Asus is launching a smartphone designed for gaming, complete with a clip-on fan to prevent it overheating. The ROG phone (named after the ‘Republic of Gamers’ brand) has some frankly ludicrous specs including a 6-inch screen with a 90Hz refresh rate (and 1ms pixel response time), a 2.96GHz octa-core Snapdragon processor, a separate graphics processor […]
Those with red hair, white hair, curly hair or no hair at all are finally recognized in the latest ‘official’ emoji update. Superheroes and villains also make an appearance. The latest Unicode Emoji update takes effect tomorrow and hair makes up almost a third of the 161 new entrants. The range includes the four new […]
Microsoft has confirmed it’s bought GitHub for $7.5 billion. It says the platform will remain independent and open, prompting speculation about exactly why it’s made the purchase. The price, to be paid in Microsoft stock, is considerably more than initial reports suggested, particularly given that GitHub has been far from profitable. It’s the latest […]
If you’re a D&D fan and money’s no object, the special edition of the upcoming Art and Arcana book looks a must. It even includes a reprint of one of the most challenging modules in the game’s history. The book itself, which costs $50, was already looking utterly gorgeous. Described as a visual history of […]
A court has rejected a call for Samsung to be forced to update phones for at least four years after release. It ruled that such an obligation was impractical because it involved an unknowable future. The case was brought in the Netherlands by the Consumentenbond (Consumers Association), an organization roughly equivalent to Consumer Reports in […]
The forthcoming Star Citizen game will include a DLC pack that costs a mere $27,000. As you’d hope, it includes virtually every available item in the game. The game itself has been crowdfunded through Kickstarter and is turning into quite the development saga, having been in the works since 2011. To date the project has […]
The makers of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds have accused the makers of Fortnite of copyright infringement. They’ve filed a legal complaint specifically over the Battle Royale mode. The legal action comes from the developer, the South Korean company PUGB, against Epic Games of the US, though the case has been filed in Korea against the local Epic […]
Ted Dabney, theman who helped create Pong and co-founded Atari, has died aged 81. The news was announced by Dabney’s friend Leonard Herman, author of Phoenix, one of the leading histories of the video game industry. Dabney had worked at several tech companies including tape manufacturer Ampex where he met colleague Nolan Bushnell. Bushnell had […]
Hasbro has successfully trademarked the smell of Play-Doh. It says there’s no plans to use the trademark for legal action. The trademark is in the sensory mark category, which is far less widely used than visual marks such as logos. That’s partly because applicants have to describe the flavor, scent or texture in a way […]
Nintendo is selling a Switch console without a dock in Japan. It’s explicitly marketing it to people who’d like two Switches in the same home. The “Nintendo Switch 2nd Unit Set” comes with the base console tablet, the two clip-on Joy-Con controllers and a pair of straps. The controllers come in a range of seven […]