's newsletter: Xbox's big announcement' is an opportunity to call an end to manufactured rivalries Don't get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereMicrosoft's big Xbox announcement last week turned out to be something of an anticlimax: just four games, none of them particularly earth-shattering, are making their way to PlayStation or Nintendo Switch in the near future. (Annoyingly, Microsoft's executives refused to name them, but it was later reported by Famitsu and the Verge that the games in question are Sea of Thieves, Grounded, Pentiment and Hi-Fi Rush, which lines up with what I've heard from other sources.)Microsoft is neither exiting the console market nor taking all its games multiplatform, as whipped-up rumour mongers had wildly speculated. And the (excellent value) Xbox Game Pass subscription service is remaining exclusive to Xbox and PC. Continue reading...
Enoch Mailangi: the 10 funniest things I have ever seen (on the internet)
The internet is a godless institution' for the screenwriter and enfant terrible - who proves it via serial killers, sex toy scandals, and an ode to Saoirse Ronan
Stop putting your wet iPhone in rice, says Apple. Here’s what to do instead
Putting your device in a bag of rice could allow small particles of rice to damage your iPhone', the company warnedNo matter how your phone gets soaked - you're caught in a downpour, you drop it in the bath or you fall in a pool - perhaps the best-known folk remedy is to put the device in a bag of rice. The dry, absorbent rice should help suck out the moisture, rescuing your device, so the theory goes. Experts have for years pointed out that's a bad idea - and now Apple is officially warning users not to do it.Don't put your iPhone in a bag of rice. Doing so could allow small particles of rice to damage your iPhone," the company says in a recent support note spotted by Macworld. Along with the risk of damage, testing has suggested uncooked rice is not particularly effective at drying the device.Don't dry your iPhone using an external heat source or compressed air."Don't insert a foreign object, such as a cotton swab or a paper towel, into the connector." Continue reading...
Skull and Bones review – yo ho ho and some pockets of fun
PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, PC; Ubisoft
As a teacher, I know the damage phones do to kids. But this new ban won’t make a shred of difference | Nadeine Asbali
Most schools in England already ban mobiles. If it wants to make a change, the government should fund youth clubs and social activitiesLook around next time you are out and you will see that children's addiction to smartphones nowadays often begins long before they've started school. By the age of 12, 97% of children will own their own phone. There is a growing body of evidence pointing to an alarming link between the time children spend on smartphones, and the access they provide to social media, with the likelihood of experiencing bullying, problems with self-esteem and even self-harm. So, in a bid to curb the damage to the next generation, the government has now issued statutory guidance on prohibiting their use in schools altogether.As a (reluctantly) online millennial, I grew up alongside the internet. Our relationship has developed from chatting on MSN and playing Club Penguin on the clunky PC in the corner of the dining room (so long as my mum didn't need to use the landline), to the iPhone that now lives in my pocket, seems as attached to my body as my own limbs and contains much of what I need to survive. But I am also a secondary school teacher, and you only need a single break-time spent dealing with the drama caused by a social-media comment to conclude that phones in the classroom bring nothing but disruption to what should be a calm and safe place of learning.Nadeine Asbali is a secondary school teacher in London Continue reading...
Seized ransomware network LockBit rewired to expose hackers to world
Four arrested and LockBit victims will get help to recover data after joint operation in UK, US and EuropeThe entire command and control" apparatus for the ransomware group LockBit is now in possession of law enforcement, the UK's National Crime Agency has revealed, after it emerged that it had seized the criminal gang's website in a coordinated international operation.The flood of data hacked back from the hackers has already led to four arrests, and the authorities promised on Tuesday to repurpose the technology to expose the group's operations to the world. Continue reading...
TechScape: Why the EU is taking a €500m bite out of Apple
Apple has been fighting allegations about its music streaming business for years, but the company could still emerge with its head held high Don't get TechScape delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the full article hereAnother week, another clash between Apple and European regulators. According to the Financial Times, the company is facing a massive fine for alleged anti-competitive conduct in its music streaming business. From its story:The fine, which is in the region of 500mn and is expected to be announced early next month, is the culmination of a European Commission antitrust probe into whether Apple has used its own platform to favour its services over those of competitors.The probe is investigating whether Apple blocked apps from informing iPhone users of cheaper alternatives to access music subscriptions outside the App Store.Apple's App Store is an important distribution platform for Spotify. But Apple takes a 30% commission on all sales made through the App Store - including music streaming subscriptions - which Spotify and many other third-party app developers have long complained is an unfair tax".Apple requires that Spotify and other digital services pay a 30% tax on purchases made through Apple's payment system, including upgrading from our free to our premium service," said Daniel Ek, Spotify co-founder and chief executive, in a blog post. Continue reading...
Drones could deliver medical supplies under UK travel watchdog plans
CAA proposes allowing operators to fly drones at low heights beyond the line of sightDrones could be used for critical medical deliveries, as well as for inspections of railways, power lines and roads, under proposals put forward by the UK's air travel watchdog.The proposals, set out in a consultation published on Monday by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), would allow operators to fly their drones safely beyond the line of sight. Continue reading...
Solar storms, ice cores and nuns’ teeth: the new science of history
Advances in fields such as spectrometry and gene sequencing are unleashing torrents of new data about the ancient world - and could offer answers to questions we never even knew to askScythians did terrible things. Two-thousand five-hundred years ago, these warrior nomads, who lived in the grasslands of what is now southern Ukraine, enjoyed a truly ferocious reputation. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, the Scythians drank the blood of their fallen enemies, took their heads back to their king and made trinkets out of their scalps. Sometimes, they draped whole human skins over their horses and used smaller pieces of human leather to make the quivers that held the deadly arrows for which they were famous.Readers have long doubted the truth of this story, as they did many of Herodotus's more outlandish tales, gathered from all corners of the ancient world. (Not for nothing was the father of history" also known as the father of lies" in antiquity.) Recently, though, evidence has come to light that vindicates his account. In 2023, a team of scientists at the University of Copenhagen, led by Luise Orsted Brandt, tested the composition of leather goods, including several quivers, recovered from Scythian tombs in Ukraine. By using a form of mass spectrometry, which let them read the molecular barcode" of biological samples, the team found that while most of the Scythian leather came from sheep, goats, cows and horses, two of the quivers contained pieces of human skin. Herodotus's texts are sometimes questioned for their historical content, and some of the things he writes seem to be a little mythological, but in this case we could prove that he was right," Brandt told me recently. Continue reading...
Prolific cybercrime gang disrupted by joint UK, US and EU operation
LockBit's website under control of security agencies from both sides of Atlantic, according to postLockBit, a notorious cybercrime gang that holds its victims' data to ransom, has been disrupted in a rare international law enforcement operation by Britain's National Crime Agency, the FBI, Europol and a coalition of international police agencies, according to a post on the gang's extortion website.This site is now under the control of the National Crime Agency of the UK, working in close cooperation with the FBI and the international law enforcement taskforce Operation Cronos'," the post said on Monday. Continue reading...
Why is Apple facing a €500m fine from EU over music streaming?
After a complaint by Spotify European Commission will reportedly hand down punishment after Apple imposed unfair trading conditions'
EU opens investigation into TikTok over online content and child safeguarding
Video platform under scrutiny over potential breach of Digital Services Act in areas such as age verificationThe EU has launched a formal investigation into whether TikTok has broken online content rules including the safeguarding of children.The European Commission said it had opened official proceedings against the Chinese-owned short video platform over potential breaches of the Digital Services Act (DSA). Continue reading...
Disconnect Me review – man attempts digital cold turkey in personal-challenge journey
With a subject as complex as monitoring the effects of smartphone use, Alex Lykos's film could have paid more attention to sourcing and methodologyIt's digital detox time for film-maker Alex Lykos, as he attempts to go cold turkey on his phone and other devices for 30 days for this documentary belonging to the lower-budget end of the sub-genre of personal challenge films; previous entries include the likes of Super Size Me (man eats lots of fast food) and America Unchained (man tries to travel across America without giving any money to multinationals).Lykos begins his offline odyssey with a fun potted history of the mobile phone, starting with a 1973 model which is heavier than a four-pint carton of milk. (This comparison is illustrated by Lykos walking along holding said carton of milk to his ear.) The film is strongest in these lighter sections which lean into Lykos' naturally upbeat high-school science teacher vibe. These handy pop-quiz explainers are peppered with stats around smartphone use - there are eight billion smartphones in existence today, we apparently touch them 2,600 times a day, and Lykos himself spends an average of six hours a day using his. Continue reading...
Ever wanted to play Mario Kart accompanied by a live jazz band? In Oklahoma, you can
In Oklahoma City, a five-piece band has been putting an authentic musical accent on local Mario Kart tournamentsVideo game soundtracks don't come more iconic than Mario Kart. As the characters, circuits and power-ups have evolved from the Super Nintendo Entertainment System(SNES) to the N64, Wii and Switch, so has the music. Each new interpretation comes with the familiar melodies from earlier Mario Karts alongside new tunes. What could enhance the experience further than having a live jazz band playing the familiar Mario Kart tunes as you race?There's always been this really natural pairing between video games and their soundtracks," explains Mario Kart 8 Live drummer Ethan Neel, who also plays with US alt-rock band Johnny Manchild and the Poor Bastards and is speaking with his bandmates from Oklahoma. Continue reading...
Ministers confirm plan to ban use of mobile phones in schools in England
Teaching unions say guidance includes practices already adopted and most schools already have policies in placeMinisters have confirmed plans to ban the use of mobile phones in English schools, releasing guidance for headteachers that some unions said included practices that had already been widely adopted.However, one headteacher welcomed the Department for Education (DfE) plan, saying it would help give schools the confidence to make a change that would benefit pupils but could meet resistance from parents. Continue reading...
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