Month: September 2021

Houseparty is over: video chat app that boomed in lockdown meets its end

Epic Games withdraws software from app stores and will fully shut it down in October Houseparty, a video chat app that surged in popularity when lockdowns were first imposed last year, is to close down. The platform allows people to virtually drop in to video chatrooms with friends and experienced a spike in demand during …

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Nuisance calls could lead to multimillion-pound fines in UK

Ministers considering bringing punishment in line with GDPR, which can issue fine of up to £17.5m Multimillion-pound fines could be imposed for nuisance or fraudulent calls and texts under a proposed overhaul of the UK’s data rules. Companies behind nuisance communications can be fined £500,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) but ministers are considering …

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From GoldenEye to South Park: 10 of the best video games based on films and TV shows

Taking the greatest bits of their source material, these games allow players to enter the worlds they love via epic lightsaber battles and balletic flights of fancy While TV shows and movies adapted from games remain, generally, rubbish, there is no such curse the other way round. This seminal James Bond tie-in is the best …

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Vogue goes back to the 2000s – podcasts of the week

Prepare for near-past nostalgia, as Anna Wintour and co hail Y2K, via Juicy tracksuits and Sarah Jessica Parker. Plus: a scripted sci-fi adventure with Kesha In Vogue: the 2000sExpect a smart, stylish production full of near-past nostalgia, as the perma-bobbed queen of Vogue herself, Anna Wintour, fronts a podcast on fashion’s enduring obsession with Y2K. …

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China’s cultural crackdown: few areas untouched as Xi reshapes society

Vast range of new regulations on society prompt fears of a return to tight control of pre-reform days On the second floor of a nondescript concrete building in north-east Beijing, the Youyou internet cafe is less than half full. Quiet and dark, the cafe’s customers are all adults, sitting in brown sofas in front of …

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How to photograph the moon on your phone or camera with the right settings

Guardian Australia picture editor Carly Earl explains the dos and don’ts of taking pictures of the moon When a full moon rises, many people will pull out their mobile phones to try and take an Instagram-worthy picture, but unfortunately the moon is really challenging to get a great photo of. Two reasons: it is very …

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Life Is Strange: True Colours review – an earnest drama about a psychic empath

PlayStation 4/5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC; Deck Nine/Square EnixInteractive possibilities make this dorky tale about a small-town psychic musician strangely absorbing The idea of moving somewhere picturesque for a fresh start is fast becoming as common a trope in video games as it is in TV, film and books. In this slice-of-life melodrama from Colorado …

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Three becomes latest mobile firm to bring back roaming charges

End to almost five years of free roaming across Europe will come into effect from 23 May 2022 Three is to reintroduce charges for using their phones when travelling abroad, ending almost five years of free mobile phone roaming across Europe for their customers. Three is the latest of Britain’s biggest mobile companies to bring …

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