The Guardian

As screen fatigue grows, a new trend is swapping smartphones for crosswords and sketchbooks – turning the humble bag into a tool for offline living There’s a new “it” bag – but this time it is not about a designer label or splashy logo. Instead, it’s what is inside that counts. So-called analogue bags, filled with activities such as crosswords, knitting, novels and journals, have become the unexp…

Robot vacuums that can climb stairs and device for BlackBerry lovers also on display at annual Las Vegas tech show This year will be filled with robots that can fold your laundry, pick up objects and climb stairs, fridges that you can command to open by voice, laptops with screens that can follow you around the room on motorised hinges and the reimagining of the BlackBerry phone. Those are the pr…

Spokesperson says limiting access to subscribers just makes ability to generate unlawful images a premium service UK politics live – latest updates Downing Street has condemned the move by X to restrict its AI image creation tool responsible for a wave of explicit picture to paying subscribers only as insulting, saying it simply made the ability to generate unlawful images a premium service. Ther…

Our fitness expert clocked up his indoor miles to put the best exercise bikes, including simple spin machines and gym-quality models, to the test • The best treadmills for your home, tested Cycling has the potential to benefit your health in myriad ways, whether it’s the mood-boosting properties of inhaling fresh air, the social element of riding with friends or the simple act of improving cardio…

From cosy museums and tropical islands to nightmarishly difficult adventures – and revamps of favourites including Mario Kart and Pokémon – there’s something for everyone Nintendo’s newest console has been out for a less than a year but it already boasts an impressive catalogue of excellent new games, as well as a variety of enhanced Switch greats. Here’s our selection of the 15 best titles curre…

Judge says there is plenty of evidence to suggest OpenAI’s leaders made assurances nonprofit structure would be kept Business live – latest updates Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI is to go to trial after a US judge said there is plenty of evidence to support the billionaire’s case. The world’s richest man, who co-founded OpenAI, is suing the ChatGPT developer and its chief executive, Sam Altma…

Research finds growing trend of employers letting employees work remotely to free up more holiday time Katherine first caught the bug when she visited Australia a couple of years ago. The flights were expensive, and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, so she asked her manager if she could extend the trip by two weeks, and work remotely from her friend’s house. That was her first taste of a “…

State residents worth more than $1bn could face one-off, 5% tax to help fund education, food assistance and healthcare A battle is brewing in California over a plan to tax billionaires – with tech titans divided over whether they should pay up, or flee the state. Under a tax proposal that could be put to voters this November, any California resident worth more than $1bn would have to pay a one-of…

PlayStation 4/5, Nintendo Switch/Switch 2, Xbox, PC; Square-Enix This landmark role-playing game remains a revolutionary tour de force At first glance, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, first released in 1997 and now available in newly remastered guise, does little to separate itself from other boilerplate fantasy fiction. There is a hero, Ramza – an idealistic nobleman with luscious…

Startup founded by former OpenAI staff is aiming to more than double its annualized revenue run rate this year Anthropic is planning a $10bn fundraise that would value the Claude chatbot maker at $350bn, according to multiple reports published on Wednesday. The new valuation represents an increase of nearly double from about four months ago, per CNBC , which reported that the company had signed a…

Exclusive: Move follows outcry over use of Grok to digitally remove clothing from images of women and children UK politics live – latest updates The influential Commons women and equalities committee has decided to stop using X after the social media site’s AI tool began generating thousands of digitally altered images of women and children with their clothes removed. The move by the cross-party …

In this week’s newsletter: Stranger Things’ climactic showdown is the latest pop culture spectacle to feel like its been ported straight from a console. The industries’ reciprocally influential relationship can be to everyone’s gain • Don’t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up here It had begun to feel like an endurance test by the end, but nonetheless, like the sucker I am, I wat…

They may be small, but toothbrushes can create mountains of waste. Experts reveal how to clean and care for them and extend their life • The best electric toothbrushes, tested If toothbrushes were sentient, they’d complain about their lot in life. Their thankless existence involves repeatedly cleaning one of the grimmest parts of the body, then being thrown out once their bristles are insufficien…

This now venerable hardware remains an ideal platform for classics such as Minecraft and daring experiments from the brightest new developers Now surely approaching their twilight years, the Xbox Series S and X machines nevertheless still have plenty to offer both new and veteran owners. We have selected 15 titles that show the range of what’s on offer, from the biggest blockbusters to lesser kno…

The owner of X has grown used to acting with impunity – but this may be a red line for those with ‘conservative values’ who fund his adventures in free speech It’s a sickening law of the internet that the first thing people will try to do with a new tool is strip women. Grok, X’s AI chatbot, has been used repeatedly by users in recent days to undress images of women and minors. The news outlet Re…