THē-GHōST

It's common in some multiplayer games: Get enough behavior reports in a short time, get automatically banned. It's a system ripe for abuse in competitive MMOs, and New World looks to have a particularly vicious outbreak where the combination of winner-take-all rewards and very narrow lists of participants make the best targets for your wave of aggressive false reports very obvious. Now, it looks like New World players have figured out they can target their enemies with reports to trigger that 24-hour ban... just before a time-limited war event. New World players are widely saying they've been banned for nothing, or that large swathes of their company membership have gotten bans just before a war. Meanwhile, representatives from Amazon Games have muddied the water with conflicting statements. Posts across the Steam forums, Reddit, and other social media give anecdotes of bans. "50 People in my 100 person company are now banned" reads one Reddit post. "We have to give up our hard fought territory because everyone can press report a couple times? This is crazy we need a fix ASAP" the post continues. "So my company has a war today and the company we are going to war against reported our top players so they would get a temporary 24 hour ban and not be able to participate in the war," says a post on the New World forums. Posts complaining about automated bans date back to late last week—though some on Reddit earlier this year complain about automatic bans in the New World beta. Another, now removed, Reddit post gave details from a company member who discovered, then exploited, the process to ban the highest level members of another company before a war event. Perhaps most damningly, two clips of a streamer for wiki site Fextralife confirm that he was temporarily banned by what seems like mass abuse of the report system. Streamers are frequent targets in games with a mass reporting problem. Moderators and customer service at Amazon are giving mixed messages. Posts by certain moderators seem to indicate that there is a threshold of reports to trigger an automatic 24-hour ban. Other moderators on the New World forums insist that each report is reviewed by a real human. It has caused more than a little confusion in the community, certainly due to mounting evidence that some 24-hour bans are decidedly automated. An enterprising user on the New World forums has compiled an extensive list of evidence around the issue compiling both forum threads and social media posts. PC Gamer has reached out to Amazon for comment, and will update if we receive a response. For my part, it's not a particularly unbelievable scenario. I'm familiar with this problem, and I've seen it before in other games: I quite like Foxhole, but it suffers from precisely this issue. Do something a large clan doesn't like, even if it's not against the rules? Prepare for a mass report and auto-ban. Link: https://www.pcgamer.com/looks-like-new-world-players-are-getting-each-other-banned-to-win-wars/

There are several key things you should know about the new Chevrolet Corvette Convertible. One, it’s available in right-hand drive for the first time ever. Two, it’s mid-engined and at £79,200 costs an awful lot less than most similarly configured rivals from Europe. Three, it’s a damn good car to drive compared with any European rival, at any price point. And four, unlike previous Corvettes, it’s also well made and feels like a class act inside, in this case featuring a cleverly engineered, fully electric hardtop roof and more space for your luggage than the coupe, not less. So, form a queue here if you’re interested, but be quick; on this evidence you won’t be the only one in that queue. Until now, the idea of owning and driving a Corvette in the UK hasn’t held much appeal among the masses because it’s only ever been available in left-hand drive. Step forward the new eighth-generation C8 Corvette, which has just gone on sale in the UK for a whisker over 74 grand in coupe form – or £79k as a Convertible as tested here – and which is at last going to be made in right-hand drive. Ignore the layout of the car you see in these pictures because, as of next month, you’ll be able to buy a C8 Corvette from the UK’s only main dealer in Virginia Water, Surrey, with a steering wheel on the right and a thumping 6.2-litre V8 engine sitting behind its two seats but in front of the rear axle. Just like the Audi R8 and the lower end cars from McLaren, Ferrari and Lamborghini with which it seeks to compete, the other big news about the new Corvette is that it is mid, not front-engined, as has previously been the case. It also boasts a clever new eight-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, with no manual available, even as an option. It does have launch control, and as such can hit 62mph in just 3.5 seconds, with a top speed of 184mph thanks primarily to the fact that its big V8 thumps out 475bhp and 613Nm of torque. As standard, all UK Corvettes also get the ‘Z51 Performance Package’, which includes beefier-than-normal Brembo brakes, a limited-slip differential, a shorter final drive ratio for the best acceleration, a sports exhaust system, what Chevrolet describes as the ‘Level 1’ aero package, and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres The first UK cars will be specified in to two trim levels; 2LT and 3LT. You can then add numerous options to improve the dynamics – such Chevrolet’s excellent Magnetic Ride adaptive suspension for £1,920 – or to enhance the styling and interior spec. The 3LT test car we drove had just about everything you could wish for on it, including the adaptive dampers, carbon fibre trim inside and out and £1,780 of Amplify Orange paintwork, but its all-up price reflected this, at £93,090. But then it’s still pretty special to drive, particularly in Convertible form, which successfully marries proper alfresco motoring with seemingly zero dynamic compromises compared with the excellent coupe. Link: https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/chevrolet/corvette/356241/new-chevrolet-corvette-convertible-2021-review

Michael, 26, PhD student, meets Dom, 26, charity press assistant Sat 9 Oct 2021 06.00 BST Michael on Dom What were you hoping for A face out of Caravaggio’s sketchbooks? A body cut from the Parthenon friezes? Hopes should outpace expectations. First impressions Good. With cocktails on order when I arrived, Dom was clearly on the same page as me. What did you talk about Our talk was extravagantly digressive. Here’s some of it: feeling at home in other countries, Rome in winter, Catholic families, coming out, that it has become un-chic to like Timothée Chalamet, peaches, the professor-student relationship. Any awkward moments When his knowledge of Australiana outstripped mine. Being Australian is my whole shtick. Take that away and what am I Good table manners Faultless. Best thing about Dom? He manages to be unstoppably funny without sacrificing sincerity. He has an inner warmth. Would you introduce him to your friends In a heartbeat. He’d charm them all. Describe Dom in three words Dalston’s hottest ticket. What do you think he made of you? Earnest. In need of direction. Did you go on somewhere? He offered to walk me to the station. (Notice how I didn’t answer the question?)And … did you kiss The better question is how we kissed. If you could change one thing about the evening, what would it be? I wouldn’t change a thing. Even the rain added something. He lent me his jacket. Link: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/oct/09/blind-date-michael-dom

The unprecedented challenge made by Poland's prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, to one of the European Union's core legal principles has seriously escalated his government's dispute with Brussels. And it has fuelled concerns that Poland is heading towards the door, described as "Polexit". France says such an exit is now a "de facto risk". Late on Friday the French and German foreign ministers rebuked Poland, saying EU membership relied upon "complete and unconditional adherence to common values and rules" and this was "not simply a moral commitment. It is also a legal commitment". The European Commission has warned it will use all its powers against Poland. On Thursday, Poland's Constitutional Tribunal ruled that key articles of one of the EU's primary treaties were incompatible with Polish law, in effect rejecting the principle that EU law has primacy over national legislation in certain judicial areas. 'Protecting Polish reform' "In practical terms, this ruling introduces aspects of a legal Polexit because it will deepen the problem of judicial co-operation between Polish and European courts, in particular the mutual recognition of judgements," Patryk Wachowiec, research fellow at the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law told the BBC. "I think they are trying to protect their reform of the judiciary." Mr Wachowiec said the prime minister had brought the challenge for protection against rulings from the EU's top court over the past six years. These rulings had condemned the governing camp's sweeping changes to the judiciary. Mr Morawiecki was also seeking to stop Polish judges from using EU law to question the status of their colleagues appointed following those changes, he said. RULING; Polish judgement marks major challenge to EU laws 'Fake news' The European Commission says the changes have undermined judicial independence and opened up the courts to political interference. The Constitutional Tribunal was the first target of Poland's Law and Justice (PiS) party's reform. It is now dominated by judges who are sympathetic to the party, one of whom was appointed illegally, according to the European Court of Human Rights Both Mr Morawiecki and Poland's most powerful politician, PiS chairman Jaroslaw Kaczynski, insist Poland wants to stay in the EU. They accuse the country's fragmented opposition of spreading "fake news" to frighten an electorate that overwhelmingly supports membership, even if more Poles now voice concerns about losing sovereignty to the EU. They acknowledge membership has given Poland access to billions of euros to invest in projects that have visibly transformed the country's landscape, as well as access to the single market. Donald Tusk, the former European Council president and now head of Poland's largest opposition group Civic Coalition, has urged Poles to protest against the ruling at a Warsaw rally on Sunday. "The operation planned by Jaroslaw Kaczynski to remove Poland from Europe has started full steam ahead. If we remain inactive, nothing will stop him," he said in a video posted on Twitter. Brussels dictatorship' So if Poland's leaders are adamant they do not want a "Polexit", why are two of Mr Kaczynski's long-term confidants, Marek Suski and Ryszard Terlecki, stoking anti-EU sentiments Last month Mr Suski talked about fighting the "Brussels occupier" and Mr Terlecki said the UK had shown that "the dictatorship of the Brussels bureaucracy" could be defeated by leaving. Mr Terlecki, who is head of the ruling PiS party's parliamentary caucus, insisted Poland wanted to remain but said "drastic solutions" would have to be sought if the conflict was not resolved. Perhaps the party is preparing the ground for an eventual exit once Poland has to pay more money into the EU budget than it takes out. Maybe it's playing hardball to try to get the best possible compromise with Brussels. Perhaps it's both. The European Commission has yet to approve Poland's €57bn (£50bn; $66bn) Covid recovery plan, money the government needs to finance its flagship "Polish Deal". Negotiations are ongoing and some suggest the government is using the ruling as leverage to get the plan agreed. The ruling does not take effect until it is published. Although the government is legally obliged to do so, it has failed to publish rulings in the past. Link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58840076

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iPhone Battery Health percentage that declines over time has been found to be meaningless and a sham as it does not determine the actual battery capacity, a YouTube channel has claimed after digging into the process of how the iPhone analyses its battery condition. Apple started showing the Battery Health percentage on the iPhone after facing a public outrage back in 2018 over silently throttling performance of the handsets to mitigate unexpected shutdowns. It has so far been considered as one of the aspects to understand how long an iPhone could be used, without visiting a service centre. The video posted by YouTube channel Payette Forward shows that the iPhone Battery Health percentage, which was introduced with iOS 11.3, is of no real use and is claimed to be inaccurate. It is a known fact that not all batteries have the same capacity. Due to chemical reactions occurring while generating energy, batteries provide varying capacity to users. iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max Review But instead of considering the variation, the video shows Apple takes the rated capacity of iPhone batteries into view to calculate their Health percentage. This is where the conflict emerges. To detail the difference, the narrator in the video took two iPhone models — the iPhone XS and iPhone 12 Pro. While the iPhone XS shows 83 percent of maximum capacity, the iPhone 12 Pro appears to have 100 percent capacity. The change in the maximum capacity does not indicate the exact age of the batteries on the two iPhone models. Rather, the difference seems simply to be because the iPhone 12 Pro went through 97 charge cycles at the time it was put on the test, compared to the 466 charge cycles the iPhone XS had gone through. iPhone 14 Pro Models Likely to Get Up to 2TB Storage: ReportWhy would Apple show 100 percent battery health on the iPhone 12 Pro despite 97 charge cycles, is another discrepancy, something Payette Forward has a theory for. Apple itself says that “with lithium-ion batteries, the capacity diminishes slightly with each complete charge cycle.” By going through the iPhone analytics, the narrator suggests that Apple does not consider the actual capacity as the base for calculating the Battery Health percentage and instead uses the rated capacity to estimate how much battery life is left on an iPhone. The actual capacity could be higher than the rated capacity in some cases and thus you may end up seeing 100 percent capacity on your iPhone for some time — even after completing several charging cycles. “It's like filling up the gas tank in your car… it's all digital now, but with a gas gauge, you would fill up the tank, and it would go past F, and it would take a while — a lot of gas burned to get back to F,” the narrator says. iPhone 13 Pro Teardown Reveals Higher Component Cost Over Samsung Galaxy S21+ The video was posted in April but has now been brought into notice by ZDNet. Gadgets 360 has reached out to Apple for a comment and will update this space when the company responds. This week on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, we discuss iPhone 13, new iPad and iPad mini, and Apple Watch Series 7 — and what they mean to the Indian market. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Microsoft has now released Windows 11 as a free upgrade for people running Windows 10, and on this page you'll find out everything you need to know about the new operating system. From the Windows 11 price and release date, to how to download it and what the best Windows 11 features are, we answer all of your burning questions. If you'd like to try it out, we have a guide on how to download and install Windows 11. As with any operating system launch, there are some issues, so make sure you check out our how to fix common Windows 11 problems guide if you encounter any. From what we’ve seen during our Windows 11 review, this new operating system brings numerous improvements, such as an attractive, modern design, better security and new ways to find and download apps. So far, it’s shaped up to be a promising operating system, even if there are still opportunities for deeper improvements. And, if you’re currently using Windows 10, you’ll be happy to know that you'll be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 11, provided that your laptop or PC meets the strict minimum system requirements that Microsoft has put into place in the name of future security. Just bear in mind that there's still some confusion as to what these system requirements are due to a component called TPM (Trusted Platform Module). Right now, it looks like Microsoft isn't going to budge on its requirement that your device is equipped with a TPM 2.0 in order to run a fully supported version of the new OS. Now that Windows 11 has been released, let’s take a look at what the new operating system has on offer, from its updated features to the benefits it has for users over Windows 10.

Asahi Linux is a project by a community of developers dedicated to getting Linux running on Apple's impressive M1 silicon. According to its September progress report (thanks Tom's Hardware), the group has made significant headway in its mission by having Ahasi Linux operating natively as a basic Linux desktop on an Apple M1 Mac. This is a big deal because Apple uses a bunch of proprietary tech that doesn't play nice with you if you're trying to run an operating system that isn't macOS on one of its computers. Some adventurous developers have been trying ways to open up Apple's closed M1 ecosystem for a while now, and Asahi Linux might have just cracked the code. The M1 is Apple's custom Arm-based SoC (system on chips) started showing on Macs in 2020 after ditching Intel's x86 silicon chip. The M1 is the most powerful chip Apple's ever made, so you can imagine why some folks might want to run Linux and, let's say, install Proton, which would turn their Mac into a killer gaming PC. This massive feat was achieved by having a bunch of drivers merged (or in review) for Linux 5.16, which includes drivers for the PCIe, USB-C PD, ASC mailbox, etc. If you're wondering if any of this is legal, don't worry. So long as no code is taken from macOS to build Linux support, it's legal to distribute. "With these drivers, M1 Macs are usable as desktop Linux machines! While there is no GPU acceleration yet, the M1's CPUs are so powerful that a software-rendered desktop is actually faster on them than on e.g., Rockchip ARM64 machines with hardware acceleration." wrote Hector "marcan" Martin, who's leading the development of Ashai Linux. Now that Linux is running, expect to see an official installer made available for download soon for anyone adventurous enough to try it themselves. Since there are still some missing features, however, tinker at your own risk. "Remember, there are still many missing bits (USB3, TB, camera, GPU, audio, etc.) as well as patchsets a bit too problematic to bundle as-is at this time (WiFi, which needs significant rewrites), so don't expect this to be anywhere near the polished experience that is the goal of our project. That said, we hope this will allow those willing to be on the absolute bleeding edge to get a taste for what running Linux on these machines is like—and, for some, this might be enough for production usage." The next step for Asahi Linux is taking on the GPU kernel interface since its current build lacks GPU acceleration. You can keep updated on the team's progress right here, along with the GitHub page of all the tools and docs involved in the project. Asahi Linux is a project by a community of developers dedicated to getting Linux running on Apple's impressive M1 silicon. According to its September progress report (thanks Tom's Hardware), the group has made significant headway in its mission by having Ahasi Linux operating natively as a basic Linux desktop on an Apple M1 Mac. This is a big deal because Apple uses a bunch of proprietary tech that doesn't play nice with you if you're trying to run an operating system that isn't macOS on one of its computers. Some adventurous developers have been trying ways to open up Apple's closed M1 ecosystem for a while now, and Asahi Linux might have just cracked the code. The M1 is Apple's custom Arm-based SoC (system on chips) started showing on Macs in 2020 after ditching Intel's x86 silicon chip. The M1 is the most powerful chip Apple's ever made, so you can imagine why some folks might want to run Linux and, let's say, install Proton, which would turn their Mac into a killer gaming PC. This massive feat was achieved by having a bunch of drivers merged (or in review) for Linux 5.16, which includes drivers for the PCIe, USB-C PD, ASC mailbox, etc. If you're wondering if any of this is legal, don't worry. So long as no code is taken from macOS to build Linux support, it's legal to distribute. "With these drivers, M1 Macs are usable as desktop Linux machines! While there is no GPU acceleration yet, the M1's CPUs are so powerful that a software-rendered desktop is actually faster on them than on e.g., Rockchip ARM64 machines with hardware acceleration." wrote Hector "marcan" Martin, who's leading the development of Ashai Linux. Now that Linux is running, expect to see an official installer made available for download soon for anyone adventurous enough to try it themselves. Since there are still some missing features, however, tinker at your own risk. "Remember, there are still many missing bits (USB3, TB, camera, GPU, audio, etc.) as well as patchsets a bit too problematic to bundle as-is at this time (WiFi, which needs significant rewrites), so don't expect this to be anywhere near the polished experience that is the goal of our project. That said, we hope this will allow those willing to be on the absolute bleeding edge to get a taste for what running Linux on these machines is like—and, for some, this might be enough for production usage." The next step for Asahi Linux is taking on the GPU kernel interface since its current build lacks GPU acceleration. You can keep updated on the team's progress right here, along with the GitHub page of all the tools and docs involved in the project.

A new update for Quake's enhanced version is out, adding in significantly more bot and modding support for the remastered shooter that released in August. Improvements to user control and accessibility measures are also included. Most notably, bot support for numerous maps now includes: The Slipgate Complex (E1M1) Castle of the Damned (E1M2) The House of Chthon (E1M7) The Elder God Shrine (E4M3) Shub-Niggurath's Pit (END) The Edge of Oblivion (HIPDM1) The Pumping Station (HIP1M1) Improved bot melee attack, swimming and weapon selection behaviors Added text dialogues for when bots make kills or get killed Improved bot handling of elevators Improved bot navigation on The Abandoned Base (DM3) General improvements also include faster game saving, hosts are now identified by an icon rather than an outline so colorblind players can more easily distinguish them, and the weapon wheel HUD is no longer cut off when playing local multiplayer. A number of checkpoint spawns have also been added to the new episode "Dimension of the Machine," which you should absolutely check out. Writer Rick Lane considers it an excellent addition to the Quake canon. If you had any issues with how Quake controlled, the dev team has improved analog stick input on controllers, plus added deadzone, aim acceleration, aim exponent and aim smoothing options for controllers. As for bugs fixes, highlights include: Turning off friendly fire no longer prevents self-damage Resolved issue where bots would not grab needed pickups Bots should now see all triggers and doors as shootable Bots no longer linger in slime or lava for too long Removed Bot support on maps that lack waypoints Resolved issue when sounds would drop and entities disappear or flicker during online play Disabled GPU culling to improve performance in Dimension of the Machine You can read the full list of Quake update patch notes here and see more details, including additional bug fixes and technical improvements to modding. Link: https://www.pcgamer.com/quake-remaster-update/

Happy Birthday 🎂

Audi has stated that it will become an all-electric manufacturer by the end of this decade – but in the meantime the company is planning a last hurrah for combustion engines on a new, potentially final version of its A4 compact executive. Expected to arrive in 2023, the next Audi A4 will stay on the same MLB platform as the current generation. But while it will feature increased electrification, including mild and plug-in hybrids, it will still be based on a new generation of petrol and diesel engines, described by Audi’s head of technical development, Oliver Hoffman, as “the best we have ever launched”. Speaking exclusively to Auto Express, Hoffman said the A4, which makes up around a fifth of Audi’s global sales, is a “super-important” model for the firm. “The development of the next generation of A4 is under way,” he told us. “We’ll offer that car, and the A6, for a lot of years. Production of the last new combustion-engined model will begin in 2025 and end with a normal lifecycle in 2033. But we will launch some models a lot earlier.” The A4 is expected to fit that timeline by arriving in 2023, and while a diesel version will be available, the bulk of the line-up will use a further development of the VW Group’s ubiquitous EA888 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine. VW is said to have been working on variable-section turbines within the turbocharger, designed to improve throttle response at low speeds while delivering higher overall power outputs. We should expect a higher pressure of fuel injection, too, not least because right now the 2.0-litre motor is beaten on that score by the more modest 1.5-litre TSI unit that features in many SEATs, Skodas and VWs. Hoffman said that the new petrol engines will feature “more electrification, for sure, to meet the regs”, and this is likely to include beefed-up 48-volt tech for the mild-hybrid versions and a larger battery, mounted on the rear axle, for plug-in hybrid versions. We can expect the A4 PHEVs to match other MLB models, notably the Q5, with a usable capacity of 14.4kWh; this should allow Audi’s engineers to take aim at the 62 miles of electric range offered by the latest Mercedes C 300 e. The A4’s chassis set-up will remain largely unchanged, although the 48-volt electrics will offer greater scope for technology such as active anti-roll bars to be offered as options, or standard on higher-performance variants. Our exclusive image shows how the A4 will evolve, taking cues from Audi’s electric production cars and concepts, while staying true to its existing proportions. It’s expected to be only a few millimetres longer, while the wheelbase will be largely the same. Inside, the step up to 48v will bring greater connectivity, as part of a pared-back dashboard that will feature even fewer physical controls. Audi’s engineers will be able to shrink the centre console around toggle gear selectors, because the car is likely to be offered with only dual-clutch and torque-converter automatic gearboxes. Link: https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/audi/a4/356239/new-2023-audi-a4-stick-petrol-and-diesel-power

From atmospheric Berlin to Joyce’s Trieste, via Marseille’s markets and a wellbeing walk in Copenhagen, city strolls reward the curious rambler he art of flâneur-ing might be French and its most famous practitioners Parisians, but other European cultures have walking traditions, from the Italian passeggiata and Spanish paseo – social promenades to take the air as dusk falls – to German wanderlust: hiking with desire. Nothing opens up a city like a long ramble on foot. It’s the only way to make a place your own and unearth discoveries not listed in guidebooks or apps. For all that it is mainstream, even fashionable, and was a favourite with no-frills flying weekenders before the pandemic, Berlin remains a strange, sometimes alienating city. This is especially the case when you go walking around its historic heart, where the Berlin Wall stood from 1961 to 1989. While unified Germany has thrown many millions at the city and tried to fill this former site of espionage, tension and trauma with newbuilds and showy upgrades, such as Norman Foster’s glass dome for the Reichstag, swathes of the area remain open to the sky. This accentuates a feeling of emptiness in what is a relatively unpopulous capital city – 3.6 million, around a third of London – and also allows the mental space to conjure Berlin’s many ghosts. Vague, unplanned walks around the former East and West will still evince differences – the tank-friendly width of Karl-Marx-Allee, the glitzy shops along the Kurfürstendamm – but if you want to chart a route, I’d recommend a wander taking in the following: the Hansa Quarter (Hansaviertel), a showcase estate where renowned architects (including Alvar Aalto, Walter Gropius, Arne Jacobsen and Oscar Niemeyer) designed modernist residential buildings at a site destroyed in the second world war; the Tiergarten inner-city park; Alexanderplatz, which still exudes something of the old East; and Prenzlauer Berg, where there are nice coffee shops and lunch spots. Berlin is big, but you can always hop on an S-bahn train for the return journey. If you fancy a hike outside the central districts, wander down to former Tempelhof airport, where the narratives of Nazi Germany, the Berlin airlift and modern migration crisscross like contrails. Link: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2021/oct/07/europes-best-walking-cities-berlin-marseille-copenhagen-seven-wonders-of-the-wandering-world

The EU will bring forward new proposals for the Northern Ireland Protocol next week, European Commission Vice President Maros Šefčovič has said. He said he hopes they would form the basis for intensive talks with the UK. The protocol avoids a hard border on the island of Ireland by keeping Northern Ireland in the EU's single market for goods. But unionists argue it creates a trade border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. They say it undermines Northern Ireland's constitutional position as part of the UK. What is the Northern Ireland Protocol Boris Johnson says NI Protocol could work if it was 'fixed' Mr Šefčovič told an event in Dublin that he hoped talks would begin before the end of October. Mr Šefčovič said the EU was going to "enormous lengths". "I believe the package of practical solutions that we are putting on the table would be attractive for Northern Ireland and would be, I hope, supported by a majority of stakeholders in Northern Ireland," he told the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) in Dublin. He said the commitment of the EU to the Good Friday Agreement was "absolute" and that the avoidance of a hard border on the island was a "prerequisite". Earlier this week UK Brexit Minister Lord Frost said he was expecting a short, intense negotiation with the EU. He told the Conservative party conference that the protocol was "not working and needs to change". In July, Lord Frost put forward radical proposals for changes to the protocol. Triggering Article 16, which would suspend part of the deal, may end up as "the only way" forward, he warned. What is Article 16 and what exactly does it say Mr Šefčovič said threats to trigger Article 16 were not helpful. He said his proposals were not presented on a "take it or leave it" basis and that both the UK and EU would need to get out of their comfort zones. Link: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-58826305

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Nokia T20 was launched on Wednesday as the latest tablet by Nokia brand licensee HMD Global. The Nokia tablet features a 2K display and carries an 8-megapixel rear camera sensor. The tablet also includes dual microphones and stereo speakers to ease virtual interactions. Other key highlights of the Nokia T20 include up to 4GB RAM, dedicated Google Kids Space, and an all-day battery life. HMD Global also announced a Rugged Case, Rugged Case + Flip cover/ stand, and Nokia Micro Earbuds Pro as three of its accessories specifically designed for the Nokia T20 tablet. Nokia T20 price, availability Nokia T20 price starts at EUR 199 (roughly Rs. 17,200) for the Wi-Fi only variant and EUR 239 (roughly Rs. 20,600) for the Wi-Fi + 4G model. The Wi-Fi only variant comes in 3GB RAM + 32GB storage and 4GB RAM + 64GB storage options, while the Wi-Fi + 4G model be limited to the 4GB + 64GB configuration. On the availability front, the Nokia T20 will go on sale in select markets around the world starting Wednesday (October 6), though details about its launch in India are yet to be announced. HMD Global, however, confirmed in a press briefing that the Nokia T20 will be launched in the Indian market very soon. Customers purchasing the Nokia T20 will get free Spotify subscription to access over 70 million tracks and 2.9 million podcasts out of the box. ExpressVPN will also be available on the Nokia tablet with a 30-day free trial. HP 11-Inch Tablet PC, New Devices With Windows 11 Compatibility Announced Nokia T20 specifications The Nokia T20 runs on Android 11 and is promised to receive two years of OS upgrades and three years of “timely” security updates. The tablet features a 10.4-inch 2K (2,000x1,200 pixels) in-cell display with 400 nits of peak brightness. The display is also protected by a toughened glass. The Nokia T20 is powered by an octa-core Unisoc T610 SoC, along with 3GB and 4GB RAM options. For photos and videos, the Nokia T20 comes with a 5-megapixel selfie camera sensor at the front and the 8-megapixel camera sensor at the back. The rear camera setup is also paired with an LED flash. HMD Global has provided 32GB and 64GB of onboard storage options on the Nokia T20. The tablet also supports storage expansion through a microSD card (up to 512GB). Realme Pad With 10.4-Inch Display, MediaTek Helio G80 SoC Launched in India Connectivity options on the Nokia T20 include 4G LTE (optional), Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v5.0, USB Type-C, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The tablet is backed by an amplifier along with stereo speakers. Nokia PureBook S14 Laptop, New Smart TV Range Launched in India by Flipkart The Nokia T20 packs an 8,200mAh battery that supports fast charging through a 15W compatible charger (10W charger is in the box). The tablet is also rated to deliver an all-day battery life on a single charge. Amazon's month-long sale, the Great Indian Festival, is back. This week on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, Amazon India's consumer electronics head Akshay Ahuja takes us behind the scenes. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

The best ecommerce platforms can enable your business to set up an online store that suits your needs. There is a huge variety of ecommerce platform packages from which to choose, so building an online store has never been easier. To begin, first you'll need ecommerce web hosting, which is to say hosting that will scale up with your business without interruption. Next you'll need shopping cart software to run with your ecommerce site. This will probably include a payment gateway for credit card processing, though if you're already established and have a decent enough credit rating you could apply for merchant services to reduce transaction costs. Your ecommerce website doesn't have to be expensive to design, either, as there are plenty of ecommerce themes available. Additionally, if you also have a bricks-and-mortar store than a Point of Sale (POS) system for mobile credit card processing can be particularly desirable. Which ecommerce software is best for your business depends entirely on your specific requirements. If you're an online-only outfit, then POS integration won't be necessary, but you may get a lot of business from overseas, in which case foreign currency support would be a requirement. In this article, we’re going to highlight some of the best ecommerce platforms available right now, before moving on to consider other options you might want to explore in terms of creating your own ecommerce solution.

If you have an AMD Ryzen chip in your gaming rig, you may want to hold off on upgrading to Windows 11 for a bit. AMD and Microsoft announced that Windows 11 compatible AMD CPUs "may exhibit reduced performance in certain applications when running Windows 11," according to a blog post that our friends over at Tom's Hardware spotted. This means more than 100 AMD processors can be affected. According to AMD, one of the issues is the measured and functional L3 latency can nearly triple, which lowers the performance of certain applications that rely on memory and cache latency, such as games. The other problem lies with AMD's "preferred core" feature not working as advertised. Preferred Core assigns apps to the fastest core on the chip. This, too, may cause noticeable performance dips with chips that are 65W and higher. AMD confirms that every Ryzen CPU that's supported by Windows 11 is impacted, along with EPYC and Anthlon chips. Our testing of a Ryzen 9 5900X on both Windows 10 and 11 showed no appreciable difference in performance, but that is one chip out of more than a hundred on the list. (Though we've found other issues that could affect gaming performance on Windows 11.) Right now nothing is being reported on how Windows 11 is affecting Intel chips, though I'm sure if you're Intel, you're not shedding any tears for the competition. AMD says both a Windows and software update later this month should resolve the issues. Windows 11 is currently out now as a free upgrade for Windows 10 users. Considering all this, though, you may want to do what some of our readers are doing and wait to make the upgrade.

Just when we thought that Facebook's lengthy downtime would be the biggest cybersecurity news of the week, hackers went and absolutely bulldozed Twitch, swiping the site's source code and revealing everything from how much the top streamers make (a lot) to the existence of a Steam-like game client Twitch has in development, codenamed Vapor. Twitch is still trying to figure out what exactly happened, but while that internal investigation unfoldsand it could very well take a long while, given the scale of the hacksecurity experts are warning of potentially dire consequences for the livestreaming platform. "Reading of a data breach that includes the entire source code, including unreleased software, SDKs, financial reports and internal red-teaming tools will send a shudder down [the spine of] any hardened infosec professional," ThreatModeler founder and CEO Archie Agarwal told the Threatpost blog. "This is as bad as it could possibly be.""The first question on everyone’s mind has to be, 'How on earth did someone exfiltrate 125GB of the most sensitive data imaginable without tripping a single alarm?' There’s going to be some very hard questions asked internally." Our colleague Ian Brownhill, information security director at Future, which operates PC Gamer, said the theft of the Twitch source code could give hostile actors a "massive insight" into the platform's systems and infrastructure, and expose other weaknesses that could enable future attacks—not just against Twitch, but its parent company Amazon as well. That risk could potentially be heightened if the attackers are ideological, as it currently appears, and not criminal or state-based. "The monetary rewards are limited, unless a ransom can be extracted," Brownhill said. "The criminal gangs want the credit cards (or PII [personally identifiable information] to a lesser extent) which does not seem to be the target here, or would be demanding ransoms. It’s not [likely] a nation-state—they want the Colonial Pipeline, critical infrastructure-type takedowns (or election tampering)—although as it all leads up to Jeff Bezos this cannot be completely ruled out."Synopsys Software Integrity Group senior security strategist Jonathan Knudsen echoed that point in a statement, saying that access to the source gives attackers an opportunity to "reverse engineer software applications to understand how they work," and that anyone in the world who wants Twitch's source code can now have it. "Whatever Twitch was doing for application security, they need to redouble their efforts," Knudsen said. "Anyone can now run static analysis, interactive analysis, fuzzing, and any other application security testing tools. Twitch will need to push their application security to the next level, finding and fixing vulnerabilities before anyone else can find them." But plugging security holes only goes so far when, as Brownhill explained, breaches often aren't the result of Hollywood-style high-tech hijinks, but simple exploitation of human frailty, including "phishing to capture credentials and then moving laterally and escalating privileges [or] disgruntled employee action." In fact, a "phone speak phishing attack" is how a Florida teenager was able to hijack dozens of famous Twitter accounts (and steal more than $117,000) in 2020. Because of that inherent vulnerability, Comforte AG product manager Trevor Morgan said companies like Twitch need to focus more on "data-centric" approaches to security, rather than pouring all their resources into trying to keep hackers out. "Threat actors will penetrate any perimeter put in place to keep them out," he said. "Protecting the data itself will render that ultimate prize worthless on the black market and blunt the negative repercussions of a successful hack." The good news for Twitch users is that at this point, personal data like usernames, passwords, and credit card info doesn't appear to be accessible through the leak, although Knudsen said the published data does include hashed passwords. We'll need to wait for Twitch to confirm the extent of the data loss,but in the meantime users should at the very minimum change their passwords as soon as possible. It would also be a good idea to enable 2FA, and if you've used the same password on other sites, change it across the board to avoid "credential stuffing" attacks, where hackers try using username and password combos across a range of different sites. You should also be wary of any followup requests for personal information. "This kind of thing can lead to more secondary phishing campaigns," Brownhill said. "People [may be] pretending to be Twitch offering support/compensation/services to trick people into handing over more information." Link: https://www.pcgamer.com/security-experts-aghast-at-the-scale-of-twitch-hack-this-is-as-bad-as-it-could-possibly-be/

Realme GT Neo 2 India launch has already been confirmed by the company but the exact launch date of the smartphone is still unknown. Ahead of its official unveiling, a tipster has shared some key specifications of the soon-to-be-launched Realme smartphone. The tipster has shared the possible RAM and storage specifications of Realme GT Neo 2, along with the colour options that could be offered. Realme GT Neo 2 was launched in China in September and is powered by a Snapdragon 870 SoC, paired with up to 12GB of RAM. Tipster Mukul Sharma (@stufflistings), in collaboration with 91Mobiles, has shared some details about the upcoming Realme GT Neo 2. The smartphone is said to come in 8GB + 128GB and 12GB + 256GB storage configurations. In comparison, the Realme GT Neo 2 model that was launched in China also came in an 8GB + 256GB storage variant, but it is not clear if that will be releasing in India. Additionally, Sharma also mentions that Realme will offer the smartphone in Neo Black, Neo Blue, and Neo Green colour options. Realme India, Europe, and Latin America CEO Madhav Sheth recently confirmed that Realme GT Neo 2 would launch in India soon but hasn't mentioned any specific date. Earlier this week, Realme also teased the launch of the smartphone. Separately, a microsite is now live on Realme India's website that confirms some specifications of the smartphone. Realme GT Neo 2 specifications As per the microsite, Realme GT Neo 2 is said to be powered by a Snapdragon 870 5G SoC. Additionally, it also confirms that the Realme smartphone will get a Samsung E4 AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and 600Hz touch sampling rate. Apart from this, the microsite doesn't divulge much information. If the specifications of Realme GT Neo 2's India variant are indeed the same as the Chinese model, the smartphone will feature a triple rear camera setup that includes a 64-megapixel primary sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, and a 2-megapixel macro shooter. It may pack a 5,000mAh battery with 65W SuperDart Charging fast charging support.

You'll find plenty of Kindle Unlimited free trials right now, which means you're shopping at just the right time to grab unlimited access to the library without spending any cash. That's a welcome relief, especially seeing as the cost isn't included in the Amazon Prime price. Not only can you scope out the library of titles on offer to make sure your interests are served, but the free time gives you the chance to see if you will actually use the membership enough to be worth the monthly cost.The length of Amazon's offers varies, ranging from the standard 30 day free trial all the way up to three months in some cases. Those longer ones usually come as part of the Amazon Black Friday deals. We're rounding up the Kindle Unlimited free trials currently available in the US, UK, and Australia so you always know the trial length on offer right now. Amazon Kindle Unlimited is an ebook subscription service that offers free Kindle titles and Audible narrations on a 'borrowing' basis. Because of this structure, you'll be able to store a maximum of ten books at a time on your account, but you can easily 'return' a book in order to download a new one. There are over one million books and plenty of magazine subscriptions to choose from, as well as thousands of Audible audiobook versions as well. This roster is regularly updated with new titles as well, so you'll never run out of titles. Below, you'll find all the Kindle Unlimited free trials currently available so you can get started with Amazon's subscription service for nothing.

This is a big week for software releases. Windows 11 is now officially out and available as a free upgrade to millions of PCs, and on Thursday, Ubisoft will release Far Cry 6 to both PC and console. Related, AMD says you'll get a sizable performance boost in Far Cry 6 by installing its new Adrenalin 21.10.1 driver, which is also tuned for Windows 11.The claim is dependent on your specific GPU and setup as a whole, as well as which settings you plan to play at in Far Cry 6. Your mileage will inevitably vary, though AMD offered up a few examples in its release notes.AMD claims owners of a Radeon RX 6700 XT graphics card will see up to a 10% jump in Far Cry 6 at 1080p and with ray tracing enabled, versus the previous driver. Meanwhile, Radeon RX 6800 XT owners will purportedly see up to a 12% gain at 4K at medium settings without ray tracing, while Radeon RX 6600 XT owners stand to benefit from a 13% performance boost at 1440p at medium settings and with ray tracing enabled. Those are unlikely to be the only three scenarios where the updated driver will wring more performance out of your Radeon card versus the previous driver. Instead, it looks like AMD was trying to highlight a varied mix of scenarios. In which case, mission accomplished. In addition to being optimized for Far Cry 6, the 21.10.1 driver package is also tuned for Battlefield 2042 (open beta) and Naraka: Bladepoint. The same goes for PUBG, which has been out for what feels like forever—AMD is claiming up to an 11% increase in performance at 4K with ultra settings, on a Radeon RX 6800 XT graphics card. There is the usual round of bug fixes, too. They include: Playing Horizon Zero Dawn for an extended period may lead to driver timeouts or game crash on some AMD Graphics products such as Radeon RX 6700 XT. Driver timeouts may be experienced while playing a game and streaming a video simultaneously on some AMD Graphics products such as Radeon RX 500 series graphics. Some users may experience high idle memory clock speed values when two or more monitors are connected to their system. Driver timeouts may be experienced while playing The Medium on some AMD Graphics products such as Radeon RX 6700 XT. On full GPU load, Radeon Software may incorrectly display higher than actual GPU power consumption values. While playing Wreckfest or Arma 3, image corruption may be experienced when viewing foliage. AMD also calls out support for Windows 11 in the release notes. That is something AMD already added in previous driver iterations, but this is presumably the best release for Windows 11, perhaps with further tweaks for performance and stability. To that end, we've posted our Windows 11 review today. We like it overall, but you may want to wait for the first big update, to give developers time to stomp out any bugs that get discovered. Either way, AMD's latest driver is available to download through the Radeon Software utility, or you can grab and install it manually.

It's been 11 years since Alan Wake last took a trip to Bright Falls. But today the tortured writer makes his return with the release of Alan Wake Remastered, shining a new light on Remedy Entertainment's torch-slinging thriller all over again: there's a new trailer above. Debuting in 2010, Alan Wake follows the titular pulp author on holiday in a mysterious town where his schlocky stories begin coming true—creating a tense thriller that sees you fending off shadowy monsters with a humble flashlight. This remaster doesn't dramatically overhaul that original drama, but does spruce it up a bit with increased resolutions, denser environments and sharper characters. Alan Wake's two DLC stories, The Signal and The Writer, are also included for free and given the same makeover. If you've never opened the book on Alan Wake, the Remastered edition might be a good spot to jump in on, especially for folks who were introduced to Remedy via the fantastic Control. But in his Alan Wake Remastered impressions, Robin felt the game's "basic graphical upgrade" struggled to justify spending twice the price of the existing game on PC. "I’m not disappointed, exactly—they’ve never claimed Alan Wake Remastered was any more than the basic graphical update that it is," Robin wrote. "It delivers on what it set out to do. But for a PC player—especially one who may well already own Alan Wake thanks to a Steam sale or an Epic giveaway—I don’t think there’s enough here to make it worth more than twice the price of the original. It’s a release aimed much more at console owners, with PC seemingly a bit incidental." A day one patch does set out to improve a few of the graphical issues present in pre-release builds. Cinematics have been bumped up from work-in-progress 1080p to 4K, and several sequences where Alan used his old character model have been remedied (hah). Link: https://www.pcgamer.com/alan-wakes-4k-remaster-is-out-now/

Verdict For fast Ford fans the ST Edition is the pinnacle, and it’s a fitting send-off before a newly updated ST arrives shortly. It looks the part, and the extras give a subtle extra breadth of ability, with more comfort and control than the ST – but it’s not night and day. Still, the ST Edition is full of personality, and in an age when character is being sacrificed in the push towards full electrification, you can get it here before it’s gone.There’s a newly updated Ford Focus line-up waiting in the wings, including an ST hot hatch – which means it’s time for a special-edition run-out model in the form of this, the Ford Focus ST Edition. ST Edition trim isn’t new; we’ve seen this even more hardcore development on the smaller Fiesta ST towards the end of the pre-facelifted car’s lifespan. However, unlike some brands, Ford has chosen not to add more power, but to ramp up the focus on the Focus, enhancing the ST’s chassis. As a result, this 2021 Focus ST Edition features coilover suspension from KW Automotive. The new twin-tube dampers are two-way adjustable – but you’ll have to manually twiddle the clickers, with 12 compression settings and 16 stages of adjustment for the rebound control Those dampers control lightweight 19-inch alloys that cut unsprung mass by 10 per cent, while the ST Edition rides 10mm lower than the standard ST. A further 20mm drop can be requested by customers. The ST Edition’s springs are more than 50 per cent firmer those of the already-stiff standard car, and they combine with the extra support from the new dampers to make the ST Edition feel a bit sharper on the road. True, it’s not that much sharper, but the damping is great. The ST Edition is taut, but it rarely crashes over potholes or bumps. It doesn’t skip over them either, but the body control is impressive as you up the pace on a B-road cars like this are meant to devour. It goads you into going faster, and if you’re really into tuning your set-up, thanks to a written document that’s delivered with the car, you can tailor the damping to the type of driving on offer, be it road or track. The ST’s trademark lightning-fast steering response is still present, but this was never an area in which the ST was lacking.Combined with the always-on feel of the chassis, it can get just a little wearing when all you want to do is cruise; rivals such as the Hyundai i30 N offer a little more duality, but it’s a small price to pay in the Ford. The Recaro seats are superbly supportive and also very comfortable, but the engine is a little droney, as with the standard car. Link: https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/ford/focus/356187/new-ford-focus-st-edition-2021-review

ome of Finn Mackay’s best childhood memories involve just being one of the boys – playing out on the street, getting into mischief, running in and out of friends’ houses, with someone’s mum calling them all in for tea. But all that ended the year Mackay’s beloved grandmother let her neighbours know that the child who came down to Nottingham every summer from rural Scotland wasn’t actually the little boy they had assumed. “My male friends felt undermined because they’d respected me, and basically this toxic girl-ness had been in their midst, and they’d not known. So they felt like: ‘Oh, we had a girl in our gang all along,’’” says Mackay, ruefully, as we sit drinking coffee in a cafe overlooking Bristol harbour. For the young Finn, who grew up in the countryside playing soldiers and climbing trees, being sent to spend the holidays with grandparents had been a chance to live as the boy they had always privately considered themselves to be. In their thoughtful and often moving new book, Female Masculinities and the Gender Wars, Mackay describes how it felt like being “my honest self”, while realising others might see it as a deception. It was towards the end of primary school that Mackay’s grandmother broke the spell. “I never blamed my grandmother, because she said: ‘I was worried. I thought you might get into trouble or someone might find out …’ I totally accepted that, but I then didn’t have my friends any more. I just felt totally outcast.” Mackay, 44, is now a senior sociology lecturer at the University of the West of England, Bristol, with a wife and a six-year-old son. Slightly built, with close-cropped hair, Mackay is often taken for a younger man and has in the past considered transitioning. But now they identify as queer or queer butch, and use they/them pronouns – although Mackay doesn’t really mind what pronouns other people use for them, arguing that sometimes “she” sends a useful feminist message. “If someone’s being introduced on the radio and the word ‘she’ is used, then people are thinking: ‘Oh, a she can get a doctorate or go on the radio,’ and that’s political to me.” It is this willingness to slip between categories that makes Mackay a fascinating observer of the so-called gender wars, or the long-running argument over what makes a woman or a man – and what that means for transgender people’s rights to identify as they choose, or women’s freedom to describe their own bodies and experiences.The debate has run unusually hot in recent weeks. Labour’s party conference was overshadowed by a row over whether it was acceptable for the MP Rosie Duffield to say: “Only women have cervixes,” given some trans men still have them. (Her own leader, Keir Starmer, said she was wrong, only for the Conservative health secretary, Sajid Javid, to defend her.) That followed a furore over the Lancet medical journal referring in an essay on menstruation to “bodies with vaginas”, a phrase meant to be trans-inclusive but seen as dehumanising by some. Meanwhile, in the US, the American Civil Liberties Union had to apologise after citing a quote from the late feminist icon and supreme court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg on abortion, but replacing the word “woman” throughout with “person”. Compromise seems elusive, yet Mackay’s book argues that it is possible to champion women’s and trans rights, drawing on their work as a radical feminist activist – founding the campaign group London Feminist Network, working with domestic violence survivors, leading a revival of the Reclaim the Night movement to assert women’s right to walk the streets after dark – and their private experience of living in a body that doesn’t quite seem to fit. Take the cervix question. Mackay argues that, of course, most women have cervixes, but so do some trans men or non-binary people, so health services should make clear they are all welcome to seek checkups for cervical cancer. However, Mackay is suspicious of MPs’ motives for wading into this argument. “They do it for ideological reasons, as part of a campaign for trans exclusion. When people turn round and say: ‘This is a dog whistle’ – of course it is! Otherwise, why would you be chatting about people’s genitals?”But Mackay didn’t agree with the Lancet’s phrasing or the doctoring of Ginsburg’s quote, arguing that the role of women’s bodies in the history of their oppression still matters. “We can’t forget that history, or a history of silencing, or the ongoing stigmatising of women’s bodies that we’re told are uniquely disgusting, smelly, leaky – in need of control, or of hundreds of products to cleanse them and make them acceptable for the public gaze. So I think in that context it is important to keep talking about women’s bodies and women’s healthcare,” they say. “But if you’re providing a service, surely there should be absolutely nothing wrong with saying who is welcome at this service.” It is a characteristically nuanced answer. Yet Mackay still admits to worrying about how their book will be received, having already been on the sharp end of some Twitter abuse. Do they think the ferocity of debate on social media has pushed people towards more entrenched, uncompromising positions “That’s perhaps what has happened to a lot of people who I think started off fairly open-minded, and because of the fierceness [of the gender wars] have been pushed more and more into a more extreme position,” says Mackay. “There’s a lot of abuse out there and I can totally understand why some people just think: ‘How dare you? Right, I’m going to go even further the other way and see how you like that.’ I’m just always frustrated by the middle ground getting left out.” If the phrase “middle ground” sounds surprisingly mainstream, it probably shouldn’t. Half the problem, Mackay argues, is that arguments that could have been thrashed out within the LGBT community are being stirred from outside it. They were particularly shocked by a recent suggestion from Philip Wilkinson, the Conservative police and crime commissioner for Wiltshire, that trans women should no longer be able to use women’s toilets as they have freely done for years. Being challenged in public toilets is, the book points out, now an increasingly common experience not just for trans women, but for butch lesbians, too. Mackay admits to having sometimes found it easier to use men’s toilets than risk confrontation.“I’ve been called ‘it’. I’ve taken my child in to change him and people have gone: ‘That’s been allowed to breed – you can’t tell nowadays.’ I’ve waited in queues and gone to the toilet and come out and no woman has wanted to go into the cubicle after me, like they’re going to catch some queer or gay disease off me,” they say, matter-of-factly. “That gives me a different perspective on these debates about women’s space being a sort of sanctuary, because it’s not always. Which kind of women But Mackay nonetheless draws distinctions between toilets and therapeutic spaces such as rape counselling services or women’s refuges. Mackay has, they point out gently, worked with survivors of abuse so traumatised that they would rather sit in the dark when the lights go out than risk a male electrician coming to fix them; such hardwired reactions to anyone perceived, rightly or wrongly, as male aren’t easily overcome. “Women take a different route or get off a bus if it’s only them and a man on there. We can’t negate or erase the experiences of women – not even just survivors [of violence]. There are far too many women who have always lived with the threat of it.” Girls are, they argue, taught from childhood to be hypervigilant to men and to manage male behaviour, a wariness that cannot be switched off overnight. “If somebody looks twice at somebody they think is a man in a small, enclosed space that’s supposed to be just for women, it might not be because they’re a homophobic or transphobic bigot; it might be because that’s the reality of the world we live in, with endemic rates of sexualised violence against women. We need to be focusing on that which makes egalitarian models so difficult in the first place.” Does that mean single-sex services should be allowed to exclude trans people in some circumstances Link: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/oct/05/finn-mackay-the-writer-hoping-to-help-end-the-gender-wars