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Porn site company fined £630,000 over failed age checks
Ofcom has fined the operator of the pornography site Fapello £630,000 for failing to verify the ages of its UK users, as required under rules introduced in July 2025. Since that date, sites hosting adult content must use “highly effective” age assurance to confirm that UK visitors are aged 18 or over, a measure the…
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The Mary Wallopers on “Irish expression” and “heavier” new album ‘Paddywhackery’: “If the English knew what happened, they wouldn’t be so quick to be marching with St George’s crosses”
Irish rebel folk band The Mary Wallopers have spoken to NME about their third studio album, ‘Paddywhackery’, which they describe as their “heavier” and most original record to date. Due for release on 18 September, the album chronicles the isolation of living as an Irish outsider in England, and its arrival cements the Dundalk band’s…
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Doom and Quake studio id Software reportedly gutted, leaving standalone capabilities in doubt and newly revealed game ideas dead
The scale of Microsoft’s Xbox cuts at id Software, the legendary studio behind Doom and Quake, has become clearer, and it is severe. According to an official WARN notice filed in Texas, 136 of the roughly 185 people working at id Software as of December 2025 have been made redundant, leaving fewer than 50 staff.…
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Google turns old phones into cloud servers
Google and researchers at the University of California San Diego have unveiled a project called “phone cluster computing”, which repurposes retired smartphones as low-carbon cloud servers rather than discarding them as electronic waste. The scheme matters because the AI boom is driving soaring demand for computing power, chips, electricity and cooling, while billions of phones…
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Microsoft Layoffs Cut id Software’s Game Pitches, Including Perfect Dark Reboot and John Wick-Inspired Cyberpunk Title
Microsoft’s recent mass layoffs impacted id Software with approximately 136 job cuts, affecting the Doom developer as the team was finalising downloadable content for Doom: The Dark Ages. Prior to the redundancies, the s
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Amseatec Criss Cross Office Chair Review: Just Right
WIRED reviewer Nicole Kinning tests the Amseatec Criss Cross Office Chair, a desk chair designed to accommodate people who like to sit cross-legged, tuck a leg underneath, or otherwise shift out of conventional posture. The reviewer, who has long-standing sciatica following a teenage hamstring injury, found it a strong solution after previously trying meditation chairs,…
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The best Star Wars TV show could have been Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible in space
The gaming website Polygon has reported that the acclaimed Star Wars series Andor was originally conceived as a very different show — a Cold War-style spy drama in the vein of the original Mission: Impossible television series. The revelation comes from the official behind-the-scenes companion book, The Art of Andor, and matters because it shows…
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Mouse: P.I. for Hire’s Latest Update Is Available Now on PS5, and It’s Enormous
The black-and-white indie game Mouse: P.I. for Hire has received a substantial new update on PS5, bringing it to version 1.2.1, which is available to download now. The patch matters to players because it delivers an exceptionally long list of improvements and bug fixes across nearly every part of the game, making it a worthwhile…
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Data Centers Are Quietly Taking Over Texas. The Pollution Could Be Catastrophic
A Floodlight investigation has found that data centres are rapidly proliferating across Texas, often building large fossil-fuel power plants with minimal public scrutiny. The report centres on OpenAI’s flagship “Stargate” data centre in Abilene, whose 360-megawatt on-site gas plant sits just 500 yards from the home of resident Omaira Garcia, who says she learned of…
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An alleged member of a hacking group was caught, thanks to one hated Windows feature
Good news and bad news then?