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Showing posts from February 14, 2018

Robert Rodriguez preps VR action series 'The Limit'

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Director Robert Rodriguez has been teasing a virtual reality video project for a while, and now it's clear just what it entails. He's partnering with STX on The Limit , a short-form VR action series starring long-time collaborator Michelle Rodriguez as a "genetically enhanced weapon of mass destruction" bent on destroying her creators. It's not a profound exploration of the human condition, then, but there's no question of the talent both in front of and behind the camera. The Limit will premiere sometime in mid-2018 on STX's upcoming VR 'channel' Surreal as an app for headsets. The series keeps up a recent trend of big Hollywood names entering the VR space with relatively small but significant projects. Robert Rodriguez is more of an enthusiast than some early entrants (he created Double R Productions with VR in mind), but the theme remains the same: he's experimenting with VR video production while the format is still young, but has g

What's on TV: 'Justice League,' 'Secret of Mana' and 'Bayonetta'

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This week Winter Olympics action continues on NBC (get ready for more women's skeleton, Super-G and hockey), but you can also watch Justice League on video on-demand. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend fans will see the third season's finale episode Friday night, while gamers can dig into a 3D Secret of Mana remake, as well as Bayonetta 1 & 2 on Nintendo Switch. Look after the break to check out each day's highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed). Blu-ray & Games & Streaming Justice League (VOD) Coco (VOD) Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (VOD) Pokemon the Movie Wonder (4K) The Deuce (S1) The Thomas Crown Affair (50th Anniversary Edition) Roman J. Israel, Esq. Night of the Living Dead (Criterion) Hell or High Water (4K) Secret of Mana (PS4, PC) Xeodrifter (Switch) Drunkn Bar Fight (PS VR) Bayonetta (Switch) Bayonetta 2 (Switch) TorqueL (Switch) Fe (PS4, Xbox One) Dynasty Warriors 9 (Xbox One, PS4) Mon

'Dab on 'em Haterz' turns surviving the internet into a game

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Last month, Dab on 'em Haterz launched on Steam, an indie game that puts the player in charge of a YouTube creator who must sift through comments and presumably stay sane in the process. It's up to our hero to give negative feedback a good dabbing that banishes it from his queue and nets him some money. But it's in his head, of course. Forever scraping away at his self-confidence and belief in humanity. Yes, Dab on 'em Haterz seems a microcosm of living on the internet in 2018. As Julia Alexander of Polygon described it, the game presents players with the unenviable task of ingesting YouTube-style comments and dabbing away the endless stream of hate. You have to purge a certain amount to progress to the next level, but naturally just keeping up with the rate of bilious and often bigoted and racist words is a physical and psychological stress. People don't need a reason to hate you -- they'll find one. Per the historians of internet culture, Dab on '

Kittens from the same litter don't always have the same parents

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Animals It's called heteropaternal superfecundation. Female cats can be impregnated by more than one male, or tomcat, during a single ovulation period. It’s a phenomenon called “heteropaternal superfecundation.”… via Popular Science "http://ift.tt/2HdKTxE"

A road trip with Nissan ProPilot Assist

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By Joel Stocksdale We've had a bit of experience with the Nissan ProPilot Assist system here at Autoblog . I was the first to try it out with a Rogue prototype during a press test drive, and we later got one to test for the 2018 Tech of the Year award. In each instance it managed to impress us with its ease of use and general effectiveness. It did so enough to merit a spot as a Tech of the Year finalist . However, every experience we had with the technology was fairly brief, with only short highway jaunts to demonstrate how it works. Long highway jaunts is really what ProPilot is meant for, so to find out just how helpful it is, I drove a 2018 Rogue equipped with its new ProPilot Assist option to the Chicago Auto Show . Overall, ProPilot Assist really is a boon for long-haul drives. It all comes down to how it takes care of the minute corrections and adjustments that have to be made on highways. There are always some imperfections, wind, changing road markings or minuscule

Facebook’s two-factor authentication system auto-posts replies on your profile

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Facebook’s two-factor authentication (2FA) system has come under fire today for some bizarre design elements that seem to have gone largely unnoticed for quite some time. Bay Area software engineer Gabriel Lewis noticed earlier this week that Facebook was using the same phone number he used for 2FA, which offers a more secure way to log into an online account by asking for secondary confirmation of the user’s identity, to notify him about friends’ posts. Even worse, it seems that replying to this message with any message, such as “Please stop,” auto-posts that message to your Facebook profile. (It doesn’t cause the messages to stop, either.) The Verge confirmed that this behavior occurs with any reply to a Facebook 2FA text message,... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2F1ZWd6"

There could be an entire line of Dyson electric cars

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Best known for slick-looking vacuum cleaners and hand dryers, James Dyson has already stated his intentions to tackle a completely different machine — the electric car. Now, however, the inventor is looking to build more than just a niche model as the list of EV models on sale grows. Dyson is planning a trio of new EVs for the next decade that will also adopt a solid-state battery pack, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, embarking on an estimated $2.8 billion project to give an Elon Musk-like jolt to the automotive market. The man behind radically designed appliances said in September he was planning a “radically different” type of electric car than what was on the market. Like Musk, the first car due early next decade would be a... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2EHUAGs"

Xbox party chat launches on Android and iOS

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It's now easier to keep up with your Xbox gaming pals when you've ventured beyond the living room. After several weeks of public testing , Microsoft has launched party chat in its Xbox apps for Android and iOS . If you use Xbox Live, you can use this to your fellow party members through voice or text wherever you happen to be. That can be helpful if you want to keep up with an in-game raid while you're rushing home, or if you just want to leave a party channel open as a semi-permanent group chat. This gives Microsoft a slight edge over Sony: you can certainly message fellow PlayStation owners through official apps, but live voice chat isn't an option unless you turn to a third-party service. While this probably won't make or break your choice of console, it's something to consider if you frequently play online with a close-knit group. Via: The Verge Source: App Store , Google Play via Engadget RSS Feed "http://ift.tt/2Bt4utw"

Why does this digital abacus exist?

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Sometimes, old fashioned things are better. I understand the arguments of those who prefer taking pen and paper notes to typing for example, or even people who prefer analog, vinyl recordings to digital ones. But I cannot for the life of me wrap my head around the iBrain: Digital Abacus , currently looking for funding on Kickstarter. The fact that abacuses have fallen out of style since the adoption of the conventional Arabic number system that we use today doesn’t seem to have stopped iBrain from creating this, but that’s not a problem in and of itself. Abacuses are apparently still used to teach children math using physical representation, which is also fine. My issue comes with the fact that this company has made a d igital a bacus, a... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2EsM0fi"

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

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An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Ended the Jungle Inferno Campaign Added a contracts-only pass to allow players who did not participate in the Jungle Inferno Campaign to access the Jungle Inferno contracts. This pass does not grant campaign-specific perks such as enhanced rank badges, etc. via Steam RSS News Feed "http://ift.tt/2EtwAY2"

Intel expands bug bounty to catch more Spectre-like security flaws

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To say Intel was caught flat-footed by the Meltdown and Spectre flaws would be an understatement . However, it has a potential solution: enlist more people for help. It's widening its bug bounty program to both include more researchers and offer more incentives to spot Meltdown- and Spectre-like holes. The program is now open to all security researchers, not just by invitation, and includes sweeter rewards for discovering exploits. You now get up to $100,000 for disclosing general security flaws, and there's a new program dedicated to side channel vulnerabilities (read: issues like Spectre) that offers up to $250,000 through December 31st, 2018. The higher bounty stems in part from the complexity of demonstrating exploits. Unlike most purely software-driven attacks, the speculative execution tricks behind Meltdown and Spectre require extensive know-how. The end date on the side channel bounty sets a firm limit on what the program will achieve, although Intel's promise

The new ZenBook 13 includes discrete graphics in an ultraportable package

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We’re still waiting on Intel and AMD’s new partnership to help mainstream thin and light laptops with discrete graphics, but in the meantime Nvidia’s GeForce MX150 is the best blend of power and performance when portability is a priority. Asus now claims to have created the “thinnest laptop on the planet” to include discrete graphics: the ZenBook 13 UX331 ( as seen on Engadget ). Asus also offers an MX150 in its Flip 14 two-in-one , but this new ZenBook 13 , which was originally announced last year, is only 0.5-inches thick and weighs 2.5 pounds. The 1080p screen is a touchscreen, but there are no convertible hinge shenanigans. Asus claims “all-day battery,” with up to 14 hours of uptime, but that’s almost certainly a number that doesn’t... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2EH210h"

Here's what Popular Science editors are reading right now

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Gadgets "It's some of the best speculative fiction I've ever read." "It's some of the best speculative fiction I've ever read."… via Popular Science "http://ift.tt/2C0zz8Y"

‘Where The Water Tastes Like Wine’ arrives on February 28th

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Two years ago, a trailer dropped at The Game Awards that promised a story about stories. In Where the Water Tastes Like Wine , players would trek across a dusty America, meeting vagabonds and trading tales while folk music trailed in the background. We knew the title was coming early this year even as more exciting news stole headlines, like adding Sting to the voice cast. But we won't have to wait much longer: Where the Water Tastes Like Wine will arrive on February 28th and retail for $20 on Steam for PC, Mac and Linux. Where the Water Tastes Like Wine will be released on February 28! That's... That's not very far away. https://t.co/QqHrQv5eFv — Johnnemann There's also a special 'Wayfarer' edition for $27, which includes digital copies of both an art book for download and the game's soundtrack by Ryan Ike. Which is pretty cool given how central music is in the game -- yes, in setting the tone for your character's peripatetic jaunt across A

Microsoft launches party chat for Xbox app on Android and iOS

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After first testing the feature in its beta apps , Microsoft today rolled out party chat to its public Android and iOS mobile apps. The feature allows Xbox Live users to communicate with their gaming pals via both voice and text when they’re out of the house and away from the console. That heightens the community feel of party chat and brings it more in line with something like Discord, as Tom Warren pointed out when Microsoft first announced this was coming. It’s also an option if, for whatever reason, you just don’t feel like putting on a headset during multiplayer sessions. I can’t speak to what the sound quality would be like if you tried to communicate with your PUBG teammates from a phone sitting next to you on the couch. Probably... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2swshG0"

Sony made a 300+ piece coding kit for kids to bring blocky robots to life

MIT has a new chip to make AI faster and more efficient on smartphones

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Just one day after MIT revealed that some of its researchers had created a super low-power chip to handle encryption, the institute is back with a neural network chip that reduces power consumption by 95 percent. This feature makes them ideal for battery-powered gadgets like mobile phones and tablets to take advantage of more complex neural networking systems. Neural networks are made up of lots of basic, interconnected information processors that are interconnected. Typically, these networks learn how to perform tasks by analyzing huge sets of data and applying that to novel tasks. They're used for now-typical things like speech recognition, photo manipulation , as well as more novel tasks, like reproducing what your brain actually sees and creating quirky pickup lines and naming craft beers . The problem is that neural nets are big, and the computations they run through are power-intensive. The ones in your phone tend to be tiny for that reason, which limits their ultima

Is it possible to die from eating too much chocolate? Asking for a friend.

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Ask Us Anything It would take 7,084 Hershey chocolate kisses to get chocolate poisoning Chocolate contains theobromine. At very high levels it can be toxic to humans, but that requires a lot of chocolate. via Popular Science "http://ift.tt/2EJ82tE"

Verizon gives a year of free Netflix to new FiOS customers

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Telecoms have been handing out free video services like candy in a bid to win you over, and Verizon is finally following suit. The network is offering a year of free Netflix if you sign up online for a FiOS "triple play" (internet, TV and phone) at $80 per month. This includes both new and existing accounts, and Verizon will cover Netflix costs up to $10.99 per month. The move comes right as Verizon is adding direct access to Netflix from FiOS set-top boxes -- you only have to tune into channel 838 and sign in. You probably won't need this when there's a good chance something in your living room already plays Netflix, but it's helpful if you're new to Netflix or just want to cut back on device clutter. Naturally, there are catches. You're only guaranteed that price if you commit to a 2-year contract, and this is just a year of Netflix versus T-Mobile's in-perpetuity deal. And since it's a triple play, you're locking yourself into three s

Video game records are broken. Can anyone fix them?

Netflix’s ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ returns May 30th

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The fourth season of Netflix's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt has a premiere date, or at least the first half of it does. The show is taking a different route than it has before, releasing the first six episodes ahead of the rest of the season, and the first half will be available to stream starting May 30th. Jane Krakowski, who plays Jacqueline on the show, told the Today show , "We're going to shoot them and get them out as quickly as possible so we don't have to make our fans and audiences wait so long." Season three debuted in May last year. 🛑STOP🛑... in the naaaame of Season 4! Part 1 streams May 30th! pic.twitter.com/ey0mHQ5DDM — Kimmy Schmidt (@KimmySchmidt) February 14, 2018 Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock and its first three seasons have been consistently nominated for Emmy awards. The show itself has been nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series every year while main cast members like Tituss Burgess, Jane Krak

Dota 2 Update - February 14th, 2017

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- Minor updates on Windranger’s model - Fixed Windrangers “You prefer arrows?” taunt to reliably show the hearts. via Steam RSS News Feed "http://ift.tt/2o0mG6i"

Google’s testing an Android app that adds Smart Reply to Slack, Facebook Messenger, and more

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Google’s messaging app strategy is a huge mess , but one surprisingly useful feature that has extended from Inbox to Gmail to Allo and Android Messages is Smart Reply , which offers three responses based on context for you to quickly reply to your contacts. Google is now working to expand this beyond its own suite of products, and is opening up a limited test to Android users to add the feature to other chat apps, such as Slack and Skype. According to a sign-up page for the app appropriately called Reply, Google is potentially interested in making the feature work on Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Line, WeChat, and Twitter DMs. Smart Reply can already figure out basic context to a conversation — for example, if a person sends you an email... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2EqYYpV"

STANK LOVE, BEAR WIG, and other sayings from AI-generated candy hearts

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Technology The list also includes ME LOVE HAVE and HOLE. Happy Valentine's Day. This is what you get when you ask artificial intelligence to write romantic candy heart messages for you. via Popular Science "http://ift.tt/2C0hrMn"

Nothing says Happy Valentine's Day like a 'Black Mirror' dating app

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So, it's Valentine's Day, and what better time to check on the potential end date of your romantic relationship? It's easy to do over at coach.dating , a fun little web app based on the dating AI, Coach, that manages dating relationships in the Black Mirror episode, "Hang the DJ." Written by show creator Charlie Brooker, the fourth episode of Black Mirror 's current fourth season revolves around a Tinder-like dating app and managing AI that pairs people off into trial romantic relationships, then uses the data collected during this period to find their "ultimate compatible other." The web app, then, plays off this scenario, having you send a link to your partner so they can connect at the same time. Once they load the custom link you send them, the Coach app ask you both to get ready, then click a fingerprint onscreen, ostensibly to measure your reaction time. The app then starts acting like it's gone crazy, cycling through various error mes

You can now buy a refurbished Apple Watch Series 3 for $279

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Apple today added the Apple Watch Series 3, the company’s latest smartwatch, to its list of available refurbished gadgets, as spotted by 9to5Mac . The device is only available in two different versions : a 38mm, gold aluminum case with a pink sport band, and a 42mm space gray aluminum case with a black sport band. The 38mm version is $279 while the 42mm version is $309, with both receiving $50 discounts from the standard price. It doesn’t look like you can buy these watches with LTE functionality, but both do come with GPS. It’s a solid deal for those looking for almost-new versions of the latest Apple Watch and don’t care much for getting LTE service, which does have a noticeable effect on battery life and launched back in September with... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2EDmHqh"

AI is helping seismologists detect earthquakes they’d otherwise miss

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Oklahoma never used to be known for its earthquakes. Before 2009, the state had roughly two quakes of magnitude three and above each year. (Magnitude three is when things shake on the shelf, but before houses start getting damaged.) In 2015, this tally rocketed to more than 900, though it’s calmed since, falling to 304 last year. This sudden increase is thought to be caused by the disposal of wastewater by the state’s booming fracking industry, and it’s caught seismologists off-guard. As a historically quake-free area, Oklahoma doesn’t have enough equipment to detect and locate all of these quakes, making it hard to investigate their root cause. “There are no major faults in Oklahoma so it’s just not something we would expect,” Thibaut... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2Bws3Si"

'The Evil Within 2' has a new first-person mode for up-close horror

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Originally released in October of last year, The Evil Within 2 is a bleak, tense take on the horror genre, where exploration and discovery are just as important as the scares. The game was designed as a third-person experience, much like producer Shinji Mikami's famous Resident Evil series. Now, however, developer Tango Gameworks has launched a free update that will make the entire game playable in first person perspective. Switching from third- to first-person perspective is a simple menu option. You can change back and forth easily at any point in the game, too. Even the free trial has the feature so you can see how it looks even if you haven't purchased the full game. "A lot of players like playing horror games in first-person, so for those who want to see some of the game's situations through Sebastian's eyes, it's a really neat experience," said Tango Gameworks' Shinsaku Ohara in a statement. "I think exploring Union in first-person

Daily Deal - Cozy Couch Co-Op Advertising App, 70% Off

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Today's Deal: Save 70% on Cozy Couch Co-Op Bundle !* Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are! *Offer ends Monday at 10AM Pacific Time via Steam RSS News Feed "http://ift.tt/2F2gbXI"