All posts tagged: cost

What the £350 Grand Theft Auto ‘collector’s box’ says about the escalating cost of gaming | Games

What the £350 Grand Theft Auto ‘collector’s box’ says about the escalating cost of gaming | Games

Published by Sam Flores

As a parent (and partner) to a habitual collector, I do feel like an unwelcome portion of my life is occupied by an endless war against stuff. Surfaces in my home ceaselessly accumulate piles of random objects: a JoyCon wrist strap, a sticker sheet, an unidentifiable plastic piece of a toy or gizmo, an Xbox 360 controller with no batteries, cases for Switch cartridges lost down the side of the sofa … Stuff encroaches everywhere, especially in a gaming household. Much as I regret the imminent disappearance of physical games, I do not regret the extra space I have in my attic as a result of switching almost entirely to downloaded games over the last decade or so. Speaking of the imminent disappearance of physical games: Rockstar recently announced a £350 ($400) “collector’s box” of Grand Theft Auto 6 goodies … that doesn’t include the game itself. Not even a download code. The Grand Theft Auto VI: The Goodtime State – Vice City Collection, to give it its full and unwieldy name, contains a hat, …

Tesla says Emergency Drive Away can cost ,000 — but not who pays

Tesla says Emergency Drive Away can cost $25,000 — but not who pays

Published by skeptic

Tesla says its new “Emergency Drive Away” feature can do up to $25,000 in damage to a Supercharger every time someone uses it, and the car needs a mandatory service visit too. Tesla has since released more details about the feature in response to owner questions. But Tesla hasn’t said who gets that bill. Yesterday, Tesla launched Emergency Drive Away, which lets drivers shift into Drive and pull away while still plugged into a Supercharger. It arrived two months after a gunman shot three people in Teslas at a Supercharger station in Twin Falls, Idaho. Tesla was upfront that the feature “will damage your vehicle and the Supercharger.” It didn’t put a number on that damage until an owner asked what to expect, physically and financially. Advertisement – scroll for more content Tesla’s charging team answered: Depends on the Supercharger, but electrical & civil cost can be up to $25k. Service visit mandatory for the chargeport. Only use in case of an emergency. — Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) October 2, 2026 That’s “up to,” and Tesla …

More celebrities are embracing grey hair. For other women, it can come at a cost | Women’s hair

More celebrities are embracing grey hair. For other women, it can come at a cost | Women’s hair

Published by Sam Flores

To dye, or not to dye. That is the decision many people, particularly women, face when their hair starts to grey. This week Olivia Colman joined the growing ranks of women embracing grey hair and ditching the dye. Appearing at Zurich film festival, Colman had swapped her dark signature pixie cut for a grey, curly mane swept to one side. Online, Colman was swiftly lauded for her new look, with Vogue describing her as a “silver hair muse”. The 52-year-old joins fellow actors including Andie MacDowell and Lisa Bonet who have embraced the salt-and-pepper or all-out silver look. Lisa Bonet has long embraced her natural grey locks. Photograph: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for the Annenberg Foundation However, for women outside Hollywood, escaping the tyranny of the hair dye bottle is not always so easy. “Being able to embrace your grey hair proudly is a privilege,” says Stacey Duguid. In June, Duguid, a former fashion editor, began documenting her struggles to find a job aged 52 despite her decades of experience. She told her followers that she …

Trump leans into Iran war, admits it could cost Republicans the midterms

Trump leans into Iran war, admits it could cost Republicans the midterms

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump’s war against Iran, which just passed its seven month mark, is deeply unpopular among Americans, new polling continues to suggest. A survey from the Associated Press/NORC Research Center published Thursday reports that 71% of adults disapprove of how Trump is handling the Iran war, started alongside Israel in late February, while 69% say the war has not been worth fighting. “More than half of adults say the country as a whole, the national economy, and their local economy are worse off since Trump was reelected in 2025,” the survey reports. “Most Americans (73%) say the country is heading in the wrong direction, including 92% of Democrats and 47% of Republicans.” The president seems to realize this growing frustration could cost Republicans dearly in the midterm elections next month, possibly losing GOP control of the House, Senate or both. “It’s possible,” Trump mused to reporters outside the White House Thursday. But he continues to insist that the Iran war is worth it — ostensibly to prevent the nation from obtaining a nuclear weapon, …

BBC should cut licence fee cost and expand it beyond TV, MPs recommend | UK News

BBC should cut licence fee cost and expand it beyond TV, MPs recommend | UK News

Published by Daniella Wilson

The BBC should reform the licence fee so it is no longer “linked to a TV” and couple this with a price drop, MPs have recommended. The cross-party Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee made a series of proposals as the government seeks to finalise its recommendations for the next BBC royal charter. It will set out how the broadcaster should be governed, regulated and funded from 2028 – with the current agreement set to expire on 31 December 2027. The committee has also called for the next charter to be made permanent to avoid “political interference” and a “disproportionate distraction”. Image: Matt Brittin, the director-general of the BBC A report by the group said the current licence fee model was “outdated and no longer fit for purpose”, stating that the BBC should bring down the £180 annual cost. It read: “The best next step is for the government to reform the licence fee, so it reflects modern media consumption and is no longer linked to a television set. “This would be an easier sell …

These 6 cheap PC parts can cost more to run than they cost to buy

These 6 cheap PC parts can cost more to run than they cost to buy

Published by skeptic

Once upon a time, my homelab lived in my garage because the servers kept me awake at night. I ran Ethernet through a gap in a window in a rented house and somehow called it ingenuity. At this point, my partner had already threatened to hurl all my gear to the curb if I let it stay inside. Most homelabbers know that it doesn’t start this way. My first servers were tiny old PCs, the kind you find sitting in an e-waste pile because no one wants them. Then I discovered retired enterprise-grade parts that seemed suspiciously cheap. Each part purchased in isolation was a bargain, but together they cost more than just a massive quarterly power bill. Related [HomeLab #2] Everything I’ve self-hosted on my homelab, ranked by how much I adore them I self-hosted dozens of apps on my homelab — these are the ones that stayed The SBC-to-homelab pipeline How one cheap upgrade turns into a rack full of servers that must be kept running My homelab started its life out as …

The quiet cost of scheduling every conversation

The quiet cost of scheduling every conversation

Published by Sam Flores

Since moving to Italy from the U.S., I’ve noticed how much more spontaneous social interactions are here. It’s common for me to run into someone I know and have them invite me to coffee on the spot. Instead of receiving a text, I’m more likely to get a voice message or a phone call from someone I just met. But this is only true of the friends I’ve made here. When communicating with friends back home, I text them or send voice messages. But mostly, I do the dance of having to schedule a catch-up like it’s a work meeting. So when The Cut writer Kathleen Walsh published an essay recently about feeling like she should be able to cold call her friends, it resonated with me deeply. “In the past 20 years, a new social boundary seems to have calcified among people my age,” Walsh wrote. “It is no longer appropriate to pick up your phone and call your friend whenever you feel like it.” In February 2026, a YouGov survey found that 68% …

“BigMacGPT”: McDonald’s Uses AI To Figure Out How Much Your Next Burger Will Cost Depending On Location

“BigMacGPT”: McDonald’s Uses AI To Figure Out How Much Your Next Burger Will Cost Depending On Location

Published by Jenni Sidey

One week after McDonald’s held its investor day at its Chicago headquarters, Wall Street has soured on a near-term turnaround effort, with Deutsche Bank analysts saying it has effectively been delayed.  Now, a new report says the quick-service restaurant chain behind the Big Mac is rapidly expanding its use of artificial intelligence to recommend menu prices based partly on what customers in each restaurant’s area are willing to pay. Reuters details exactly how and what AI expansion at the QSR means for customers: The details of how that pricing system works, its extensive use of AI, the company’s regulatory concerns and the tensions with its franchisees haven’t been previously reported. For this story, Reuters reviewed screenshots of the company pricing engine taken in August and interviewed nine sources with first-hand knowledge of the burger chain’s strategy. McDonald’s pricing engine uses machine-learning algorithms to continually analyze data from millions of daily transactions across McDonald’s nearly 14,000 restaurants and generate what the company calls “the optimal price” at each location for each menu item, from Big Macs ‌to discounted coffee …

Security doesn’t have to cost thousands per year, and these free apps prove it

Security doesn’t have to cost thousands per year, and these free apps prove it

Published by skeptic

Keeping your accounts and devices safe is more than just installing an antivirus. Yes, antivirus is part of it, but what also counts is how you’re storing passwords, whether you use two-factor authentication, how private your connection is, and how private your email account is. It makes sense that people spend hundreds of dollars to keep their files private and accounts secure. But you don’t have to pay for a password manager or a security suite to get real protection. Plenty of great security options, from built-in Windows features to third-party apps, offer top-tier protection without costing a cent. Related Passkeys are great, but no one tells you about the catch until it’s too late Passwordless login is delightful until the device holding the “less” part goes missing. Bitwarden A free password manager that covers all the basics If you’re still relying on your browser to save passwords, you’re taking a risk you don’t need to take. Browser-based password managers don’t encrypt your data the same way dedicated tools do, and they fall apart the …

Colin Kaepernick knows what kneeling cost — and he’d do it again

Colin Kaepernick knows what kneeling cost — and he’d do it again

Published by Sam Flores

The Merikins are the descendants of formerly enslaved African Americans who fought alongside the British during the War of 1812. At the war’s end, the British granted these fighters and their families land in Trinidad and Tobago as part of their freedom. The third verse of the “Star-Spangled Banner” served as a threat to African Americans who sought liberation — particularly those fighting against the United States like the Merikins — from Francis Scott Key, an unabashed racist whose racism influenced his professional legacy. After years of playing it at sporting events out of choice or paid patriotism, Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for it: “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color . . . There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder,” Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview following his now-infamous kneel. Following a lengthy and seemingly self-imposed silence, as others sought to narrate his protest and …