TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2014 technology For gamers, combating online abuse not easy SEATTLE: While most attendees of Penny Arcade nity seems so intolerant of difference?” The discus- occurs on the playground or the virtual battlefield. we’re using misogynistic, homophobic or racist Expo come to the boisterous convention to play sion at the four-day, sold-out convention, which “The quadrants of harassment don’t change from remarks, that has a real impact on stereotypes that games, bag swag and meet like-minded people, a ends Monday and is expected to draw about the physical space to the digital space,” said thera- get perpetuated in communities where we can see few take the time to investigate online bullying and 85,000 gamers, follows a week of several reports of pist Joshua Neal, who joined Weber for the discus- damage occurring.” Despite developers and pub- why it’s so prevalent among the gaming communi- online harassment of developers and personalities sion. “The effects are the same.” lishers taking steps to stymie abuse, the name call- ty. Therapist Stacey Weber, herself a gamer, is a bit in the gaming community. “Unfortunately, a lot of Neal said that because anonymity is common on ing, sexual harassment and “swatting” - when a per- mystified. “It just doesn’t make sense,” said Weber, the recent conflict is showing us there’s a lot of the Internet, online activity can become a “fantasy- son anonymously files a false police report - contin- who was part of a Saturday talk at PAX Prime called work left to be done,” Weber said. land” for people seeking to spread negativity with ue to persist in the gaming world. Weber and Neal “Not Us, Not Here: Examining Bullying, Harassment Weber points to research that shows online fewer repercussions. He implored PAX Prime atten- told PAX Prime attendees that if they observe abuse and Misogyny.” taunting, popular in “Call of Duty,” “Halo,” and other dees to be mindful of the language they use while online, the best response is to show empathy not “When we pick up our games, we delve into shoot-’em-up games, may come from bullies who playing games. “When our speech directly harms only toward the person targeted but also toward these whole new worlds where there’s a multitude enjoy the online anonymity while seeking to marginalized communities, I think that’s something the tormenters because that might provide them of various species and ways of being,” Weber said. reduce their own anxiety and feelings of inadequa- we can stand up for needing to reduce and stop,” an opportunity to recognize and correct their bad “Difference is the norm, so how come this commu- cy. She said such abuse is no different whether it he said. “Individually, we can parse that stuff out. If behavior. — AP Apple to unveil next products SAN FRANCISCO: Apple’s latest product that Apple may release another iPhone launch will be in a setting that holds a model with a 5.5-inch screen. special place in its history, signaling how A bigger-screen iPhone could unleash big this event is for the company. The a surge of sales among Apple fans who Sept 9 launch, which is expected to fea- own iPhones with smaller displays. Some ture a larger iPhone and possibly a com- analysts think Apple could sell at least 70 puterized watch, will be in the same million units of the iPhone 6 within the Silicon Valley venue where Apple’s late first few months after the device hits the co-founder, Steve Jobs, took the wraps market. Although the iPhone is Apple’s off the original Mac computer 30 years biggest moneymaker, much of the ago. That machine was hailed as a major intrigue around this year’s event sur- breakthrough that helped bring personal rounds the possibility that the company computing to the masses. These events may release a long-awaited smartwatch have become an annual rite since the that could help monitor people’s health 2007 release of the iPhone, but this year’s and serve as control center for Internet- may be the most highly anticipated since connected appliances and electronics in the iPad came out in 2010. A “smart- the home. watch” or other wearable technology Apple CEO Tim Cook has indicated would mark the company’s first foray into that he is intrigued with wearable tech- a new product category since the iPad nology devices, but hasn’t provided any came out. concrete clues about what the company True to its secretive nature, Apple Inc is working on. Cook has only said he is isn’t giving any clues about what’s on the excited about what Apple’s latest inven- Sept 9 agenda. “Wish we could say more,” tions, a sentiment echoed by one of his Apple said in a succinct white invitation top lieutenants, Eddy Cue, who earlier mailed Thursday to reporters and others. this year hailed the company’s product The company scheduled the event at an pipeline as its best in 25 years. Apple has auditorium about 3 miles from its just been redesigning and adding fea- Cupertino, California, headquarters. It tures to its iPhones, iPads, iPods and Mac TOKYO: Steve Miller, Managing Director of Ubisoft Japan introduces its new games for PS4 and the PlayStation Vita during Sony Computer seats about 2,300 people, a far larger since the release of the iPad, raising con- Entertainment Japan and Asia (SCEJA) press conference yesterday. — AP capacity than the places that Apple usu- cerns among investors that the company ally uses to show off its new products. had run out of new ideas after the Apple watchers expect an iPhone with October 2011 death of Jobs, who served a larger screen than the 4-inch display on as its chief visionary. Those worries have the previous two generations of the subsided during the past four months as Sony woos Japanese to device. The iPhone 6 is expected to fea- the excitement has built for Apple’s new ture a 4.7-inch screen to make it more products. Apple’s stock hit a new high of competitive with larger smartphones $102.78 in Thursday morning’s trading made by Samsung Electronics and other before falling back to close at $102.25, up PS4 with Dragon Quest rivals relying on Google Inc.’s free Android 12 cents for the session. The shares have software. There also has been speculation risen 25 percent in 2014. — AP Microsoft’s Xbox One to go on sale in Japan Japan firm showcases TOKYO: Sony is trying to woo Japanese game fans to the PlayStation 4 home console that went on sale in November in the US and Europe, ‘touchable’ 3D tech but didn’t arrive at stores here until February. TSUKUBA: Technology that generates Atsushi Morita, appointed head of Sony touchable 3D imagery was unveiled in Computer Entertainment’s Japan operations Japan yesterday, with its developers say- effective yesterday, acknowledged the momen- ing users could pull and push objects that tum for the PlayStation 4 in Japan wasn’t catch- are not really there. Know-how that could ing up with the West, although its cumulative improve a gaming experience, or allow global sales reached 10 million recently, the someone to physically shape objects that fastest pace for any game console. exist only on a computer, will soon be The PS4 accounts for 78 percent of the home- available to buy, said Miraisens, a high- console market in Japan, thrashing Microsoft tech firm based outside Tokyo. “Touching Corp of the US and local competitor Nintendo is an important part of human communi- Co, but Tokyo-based Sony Corp won’t give a cation but virtual reality has until now regional breakdown of recent sales. Microsoft’s been lacking it,” its chief executive Natsuo Xbox One is set to go on sale in Japan Thursday, Koda told a press conference. also much later than its November sale in the US “This technology will give you a sense and some parts of Europe. Morita, the nephew that you can touch objects in the 3D of Sony founder Akio Morita, told reporters soft- world,” said Koda, a former Sony ware games are in the works, mostly for early researcher on virtual reality. It works by next year, including a revamped “Dragon Quest,” fooling the brain, blending the images the a game series that is extremely popular with eye is seeing with different patterns of Japanese. A “metal slime” PS4 model, a tribute to vibration created by a small device on the one of the game’s characters, will also go on sale. fingertip, said Norio Nakamura, the inven- Pricing and other details were not disclosed. tor of “3D-Haptics Technology” and chief “We are determined to expand in this market,” TOKYO: Sony Computer Entertainment Japan and Asia (SCEJA) President Atsushi Morita reveals technical officer at the firm. In one Morita said at a Tokyo hall, showing trailers of a “Light Pink/White” model of the PlayStation Vita during SCEJA press conference. — AP demonstration of a prototype head- dozens of games spanning genres including sports, car racing and shooting. Many powerful more sophisticated experience, such as playing players can share video they take of themselves mounted display, the company showed online with others and adding a movie-like nar- looking petrified playing the game. Kojima said how the user can feel resistance from vir- game franchises were born in Japan such as TSUKUBA: A journalist tries to use the rative and visual quality to the interactive ele- some people were too frightened to finish the tual buttons that he or she is pushing.