If music executives sold bottled water, they'd be calling for a ban on tapwater downloads. But their industry is proving resilientIllegal downloads continue to be a cause of Armageddon within the music industry and a source of endless fascination outside. Business leaders still regularly moan that illegal downloads are destroying their livelihood,

Lib Dem and Conservative peers plan to address concerns raised by ISPs and web companies over anti-piracy legislationPeers will reportedly offer concessions over controversial anti-piracy legislation that would lead to websites being blocked without due judicial process, following criticism from internet companies including Google, Facebook and Yah

Classic RPG series returns...The original Deus Ex was a genuine classic. The sci-fi RPG was a role playing game in the truest sense. It gave you real decisions to make and numerous customisation options. Ten years on and it still shines very bright. Invisible War, the sequel - released in 2003 - was less ambitious, possibly to make it more appealin

The X9613 is not just an all-in-one touchscreen PC, it's a TV and home theatre system in a boxThe Touch, Medion's new all-in-one toucscreen PC, is a monster. But when you consider what you get, it's really not that big. After all, it's a 24-inch HD TV set (with remote control), a digital video recorder, a DVD and Blu-ray player, FM and internet

The place to talk about games and just about anything else too...Friday's edition of ChatterboxGamesGreg Howsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Google's new interface turns the web into an interactive entertainment magazineGoogle has launched Google Reader Play, an experimental feature that offers a new, highly visual way to browse the web. The new interface displays only one story at a time, focusing on pictures, videos, visual statistics and maps. "We think Reader Play is a fun way to

The film director on why he loves editing on his laptop, hates PCs, and why he's scared of having a robot in his houseWhat's your favourite piece of technology, and how has it improved your life?I would have to say non-linear editing systems in general, and now, specifically, Final Cut Pro. I've used them all over the years, but now Final Cut Pr

• Administrator now in position to take sole control• HMRC drops threat to challenge AndronikouPeter Storrie stays at Portsmouth with a salary of "less than £500,000". With money so tight it seems rather a charitable decision to retain the chief executive on such a salary.After all Storrie was present throughout the chaotic period that has s

Milan's heavy defeat at United suggested Serie A's weakness, though Internazionale will dispute that against ChelseaMilan had come to fail. Despondency was close to the surface and bound to overwhelm the side as soon as Manchester United scored. The visitors were diligent enough, but they could not fend off a weariness of soul and body in the 4

The England legend spills the beans on Newcastle, peas and why Small Talk's questions are a jokeHello Alan. How are you? Good.Fine thanks. Say, who do you think will win the World Cup this summer? Think and hope are two different things. I hope England can win it obviously. If they keep Wayne Rooney fit they'll have a very good chance but I think

Discuss the day's big issues as they happen, send us your favourite links and follow us on Twitter8.57am: With today's Small Talk making a bid for classic status, it's worth flagging up a couple of other irate interviewees: David 'We're entering the realms of stupidity here' Platt and Kenny 'What is this?' Dalglish (who does a kind of rever

Will the leaders' wives really bring their husbands electoral popularity? I'm not so sureSo now Samantha Cameron is to be let off the leash – or maybe dragged unwillingly out of the kennel – to play her part in the election race. "You are going to see a lot more of her on the campaign trail," her husband told Alan Titchmarsh in a televisio

Women come out best in listening and recollection tests in study by University of London's Institute of EducationIt's been an endless source of aggravation between the sexes; how can men so easily forget birthdays, anniversaries, and even friends' names?Not, it seems, because they cannot be bothered to remember. Research suggests that, in middle

18-year-old held on suspicion of manslaughter as neighbours allege decade of harassment by youthsPolice were last night forced to defend the level of protection they had given a man with learning difficulties who collapsed and died at his home, allegedly after years of "baiting" by local youths.A senior officer in the Manchester force insisted th

Government initiative to cut bills for poorest pensioners will be funded by big six energy companiesEnergy companies will cut a total of £20m from the electricity bills of 250,000 of the poorest pensioner households in the country, the government announced today.The rebate, under a combined initiative between the government and leading energy comp

But inquiry is ordered into whether anti-racist measures are working adequately in private schoolsMinisters have ruled out banning members of the British National party from the teaching profession, after an independent inquiry into racism in schools decided such a move would be disproportionate.The issue of whether those who belong to racist organ

Post your advice below. The best responses will be published in G2 next FridayI have been married for 18 years. I was depressed for many years and our relationship became unhappy. Last year I discovered my husband had been having an affair for two years. He claimed that he would never lie to me again. When I questioned him, he denied she had bee

Analysis of mass grave discovered last year suggests the victims were publicly executed 1,000 years agoDozens of skeletons, buried in Dorset with their skulls neatly stacked but their bodies tumbled chaotically into a pit, have been identified as the remains of Vikings killed in the area about 1,000 years ago. David Score, project head of the Oxfor

Milan's heavy defeat at United suggested Serie A's weakness, though Internazionale will dispute that against ChelseaMilan had come to fail. Despondency was close to the surface and bound to overwhelm the side as soon as Manchester United scored. The visitors were diligent enough, but they could not fend off a weariness of soul and body in the 4

Vicki Wood, who escaped jail for trying to murder her seriously ill husband, dies at Dignitas clinic in ZurichA woman convicted of trying to kill her husband in an act of mercy more than a decade ago has taken her own life at an assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland.Vicki Wood, 67, a toymaker and artist from Totnes, Devon, was spared jail in 1999

Christoph Schonborn, archbishop of Vienna, calls for 'unflinching examination' of possible reasons for paedophiliaThe Archbishop of Vienna today said priestly celibacy could be one of the causes of the sex abuse scandals to hit the Catholic church.In an article for Thema Kirche, his diocesan magazine, Christoph Schonborn became the most senior fi

Saved permits can be used to meet future targets to cut emissions without reducing pollutionCompanies across Europe are hoarding permits to produce greenhouse gas emissions worth hundreds of millions of pounds, the Guardian can reveal.The surplus credits have been amassed from over-allocation of permits to pollute from the European emissions tradin

• Fan ejected from club TV show for wearing scarf • Steward sacked for returning confiscated bannerManchester United are so concerned about the increasing success of the green-and-gold protests that the club have effectively forbidden Sir Alex Ferguson's players from speaking about it publicly and imposed a series of other measures aimed at c

Government could have windfall of £5bn to spend if unemployment benefit costs less than forecast and tax on bankers raises moreThe government will not be raising new taxes, including VAT, in the last budget before the general election, the chief secretary to the Treasury, Liam Byrne, said today.Byrne also shed light on internal discussions over ho

• Woods hires Ari Fleischer to deal with press questions• Confirmation of return could arrive by next MondayPreparations for Tiger Woods' return to golf are at an advanced stage, it emerged yesterday amid reports that the golfer has hired the former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer as an adviser and has targeted next month's Masters

Today's questions cannot wait for this year's final...Jacob Steinberg

• Arsenal manager says he will see out contract to 2011• Wenger's mind is on Hull rather than MadridArsène Wenger has told Real Madrid to forget about making an approach for him in the summer if, as expected, they part company with their coach, Manuel Pellegrini. Florentino Pérez, the Real president, tried to entice Wenger from Arsenal last

Rediscovering their once-famous identity could help home-grown gaffers to avoid extinctionThis week Harry Redknapp has been speaking up on behalf of one of the world's most endangered species, the British manager. The British manager is football's answer to the white rhino. Except of course that nobody believes that eating a British football man

• Goalkeeper should be fit to face Blackburn in nine days' time• Henrique Hilário to start against InternazionalePetr Cech is confident of returning to the Chelsea first team ahead of schedule for their Premier League game against Blackburn Rovers in nine days' time, his rehabilitation from a calf injury progressing encouragingly, although H

Today, many parents will be putting their children on to buses, cars or bikes and seeing them on their way to school. Sadly for the parents of 72 million children around the world, they do not have this choice. Today the prime minister of Britain and the president of France have the chance to change this when they meet in London. This year provides

• Chelsea striker beats Michael Essien to award• Drogba takes title for second timeDidier Drogba was tonight crowned African Footballer of the Year for the second time. The Ivory Coast striker saw off competition from his Chelsea team-mate Michael Essien of Ghana and the Cameroon forward Samuel Eto'o, now at Internazionale, to take the prize a

The England legend spills the beans on Newcastle, peas and why Small Talk's questions are a jokeHello Alan. How are you? Good.Fine thanks. Say, who do you think will win the World Cup this summer? Think and hope are two different things. I hope England can win it obviously. If they keep Wayne Rooney fit they'll have a very good chance but I think

• County subject to £37m takeover bid• Peter Gadsby offers to make £5m available for playersDerby County were last night reported to be at the centre of a £37m takeover bid from Peter Gadsby, the former chairman.The businessman promised to make £5m available to Derby's manager Nigel Clough in the summer for crucial player signings if his b

• Fan ejected from club TV show for wearing scarf • Steward sacked for returning confiscated bannerManchester United are so concerned about the increasing success of the green-and-gold protests that the club have effectively forbidden Sir Alex Ferguson's players from speaking about it publicly and imposed a series of other measures aimed at c

• Administrator now in position to take sole control• HMRC drops threat to challenge AndronikouPeter Storrie stays at Portsmouth with a salary of "less than £500,000". With money so tight it seems rather a charitable decision to retain the chief executive on such a salary.After all Storrie was present throughout the chaotic period that has s

• Liverpool manager unfazed by criticisms• Allardyce admits to ill-feeling between pairRafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, has refused to bite back at his Blackburn Rovers counterpart Sam Allardyce's latest jibe at him. The spat between them has been running for a long time and after Benítez mocked Allardyce's behaviour and Blackburn's

Alan and Ann Keen claimed money from second home allowance to which they were not entitledThe Labour MPs Alan and Ann Keen, below, were yesterday ordered to repay £1,500 after breaking the rules over second home allowances.The Commons standards and privileges committee said the couple had claimed money from the second home allowance to which they

One can see the politicians' train of thought: John Lewis is popular; therefore this policy will be popularThe middle classes' favourite shop, John Lewis, had a good day yesterday. Sales up. Market share up. Profits up. And a £151m bonus shared between 70,000 members of staff, or partners as they are known. Not bad during a recession. But a dece

In holding that the aim of science is truth alone, they misrepresent its real aimsGeorge Monbiot is surely right to bemoan the profoundly unsatisfactory state of affairs that exists between science and the public (With complex science, we must take much on trust. The trouble is we can't, 9 March).Many members of the public instinctively and irrati

Danny Huston stars in another intelligent film transposing Tolstoy to LA. By Peter BradshawBritish-born director Bernard Rose, known as a horror specialist for his 1992 shocker Candyman, is showing some stunning form with his modern adaptations of Tolstoy. After a conventional account of Anna Karenina, Rose brought off a brilliant version of The De