Bits: The Byteside Blog
Disney's live-action Mulan: digital winner, cultural mess
Disney says it's "very pleased" with the special premium release of Mulan. But the cultural errors mean this can't be remembered as a 'success'.
Everyone dislikes Twitch's new mid-roll ad trial
Mega streaming platform Twitch has announced a trial where some viewers will experience mid-roll ads while watching streams.
Unexpected gas on Venus has scientists carefully hedging some 'alien life' possibilities
A chemical associated with microbiotic life on Earth has been discovered in Venus’ clouds which could point to some form of life on the planet.
Here's what armchair COVID experts are getting wrong
If we don’t analyse statistics for a living, it’s easy to be taken in by misinformation about COVID-19 statistics on social media, especially if we don’t have the right context.
Facebook only took most of a week to deal with its latest misinformation crisis
Facebook is finally removing false claims about Oregon wildfires, half a week after ridiculous claims spread on the social network.
Cyberpunk legend Mike Pondsmith shares how to become a game designer
Mike Pondsmith, designer of the great Cyberpunk tabletop RPGs, kicked off PAX Online with encouraging words for budding tabletop game designers.
The key Australian details on the new Xbox Series X/S deals
Outright, subscription, or trade-in hunting? We look at the ways you can slice your plans for an Xbox Series X or Series S on the Australian market.
PAX Online 2020: How to make the most of the massive digital convention
Here's how to make the most out of your PAX Online 2020 digital convention experience – all from the comfort of your own home.
Dark and full of terrors
Too many parents react swiftly to a few scary headlines but don’t actually do much to educate their kids or have conversations about being a savvy digital citizen.
Twitch just became the best Watch Party tool around
Even if you don't care about trying to build an audience, this is a great tool for just sharing a show and hanging out with friends.
The value of uninformed consent
Everyone thought they were getting free services in exchange for ads. But if the depth of the tracking involved was truly known to make the ads so good, would we really have agreed at the start?
Digital culture is culture
The impacts of the digital world upon every day culture have never been greater. It's time to treat them that way.
D&D's latest rules expansion gives the race overhaul fans have been waiting for
D&D announced its latest rulebook release, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. The biggest expansion of options for the game in three years.
The End Of Infinite
Like the infinite scroll, every media form keeps chasing the ability to keep us in neverending flow of content.
High stakes lawsuits
Epic v Apple is a very big deal.
Apps, clouds and platform control
Will we end up where Steve Jobs started the iPhone? With web-based apps that preserve control for those who make them beyond the borders of the App Store?
More than a business story
More tech stories in the culture pages, please.
Digital scarcity
Limitlessness always seems viable within a digital context. But how does it work when real people have to use it?
Some friction is good for you
the hunt for 'frictionless' interactions and interfaces misses an important fact: some friction is essential to making things that matter.
External motivations
This week school has gone back here in NSW and while the world is still in a very difficult place with the pandemic, our kids had a pretty ‘normal’ holidays. The first since October 2019. The summer was black. Kids couldn’t play outside because of the fires. They couldn’
