Talk Fuse

    Topic: Software

    Software covers the apps, platforms, games and digital services that shape how people work, play, communicate and access everyday services. It includes major product changes, developer policy, streaming and entertainment tools, as well as the business decisions behind them.

    For readers, the topic offers a view of how software affects culture, consumer choice and the wider technology industry. From mobile ecosystems and online services to game development and platform regulation, these stories show where digital products are heading and who is affected.

    • The 5 Best Songs Of The Week

      – Alex G – “Pain Is The Heart Of Love” (feat. Paul Buchanan): a spare, tritone-laced track with a wounded, warm guest vocal and droning cello that builds a gothic, romantic melancholy – Fontaines D.C. – “Marianne”: a big, dreamy synth-driven follow-up in the vein of 2024’s *Romance*, with an infectious Grian Chatten hook -…

    • FromSoftware knows what it’s doing with The Duskbloods character Zork, the internet’s new obsession: “I have developed a powerful, almost maternal affection”

      FromSoftware’s upcoming game The Duskbloods has produced an unexpected fan favourite in Zork, a character who has quickly become a talking point among players and commentators online. The character’s design and mannerisms have struck a chord with the community, with one commentator describing having developed “a powerful, almost maternal affection” for them, reflecting how the…

    • A 16-Year-Old Canon DSLR Now Runs Doom, Somehow

      A developer known as lauris-nl has built a working port of the classic 1993 game Doom for the Canon EOS 550D (also sold as the Rebel T2i), an entry-level DSLR released in 2010. The project uses Magic Lantern, open-source firmware originally designed to unlock extra photography features on Canon cameras, repurposed here to run the…

    • $100 Best Buy gift cards will be $60 at stores Saturday

      Best Buy will offer $100 gift cards for $60 in its US stores on Saturday, 22 August, as part of a one-day promotion marking the retailer’s 60th anniversary. Gift card discounts are unusual, so this effectively hands shoppers a $40 saving to spend on almost anything the chain sells, and stock is limited to what…

    • The Duskbloods network test halted over server failures

      FromSoftware was forced to shut down the first public network test for its upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 title, The Duskbloods, just a few hours after it began, blaming persistent “game server issues” that never came under control. The abrupt closure frustrated the many players, particularly in the United States, who had risen as early as…

    • Waymo hands over documents in NHTSA’s child collision probe

      Waymo has submitted documents to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as part of the agency’s investigation into a January collision in which one of its robotaxis struck a nine-year-old girl near a school in Santa Monica, California. The move suggests the probe is progressing, though the documents made public so far have been…

    • Earth, Wind & Fire Drummer Wakes From Induced Coma, Now Faces 2 Major Surgeries

      Earth, Wind & Fire drummer John Paris has regained consciousness after being placed in a medically induced coma following a medical emergency that forced the band to cancel a concert during Lionel Richie’s Sing a Song All Night Long Tour. Doctors briefly returned him to the coma to help stabilise his condition, and he remains…

    • Compulsion Games Is Now Officially An Ex-Xbox Studio

      Compulsion Games, the Canadian game developer behind South of Midnight and We Happy Few, has officially parted ways with Microsoft. After Microsoft confirmed that Compulsion was one of five Xbox studios it was divesting of, Compulsion boss Guillaume Provost has now confirmed it’s a done deal. This was hinted at recently when the Steam page…

    • Personalized pricing is “abhorrent,” but FTC limits may increase costs, critics say

      The US Federal Trade Commission is considering new limits on “personalised pricing,” the practice of using customers’ personal data to set individualised prices based on how much they might be willing to pay. While the FTC lacks authority to ban the practice outright, it says businesses could be found in violation of the FTC Act…

    • Nintendo’s War On Switch Emulators Continues With 400 More GitHub Takedowns

      Nintendo is doing what Nintendo does: issuing DMCA takedown notices to anyone who illegally offers access to any of the company’s games. That’s exactly what happened earlier this week, as Nintendo wiped out over 400 Switch emulators from GitHub. According to an August 21 TorrentFreak report, the Mario maker sent the proprietary developer platform seven…