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Dune: Awakening studio faces layoffs as it restructures following console release
Funcom is restructuring and expects to reduce its workforce after completing major development on Dune: Awakening. The Norwegian studio says the shift to running and expanding the live game requires a different organisation, and it cannot sustain the larger team assembled during peak production. The restructuring begins now, though Funcom has not said how many…
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Sandbanks property developer’s plans for ‘soulless stack of boxes’ in luxury area are refused for a third time after neighbours said it would block the sun
Mark Perkins has been refused planning permission for a third time to replace a Sandbanks chalet bungalow with a three-storey, flat-roofed house. Councillors rejected the proposal despite planning officers recommending approval, citing concerns about its overbearing effect on neighbours Lesley and Robert Jefferies, including reduced light and privacy. The Jefferies’ home shares a wall and…
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US teenagers accessed image manipulation apps despite parental safeguards
A report by the Tech Transparency Project found that US teenagers could download apps capable of creating non-consensual nude or sexual images, despite Apple and Google’s app rules and parental controls. The findings matter because schools are seeing cases in which students use such tools to make sexualised images of classmates. Researchers set up Apple…
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How Elizabeth Holmes Tricked WIRED—and Everyone Else
WIRED reflects on how its favourable 2014 interview with Elizabeth Holmes helped present Theranos as a compelling example of Silicon Valley innovation. The article examines the magazine’s role in amplifying Holmes’ claims, amid wider enthusiasm for technology that promised people more control over their health. At the time, Holmes was celebrated as a young billionaire…
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Microsoft refused permission to appeal resale licence ruling to Supreme Court
Microsoft has failed to secure permission from the Court of Appeal to take its dispute with ValueLicensing to the UK Supreme Court. The case concerns whether ValueLicensing can resell pre-owned software licences, and the refusal leaves Microsoft facing further court scrutiny over its handling of surplus licences. The dispute began in 2021, when ValueLicensing sued…
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AI spending is rising as software and advertising revenues face disruption
The article argues that AI is disrupting the business models of the companies investing heavily in it. AI-assisted cloning could produce functional alternatives to products such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite, potentially weakening software firms’ ability to rely on proprietary code and customer lock-in. The cloned applications are described as incomplete, buggy, and…
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Busan Winner ‘Ria,’ Arvin Belarmino’s Folk-Punk Debut, Boards Lights On (EXCLUSIVE)
Filipino filmmaker Arvin Belarmino’s debut feature “Ria” has been acquired by international sales company Lights On after premiering at the Busan International Film Festival, where it won the Heart of Eurasia Award. The deal gives the folk-punk drama international sales representation as it begins reaching audiences beyond the festival circuit. The film follows a young…
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Leaving Instagram helped one journalist feel more present in everyday life
A journalist says deleting Instagram helped her escape the pressure of shaping experiences for an online audience and checking whether posts won approval. A year on, she says the change has made everyday moments feel more personal and helped her be more present. She first used the app at 17, but later spent time staging…
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Engineer’s delayed computer prank startled former colleague years later
An engineering student working at an Australian mobile carrier in the late 1990s devised a delayed prank against a colleague who repeatedly startled him by roaring in his ear. The story shows how a workplace joke escalated into a carefully timed piece of payback. The engineer wrote a harmless program that mimicked a disk format,…
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ConnectWise suspends three cloud services after unauthorised access in backup environment
ConnectWise suspended Cloud Backup and its linked SaaS Security and Cloud Management services after finding unauthorised access to application identities in its backup environment. The move is a precaution while the company investigates and remediates the incident; it does not by itself mean that MSPs or their customers’ systems were compromised. The outage matters because…