UK Government to tax every British broadband connection £20 for copyright enforcement

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A £20 charge could be levied on every broadband connection in Britain, to pay for an agency that will provide data about serial copyright-breakers to music and film companies, if plans due to be announced today by the Government in its ‘Digital Britain’ green paper come to fruition.

Today, Lord Carter of Barnes will propose the creation of a quango which will be paid for by a levy on ISPs, who’ll almost certainly pass the cost on to their subscribers. Also in the white paper is a proposition that every house has a right to 2Mb/s broadband.

Casual gaming reduces stress, sez science

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Next time you get caught out playing Peggle at work, you can legitimately tell your boss that you’re reducing the high level of stress, fatigue, and anger caused by him being such as slave driver.

New research from East Carolina University suggests that casual games (particularly those by PopCap games, because they commissioned the study) can be therapeutic, lowering stress levels, increasing vigour, and reducing fatigue, confusion, anger, and psychological tension…

Need to relax? Try playing a violent video game!

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A recent study suggests that violent video games may make people more relaxed — but only if their personality is already predisposed to being fairly relaxed.

Surprise of surprises: if you’re already aggressive or violent, then playing a violent game isn’t likely to calm you down, and you may well choose to beat someone up outside your local whether or not you’ve had a heavy WoW day. Your Mileage May Vary…