Phillies add reliever Joe Ross on one-year deal

W hen an avatar of virtue falls from grace, our polite reaction should not be that we are angry, just terribly disappointed. When paragons stumble the first thing we feel in our heart is schadenfreude. And so it was this weekend when I read that the movie star and director Justin Baldoni, whom I had interviewed about his woker-than-woke memoir Man Enough: Undefining My Masculinity in 2021, had been fired by his agent after feminism’s ally faced allegations from one of his leading ladies about his distinctly unwoke and ungallant conduct. Legal papers revealed he had been accused by his co-star Blake Lively of sexualised behaviour on the set of their film, It Ends with Us . Her complaints had been addressed by the film’s producers but once filming was over, according to documents acquired by her lawyers, Baldoni and the lead producer, Jamey Heath, commissioned a public relations firm to orchestrate a smear campaign against her. If even a fraction of Lively’s claims are true — and both men deny them — the gap between what Baldoni preaches in public and his conduct as a director, producer and leading man is dizzying. Yes, we should be angry.

The draw has been made, the courts are ready and the ball kids have been assembled for the start of New Zealand's premier tennis tournament. The action at the Auckland Tennis Centre starts on Monday with the women's week of the ASB Classic - and for the first time in a long time, we have a real chance of seeing a local going deep and potentially lifting the trophy. But it's not just about the action on the court. The ASB Classic is as much about what goes on in the stands, boxes and out in the hospitality area, so there is plenty to look forward to in our all-too-brief summer of tennis. Here is a look at who is competing and what to look out for: An American invasion Madison Keys will be feeling pretty good right now. The last time she came to Auckland back in 2013 she was bundled out in qualifying, but this time returns as the number one seed. She is currently ranked 20 in the world, but might be on a collision course with fellow American Sofia Kenin in the quarters. Kenin has won the last two matches between the two, with chances of an overall American victory high given that there are 10 of them in the draw. Will Sun shine? Lulu Sun, born in Te Anau and raised in Switzerland, returns to Auckland as an official NZ representative for the first time. Not only that, but at her highest ranking of 40 and coming off a boom season that saw her reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and be judged WTA Newcomer of the Year . She has won over $1 million in prize money in 2024, and while she has not won a WTA title yet, she reached the final of the Abierto GNP Seguros in Mexico back in August. It's fair to say that a win for Sun this week would be a dream for tournament organisers and headline writers alike. Welcome Naomi https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6366520415112 It is probably not accurate to say that the former world number one and four-time Grand Slam champion is desperate to reach those heights again, more that she simply wants to be consistently competitive and enjoy it along the way. Osaka had a much-publicised mental health break in 2021, just as she was poised to become the long-term face of the women's game - which in financial terms would make her one of the highest paid athletes in the world. It was a coup to get the current 58th ranked player in the world here, but judging by her social media this week, Osaka is having a good time so far. Welcome back Emma After a first visit to Auckland that could not really have gone much worse , Emma Raducanu has come back for the third year in a row and will once again be a crowd favourite. The 2021 US Open champion featured in one of the best matches the ASB Classic has ever seen back in January, when she went the distance in an ultimately losing effort against powerful Ukrainian Elina Svitolina. Raducanu provides the star power alongside Osaka, and both players have a nice run of matches before the business end of the tournament begins. Best of the rest The only other Kiwi in the draw, Vivian Wang, has been granted a wildcard but drew number two seed Elise Mertens in the first round. The Belgian is coming in ranked 34 in the world, while American Amanda Anisimova, Sun and Denmark's Clara Tauson round out the top five seeds. Atmosphere The ASB Classic has a well-earned reputation for being one of the best-run sporting events in this part of the world, with a lot of that down to the hospitality options on offer. As long as the weather plays its part, the stands should be full every day, and out the back there is plenty of room to watch the action on big screens. It is a rather unique setting, with centre court surrounded by corporate boxes, with the liberal amounts of booze served making for some rowdy crowds watching the later matches. Monday 30 December centre court order of play Day (starting at 11:30am): Evening (not before 6:30pm): Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

“The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few metres from where we were — and the runway were damaged,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on the social media platform X. He added that he and UN colleagues were safe. “We will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave,” he said. UN spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay later said the injured person was with the UN Humanitarian Air Service. Israel’s army later told The Associated Press it was not aware that the WHO chief was at the location in Yemen. The Israeli strikes followed several days of Houthi launches setting off sirens in Israel. The Israeli military in a statement said it attacked infrastructure used by the Iran-backed Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa and ports in Hodeida, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib, along with power stations, asserting they were used to smuggle in Iranian weapons and for the entry of senior Iranian officials. Israel’s military added it had “capabilities to strike very far from Israel’s territory — precisely, powerfully, and repetitively”. The strikes, carried out over 1,000 miles from Jerusalem, came a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “the Houthis, too, will learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and Assad’s regime and others learned” as his military has battled those more powerful proxies of Iran. The Houthi-controlled satellite channel al-Masirah reported multiple deaths and showed broken windows, collapsed ceilings and a bloodstained floor and vehicle. Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the strikes. The US military has also targeted the Houthis in recent days. The UN has said the targeted ports are important entry points for humanitarian aid for Yemen, the poorest Arab nation that plunged into a civil war in 2014. Over the weekend, 16 people were wounded when a Houthi missile hit a playground in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, while other missiles and drones have been shot down. Last week, Israeli jets struck Sanaa and Hodeida, killing nine people, calling it a response to previous Houthi attacks. The Houthis also have been targeting shipping on the Red Sea corridor in what it says is an act of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. The UN Security Council has an emergency meeting on Monday in response to an Israeli request that it condemn the Houthi attacks and Iran for supplying them with weapons.

Israeli air strikes on Yemen airport ‘were metres from WHO chief’CNN wants a court to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by North Carolina Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson that attacks its report that he made explicit posts on a pornography website’s message board. The network says Robinson presented no evidence that the network believed its story was false or aired it recklessly. The September report says Robinson, who ran unsuccessfully for governor this month, left statements over a decade ago on the message board in which, in part, he referred to himself as a “black NAZI" and said he enjoyed transgender pornography. The report also says he preferred Adolf Hitler to then-President Barack Obama and slammed the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as “worse than a maggot.” Robinson, who was seeking to become the state's first Black governor, said he didn’t write those posts and sued in October, just before early in-person voting was to begin. While filing a dismissal motion Thursday in Raleigh federal court, attorneys for CNN said Robinson’s arguments suggesting he was the likely victim of a computer hacking operation that created fake messages would require a series of events that is not just “implausible, it is ridiculous.” Generally speaking, a public official claiming defamation must show a defendant knew a statement it made was false or did so with reckless disregard for the truth. “Robinson did not and cannot plausibly allege facts that show that CNN published the Article with actual malice,” attorney Mark Nebrig wrote in a memo backing the dismissal motion, adding that the lawsuit “does not include a single allegation demonstrating that CNN doubted the veracity of its reporting.” For Robinson, who already had a history of inflammatory comments about topics like abortion and LGBTQ rights, the CNN story nearly led to the collapse of his campaign. After the report's airing, most of his top campaign staff quit, advertising from the Republican Governors Association stopped and fellow Republicans distanced themselves from him, including President-elect Donald Trump. Robinson lost to Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein by nearly 15 points and will leave office at year-end. Robinson's lawsuit was initially filed in state court. It says, in part, that CNN chose to run its report based on data from the website NudeAfrica, which had been hacked several years ago and ran on vulnerable, outdated software. His suit claims the network did nothing to verify the posts. He's seeking monetary damages. Thursday's memo highlights the network's story, including a section where the CNN journalists showed how they connected Robinson to a username on the NudeAfrica site. As the CNN story said previously, the memo says the network matched details of the account on the message board to other online accounts held by Robinson by comparing usernames, an email address and his full name. The details discussed by the account holder matched Robinson’s length of marriage, where he lived at the time, and that both Robinson and the account holder had mothers who worked at a historically Black university, the memo says. CNN also said it found matches of figures of speech used by both the NudeAfrica account holder and in Robinson’s social media posts. “This is hardly a case where, as Robinson alleges, CNN ‘disregarded or deliberately avoided the truth’ rather than investigate,” Nebrig said, adding later that the network “had no reason to seriously doubt that Robinson was the author” of the posts. Robinson's attorneys didn't immediately respond to an email Friday seeking comment. The lawsuit says anyone could have used Robinson's breached data to create accounts on the internet. His state lawsuit also sued Louis Love Money, a former porn shop worker who alleged in a music video and a media interview that for several years starting in the 1990s, Robinson frequented a porn shop where Money was working and that Robinson purchased porn videos from him. Robinson said that was untrue. Money filed his own dismissal motion in the state lawsuit. But since then, CNN moved the lawsuit to federal court, saying that it's the proper venue for a North Carolina resident like Robinson and a Georgia-based company like CNN and that the claims against Money are unrelated.FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys are shutting down CeeDee Lamb with two games remaining after their 2023 All-Pro receiver spent the second half of the season dealing with a sprained right shoulder. The team said Thursday that additional exams revealed enough damage to keep Lamb off the field Sunday at Philadelphia and in the final game at home against Washington. The team said surgery was not expected to be required. Dallas was eliminated from playoff contention a few hours before last weekend's 26-24 victory over Tampa Bay . The decision on Lamb means the Cowboys will finish the regular season with at least five former Pro Bowlers on injured reserve. Among the others are quarterback Dak Prescott, who was limited to eight games before a season-ending hamstring tear, and right guard Zack Martin. The seven-time All-Pro made it through 10 games before deciding on season-ending ankle surgery. Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence didn't playing after Week 4 because of a foot injury, and cornerback Trevon Diggs battled a variety of injuries while playing 11 games before a knee injury ended his season. Lamb initially injured his right shoulder when it hit the turf hard twice in a 27-21 loss at Atlanta on Nov. 3. He kept playing and had at least 100 yards in each of his last two games — both victories — before getting shut down. The 25-year-old Lamb sat out the entire offseason and preseason in a contract dispute after getting career highs in catches (an NFL-best 135), yards receiving (club-record 1,749) and touchdowns (12) in 2023. The holdout finally ended with a $136 million, four-year extension in late August, but neither the Cowboys nor their star receiver could get that production going again this season. Dallas (7-8) is missing the playoffs for the first time since 2020, Lamb's rookie year. Lamb finishes the season with 101 catches for 1,194 yards and six TDs. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

Shohei Ohtani wins 3rd AP Male Athlete of the Year award, tying Michael Jordan for 1 shy of record LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani has been named The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the third time. That ties the two-way superstar with Michael Jordan, an athlete Ohtani followed while growing up in Japan. He trails only Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods and LeBron James, who each won the award four times. Ohtani received 48 votes in balloting by 74 sports journalists from the AP and its members. He earned his third National League Most Valuable Player award after helping the Dodgers win their eighth World Series title. Ohtani hit 54 home runs and stole 59 bases as the first player with a 50-50 season. His dog, Decoy, became a celebrity, too, helping Ohtani deliver a ceremonial first pitch at a game. On Football: Falcons and Buccaneers flip spots atop the NFC South and playoff races tighten up The 49ers, Cowboys and Cardinals are out of the playoff race. The Falcons took control of their hopes and the Colts, Dolphins and Bengals kept slim chances alive. The NFL’s playoff picture became clearer Sunday. With two weeks remaining, three of eight division titles are secured, eight teams have wrapped up playoff berths and 11 more are competing for the six remaining spots. The biggest change in the standings occurred in the NFC South with Atlanta reclaiming the top spot from Tampa Bay. The Chiefs have the inside track for the AFC's No. 1 seed and the NFC's top spot could likely come down to the Vikings-Lions matchup in Week 18. Tennessee and Auburn remain 1-2 in AP Top 25 poll featuring 10 SEC teams Tennessee and Auburn remained Nos. 1-2 atop The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll. They were the headliners among the Southeastern Conference's haul of 10 ranked teams. Iowa State, Duke and Alabama rounded out the top five. Kentucky had the week's biggest fall, sliding six spots to No. 10 after a loss to Ohio State. Mississippi State, Arkansas, Illinois and Baylor rejoined the poll after stints in the rankings earlier this season. They replaced Memphis, Dayton, Michigan and Clemson. The Big 12 and Big Ten were tied for second with five teams each in the AP Top 25. USC up to No. 4 in women's AP Top 25 after win over UConn. UCLA, South Carolina, Notre Dame stay 1-3 Southern California jumped to No. 4 in The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll on Monday after edging UConn. The Trojans moved up three spots after beating the then-No. 4 Huskies 72-70 in a rematch of last season’s Elite Eight game that UConn won. UCLA, South Carolina and Notre Dame remained the top three teams. The Bruins received 30 of the 32 first-place votes from a national media panel. The Gamecocks and the Fighting Irish each got one first-place vote. UConn fell to seventh behind Texas and LSU. Maryland, Oklahoma and Ohio State rounded out the top 10 teams. Former NFL great Michael Vick introduced as Norfolk State’s football coach NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Michael Vick has been introduced as Norfolk State’s football coach, a homecoming for the former NFL star and a splashy, attention-grabbing hire for a program that has struggled in recent years. Vick donned a Norfolk State letterman’s jacket and cap in front of a crowd of supporters that included fellow Hampton Roads, Virginia, sports greats Allen Iverson and Bruce Smith. Vick led Virginia Tech to the national championship game as a redshirt freshman and was selected No. 1 overall in the 2001 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons. His career was derailed by his conviction in 2007 for his involvement in a dogfighting ring. No. 1 Oregon and No. 8 Ohio State gear up for rematch of thriller won by Ducks Oregon and Ohio State have already produced one heck of a game this season. Now, the top-seeded Ducks and eighth-seeded Buckeyes are gearing up for a rematch more than 10 weeks later in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game at the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. Of course, both teams have had ample time for evolution since that 32-31 Oregon win on Oct. 12. But they also have that game and players’ familiarity with each other, not to mention common opponents in the Big Ten. Penn State preparing for hard-charging Jeanty and Boise State in CFP quarterfinals STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State players have watched Ashton Jeanty make opponents look silly all season. They don’t want to be the next defenders Boise State’s star posterizes with jukes, spin moves, stiff arms and heavy shoulders. But they also know that slowing down Jeanty, who finished second in Heisman Trophy voting, will be their toughest task yet when the two teams meet in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31. Texas sues NCAA in latest push to block transgender athletes in women's sports AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the NCAA to block the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports, arguing that it tricks and misleads fans. The lawsuit filed in state district court argues the NCAA violates the Texas Trade Practices Act. The law is designed to protect consumers from deceptive business practices. The lawsuit is the latest attempt by conservative politicians to target transgender athletes and push the NCAA into banning them from competition. NCAA President Charlie Baker recently told Congress he was aware of fewer than 10 active transgender athletes. Sabrina Ionescu is joining Unrivaled as the new 3-on-3 league's final player Sabrina Ionescu is joining Unrivaled as the new league’s final player for this season. The Liberty star guard who helped New York win the first championship in franchise history earlier this year signed a historic agreement on Monday. She’ll join the Phantom BC that made a trade Saturday night to acquire Natasha Cloud. Ionescu will also be playing with Brittney Griner, Marina Mabrey, Satou Sabally and Katie Lou Samuelson. The 27-year-old Ionescu is recovering from a procedure she had earlier this month on her right thumb to stabilize the ulnar collateral ligament. Sean Manaea to re-sign with Mets for $75 million over 3 years, AP source says NEW YORK (AP) — Sean Manaea is set to return to the New York Mets on a $75 million, three-year contract, according to a person familiar with the agreement. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal was subject to a successful physical. Manaea blossomed into New York’s top starting pitcher this year during his first season with the team, going 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA in 32 starts. Then he became a free agent for the third straight offseason. The reunion with Manaea, who turns 33 on Feb. 1, gives New York a much-needed frontline starter to help complete its reconstructed rotation. Mets owner Steve Cohen has committed $916.25 million to five free agents this offseason — four of them starting pitchers.

No one wants to see any player take a vicious hit like the one that knocked Trevor Lawrence out of the game. It’s easy to agree on that point. Eliminating violent shots is the hard part. The NFL has instituted several rules to protect quarterbacks but football is a physical sport and players have to react instantly and make split-second decisions going at high speeds so injuries keep occurring. Lawrence was carted off the field in the first half of Jacksonville’s 23-20 loss to Houston on Sunday after Azeez Al-Shaair leveled the defenseless quarterback with a forearm to the facemask. The late hit put Lawrence in the fencing position — both fists clenched — and he stayed on the ground for several minutes, while a brawl ensued. Lawrence didn’t require hospitalization for his concussion but it’s unknown when he’ll return. “Thank you to everyone who has reached out/been praying for me,” Lawrence wrote on X. “I’m home and feeling better. Means a lot, thank you all.” Al-Shaair was ejected from the game and faces a fine and potential suspension after his latest unsportsmanlike penalty. The Texans' linebacker was flagged and later fined $11,255 for a late hit out of bounds on Titans running back Tony Pollard last week. He was fined earlier this year after he punched Bears running back Roschon Johnson on the sideline in Week 2. That occurred during a scuffle that started after his hard shot on quarterback Caleb Williams near the sideline that wasn’t flagged. Al-Shaair once got away with grabbing Tom Brady by the throat on a pass rush in a game between the 49ers and Buccaneers. Outraged Jaguars players called Al-Shaair’s hit “dirty” and Texans coach DeMeco Ryans made it known he didn’t condone it. “It’s not what we’re coaching,” Ryans said. “Want to be smart in everything we do and not hurt the team, get a penalty there. Have to be smarter when the quarterback is going down. Unfortunate play. Not representative of who Azeez is. He’s a smart player, really great leader for us. We felt his presence not being there. His loss really affected us on the defensive side. Just not what we’re coaching. Didn’t want to see the melee and all the aftermath. That’s not what we’re about. Not representative of us. I’ll talk to Azeez, address him personally, and we’ll move forward from it.” Fox Sports color analyst Daryl Johnston, a former fullback for the Dallas Cowboys, didn’t hold back his criticism, calling it a “cheap shot.” “It’s everything you’re not supposed to do,” Johnston said. “Everything. You’ll see this in slow motion and Azeez Al-Shaair does everything you’re trying to prevent in this situation. It’s reckless. It’s disrespectful. There’s an honor that you give to your opponent on the football field and you respect him. And there’s opportunities to be physical and give big hits and play this game in that manner. And there’s other times when there’s a respect that you grant to your opponent.” Some former NFL quarterbacks blasted Al-Shaair on social media. “There is no place in the game of football for dirty hits like this one,” Robert Griffin III wrote on X. Chase Daniel called it “one of the dirtiest hits” he’s ever seen on a quarterback. Even defensive players struggled to defend Al-Shaair. “That was uncalled for,” Hall of Fame defensive lineman Michael Strahan said on Fox’s studio show while fellow Hall of Famer Howie Long agreed. But the play also sparked debate about the quarterback slide. Lawrence slid feet first, which signals that he’s giving himself up on the play. The NFL rulebook states: “A defender must pull up when a runner begins a feet-first slide.” But defensive players aren’t automatically penalized if they make contact with a sliding quarterback if they already committed and the contact is unavoidable. The rules state it’s a foul when “the defender makes forcible contact into the head or neck area of the runner with the helmet, shoulder, or forearm, or commits some other act that is unnecessary roughness.” Al-Shaair did that so he was penalized and will face other repercussions. Still, given the hard-hitting nature of the sport, it won’t be the last time this happens.‘Wheel of Fortune’ Contestant Devastated by Botched $75k Bonus Round Despite Big Boost

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It's hard to believe that in 1997, less than a tenth of the UK population used the internet. The rise in connectivity was so rapid that by 2001, over a third of the population was online, and today, more than 95 per cent of us are connected. For many under 30, a world without the internet is unimaginable, and the concept of only using it occasionally on a spare room PC is alien to the smartphone generation. Billions worldwide now use the internet daily and would struggle to live without it. Rewinding to the start, it was just 30 years ago, in March 1992, when the UK's first commercial Internet Service Provider (ISP) launched. Back then, the internet was seen as a novelty for tech enthusiasts, with few understanding or feeling they needed it. Broadband arrived in the UK in 2000, causing usage to soar, but many households continued to use dial-up connections for some time. While the Internet had existed in some form for much longer, it wasn't until the World Wide Web launched and ISPs provided a service to connect to it, that home access became possible. Whether the term 'dial-up' conjures up feelings of nostalgia or is completely alien to you, there's no denying the charm in reminiscing about the early days of what has become one of the most transformative technologies in human history. Before the advent of the World Wide Web, the closest thing we had was Prestel, a service provided by the Post Office akin to Ceefax, which debuted in 1979 and gradually disappeared in the early '90s. However, the World Wide Web was set to be a far more significant entity. Zen Internet's founder and chairman, Richard Tang, commented: "The effects the Internet has had on our society are incalculable. We have a world of knowledge, entertainment and convenience at our fingertips, and that's not to mention the many businesses and innovation the Internet has helped foster." He added: "With so much reliance on the Internet today, it's hard to imagine there was once a view that it would ultimately amount to nothing. In fact, 96 per cent of UK households now have access, and while internet fads come and go, it's fair to say it's unlikely we'll be going back to using a CD on the front of a magazine to get online anytime soon." Richard reminisces about a time when pagers were the norm instead of smartphones and shares some of the quintessential experiences for anyone who went online during the 1990s, including those unforgettable dial-up tones. In stark contrast to today's world of video streaming, online gaming and Zoom calls, the early days of internet access were dominated by dial-up modems. These devices emitted a series of alien-like sounds as they established a connection. In an era when the online world was largely silent - primarily because anything larger than text and small images took an eternity to download - it is these distinctive chirps and whistles that many of us may remember, and probably do not miss. In the 90s, downloading a film would typically take about a month, so physical media reigned supreme. Blockbuster video stores were thriving, boasting over 500 stores across the UK at their peak. How many of us spent our Friday evenings scouring the shelves for something to watch, only to end up paying late fees because we forgot about a VHS left at home somewhere? Around this time, of course, came email, a tool we still use in a very similar form today. Like the internet more broadly, this technology had existed in other formats for some time before it was popularised for consumers, with the first email message thought to have been sent in 1971. There was a lot of scepticism, and some people needed convincing of the benefits of email over sending a fax, writing a letter or making a phone call. By the 1980s and 90s, email had become popular across business, government, and academic environments, before achieving mainstream status by the 2000s. An email account became something included with your home internet access, helping kick start the period of, depending on your generation, those embarrassing first attempts at usernames and email addresses that seemed fun or cool at the time. Many computers didn't even come with the software needed to get online. Internet providers had to supply new customers with a CD containing this instead. It's strange to think how many of us might have first got online thanks to a CD or even a floppy disk that came for free in the post or we found on the front of a computer magazine. Early internet users will remember using search engines like Alta Vista or WebCrawler, which dominated before Google launched in 1998. Many spent their time on forums, or Internet Relay Chat (IRC) interacting with others they could be called the earliest forms of social media. Before the reign of social media, for those of us in our youth, the internet was a magical realm where real-world limitations didn't apply. Websites were awash with vibrant colours, loud designs, GIFs and animated cursors, with platforms like Geocities and Myspace offering users the chance to carve out their own personalised web spaces. These were the precursors to today's online communities and the foundation of modern social media sites. As internet speeds and bandwidth expanded, digital audio became more viable. The dawn of the 2000s saw the introduction of devices like the iPod in 2001, followed by the iTunes Store in 2003. Suddenly, songs available for 99p meant many of us were abandoning our CDs and purchasing new music online, all thanks to our increasingly efficient connections. You might recall the hours spent transferring your physical music collection to iTunes, or waiting for your newly bought songs to sync to your iPod before leaving home. This paved the way for video streaming, online gaming and eventually, the always-connected, multi-device world we inhabit today. Back in the day, being online required dedication. With loading times that would be considered painfully slow today, and no possibility of staying connected throughout the day, dial-up was a different beast. Since it utilised the phone line, online time usually cost 1p per minute for a local rate call. You might recall the domestic disputes sparked by one person hogging the connection, preventing anyone else from using the phone simultaneously.