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Total 54 articles, created at 2016-04-09 18:03 1 SpaceX finally nails landing on drone ship, one giant step for reusable rockets After the first four attempts ended with explosions, Elon Musk's rocket company makes (2.00/3) history Friday off the coast of Florida. 2016-04-09 15:21 1KB cnet.com.feedsportal.com 2 The best pro gaming to watch this weekend Check out the Hearthstone, Smite and CS:GO action inbound over the next couple of (2.00/3) days. 2016-04-09 00:48 3KB www.pcgamer.com
3 Security Think Tank: Six alternative strategies to centralised security patching What strategies can companies adopt to help keep up with and deal with the huge volume of software updates they are facing? 2016-04-09 16:42 3KB www.computerweekly.com 4 Brexit debate: Why IT pros should vote to leave IT consultant Peter Chadha gives five reasons why the UK would be better off leaving the European Union. 2016-04-09 16:22 3KB www.computerweekly.com 5 Considerations for the next phase of hyperconverged infrastructure Hyperconvergence has been receiving a tremendous amount of attention because it represents the next step in the evolution of IT resource delivery. 2016-04-09 11:28 1KB www.itworldcanada.com 6 IBM Maximo Asset Management solutions for the oil and gas industry As technology reaches every corner of the globe, the world becomes smaller—and smarter. With global organizations and systems that are more instrumented, 2016-04-09 13:30 1KB www.itworldcanada.com 7 'You'll be out of your misery soon,' promises 'Walking Dead' producer, 'and so will someone else!' Legendary producer Gale Anne Hurd has some calming words for angry fans upset by the zombie drama's recent cliff-hanger ending. 2016-04-09 15:21 3KB cnet.com.feedsportal.com 8 Vid of Sad Affleck sends 1966 Simon & Garfunkel song to top of charts The song soars after playing a prominent role in a viral video of Ben Affleck appearing to react sadly to "Batman v Superman" reviews. 2016-04-09 15:21 935Bytes cnet.com.feedsportal.com 9 'Rogue One' will be the best Star Wars movie of the year Podcast: Let's just be honest, it's a lot of "Rogue One" theories and talk. Plus, our top 5 favorite prequels. 2016-04-09 15:21 1KB cnet.com.feedsportal.com 10 How gaming's latest controversy betrays our failing imaginations Commentary: What Baldur's Gate, "Game of Thrones" and The Witcher 3 have in common. 2016-04-09 15:21 4KB cnet.com.feedsportal.com 11 The most popular sports car in Germany is...the Ford Mustang? The Mustang outsold all other sports cars in March, besting even the most venerable competitors. 2016-04-09 15:21 1KB cnet.com.feedsportal.com
12 Ark: Survival Evolved Xbox One patch improves frame rate, adds new dinos Plus, limited-time "Extinction Event" servers are now available in the dinosaur game. 2016-04-09 15:21 2KB cnet.com.feedsportal.com 13 Mercedes owners file class-action suit against automaker for potentially imaginary defeat devices They're imaginary in the sense that nobody's been able to prove their existence. 2016-04-09 15:21 1KB cnet.com.feedsportal.com 14 Mass Effect 4D real-world thrill ride gets new video Check out a new video for Mass Effect: New Earth, coming this spring to Great America in California. 2016-04-09 15:21 1KB cnet.com.feedsportal.com 15 Encryption bill would force companies to surrender user data A peek at draft legislation shows senators want no pushback from tech companies when law enforcement needs technical assistance or decrypted data. 2016-04-09 15:21 2KB cnet.com.feedsportal.com 16 What do I need for 4K? With 4K TVs cheaper than ever, and more 4K TV shows and movies here today and on their way tomorrow, what do you need to get 4K into your home? 2016-04-09 15:21 3KB cnet.com.feedsportal.com 17 Cisco HyperFlex Systems The solution is faster to deploy, simpler to manage, and easier to scale than the current generation of systems. It is ready 2016-04-09 14:12 1KB www.itworldcanada.com 18 Establish a predictive maintenance culture to optimize asset performance Many organizations may not regard maintenance practices as a primary means for optimizing asset performance. While operations managers look for ways to 2016-04-09 14:12 1KB www.itworldcanada.com 19 High Demand for IT Professionals Keeps Driving Salaries Skyward Salaries for tech jobs are on the rise, with some seeing an annual bump of 7 percent or more. Tech pros with cloud experience can command top dollar. 2016-04-09 14:10 1KB www.eweek.com 20 How to find a lost cat or dog with a smartphone No, it doesn't involve strapping an iPhone to your pet. 2016-04-09 10:50 2KB zdnet.com.feedsportal.com 21 Windows 10 Build 14316, Cloud App Security Launch: Microsoft Roundup This week, Microsoft held its first Envision conference, beta-tested Outlook Premium, launched a major new Windows 10 preview build, and announced a partnership with R3. 2016-04-09 10:05 5KB www.informationweek.com 22 Here Are The 5 Leaders In Gartner's 2016 Magic Quadrant For Integration Platform-As-A-Service For its latest iPaaS Magic Quadrant report, Gartner evaluated 17 companies that offer Integration Platform-as-a-Service solutions. Only five of those vendors landed in the Leaders quadrant. 2016-04-09 10:00 1KB www.crn.com
23 Would you buy a MacBook with a touchscreen keyboard? Apple's thinking about it 2016-04-09 09:17 1KB feedproxy.google.com 24 Imax got game as Golden State Warriors triumph It was a raucous affair as fans flocked to watch the NBA powerhouse in the first-ever live sporting event streamed at an Imax theater in the US. 2016-04-09 09:20 2KB cnet.com.feedsportal.com 25 Feds renew push for Apple's help cracking iPhone in NY case The Department of Justice wants Apple to pull data off an iPhone 5S used by a drug dealer. 2016-04-09 09:20 3KB cnet.com.feedsportal.com 26 Google receives threat at HQ, police say Authorities say there were no injuries. 2016-04-09 08:14 839Bytes cnet.com.feedsportal.com
27 Buzzfeed #watermelon explosion satisfies Internet's thirst for destruction Buzzfeed tortures a watermelon live on Facebook for 45 minutes and pretty much the whole Internet tunes in to watch the mayhem. 2016-04-09 08:14 1KB cnet.com.feedsportal.com 28 8 essential tech projects for the weekend Get more from your tech 2016-04-09 08:00 3KB feedproxy.google.com 29 All-metal and $299, Acer's Chromebook 14 targets IT pros Acer this week announced a new Chromebook that shows just how much better these machines are getting. 2016-04-09 03:50 3KB www.computerworld.com 30 The week in Apple news: FBI hacks iPhone 5c, iPad Pro teardown, and more Apple headlines for the week ending April 8, 2016. 2016-04-09 03:00 942Bytes www.itnews.com 31 Kinder, gentler hacks: A bevy of low-stakes early computer breaches Compared to the cybercrime we see today, the exploits of yesteryear seem so innocent 2016-04-09 03:00 8KB www.infoworld.com 32 British Academy Games Awards Winners 2016 The winners of the British Academy Games Awards, celebrating the very best in games of the past year were announced on Thursday 7th, April 2016 at the ceremony hosted by Dara O'Briain at Tobacco Dock, London. Fallout 4, the action role-playing game developed by... 2016-04-09 02:14 3KB pctechmag.com 33 Facebook changes sponsored post policies as original content declines 'Share if you agree' 2016-04-08 23:41 2KB feedproxy.google.com 34 Offworld Trading Company will exit Early Access this month See you at the party, Richter. 2016-04-08 22:00 1KB www.pcgamer.com
35 Hover Junkers review Even after Hover Junker’s free-for-all matches start to feel redundant, its punchy, full- body action is hilarious fun. 2016-04-08 21:42 10KB www.pcgamer.com 36 April Fools is over but somehow Solid Snake and Psycho Mantis are now selling Fords In your face, Hideo Kojima, I guess. 2016-04-08 21:17 1019Bytes www.pcgamer.com 37 Over 135 million modems vulnerable to denial-of-service flaw Updated: The flaw lets an attacker cut off an entire network from the internet until the owner calls their provider to restore it. 2016-04-08 21:11 3KB zdnet.com.feedsportal.com 38 Leaked Senate bill attacks end-to-end encryption Leaked anti-encryption bill shows privacy fight is going to Capitol Hill. 2016-04-08 21:03 3KB www.pcgamer.com 39 The first song from the No Man's Sky soundtrack sounds heavenly The post rock group 65daysofstatic is providing the music. 2016-04-08 20:33 1KB www.pcgamer.com 40 The best shooters on PC and consoles We look into some of the best FPS games ever 2016-04-08 20:28 7KB feedproxy.google.com 41 Hands on: Dell Latitude E7470 review A business laptop with attitude 2016-04-08 20:15 8KB feedproxy.google.com 42 How Project Fi killed my Google Voice setup Get a Nexus 5X they said. Sign up for Project Fi for a month to get a discount, they said. Now I'm hosed. 2016-04-08 19:48 9KB zdnet.com.feedsportal.com 43 AMD Radeon R9 490 chip could debut Polaris graphics in June Polaris promises a huge leap in power efficiency 2016-04-08 19:38 2KB feedproxy.google.com 44 DirectX 12: what is it, and why it matters to PC gamers A quick glance at how DirectX 12 makes chips tick better 2016-04-08 19:18 8KB feedproxy.google.com 45 Q&A: Red Hat's Jim Whitehurst Maps The Road To $5 Billion From the Red Hat North American Partner Conference in New Orleans, the CEO talks to CRN about emerging technologies propelling the open-source software leader to a major milestone. 2016-04-08 19:15 3KB www.crn.com 46 Tesla's Model S recieves a minor nip-tuck inside and out A few changes to keep it fresh 2016-04-08 19:15 1KB feedproxy.google.com 47 Corsair stretches warranties for some PSUs to 10 years Corsair is extending the warranty period for some of its PSUs from 7 years to 10 years. 2016-04-08 19:05 1KB www.pcgamer.com
48 Control Heroes of the Storm's Tomb of the Spider Queen map Stick together or the Webweavers will get you. 2016-04-08 19:00 7KB www.pcgamer.com
49 'Do I need to run antivirus on my Mac?' If you want a different answer, ask me a different question. 2016-04-08 18:45 3KB zdnet.com.feedsportal.com 50 HTC 10 continues the slowest tease ever, this time showing off its battery Is this the last of the leaks before the reveal? 2016-04-08 18:45 2KB feedproxy.google.com 51 Homefront: The Revolution trailer introduces the Apex Corporation 'Think different,' indeed. 2016-04-08 18:25 1KB www.pcgamer.com 52 Diablo 2 has been updated yet again The new patch includes a fix for 'hot lap syndrome.' 2016-04-08 18:24 1KB www.pcgamer.com 53 5 Companies That Had A Rough Week For the week ending April 8, CRN looks at IT companies that were unfortunate, unsuccessful or just didn't make good decisions. 2016-04-08 18:19 1KB www.crn.com
54 Facebook Brazil hires new head Former Unilever executive will have to fight the various legal battles the company faces in the country 2016-04-08 18:04 2KB zdnet.com.feedsportal.com Articles
Total 54 articles, created at 2016-04-09 18:03
1 SpaceX finally nails landing on drone ship, one giant step for reusable rockets (2.00/3) There's a lonely Falcon 9 rocket standing proudly by itself atop an autonomous landing pad barge in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean right now. The rocket is the first in history to complete a space mission and then land in one, recoverable piece at sea. SpaceX successfully launched its Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station atop the Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Friday at about 1:45 p.m. PT. The drone landing took place about 10 minutes later. The Falcon 9 reached a top speed of over 4,000 miles per hour during launch and then had to be slowed down on its return to Earth and guided to "Of Course I Still Love You," the name of the drone ship landing pad that was waiting off the coast of Florida in the Atlantic Ocean. The Dragon module is performing a cargo resupply mission to the space station, carrying a number of science experiments -- including a delivery of live mice -- to be received by the space station astronauts.
Success! SpaceX rocket nails its first-ever ocean landing feedproxy.google.com 2016-04-09 15:21 Eric Mack cnet.com.feedsportal.com
2 The best pro gaming to watch this weekend (2.00/3) We’re a bit shorthanded in the competitive gaming mines this week, so let’s get straight to the best stuff that to beam into your eyeballs over the next few days... Not the kind of competitive tournament which has BlizzCon points on the line, but likely to be the most fun involving Leper Gnomes you’ll find this weekend. Taking place from Team Archon’s house in Las Vegas, eight players are competing over three days (April 8-10th), with various challenges involved. At time of writing they’re playing against each other using Arena decks, and they’ll probably be something involving Standard restrictions before it’s over. On the line is a prize pool of $8,888, the lion’s share of which will go to whoever accrues the most, hmm, “Amaz points” over the three days. Still, the talent isn’t question: Trump, Orange, Dog, Purple, Zalae, Chakki, Strifecro and Admirable on the playing side, with Noxious and, double hmm, Reckful doing the casting. The stream can be found here , and it already looks like players will be doing additional casting when not involved in matches. This Saturday, Counter Logic Gaming takes on Liquid in the North American LoL Championship Series playoffs semifinals. On Sunday, Immortals go toe-to-toe with TSM to round out the semifinals before the series is sorted. Meanwhile, Europe is chugging through their own playoffs, with Origen vs H2K on Saturday and G2 Esports vs Fnatic on Sunday. If you don’t mind waking up early, the Korean (LCK) series is hosting KT Rolster vs Kongdoo Monster and Jin Air Green Wings vs Longzhu Gaming this Saturday. China’s LPL has a few regular season matches scheduled as well: Team World Elite vs Qiao Gu Reapers , Snake Esports vs LGD Gaming , and Energy Pace Maker vs Master3 enter the arena this Saturday (that’s later tonight and through the early morning for you Westerners). Looking ahead to next week, we’re anticipating the DreamHack Masters event from Malmö, Sweden on April 12 through next weekend, which should make for a fun follow-up to last weekend’s MLG Columbus Major. Most of the big teams will be there, including Columbus finalists NaVi and Astralis, although Fnatic, arguably still the world’s best CS:GO team, will miss the event due to an injury to player Olofmeister. $250,000 is up for grabs. Smite season 3 started its Spring Split this week, which is the first significant series of matches for Smite’s Pro League. There have been some major roster shake-ups since the end of season two, making this a good time to check in on how these new teams are working together. You can see an overview of the weekend’s matches on the Smite Pro League website here , but if you’re going to catch any matches, we recommend Saturday’s bout between Dignitas and Paradigm and Sunday’s two Team EnVyUs match-ups. Paradigm narrowly missed making it to the grand finals at the Smite World Championship in January, and EnVyUs’ roster includes two players who won 2015’s championship. MLCst3alth and Omega are a fearsome duo. Stream the Smite matches on Twitch right here. It’s Heroic Four time for Heroes of the Dorm, leading into the Grand Finals this weekend. At the CenturyLink Field Event Center in Seattle, We Violin and Dark Blaze will face off while Tricky Turtles take on Real Dream Team. The action kicks off at 5 pm PT on Saturday with the Grand Finals following at 5 pm PT on Sunday, live on ESPN 2. You can also watch it streaming on ESPN’s site here. For more event details, or if you’d like to attend in person, here’s all you need to know. Watching sports in VR is a scrimmage now, but the pro season is coming feedproxy.google.com 2016-04-09 00:48 By PC www.pcgamer.com
3 Security Think Tank: Six alternative strategies to centralised security patching It is fair to say that the old model of centralised patching and its associated processes are becoming less effective than they were in the past (if they ever really were). With a number of suppliers using the upgrade/replace method rather than patching , it is much more difficult to follow the process of identify-test-pilot- deploy-force (or a variation thereof) that has been commonly followed and automated. There are a number of patch management strategies that can be considered, either as stand- alone systems or in combination. Note that, in all cases, information security may not own these systems, nor are they responsible for applying patches (that is an IT operations job); but they should have input into the strategy or strategies adopted. 1. Standardise software, lock devices down and force upgrades Use deployment tools built into operating systems or use applications to do this. The trade-off between disruption to business operations and the time required to apply updates needs to be considered, however. 2. Outsource Make sure patch management (and the time to do it) is part of outsourced IT provision or of any service contract. 3. Use the cloud The cloud may offer a realistic way to manage updates and patches. With instances being provisioned according to demand, cloud providers can create builds and deploy them when required. As instances are terminated, old builds can be removed from the service very quickly. The cloud provider will have to have a very good identify-test-pilot-deploy process, but that is something that can be requested and examined both before buying and when using the cloud service. 4. Go BYOD If your users bring their own devices (BYOD), then it is up to them to upgrade/patch them. Make it part of the acceptable use policy (AUP) or employment contract and educate users so they do it. 5. Risk assessment Focus on data, applications, systems and devices that are critical to your business or that handle sensitive (including personal) information. Use a risk assessment to decide what is critical and then patch the critical data, applications, systems and devices as a matter of priority. 6. Use 802.1X , network access control and quarantine Treat any device that connects to your network as untrusted. Check devices as they connect to your network and if they are not running the latest (or approved) software, do not allow them access to the network. Instead, direct them to a network where the only option is to upgrade or patch software. As devices and applications evolve – and become more cloud-centric – organisations should be actively thinking about whether they want to perform patch management, or whether their resources could be directed to better use elsewhere. Adrian Davis is managing director for Europe at (ISC) 2 .
Security Think Tank: Tackle vital patching challenge with risk-based approach computerweekly.com 2016-04-09 16:42 Adrian Davis www.computerweekly.com
4 Brexit debate: Why IT pros should vote to leave In the 1990s, in the heyday of IT contracting, I got an opportunity to work with one of the offices of the European Union. During my stint, I met some good people and I enjoyed my time – but felt that the wider institution’s ambitions were not aligned to most British people. My continued interest over the years led me to believe that the EU not only needs fundamental reform, but it is actually “unreformable”. So I have taken time out to make my views heard as the upcoming EU referendum is one of the most momentous political decisions in a generation. It will affect every IT business, household, public service and, of course, our economy and democracy. There are five important reasons why I think the British economy and IT companies would be better off without Brussels. These are: 1. The EU is expensive Even to an IT person, there are many noughts with the EU – it costs us £18,000,000,000 per year, or £350m per week. With that, we could build a lot of infrastructure, such as decent roads, trains or even rural fibre. EU costs will only go up based on support for the Euro project – especially if the UK economy continues to thrive against its EU partners. (The EU demanded an extra £3bn last year alone). 2. Bureaucratic EU regulations cost our businesses £90bn I run IT outsourcing for small businesses, so I have seen first-hand how bureaucratic regulations affect entrepreneurial businesses, such as my own. Even the minutest change can cause chaos for businesses in terms of financial planning. Last year, the EU changed VAT rules for those selling digital products and services, which meant that small businesses – some of which had never had to register for UK VAT before – had to negotiate the complexity of EU regulation. 3. IT businesses demand planned migration Agile IT businesses I meet believe that to have sustained economic growth, we do need immigration. We need to hire the brightest and the best. But, because of pressure from uncontrolled migration from the EU, the government is making it very tough to get individuals from other parts of the world. This stifles our IT sector. Getting programmers from India – which is one of the few world markets able to provide the right kind of cost-effective resource – is nigh on impossible. 4. Economic control – better deals The EU is a club biased towards the dominant economies and manufacturing industries of Europe, such as Germany. Academics like Patrick Minford of Cardiff University suggest that if the UK were free from the EU’s Common Tariff, we would instantly benefit from free trade and save costs worth 3% of GDP. 5. Kill the tax avoidance The global multinational companies love the EU, especially the US conglomerates like Amazon and Facebook. Most people think this is because of the simplification with the common market – the truth, however, is rather different. These type of global company, with expensive lawyers and accountants, can play the European rules to achieve tax avoidance on a massive scale. For example, €9tn flows through the Netherlands (about 10% of the annual output of the world economy) to tax havens which are helping companies such as Facebook pay less corporation tax than a small IT consultancy. Peter Chadha is CEO of London-based business IT consultancy Dr Pete Technology Experts and deputy chairman of the London group of Business for Britain , a business group campaigning for a ‘leave’ vote in the 2016 referendum
2016-04-09 16:22 Peter Chadha www.computerweekly.com
5 Considerations for the next phase of hyperconverged infrastructure Hyperconvergence has been receiving a tremendous amount of attention because it represents the next step in the evolution of IT resource delivery. This technology takes the idea of integrating compute, storage and networking that started with converged systems design and has improved on those architectures by adding deeper levels of abstraction and automation. Hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) vendors promise simplified operation and the ability to quickly and easily expand capacity by deploying and launching additional modules; simplicity has been the key selling point for the HCI pioneers. As HCI ventures even deeper into the enterprise and cloud environments, the architectures will need to become more efficient, agile and adaptable to help IT professionals shoulder the burden of rapidly growing datasets and workloads. As thank you for downloading, we will enter your name into a draw to win a pair of VIP tickets for the final round of the RBC Canadian Open July 23-24 at the Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ontario. Deadline to enter is May 18.
Next-Generation Data Platform for Hyperconvergence itworldcanada.com 2016-04-09 11:28 www.itworldcanada.com
6 IBM Maximo Asset Management solutions for the oil and gas industry As technology reaches every corner of the globe, the world becomes smaller—and smarter. With global organizations and systems that are more instrumented, interconnected, and intelligent than ever, the oil and gas industries now have the potential to achieve new levels of business value and optimize operations. IBM is using its technological expertise and decades of leadership to help organizations in the oil and gas industries. From exploration and production to refining and marketing, IBM offers IoT solutions for oil and gas operations. With deep industry and process expertise, IBM helps oil and gas companies to enhance operational sectors, which can improve efficiency and optimize global resources in ways that enable organizations to focus on operational efficiency and resource utilization.
Enterprise asset management: Why it’s even more important in today’s oil and gas industry itworldcanada.com 2016-04-09 13:30 www.itworldcanada.com
7 'You'll be out of your misery soon,' promises 'Walking Dead' producer, 'and so will someone else!' On the edge of your seat with the cliff-hanger ending of "The Walking Dead"? "I promise you'll be out of your misery very soon", says producer Gale Anne Hurd, adding "and so will someone else! " Without spoiling anything, let's say some viewers were unhappy with the sixth series finale of AMC's zombie drama "The Walking Dead". The episode introduced hotly anticipated new villain Negan, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, in deadly fashion, but left viewers with a huge dangling cliff- hanger. "I understand the frustration", said Hurd of the cliff-hanger, "but we wanted this moment to be about the introduction of Negan. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is fantastic". Hurd was speaking in London at a screening of the second series of AMC's "Fear the Walking Dead", a spin-off from popular zombie show "The Walking Dead". The two shows adapt the comic book of the same name by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard. In the comic, Negan explodes into the story with a catastrophic impact, and fans in the know were on tenterhooks to see if the show stuck to the comic's dramatic story line. The second series of spin-off "Fear the Walking Dead" finds the characters all at sea as they take to the ocean to escape the zombie apocalypse. The series was filmed on a special floating set in the 22 million gallon tank built by James Cameron for the film "Titanic". Having co-written "The Terminator" with her former husband James Cameron, Hurd produced a number of geek classics including the "Terminator" sequels, "Tremors", "The Abyss", "Aliens" and movies featuring Marvel comic superheroes the Punisher and the incredible Hulk. Discussing the challenges of the two "Walking Dead" shows, Hurd admitted that writers often have to adapt to the needs of the cast. "A number of our actresses have gotten pregnant", she said, "so we have a number of 'Walking Dead' babies! " Asked how she would adapt to a real zombie apocalypse, Hurd suggested she would seek out "The Walking Dead" fan favourite and all-round tough guy Daryl Dixon, played by Norman Reedus. "I'd get behind him on his motorbike...but I feel a lot of people have the same idea". "Fear the Walking Dead" airs on AMC in the US and on BT TV in the UK. You'll be put out of your misery when "The Walking Dead" returns with its seventh season later this year, probably in October.
2016-04-09 15:21 Richard Trenholm cnet.com.feedsportal.com
8 Vid of Sad Affleck sends 1966 Simon & Garfunkel song to top of charts Sad Affleck has made Simon & Garfunkel very happy. Update, 7:17 p.m. PT: Updated to add that the Disturbed cover also appears on the Billboard rock chart and to clarify that Billboard itself attributes the rise of the original version to the Affleck video.
2016-04-09 15:21 Leslie Katz cnet.com.feedsportal.com
9 'Rogue One' will be the best Star Wars movie of the year We've been speculating wildly about "Rogue One" since the trailer dropped and we're sharing it all with you! Personally, I think everyone is related to someone we already know and that there's no way this Star Wars story will be any less incestuous then previous ones. But, hey, who knows? With 8ish months to go, who knows what we'll discover before the opening. Also, did you know "Doctor Who" will have another spin-off? Well now you do, and this week we got our first look at the cast and set this week. We also recap the rest of the week's pop culture news (I know, it boggles the mind that there's more, huh?) and share our top 5 favorite prequels (did Bambi 2 make the list???). Oh, you want to know what else happened this week? Here's a quick rundown:
2016-04-09 15:21 Caitlin Petrakovitz cnet.com.feedsportal.com
10 How gaming's latest controversy betrays our failing imaginations Tension surrounds all the fantasy platforms we love, especially as the genre thrives at the box office, on television and in gaming. But the Baldur's Gate controversy reveals a paradox: When it comes to fantasy, our culture's imagination is going stale. Viewers are willing to suspend belief for the expected fantasy elements in a story, but refuse to do so for others. And when creators attempt to add diversity, they approach it as if there's a checklist to be politically correct -- a strategy that encourages token minorities instead of well- rounded characters and unique stories. Two prominent names in entertainment reveal the disappointing state of diversity in fantasy. The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt dominated the video game awards season last year, boasting a massive open world, great writing, and sharp game play. Meanwhile, " Game of Thrones " is officially HBO's most-watched TV show ever. These two fantasies are prototypical of the genre, lauded critically and commercially. And yet both are also undeniably white, male and heterosexual. The Witcher and "Thrones" both feature a handful of transgender or gay characters, few or no characters of color, and constantly sexualized women. Don't believe me? Think how many female characters you see appear nude in both titles, versus how many similarly disposed male characters you encounter. Fans have responded with apathy, defensiveness or hate. The outcry surrounding Baldur's Gate is hopefully the work of a vocal minority. Much more common is hearing fans defend white- centric fantasies by invoking history. There shouldn't be black people in the Witcher 3, they say, because the setting, Nilfgaard, is based on medieval Europe. This defense reveals a double standard, though. In Marvel's "Thor," nobody questioned that god's superpowers, but some viewers couldn't get past Heimdall, Nordic guardian of Asgard, being played by Idris Elba. But honestly, how does it make any substantive difference if Heimdall is black? Here's the deal: diversity needs to stop being treated as an obligation by writers and an imposition by viewers. It should be treated as an opportunity for better story telling. Take the new "Black Panther" comic book. Author Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a really fun, action- packed story. But he also spends a ton of time developing Wakanda, a fictional, technologically advanced African setting. His characters resist heteronormativity. In many ways, it's a rare exception to the pattern of our fantasies. Think about it: How many RPGs have you played that take place in Asian- or African-based worlds? How many big-budget fantasy TV shows and movies? Far more often, the locales are based on Europe and its history. We expect this in fantasy, and we know the stories well -- probably too well. If we're taking creative liberties with our fantasies, there's little defense for poor representation in them. But there's perhaps even less defense for how games like The Witcher and shows such as "Game of Thrones" only ever seem to draw inspiration from European history. Coates demonstrates that good characters and compelling narratives require more than just token minorities filling imaginary quotas. But he shows something more: that true diversity in our fantasies requires the same dedication to world building and character empowerment -- just focused on new places and people. It's a sort of story telling that resists the status quo, and as a result, gives us substantively different narratives, brand-new experiences and better imaginations.
2016-04-09 15:21 David Priest cnet.com.feedsportal.com
11 The most popular sports car in Germany is...the Ford Mustang? Germany is home to some very lovely and storied sports cars, many of which we've driven and enjoyed. You'd think that Germany's citizens, then, would be buying them up left and right. Well, last month, a new challenger appeared and walked away with the sales crown. And it's a Mustang. The Mustang loses its crown, however, when using year-to-date numbers. Between January and the end of March, Ford pushed 1,823 Mustangs out the door, compared to 2,299 Audi TTs. It still beat the 911, which totaled 1,811 sales, but price disparity likely plays a part there - - the base Mustang starts at €34,000 ($38,755), whereas a 911 starts at €96,605 ($110,112). KBA's sales data has some other interesting tidbits, as well. Despite being very old, BMW sold 163 Z4s in March. Chevrolet sold 79 Corvettes , and Subaru sold a grand total of seven BRZs. Ferrari managed to convince just one person to buy the all-wheel-drive FF, as well.
2016-04-09 15:21 Andrew Krok cnet.com.feedsportal.com
12 Ark: Survival Evolved Xbox One patch improves frame rate, adds new dinos The three new creatures include the Woolly Rhino, the deep-water Dunkleosteus, and the sea scorpion Eurypterid. The Woolly Rhino is normally friendly, but you don't want to be in its path when it charges. If you kill one, its horns can be ground into "arousing powder," while the fur can be used for cold- weather clothing, Studio Wildcard explained, adding that, due to its size, it may also come in handy for transporting goods. The Dunkleosteus, meanwhile, is a fish that is covered in armored plates that also has powerful jaws. "It's an excellent battle fish that is heavy with armor and a terrifying bite that tears through chitinous shells," Studio Wildcard said. "While harvesting, Dunkleosteus can handily defend its rider from all but the largest threats in the waters. And once past its prime, Dunkleosteus can be harvested for a fair amount of chitin. " Finally, the Eurypterus is described as "dangerous and adaptable. " They cannot be tamed, but can be harvested to make a "debilitating poison" you can use against your enemies. "Upon death, Eurypterid provides digestive tracts often containing Silica Pearls, or even have incredibly rare Black Pearls used for manufacturing mysterious technologies," Studio Wildcard said. "This latter information makes them among the most valuable creatures on the island. " As for Ark's new "Extinction Event" servers, these are live in the game as of today. They will reset every month, with a "dramatic meteor impact" coming every month to mark the extinction event. "These time-limited servers are a great way for new players to start on a level playing field and a challenging gameplay choice for those who want to see how far they can progress before the end of days," the developer said. "Participants will earn badges to mark their accomplishment. " You can see other key details for today's Ark update in the bullet points below, written by Studio Wildcard.
2016-04-09 15:21 GameSpot Staff cnet.com.feedsportal.com
13 Mercedes owners file class-action suit against automaker for potentially imaginary defeat devices Another day, another lawsuit against a diesel-car manufacturer for emissions. This time around, Mercedes-Benz owners have filed a class-action lawsuit against the automaker for allegedly installing defeat devices in its vehicles, despite no evidence that the devices exist. "We consider this class-action lawsuit to be unfounded," Daimler (Mercedes' parent company) said in a statement. "Our position remains unchanged: A component that inadmissibly reduces emissions is not used in Mercedes-Benz vehicles. We are convinced that all our vehicles comply with the legal requirements. "
2016-04-09 15:21 Andrew Krok cnet.com.feedsportal.com
14 Mass Effect 4D real-world thrill ride gets new video Amusement park California's Great America has released a new video for its "4D" Mass Effect attraction, which opens this spring. As announced previously, the ride is called "Mass Effect: New Earth," and it's described as a "4D holographic journey. " What's that mean? Check out the video to get an idea. "Welcome aboard Mass Effect: New Earth at California's Great America, where anyone can be an explorer," says the narrator. "Please prepare for an immersive, 4D holographic across the galaxy...if you dare. " Visitors will "climb aboard motion-based seating and wear 3D glasses, live performers will curate the journey and interact seamlessly with the 'next generation 3D visual.'" In addition to the motion seating, the ride will have "high-tech sound and other 4D effects. "
2016-04-09 15:21 GameSpot Staff cnet.com.feedsportal.com
15 15 Encryption bill would force companies to surrender user data If two US senators get their way, Apple will be legally required to help law enforcement agencies break into its customers' encrypted iPhones, no arguments allowed. "No person or entity is above the law," says the draft bill, authored by Richard Burr, a Republican from North Carolina, and Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California. The bill, though, doesn't expressly forbid companies from building technology like that offered by WhatsApp. "We're still working on finalizing a discussion draft and as a result can't comment on language in specific versions of the bill," Feinstein and Burr said in a joint statement. "However, the underlying goal is simple: When there's a court order to render technical assistance to law enforcement or provide decrypted information, that court order is carried out. " The senators' statement went on to echo the language in the unofficial draft: "No individual or company is above the law. " California Republican Congressman Darrell Issa, who is on a House working committee studying the encryption question, slammed the unofficial draft in a statement Friday, calling it "flawed," and "technically naive. " "This legislation would effectively prohibit any company who wants to improve the security of its products from doing so," Issa said. An Apple attorney, speaking with reporters Friday, declined to comment on the draft of the encryption bill. A WhatsApp spokesman also declined to comment. Privacy advocates and cybersecurity experts condemned the draft legislation. "This bill is a clear threat to everyone's privacy and security," said Neema Singh Guliani, legislative counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union. "It would force companies to deliberately weaken the security of their products by providing backdoors into the devices and services that everyone relies on. "
2016-04-09 15:21 Laura Hautala cnet.com.feedsportal.com
16 What do I need for 4K? What do you need to get 4K in your home? I'll give you a hint: it's more than just a TV. While the 4K-compatible TV is the most obvious part -- and prices on those TVs have never been lower -- there's also content, external devices, cables, and more to consider. So here, in five easy steps, is what you need to get 4K in your home and to your eyeballs. Not all 4K TVs are the same. Yes, they all have 3,840x2,160 resolution, but that's not the whole story. If you haven't bought the TV yet, there are a few features to consider to get the most out of your 4K experience. Most 4K TV include apps that will stream 4K (like Netflix and Amazon). This is certainly the easiest option. Regardless, you'll need an Internet connection that is fast enough to stream the content. Most services recommend at least 15 megabits per second. If your speed dips to less than that, particularly during popular prime-time hours, you'll typically be bumped down to 1080p, "Super HD" or whatever the service calls its sub-4K tier. With Netflix you'll also need the highest-level service plan, the one that costs $12 per month. Lower-cost plans don't have 4K. Amazon Prime members get access to some 4K videos automatically. YouTube's 4K is free, but not supported by all TV apps. Other services vary, but expect to pay more for the 4K version of anything you buy or rent. As you probably gathered, you need specific 4K content. This will be labeled 4K or UHD, and if it doesn't have a such label, it probably isn't. A good selection of movies are available in 4K today, and many of Netflix and Amazon's original series are too -- think "Daredevil," "The Man in the High Castle," etc. Your current cables should work fine. High-speed HDMI cables can carry 4K signals. However, if your cables weren't up to the high-speed spec, they may not work. Note: If the cables don't work, you'll either get no picture or dropouts (or rarely, sparkles). If you're getting a 4K signal, it's the same 4K picture quality regardless of how "good" the cable is. If your cables don't work, try a different cheap HDMI cable. Unfortunately, you might need a new AV receiver. Most older receivers, even ones with HDMI, won't pass a 4K signal. If your receiver doesn't, and you currently use it to connect all your gear, you have an annoying choice. The other option is to buy a 4K-compatible receiver. Some 4K sources, like the Samsung UBD-K8500, have a second audio-only HDMI output you can use for your older receiver, so you don't need to buy a new one. Got a question for Geoff? First, check out all the other articles he's written on topics such as why all HDMI cables are the same , LED LCD vs. OLED vs. Plasma , why 4K TVs aren't worth it and more. Still have a question? Tweet at him @TechWriterGeoff then check out his travel photography on Instagram.
2016-04-09 15:21 Geoffrey Morrison cnet.com.feedsportal.com
17 Cisco HyperFlex Systems The solution is faster to deploy, simpler to manage, and easier to scale than the current generation of systems. It is ready to provide you with a unified pool of infrastructure resources to power applications as your business needs dictate. Download this paper to learn how Cisco HyperFlex Systems platform includes an integrated network fabric, powerful data optimization, and unified management that bring the full potential of hyperconvergence for a wider range of workloads and use cases. As thank you for downloading, we will enter your name into a draw to win a pair of VIP tickets for the final round of the RBC Canadian Open July 23-24 at the Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ontario. Deadline to enter is May 18. 2016-04-09 14:12 www.itworldcanada.com
18 Establish a predictive maintenance culture to optimize asset performance Many organizations may not regard maintenance practices as a primary means for optimizing asset performance. While operations managers look for ways to reduce maintenance costs, most simply — and perhaps grudgingly — enter these costs into their accounts. Financial pressures and production schedules prevent the evaluation and adoption of more effective maintenance practices that managers could leverage for business advantage. But in recent years, operating environments have been changing. In fact, an increasingly connected world facilitated by the Internet of Things — all manner of equipment embedded with sensors and intelligence — is changing maintenance practices. Sophisticated analytics and modeling technologies can now be applied to the operational data generated by this equipment to help predict the need for maintenance. The challenge organizations now face is to convince executives, along with operations and maintenance personnel to overcome any cultural resistance to change.
2016-04-09 14:12 www.itworldcanada.com
19 High Demand for IT Professionals Keeps Driving Salaries Skyward It's a good time to work in the technology industry. That's the key takeaway from a new study from Mondo, a professional services organization that analyzed more than 3,000 job placements in the United States over the last year. The company found that, in general, salaries for technology jobs are on the rise, with some professions seeing an annual bump of 7 percent or more. In addition, the Mondo study shows that CIOs and CTOs continue to command six-figure salaries while chief security officers are in high demand. Those considering jumping into the technology field might also consider learning about cloud computing technology. Mondo said that business demand for cloud professionals "has exploded," yet there is a dearth of qualified professionals. That has resulted in companies paying top dollar just to find folks who can work in the cloud. In the following slides, eWEEK digs much deeper into the Mondo report and provide some insight into the salaries IT professionals across the United States can now expect to earn.
2016-04-09 14:10 Don Reisinger www.eweek.com
20 How to find a lost cat or dog with a smartphone There's not much you can't do with a smartphone, so it should come as no surprise that yes, you can track your pet dog or cat with your smartphone. All you need is to kit your furry friend with a GPS locator, and you'll have peace of mind in the event that it makes a mad dash for the hills one day. There are quite a few pet trackers out there, but when it comes to dogs one that stands out from the rest is Whistle . Whistle is a collar-mounted GPS tracker that's waterproof to IP67 and incorporates a rechargeable battery that's good for 30 days. Whistle is also small, measuring only 1.5 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches, and weighs only 1.3 ounces. Not only can Whistle be used to locate your dog if it goes missing, but the app can also be used to track your dog's long-term health trends (information such as vaccination dates and such), and you can also set custom goals or receive notifications if there are significant changes to their activity or sleep patterns. Whistle is compatible with iPhones and iPads running iOS 7.1 or greater, and Android devices running 4.0.3 or greater. Whistle costs $79, and requires a service plan that ranges from $6.95 to $9.95 per month. "But what about cats? " I hear you scream. Don't worry, the internet's favorite animal isn't going to be left out of the wearables wave. Because cats are smaller than dogs, the tracker has to be smaller. While there are some trackers that claim to work for both cats and dogs, they're only recommended for cats over 8 pounds, and that's a pretty big cat. But there is a wearable specially designed for cats. It's called Pawtrack , and it is has been "designed especially for cats, for cat owners by cat owners. " Pawtrack allows your pet cat to be tracked both by GPS and the GLONASS constellation of satellites. It also detects when the cat is at home by identifying the Wi-Fi network, and which point the device powers down to save on the battery. About the only drawback to the Pawtrack is battery life. It's only about three days, so you'll have to remember to charge is regularly. Because cats are active, the Pawtrack features a safety collar that can come off in the event of the cat getting into any difficulty with it (and I suppose you could always find where the collar is and retrieve it). Pawtrack costs $160, which includes a 12-month subscription to the locator service.
2016-04-09 10:50 Adrian Kingsley zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
21 Windows 10 Build 14316, Cloud App Security Launch: Microsoft Roundup Microsoft kicked off this week with introductory keynotes for its first Envision conference in New Orleans. The event was back-to-back with its Build developers conference , which recently concluded in San Francisco. During Envision's opening session, CEO Satya Nadella explained how the conference was created for business leaders to discuss how technology can be used to improve agility, influence organizational growth, spark disruption, and prepare for a new workforce. Nadella emphasized the importance of " conversations as a platform " and that concept's relevance to the enterprise audience. Execs demonstrated how businesses will be able to interact with their customers using Bots, which will make Web transactions (like travel plans or ordering delivery) easier for consumers. [These tech companies could have major layoffs on the horizon .] Microsoft believes digital assistants like Cortana will broker conversations with Bots and play an increasingly important role in users' lives. He urged the audience to go beyond mobile apps to be more active and present in customers' digital conversations. On a related note, Microsoft rolled out updates to Cortana in Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14316, which was released to the Fast ring this week. This is the first preview build to arrive since Microsoft announced its Windows 10 anniversary update at Build 2016. Build 14316 contains a few key changes and features undergoing testing before the summer launch. Insiders can now try cross-device Cortana features, new Microsoft Edge extensions, a preview of the Skype Universal Windows app, and running native Bash on Ubuntu on Windows. This week marked the start of beta testing for Outlook Premium , a new service that enables subscribers to set up to five custom email domains. It also simplifies the process of sharing calendars, contacts, and documents with people who share your email domain. It does not have banner ads. Outlook Premium has floated through the Microsoft rumor mill, but this is the first time Redmond has shared pricing. The service will be free for the first year then $4 per month for subscribers. An official launch date was not specified. Create a culture where technology advances truly empower your business. Attend the Leadership Track at Interop Las Vegas, May 2-6. Register now! Outlook on iOS and Android is also getting a boost with Evernote, Wunderlist, and Facebook integration. Calendar Apps, a new addition to Outlook, can be used to integrate tasks, events, and notes from all three apps within the Outlook calendar. Microsoft is hoping the change will boost productivity. For example, Wunderlist's new Calendar App for Outlook gives users an overview of their to-do lists in a place where they normally schedule tasks. You can try the addition by swiping left in the Outlook calendar and tapping the "Add" button next to Calendar Apps. A new service called Cloud App Security entered general availability this week. Microsoft created the cloud-delivered service for IT and security teams that are hoping to gain greater control over cloud app usage within the enterprise. The two main components to Cloud App Security are cloud usage discovery and app control. Admins can identify cloud apps across the network, view risk assessment, focus on sanctioned apps, and set controls for data-sharing and loss prevention. We received an update on the rumored Surface Phone, which sources claim will be released in early 2017. Microsoft is reportedly building three models to target the consumer, business, and "prosumer," or enthusiast, markets with varying features and prices. Surface Phone is not a new concept to Microsoft watchers, but this is the latest update in which sources have shared pricing and availability. Nobody mentioned features or specs, but it's fair to assume Microsoft will include current and upcoming Windows 10 Mobile features like Continuum, Windows Ink, and Windows Hello. During this week's Envision conference, Microsoft announced a partnership with R3 , a consortium of banking companies. Their goal is to make blockchain technology reality for financial services. As part of the partnership, Microsoft will help more than 40 member banks in R3 develop, test, and deploy blockchain technology for the purpose of revamping outdated processes and streamlining operations.
2016-04-09 10:05 Kelly Sheridan www.informationweek.com
22 Here Are The 5 Leaders In Gartner's 2016 Magic Quadrant For Integration Platform-As-A-Service Integration Is Everything The explosion of data sources across enterprise IT has been a boon for software vendors developing products that connect disparate systems. For organizations looking to deploy ever-more-complex environments, often as cloud and on-premises hybrids, data integration is becoming an essential IT component, and a preferred method for consuming the technology is as a cloud service. For its latest iPaaS Magic Quadrant report, market researcher Gartner evaluated 17 companies that offer Integration Platform-as-a-Service solutions to support application, data and process integration projects. Only five of those vendors landed in the Leaders quadrant -- and they weren't the enterprise software behemoths one might have expected. These are the five Leaders using the cloud to break down data silos.
2016-04-09 10:00 Joseph Tsidulko www.crn.com
23 Would you buy a MacBook with a touchscreen keyboard? Laptops that turn into tablets, tablets with detachable keyboards... the line between tablet, 2-in-1 and laptop is getting blurrier all the time, and a new patent recently filed by Apple suggests the trend for versatile devices is unlikely to go away any time soon. We're not talking about a touchscreen display here - we're talking about a touchscreen keyboard underneath the display. Haptic feedback would be used to let you know when you've hit a key, though you'd just be hitting a flat surface with your fingers. It's essentially an iPad-style on-screen keyboard for your laptop: something Apple is dubbing "zero travel" (because your fingers don't actually travel anywhere). No doubt the MacBook would be able to get even thinner as a result. While keyboard-lovers would be up-in-arms if the MacBooks adopted this new system, it would allow for flexible, custom keyboards just like those on iOS. The keyboard layout could change depending on the application being used. Presumably battery life could be improved as well, which may help to sell the idea to MacBook buyers. Ultimately, Apple is unlikely to ditch the physical keyboard altogether - this is more likely to be an optional extra rather than something for its entire range. As seasoned patent-watchers will know, these filings only show the ideas being thrown around behind the scenes, and there's no guarantee something like this will ever see the light of day - though it's fun to imagine a flat, touch-sensitive laptop keyboard. Via Business Insider Article continues below
2016-04-09 09:17 By David feedproxy.google.com
24 Imax got game as Golden State Warriors triumph Jose Martinez kept checking his pockets to make sure he had his ticket as he rushed through the doors before tip-off. He was en route to witness history: watching the NBA champion Golden State Warriors live on an Imax screen. "Sorry, bro, I gotta make sure I get a good seat," said Martinez, of East Palo Alto, California. "I heard it's sold out. " Warriors All-Star sharpshooter Stephen Curry stood nearly 60 feet tall Thursday night as pro basketball made its big-screen debut in an Imax theater in Newark, which sits on the southeast shore of the San Francisco Bay. The cinema, with its giant wall-to-wall screen, had been transformed into a mini basketball arena. More than 250 raucous fans crammed in to watch as the Warriors beat the San Antonio Spurs 112-101. The event had all of the trappings of a game: bright lights, thumping music, nonstop cheering, plenty of hot dogs and fans nearly falling out of their seats leaping for free T-shirts shot out of cannons. "This is the next best thing to being at Oracle Arena," Ngai Pham of nearby San Leandro said amid the hoopla. He has attended four Warrior games in person this season. "I can't believe this hasn't been done before. " Called "Dub Nation to the Imax," the event marked the first time that a sporting event was live- streamed on an Imax screen in North America. It was exclusive to customers of American Express, the sponsor, and tickets were gone within five hours. Many fans began showing up at least two hours before game time. "It's no surprise that demand was so high and this event sold out so quickly," said Deborah Curtis, an American Express marketing executive. "It's getting too expensive to go to the games," said Denise Choi of San Francisco, who said it was worth waiting 30 minutes on the phone to get two tickets to watch Thursday's game on the (really) big screen. "Real fans will do anything to see the Warriors. " As blue and gold confetti filled the air after the game, an ebullient Eduardo Ronquillo of Emeryville, California, who has been to three Warriors games this season, asked the obvious question aloud: "Are they going to be showing more games in Imax during the playoffs? "
2016-04-09 09:20 Terry Collins cnet.com.feedsportal.com
25 25 Feds renew push for Apple's help cracking iPhone in NY case The US government still needs Apple's help to break into an iPhone. And this time, it's not about terrorism. "The government continues to require Apple's assistance in accessing the data that it is authorized to search by warrant," the agency said in a court filing. An Apple attorney, speaking with reporters Friday on the condition of anonymity, expressed disappointment that the government decided to pursue the case in New York but said Apple isn't surprised. The attorney reiterated Apple's stance that the government is trying to set a precedent in forcing Apple to help law enforcement unlock iPhones. Apple will file its response to the brief on Thursday, and then there will be a hearing set on the issue. In both instances, the US has invoked the two-century-old All Writs Act to compel Apple to help. A New York judge had determined the act couldn't be used to force Apple's hand, something the DOJ wants reversed. It's up to individual courts around the country to determine whether Apple should help or not. An Apple attorney said Friday that Apple will use the case in New York to determine what steps the FBI has taken to get into the phone. To be able to use the All Writs Act, the government has to show that Apple's help is essential in getting information off the device and that doing so won't be an undue burden to Apple. The New York and California cases have some notable differences. In the New York case, the phone is a higher-end iPhone than the device used in San Bernardino -- a 5S versus a 5C. The 5S has a fingerprint reader, which provides tougher security. But the phone is running iOS 7 compared with iOS 9 in San Bernardino. The two-year-old software has less-stringent security controls, which should make it easier to get data off the phone. And in the New York case, the FBI wants Apple to extract data from the iPhone 5S, not help determine the passcode, like in California. Apple would have had to create new software to bypass its own device security for the iPhone used by the San Bernardino terrorist. The company argued that doing so would be an undue burden and put all iPhone users at risk. In New York, it wouldn't have to create entirely new software to get information off the device. The California case turned the previously private dealings between Apple and the FBI into a public battle and started a broader debate over privacy and security. Technology companies and rights groups argue that strong encryption, which scrambles data so it can be read only by the right person, is needed to keep people safe and protect privacy. Law enforcement argues it can't fight crimes unless it has access to information on mobile devices. Update, 10:20 a.m. PT : Adds comments from Apple and background. Update, 4:45 p.m. PT: Adds information about Boston case.
2016-04-09 09:20 Shara Tibken cnet.com.feedsportal.com
26 Google receives threat at HQ, police say Police "assisted" Google security at the company's corporate campus in Mountain View, California, after a threat Friday, according to a tweet from the Mountain View Police Department. The police said there were no injuries. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
2016-04-09 08:14 Richard Nieva cnet.com.feedsportal.com
27 Buzzfeed #watermelon explosion satisfies Internet's thirst for destruction What does it take to unify more than 5.5 million people online? One watermelon and a whole lot of rubber bands. The Buzzfeed Video Facebook page went live on Friday with a streaming feed showing two jumpsuit-wearing staffers wrapping one rubber band at a time around the middle of a watermelon until the beleaguered fruit finally succumbed to the pressure. You can relive the entire 45-minute epic process, one rubber band at a time, or you can fast- forward to the end where the drama really ramps up. The watermelon is clearly straining as the melon tormenters close in on 700 rubber bands. Excitement over the seedy goings-on crossed over to social-media sites, causing the hashtag #watermelon to trend on Twitter. Spoiler alert: The climax is a beautiful, edible mess. Facebook is really pushing its Facebook Live video-streaming feature. Buzzfeed describes itself as a member of a "rush of publishers" that have "barreled in to experiment and build audiences. " Buzzfeed later confirmed it's a paid media partner. The viral success of the Gallagher-level watermelon explosion will likely encourage more Facebook Live stunts in the future. Maybe someone will take on the challenge of rubber-banding one of those hatchback- size pumpkins. I'd watch.
2016-04-09 08:14 Amanda Kooser cnet.com.feedsportal.com
28 8 essential tech projects for the weekend With the weekend finally here (we've been spoilt a bit by a run of four-day weeks in the UK), now is a great time to busy ourselves with some tech projects to get more from the gadgets we use every day. We've rounded up the best tutorials from the past week, which will take you step-by-step through a range of great projects that are quick, easy and fun to do – and best of all, they'll leave you with devices that work better than ever. The latest software update for the PlayStation 4 has been released, and its most exciting new feature brings the ability to stream games from your console to a PC or Mac via Remote Play. In our How to stream PS4 games to your Mac or PC with Remote Play guide we show you everything you need to do to get your PS4 games onto your computer. If your laptop has been playing up recently – or has just begun to feel a bit sluggish – then one of the best ways to restore your portable PC to its former glory is to factory-reset it. This is an easier and more convenient way of reinstalling Windows, as it will keep drivers and certain tools pre-installed, which can cut out many of the annoyances when starting Windows from scratch. To find out more, check out our How to factory reset a laptop guide. If you've got a MacBook rather than a Windows laptop, then we also have some projects for you that will help you get your device running better. Our first guide is on How to boost your MacBook's battery life , which takes you through various procedures to help prolong the time between charges. There are a number of tips and tweaks to try, so check this out if you've noticed that your MacBook's battery doesn't last that long anymore. The battery life of your MacBook may not be a problem, but that doesn't mean you can't improve its performance. Make sure you check out our updated guide on how to speed up your Mac , which features loads of ways to make your MacBook – and your desktop Mac – run nice and fast. While we're on the subject of Macs, we've also got an in-depth guide on How to use AirPlay to stream movies and music wirelessly to devices around the home – so you can ditch those pesky wires for good. Bluetooth is another great wireless technology that's supported by your Mac, so make sure you take a look at our How to master Bluetooth on your Mac guide to ensure you're getting the most out of your connected gadgets. If you keep lots of important files on your Mac then it's essential that you back it up regularly, to ensure you don't lose anything irreplaceable if something goes wrong. Whether you're looking to run a quick backup on a single home PC, or you've got a number of Macs that need looking after, we've got you covered in our Ultimate guide to backing up your Mac . If you've got a Windows 10 device then we've got an excellent project that will get your machine running better. In our guide to The best quick and easy Windows 10 tweaks we look at some deceptively simple adjustments that will make a big difference to how Windows 10 performs.
2016-04-09 08:00 By Matt feedproxy.google.com
29 All-metal and $299, Acer's Chromebook 14 targets IT pros Acer this week announced a new Chromebook that shows just how these machines keep getting better and better. The eyebrow-raising feature of the Acer Chromebook 14 is its all-aluminium chassis -- and a $299 price. This latest Acer system is part of an emerging trend in the Chromebook world to build systems for business users, or people who just want something that feels substantial. From the specs alone, there's a lot to like. This Acer Chromebook includes 4GB memory; 32GB of eMMC storage, a lower cost memory typically used in tablets and smartphones; and 12 hours of battery life at full HD via the 1920 x 1080-pixel display. This system, available for pre-order through Amazon ( Amazon price ), has an Intel Celeron N3060 dual-core processor running at 1.6GHz; Acer's announcement includes options for a quad-core version, as well, with other models apparently on the way. Chromebooks were introduced in 2011 and in most cases, those earlier machines set 2GB of memory as the standard and had drives that were limited to 16GB. Nothing could be upgraded. And of course there was the plastic, plastic, plastic. [Full disclosure: I'm a huge fan of Chromebooks, particularly for travel because of battery life, security and cost. If I lose it or break it, a replacement won't kill the budget. I use two systems (and sometimes travel with both): the Samsung Series 5 550 ( Amazon price ), which came with built-in Verizon 3G and cost about $500 in 2012. My second machine, the Toshiba Chromebook 2 -- the 2014 model CB35-B3340, which was $299 when new ( Amazon price ). Its standout feature is a 13.3-in. IPS FHD screen that's exceptionally bright and crisp. Buyers should get the updated 2015 version, which includes a backlit keyboard, the CB35-C3300 ( Amazon price ).] The Chromebook market was mostly low rent until the Chromebook Pixel was released in early 2013. Its initial cost, $1,299, seemed high to most reviewers, but it compared favorably (if not better) to the build and screen quality of Apple's high-end models. (Google subsequently produced a $999 Pixel model, which is now sold out. But the system with an Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM and a 64GB SSD for storage is still available at $1,299.) The Pixel was in essence saying that the Chromebook deserved serious hardware. It's now getting that. Dell, for instance, has built a business class Chromebook line. Its Chromebook 13 system released last year, includes models ranging in price from $379 to $899, with touch screen and Intel i5 processor. (See Computerworld blogger JR Raphael's comparison of the Dell and Toshiba Chromebooks.) Chromebook adoption by business has been held back mainly by the limitations of running everything through the Chrome browser. But many people can work just fine in a browser-based environment. I suspect that hardware quality -- or lack thereof -- has played a big role in stopping corporate IT shops from even testing these systems. IT managers aren't likely to issue a machine that employees are buying for their kids. The Chromebook has done well in the education market, however. And with full HD IPS screens, carbon fiber and aluminum construction, Chromebooks are growing up for everyone else.
2016-04-09 03:50 Patrick Thibodeau www.computerworld.com
30 The week in Apple news: FBI hacks iPhone 5c, iPad Pro teardown, and more The FBI may have dropped its case against regarding Apple and a San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone, but the story is far from over and continues to dominate the Apple headline feed. If court hearing aren;t your thing, there are plenty of other Apple-related headlines from the past week. They’re collected in this slideshow; just click on the link to get more info.
2016-04-09 03:00 Macworld Staff www.itnews.com
31 Kinder, gentler hacks: A bevy of low-stakes early computer breaches Today, IT security is a deadly serious business. But in the early days of computing, the stakes were a bit lower. Maybe it's just that we're seeing it through a nostalgic lens, but the computer breaches in the '70s, '80s, and '90s just seemed a bit more... fun? We spoke to some people who were there and who enjoyed reminiscing about a gentler era, whether they were the ones hacking or the ones being hacked. Thomas P. Keenan, now a professor and author of Technocreep: The Surrender of Privacy and the Capitalization of Intimacy , had to deal with a security crisis at his first systems programming job at the University of Calgary in 1972. "Every night, under cover of darkness, someone would post printouts of the user accounts on the Control Data 6400 computer , along with the corresponding passwords, labelled 'From the Missionary Unmasker!' Reading dumps and machine language code revealed that the password was stored -- unencrypted, of course -- in a memory location 114 words after the start of the assigned memory, and wasn't cleared between users. The Unmasker was requesting blocks of core memory and having a peek I plugged that hole, and later heard that the culprit was the bored son of a dean. " Frank Bradshaw, now president of Ho'ike Technologies, recalls a problem from the days when the Internet wasn't the main vector for malware distribution. "In 1993, I was working in a computer lab at college. Another employee was file-sharing and downloading software and pictures off of newsgroups. One of them was infected with the Stoned. Monkey boot sector virus. He was assigned to install approved software by the school to several computer labs. He used the same disk that he copied the pirated software and pictures to copy the approved software to be loaded in several computer labs, infecting almost 200 machines. " Consequences were dire: "Each machine needed to be rebuilt. This all went down about two to three weeks before finals when most papers were due -- and this was before everyone could afford a cheap PC. " Dave Cox is the CEO of security firm LiquidVPN. But as a teen in the 1990s, he did some pretty dodgy stuff, including getting "free" dialup access by giving fake credit card numbers to AOL. The numbers "were generated using the same type of rules the companies used to generate them in the first place, and/or curated from lists distributed via AOL chat rooms. " Bizarre as it may seem in these days of instant e-commerce, "I suspect AOL had no way to instantly check if it was a real card. If you were really lucky you could get up to two months on a card, but it was rare to get more than like two or three weeks. " Cox managed to gain admin access to his school's computer system, too, through means both technical (he wrote a little volleyball game that installed a keylogger into memory) and old- fashioned (his seat was at the front of the class and he could see his teacher enter her passwords). He used his powers to alter his fellow students' grades (first to help those in dire need, then for cash) and to add rude names for his teachers to the splash screens to the lab. And he used MAC address spoofing to pass the blame onto the second-most computer-savvy kid in his class (he, of course, was the best). These were also the days of BBSes, and Cox, who ran a BBS called The Lake of Fire, used his skills to settle a BBS beef. "One of the BBS owners was named Reefer Ron; he had a five- modem BBS that used to distribute hacking/anarchy stuff. This was back when you paid for incoming and outgoing phone calls if you went over so many minutes in a month -- you could rack up huge phone bills. Ron stole a new BBS server from another local sysadmin that everyone liked. So a few of us found a way to have his BBS dial back numbers. His five phone lines were running non-stop and he racked up $14,000 in phone charges over three months. " Dialup shenanigans were a common theme among people I spoke to. ISPs often charged by the minute, and in many countries you had to pay the phone company to make calls as well! Amit Serper, senior security researcher at Cybereason, remembers that he and his friends in Israel in the 1990s got wind of "an exploit in private branch exchange systems that allowed you to get a dial tone and call any number on the PBX owner's dime: dial a toll-free number, and while the announcement is being played hit the '1' key on the phone quickly until you get a dial tone. My friends and I made a list of all of the toll-free numbers we knew and called these numbers and tried to exploit the system. Once we got a dial tone we dialed up to our ISP. " Naivety in the early days went beyond just network security. Rick Tracy, CSO of Telos Corporation, was charged with security testing an online casino on "an obscure island in the Caribbean" in the late '90s. The casino was just "a collection of Unix servers that were housed in a store-front of a small strip mall," but Tracy and his team had them "locked down tighter than a drum. " On their way out, they went into the grocery store next door to grab something cold to drink -- and realized that the drop ceiling there connected directly back to the casino. "There were no motion detectors or alarms. Just a useless lock on the front door. There were no safeguards to prevent anyone from entering the online casino office space through the ceiling and physically stealing the servers. " Vickie Miller, vice president and CISO at FICO, worked for a local telephone company in Nebraska in the early '90s that decided it would take advantage of the embryonic Internet fad by setting itself up as an ISP -- to monetize people using phone lines for hours, if nothing else. Their rivals across town were an independent ISP founded by a college professor and a couple of students. Miller said they had a "healthy respect" for one another, but one day the rival ISP managed to telnet into their system, download their client list, and... use it to send a solicitation email urging them to switch. That was it! Miller said her ISP considered hacking back, but ultimately just wrote a stern letter (and improved their own security). Stephen Coty, chief security evangelist at Alert Logic, recalls his own youthful exploits in the late '80s: Creating a boot sector virus that would cause an infected computer to put his name up on screen, for instance, or gaining access to mainframes and trading screenshots with friends to prove he'd done it, or war dialing to see if there were open modems he could break into. At the time, these acts weren't meant to be malicious. He says they were about exploration of what computers and networks could do, and what you came away with were trophies, so to speak. Many of the security breaches we've discussed here have that innocent quality about them. Steve Manzuik, director of security research at Duo Security, put it somewhat more cynically: "The bad guys had not figured out how to monetize their skills yet. " Perhaps it's fairer to say that many got out before they got bad. Coty, like many of his early hacker cohorts, shifted to corporate life in the early '90s, taking a job at Wells Fargo -- where he was honestly surprised at how easy the systems were to access, with the biggest threats coming from insiders, not external attackers. When Russian hackers starting moving money around in 1994 or so, he says that represented a major sea change in the world of computer security. If you're interested in this period in computing, you probably recognize the name "Jericho," the legendary hacker and mind behind Attrition.org. Now more likely to go by Brian Martin, he's a meticulous cataloger of vulnerabilities, and if you want to go very deep into computing security history check out his PowerPoint presentation, 112 Years of Vulnerabilities.
2016-04-09 03:00 Josh Fruhlinger www.infoworld.com
32 British Academy Games Awards Winners 2016 The winners of the British Academy Games Awards, celebrating the very best in games of the past year were announced on Thursday 7th, April 2016 at the ceremony hosted by Dara O’Briain at Tobacco Dock, London. Fallout 4, the action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios won “Best Game “. This is the first win for the series which has been British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nominated six times. Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, the story- based game that takes place in a small English village whose inhabitants have mysteriously disappeared, took home three BAFTAs: Audio Achievement, Performer for Merle Dandridge as Kate Collins, and Musicfor the haunting score composed by Jessica Curry. Sam Barlow collected three awards for Her Story, a novel piece of interactive fiction. The game is Barlow’s first project as an independent developer and won in the Debut Game, Game Innovation and Mobile & Handheld categories. Futuristic sports-action game Rocket League fought off strong competition across three categories to win BAFTAs for Family Game, Multiplayer and Sport. Anime-inspired Ori and the Blind Forest won the BAFTA for Artistic Achievement. Batman: Arkham Knight, the fourth installment in the multi-BAFTA-winning Batman: Arkham series, collected the award for British Game, while the Gothic-inspired action role-playing game, Bloodborne, won the Game Design category. Interactive survival horror title Until Dawn picked up the BAFTA for Original Property, while Prison Architect, a construction and management sim where the player takes control of their own prison, won the Persistent Game award. The BAFTA for Story was won by Life is Strange, an episodic adventure that set out to revolutionise story-based choice and consequence games. The AMD eSports Audience Award was won by SMITE, seeing off competition from Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft and League of Legends. Showcasing the best in young games development and design talent, the BAFTA Ones to Watch Award in association with Dare to be Digital was won by SUNDOWN, a multiplayer stealth game created by a team of student developers from the US. The Fellowship the highest accolade the Academy can bestow was presented to John Carmack, a leading figure within computer and game engineering and one of the pioneers of 3D graphics, for his outstanding and exceptional creative contribution to the industry. Below is the summary of the winners:
2016-04-09 02:14 Nathan Ernest pctechmag.com
33 Facebook changes sponsored post policies as original content declines If you find yourself unsure which parts of your Facebook feed are the real-deal posts or just conveniently placed ads, you're not alone. Facebook announced today that it's taking new measures to point out sponsored content. That is to say, posts made by media groups, celebrities, and what the company calls "influencers" that mention specific products, brands, or sponsors. The move is designed to distinguish these posts from those written by normal users, a.k.a. your actual friends. The changes to Facebook's branded content and ad policies, put into effect immediately, will require certain publishers to tag sponsors in a post, similar to how users tag friends in a post or photo. In addition to the branded content tag, Facebook is also updating its guideline to prohibit content that exhibit "overly promotional features," such as constant watermarks or pre-roll ads in a sponsored video. The policy also bans featuring third-party brands or products in the publisher's profile picture or cover photo, instead encouraging endcards, product placement, and marketing logos used in a more sensible fashion. The line between a buddy and a business has blurred when perusing Facebook - especially as the company just finished rolling out a feature that lets users chat it up with companies like an old high school classmate - so the clarification is certainly welcome. The reining-in of sponsored content may help Facebook with one of its ongoing issues: a dwindling supply in original content. As reported by The Information , the social network is facing a steady decline in original content as the News Feed became inundated with stolen memes, Twitter screengrabs, Vines compilations and, of course, sponsored posts. Such are the problems when so much of your product is built on algorithms and advertisement, but Facebook's recognition of the issue could make it an easier place to browse. I personally would have settled for banning the litany of "custom" T-shirt stores that perpetually crop on on my Feed, but this is good, too. Article continues below
2016-04-08 23:41 By Parker feedproxy.google.com
34 Offworld Trading Company will exit Early Access this month Offworld Trading Company is a different kind of extraterrestrial RTS. Developed by Mohawk Games, an indie studio founded by Civilization IV designer Soren Johnson , it's all about running a business on Mars: Establish a corporate colony, develop resources, build factories, sell your goods, and crush your competitors through the power of high finance and corporate skullduggery. It's been available on Steam Early Access since February 2015, and on April 28 it will go into full release. "Offworld Trading Company is a new direction for real-time strategy, where money is both your deadliest weapon and and your toughest defense," Johnson said. "After all of the lucrative resource mining on the asteroid belt is claimed by mega-corporations, savvy business hopefuls turn to Mars to stake their claim to the red planet and build an economic engine capable of out- producing the competition. " The game is built around a real-time, player-driven market that enables plucky startups to buy and sell resources, and even the essentials needed for simple survival, like food and water. But the long-term goal is to be able to afford access to more lucrative off-world markets in order to buy out rival corporations, controlled by the AI or other players, and claim a greater share of the Martian economy. It's obviously not the sort of thing that lends itself to easy explanations; fortunately, we very recently got some hands-on time with the game, and it sounds quite promising. Find out more at offworldgame.com .
2016-04-08 22:00 By Andy www.pcgamer.com
35 Hover Junkers review What is it? A multiplayer-only VR cover shooter that takes place on future-western hovering junk barges. Expect to pay: $35/£27 Developer: Stress Level Zero Publisher: Stress Level Zero Reviewed on: Core i5-3570, 8GB RAM, GeForce GTX Titan Multiplayer: Up to 8 players, deathmatch and team deathmatch Link: Official site Playing Hover Junkers makes for a pitiful scene: me, alone in my office, crawling around on the carpet, pretending to fire an invisible revolver like I’ve seen in the movies. I fire from the hip, behind my back, with the gun turned sideways (damn, so cool), blind over cover, crouching and bouncing around like Robert Redford’s Sundance Kid—all the stupid things I can think of short of Max Payne-style leaps that’d end in a concussion. Just from watching me in the other room my dog has probably sprouted the legal intelligence required to look into emancipation forms. But she poops on the carpet so who cares what she thinks: Hover Junkers is so fun I’d have hopped around all night were I in better shape. It’s the best VR game I’ve played yet: a multiplayer shooter that keeps it simple but doesn’t feel like a proof-of-concept demo, and couldn’t exist without the HTC Vive. It is simple, though: there are two guns, a basic loot system (just junk to use as cover), two modes (free-for-all and team deathmatch), up to eight players per match (six is default), unlimited ammo, and no frilly progression system or classes. Just moving, reloading, and shooting. I’d welcome more, but right now Hover Junkers can get by on just that, because even reloading is fantastic fun. First off, though, a VR shooter needs some practical solutions, movement being the trickiest. With the HTC Vive set up for room scale in my office, I only have a space of about six-by-six feet in which I can realistically walk around without knocking over my plant. If this were the map, we’d all be standing inside each other (and we actually are in the cozy lobby, where bodyless hands float around throwing ketchup bottles at an exasperated robot bartender). A lot of games are solving this with teleportation—you magically hop from point to point, then walk around small areas—but Hover Junkers just went and gave us moving floors: the titular levitating junk barges. It works brilliantly. Standing on the deck of my junker (there are a bunch of different sizes, so you can play even if you only have a small space to stand), I use the Vive controller in my left hand to pilot, pointing it in the direction I want to go and holding the trigger to putt along smoothly like I’m on a giant Segway. I forget I’m even doing it after a while, and the junker stays stable, so I never feel seasick. In fact I didn’t notice any motion sickness at all, though I’ve got a pretty strong stomach, so your vestibular systems may react differently. With my left hand piloting, the controller in my right hand is my gun, and that can be switched up for left-handed players, or I could stop piloting altogether and dual-wield. The rest of the movement is me tumbling around my deck, hiding behind hardpoints, looking for shots as I gently collide with other junkers while their pilots likewise crouch and dodge and shoot back at me. In team deathmatch (which the small playerbase never seems to want to play), you can also choose to spawn on a teammate’s junker, which is great fun so long as they’ve chosen a deck big enough to keep you from clipping through each other constantly. VOIP is built in, but one teammate and I took to communicating non-verbally, giving thumbs up when we were ready, instinctively switching firing positions while the other reloaded. It was thrilling and I felt truly upset when my missed shots directly lead to the avatar in front of me crumpling to the floorboards. Hover Junkers ran well on my system (Core i5-3570, 8GB RAM, GTX Titan), maintaining a healthy framerate for VR and causing me no motion sickness. It did occasionally hang, the world halting in front of me, which is jarring and uncomfortable, but that was mostly when I was fiddling with screen capture solutions. There are a few bugs, as well, though I’m not sure which to attribute to the Vive and which to the game. Once, for instance, the floor leaped above my head, and I had to reboot the headset to fix it. As this isn’t a review of the Vive itself, I won’t get into any deep criticism of the headset. I love using it, but it’s still early days in the development of VR, so we’re putting up with glitches and limitations such as a relatively low resolution, and that does affect game design. It’s important to note, though, that the screenshots you see here are poor reproductions of the real experience: you’re either seeing a small portion of my vision, or a flat representation of both eyes, and neither capture what it’s like to duck and lean around cover, or aim down the sights of a revolver. Movement solved, we’re left with shooting and reloading. Here’s something I’ve never said about another shooter: reloading is more fun than shooting. The reloading is great! For the revolver, a press on the Vive controller’s trackpad flips open the cylinder. Circling the pad with my thumb plugs in bullets— thwap thwap thwap thwap —and then I flick my wrist to slam it shut. It’s not the one-to-one reality merge of further-off VR tech, but my mind happily accepts the idea that I’m holding a gun anyway. I give my revolver credit for more weight than the controller in my hand actually has, flicking it hard to make sure the cylinder locks in. The break-action shotgun isn’t quite as fun (press the trackpad to eject the shells, then again three times to load it, then snap it to close), but both are cartoonishly convincing and put reloading at the center of combat. I have to remember how many shots I’ve taken because there’s no counter on the screen, and I can’t just hit a button to reload after every bullet I spend. I have to hunch down to the floor to stay in cover, then mindfully go through the actions. It’s becoming second nature as I play more, but never mindless, and always satisfying when I demonstrate my skill to myself with a quick reload. It also feels ridiculously cool to stand up in the middle of a fight, smoothly dump my empties and fill the cylinder, then immediately squeeze off a headshot. I only did something as badass as that once, making the lack of a replay system a small disappointment. The shooting itself is a little disappointing, too. The guns are fun as stand-alone toys, for sure: the revolver fires straight out of a lowset barrel, striking near where my iron sights point. Firing without the sights scatters bullets in a wider radius, and it’s delightful to know that this isn’t just because of some bullet spread variable but also my own shoddy aim. The shotgun is tricky, too, with a loose spread that I tend to fire crooked. What’s bothersome is a technical limitation: the Vive’s resolution is too low for much practical distance work. I can hit targets in the shooting range just fine, but the three available character models don’t stand out among the grayish pixels of the junkers and the dullness of most maps, so real engagements are usually at short-range, peeking at each other through gaps in our hulls. I’ve gotten a couple kills from 20-or-so yards, but I might chalk that up to luck more than me being a deadeye. And hitting a moving target—if someone decides to retreat with their junker, for instance—is hard as hell, which is probably because doing it with a real gun would also be hard as hell. It can be a little exasperating when players run away instead of engaging, neither of us able to hit each other. It’s also a drag to have only two guns. I’m dying to know what a scoped weapon looks like in VR, or how two-handed rifles in general might work. The good news is that more is coming—Hover Junker’s robot guy (voiced by Rick and Morty's Justin Roiland, if you thought the tone might be serious) specifically teases scoped weapons, and a couple of guns appear in the menu as ‘coming soon’—but right now the overall simplicity and lack of variety does dampen Hover Junker’s long-term appeal. My rounds and kills are never spectacularly different: I glide toward a traffic jam, shoot someone in the back, then scramble around while more join the fray. As a contrasting example, I feel like I could play Rocket League forever because each match and goal has a different story, with multiple plays chained together, bounces, passes, finesse, my teammates and opponents all factors in punting the ball past the goalkeeper. There’s not a whole lot to say when recapping a messy firefight (well, we both shot at each other a whole lot!), and Hover Junkers doesn’t offer much pomp and circumstance when I score a kill, casually exploding the vacant ship. But even though matches feel samey, they’re great fun in the short term: a giddy merging of make-believe play and game rules, where score is kept but winning isn’t as important as the inherent joy of playing ultraviolent peekaboo, rolling around on my carpet like an idiot. Sometimes I even add my own recoil in, pulling my arm back as if there were actually force to my shots. I bounce around more dramatically than I need to, and pretend I can’t just put my arm through the hunks of metal I’m hiding behind. It makes me feel like I’m an actor in that ridiculous Hot Pockets VR commercial and having just as much fun as those kids are pretending to (except without the disgusting breadbags of hot goop they love so much). With the currently limited selection of VR games, if you own a Vive and want to use it and have fun, I heartily recommend Hover Junkers. It’s not highly populated right now, but I’ve never had trouble finding a few other kids to play pretend gunfight with.
2016-04-08 21:42 Tyler Wilde www.pcgamer.com
36 April Fools is over but somehow Solid Snake and Psycho Mantis are now selling Fords The fan-made recreation of Metal Gear Solid called Shadow Moses may have been taken away from us , but here's a “solid” second choice: Snake, Colonel Campbell, and Psycho Mantis extolling the many benefits of Ford's fine line of automobiles. Checks calendar. Nope, that was last week. What the what? I don't know what to say. I can't decide if this is a brilliant bit of marketing, or an appalling treatment of a storied franchise by a company that's been left rudderless by the departure of its creator. Either way, it's pretty weird. Snaaaaaaaaaaake! And, also, Konaaaaaaaaami!
2016-04-08 21:17 By Andy www.pcgamer.com
37 Over 135 million modems vulnerable to denial-of-service flaw (Image: file photo) More than 135 million modems are said to be vulnerable to a flaw that can leave users cut off from the internet -- just by someone clicking on a trick link. The vulnerability, found in a modem used in millions of US households, can allow an attacker with access to the network to remotely reset the device, which wipes out the internet provider's settings and causing a denial-of-service attack. Every person and device on the network will permanently lose access to the internet until the modem owner contacts their internet provider. 2015's scariest data breaches: CVS, Anthem, IRS, and worse Updated: Almost every American has been affected by at least one data breach this year. The problem lies with how a widely-used modem, the Arris Surfboard SB6141 , handles authentication and cross-site requests. Arris (formerly Motorola) said that it has sold more than 135 million of the Surfboard SB6141 modems, but an Arris spokesperson disputed that the figure was "not an accurate representation" of the units impacted and that only a "subset" of Surfboard devices were affected. Millions of Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Charter customers (and more) were shipped one of these modems when they first subscribed. The flaw is so easy to exploit that anyone on an affected network can be tricked into clicking on a specially crafted web page or email. Security researcher David Longenecker, who found the flaws and posted the write-up on the Full Disclosure list earlier this week, released the "exploit" link after Arris stopped responding to emails he sent as part of the responsible disclosure process. In fact, the flaw goes back at least eight years earlier prior to Arris' acquisition of Motorola's networking unit, according to a CERT vulnerability note dated April 2008 . There's no practical fix for the flaw, according to Longenecker. "The simplest solution would be a firmware update such that the web [user interface] requires a username and password before allowing disruptive actions such as rebooting or resetting the modem, and that validates that a request originated from the application and not from an external source," he said. Arris said that it recently addressed the access issue with a firmware update. "We are in the process of working with our Service Provider customers to make this release available to subscribers," said the spokesperson. "There is no risk of access to any user data and we are unaware of any exploits. " "We take product performance very seriously. We work actively with security organizations and our service provider customers to quickly resolve any potential vulnerabilities to protect the subscribers who use our devices," the spokesperson added.
2016-04-08 21:11 Zack Whittaker zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
38 Leaked Senate bill attacks end-to-end encryption A draft of a US senate bill was leaked online today, which would compel providers of end-to-end encryption technology to be able to decrypt users' data if given a court order. The bill, called the 'Compliance with Court Orders Act of 2016' and sponsored by Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), would effectively kill privacy features provided by applications and services like WhatsApp. The bill seems to be aimed at companies like Apple, which recently had a court standoff with the FBI over an encrypted iPhone. While the FBI backed out of the case after a third party was able to defeat the phone's security, the legal precedent of requiring companies to be able to decrypt data when issued a court order was left on the table. This bill seems to be meant to take the fight out of the courts and bring it to Congress. The bill is summarized as, "To require the provision of data in an intelligible format to a government pursuant to a court order, and for other purposes. " The law would require in section 3, subsection (a), paragraph (3) that any "covered entity" that receives a court order be "responsible only for providing data in an intelligible format if such data has been made unintelligible by a feature, product, or service owned, controlled, created, or provided by the covered entity or by a third party on behalf of the covered entity. " As if that's not shocking enough, subsections (b) and (c) seem to contradict. In subsection (b), the bill reads: "Nothing in this Act may be construed to authorize any government officer to require or prohibit any specific design or operating system to be adopted by any covered entity. Meanwhile, the next subsection implies requirements of design: A provider of remote computing service or electronic communication service to the public that distributes licenses for products, services, applications, or software of or by a covered entity shall ensure that any such products, service, applications, or software distributed by such person be capable of complying with subsection (a). If legalese isn't your thing, this bill basically says that the creators of any service must be able to decrypt any data to comply with a court order. On top of that, the software or service would have to be designed in such a way that the entity would be able to comply with the court order. Matthew Green, a professor who teaches cryptography at Johns Hopkins University, had a few thoughts on the issue: "How secure can your encryption be when any court in the land, including Indian tribes, can send you a piece of paper asking to undo it? " -- Matthew Green, April 8, 2016 "I don't *think* Feinstein-Burr intended to make your TLS connections retrospectively tappable, but that's one reading. " -- Matthew Green, April 8, 2016 What Green is saying in the last tweet is that any encrypted information sent over the internet— like encrypted communication between you and Gmail, your bank, Facebook, or Steam—could be affected by this law. Those services would be required to make that encrypted traffic available. The text of the draft bill is available online at cryptome.org .
2016-04-08 21:03 Alex Campbell www.pcgamer.com
39 The first song from the No Man's Sky soundtrack sounds heavenly We're more than ready to witness a few explosions in the sky when No Man's Sky finally comes out on June 21st this summer. It looks great, even if those skyscraping expectations have been tempered a bit. Concern over exactly how No Man's Sky plays have built up over its several years of slow drip reveals, and we still can't be quite sure what to expect when it arrives on June 21st. But now we can at least get a sense of what it will sound like. 65daysofstatic, the post rock group providing the music for the game, just released Supermoon, a taste of what's to come. They've also detailed soundtrack preorders , one tier of which includes a fancy vinyl boxset. The song is a slow crescendo that gives way to some lovely static guitar and layered electronica—the perfect space discovery companion tune. Put on some headphones, close your eyes, and take a trip through the musical cosmos. If that doesn't do anything for you then, well, godspeed, you bleak spacelord.
2016-04-08 20:33 James Davenport www.pcgamer.com
40 The best shooters on PC and consoles What's the best shooter on the PC or consoles ever? That's a good – but loaded – question, as there are a ton that we could address individually. Besides, we would inevitably get it wrong by someone's measure. So, let's highlight what's out there now that best exemplifies what shooters are all about – with that, re-releases of seminal works are on the table as well. Honestly, there are so many shooters out there now that you simply shouldn't miss. Here are several first-person shooter (FPS) games that you need to check out immediately on the desktop or a console. Again, we'll continue to add to this list over time, so don't fret if your fave isn't on the list just yet. This isn't first on the list for a reason, but the DOOM franchise does immediately come to mind when you talk about shooters in general. The original DOOM, developed by id Software, hit the PC gaming scene way back in 1993, and has since spawned three sequels: DOOM 2, DOOM 3, and the latest installment, DOOM (2016) that's slated for a release in May. Overall, the series has supposedly sold over 10 million copies since its debut, which includes five spin-offs such as DOOM 64 for the Nintendo 64 and DOOM II RPG for smartphones. In general, what makes the original DOOM tick is the ultra-fast gameplay. It's a run-and-gun bonanza with a few puzzle-oriented tasks thrown into the mix. Hellish demons and zombified humans attack from left and right as you desperately hunt down a key to progress into the next area. There are secret rooms to find and high scores to beat, if you're in a competitive mood. The drawback, however, is that DOOM is definitely showing its age, but that also means it can run on a huge number of platforms ranging from the PC to a smartphone. That said, you can purchase DOOM (aka Ultimate DOOM) on Steam, Xbox 360, Android, iOS, and a number of other platforms. Here's another shooter from id Software that helped change the way we play FPS games. The original Quake was introduced back in 1996 and not only used polygons instead of pixels, but eventually supported the first GPUs on the PC market. The game also propelled multiplayer gaming on the internet and made Capture the Flag a standard multiplayer mode. Quake was unique at the time in that it provided a gothic feel inspired by H. P. Lovecraft, and allowed the player to actually freely look around the 3D environment using a mouse. It also allowed the gamer to create mods, which led to some great gameplay like having Cujo by your side or becoming a superhero. It was this mod support that gave birth to Capture the Flag. Like DOOM, Quake is showing its age and looks rather ancient compared to today's shooters. However, you can probably still find and install a few mods offered by fans online as well as jump on a multiplayer server and duke it out with a handful of humans. Quake and its expansion packs are available for the PC on Steam. Console gamers probably recognize the Halo franchise best in regards to shooters. Microsoft and Bungie launched the military science-fiction series on the original Xbox console in 2001. The first installment, Halo: Combat Evolved, introduced us to Master Chief and was phenomenal, showing that shooters can indeed be played using a controller. The game focuses on the battle between man and the Covenant in the twenty-sixth century. The player takes on the role of Master Chief, one of the supersoldiers codenamed Spartans. He's accompanied by Cortana, an artificial intelligence that helps him explore Halo, a ring-shaped artificial world that seemingly borrows from Larry Niven's Ringworld novels. While Halo: Combat Evolved provided a great story, it also included a cooperative mode that allowed friends to experience the campaign together. The game could also be played online in five different competitive modes and up to 16 players, making it a must buy if Xbox owners wanted to experience Internet-based multiplayer action. Halo: Combat Evolved is available for the original Xbox if you can still find either. however, it's also part of the Halo: The Master Chief Collection for the Xbox One. There's a version for Windows too that's listed on Microsoft's store for $20. The original Half-Life game, developed by Valve Software, was based on a modified Quake engine and made its debut on the PC in 1998. Unlike many shooters released at the time, it was very story driven, taking place at the Black Mesa Research Facility in New Mexico. Gamers took on the role of Gordon Freeman as he witnesses an experiment gone wrong and must vacate the facility. The game was a massive hit, and is now considered to be one of the all- time greatest shooters to date. Half-Life sold 9.3 million copies by the end of 2008, Valve announced that year. Like Quake, Half-Life supported mods and even shipped with a level editor. That led to incredible mods like Action Half-Life, Natural Selection, Day of Defeat, and Counter-Strike. And, like Quake, Half-Life offered an incredible multiplayer component that lives on today as Deathmatch Classic. Let's not forget Team Fortress, another popular mod that Valve created using the Half-Life engine. What made Half-Life really shine was the way it threw out cutscenes for scripted in-game sequences. Again, Half-Life was very cinematic, grabbing the gamer's attention until the very end. Valve updated the game's visuals with the release of Half-Life: Source, which is based on Valve's most recent Source engine. Half-Life can be purchased for the PC on Steam and may still be available for the old PlayStation 2 console. Unlike the Half-Life games, Valve's other hyper-popular shooter series doesn't require you to shoot aliens but instead undergo a series of puzzles, thanks to GLaDOS, a not-so-nice artificial intelligence computer that has taken over the Aperture Science Enrichment Center. Gamers are armed with only a portal gun that essentially creates a wormhole-like passage between two surfaces, allowing them to move through rooms instantly and in specific places. The goal simple: reach the exit. But, GLaDOS does not make that easy. As indicated, there's really no violence involved. Gamers must use their brains to solve the current puzzle and advance on to the next area. Both Portal (2007) and Portal 2 (2011) are based on Valve's Source engine, which to this day still looks rather good given its age. Both games can be purchased on Steam for the PC, and the original Portal game is part of The Orange Box collection for older consoles. Portal 2 can be purchased on the consoles as well, such as the Xbox 360. Valve Software has made quite a few hits in the shooter genre, this time with the zombie FPS series Left 4 Dead. This series combines cooperative online gameplay with survival horror, pitting up to four players against hordes of zombies filling the streets. The story is set days after a virus breaks out and begins turning humans into zombies, which takes a backseat to awesome gameplay that makes the Left 4 Dead series so popular. Left 4 Dead (2008) and Left 4 Dead 2 (2009) are – like the rest – based on Valve's Source engine. Essentially, the object is to pick one of four available characters that have their individual strengths and weaknesses, and to merely stay alive while battling to reach a safe house or military rescue. Players can use an assortment of weapons ranging from guns to swords and even thrown objects. Both games can be purchased for the PC via Steam, and on the Xbox 360 console. That's it – for now. If you have a favorite shooter that's currently not listed here, comment below and we'll be sure to consider it in upcoming revisions.
2016-04-08 20:28 By Kevin feedproxy.google.com
41 Hands on: Dell Latitude E7470 review The release cycle of the Dell Latitude E7470 follows that of Intel's new architecture very closely so it was not a surprise to hear about new models earlier this year. What was surprising was that the announcement happened at CES, not your usual business event. Bringing the concept of Ultrabooks to the entreprise and discerning business users can be a balancing act as there are more important concerns than just sheer aesthetics or price. Ease of maintenance, aftersales services, connectivity and compatibility with existing infrastructure are sometimes just as important – if not more important. With that in mind, while the E7470 is certainly not the best-looking laptop on the market – it's definitely not an XPS 13 or a Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon in terms of design – this notebook is deceptively functional. The model that we received is the top of the range one , retailing for a jaw dropping £1,508 (around $2,130, or AU$2,830) excluding VAT and shipping (although removing a few options like extra warranty can bring the price to about £1,400 – around $1,970, or AU$2,620). However, given Dell's propensity to rely on the channel, shopping around means that you can find an E7470 for as little as £883 (around $1,240, or AU$1,660) – at Ballicom – albeit with a different set of components. The shell though remains the same across the range: smooth and rubbery, thanks to a woven carbon fibre finish, and reassuringly solid and sturdy with a magnesium alloy chassis. Dell engineers managed to tweak a timeless design that has worked across several generations of Latitude laptops already. Maintenance is key to any business laptop and this one is no different. Just take off a few screws and you can remove the entire bottom cover to easily access the serviceable parts. Given that the laptop underwent extensive military-grade MIL-STD 810G testing, it's no surprise that it doesn't flex or twist – and that goes for the base unit and the keyboard plus screen (at least under normal usage). Having a large base means that the display – which is secured via two hinges – is stable when typing. Our model had a touchscreen display with a thin rubber frame; it uses Corning's Gorilla Glass NBT which makes it even more rigid. At 335 x 232 x 19.4mm with a weight of 1.5kg, it falls well within Ultrabook dimensions and can be easily picked up and carried with one hand securely. Being relatively thick means that the E7470 has far more ports and connectivity options than your average Ultrabook. There's a docking station connector underneath, then at the back, a Gigabit Ethernet port, HDMI, DisplayPort, two USB 3.0 ports and the power socket. A SmartCard reader, an SD card reader, a third USB 3.0 port and a SIM slot can be found on the sides of the laptop. Should you want extra ports or legacy ports, check out the Advanced E-Port II Replicator/docking station ( which Dell sells for £192 – that's about $270, or AU$360) which adds two DVI-D ports, a VGA one as well as an eSATA, two PS2, a serial and a parallel connector. All that's great for older peripherals. Note that the Latitude E7470 is compatible with docking stations for previous Latitude (E5xxx and E6xxx series) models although you will probably need to upgrade to the latest BIOS and update the appropriate drivers. Wireless connectivity is handled by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X7 LTE/4G modem (DW5811E) and an Intel Wireless-AC 8260 card that also handles Bluetooth. Security and management are also very high on the agenda. The E7470 comes with TPM 1.2 (which will be upgraded to TPM 2.0 later this year), a touch fingerprint reader, an NFC reader, Dell Control Vault 2 and a lot more. Dell Data Protection, the company's own Encryption Security software, is available from £18.55 (Personal Edition license with ProSupport for Software for three years). As for management, E7470 users will rely on the optional Intel's vPro management features as well as Dell Client Command Suite for BIOS and system configuration. At the time of writing, 10 standard base units were available on Dell's website – you won't be able to change much of the configuration, only tinker with them. Should you want to have a customised quote, you will need to go through the online chat and talk directly to a customer assistant. Only two processors are available, both from Intel's sixth generation family: the Core i5-6300U and the Core i7-6600U. Both are dual-core models supporting up to 32GB of DDR4 memory, are vPro compliant and offer Trusted Extension Technology, SGX and MPX extensions and Transactional Synchronization Extensions New Instructions (TSX-NI). The integrated Intel HD Graphics 520 supports 4K, DirectX 12 and OpenGL 4.4. The three differences between the CPUs are the cache (4MB vs 3MB), the base/configurable TDP-up/turbo frequencies (2.6/2.8/3.4GHz vs 2.4/2.5/3GHz) and a slightly higher maximum frequency for the integrated processor graphics (1.05GHz vs 1GHz). Either 4GB or 8GB memory configurations are available on the website which may force you to get rid of existing memory modules. The E7470 has two memory slots each capable of housing 16GB for a maximum of 32GB of system memory. Screen-wise, you have the choice between an HD model (1366 x 768), a full HD one and a QHD (2560 x 1440) offering with edge-to-edge touch display utilising Corning's Gorilla Glass NBT. The display was bright as expected with excellent contrast ratio, viewing angles and colour renditions. As our sample had touchscreen capabilities, it meant that there was plenty of reflection especially in broad daylight, but it handled fingerprints better than some of its rivals. Note that the screen can lie completely flat which might come in handy if you plan to use it with some legacy overhead projectors. One nifty accessory available is a 6-cell 18Ah battery called the Dell Power Companion that can charge the laptop's 4-cell 55Whr battery – as well as two other devices simultaneously – when you're out and about. Integrating this technology with the humble power adaptor might be the next big thing to hit your laptop. There's a 256GB M2 2280 SATA3 SSD from Samsung to provide system storage, but no optical drive, a move that makes sense given the need to strike the right balance between features and portability. As for the input peripherals, the keyboard – featuring keys that are slightly curved to fit your fingertips – is springy without being mushy, providing a good travel experience, although we found that we needed to apply a bit more pressure to register a keystroke (that's coming from an XPS 13 user). Note that the keyboard itself doesn't flinch even under a mildly aggressive typing session and the fact that it is backlit (and spill-proof) is a bonus. The touchpad delivers a consistent smooth gliding experience with dedicated mouse buttons. There's also a TrackPoint with three dedicated buttons, not something we are fans of but some business users, especially those who have espoused the concept since the days of IBM's ThinkPad, swear by it. Dell provides a three-year warranty, ProSupport and next business day on-site service (NBDOSS) by default and this can be downgraded to just NBDOSS to save about £100 (around $140, or AU$190). Alternatively, you can upgrade to a five-year service for about £200 (around $280, or AU$380) more. By default, you get Windows 7 Pro with the ubiquitous free upgrade to Windows 10 Pro but surprisingly, no Windows 8.1 option. There's not much to dislike about the Latitude E7470 – and do note that some of the limitations of Dell's ordering system can be mitigated by asking for a customised quote. During our brief time with the laptop, we found it to be fast, silent – even under load (although we didn't try prime95 or any similar benchmarks) – and it boasts some top-notch input peripherals and an equally great reparability experience. In terms of autonomy, everything about this machine is certainly solid enough, although an easy- to-remove battery would be the only improvement we'd suggest. Otherwise, this is the closest to the perfect business laptop that we've seen from Dell.
2016-04-08 20:15 Not yet feedproxy.google.com
42 How Project Fi killed my Google Voice setup Over the last week, I've been engaged in a usability experiment which I've dubbed the Smartphone Survival Test. Swapping my iPhone 6s for a $200 Android handset After swearing off the platform four years ago, are we still sick of Android? We're about to find out. Over the course of a month, I'm going to determine if I can use several different inexpensive Android handsets interchangeably as a viable replacement to what I am using now, an Apple iPhone 6S. During the hardware selection process I received a lot of feedback from readers and peers that it would be a good idea to have the Google Nexus 5X (made by LG) included as one of the smartphones in the mix. While the phone normally goes for $349 retail in a 16GB configuration, it is currently being offered for $199 ($249 for the 32GB model) if you try out Google's Project Fi service for a month. Project Fi is a somewhat different approach to wireless services in that Google is using a combination of public Wi-Fi access points and leveraging Sprint and T-Mobile's cellular networks to provide overall coverage. It also is an international service so if you travel frequently, you don't get charged extra for roaming out of country. The minimum Project Fi plan you can buy is 1GB of data and unlimited text/voice, which costs $30. So if you plan to terminate after the first month and use your own SIM card on your existing carrier instead, you will have gotten the phone at a $120 discount. That's not bad at all -- in theory. I ordered the 32GB version for $249 and bought the $20 per month unlimited voice/text plan and the 3GB per month data plan for $30 ($50 inclusive), which you can either ratchet down after the first billing period or terminate service altogether. If you have any leftover data at the end of the month, it gets refunded at a rate of one cent per megabyte, which is nice. That being said it doesn't seem clear whether it makes sense to buy the 1GB of data for $10 and pay for overages at $10 per gigabyte, or buy the 3GB data plan for $30 and get refunded on unused data, or if partially unused overages get refunded. So far I like Google's Project Fi, at least conceptually. However coverage where I live can be spotty. This isn't much of a surprise as Sprint and T-Mobile isn't great in my town to begin with, and why AT&T is my regular carrier. If I had known more about what I was getting into, I wouldn't have signed up for Project Fi using the Gmail account I have had for twelve years, the one that was attached to my Google Voice account. Instead, I would have created a new Gmail address specifically for the purpose of activating Project Fi service, then canceling it after a month. More about this in a bit. Regardless of the coverage issues, what I don't like most about Project Fi is that it is not friendly to people who already are Google Voice customers. Google Voice is a service I have been using since it was announced in 2009. It provides a universal phone number and visual voicemail inbox with text transcription that can be used with any cellphone, regardless of who your actual wireless carrier is and whose brand of cell phone you have. It also works with land lines and VOIP phones that are hardware or software-based, such as OOMA/Vonage and Skype for Business. I had one New Jersey-based Google Voice number for seven years. I kept it even since moving to Florida because it was a convenient way for me to give out a single phone number and for anyone to be able to reach me regardless of what phone I was using at the time. I've had as many as four or five numbers linked to it at a time that it could forward calls and texts to. To everyone that called me this setup was completely transparent, I had one phone number, and that was it. I could also access my call history and create and retrieve SMS texts all from a single app on my smartphone or tablet, or even via a web browser. I could also can set number block lists, which was extremely useful when I got marketing and robocalls and no longer wished to be bothered by these callers anymore. For many of us millions of people that use it, Google Voice was and is a magical service. However, Google Voice is also an aging service. Google hasn't put much in terms of continuing investment into it, and other than minor bugfixes the apps haven't been updated in a long time on iOS and Android. It is also a given that at some point, Google will turn it off and the service will likely stop working, or we are going to be migrated to something else. Well, we now know what that service is going to be. It's Project Fi. Project Fi has many, but not all of the same features as Google Voice. It has call and text forwarding and it has visual voicemail and text transcription. It doesn't have the same comprehensive call blocking logic yet and the web user interface is limited compared to Google Voice. These features also do not work yet: This is the bottom line -- as an existing Google Voice user, you're not going to like the migration to Project Fi as it exists today. There are places in which this is fairly well-documented, such as in this official document here and by our own former ZDNet mobile columnist and current Googler, Kevin Tofel here, almost a year ago . Lots of articles have been written about this since last summer when the service went into limited testing. Tons. That's all well and good, but in my case, I didn't know about this until the actual damage was done. I didn't get the memo. Or rather, I got a memo, but it was misinterpreted. And I suspect others far less technical than I are going to misinterpret it as well and then it will be too late. Part of this is due to how I interacted with the on-boarding process. I decided to sign up with Project Fi and buy the Nexus 5X from my existing smartphone while I was out to dinner with my wife. We were waiting for our sushi order. She started looking at Facebook on her iPhone, and I ordered the Nexus. Hey, it happens. After twenty years of marriage, not every dinner out results in engaging conversation with your spouse. Sometimes you're just hungry. I did not wait until I got home because I wanted to get the order out while Google could process it during regular business hours on the west coast. During the ordering process. Project Fi asks you if you want to port your existing Google Voice number, or get issued a new number. What's confusing about this is that you assume your Google Voice number and services will be left intact, just as if you went and bought a new cell phone at a different carrier than the one you are already using. When you do this at a traditional carrier, they also typically give you the option of porting your existing number. If you choose not to do this, they issue you a new number. At which point you can choose to terminate service on your old carrier, or keep paying for it. One email, one phone number. Period. Gone. Kaput. Seven years of phone number use. Finished. Everyone who knows to contact me through that phone number now no longer can. Now, it turns out that if this happens to you, and if you act quickly enough, you can contact Project Fi tech support (which is quite good) and they can try to move your old Google Voice number to a new Gmail account. By law Google has to keep the number for 30 days until it has to actually be released. If you are an existing Google Voice customer, here are the two paths to Project Fi which I consider the least painful: This moves over all your forwards and call history and voicemails to the new system. Yes, you'll miss out on a few features this way, as documented above. This is the least complicated migration path but it isn't cost-free -- keep in mind you can only pause billing for 3 months at a time, per billing cycle.. If you intend to use Fi as a Google Voice replacement, you are also committed to spending $240 a year ($20 a month for basic service.). Many people might balk at this. I'm not crazy about it, so I am going to cancel my service. This means releasing the Project Fi number, which means I have the option of joining Google Voice again, on my original Gmail account or on a new one. I think I'm going to use a new one. You can always forward your existing Gmail to this address, or vice-versa. This allows you to keep your Google Voice as-is, and if you want to forward Google Voice calls to your Fi number, you can (You can't forward a Fi to a another Fi, or a Fi to a Google Voice, however).
2016-04-08 19:48 Jason Perlow zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
43 AMD Radeon R9 490 chip could debut Polaris graphics in June Fans of Team Red will be pleased to learn that, at least according to the rumour mill, we'll see the launch of the Radeon R9 490 and R9 490X graphics cards in just over a couple of months. As VideoCardz notes, according to some generally reliable rumour peddlers over at the Korean site Hardware Battle, AMD plans to unleash new Polaris GPUs built on 14nm FinFET tech. Rumors suggest an announcement at the end of June with a possible initial unveiling at Computex 2016. It's also suggested that the Radeon R9 490/490X duo will be based on Polaris 10 technology rather than Fiji. The R9 480 could also potentially stick with Fiji as well, if the latter is slower than Polaris 10. Based on the existing cards, it's likely these AMD components will be pitched up against Nvidia's future GeForce GTX 1070/1080. Others across the net have suggested, however, that the R9 490 series won't reach this sort of performance level, and as the focus of Polaris is efficiency, they could be right – but all of this is very much speculation right now. The good news is that it won't be too long before we know the facts of the matter, as Computex is next month (it kicks off on the final day of May). Polaris is ushering in what AMD describes as a 'generational jump' in terms of power efficiency. Of course that will be even more exciting for mobile gaming , as laptop GPUs will benefit the most in terms of being able to cram more powerful discrete solutions into notebooks. AMD recently revealed its Radeon Pro Duo video cards which have dual GPUs for some truly serious pixel-shifting power, aimed at enthusiasts and VR content creators, but the price is going to tip north of a grand (the card will retail at $1,499 in the US, which is around £1,060, or AU$1,980). Via: Techspot Article continues below
2016-04-08 19:38 By Darren feedproxy.google.com
44 DirectX 12: what is it, and why it matters to PC gamers For the average gamer, PC game development should appear a tricky business – because it is. With consoles, developers have one hardware set for each brand (Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo): one processor, one graphics chip, predetermined memory, input options and other standard hardware components. For the PC, however, game developers face an infinite number of hardware configurations. Getting games to work correctly over a vast universe of graphics cards, motherboards and so on seems like pulling a rabbit out of a magician's hat. This is why, based on what's been whispered over the last decade, developers have swarmed around the consoles: they have decent hardware on the cheap, piracy is low and developers virtually have direct access to the hardware components when programming their software. This latter feature is key, as developers can squeeze every ounce of performance out of hardware as well as take advantage of built-in component features. This is why Microsoft's DirectX is so important for PC gaming. This is Final Fantasy running on DirectX 12 – pretty good, right? DirectX, simply put, is software developed by Microsoft that talks to a PC's hardware components. Specifically, it's a collection of application programming interfaces, or APIs, designed to handle tasks related to rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics, rendering video and playing audio on the Windows platform. It rivals OpenGL, another graphics-oriented API suite introduced in 1992, that's open source and in continuous development by the Khronos Group technology consortium. And, while OpenGL is a cross-platform API, it doesn't have the advantage of being native to the Windows platform. DirectX first appeared in Windows 95. At the time, most PC games ran on the old DOS platform, which allowed developers to "talk" directly to PC components such as the audio card, video card, mouse and more. Many veteran PC gamers should remember the old days of editing the Config.sys file and the Autoexec.bat file to set up the correct settings environment so that a specific game could work correctly (IRQs and DMAs were edited too, but that's another story). Windows 95 didn't have this direct line of communication – until Microsoft developed its DirectX suite of APIs. At first, DirectX didn't take off, as developers mostly relied on OpenGL at the time and programmed efficiently in the DOS environment. Microsoft's graphics API suite gained momentum over time once developers figured out it wouldn't ever go away. Thus, DirectX seemingly pushed OpenGL out of the way by the time version 9 (aka DX9) hit the PC gaming scene in 2002. Windows XP likely accelerated DirectX's growth, as that particular platform was highly stable and is still in use across the globe. Windows 10 is slated to be just as popular, and with it arrives the latest in the DirectX series, DirectX 12. The framework is coming to Xbox One soon, too The drawback with DirectX before this latest release is that it still didn't provide "low-level" access to hardware components as seen with the consoles. To address this, AMD released its Mantle API suite, so that developers could better optimize their software for AMD chips. Essentially, graphics chips have become just as powerful as the main processor, taking on computing tasks other than graphics rendering. AMD's Mantle allowed developers to utilize this power in compatible Radeon graphics chips. Mantle was seemingly well-received and performed spectacularly, but it was short lived, as Microsoft quickly released a version of DirectX that finally gave developers better access to hardware. "DX12's focus is on enabling a dramatic increase in visual richness through a significant decrease in API-related CPU overhead," said Nvidia's Henry Moreton last year. "Historically, drivers and OS software have managed memory, state, and synchronization on behalf of developers. However, inefficiencies result from the imperfect understanding of an application's needs. DX12 gives the application the ability to directly manage resources and state, and perform necessary synchronization. As a result, developers of advanced applications can efficiently control the GPU, taking advantage of their intimate knowledge of the game's behavior. " By dumping more tasks onto the graphics chip, the main processor has less to do, thus the game isn't bogged down by what's going on in the operating system's background. The more cores the better, meaning a processor with two cores (aka two processors crammed into one package) isn't quite as perky as a processor with four cores. The same is true with a graphics chip, and you can get a speed boost if you install two of the same graphics chip into a system (known as SLI via Nvidia and CrossFire via AMD). With DirectX 12, games will likely see better performance because the load is tossed between the multiple cores simultaneously instead of dumping loads onto one core at a time. This is a big deal, as DirectX 11 doesn't take advantage of multiple cores in this fashion, thus a single core is doing all the work while the others remain idle. The days of having a single CPU core and a single GPU core went out in the early aughts, and Microsoft is finally getting up to speed with this latest DirectX release. Look at it this way: computers have moved from a single-lane to an eight-lane superhighway, allowing the CPU to throw rendering and compute commands to the GPU faster than ever before. For the gamer, that means better framerates and a better image quality. To do this with DirectX 12, you're gonna' need to upgrade The beauty of DirectX 12 is that it's a native API of Windows 10. In turn, Windows 10 is used on a multitude of devices from desktops, to laptops, to tablets, to phones and even on the Xbox One. DirectX 12 is also backwards-compatible to some degree, allowing PC gamers to play their favorite titles without having to rip out their graphics card for a new "compatible" model (in most cases). If you want a more detailed explanation of DirectX 12's three key three areas, check out Microsoft's DirectX 12 blog here , written by Matt Sandy. In a nutshell, he outlines what's called a pipeline state representation, work submission, and resource access. He also provides a chart revealing that DirectX 12 provides a 50% improvement in CPU utilization over DirectX 11, and a better distribution of work across multiple sequences of programmed instructions, or threads. The good news here is that there are a number of PC games that are already taking advantage of DirectX 12. These include Ashes of the Singularity, The Elder Scrolls Online, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition and Hitman among others. Quantum Break is expected to support the new API as well as Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Star Citizen, Forza Motorsport 6: Apex and several others. Please keep in mind that this is a very simplified explanation of what DirectX 12 brings to the PC gaming table. Essentially, this API should provide better performance in games that support it, but that also means developers will likely have to shell out patches to bring their titles up to DirectX 12 speed, if possible. GPU providers AMD and Nvidia are already knee-deep in support with their drivers, so it's just a matter of time before we really see the benefits of what DirectX 12 offers. If you have yet to upgrade to Windows 10, DirectX 12 is as fine a reason as any to do so. We've also seen no reason for Microsoft to bring DX12 support to older versions of Windows. So, if you want to play the latest games at their best, you might not have a choice regardless. Then again, given that it's free and is essentially a souped-up Windows 7, it shouldn't be all that tough of a transition – especially in the name of better games. Article continues below
2016-04-08 19:18 By Kevin feedproxy.google.com
45 Q&A: Red Hat's Jim Whitehurst Maps The Road To $5 Billion In a recent Q4 earnings call, Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst informed investors that the Raleigh, N. C.-based software vendor reached a significant milestone in 2015: $2 billion in annual revenue. While that's an impressive take for a company dealing exclusively in open-source technologies, Whitehurst's keynote at this week's partner conference in New Orleans looked well beyond that number. Before sharing his long-term goal with partners, Whitehurst took some time to talk to CRN about why he believes his company will get to $5 billion in sales in the next five years . [Related: Red Hat CEO To Partners: 'Each Of You Has A Piece Of $4 Billion' ] That ambition is rooted in the potential Whitehurst sees for the future of the open-source movement; next-gen technologies that Red Hat is betting on big like OpenStack, Docker and Kubernetes; and a network of partners capable of delivering those open-source solutions to the enterprise market. To illustrate his points, Whitehurst generously peppered in thoughts on industry partners and competitors (for Red Hat, they're often the same), including Microsoft, VMware, Google, Pivotal, IBM and AWS. Open-source has become the default methodology for building next-generation architectures that will serve the cloud and mobile era, he said, and that's why Red Hat can more than double its business in half a decade. Here, a Q&A with Whitehurst: CRN: So you recently announced hitting $2 billion in revenue last year, which is kind of astonishing, given the nature of Red Hat's business. And the theme of your keynote... is going to be the new goal you've set for the company of reaching $5 billion within five years. What is going to allow Red Hat to accelerate its growth going forward and double the size of the business? J. W.: Red Hat's first decade, or really I'll say the first decade of RHEL [Red Hat Enterprise Linux], and RHEL came out in 2002, was very much about demonstrating open-source could be a viable alternative to traditional software. So if you look at whether it was RHEL versus UNIX or Windows, or the JBoss stack versus WebSphere or WebLogic, we kind of got to the point where people said, OK, that's a viable alternative. What we're seeing in the cloud-mobile era, which I look at like client-server as just kind of one thing, the architecture of that, open source is the default choice. If you say the default choice in the mainframe era was IBM and there were some alternatives, and the default choice in the client-server era was Wintel and there were some alternatives, the default choice in the cloud-mobile world is clearly open source. What that means for us is we have a really nice tailwind of CIOs and senior IT leaders to come to us to talk about the pace of innovation. Because if you look at the major things happening in computing now, in terms of innovation, it's almost all happening in open source. Big data and analytics, everything is happening there. Containers, cloud management, orchestration, automation, all those things are happening first in open source. I'm not trying to pick on a partner because they're a great partner, but there's still not native support for containers in Windows, right? It's a Linux-based thing.
2016-04-08 19:15 Joseph Tsidulko www.crn.com
46 Tesla's Model S recieves a minor nip-tuck inside and out Fresh off the success of the Model 3 unveil, Tesla is expected to update the car that legitimized it as an automaker -- the Model S. The refresh provides subtle tweaks to the interior and exterior of the car, in line with what most automakers change with a mid-cycle refresh, according to CNET. Expected interior changes include the ventilated front seats from the Model X, more interior storage and door pockets to store paper maps or snacks. I always found it odd the Model S had a large open space between the two front seats instead of covered storage. The door panels bowed out without any pockets either. Hopefully the update improves the interior material quality, too. As amazing as the power train in the Model S is, I found the interior materials and quality more in line with a Nissan Leaf than an equally priced Mercedes-Benz, BMW or Audi. Changes to the exterior will be subtle, including new color options and LED headlights. The front is supposed to get a rhinoplasty that brings the look more inline with the Model X and 3 as well. The updates may come as early as next week, but will increase the price of the Model S. Article continues below
2016-04-08 19:15 By Tuan feedproxy.google.com
47 Corsair stretches warranties for some PSUs to 10 years We can say from experience that not all power supplies are created equal. There are a few companies with reputations for putting out higher quality units. That list includes Corsair, which announced today that the company is extending the warranty period for several of its PSU models from 7 years to 10 years. The new warranty period applies to all Corsair AXi, HXi, RMi, and RMx power supplies. If you buy one new, it'll be backed by 10 years, and if you already own one, you'll receive an additional 3 years of coverage. There's no additional registration or any other information required by current owners, either. "Corsair’s commitment to PSU quality and longevity has always been at the heart of its entire PSU line-up, and is why millions of customers have chosen Corsair PSUs to power their PCs. This commitment isn’t just made at the manufacturing level – it’s also at the heart of Corsair’s customer support experience, ensuring customers who choose a Corsair PSU have faith and confidence in their purchase for years to come," Corsair said. These aren't just high wattage, high dollar PSUs that Corsair is extending coverage for. The lowest end of the bunch is the RM550X, a 550W power supply that streets for a reasonable $100 (£75).
2016-04-08 19:05 By Paul www.pcgamer.com
48 Control Heroes of the Storm's Tomb of the Spider Queen map Taking place directly below Sky Temple— the subject of our last guide —in the strange geography of Luxoria, Tomb of the Spider Queen allows players to purchase the power of the Spider Queen Neithis, or more specifically, the power of her children. Teams push alongside the Webweavers, using their sieging power to claim victory. Tomb of the Spider Queen is one of Heroes of the Storm’s smallest maps. The gaps between each of its three lanes are extremely thin, so roaming strategies and heroes are the most effective. Teams must collect gems, which drop from the enemy’s ranged minions when they die. These can be paid to either of the two altars set in between the lanes. Carried gems are dropped when heroes are killed, with allies being able to recover some of them but not all. Upon completely paying in—which costs 50 gems initially, with the amount required going up by 5 every time you od it—three Webweavers will attack the opposing team’s structures, one in each lane. Being able to contest the areas around these altars, and make use of how close the lanes are, is the best way to claim an advantage. The typical strategy for splitting the team is to have four heroes moving between the top and middle lanes, with one solo laner towards the bottom lane. Have one player pick a hero that can at least somewhat hold their own, such as Zagara, Xul, or Thrall. Other than that solo laner, pick heroes with a range of strengths, as per usual. One thing to take into account is the strength of anyone that relies on large amounts of regeneration globes on this map: as the group of four will be soaking experience from both the top and middle lanes, they’ll get twice the regeneration globes as usual, making characters like Stitches (with the Hungry for More talent) or Kael’thas (with the Mana Addict talent) just that bit stronger. If you’re looking for something fun to try, get a friend and play Azmodan with Leoric. With Azmodan’s Taste for Blood talent combined with Leoric’s Skeletal Swing, it’s easy to rack up damage for Azmodan’s Globe Of Annihilation. This is perhaps the most important part of Tomb of the Spider Queen, and one that many players get wrong. The four players that stick towards the upper side of the map need to roam from middle, to top, and back to middle together, killing the minions as they go. As the middle lane is just slightly shorter, you’ll want to clear it out first, then the top lane, and by that point the next wave of minions will typically arrive in the middle lane. Gather up the gems, and move to the next lane. Make sure you get them quickly though, as they’ll disappear after a few seconds, a flash indicating they’re about to do so. This tactic is effective because it keeps four team members safe at all times, and allows for someone to be supported as they collect the gems dropped by enemy minions. As it’s the ranged minions which drop them, they’re a little further away than melee minions, so having teammates support each other as they’re collected prevents the enemy from taking advantage of someone going so far down the lane. The person in the bottom lane should focus on soaking experience and collecting gems rather than pushing—it’s very easy to get ambushed. Wait for your team to spawn their Webweavers, then look to destroying enemy structures. You’ll be able to count your team’s total gems in the bottom right of the screen, and, despite the temptation to hoard, try to pay them in as regularly as possible. Even if it’s just adding 5 to the pot, any safe chance you get should be used to pay in. It’s important to hit that 50 mark first, as it will typically lead to an experience advantage. Typically, there won’t be any tussles until the teams are holding around 50 gems each, and this is the point where you’ll want to try and ambush opponents. It’s easy to flank an opponent who is trying to pay in gems, and so hiding in the smoke to get behind them is often a good way to either kill someone or get an opportunity to pay in first. Paying in enough gems will summon three Webweavers for your team—siege units that attack enemy structures and summon more minions to fight alongside them. They’re not too strong on their own, but are incredibly useful when coupled with a few allied heroes. When attacking with Webweavers, it’s best for your team to group in a lane and help that Webweaver push down at least the towers and front gate. If the enemy isn’t responding to the push, try to take out the fort. If they are, go from lane to lane as a team, destroying a little something in each lane as you go. The Webweavers don’t last long, and the small map size means that you don’t need to worry about leaving someone to soak in each lane as the rest of the team roams around. When defending, try to anticipate which lanes and structures the enemies will focus on and react accordingly. Focus on taking out the Webweavers rather than starting a scrap with enemy heroes directly. Even though the Webweavers will focus their attacks on structures rather than heroes, they have a channeled ability that does huge damage to everything in its path. The video below shows its animation when channeling this ability—avoid it wherever possible, as it will scupper your chances to defend effectively if it hits multiple allies. If you’ve managed to get an advantage, keep pressure on the enemy—do your best to prevent them paying in their gems by using your experience lead to force advantageous fights. If you didn’t manage to gain a lead, or you were the team defending first, do your best to safely pay in gems when enemies retreat for health or mana and return to swapping between the lanes as a four-person group. Since it’s so common for enemies to check the top altar between lane movements, your best option for sneaking a gem payment is generally at the bottom altar. Make sure you’re not putting yourself at risk there—the smoke makes it easy to ambush heroes with low mobility. A lead in Tomb of the Spider Queen shouldn’t be used to push down forts or keeps, but to retain control of the altars. The map’s layout makes sieging troublesome without Webweavers, as there are few ways to reliably flank or surround forts and keeps. In order to make the best use of Tomb of the Spider Queen, you’ll have to take advantage of the mercenaries available. There’s no one best tactic with them, though, as they can result in losing control of the altars, and your opponents spawning their Webweavers. Use the mercenaries as a little boost if your team is unable to pay in but the enemies can’t as well, either due to being dead or a lack of gems. On top of that, remember that the boss at the top of the map is, as always, a good way to throw a game. Unless the enemy team is waiting to respawn, it’s a trap for overconfident players. Don’t get cocky! Tomb of the Spider Queen relies on teams being able to move together and read each other’s movements, a challenging task when you’re playing Hero League alone. So perhaps the greatest tip is to communicate—use your pings to tell your allies where you’re going what you’re planning. Going between lanes on your own when the enemy is travelling as a group is almost always going to result in your death, so work together!
2016-04-08 19:00 By Hannah www.pcgamer.com
49 'Do I need to run antivirus on my Mac?' This question keeps dropping into the Hardware 2.0 mailbox in one form or another: Yes. Yes you do. Next question. Oh, you want a more in-depth answer? OK then, here goes. I consider security to be an important part of computer ownership. Security for me means keeping my hardware safe, keeping my data secure, keeping my network safe, and keeping the people around me safe. I'm a big believer that vigilance is a vital tool in the fight against malware, and that applying security patches in a timely fashion goes a long way toward keeping a platform safe. But I'm also fully aware of the fact that there is no such thing as secure code. Operating systems are huge, and it doesn't matter whether that code is written in Redmond or Cupertino or somewhere else, it will be riddled with bugs. Patched bugs represent just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the actual vulnerabilities present in the code we are exposed to and use on a daily basis. Then there's all the code you run on top of your operating system. Here's an example of a serious vulnerability that affects OS X that was discovered the other day. If you believe that your operating system is secure, you're deluding yourself. And if you try to tell others that your operating system of choice is better than someone else's, you're trying to delude others and don't be surprised if people think you're foolish. When it comes to malware, I don't want it entering my systems, I don't want it inhabiting my systems, and I don't want to pass malware on to others. I achieve this by taking a three-pronged approach: The final stage is important not only because it protects my system from malware - and believe me when I say that Mac malware does exist, just not in the same numbers as malware for Windows - but it also scans for Windows malware, which prevents me from passing on nasties to other people. A little RAM and some CPU cycles is a small price to pay to get an independent eye cast over the bits that flow into my Macs. OK, I only seem to catch Windows malware, but even quarantining that helps to keep my network safe, and prevents me inadvertently sending bad code to others. And remember, while malware that targets OS X is still pretty rare, it does exist. Sticking your head in the sand and pretending that it doesn't exist is just plain foolhardy. Oh, and tale about antivirus slowing down Macs, it's nonsense. I've run dozens of different antivirus programs on my Macs over the years and not had any performance issues whatsoever. I understand that by buying a Mac you've spent hundreds - if not thousands - of dollars on hardware, but that's still no excuse to not protect your investment. And if your purchase has left you strapped for cash, there are many free products available to choose from.
2016-04-08 18:45 Adrian Kingsley zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
50 HTC 10 continues the slowest tease ever, this time showing off its battery The formal debut of the HTC 10 is just days away, but the phone maker isn’t done showing off every last facet of it. Today, HTC took to Twitter again to reveal another piece of the HTC 10 puzzle: battery. The recent tweet reads: “Our engineers are so obsessed w/ battery life we’ve turned it into a science. You’ll feel it. 4/12. #powerof10”. Unlike the other micro-announcements, this one included a video that you can watch below. The teaser does a good job of doing just that: teasing. But in terms of what the actual battery of the HTC 10 will provide, not much was said other than “we work crazy long hours so that your phone will, too.” A normal work day is about eight hours, so a crazy long work day is, I’d say, 12 to 14 hours. Will it last that long? Not sure, but we’ll definitely be stress-testing it for our full review. Holy moly, is HTC hyping the heck out of this phone, or what? It’s an interesting strategy, especially when you compare it to the likes of other companies. Consider Apple, for instance. There are usually plenty of rumors coming through, but not a peep from the company itself. Others, like Samsung and Sony, will commonly share a vague teaser the day before a reveal, but nothing that gives away too much. HTC’s approach to serve up near-weekly teases is unconventional, but it isn’t totally surprising. After all, it needs to prove to you (and me) that it still has what it takes to hang with the pack of other flagship smartphones following a disappointing HTC One M9 release. HTC will reveal the HTC 10 next week and we’ll be reporting the live event along on April 12 at 5AM PT/8AM ET/1PM GMT. Stay tuned following the unveiling for our review. But I have another question: which sort of approach are you more a fan of when it comes to a product release? Do you like the slow and steady drip feed of teases for the HTC 10? Or, do you prefer to companies to keep things totally under wraps until a one-and-done reveal? Cast your vote. I’m really interested to see what you think. Article continues below
2016-04-08 18:45 By Cameron feedproxy.google.com
51 Homefront: The Revolution trailer introduces the Apex Corporation The most obvious question about Homefront: The Revolution , at least within the context of its fiction, is how North Korea managed to successfully invade and occupy the United States of America—far and away the world's foremost military power. A new promotional trailer for the villainous-behind-the-smile Apex Corporation helps shine a bit of light on that in a trailer that tells its history, and then leads to other, more interesting places. “Uncover the truth,” the faux-break-in blurb at the end of the trailer says, under the header “Liberty 7,” and just above a link to tiny.cc/apexhistory. It's not quite as unexpected and mysterious as it first appears, because the link, with the full URL, is also included in the YouTube description. But the absence of actual intrigue notwithstanding, the site does provide some interesting tidbits of info from the end of the Korean war in 1953 to the game's alt-future in the year 2029. Real-world historical events, like the Vietnam War and the Kennedy assassination, are interspersed with fictional elements—increasingly so, as the years progress—and it all has a subtle, fun, pro-DPRK vibe, backed up by images, videos, and audio clips. As supporting material goes, it's really well done, and while some holes remain to be filled, it does a reasonably good job of rationalizing the fiction of a North Korean takeover of the US—good enough to justify a videogame war, at least. Homefront: The Revolution comes out on May 17.
2016-04-08 18:25 By Andy www.pcgamer.com
52 Diablo 2 has been updated yet again I don't know about you, but I was really surprised when Blizzard rolled out a new patch for Diablo 2 last month. The game is 16 years old, after all, and it was the first update the game had seen since 2011. But whatever the studio had in mind apparently didn't get done, because another update has just been released. As the 1.14b name suggests, it's really more of an update to the update that fixes some relatively minor issues that slipped through the last time. According to the “Early patch notes” posted in the Diablo 3 subreddit , it makes the following changes: “While we’d like every release to be bug free, you —our stalwart community—discovered, reported, and communicated methods to replicate the issues so we could fix them as quickly as possible,” Blizzard wrote in the Battle.net forums . “We couldn’t ask for better partners in this endeavor and we appreciate your understanding and patience as we get Diablo II into a state we’re all happy with.” As to exactly why Blizzard is updating these old games (it did the same with the nearly-as- decrepit Warcraft 3 ), the only hint I've seen so far came late last year, shortly after a job listing for a “Senior Software Engineer, Classic Games" went up . “We have a history of maintaining our games for many years,” it said at the time. “Our earlier games are still played and enjoyed today, so we want to continue to maintain them for those communities.” And it sounds like there may be more to come: “Keep offering feedback while beating back the minions of the Burning Hells,” Blizzard wrote in the patch announcement, “and we’ll keep upholding our part.”
2016-04-08 18:24 By Andy www.pcgamer.com
53 5 Companies That Had A Rough Week The Week Ending April 8 It was a week of executive and employee departures -- some voluntary, others not so much. Topping this week's roundup of companies that had a rough week is Intel, which surprised its channel partners with an unexpected management shakeup. Also making the list was Nokia, whose employees face widespread layoffs; Apple, which faces a new government demand that it unlock an iPhone in a criminal case; Adobe Flash, which is getting blocked by Microsoft; and Oculus Rift, which faces another potential nail in the coffin over data privacy practices. Not everyone in the IT industry was having a rough go of it this week. For a rundown of companies that made smart decisions, executed savvy strategic moves -- or just had good luck -- check out this week's Five Companies That Came To Win roundup.
2016-04-08 18:19 Rick Whiting www.crn.com
54 Facebook Brazil hires new head Facebook has hired former Unilever executive Marcos Angelini as the new head for its operations in Brazil. With a background that includes 20 years of experience at Unilever, more recently as vice president for home care products in Latin America, Angelini will start at Facebook in May. Your social data is doomed, and don't count on Facebook to save you Your status updates, your uploaded photos, your videos, all of it is going to be inaccessible sometime in the future. Angelini's marketing and sales experience will be useful to the social media company as it widens its presence within digital advertising with its Facebook and Instagram platforms. But the new Brazil head will also have to be able to balance court demands with the company's pledge to protect the privacy of its users. Last month, Facebook's Latin America head Diego Dzodan was arrested by the Brazilian police for failure to comply with court demands for WhatsApp messaging data , then released on the grounds that there was no concrete proof that he had been obstructing the course of justice. As well as Dzodan's prison order, the initial injunction also included a daily fine to Facebook of R$1m ($273,000) if the company refused to release the data required for the criminal probe. In December, Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp was also suspended for 48 hours f or failing to comply with another court order to provide the police with information around a criminal case investigation.
2016-04-08 18:04 Angelica Mari zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
Total 54 articles. Created at 2016-04-09 18:03