Month: July 2022

Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course review – a mind-bending feast for the senses

(Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC; Studio MDHR)This follow-up to the acclaimed 2017 cartoon shooter is a gauntlet of boss fights against outlandish flora and fauna with an eye-pleasing nod to classic animation There’s a heist on: a cow has seized a saloon in the wild west and you must bring her to justice. …

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The problem with Uber’s ‘break it till you make it’ tactics

Why the tech giant’s aggressive approach to growth may only encourage future startups. Plus: the latest in Elon’s Twitterverse A massive leak of confidential internal documents about Uber has cast new light on the strategies the cab-hailing company took to reach the top of its game. Goodbye “fake it till you make it”, hello “break …

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Influence Empire by Lulu Chen review – the story of China’s Tencent

A fascinating study of the tech giant and its symbiotic relationship with the Chinese government Five years ago, the Chinese tech company Tencent overtook Facebook to become the fifth largest company in the world. Though it’s still an unfamiliar name to many in the west, Tencent is a major stakeholder in tech companies and products …

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Dialysis machine inspired by juice dispenser wins UK engineering prize

Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert award-winner could transform lives of kidney disease patients, say experts A home dialysis machine inspired by technology used in fruit juice dispensers has won the UK’s most prestigious engineering prize. The device, made by Quanta, is currently used by about 50 patients in the UK, but more than a dozen …

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Twitter sues Elon Musk over bid to exit $44bn takeover deal

Company seeks to force completion of sale, saying billionaire ‘refuses to honor his obligations’ Twitter sued Elon Musk on Tuesday to force a US court to complete his $44bn takeover of the social media giant after a dramatic few weeks of speculation that the deal was falling apart. “Musk entered into a binding merger agreement …

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No fear: the New Zealand virtual reality app helping conquer phobias

Researchers found the app, which gradually exposes people to their worst fears, can greatly reduce phobia symptoms In the days leading up to an injection, Julie Raine’s mind would fog over with fear – she was convinced the needle would harm her. On the day of the injection, after a sleepless night, she would try …

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Pushing Buttons: Is it game over for gaming’s pandemic boom?

The global market grew to almost $200bn in recent years, but such massive growth isn’t sustainable. But the industry has a few things on the horizon to console themselves Don’t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up here During the pandemic, video games have had an unprecedented boom while pretty much every other …

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Classics and cash-ins: the unsung brilliance of video game compilations

Live Ammo, Solid Gold, Zzap! 64 – game collections were a staple of every gamers’ diet and are as nourishing today as they were when they were released on cassette in the 1980s It’s been a busy month for nostalgic video game compilations. Sonic Origins collects the first four Sonic the Hedgehog titles, the Capcom …

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‘They were taking us for a ride’: how Uber used investor cash to seduce drivers

Firm faces ongoing battles over workers’ rights and unpaid waiting times after drawing in drivers with huge subsidies In the middle of the national rail strike last month when demand for cabs was sky-high, a group of Uber drivers decided they, too, would strike for 24 hours. A few hundred of them marched in protest …

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