79 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(08/30/17 2:37am)
Steve Bannon, former Executive Chairman of Brietbart News, is set to return to the outlet after being dismissed from his chief strategist position at the White House. Bannon played key roles in President Trump’s 2016 campaign and in several legislative decisions made in Trump’s presidential term.
During Bannon’s absence, several changes were made to Breitbart from the firing of Senior Editor Milo Yiannopoulos and Editor Katie Hughes (two of the more controversial personalities) to appearing less inflammatory in the media.
While Editor in Chief Alex Marlow has been keeping a lower profile than Steve Bannon ever did, keeping Brietbart out of the spotlight for a few months, that is likely set to change upon Bannon’s return. According to a former Breitbart employee, “Marlow has zero power… Bannon’s clearly the boss.”
While it is still too early to tell what kind of effect Bannon will have, either on Breitbart or on the Trump cabinet, Bannon being back with the publication directly means that staffers know exactly the direction he wants to go, and according to those staffer, he is a very hands-on boss.
(08/29/17 11:42pm)
by Eben Griger
Steve Bannon, former Executive Chairman of Brietbart News, is set to return to the outlet after being dismissed from his chief strategist position at the White House. Bannon played key roles in President Trump’s 2016 campaign and in several legislative decisions made in Trump’s presidential term.
During Bannon’s absence, several changes were made to Breitbart from the firing of Senior Editor Milo Yiannopoulos and Editor Katie Hughes (two of the more controversial personalities) to appearing less inflammatory in the media.
While Editor in Chief Alex Marlow has been keeping a lower profile than Steve Bannon ever did, keeping Brietbart out of the spotlight for a few months, that is likely set to change upon Bannon’s return. According to a former Breitbart employee, “Marlow has zero power… Bannon’s clearly the boss.”
While it is still too early to tell what kind of effect Bannon will have, either on Breitbart or on the Trump cabinet, Bannon being back with the publication directly means that staffers know exactly the direction he wants to go, and according to those staffer, he is a very hands-on boss.
Source: The Atlantic
Image: CBS News
(08/21/17 3:07am)
by Eben Griger
Gamescom 2017 is in full swing now with almost a full week of gaming related content from all the big industry names. Xbox was up first, showcasing both games and hardware.
[embed]https://youtu.be/5RYZXnpjYbw[/embed]
Assassin’s Creed: Origins got a new cinematic trailer, a release date (Oct. 27), and the classic pre-order bonus mission.
[embed]https://youtu.be/NWagBjDMwTU[/embed]
Next up, Jurassic World Evolution, the dinosaur theme park sim we’ve all been waiting for. No exact date for it’s release, only “summer 2018,” which will probably end up being curiously close to the release of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
[embed]https://youtu.be/wd7482WHdNM[/embed]
ReCore, the title that launched Xbox’s “Play Anywhere” feature, is getting a rerelease. ReCore: Definitive Edition brings new quests, a new companion frame, and updated graphics. Owners of the original ReCore get all the new goodies for free the same date the Definitive Edition drops, Aug. 29.
[embed]https://youtu.be/nDeGxQGZaJA?list=PL0il2l-B_Wwa3CjwbNWD6lVtsp5OmraEl[/embed]
Free-to-play game World of Tanks is getting a port to the Xbox One X with 4k graphics and an arena tournament mode. No date other than “this fall,” but seeing as the Xbox One X doesn’t release until November, the actual date will probably end up being closer to winter.
[embed]https://youtu.be/6W_HKKQcQpk?list=PL0il2l-B_Wwa3CjwbNWD6lVtsp5OmraEl[/embed]
Xbox showcased a good amount of indie game content too, with titles such as Hello Neighbor, Conan: Exiles, Unruly Heroes and Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds. No release dates for anything, but expect a lot of support for non-AAA games in the future.
[embed]https://youtu.be/p3gSQZk0Crg?list=PL0il2l-B_Wwa3CjwbNWD6lVtsp5OmraEl[/embed]
Minecraft edition Xbox One S’s are coming to stores, available for pre-order now. 1 Tb system, dirt, grass and redstone stylings, and a creeper controller makes for a fairly stylish console.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BHMrU319D0[/embed]
Middle-Earth: Shadow of War got a new trailer. Monsters are playing a big part in this game, more-so than the original. They take the place of friend and foe though, with a friendly, ridable dragon being shown in the trailer. Shadow of War drops Oct. 10.
[embed]https://youtu.be/j4axHXXEfjI?list=PL0il2l-B_Wwa3CjwbNWD6lVtsp5OmraEl[/embed]
Xbox’s presentation ended with a bang: the Xbox One X. We got a release date, Nov. 10, and the Project Scorpio Special Edition. The edition includes a matte black console and controller with “Project Scorpio” written in green letters on both, custom printing on the exterior, and a vertical stand. The trailer also showed what looked to be a serial number on the console, implying that this edition might not always be available. Both the special edition and the regular console are available for pre-order now.
Source: Polygon
Image: Yahoo
(06/12/17 5:07pm)
by Eben Griger
With the release of “Bethesdaland” almost a month prior, Bethesda didn’t exactly keep it a secret what was coming in their E3 press conference. Pete Hines, the developer’s VP of Marketing, took the stage just long enough to give it up for the video presentation, which did the bulk of his work for him.
Virtual Reality was a hot item for Bethesda, with both Doom and Fallout 4 getting adaptations to the HTC Vive. Doom: VFR seemed to be a standalone, almost minigame-like, entity based off the 2016 reboot of the franchise, rather than a port of the game. Fallout VR seemed to be the opposite, with the full game able to be played in the Vive.
Bethesda made sure to remind us the Elder Scrolls Online was still in fact a thing, with a lengthy video about the game’s newest expansion Morrowind. The expansion was released a few days ago, and nothing new was shown about ESO as a whole, apart from quick cuts to concept renderings of what expansions are still coming in the future.
Next, Bethesda revealed the Creation Club, a mod aggregator. The menus seemed to be accessible even when in the games (Fallout 4 and Skyrim), and Bethesda noted that the mods featured in the Creation Club would be backed by Bethesda itself, not just modders, and compatible with saves, load right into the game, and would not disable achievements if used. These are all pretty great features if you like playing with mods, provided you don’t mind spending some new “credits” on these mods. No further information was given, but after the backlash paid Skyrim mods received on Steam back in 2015, the inclusion of this feature seems questionable at best.
Elder Scrolls Legends, the virtual card game based on the Elder Scrolls universe, is getting a Skyrim expansion, and is now coming to mobile devices.
Stealth-action game Dishonored makes its return in 2017, with the Death of the Outsider DLC for Dishonored 2. We see the return of Daud, one of the original game’s antagonists, and the possibility of a new protagonist Billie Lurk, as neither Corvo nor Emily Kaldwin were featured in the cinematic trailer.
The port everyone was waiting for was confirmed, Skyrim is coming to the Nintendo Switch. It was shown to offer some sort of Amiibo compatibility. The Link Amiibo was held up to the Switch, and the character in game received a Hyrule makeover, complete with tunic and Mastersword. No word on whether or not the Switch version supports mods, but if it wasn’t shown, I wouldn’t count on it.
We got more information on Quake: Champions, in that Wolfenstein protagonist and dual-wielder extraordinaire B.J. Blaskowitz is a playable character in the game, and that a $1 million tournament is being held at Quakecon this year.
The Evil Within 2 made both a cinematic and a gameplay debut during the conference. It looks to be just as creepy as the first one, complete with zombies, goo monsters, and an oh-so tortured protagonist. Slap on a release date of Friday the 13th, coupled with it being released in October (the spookiest of months), and you’ve got yourself one of the most intriguing reveals of the conference.
And finally, Bethesda revealed their piece de resistance, Wolfenstein: The New Colossus. Taking place after The New Order, we see the return of B.J. Blaskowitz (who is quite tired from the Quake world championships) and a Nazi-run America. Also returning in the sequel, robot dogs, over-the-top weapons and a whole lot of ultra-violence. I won’t give too much information, because honestly the reveal is something worth watching for yourself, especially if you’re a fan of the first game. If you’re not a fan, but are still interested enough to want the run down, America has a Nazi problem, and it’s your job to turn that into the Nazis having a you problem.
Bethesda ended the conference saying that everything shown will release in 2017, but with the exception of Morrowind (already out), Death of the Outsider (9/5/17), The Evil Within 2 (10/13/17) and Wolfenstein: The New Colossus (10/27/17), no exact dates were given.
Source(s): The Twitch stream
(04/20/17 10:30pm)
Esports has had a hard time gaining traction on the sports scene, particularly here in the United States. ESPN’s showing of a DOTA 2 tournament was met with significant backlash back in 2015. This may be set to change however, as the Olympic Council of Asia has decided to introduce esports as a “demonstration sport” next year, and a medaled event in their 2022 Asian Games.
(04/05/17 1:58am)
Technology giant Apple has announced its plans to create their own proprietary Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) to use in all products. Previously, Apple’s retina-display has been provided by Imagination Technologies.
(04/04/17 8:19pm)
by Eben Griger
Technology giant Apple has announced its plans to create their own proprietary Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) to use in all products. Previously, Apple’s retina-display has been provided by Imagination Technologies.
This is not Apple’s first proprietary processor. Everything from the Airpods to the Apple Watch has a different one, but this processor does mark the transition to an Apple product that is almost entirely Apple technology. This change can be good or bad, depending on how you look at it.
On the plus side, no one can deny that Apple makes solid technology. Besides the questionable decision of removing certain inputs like AUX and USB and rumors of “forced obsolescence,” Apple devices are consistently powerful, reliable and relatively easy to use. So consumers can expect this GPU to be up to Apple’s own high standards and will most likely be an improvement over old designs.
According to Moor Insights & Strategies, Apple’s iPhone processor, for example, improves it’s performance by about 25% per year. This pace isn’t matched by any other company in the industry, and with GPUs being a whole lot more powerful than Central Processing Units (CPU), this proprietary technology opens up a lot of room for new features and an increase in power for future Apple devices.
On the down side, however, Apple products just became a whole lot harder to fix. A cornerstone of Apple’s business model is the idea that only Apple can fix your Apple device. The solid body of an iPhone prevents anyone from opening the phone up to modify or repair it, and the screen being a part of that body functions as the same deterrent. Any attempt to repair Apple products alone is a notoriously difficult thing to do, and will most likely void any warranty on the device. Having Apple repair your device isn’t exactly a cheap.
This new GPU adds a whole new level of difficulty to the process, and Apple won’t likely make the old fixes any easier to accomplish on future versions of their devices. This move to a true Apple iPhone won’t be coming any time soon. No announcements have been made as to whether Apple has even started development of the GPU, so the release of this technology is likely pretty far off.
Source: Wired
Image: Apple Insider
(04/01/17 5:24pm)
by Eben Griger
Private space flight company SpaceX successfully launched a communication satellite into orbit, using a rocket that had previously been launched and recovered. The Falcon 9 rocket, launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, had been used in April 2016 on a mission to resupply the International Space Station. Falcon 9 then landed on a SpaceX barge in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. This rocket had already reached fame for being the company's first ever successful landing of a rocket on a moving platform.
Historically, the most expensive part of space flight has been getting there in the first place. NASA’s space shuttle program cost roughly $1.2 billion per flight, with $500 million of that going to building and rebuilding the launch rocket each time. And with a recorded 131 flights each using a new rocket, that adds up to about $65 billion. With the norm being each rocket crashing down to Earth after a mission and only a chance of being scrapped for parts, this means a lot of money going to waste.
“I try to tell my team to imagine that there was a pallet of cash that was plummeting through the atmosphere, and it was going to burn up and smash into tiny pieces, would you try to save it? Probably yes.” SpaceX founder Elon Musk told attendees of the 2016 Code Conference, an invitation-only event where the leaders of tech (Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Sergey Brin to name a few) talk about its future.
SpaceX’s achievement could mark the beginning of a new era of space flight, where it is possible to get there for a lot cheaper, and a lot more often.
Sources: NPR, Florida Today, Space.com
Image: NBC
(03/19/17 6:06pm)
By Eben Griger
We’ve all been there. You’ve lost count of how many episodes you’ve seen. You don’t know what day it is. But there is one thing you do know: your show’s theme song. The tune that played over the opening credits time and time again, winding up so stuck in your head that you can hear it in your sleep. Well that might be coming to an end.
A new option has appeared in Netflix, the option to skip the intro of shows. Both Netflix originals and third-party shows, like House of Cards and Mad Men respectively, have been reported to be sporting this new feature. Because not every show has this option, however, it is unclear how Netflix will handle shows with ever-changing cold opens, like Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
https://twitter.com/mehedih_/status/842774339820933120
While Netflix has learned to eventually skip intros if it detects you are binging on certain shows, now you can elect to skip immediately, provided you’re watching the web version of Netflix. The feature has yet to be seen on mobile or console platforms, and no statement has been released by Netflix on when this update may be coming.
(03/02/17 9:02pm)
Xbox has announced via press release a new subscription service: Xbox Game Pass. “Xbox Game Pass gives you unlimited access to over 100 Xbox One and backward compatible Xbox 360 games – all for $9.99 per month, backward,” said Phil Spencer, head of Xbox. This new service spans both Xbox One and Windows 10 games (backward compatible titles) and features developers such as 2K, Deep Silver, and SEGA. While the Xbox One and backward-compatible games will be available at launch, PC gamers will have to wait a bit for Windows 10 services.
(03/02/17 8:59pm)
Amid several controversies, the most recent of which being actions during the immigration ban, Uber is losing money and customers, fast.
(03/01/17 9:00am)
by Eben Griger
Amid several controversies, the most recent of which being actions during the immigration ban, Uber is losing money and customers, fast.
Broadest of all controversies is the fact that Travis Kalanick has no clear business plan for Uber, idea hopping and investing into new ideas seeming as they come to him. From UberX, an attempt at stripping down their business model, to UberEats, a food delivery service, and now ventures into self-driving cars and flying cars, Uber workers have a lot on their plates.
The workers though, have their own controversies. On the internal side of things, female engineers have claimed sexual harassment runs rampant at Uber, and that the company’s Human Resources department refuses to do anything about it. Externally, Uber workers face problems too. Namely that they’re not actually workers. Uber classifies their drivers as contractors, not employees, meaning that even full time drivers are barred from benefits such as health care vehicle reimbursements, like gas and maintenance.
Uber is also reportedly losing money, and a lot of it. UberEats is set to lose $100 million each year, but continues to be offered as a service. In 2016 it was found that fares from riders only cover about 40 percent of what the ride costs the company, the remaining 60 percent covered by the investors in the company.
Uber has also had a lawsuit filed against them after former Google employees allegedly took the blueprints for a self-driving car system to Uber’s engineers.
All of these problems lead to a very clear outcome for Uber: Whatever the ever-changing business model is, it’s not working for anyone.
Sources:
http://jalopnik.com/uber-is-doomed-1792634203
http://gizmodo.com/ex-uber-engineer-says-the-company-has-a-culture-of-sexu-1792536942
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/technology/uber-ceo-travis-kalanick-trump-advisory-council.html?_r=0
https://www.ubereats.com
http://www.idrivewithuber.com/service/uberx/
Image: http://theavion.com/uber-looking-up-to-vtol-for-future-transportation/
(03/01/17 12:09am)
by Eben Griger
Xbox has announced via press release a new subscription service: Xbox Game Pass. “Xbox Game Pass gives you unlimited access to over 100 Xbox One and backward compatible Xbox 360 games – all for $9.99 per month” said Phil Spencer, head of Xbox. This new service spans both Xbox One and Windows 10 games (including backwards compatible titles), and features developers such as 2K, Deep Silver and SEGA. While the Xbox One and backwards compatible games will be available at launch, PC gamers will have to wait a bit for Windows 10 services.
This service is similar to Sony’s PlayStation Now, a game streaming service launched back in 2014, but has one key difference. Xbox Game Pass will allow you to download the games, meaning “continuous, full-fidelity gameplay without having to worry about streaming, bandwidth, or connectivity issues.”
No release date was given only that it will be “broadly available later this spring,” and will launch with titles such as Halo 5: Guardians and NBA 2K16, with new titles coming in each month.
Source: Xbox
Image: Xbox
(02/26/17 7:03pm)
by Eben Griger
Bill Paxton, who stared in Aliens, Apollo 13 and Titanic, has passed away due to complications stemming from a recent surgery at the age of 61.
“Bill began his career in Hollywood working in the art department and went on to have an illustrious career spanning four decades as a beloved and prolific actor and filmmaker,” a statement from Paxton’s family said. “We ask to please respect the family’s wish for privacy as they mourn the loss of their adored husband and father.”
Paxton’s most recent roles include CBS’s adaptation of the movie Training Day and upcoming film The Circle, co-starring Emma Watson and Tom Hanks, which will also marks his last appearance on the big screen.
Source(s): IMDb, The Guardian
Image: Vanity Fair
(02/23/17 10:39pm)
Martin Scorsese, director of movies such as The Wolf of Wall Street, Goodfellas and The Departed, has a production offer on his newest film The Irishman after being announced seven years ago.
(02/23/17 9:44pm)
by Eben Griger
Martin Scorsese, director of movies such as The Wolf of Wall Street, Goodfellas and The Departed, has a production offer on his newest film The Irishman after being announced seven years ago.
Digital distribution giant Netflix made the deal to buy production rights on Scorsese’s film, and are in the process of closing on the deal. The movie was originally slated to be made by Paramount Pictures, who backed out upon the departure of Brad Grey, Paramount’s 12-year chairman. This is not Netflix’s first attempt at producing a movie. Beasts of No Nation, also produced by Netflix, was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2016.
The Irishman adopts Charles Brandt’s novel “I Heard You Paint Houses” into a film. The novel follows hitman Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran, who worked for the Bufalino crime family and confessed to over 25 hits, including the murder of Jimmy Hoffa, and also claimed to know about the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
Robert DeNiro is set to star in the film, marking his ninth collaboration with Scorsese. Al Pacino and Joe Pesci are rumored to have also expressed interest, but have not been confirmed. The Irishman is currently in development and set to release in 2019.
(02/20/17 9:21pm)
Disney and YouTube are distancing themselves from YouTube star Felix Kjellberg, better known as PewDiePie, after a string of anti-Semitic videos.
(02/17/17 6:24pm)
by Eben Griger
EDIT: This story originally reported the consoles as "leaked". New information has concluded that the consoles were stolen from the distributor. More about that can be read here. The unedited story follows.
Pre-orders for the new Nintendo Switch have started shipping, despite the official release date of March 3rd. Several users on gaming forum NeoGAF have said that certain stores, which were not disclosed, have shipped out Switches to customers. No games have been included and many of the systems features are not yet live, but a video has been posted allowing us a first look as the OS and menus of Nintendo’s newest hardware.
Well.. a Gaffer received his Switch early it seems - https://t.co/MQM72dzZaw pic.twitter.com/wPgdRTFUoR
— Nibel (@Nibellion) February 16, 2017
Upon boot-up, the red Switch logo appears, along with a new techno-jazz tune that has become standard for Nintendo games and hardware. We see all the standard start-up questions: language, region, time zone, user agreement. Next we see “Connect to TV,” but the user in the video declines. The user then showcases the Joy-Con controllers’ ability to be used connected to the Switch’s screen or separately, reminiscent of the Wii-mote and Nunchuk pairing. After picking an icon and username, options for parental controls appear, showing the continuation of Nintendo’s family friendly attitude.
After all the setup is done, the Switch loads in a tab-and-tile style menu, similar to the 3DS. The user scrolls through the tabs: News, Nintendo eShop, Album, Controllers and Settings, which featured options to make Miis, change the Switch’s theme, and a setting for Amibo support.
The “Data Management” setting gives us a glimpse at the Switch’s official storage capacity, 25.9 gigabytes in this case. While Nintendo did say that some storage space would be reserved for the system itself, this shows the system at 6 gigabytes lower than the advertised 32. The ability to choose TV screen resolution is shown, with the choice being “automatic” or 480p, meaning if you don’t own a 1080p TV, the Switch won’t be helping you play games in 1080p.
The video closes on the user putting the Switch to sleep and restarting it, the latter requiring three consecutive taps of the same button, a new feature of the Switch.
Sources: Neogaf
Image: Nintendo
(02/15/17 11:00am)
by Eben Griger
Disney and YouTube are distancing themselves from YouTube star Felix Kjellberg, better known as PewDiePie, after a string of anti-Semitic videos.
The videos, beginning in August 2016, featured images such as: the attempted resurrection of Adolf Hitler, a man dressed as Jesus Christ saying “Hitler did absolutely nothing wrong,” and, most recently, a video of two south-east Asian men holding up a sign saying “Death to all Jews,” which Kjellberg paid them to do.
Sunday, Kjellberg made a post to his Tumblr, saying his videos should not be taken as “serious political commentary” and he is “in no way supporting any kind of hateful attitudes,” though no apology was given in the post. However, he did make an apology in one of the offending videos. Maker Studios and the Disney company released a statement on Monday severing their ties:
“Although Felix has created a following by being provocative and irreverent, he clearly went too far in this case, and the resulting videos are inappropriate. Maker Studios has made the decision to end our affiliation with him going forward.”
Tuesday, a YouTube spokeswoman said the platform will be dropping PewDiePie from their advertising, as well as cancelling the release of the YouTube Red series “Scare PewDiePie.”
Sources: PewDiePie, NPR, New York Times
Image: Mashable
