Star Wars: Rogue Squadron remaster possibly coming to PS4

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Mar 4, 2020 9:30 AM CST

A mysterious new Star Wars game called Project Maverick has stealthily appeared on the European PlayStation Store, possibly hinting at a reboot, remake, or remaster of a popular starship simulator.

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron remaster possibly coming to PS4

EA may release a new Star Wars game in 2020 after all, and it could be a Rogue Squadron remaster. The newly leaked Project Maverick art strongly hints at an aerial starfighter game set in the classic trilogy, showing a brace of X-Wings hurdling towards a Star Destroyer. The locale is possibly Mustafar, the fiery lava planet where Darth Vader was essentially born.

This kind of game makes sense for EA and can recycle assets, features, and overall mechanics from previous titles. Project Maverick could leverage the existing ship-to-ship combat found in Star Wars Battlefront II, for instance, complete with enhancements in the DICE engine. Or it could be an entirely new entry in the Rogue Squadron franchise complete with its own story arcs, new ships, and chaotic battles. There's lots of possibilities here.

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'Connected' is a Sony Pictures movie that focuses on tech addiction

Jak Connor | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Mar 4, 2020 4:08 AM CST

As society adopts more and more forms of new technology, many people are wondering what the effects all this technology has on us. Sony wants to highlight that in an upcoming kid's film.

'Connected' is a Sony Pictures movie that focuses on tech addiction

The new movie is called 'Connected,' and the story revolves around how much humans are relying on technology, and in particular, how a father is upset about how much his children are relying on technology. The movie is from the minds of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and The Lego Movie (Christopher Miller and Philip Lord) and is directed by Michael Rianda, who is the director of the hit TV series Gravity Falls.

'Connected' will continue on the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse animation style, which was deemed one of the best parts about Into the Spider-Verse and will no doubt be a highlight for 'Connected'. As for the plot, the movie circles around a family that saves the world, while at the same time highlighting societies reliance on technology. We get a taste for the story in the above trailer where we see the father of the family decide to take a family road trip, but then robots and what seems like technology as a whole begin to turn against humans.

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McDonald's to bring back famous Rick and Morty Szechuan sauce... again

Jak Connor | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Mar 4, 2020 3:07 AM CST

If you are a Rick and Morty fan, then you would no doubt know about how much Rick loves the discontinued Szechuan sauce from McDonald's.

McDonald's to bring back famous Rick and Morty Szechuan sauce... again

If you didn't even know McDonald's even did Szechuan sauce, here's a quick history lesson for you. Back in 1998, McDonald's did a promotional tie in with Disney's Mulan. Apart of that promotional tie in was a new dipping sauce for McDonald's nuggets hence Szechuan sauce. The sauce was only available for a very brief period of time, and when the promotion for the movie ended, so did the sauce's existence.

Fast-forwarding to 2017, Adult Swim debuts an episode of Rick and Morty where Rick visits the memory of the Szechuan sauce to get a taste of it once again. After this episode aired, many Rick and Morty fans went on a riot asking McDonald's to remake the sauce again so they could try it. After some time, McDonald's was convinced and remade a limited amount of Szechuan sauce, and they sold out almost immediately.

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Apex Legends: inventory re-work, grenade spamming & patch notes

Jak Connor | Gaming | Mar 4, 2020 2:38 AM CST

Respawn Entertainment have reworked many aspects of Apex Legends, including backpack size, and stack sizes for items.

Apex Legends: inventory re-work, grenade spamming & patch notes

The update has already been added to the live servers and comes as apart of the System Override Collections Event. The new patch has added a bunch of new content for players to enjoy, as well as introducing some new changes to in-game backpack size and how items stack in the inventory. Firstly, the new patch adds an additional two inventory slows to every variant of backpack. Gray has gone from 10 to 12, Blue from 12 to 14, and finally Purple 14 to 16.

Moving onto item stacking changes. Players will now have a much harder time stacking a bunch of grenades for the last fight, as Respawn has reduced the amount that can be carried. Not only does this affect grenades, but it also affects syringes, medkits, shield battery/cell, light, heavy, and energy ammo. Other changes that have come in this patch are: Peacekeep nerfs, Sentinel buffs, Crypto tweaks, Bloodhound buffs, and Gibraltar nerfs. For the full patch notes check out this link here.

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1st extraterrestrial protein found, life ingredients are outside Earth

Jak Connor | Science, Space, Health & Robotics | Mar 4, 2020 2:06 AM CST

A meteorite that fell from space and landed on Earth has given scientists and researchers evidence to suggest that the building blocks of life are capable of being found outside of Earth.

1st extraterrestrial protein found, life ingredients are outside Earth

The meteorite is called Acfer 086 and landed in Algeria around 30 years ago. Since then, scientists have performed studies on the meteorite and now have recently discovered some vital information. Researchers found the protein hemolithin inside the meteorite, and if you don't know what hemolithin is, its a small protein that's composed of the amino acid glycine, iron, lithium, and oxygen.

Scientists aren't surprised at finding these elements, but what they are surprised at is finding these elements in this specific configuration - marking the first time a configuration of this caliber has been found on Earth. While the composition of the molecule contains elements we are familiar with, the proteins ratio of hydrogen to isotope deuterium didn't match anything scientists have found on Earth.

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HyperX announces two new mechanical keyboards with new Aqua switches

Jak Connor | Peripherals | Mar 4, 2020 1:34 AM CST

HyperX has announced a new line of mechanical keyboards that feature its new Aqua switch that has a click rate of 80 million.

HyperX announces two new mechanical keyboards with new Aqua switches

Two brand new variants of HyperX's Alloy Origins and Alloy Origins Core mechanical keyboards have been announced. According to HyperX, both of these new keyboards feature RGB LEDs for "for brighter illumination with radiant lighting effects" and sport five different levels of brightness. Both of the keyboards also come with HyperX Aqua switches that have a click rate of 80 million, a reduced travel distance of 3.8mm, an actuation point of 1.8mm, and an operating force of 45g.

HyperX allows users to customize their keyboards through HyperX's NGenuity software. In this software, users can configure a range of different features, such as macros, lighting effects, and more. On top of that, both of the new keyboards come with what is called Custom Game Mode, which allows users to "enable and disable macro keys", and store them in the save library. HyperX Alloy Origins with Aqua switches are currently available now, and to find out more about them head on over to the HyperX website here.

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Microsoft to kill Live Tiles from Windows 10 start menu, here's proof

Jak Connor | Software & Apps | Mar 4, 2020 1:07 AM CST

Windows users aren't the biggest fans of the Live Tiles that make the Windows 10 Start Menu appear cluttered, but that could all be coming to an end soon.

Microsoft to kill Live Tiles from Windows 10 start menu, here's proof

Twitter user, Aggiornamenti Lumia, posted the above Tweet showcasing what appears to be a revamped Start Menu from Windows 10. What we can immediately notice is that the Start Menu lacks Microsoft's Live Tiles that debuted alongside the Windows Phone 7 before they were eventually added to Windows 8. Many reports have come out about what Microsoft plans on doing with the Live Tiles, and some reports are suggesting that the company is planning on swapping them out with simple static icons.

WinCentral does accurately note that Aggiornamenti Lumia doesn't include what Build number this Windows is running on, so we can't precisely tell when (if) Microsoft is going kill off the Live Tiles. Microsoft has officially said that Windows 10's icons will be getting a colorful makeover, which will add a fresh splash of paint to a range of different apps. Perhaps Microsoft will sneak in the removal of the Live Tiles as they slowly roll out their app makeover update. More on that can be found here.

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Bloodborne 2 isn't in active development for PS5 + Elden Ring details

Jak Connor | Gaming | Mar 4, 2020 12:31 AM CST

FromSoftware is keeping their mouths shut about Elden Ring and how development is going, but sources close to the project are not.

Bloodborne 2 isn't in active development for PS5 + Elden Ring details

According to ResetEra member, Omni, who has been revealing purported details about the title, Elden Ring will feature dynamic wildlife, and also dynamic weather effects. We already know that Elden Ring is the biggest project that FromSoftware has ever taken on, and that Game of Thrones writer, George R.R Martin is working alongside legendary game director Hidetaka Miyazaki. Both Martin and Miyazaki are creating a unique game world that has heavy emphasis on RPG elements, which ties directly back into what Omni is supposedly revealing.

Omni also touched on other potential FromSoftware projects and mentioned Bloodborne 2. According to Omni, FromSoftware isn't currently working on a sequel to the notoriously difficult game and instead is putting most of its eggs into the Elden Ring basket. Originally, fans thought that Bloodborne 2 could have a sequel dedicated to the PlayStation 5, but at the moment, a sequel isn't actively in development. This doesn't mean there won't ever be a sequel, it just means there isn't one coming at the moment.

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Google I/O 2020 canceled over coronavirus, its Pixel 5 event

Anthony Garreffa | Trade Shows | Mar 3, 2020 11:45 PM CST

Google has just canceled its Google I/O 2020 developer event, where we most likely been introduced to the Pixel 5 smartphones and Android 11 in detail -- all over coronavirus, or COVID-19.

Google I/O 2020 canceled over coronavirus, its Pixel 5 event

The news was delivered by a Google spokesperson, who told The Verge: "Due to concerns around the coronavirus (COVID-19), and in accordance with health guidance from the CDC, WHO, and other health authorities, we have decided to cancel the physical Google I/O event at Shoreline Amphitheatre".

Google I/O is the company's biggest event of the year, with it putting a spotlight on new Android operating systems -- at Google I/O 2020 we would've had Android 11 detailed. We're usually introduced to new Android-powered devices including new Pixel 5 smartphones, and other Google-made hardware -- as well as changes to services and apps like Google Maps, Google Assistant, and more.

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US military says that 5G is 'crucial' for Space Force operations

It looks like China is in the spotlight once again with 5G communications, with the US military now weighing in underlining that Huawei and China are a big global threat.

US military says that 5G is 'crucial' for Space Force operations

The recently formed US Space Force requires 5G technology to move forward, with the US military saying "Space-based communications will play a key role in connecting 5G devices". Air Force acquisition officer Will Roper adds: "We need to up our game in 5G. As more autonomy moves to the edge of the internet of things, it's going to have to be supported by more bandwidth. It would be a shame if something that is going to control most of the data moving from machine to machine commercializes first overseas".

The US military officials seemed to be concerned with Huawei and China's overall presence in communications could undermine military operations -- especially with the rise in 5G technology. If the US military relies on 5G connectivity more and more, they can't have a foreign power and possible enemy in China building its infrastructure using Chinese-made tech from the likes of Huawei.

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