Charlotte Henry

Steam’s library view got an upgrade in the latest public Beta. Eurogramer looked at what’s new.

Once you’ve opted in to the beta (which merely requires selecting the appropriate drop-down option from Steam’s settings menu), the first thing you’ll likely notice is your new library’s aesthetic overhaul. That immediately comes into play on the new library landing page, which offers a snapshot of recently played titles, as well as recent activity for select games in your collection – seemingly pulled from developer-created news posts. There’s also an overview of recent friend activity, and the ability to display games organised into user-created collections. Steam’s library update (which, incidentally, isn’t reflected across its Big Picture mode at present) also brings with it new-look pages for individual games. Select a title in your library at random, and you’ll be presented with a broad selection of information pertaining to that game, now organised in a manner which doesn’t appear to have tumbled out of the 90s.

Apple’s appeal against the EU’s demand for €13 billion in taxes allegedly owed from its Irish business will be heard in the coming days. The Irish Times had a really good explainer on Friday explaining why the case is so important.

Apple has always insisted that it is absolutely not true that it did not pay all the taxes due. Apple says it is committed to respecting all tax laws as they stand, and that it pays huge amounts of tax on its profits – some $37 billion to the US treasury alone in respect of its international operations. It is now, the company boasts, the world’s and Ireland’s largest taxpayer. And the 6,000 workers it employs in Ireland pay a huge part of the State’s income tax, it notes

Apple’s Carpool Karaoke emerged victorious at the Creative Arts Emmy awards Sunday, AppleInsider reported. It was named Short Form Variety Series at  the ceremony which was held, somewhat ironically, at the Microsoft Theater.

The streaming show is a long-form version of the popular segment from CBS’ “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” with the talk show host praising both his show and the spinoff. “We just want to be a place people go to have a really nice time before, or let’s be honest, while they fall asleep,” Corden told Variety. The Creative Arts Emmy Awards honor outstanding artistic and technical achievement in various TV and program genres. While the Primetime Emmy Awards are better known and are the main awards, the Creative Arts version recognizes other elements of show production and types of content not served under the Primetime accolades.

None of Apple TV+ contented revealed so far looks particularly revolutionary. However, argues Oliva Ovenden at Esquire, Netflix should still be worried.

As Apple will know from watching its soon-to-be competitors win awards for their success stories, having one tentpole series can be enough for users to stay. Both Hulu and Amazon Prime Video have earned multiple Emmy Awards for The Handmaid’s Tale and The Marvellous Mrs Maisel respectively, off-setting series which have been received less favourably. Apple TV+ only need one huge hit to make people’s Netflix subscription feel less worthwhile, and they’ve got enough money to keep trying until they get one. Getting in on the streaming game is a shrewd move given how many of Apple’s customers are currently watching Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime on Apple’s phones, laptops and tablets.

Uber pushed back against a new employment law in California, Wired reported. The law was designed with ride-hailing apps in mind, trying to get them classify drivers as employees not contractors.

The company’s argument rests on a premise that’s been a cornerstone since its early days: that Uber is a technology company, not a transportation one. The California law, called Assembly Bill 5, reaffirms a 2018 California Supreme Court decision that established a three-part test to separate independent contractors from employees, who are eligible for minimum wage, health care benefits, workers’ compensation, and other protections. A worker is only an independent contractor if she is not under the control or direction of the company while she’s working; if her work is “outside the usual course” of the company’s business; and if she is “customarily engaged” in the same kind of work that she does for the company. This three-part test is already in limited use in Massachusetts and New York.