Technologies

Gender inequality online is ‘expensive for all of us,’ says web inventor’s foundation

Tim Berners-Lee’s Web Foundation hopes governments will be spurred to act upon seeing the economic cost of the digital gender divide.

This story is part of Crossing the Broadband Divide, CNET’s coverage of how the country is working toward making broadband access universal.

When women and girls don’t have access to the internet, it costs governments a lot of money. How much money, exactly, has only been estimated, until now.

New research released Monday by Tim Berners-Lee‘s Web Foundation and its subsidiary, Alliance for Affordable Internet, has calculated that over the past 10 years, 32 low- and middle-income countries have lost $1 trillion by not helping more women get online. Some of those countries include India, Nigeria and the Philippines.

The digital divide is a global problem, but there are still distinct groups that are less likely to have access to the internet. These groups can be defined by their geography, their gender, their race, or all three. Women in low- and middle-income countries are even less likely to have internet access than their male counterparts.

«This report reveals just how expensive gender inequality is for all of us,» Boutheina Guermazi, director of digital development for the World Bank, said in a statement. «For governments looking to build a resilient economy as part of their COVID-19 recovery plans, closing the digital gender gap should be one of the top priorities.»

In the 32 countries the Web Foundation looked at in its report, just over a third of women had access to the internet, compared with almost half of all men. And this divide doesn’t seem to be closing over time, even as digital connectivity plays an increasingly central role in our lives. The coronavirus pandemic has shown how vital it is to have access to internet at home, for everything from remote school to health care. Over the past decade, the gap between the number of women and men online has dropped by only half a percentage point, the Web Foundation’s research says.

The lack of internet access for women means many are excluded from education and employment opportunities, which often keeps them in poverty or other dangerous situations, without access to health care or other assistance. That alone should be enough for governments to want to try to close that gender divide, but that hasn’t always been the case.

Inclusive broadband policies for economic gains

With its new report, the Web Foundation is laying out the cost of the digital gender divide in stark economic terms, in the hope it’ll be the push that governments need to take the problem seriously. According to the report’s calculations, closing the digital gender gap in the next five years could help generate an enticing $524 billion for the economies of the countries studied.

«It is not just good social policy, but it’s also good economics … to include women and girls in the online world,» Teddy Woodhouse, the Web Foundation’s senior research manager for access and affordability, said in an interview. For him, the big test of the report will be whether the information awakens new allies and helps move the needle in closing the digital gender gap. «It’s really trying to be quite practical and thinking about how can we build a case for change,» he said.

Focusing on the broad financial implications is also a way to ensure that the digital gender divide isn’t dismissed by those in power, as gender equality debates so often are, added Ana María Rodríguez Pulgarín, one of the report’s co-authors.

«Sometimes our gender discussions are with politicians that are already working on gender equality, closing the digital gender divide and all that,» she said. «But I think we want to bring the message that this will affect everyone.»

One of the main problems identified in the research as holding women back from getting on the internet is a lack of gender-responsive broadband policy — explicit targets for ensuring women have internet access.

Governments interested in narrowing the digital gender divide have a number of areas to choose from where they implement policy, including rights, education, access and content. Woodhouse pointed to Costa Rica as an example of a country that has implemented such measures by specifically setting targets for getting more women into STEM.

Every year Costa Rica publishes a report on how it’s meeting the targets. «That’s only possible if you’re setting those indicators in the first place,» said Woodhouse. It’s an example of how creating systems of accountability can be best practice.

Internet access beyond the binary

The Web Foundation’s research on gender has focused on traditional male-female lines and doesn’t incorporate the experiences of trans or nonbinary citizens. The «crucial problem» with expanding the research, Woodhouse said, is data availability. Even getting data that’s been broken down enough to show the discrepancy between the experience of cisgender men and women (people whose personal identity and gender correspond with their birth sex) has been challenging, he added.

«To then get data that is disaggregated even more comprehensively, is essentially nonexistent in most contexts, and particularly in the economic context we’re looking at of low- and middle-income countries,» he said. In some countries, being transgender is illegal and punishable by jail time or other serious measures, making the tracking of different genders impossible.

The lack of data is something Woodhouse hopes will change. But, he added, the overall goal of the research remains the same.

The aim is that we will «see less of the idea that gender should predetermine what rights someone should have, what kind of experiences they should have, what kind of access to the internet,» Woodhouse said. «That’s going to be a net benefit for everyone.»

Technologies

How Sonic Rumble Spins Away From Mario Party With Its Own Multiplayer Style

Sonic Rumble producer Takashi Iizuka explains how the team built a party game suiting the blue hedgehog’s style.

For decades now, the Mario Party franchise has dominated the niche of the best multiplayer party games you can play with friends on your couch — or now, online. Despite challenges from games like Fuzion Frenzy, Super Monkey Ball, Rayman Raving Rabbids and more, none have stolen Nintendo’s crown.

But now, Sega is making a play for the casual party game space with Sonic Rumble, a new title featuring the company’s iconic hedgehog and his friends. The free-to-play game is now available on PC, as well as on mobile for iOS and Android phones, allowing up to 32 players to join in on matches.

Sega’s hedgehog mascot is no stranger to party games, but entries like Sonic Shuffle on Dreamcast and Sega Superstars on the PlayStation 2 came out decades ago. For the publisher’s newest take on Sonic multiplayer, Sonic Rumble producer Takashi Iizuka answered questions over email, from adapting Sonic’s «gotta go fast» action to party multiplayer and whether other iconic Sega stars will make cameo appearances.

Q: There are some party games that have cemented the genre, like Mario Party. Aside from a cast of Sonic characters, how does Sonic Rumble distinguish itself from other party games?
Iizuka: While many other party games have their charm, our vision for Sonic Rumble was to combine the speed of classic arcade games with the competitive, high-stakes energy of a battle royale game. We call this mix an «Arcade Royale.»

Each stage is designed to keep the mayhem on full blast, whether players are dashing through obstacle courses or scrambling to collect rings before time runs out. What really sets Sonic Rumble apart is how it blends approachability with intensity. We wanted it to be easy for anyone to jump in and play, while still maintaining the intensity that fans have come to know and love from the Sonic franchise.

With the live service aspect of Sonic Rumble, we plan to consistently introduce new elements, from surprising collaborations to limited-time events, keeping the game fresh and fun for years to come.

When designing Sonic Rumble, what guidelines did the team/studio abide by to ensure it feels like a Sonic game?
Iizuka: We wanted to create a game that both new and longtime fans would love, and that could be played on the go or at home on their PC.

Sonic Rumble needed to embody what makes Sonic special, not just through the characters, but through the gameplay itself. That meant focusing on movement, momentum and control of the characters within the environment, so even in this new multiplayer format, gameplay still feels authentic to the Sonic experience. We also wanted to ensure that Toy World itself captured that Sonic spirit, with bright arenas, upbeat music and plenty of personality. Even if Sonic Rumble is an entirely new kind of Sonic game, players will instantly recognize the spirit and rhythm of the franchise in every match and mode.

The gameplay shown in the trailer has a distinctly Sonic feel — racing along tracks, jumping on bumpers, collecting rings and so on. How did the team adapt this to party gameplay?
Iizuka: We didn’t just place Sonic characters in a stereotypical party environment; we made Sonic mechanics and gameplay the foundation of Sonic Rumble. We achieved this adaptation through strategic twists on familiar elements.

In Sonic Rumble, rings are the high-stakes resource, rather than protection like in previous Sonic titles. We’ve made the Ring collection central to victory, allowing players to steal them from each other. The Dashing mechanic is another example, something usually used for speed can now also be used for attacking. By updating these core movements and abilities, we’ve added another layer of strategy and skill to the competition.

The recently released Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds had a deep roster of Sonic characters along with several from other Sega franchises, like Yakuza and Super Monkey Ball. Will Sonic Rumble also have crossover characters? What about characters from Sonic lore (like the Chaotix or Sonic the Werehog)?
Iizuka: Our immediate priority is to ensure Sonic Rumble is both fun and fulfilling for our core fan base as well as for players new to the Sonic franchise. That means focusing on the incredible depth of the Sonic Universe. We know how necessary customization is and are heavily committed to allowing players to fully personalize Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, and Dr. Eggman with unique skins, in-game skills, and emotes.

As Sonic Rumble is a live-service title, it has the potential to evolve and expand over time. At launch, fans can look forward to the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Movie Crossover Event, which brings in elements like the Movie Shadow skin and epic battles in the iconic Shibuya Crossing arena. We’ve also integrated characters and skins from a SEGA Stars Crossover Event, featuring beloved icons like Opa-Opa and Upa-Upa from Fantasy Zone, AiAi and MeeMee from Monkey Ball, and characters from Altered Beast, Bonanza Bros, Pengo, and Phantasy Star.

Sonic Rumble is available now on PC, iOS App Store and Google Play Store.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Nov. 7

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Nov. 7.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Hope you don’t have a cold — although two of the clues are related to the sounds you might make if you do have one. If you need the answers, read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Toddler’s go-to question
Answer: WHY

4A clue: Sound heard during cold season
Answer: ACHOO

6A clue: Move stealthily, like a cat
Answer: SLINK

7A clue: Breadcrumb coating in Japanese cuisine
Answer: PANKO

8A clue: Conduct surveillance
Answer: SPY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Prone to complaining
Answer: WHINY

2D clue: Sound heard during cold season
Answer: HONK

3D clue: Artist/musician Ono
Answer: YOKO

4D clue: Egyptian vipers
Answer: ASPS

5D clue: Show appreciation for a performance
Answer: CLAP

Technologies

Be Sure to Back Up Your iPhone the Right Way Before Installing iOS 26

If you’re upgrading to a new iPhone 17 or installing the latest operating system, you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble by making a good backup first. Here’s how to do it.

Now that iOS 26.1 is out, you might be more comfortable updating to Apple’s latest iPhone operating system. Or maybe it’s time for a bigger upgrade to a new iPhone 17, iPhone Air or iPhone 17 Pro? Before you do, take a little time to ensure you’ve made a good backup you can fall back on just in case something goes sideways.

I’m not talking about any regular backup, though. Hopefully, you already have your Apple Account settings configured to automatically back up the phone to iCloud, which is invaluable for everyday peace of mind. I’m talking about creating an archive that can save your hide in the unlikely event something goes wrong with the iOS 26 update.

Why an archive is essential before installing a new version of iOS

You’re probably accustomed to using iCloud Backup to maintain a regular fallback for your data. It works in the background (when you’re asleep and charging your device) and involves the least amount of backup friction, as long as you have sufficient iCloud storage space available. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup and turn on Back Up This iPhone if it’s not already active.

However, when it comes to moving to a full release version of iOS, such as from iOS 18 to iOS 26, an iCloud Backup introduces a problem: You cannot restore from that cloud backup if you revert back to iOS 18. And unfortunately, iCloud keeps just the most recent backup — you can’t pick and choose from previous backup iterations. If you try to use an iOS 26 cloud backup to restore back to iOS 18, you’ll get an error. (Making an archive is also an important step when you install iOS betas.)

This is why you need to archive a backup on your computer.

Should you encrypt the local backup?

Before you create this archived backup, you should decide if you want to enable one of the options, Encrypt local backup. For security, this feature scrambles the data to prevent someone with access to your computer from accessing it. This option also preserves sensitive information in the backup such as saved passwords and personal data in the Health and Fitness apps.

The downside is that it requires you to create a separate password for the backup. If you forget or lose that password, the entire backup is useless. And so you should write this password down somewhere you can easily retrieve it. In the context of creating an iOS 18 backup as a fallback for installing iOS 26, you’ll have to decide if that’s an acceptable trade-off.

Create a local iPhone archive on your Mac

Making this type of backup requires only disk space and some patience:

Plug the iPhone into your Mac.
Open a new Finder window (choose File > New Finder Window, or press Command-N).
In the sidebar at left, select your iPhone under Locations.
If you want to encrypt the data, click the Encrypt local backup checkbox and set a password.
In the General tab, click Back Up Now.
When the backup completes, click Manage Backups.
Right-click (or Control-click) the backup you made and choose Archive.

Taking the extra step of marking the backup as an archive protects it from being overwritten by the next local backup or automatically deleted if the Mac is low on space.

Create a local iPhone archive on Windows

The iTunes app is still the main conduit for working with a connected iPhone under Windows. Open iTunes and do the following:

Plug the iPhone into your Windows computer.
Open the Apple Devices app and click the iPhone button at the top left.
Click General.
If you want to encrypt the data, click the Encrypt local backup option and set a password.
Click Back Up Now.
Click Manage Backups.
Right-click the backup you made and choose Archive. Taking this extra step protects the backup from being overwritten by the next local backup or automatically deleted if the computer is low on space.

With an archive in place, you can start using the iOS 26 beta secure in the knowledge that should anything warrant a retreat to iOS 18, you can quickly get your iPhone back into service.

For more, here is your reminder to clear your iPhone cache. And if you are moving to a new iPhone, here are the ways to transfer your data safely.