To borrow from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, 2022 is not a year on which the cryptocurrency world shall look back with undiluted pleasure. Crashes, contagion, collapses came in such quick succession that investors were, towards the end of the year, asking serious existential questions. After all, the largest cryptocurrency, bitcoin, has not kept its head above water for more than a…
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Dwarf Fortress, a quirky independent video game that has been free since its 2006 release, is now among the online marketplace Steam’s best-sellers — to the surprise of its US creators. Set in a medieval fantasy world, Dwarf Fortress is what’s known in the gaming world as a “construction and management simulation,” in which players supervise a group of dwarves…
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When French artist Albertine Meunier discovered in 2006 that Google was storing her entire search history, she decided to retaliate in a unique and “very boring” way: publishing it all in a book. “At that time, it was difficult to access your own data, so I had to copy and paste incessantly,” Meunier told AFP in her small gallery in…
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From Super Mario to Final Fantasy, Japan has long been synonymous with gaming, but some experts and parents fear a growing addiction problem is going unaddressed. While nearby nations like China and South Korea have imposed drastic restrictions on youth gaming in recent years — with mixed results — some Japanese families feel they are being left to deal with…
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The metaverse is a concern because it will encourage more screen time and damage human connections, the producer of the Abba Voyage show says. Svana Gisla told Britain’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee that the technology “scares” her and does not represent an obvious improvement on digital experiences. Abba Voyage, a physical concert featuring four 3D digital versions of…
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Elon Musk’s chaotic takeover of Twitter has snowballed into a full-blown catastrophe, with large parts of the company reportedly refusing to commit to the billionaire’s plans for a new “hardcore” work culture. The platform might still be live, and yet #RIPTwitter has been trending as reports circulate, both in tech media and on the platform, that many employees critical to the company’s…
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Nigeria’s famed Benin bronzes — artefacts stolen during British colonial rule and scattered across the globe — have a new online archive that aims to become a digital record of the treasures. Thousands of 16th to 18th century metal plaques, sculptures and objects were looted from the ancient Kingdom of Benin and ended up in museums and with art collectors…
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The mysticism that has allowed tech firms to make billions of dollars from surveillance is finally clearing, the boss of encrypted messaging app Signal told AFP. Meredith Whittaker, who spent years working for Google before helping to organise a staff walkout in 2018 over working conditions, said tech was “valorised” and “fetishised” when she first began in the industry in…
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Indian engineer Stephen Wesley was puzzled when he was asked to take a typing test during an interview for a graphic design job in Thailand – but put it out of his mind when he got the role. Hours after landing in Bangkok to start work in July, Wesley and seven other new recruits were instead ferried over the border…
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Set to take place between November 10 to 13, the second iteration of the multi-genre event will see the Black Sabbath legend perform virtually with other acts set to be confirmed for Ozzfest at MVMF. The festival takes place in the virtual blockchain world of Decentraland. The lineup also includes rapper Soulja Boy and DJ Dillon Francis, the latter of…
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