Video game makers aren’t doing enough to cater for gamers with disabilities, a study has revealed. A poll of 500 adults with physical and mental disabilities who play video games found 81 per cent have struggled to play their favourite games due to inaccessible game features. Specific problems include a lack of customisable control options (21 per cent), hard-to-read text (33 per cent), fast-paced gameplay (34 per cent), and flashing lighting effects (31 per cent). As a result, 39 per cent have been forced to stop playing a game - or abandon it altogether. The Samsung study also found 52 per cent would like to see more characters who represent their disability - and claim they would game more if this happened. The research follows the launch of the brand’s ‘Embrace Your Game’ portal - a European-wide gaming training initiative featuring expert guides, training sessions, and video workshops for gamers of all abilities. Steven Woodgate, chair of the True Ability Employee Resource Group at Samsung Electronics UK, said: “Gamers with disabilities not only make up a sizable portion of the player base. “But they also provide valuable perspectives and experiences to the gaming community. “While we’ve seen some strides in accessibility over recent years, this study reveals the pressing barriers still faced by many. “We must prioritise an inclusive gaming landscape, ensuring every player, regardless of their disability, can enjoy and connect through these digital realms. “The industry owes it to all its players to make games as accessible and representative as possible.” Despite the challenges, 22 per cent of those polled feel empowered by gaming, while 40 per cent said the pastime gives them a sense of escape. And 16 per cent said it provides them with a way to connect with other gamers with disabilities, with 28 per cent claiming video games are an ‘essential’ part of their routine. Barriers for those polled include games which result in ‘cognitive overload’ through complex control configurations and hard to follow information or instructions (28 per cent). While 24 per cent have experienced dexterity issues – such as controllers not being adequately designed for their ergonomic needs. In response, gamers with disabilities revealed the features and accessibility options they’d like to see in future titles. More accessory options for differently abled players (34 per cent) topped the list, closely followed by more online multiplayer options catering toward different disabilities (34 per cent). The research carried out through OnePoll, also found 31 per cent would like to see improved guides and tutorials to help them learn gaming controls more easily. And 31 per cent would also like a greater range of customisable controller options. Robin Christopherson of charity, AbilityNet, which works towards making the digital world more accessible, said: “It should be no surprise to learn that disabled people enjoy gaming as much as anyone else. “But this research demonstrates quite clearly the negative impact on people’s wellbeing when hardware or software isn’t accessible. “It also underlines that games are a vital part of the fabric of many people’s lives, creating social networks and bringing enjoyment which should be open to everyone.” Read More Brits are so fed up with emails that retail giants now send reminder letters Brits will eat over 5,000 slices of pizza in their adult life, study finds Millions of homeware items thrown away each year, research finds Facebook and Instagram users face monthly fee for ad-free version Japan startup unveils 15-foot robot suit for space exploration New discovery is ‘holy grail’ breakthrough in search for aliens, scientist say

Andrew Tate claimed that American parents are failing to instill the values and respect connected with their family names and instead blame the system

A US startup is set to unveil an AI-powered device that it claims could replace smartphones. Humane’s AI Pin, which launches today, will clip directly to a person’s clothes and is expected to feature a projector to turn any surface into a screen. An embedded camera and microphone means it could function as a wearable smartphone without a screen, with its creators say has been “built from the ground up for AI”. Leaks suggest the AI Pin will cost $699 and require a $24-per-month subscription fee to access AI models developed by Microsoft and OpenAI, which may include a version of the viral ChatGPT chatbot. Documents obtained by The Verge suggest it will come with two “battery boosters”, a “personic speaker”, and will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It will also be able to summarise your email inbox, translate languages and come with an “AI DJ”. Humane did not respond to a request for comment but has announced that it will unveil the AI Pin on 9 November. A version of the device was revealed earlier this year at Paris Fashion Week, with models wearing a small square box on the lapels of their clothes. Humane co-founder Imran Chaudhri, who spent 22 years at Apple as a designer before forming his own startup, also gave details about how the clip will function in a TED talk in May. A demonstration showed the tech founder receiving a phone call through the device, using its laser-projected display to turn his palm into an interactive screen. “We believed that artificial intelligence would be the driving force behind the next leap in device design,” he said. “[The AI Pin] is completely standalone. You don’t need a smartphone or any other device to pair with it... It interacts with the world in the way that you interact with the world – hearing what you hear, seeing what you see – while being privacy first and safe, and completely fading into the background of your life.” Humane describes the experience as “screenless”, “seamless” and “sensing”. In a press release earlier this year, Humane co-founder Bethany Bongiorno said: “Our relationship with technology is changing profoundly, becoming even more personal as our devices morph into extensions of our bodies, minds and hearts.” Read More Elon Musk’s new AI bot will help you make cocaine which proves it’s ‘rebellious’ ChatGPT update allows anyone to make their own personalised AI assistant How Elon Musk’s ‘spicy’ Grok compares to ‘woke’ ChatGPT The mystery AI device that could replace your phone

Every now and then a story comes along which completely changes the way you think about space. For instance, did you know the universe is essentially evaporating right before our eyes? A new study has been released which focuses on the effect that radiation emitted from objects in the solar system can have a massive impact on quantum fields surrounding them. It follows on from Stephen Hawking’s theory that black holes lose mass and evaporate over time as an unusual form of radiation takes effect. Now, astrophysicists Michael Wondrak, Walter van Suijlekom, and Heino Falcke of Radboud University in the Netherlands have stated that this unusual form of radiation is apparent in other objects as well as black holes. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter In fact, they believe that “Hawking radiation” could be found in objects apparent everywhere in the universe – and it could mean that the universe is slowly evaporating before our very eyes. "We demonstrate that," Wondrak says in the study published in Physical Review Letters. "In addition to the well-known Hawking radiation, there is also a new form of radiation." "We show that far beyond a black hole the curvature of space-time plays a big role in creating radiation," van Suijlekom explains. "The particles are already separated there by the tidal forces of the gravitational field." Essentially, huge objects in the solar system can cause space-time to bend around them. When that happens, it causes enough change in quantum fields to generate particles which have similar properties to Hawking radiation. Falcke said: "That means that objects without an event horizon, such as the remnants of dead stars and other large objects in the universe, also have this sort of radiation. "And, after a very long period, that would lead to everything in the universe eventually evaporating, just like black holes. This changes not only our understanding of Hawking radiation but also our view of the universe and its future." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Montana Governor Greg Gianforte on Wednesday signed legislation to ban the Chinese-owned short video app TikTok from operating

Some iPhone users say that the latest models are losing power unexpectedly quickly. The iPhone 14 and 14 Pro’s batteries are aging more quickly than those in previous versions of the iPhone, the affected users complain. For years, Apple has offered the ability to see an iPhone’s “maximum capacity”. That is a measure of how much energy can be stored in the battery, and therefore indicates how long it will last on a single charge. As with all lithium-ion batteries of the kind used in the iPhone, that battery will gradually lose their capacity over time. A number of factors will influence how quickly they do so, including the temperature and how often that battery has been used and recharged. But owners of the new iPhone 14 and 14 Pro say that process has been happening more quickly. Some users say they have already lost 15 per cent or more of their capacity after less than a year of owning the phone. Joanna Stern, a personal technology columnist at the Wall Street Journal, said that her phone had already reached 88 per cent battery capacity. She said that she had been told by the Apple Store that her heavy use of the iPhone meant that it had already hit 450 charge cycles – which would represent heavy use of the kind that Apple says can reduce the iPhone’s battery life. But she also suggested the problem could be the result of “heat from fast charging”. But she also suggested that the problem could be the result of heat in the world: iPhones and other electronic devices can suffer when they reach high temperatures, and very hot summers in some part of the world could have degraded their performance. Ms Stern was not alone in her complaint: on Twitter, a number of posts in response to hers and others suggested that other users were surprised by how quickly their battery’s capacity had declined. But others still indicated they were seeing performance in line with previous years, and so it is difficult to know whether there is a problem with this generation’s iPhones more generally. Apple has a support page dedicated to the iPhone’s battery and how it relates to the performance of the phone more generally. There, it says that “a normal battery is designed to retain up to 80 per cent of its original capacity at 500 complete charge cycles when operating under normal conditions”. The company also notes that defective batteries are covered by the one-year warranty with the phone. If the battery is out of warranty, then Apple will replace it for a charge – or it can also be done under the third-party and DIY repair programmes that the company has supported in recent years. The iPhone 14 first went on sale on 16 September last year, meaning that owners who bought the new models soon after release will now be approaching the end of that one-year warranty period. Apple is expected to announce a new iPhone 15 and 15 Pro around the same time this year, with an increased battery life. The maximum capacity of an iPhone’s battery can be found by opening up the Settings app, navigating to the “Battery” option and clicking “Battery health & charging”. That will show not only the “maximum capacity” of that battery, but also whether it is still operating at its peak performance and the option for “optimised battery charging”, which will control when the iPhone charges to try and protect it from ageing. Apple added those options in iOS 11.3, as part of a broader set of battery tools that were a response to “batterygate”. That event saw users complain that their iPhones were slowing down because of tools that were added to protect iPhones from problems with ageing batteries – but sparked complaints from users that performance of their phone was being changed without their knowledge. Read More Apple is working on a mysterious new project called ‘Watch X’, report claims Apple is planning a host of powerful new Macs, rumours say Apple’s iPhone 15 release date leaked amid reports of ‘severe shortages’ Apple gives update on its plans for AI – and says it is coming to every product Apple results show sales slumping Apple planning new version of AirTags – but not for some time

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 28, 2023--

RIDGEWOOD, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 27, 2023--

For years, governments around the world have assailed social media for their role in the spread of disinformation,

Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, said on Thursday that it will lay off 16% of its staff, around 830 employees, as it attempts to reverse what CEO Tim Sweeney called "unrealistic" spending.

UK Labour and opposition leader Keir Starmer will announce proposals to block all new North Sea oil and

By Nia Williams and Ismail Shakil OTTAWA (Reuters) -The government of Canada's Northwest Territories declared a state of emergency on