BBC News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

Earth Day is April 22, and to commemorate the occasion, you can currently save on a variety of documentaries from the BBC’s Planet Earth collection in 4K UHD format at Amazon. Even if you’ve already seen some of these films, streaming service resolution can’t compare to the visuals on a physical disc. While this isn’t a comprehensive collection of nature documentaries produced by the BBC, it is an excellent opportunity to explore the majesty of our little blue marble without leaving the safety of your living room.

Bernard Hill, who found fame as King Théoden in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy and as Captain Smith in Titanic, has died. He was 79.

If you’re one of the millions of fans of the Australian kids’ animated series Bluey, you’ll be aware that the show’s third season, which began airing in early 2021 in Australia, just concluded with an epic 28-minute special episode called “The Sign.” (Episodes are usually seven minutes long.) You’ll also be aware that the episode, and the lead-in to it, sent Bluey fandom into a tailspin of speculation that this was the end for the beloved show.

Doctor Who characters have officially joined Roblox alongside a host of other familiar faces from across the BBC, as the broadcasting corporation launches its Wonder Chase video game.

A new Doctor Who trailer has been released – and it looks like we are all collectively in for quite the ride when the show returns in May.

After collaborating with movies like Wonka in Words With Friends 2 last year, Zynga is teaming up with a docuseries this time. The Words With Friends 2 x BBC Earth Mammals crossover is merging the natural world with word puzzles effortlessly.

BBC mulls in house AI model from text archives; MIT develops AI tool for 30x faster high quality image generation; AI could automate 84% of government jobs, says study; Yotta data services targets global AI market with cheapest compute rates- this and more in our daily roundup. Let us take a look.

Steven Moffat, who was Doctor Who showrunner during the Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi eras, is returning to write a new episode of the sci-fi show. He'll be behind an episode of Ncuti Gatwa's first season as the Fifteenth Doctor, which begins this May.

Former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan has shared a new name as his top choice to portray the iconic spy in the upcoming 007 movies.

If you’ve read the last 10 issues of my Forgotten Gems column, you’ve probably noticed a pattern. I pick a game that may either spark some recognition and you’ll go “oh, yeah – what happened to it?” – or you’ve never heard of the game I’m profiling and you google what year I was born so that you can rest easy that it’s not you, it’s me. Inevitably, the column turns gloomy. An awesome-sounding sequel was planned, but never made. Or, somehow, an entire series of games is no longer accessible to play.

The BAFTA 2024 Film Awards are here as one of the most glamorous awards season events kicks off. The stars have arrived in London for the annual ceremony, hoping to get some final successes in before the Oscars next month.

Fortnite might be packed with exciting collaborations, but according to current Doctor Who showrunner and executive producer Russell T Davies, the rumors of the British sci-fi series crossing over with the eternally popular battle royale game are totally false. 

Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War are some of the highest grossing movies of all time, so, as you can imagine, box office bonuses for its actors are bound to be hefty sums. 

China's previously proposed gaming restrictions seem to have been scrapped, potentially avoiding worldwide implications for tools that can encourage spending excessive time and money on games. 

Your new favorite YA fixation is arriving later this month with Domino Day, a brand new drama from BBC Three about modern-day witches. That's right, this series will have you saying 'witch, please' as you immediately hit that 'play next episode' button, hooked on the spooky thrills.

Still the gaming behemoth it’s been since it was released over twelve years ago, Minecraft continues to sell in droves. Much of that is its mass appeal of allowing near-infinite build potential. But the recent release of the Planet Earth III DLC probably isn’t hurting things, either.

GAME, one of the last big game-selling chains that is still operating brick and mortar stores in the UK, has confirmed that it will stop accepting trade-ins and selling pre-owned games.

If you own a copy of Minecraft: Bedrock Edition or Minecraft: Education Edition, you can now grab a free expansion pack based on the BBC's Planet Earth III. Much like the previous Frozen Planet II experience, this new wildlife documentary DLC lets players explore five scenarios through the lens of animals — arctic wolves, ocelots, musk oxen, leopards, Cape fur seals, great white sharks, impalas and more.

Long-time UK games retailer GAME won’t be accepting trade-ins when February 16 rolls around, according to Eurogamer. GAME’s parent company Frasers Group has officially confirmed its plans to remove the trade-in program to BBC News on Tuesday.

Whether you’re a longtime fan of bestselling, beloved British fantasy writer Terry Pratchett, or you heard about him for the first time when Good Omens, his collaborative project with Neil Gaiman, got its long-awaited TV adaptation, Humble’s deal on Pratchett’s Discworld novels is a convenient way to get most of his books in one place. The bundle includes 38 fantasy novels from Pratchett’s Discworld setting, for as low as $18. To access the books, you’ll need to create a Kobo.com account, or log in to your existing account.

Mojang Studios has partnered with BBC for a brand-new Minecraft Education world inspired by Planet Earth 3.

The Pokémon series’ next big animated show, Pokémon Horizons, has been delayed on Netflix.

Pokémon TV, the app and website that let you watch episodes from the long-running Pokémon anime for free, has been removed from app stores.

When I was 13 years old, I struggled to beat Cynthia, the Pokémon League champion in Pokémon Platinum. U.S.-based 13-year-old Willis Gibson just beat an unbeatable Tetris game that players have been attempting to complete since its release on the NES in 1989. 

Square Enix has suspended its housing demolition process in Final Fantasy 14, following an earthquake in the Noto Peninsula of Japan on New Year's Day. The 7.6 magnitude earthquake has left thousands without power or shelter.

UK police are investigating the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl in a VR metaverse, in what seems like the first criminal investigation of its kind. The chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, Donna Jones, told the BBC that the complaint was made in 2023 and the inquiry is ongoing.

 Microsoft president Brad Smith has softened his stance on the UK’s Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) following the completion of the Activision Blizzard acquisition by Microsoft.

While Microsoft has now officially acquired Activision Blizzard, the company had to restructure the deal to win the approval of the UK's Competition and Markets Authority regulator, which originally found the deal concerning for a variety of reasons. Microsoft's president, Brad Smith, wasn't happy about the original verdict, meeting it with some harsh words, but it seems like things have changed since, now that the deal has finally gone through.

London’s Natural History Museum has used the Doctor Who 60th-anniversary celebrations as an excuse to give fourteen newly-discovered species of wasp a genus inspired by a classic Doctor Who villain.

The Doctor's new TARDIS, which debuted during the 60th anniversary specials, is full of impressive details, and in the new issue of SFX magazine, we get an exclusive tour. 

A new era of Doctor Who is about to begin. The Fifteenth Doctor, played by Ncuti Gatwa, now has the keys to the TARDIS and is getting ready to go all timey-wimey for his first full season.

The teenager who hacked Rockstar and leaked in-development gameplay footage from the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6 has been sentenced to an 'indefinite hospital order'.

The hacker behind the Grand Theft Auto 6 leaks which appeared online in September 2022 has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order.

Last year's GTA 6 leak cost Rockstar $5 million plus "thousands of hours of staff time," the developer told a UK court. 

The festive period is finally upon us, and what better time is there to kick back on the sofa and work through your watch list? As usual, too, this Christmas is jam-packed full of great new releases on streaming, meaning that there will be plenty to keep you occupied after stuffing yourself with turkey. Among the highlights are a festive Doctor Who special to kick off Ncuti Gatwa's season as the Time Lord as well as Zack Snyder's hugely-anticipated new sci-fi adventure, Rebel Moon Part One. 

A BBC report says that the 18-year-old hacker who was found responsible for committing a series of attacks on tech firms that included the theft and leak of Grand Theft Auto 6 footage in 2022 has been sentenced to an indefinite period in a secure hospital.

It hasn’t been a good couple of years for video game developers and publishers regarding leaks. No matter what they try to do to protect themselves from hackers and such, the various cyber experts of the world continue to find a way to get into systems and spill all sorts of information. You all know about the hack that happened to Insomniac Games and how that affected them, and in 2022, it was Rockstar Games who was affected when a teenager hacked into their systems and revealed GTA 6 to the world via files and video footage. Needless to say, Rockstar wasn’t happy about that.

Arion Kurtaj, an 18-year-old hacker behind the massive GTA 6 leak last year, has been given an indefinite hospital order.

By Emma Roth, a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.

Arion Kurtaj, the 18-year-old hacker responsible for the infamous Grand Theft Auto 6 leak from last year, was sentenced to indefinite custody at a “secure hospital,” according to the BBC. Kurtaj was deemed unfit to stand trial due to what BBC called “acute autism,” and will spend the rest of his life at the hospital unless doctors find him “no longer a danger.” He was found guilty on 12 charges that include fraud and blackmail.

The 18-year-old hacker charged with breaking into Rockstar's data and leaking at least 90 videos worth of GTA 6 development materials has been sentenced by a UK court to indefinite life in a hospital prison. 

Even as we enter the last leg of the year, artificial intelligence (AI) continues to be an important discussion topic for corporations and governments alike. Apple has published new AI research where the researchers have highlighted how large language models (LLMs) can be run on limited storage devices, such as iPhones, instead of the internet, and still maintain their capabilities. This development may give the tech giant an edge over competitors. In other news, the former Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland is urging the government to increase its efforts to ensure deepfakes do not become a disrupting factor in the 2024 general election. This and more in today's AI roundup. Let us take a closer look.

Arion Kurtaj, the 18-year-old Lapsus$ hacker who leaked GTA 6 footage last year, has been sentenced to life in hospital indefinitely until he is "no longer a danger".

Remember the guy with the balls so big he sued Amazon and JRR Tolkien's grandson, claiming they infringed on his Lord of the Rings fanfic with the Rings of Power TV series? In a shocking turn of events that no one (except literally everyone) saw coming, he lost badly and now owes the Tolkien estate $134,000 in legal fees.

Today, December 14, there were some interesting reports coming from the artificial intelligence (AI) space. Ahead of the 57th anniversary of World Day of Peace, Pope Francis urged world leaders to ensure that progress made in developing AI tools “will ultimately serve the cause of human fraternity and peace”. In other news, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared briefly lost for words when he met with an AI-generated version of himself. This and more in today's AI roundup. Let us take a closer look.

It is undeniable that Ncuti Gatwa is the perfect choice for The Fifteenth Doctor, and it seems like he thought so too as the star has revealed that securing his Doctor Who role was actually a product of his own manifestation. 

Google has revealed its list of the 10 most searched video games in 2023.

YouTuber Trevor Jacob, a former Olympian and self-styled adventurer and entrepreneur, has been sent to jail for six months for deliberately crashing a plane in 2021, filming the whole thing for views, and putting the cherry on top by lying to US investigators about what happened. Even Jacob himself admitted after the sentence that this was the «right decision,» per the BBC.

Two days in and the GTA 6 trailer is nearly at 120 million views on YouTube. It’s become one of the most-watched video game trailers in history, but it’s not just benefitting Rockstar. It’s also seeing a revival of a music legend.

The TARDIS is about to get a new team at the controls, with Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor zipping about through time and space later this month.. At his side? Millie Gibson's Ruby Sunday, the latest in a long line of companions to go adventuring with the Time Lord.

Today, December 6, was a very important day for the artificial intelligence space. Google has introduced its most advanced artificial intelligence model, a technology capable of crunching different forms of information such as video, audio, and text, called Gemini AI. The company claims that the multimodal AI model is its largest one yet. In other news, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in an interview that he feels achieving AI safety is a reachable goal. This and more in today's AI roundup. Let us take a closer look.

I'm pretty certain my first ever exposure to Tom Petty came via GTA: San Andreas, whose K-DST radio station featured Runnin' Down a Dream on its tracklist of wall-to-wall dad rock bangers. Now Mr Petty's made a return as part of the Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer, which is soundtracked by Love Is a Long Road, and it looks like more than a few other people might have had their first encounter with the artist off the back of it, too.

Doctor Who director Tom Kingsley shared behind-the-scenes footage from Wild Blue Yonder – and we're both horrified and intrigued.

The Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials are here and the first episode, The Star Beast, more than lived up to expectations with David Tennant and Catherine Tate reuniting for new adventures in the Tardis. Episode 2, Wild Blue Yonder, will see the pair flung across time and space, finding themselves materializing on a seemingly abandoned spaceship. 

The next Doctor Who 60th anniversary special is shrouded in mystery. That has, in turn, caused the Whoniverse to wildly speculate that we’re getting everything from a multi-Doctor adventure to cameos from previous companions – and even a surprise Ncuti Gatwa reveal.

One of the world's footballing greats, Cristiano Ronaldo, has been named in a class action lawsuit in the US for his promotion of the crypto exchange Binance. Binance was in the news most recently after the CEO stepped down and both he and the company pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in the US and accepted a whopping $4.3 billion fine.

Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies says Ncuti Gatwa's upcoming Christmas special is a complete reinvention of the show, and that we're heading into a brand new era.

The BBC has released brand new images from the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas special, with showrunner Russell T Davies teasing the series' newest villain.

Pokémon Horizons will be released on Netflix in February 2024 in the US.

By Charles Pulliam-Moore, a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years.

Unity has confirmed that it’s laying off 265 employees in what’s been described as a company “reset.”

The hero of BBC’s long-running sci-fi series Doctor Who is, famously, not a real medical doctor, but they have been a bit ill. What should have been a promising changing of the guard in 2018 — with new showrunner Chris Chibnall and the first woman cast as The Doctor since the series’ 1963 debut — only served to accelerate a gradual downward slide that began in the latter half of previous showrunner Steven Moffat’s seven-year tenure.

Doctor Who is back tonight! Over a year after Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor last graced our screens, the show is back for a handful of new episodes to mark the series' 60th anniversary – and we can expect to see some familiar faces. 

As the are expected to drop soon, fans are curious about their and the. Here are the air dates and release times of the specials.

When Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor regenerated as the form of David Tennant (as The Doctor), Doctor Who fans were thrown for a loop. Now the 60th anniversary specials have taken it even further, with Catherine Tate’s Donna back, remembering The Doctor, and some aliens threatening them and the fate of the world. All that and this Fourteenth Doctor will be regenerating as the Fifteenth Doctor (Sex Education and Barbie’s Ncuti Gatwa).

Apple has gradually expanded its product line in the past decade by introducing the Apple Watch and the Vision Pro headset. The company also introduced various accessories and industry-leading technologies like AirTags and MagSafe. Tim Cook has played a pivotal role in developing the company's supply chain and making Apple the first trillion-dollar company in the world. However, Apple's CEO stated in 2021 that he would probably leave the company in the next ten years. Now, Tim Cook says the new Apple CEO will be someone from within the company.

Bluey's world domination continues as Microsoft has now created a truly unique Xbox Series X console themed after the beloved animated series.

Today, November 15, was an important day in the artificial intelligence space. Microsoft hosted its event dubbed Microsoft Ignite, where it made a range of AI-related announcements. One of the major highlights from the event was that copilots, the company's AI tools, have received new capabilities. They will now be able to do more tasks across the Microsoft 365 suite. In other news, Cambridge Dictionary's word of the year is inspired by AI and it gives a familiar word a new meaning. This and more in today's AI roundup. Let us take a look.

Netflix has confirmed its new stop-motion Pokémon series, Pokémon Concierge, will release on 28th December this year — and there's a fresh two-minute trailer to accompanying the news.

When you let modders lose on PC games, you get a mishmash of all sorts of ideas. Starfield has already had Daleks added to its universe, and someone felt it was time for Doom to get the Doctor Who treatment as well.

The new Pokémon animated series is set to launch in the UK on the BBC in December.

Pokémon Horizons: The Series will launch in the UK this December.

Winter and the festive season can be a tough time for those who need an extra helping hand.

Let’s start out by establishing the facts, because this is important. Fact one: Bluey, the Australian animated TV show for preschoolers about a playful family of dogs, is a heartbreaking work of staggering genius. (Yes, this is a fact, not an opinion.) Its seven-minute episodes are funnier, more layered, more substantial, and sometimes even more moving than most hour-long adult dramas. There’s one called “Flat Pack” that deals with Darwinian evolution, human progress, religion and the afterlife, marital relationships, the sweet pain of letting go, and assembling Ikea furniture — and it does all that in a way that’s sweet, hilarious, and accessible to people who haven’t learned how to talk yet. In seven minutes. That’s how good it is.

Neil Patrick Harris' Toymaker is all set to come face to face with David Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor in the upcoming Doctor Who 60th Anniversary specials.

This week’s guest on the One More Life podcast is Elle Osili-Wood, the new host of BBC Radio 3’s Sound of Gaming, a brilliant monthly show that celebrates video game music.

It might be the last day of October, and Halloween, but artificial intelligence stops for no one. In today's big news, Microsoft's enterprise Copilot, the Microsoft 365 AI assistant, will be rolling out to businesses tomorrow, November 1. This tool will enable organizations to automate a number of time-consuming tasks such as summarizing video calls, drafting emails, and more. In other news, Elon Musk will do an interview alongside the UK PM Rishi Sunak. The Tesla CEO will also be participating in the UK AI Summit. This and more in today's AI roundup. Let us take a closer look.