Modern video games boast longer and longer playtimes – but does the idea of spending hundreds of hours on a game make you feel excited, or exhausted? In the winter of 1996, I almost lost my job because of the acclaimed management sim Civilization II. I was supposed to be reviewing it for the video …
The NGO Nana is upending gender norms in conservative Sokoto state, where one in 20 girls finish secondary school The green-and-red Nana Female Mechanic Garage sign is visible from the main road into Sokoto city. Behind its sliding iron gate, Zainab Dayyabu stomps around in heavy work boots and a blue jumpsuit, her hands callused …
Driving change: the all-female garage shifting attitudes in northern Nigeria Read More »
Platform is not doing enough to tackle spread of falsehoods, claims letter signed by 80 groups YouTube is a major conduit of online disinformation and misinformation worldwide and is not doing enough to tackle the spread of falsehoods on its platform, according to a global coalition of factchecking organisations. A letter signed by more than …
YouTube is major conduit of fake news, factcheckers say Read More »
Josh Wardle developed game to play with his partner – and now more than 2m others have joined in Wordle, a deceptively simple online word puzzle, has had a meteoric rise since its launch last autumn, from 90 daily players in November to 300,000 at the beginning of January, to 2 million last weekend. But, …
Wordle creator overwhelmed by global success of hit puzzle Read More »
In this week’s newsletter: actual, lasting change to toxic ‘studio culture’ is an expensive problem to solve – but more costly to ignore Don’t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Welcome to Pushing Buttons, the Guardian’s gaming newsletter. If you’d like to receive it in your inbox every week, just pop …
What’s actually being done about workplace harassment in the video games industry Read More »
From ‘bubble barriers’ to floating drones, a host of new projects aim to stop plastic pollution before it ever reaches the ocean The Great Bubble Barrier is just that – a wall of bubbles. It gurgles across the water in a diagonal screen, pushing plastic to one side while allowing fish and other wildlife to …
Meet Mr Trash Wheel – and the other ingenious tools that eat river plastic Read More »
There’s no surer way to date yourself than the way you use your mobile. From leaving voicemails to leaving voice notes, each generation has a different etiquette A lot of people, particularly at this self-improvement stage of the year, spend a great deal of time worrying about what makes them look old. Is it the …
The maker of Grand Theft Auto adds popular farming game and Harry Potter to roster to create gaming giant The maker of hit video games including the Grand Theft Auto franchise is to acquire Zynga, best known for its FarmVille and Harry Potter titles, in a $12.7bn (£9.4bn) deal that will create a global console …
Take-Two acquires Farmville creator Zynga in £9.4bn deal Read More »
Starlink’s satellite internet performance has fallen victim to felines attracted to the warmth its dish gives off on cold days Elon Musk’s satellite internet company, Starlink, has ambitious plans to bring internet access to people anywhere in the world. But it turns out the venture is providing another service: warming up cats. A customer tweeted …
Cat on a hot satellite dish: Elon Musk’s Starlink antenna hits surprise problem Read More »
EU police body accused of unlawfully holding information and aspiring to become an NSA-style mass surveillance agency The EU’s police agency, Europol, will be forced to delete much of a vast store of personal data that it has been found to have amassed unlawfully by the bloc’s data protection watchdog. The unprecedented finding from the …
A data ‘black hole’: Europol ordered to delete vast store of personal data Read More »
