The decades last eclipse was a 'Ring of Fire' that captivated millions

Jak Connor | Science, Space, Health & Robotics | Dec 27, 2019 3:06 AM CST

Just as we are about to close out the decade, we have been blessed by the annual solar eclipse. This year the Moon passed in front of the Sun to create a "Ring of Fire" effect.

The decades last eclipse was a 'Ring of Fire' that captivated millions

People in the Eastern Hemisphere would have been star-struck as the Moon passed in front of the Sun, covering the face of the star. Due to the Moon being much smaller than the Sun and the position of Earth at the time, the leftover light emitting from Sun bled around the sides of the Moon, creating that gorgeous "Ring of Fire" effect.

According to Alexander Krivenyshev, the man who took the above image, "It was an amazing experience. This morning's annular eclipse was during sunrise, with some sand dust by the horizon. [A] beautiful, really beautiful, classic 'Ring of Fire' above Saudi Arabia." Not only did people on the ground enjoy the light display, but so did the astronauts in the International Space Station. Astronaut Jessica Meir posted several images of the show the Moon was casting on Earth on her Twitter account, check out those images in the entirety of this article.

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Adorable Baby Sonic shown off in this Sonic the Hedgehog movie trailer

Jak Connor | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Dec 27, 2019 2:10 AM CST

A new Japanese trailer for the upcoming Sonic The Hedgehog movie, has revealed an adorable baby Sonic. Check it out below.

Adorable Baby Sonic shown off in this Sonic the Hedgehog movie trailer

The trailer which has been released onto Paramount Japan introduces us to Sonic's home planet, where he is doing what he does best, running fast, and doing awesome courses. Even though this trailer is only a short minute, we get to see Sonic as a baby, and boy is he cute!

Is baby Sonic cuter than baby Yoda? If you didn't know, the Sonic The Hedgehog movie underwent a redesign of the character Sonic. This decision was made after the first trailer for the movie was released, and fans were appalled at what their favorite blue hedgehog looked like. The redesign has been finished, and we have Sonic Mania's lead designer to thank for the accurate representation we have now. The Sonic The Hedgehog movie will be racing onto cinema screens on February 13th.

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Testing begins on urban attack drones equipped with rocket launchers

Jak Connor | Drones | Dec 27, 2019 1:18 AM CST

Urban attack drones equipped with rocket launchers and night vision are currently being tested in none other than China.

Testing begins on urban attack drones equipped with rocket launchers

According to Mashable, a Chinese company that is a subsidiary of a state-owned aerospace company is currently in the middle of developing a tiny attack drone designed for urban locations. This drone has been titled "Tianyi" and is a quad-copter that is primarily designed for unnamed reconnaissance missions.

The drone also has the capability of doing close-range strikes against people and armored vehicles. Equipped with infrared lasers for nighttime operations, and armed with 50mm rockets that can be fired from 1km away, manufacturers are hoping they can mass produce "Tianyi" and sell it to Western countries.

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Man tries to blackmail Apple, demands $100,000 in iTunes gift cards

Jak Connor | Business, Financial & Legal | Dec 27, 2019 12:32 AM CST

A man who attempted to black mail Apple out of $100,000 will be staying at home this holidays, instead of prison.

Man tries to blackmail Apple, demands $100,000 in iTunes gift cards

The 22-year old man is named Kerem Albayrak, and is from North London. Albayrak attempted to extort Apple out of $100,000 by threatening to dump the data of million of iCloud accounts. Albayrak actually ended up pleading guilty to three offences, one charge of blackmail, and two separate chargers of unauthorised access.

According to the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA), Albayrak threatened to delete 319 million iCloud accounts and in return has been slapped with a two year suspended jail term, 300 hours of unpaid work and six month eletronic curfew.

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Xenosaga remasters won't happen, Bandai Namco says

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Dec 26, 2019 5:45 PM CST

A remaster of the original PS2 Xenosaga trilogy was originally planned, but Bandai Namco cancelled at the last minute.

Xenosaga remasters won't happen, Bandai Namco says

Xenosaga fans will be waiting a long time for an HD re-release or remaster collection. According to Katsuhiro Harada, who now helms game direction at Bandai Namco, the project just wouldn't be commercially viable. In short, the Xenogears JPRGs are just too niche, and trilogy remaster would cost more money than it'd make.

"This actually progressed to the remaster's plan, but failed in a profitable market analysis. Sorry guys, This plan will be difficult to resurface...," Harada said on Twitter.

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GTA V was in top US game sales charts for 74 months since launch

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Dec 26, 2019 5:09 PM CST

Grand Theft Auto V's chart-topping dominance is absolutely massive: In the last 10 years, GTA V saw the most time in the United States' top 20 best-selling games.

GTA V was in top US game sales charts for 74 months since launch

GTA V has been in the U.S.' top 20 best-sellers for 74 months straight, beating mega-hits like Minecraft and Mario Kart 8, NPD analyst Mat Piscatella reports. This makes it the longest-running chart-topper in the last decade. Since 2013, GTA V has spanned two console generations and a PC release, all of which were monetized with full game sales and the microtransaction-based GTA Online.

"Reviewing The NPD Group's US top 20 best-selling Video Games by month for the 2010's and this fact still blows my mind... GTAV has charted in 74 of the 75 months since its debut in Sep '13, including hitting #19 in Nov '19. Absolutely unprecedented," Piscatella said.

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How Control helped evolve Remedy's Northlight Engine

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Dec 26, 2019 2:31 PM CST

To make Control, Remedy had to completely overhaul and iterate upon its Northlight games engine. The result is a new-and-improved engine that's more adaptable than ever.

How Control helped evolve Remedy's Northlight Engine

In many ways, Control is a departure for Remedy and unleashes the dev's true potential. It's not a strictly linear experience like Quantum Break or Max Payne. Control is kind of Metroidvania, allowing you to choose your own path in an open-ended space full of opportunity for unique playthroughs (case in point, I didn't get Jesse's shield power until roughly 50-60% into the game). To get to that flexible point, Remedy had to break their games engine and put it back together.

"It now seems obvious, but it was a long and winding road. After Quantum Break, our engine underwent a complete overhaul, we set out to design and build everything again, based on our main creative pillars. This is the main reason why nothing works like in Quantum Break," Control senior game designer Sergey Mohov said in a ResetERA Q&A.

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Death Stranding explained by early concept pitches

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Dec 26, 2019 11:43 AM CST

Kojima's early presentations for Death Stranding succinctly outline the game's main themes and focus.

Death Stranding explained by early concept pitches

Death Stranding is a confusing game. We have lots of coverage explaining what the game actually is, but everyday gamers are still intrigued by its mysterious overtones. Others, however, are deterred from the cryptic features and think it's just too weird.

Kojima's game is weird, but it also has a backbone, and some recently published concept materials show how Kojima guided his team towards his vision. The internal presentation is very clear on Death Stranding's main points: a communal multiplayer where players share progress and worlds without actually playing together, creating a unique kind of connectivity.

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King Kong-sized meteor just whizzed passed Earth on Christmas Day

Jak Connor | Science, Space, Health & Robotics | Dec 26, 2019 3:03 AM CST

While you would originally be thinking that it would be Santa Claus landing on your roof on Christmas Day, it very well could of been a meteor the size of King Kong.

King Kong-sized meteor just whizzed passed Earth on Christmas Day

The meteor which is called 2019 YB1 was scheduled to have a near miss with Earth on Christmas Day at around 11:41 GMT. NASA says that the space rock is estimated to be anywhere between 13 and 28 meters in diameter (almost 100 feet).

How close was it to colliding with Earth's atmosphere and breaking up? Estimations indicate that 2019 YB1 was about 993,000 miles from our planet, and while that might sound like quite the distance NASA says that this encounter falls under "close approach". At the time of its passing, 2019 YB1 was hurdling through space at 12,303 mph.

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Russia says it successfully tested a countrywide internet alternative

Jak Connor | Internet & Websites | Dec 26, 2019 2:16 AM CST

The internet seems to be breaking up, in terms of countries separating themselves from global internet infrastructure.

Russia says it successfully tested a countrywide internet alternative

Russia seems to be the next country that will join China and Iran in censoring any content that is present on their network. This censoring task will become much easier as Russia is moving towards having their own countrywide internet, or at least that is what Russia's Ministry of Communications announced.

According to an article from the BBC, Russia says it successfully tested its own internet connection, and users on the network barely experienced any changes. Russia will also be moving towards monitoring any content on its new internet, much like China's Great Firewall or Iran's state-owned Telecommunication Company.

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