Japan’s space agency officially ends decade-plus mission that carried Hatsune Miku into space one year after losing probe somewhere above Venus

Hatsune Miku’s voyage through space has finally come to an end after 15 long years. The Japanese space probe Akatsuki has officially ceased operations, as reported by Automaton. The probe was originally launched on May 21, 2010, after famously being decorated with some 13,000 Hatsune Miku drawings and messages submitted by fans. The Japan Aerospace…

Read More

Baldur’s Gate 2 has great dungeons and epic quests, but my real love is for my fake friends: BioWare’s first truly great companions

I loved the idea of Dungeons and Dragons when I was young, but can’t claim the same about playing it. Because I didn’t play it: Circumstances—small town boy, limited circle of friends, not very outgoing—meant that while I could and did spend hours poring over rules, sourcebooks, and even a few modules, I got very…

Read More

Internet Archive settles two-year lawsuit with record labels over music preservation program

The Internet Archive has survived another legal battle in its seemingly endless war to defend digital preservation in the face of copyright law. A settlement was filed on Monday in a lawsuit between music record labels and the Internet Archive, which the labels alleged committed copyright infringement with its “Great 78 Project” music preservation program….

Read More

Goofy open world sim Wobbly Life launches into space for its 1.0 update, adding rescue missions, asteroid mining, and the chance to be a space detective

I first encountered Wobbly Life a few months ago when searching for new games to play with my kid. It’s a physics-powered open-world sim that roughly resembles a child-friendly Grand Theft Auto, a big colourful playground with activities that include races, delivering pizzas, and taking on taxi fares. My quickfire take is that it isn’t…

Read More

8-bit Commodore Gaming – by Marcus Albers

When Commodore Business Machines decided to move from typewriters and calculators to microprocessors, it was a decision that would change home computing forever. After Commodore’s lukewarm introduction of the PET/CBM II series of computers, they quickly progressed to what would be their first real home computer hit, the VIC 20. While it sold over 2…

Read More