Pokémon was a key part of my childhood. Now it's 25, I feel old

I surfed first-wave Pokémania. Today, the video games are as much a part of kids’ fiction as DisneyLast weekend marked the 25th anniversary of Pokémon Red and Blue (or Red and Green in their native Japan), the first video games in a series that truly would take over the world. Continue reading...

1h

PixelJunk Raiders review – space adventure carries too much baggage

PC; Q-Games Its mix of planetary scavenging, alien-hunting and funky artwork ought to be a smash, but sluggish mechanics and onerous mission demands diminish the funA space rescue adventure from Kyoto’s inimitable Q-Games, PixelJunk Raiders has the bones of a great action game. Its mix of planetary exploration, scavenging and alien-killing is unusual...

1h

A rhapsody for Queen fans – podcasts of the week

Queenpod offers a track-by-track, album-by-album look at the rock legends. Plus: women DJs from around the world, and a different spin on falling head over heelsQueenpod What Simon Lupton – documentarian and Queen archivist – and superfans John Robins and Sooz Kempner don’t know about the shapeshifting rock legends probably isn’t worth knowing. In this...

8h

Experts warn Covid vaccines being sold on darknet likely to be scams

Doses bought online could be unsafe or ineffective, and buyers’ money or personal information stolen, Australia’s regulator saysAustralia Covid vaccine tracker: how is the rollout progressing and when will you get the jab?Three major Covid-19 vaccines are being advertised for sale on the darknet – the part of the internet not visible to search engines...

10h

What is cryptoart, how much does it cost and can you hang it on your wall?

When is a meme worth $600,000? When technology has created a ‘unique’ version that can’t be owned by anyone elsePat, I keep hearing references to cryptoart which are all very … cryptic. What is this thing?Hey Lucy! So you might have heard of it in context of the $US600,000 Nyan Cat gif or the more recent Kings of Leon NFT Album, both of which are examples...

18h

UK regulator to investigate Apple over 'unfair' App Store terms

UK watchdog opens inquiry over claims US firm is imposing ‘anti-competitive’ terms on app developersBritain’s competition regulator has opened an investigation into Apple over claims the company is using its control over the App Store to impose “unfair and anti-competitive” terms on app developers.The Competition and Markets Authority announced the...

23h

Best UK streaming and pay-TV services 2021: Sky, Virgin, Netflix and Amazon Prime compared and ranked

Our updated list of the best pay-TV and streaming services in the UKThe choice of how you get your TV and movies in the UK has exploded in recent years, with a growing number of premium pay-TV providers and streaming services available at a wide range of prices.Many of them have long contracts, exclusive content and complicated bundle pricing. And that’s...

1d

'Be polite and negotiate everything': the TikTok feminist saving people from medical debt

Tori Dunlap, a self-proclaimed personal finance expert, and Shaunna Burns, a former debt collector, tell people how to gain control of debt in 15-60 secondsDuring the Covid-19 pandemic, the greatest crisis of our generation, healthcare has been top of mind for many Americans.For the one in six Americans drowning in medical bills, reform can’t come soon...

1d

Amazon Fresh opens first 'till-less' grocery store in UK

Store in Ealing, west London, is available to app users who must scan in phone code to enterAmazon has opened its first “just walk out” grocery store in the UK where shoppers can pick up their goods and leave without having to visit a till.The Amazon Fresh store in Ealing, west London, is a “contactless” shop available to anyone signed up to Amazon...

1d

‘They track every move’: how US parole apps created digital prisoners

Is smartphone tracking a less intrusive reward for good behaviour or just a way to enrich the incarceration industry?In 2018, William Frederick Keck III pleaded guilty in a court in Manassas, Virginia, to possession with intent to distribute cannabis. He served three months in prison, then began a three-year probation. He was required to wear a GPS...

1d