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[TechSpot @TechSpot]

UK Police detective investigated for allegedly using Microsoft Copilot to make decisions in criminal cases

Microsoft Copilot was approved for paperwork, but not for making investigative decisions
https://t.co/hZsP4OlkWu

[TechSpot @TechSpot]

Three airport workers implicated in $470,000 RTX 5090 heist as one of the stolen cards appears online

One of the missing cards appeared online for $6,000, complete with a revealing serial number
https://t.co/eFVGqJHGfm

[TechSpot @TechSpot]

Bose acquires Skullcandy in surprise deal as it looks to attract younger headphone buyers

Skullcandy will remain a separate brand while benefiting from Bose's technology and global reach
https://t.co/AMp65zZeUZ

[TechSpot @TechSpot]

Think the iPhone Duo is expensive? Wait until you see how much Apple charges to repair it

With repair bills reaching $1,499, skipping AppleCare could prove painfully expensive
https://t.co/hV7wTogjvo

[TechSpot @TechSpot]

Canva launches Craft, its first AI image generator, available to free users

Craft plans image compositions before rendering, aiming for more accurate text and object placement
https://t.co/d70bq0GGQw

[TechSpot @TechSpot]

Microsoft is telling Xbox owners to trade in their consoles, less than a year after raising prices

The company wants your old hardware back to refurbish and resell
https://t.co/kBakyjgpRm

[TechSpot @TechSpot]

Valve publicly mentions HLX, which might be Half-Life 3, for the first time

Another dose of hope
https://t.co/X4sZhaGdR3

[TechSpot @TechSpot]

Super Smash Bros. creator thinks AI will make a lot of games, most won't make money

Masahiro Sakurai argues AI can produce endless copycats, but not a single original idea
https://t.co/xRwUQqZ3Zc

[TechSpot @TechSpot]

Nintendo Switch 2 jailbreaking is here, with homebrew, modding, and reverse engineering

The Switch 2 has been jailbroken, and Codex did most of the work
https://t.co/m87XHx11Od

[TechSpot @TechSpot]

1Password now lets AI agents sign in to websites without seeing your passwords

1Password is expanding its AI integrations beyond Claude, to work with agents like ChatGPT Work, Dots, Meta Muse, and Grok Bot
https://t.co/C1H6Ks6uf6

[TechSpot @TechSpot]

Sony Japan discontinues its last standalone Blu-ray player, leaving the PS5 as the sole remaining option

Sony discontinues its last standalone Blu-ray player in Japan
https://t.co/lHo3c7Giu8

[TechSpot @TechSpot]

Apple says more than 50 apps will be updated for the iPhone Duo at launch

iPhone Duo launch brings updates to more than 50 apps
https://t.co/sKhUuo1p2x

[TechSpot @TechSpot]

PEGI raises age ratings for games featuring loot boxes

PEGI introduces stricter age ratings for games with loot boxes
https://t.co/lw450C2Ct5

[TechSpot @TechSpot]

Kansas farm equipment factory will put humanoid robots to work in 2027, promising they won't replace humans

AGCO promises improved safety and efficiency as humanoid robots enter its Kansas factory
https://t.co/C0KupdzX3C

[TechSpot @TechSpot]

Tesla claims privately owned Model Ys can join its Robotaxi fleet in Q2 2027 – a deadline it will likely miss

V15 release to bring Cybercab software to Model Y
https://t.co/GnvdZgAKU0

[TechSpot @TechSpot]

Woman spends three nights in jail and faces six years in prison over Cash App account she never opened

Cash App initially refused to provide account details because she couldn't prove she owned it
https://t.co/v1oopUB6jo

[Obbe Vermeij @ObbeVermeij]

25 years ago, on October 22, 2001, Grand Theft Auto III was released.
This is the team that made it. (I'm second from the right)
Here's what I remember about making it.

For most of development, GTA3 was in a sorry state. It crashed frequently, the frame rate was terrible and the map was full of holes. Only in the last six months did everything come together.
For the longest time, it looked like the frame rate was going to be 20 fps. Only in the final months did we manage to hit 30.

In 1999, DMA Design, based in Dundee, Scotland, was going through some changes. The company had recently been bought by Take-Two Interactive, and a satellite office had opened in Edinburgh.
Space Station Silicon Valley for the N64 had been finished in 1998, but there was no new project lined up. Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut started working on GTA3. Unprompted.
Meanwhile, the original GTA1 and GTA2 team had started work on GTA2.5, set in Miami. It was called 2.5 because it used the 2.5D (isometric) perspective.

In March 2000, the Dundee office was closed and GTA2.5 was cancelled. Take-Two/Rockstar gave GTA3 the green light.

Everything was written from scratch. Only two people worked on both GTA2 and GTA3, and no code or art from GTA2 was reused.

The way we worked was organic. People would come up with ideas for missions and we'd just try them. If they were fun, they were in. The story was secondary. In fact, the opening plot involving Catalina trying to kill Claude was added well into development.

Leslie Benzies (the producer) plastered a wall in the boardroom with Post-it notes. They were yellow, green and pink, representing missions, contacts and locations.
Missions were moved around all the time, often handed from one contact to another. Only once the voice acting was recorded were these things set in stone.
You sometimes come across locations on the map that are more detailed than you'd expect. Chances are there used to be a mission contact there that got moved elsewhere.

Working on GTA3 was a lot of fun. Every day there was something new going in. A new mission, radio station, car, pedestrian, building or whatever. The game was growing at an incredible rate.
Other than the multiplayer mode we did some work on, I can’t remember a lot of wastage.

Although everybody worked hard, I don't remember many people doing crazy hours. On the rare occasions I was in over the weekend, there were usually only one or two others. Even during crunch time, most people left the office around 9 or 10 in the evening.
I always thought it was better to work eight focused hours than spend your life in the office.

Although we liked the game, it wasn't at all clear that it would be a hit.
GTA3 had a disappointing showing at E3 in May 2001. Most people weren't interested, and those who were thought it was too violent.
It had an OK launch, but sales never tapered off.

Our office was in Leith, Edinburgh. It was a fairly run-down neighbourhood at the time. Just a couple of years before we arrived, J.K. Rowling had been writing the first Harry Potter in that very same neighbourhood.

The thing I remember most is the camaraderie. In a small team, everybody relies on each other and everybody has a lot of input. Most of us were young and had only recently moved to Edinburgh. We went to the pub together.

It felt like a group of friends who happened to be working on a project together.

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[Matthew Prince 🌥 @eastdakota]

Some stats on #php2shell. In the 10 hours before it was publicly announced, across the @Cloudflare network we saw thousands of attempts to exploit it. That jumped to tens of thousands in the 45 minutes post announcement, hundreds of thousands within 2 hours, and millions now.

[TechSpot @TechSpot]

EA closes legendary RPG studio BioWare following its $55 billion buyout

Mass Effect 5 canceled as EA focuses on new shooters, sports games, and The Sims
https://t.co/R8uVKcWvut

[TechSpot @TechSpot]

Sony's latest PS5 firmware got cracked, just in time for GTA 6's November release

Hackers claim to have cracked the latest PS5 firmware just before GTA 6 arrives
https://t.co/2ok6avEbY7