Byron report (30 articles)

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GTA IV PC features 32-person multiplayer
Doubles consoles multiplayer offering 28 November 2008 15:57 GMT
Grand Theft Auto IV for PC is all set for its release next week, but we have given one more little insight into what we can expect before it hits the shelves.

The PC version of the hit game is set to feature multiplayer support of up to 32 players, double the...
Gears of War 2 patch released
Fixes long waits in multiplayer matchmaking 28 November 2008 10:43 GMT
The bug in Gears of War 2 that was causing some players to experience long waits in multiplayer matchmaking has been fixed with an update.

Epic has announced a patch for the 360 favourite that should completely cut out the problem from the game.

It...
Fear 2 refused classification in Australia
Cannot be sold in the region as is 27 November 2008 14:51 GMT
The powers that be in Australia have refused to classify Monolith Productions' survival horror game Fear 2: Project Origin, therefore banning it from being sold in the region.

The Australian Classification Board and Classification Review Board have given no...
Sony Netflix movies back on Xbox Live
Everyone's friends again 27 November 2008 11:38 GMT
Films by Sony-owned Columbia Pictures that disappeared from Netflix's Xbox Live service last week, are now available for download once again.

The range of movies went AWOL from Xbox Live around the launch of the New Xbox Experience, leading many to suggest Sony...
Halo 3 expansion pack gets renamed
Now known as ODST 26 November 2008 17:18 GMT
The forthcoming Halo 3 expansion pack now has a new name.

When it was first announced at the Tokyo Game Show last month it was called Halo 3: Recon, but now it seems it's been given a new title of Halo 3: ODST.

ODST stands for Orbital Drop Shock...
Fallout 3 DLC dated for next year
Three episodes set for release in January, February and March 26 November 2008 16:00 GMT
Bethesda has announced three downloadable installments for Fallout 3, due out next year.

First up will be Operation: Anchorage in January, which will be a military simulation taking players back to the time that the Chinese invaded Alaska.

The second...
EA releases new Red Alert 3 PC demo
Play two campaigns 25 November 2008 13:28 GMT
Anyone who hasn't made their mind up whether to purchase the PC version of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 yet, EA has released a new demo for you to download for free to get a flavour for it.

Released in Europe on 31 October, Red Alert 3 is the latest installment...
Funcom confirms redundancies in the US
Reports suggest 70% workforce let go 25 November 2008 12:29 GMT
Funcom, the developer behind popular MMORPG Age of Conan, has confirmed it has made some redundancies in the States, but has said it "does not want to mention any specific numbers".

Even so, a report over the weekend has hinted that QA and customer services...
More GTA IV DLC details announced
February 17th will be worldwide date 20 November 2008 17:34 GMT
Rockstar has revealed a few more details about the GTA IV DLC in an official statement.

It was USA Today that unveiled the first details of the first of two exclusive Xbox 360 episodes earlier today, and now Rockstar co-found Sam Houser has firmed up a few more.
PEGI's traffic light system to get Europe launch in spring
But will it reach UK? 20 November 2008 16:52 GMT
The new traffic light rating system from PEGI is to be introduced into mainland Europe this spring.

Age rating symbols are yet to be finalised, but the current imagery that includes a spider, fist and syringe, is to be expanded on to include descriptive text....
Children want adult supervision online
Urge for inappropriate sites to be blocked 29 October 2008 10:37 GMT
Children using the Internet want more protection online, according to a new survey.

The school inspectorate, Ofsted, has released the findings of a report in which it asked 686 school children how they feel about their safety online.

And the majority...
Web content scaring kids
NSPCC poll reveals 75% of children upset by images online 20 October 2008 10:32 GMT
The NSPCC is claiming that not enough is being done to protect children from disturbing content online.

The charity has conducted a survey, which found that 377 of 497 children who took part in an online poll claimed to have been disturbed by internet images....
Council set up to keep kids safe online
Government initiative to protect young web surfers 29 September 2008 12:54 GMT
The government has launched a new council that is hoped will help protect children when they are online.

The UK Council for Child Internet Safety is to be launched by Schools Secretary Ed Balls and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith.

Its creation follows...
VIDEO: Tech week in view 02-08-08
Our round up of the week's biggest stories 2 August 2008 12:38 GMT
Get youself a cuppa, sit youself down and hit the play button for the tech week in view - Megawhat's run-down of what's got the tech world talking in the last 5 days.
Megawhat News - Nokia confirms the N96 arrival date
The top stories in a tasty little vid 1 August 2008 9:22 GMT
Want to know the latest news but don't have time to read the stories we've written?

Well why not take a peek at the top stories on video.

In the headlines: Nokia confirms N96 arrival date; iPod nano whispers; British hacker loses extradition appeal;...
Self regulating body planned for games ratings
"More needs to be done", says Margaret Hodge 31 July 2008 12:10 GMT
The UK government has taken significant steps towards putting into place a law-backed games ratings system.

There had been some quarrels between the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) and the games industry about who would assess video games in this...
YouTube must be censored, say MPs
Protect kids from the "dark side of the net" 31 July 2008 11:07 GMT
British MPs have singled out YouTube for not doing enough to vet the video content uploaded onto its website.

As part of a new review of internet safety, especially in terms of content that children can access, the Culture, Media and Sport select committee said...
1 in 10 kids having sex chats online
And are lying to their parents about it 18 July 2008 11:10 GMT
A new report claims that more than 10% of British children are having sexually explicit conversations online.

And their parents, unsurprisingly, don't know.

The annual Mobile Life report, which was commissioned by the Carphone Warehouse and the...
House of Lords argues for more online safety
Peers urge MPs to help fight cyber crime 14 July 2008 9:54 GMT
The House of Lords has got behind government plans to make surfing online safer.

Following on from the publish of the Personal Internet Security report, the peersare now saying that the public must be given more protection against cyber crime.

They...
Games ratings row
Debate over who should police the system 10 July 2008 11:26 GMT
A proposed games rating system has sparked a massive row between the games industry and the UK censor.

UK games industry body ELSPA has called on the government to replace the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) role's in assessing video games.
BBFC hits back at critics
Director says he is disappointed and concerned 1 July 2008 14:47 GMT
The BBFC has hit back at recent criticism from top dogs at Microsoft and EA, after they voiced their concerns over the Byron report's proposal that the group starts rating a larger proportion of video games in the UK.

Currently, the BBFC is only referred to...
Gov launches ad campaign for raising internet awareness
Pumps £9 million into educating kids 25 June 2008 12:28 GMT
The Government is to pump millions into an ad campaign specifically aimed at making kids more internet savvy.

The £9 million advertising campaign follows on from recommendations made by Dr Tanya Byron in the Byron Report, which advised that children need to...
Violent video games being sold to minors
90% of retailers will sell to kids 24 June 2008 12:24 GMT
Children are getting hold of 18+ rated games despite increasing pressure on the video games industry from the EU, including a new ratings system for online content.

The UK's Trading Standards Institute says that children are still managing to get hold of games,...
VIDEO: Megawhat news - Microsoft offering cashback
Video news bulletin of today's top stories 22 May 2008 18:14 GMT
Want to know the latest news but don't have time to read the stories we've written. Don't panic - here are the top stories on video.

In today's headlines: Microsoft offering cashback rewards for shopping online; age ratings to be introduced for internet downloads;...
Age ratings system for web downloads
Games and videos to be policed 21 May 2008 13:14 GMT
The film-style age ratings system that is going to be introduced for video games is also be used for downloads from the Internet.

This move follows on from recommendations made in the Byron Report, which suggested that a simple age-related classication system...