• Bethesda's Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters won't stop the modders who've already spent years recreating the RPGs in Fallout 4

    Bethesda's Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters won't stop the modders who've already spent years recreating the RPGs in Fallout 4

    With Bethesda having begun to dip their fingers into the remaster bucket in recent years, some modders who'd decided long before that to get the ball rolling on such things themselves have had to reckon with the idea that official siblings of their passion projects could be in the works. It happened last year with… read more

  • AliExpress fined almost $630 million over illegal product sales

    AliExpress fined almost $630 million over illegal product sales

    AliExpress has been hit with a €550 million (about $629 million) fine for violating Europe's Digital Services Act (DSA) rules by failing to prevent illegal, unsafe, or counterfeit products from being sold on the e-commerce platform. The European Commission ruled that AliExpress didn't take effective measures to reduce the dissemination of illegal products, noting the… read more

  • Valve see the great RAM shortage "getting worse," just in case you were clinging to hopes of a cheaper Steam Machine

    Valve see the great RAM shortage "getting worse," just in case you were clinging to hopes of a cheaper Steam Machine

    As Oisin reported over the weekend, Steam Machine engineers Yazan Aldehayyat and Pierre-Loup Griffais gave a big Valve thumbs-down to the practice of platform exclusives – a hot topic in the context of Xbox owners Microsoft retreating back into whatever kind of shrivelled, joyless husk Xbox is nowadays. The same interview, with Bloomberg scoopsmith Jason… read more

  • Forbidden Solitaire is a wonderful reminder games are powerful cultural artefacts that demand to be preserved

    Forbidden Solitaire is a wonderful reminder games are powerful cultural artefacts that demand to be preserved

    Not so long ago, I found a stash of my old ZX Spectrum games in the attic. And rummaging through those tatty boxes – the old half-forgotten bargain bin bangers, the illicit passed-around-the-playground compilation tapes – it wasn't the games I found myself thinking about, it was the memories around them. My mind leapt back… read more

  • The Sunday Papers

    The Sunday Papers

    Sundays are for realising that there's a car in Japan's Super GT racing series this year which is sponsored by horse girl game Umamusume Pretty Derby. Here it is. It's been racing in the GT300 category against, among other cars, a Mercedes sponsored by Hatsune Miku. I'm not sure I like them as much as… read more

  • The Clapper was a bad smart home gadget — and a viral sensation

    The Clapper was a bad smart home gadget — and a viral sensation

    Clap on. Clap off. Well, more like, Clap, pause for half a beat but no longer because otherwise it'll stop hearing you, clap again because you waited too long, clap louder and faster, that didn't work, clap two more times, and suddenly: on. The Clapper didn't always work – and even when it did, it… read more

  • US Marshals arrest the Tate brothers in Miami

    US Marshals arrest the Tate brothers in Miami

    The manosphere influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate were arrested Saturday in Miami by US Marshals in relation to new rape and sex trafficking charges in England. According to the Associated Press, British authorities are seeking the brothers' extradition. The new charges facing Andrew Tate include seven counts of rape, three of sex trafficking, three counts… read more

  • Birdfy’s solar-powered smart feeder is down to one of its best prices

    Birdfy’s solar-powered smart feeder is down to one of its best prices

    Birdfy has kicked off a midyear sale, taking up to 40 percent off a range of its smart bird feeders. One of the best deals is on Netvue’s Birdfy Feeder AI-Powered Smart Bird Feeder with Camera, which has dropped to $149.99 at Birdfy and is its second-best price to date. The bundle, which includes a… read more

  • Orchid is a delightfully retro and approachable hipster synth

    Orchid is a delightfully retro and approachable hipster synth

    In 2017, I bought an old Magnus chord organ off Craigslist for $10. It's one of my favorite music gear purchases. Electric chord organs let you play full chords with just a press of a button, making them perfect for aspiring singer-songwriters or fooling around at home. But chord organs largely fell out of favor… read more

  • The FBI reportedly won’t investigate ICE anymore

    The FBI reportedly won’t investigate ICE anymore

    According to the New York Times, federal agents have been told that the FBI will no longer be investigating confrontations involving ICE agents. The DHS and DOJ denied the change in policy to The Times. The reported change in guidance follows renewed scrutiny of violence by ICE agents who have killed two people in the… read more

  • I hate that I don’t hate this song made with Suno

    I hate that I don’t hate this song made with Suno

    I would never go so far as to say there's no place for AI in music (I'm a fan of Holly Herndon, after all). But I generally find music made with generative AI to be offensively boring, especially the outputs of Suno. So I'm having a bit of a tough time processing the fact that… read more

  • 🆓 Free: The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is free on Steam — choices matter, and then ruin your day

    🆓 Free: The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is free on Steam — choices matter, and then ruin your day

    The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is free on Steam — choices matter, and then ruin your day This game is currently available for free for a limited time. Grab it before the offer expires. Claim Free Game read more