Destiny 3 and Bungie's new IP are a long ways away

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Dec 20, 2019 9:41 AM CST

Bungie is still working on Destiny 3, and its brand new IP, but don't expect either of these projects any time soon.

Destiny 3 and Bungie's new IP are a long ways away

Bungie isn't ready to move on to Destiny 3 just yet. Right now Bungie has one singular goal: To create a self-sustaining game with an over-arching storyline. It's a lot harder than you'd think but Shadowkeep and the subsequent free-to-play model has revitalized Destiny 2. Bungie is currently laser-focused on Destiny 2's new seasonal structure that'll lays the foundation for future games. In many ways, Destiny 2 is a practice run for the next game, a doorway to the IP's future.

In a recent interview with PCGamesN, Bungie's DeeJ says new projects are still a ways away.

Continue reading: Destiny 3 and Bungie's new IP are a long ways away (full post)

Intel hires ex-AMD silicon exec, could Intel enter the console space?

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Dec 20, 2019 7:17 AM CST

Intel has secured yet another ex-AMD staffer, with Masooma Bhaiwala leaving AMD after over 15 years to help Intel and its discrete GPU products in 2020 and beyond.

Intel hires ex-AMD silicon exec, could Intel enter the console space?

Bhaiwala had a big hand in some of the semi-custom chips that AMD has made over the years, with these SoCs becoming a very important part of AMD's portfolio. Between Microsoft and Sony we have around 150 million Xbox One and PS4 sales, and then the upcoming (and very kick-ass) next-gen Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 consoles will be continued success for AMD's semi-custom business.

Bhaiwala will be working inside of Intel's Graphics and Throughput Computing Hardware Engineering organization, which is a part of the Intel Architecture, Graphics and Software team that is run by ex-RTG boss Raja Koduri. Bhaiwala explained: "After 15+ amazing years at AMD, I have decided to take on a different opportunity... It was a truly fun ride, with an incredible team, during which we built some truly cool chips".

Continue reading: Intel hires ex-AMD silicon exec, could Intel enter the console space? (full post)

Microsoft Office is the most commonly exploited application in 2019

Jak Connor | Software & Apps | Dec 20, 2019 3:04 AM CST

Information has been gathered by PreciseSecurity that reveals a list of the most commonly exploited applications in the third quarter of 2019.

Microsoft Office is the most commonly exploited application in 2019

According to PreciseSecurity, Microsoft Office solutions and applications are the most commonly exploited applications around the world. The data taken over the third quarter of 2019 shows that 72.85% of cyber exploits are done in Microsoft Office products.

The following software applications that come after Microsoft Office are: web browsers with 13.47%, Android with 9.09%, Java with 2.36%, Adobe Flash with 1.57%, and PDF with 0.66%. So, where are these cyber exploits coming from? PreciseSecurity traced the exploits back to five top countries. The United States with 79.16% of exploits, the Netherlands with 15.58%, Germany with 2.35%, France with 1.85%, and Russia with 1.05%. For more information about the exploits check out this link here.

Continue reading: Microsoft Office is the most commonly exploited application in 2019 (full post)

Adult Swim release hilarious Rick and Morty Season 4 video shorts

Jak Connor | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Dec 20, 2019 2:25 AM CST

At the moment, we are currently on a short break from Rick and Morty Season 4, so to make the wait just that little bit easier, Adult Swim has released some shorts.

Adult Swim release hilarious Rick and Morty Season 4 video shorts

Before I get into what is shown in each of these videos, I must warn you that if you aren't up to date with Season 4 Episode 5, then these videos will be spoilers of some episodes. I'd advise you to go and watch the episodes before checking out these videos, as I believe you will enjoy them much more after you have seen the episodes.

Moving on now to the contents of the above video. This video is from Season 4 Episode 3, 'One Crew over the Crewcoo's Morty' where the whole episode is one big rip on Heist movies. In the video, we watch Heist-o-Tron attempt the greatest heist of all time - steal a planet's core without its inhabitants knowing.

Continue reading: Adult Swim release hilarious Rick and Morty Season 4 video shorts (full post)

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot opening cinematic is a nostalgic rollercoaster

Jak Connor | Gaming | Dec 20, 2019 1:46 AM CST

The opening cinematic for Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot has been released by Bandai Namco and if you are a Dragon Ball Z fan you are about to take a trip down nostalgia lane.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot opening cinematic is a nostalgic rollercoaster

The opening cinematic really does show everything Dragon Ball Z fans wanted to see in a cinematic: Goku/Kakarot smashing down some food and then going toe-to-toe with some classic villains. The cinematic trailer shows off some not-so-forgetable characters, such as Master Roshi, King Kai, Krillin, Frieza, Piccolo, Future Trunks, Cell, Gohan, Vegeta, Goku and more.

We also get a look at some of the locations players will be able to go. We can see city-scapes, mountain ranges, oceans, Kame's house and more. If you haven't seen any gameplay of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, check out this video here. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is expected to launch on January 17th, 2020.

Continue reading: Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot opening cinematic is a nostalgic rollercoaster (full post)

Facebook user data exposed online again, 267 million accounts now wild

Jak Connor | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Dec 20, 2019 1:10 AM CST

A security researcher has reported that Facebook had more than 267 million users' sensitive information exposed online.

Facebook user data exposed online again, 267 million accounts now wild

According to a report from Comparitech and a security researcher Bob Diachenko, more than 267 million Facebook users had their IDs, phone numbers and names exposed to the public online. This was discovered in a database that could be accessed without any means of a password or authentication, essentially being available to the public who would know how to access it.

Researchers believe this sensitive information was gathered as a part of an illegal scraping operation. According to Dianchenko, this data was exposed for nearly two weeks and was posted as a downloadable file in hacker forum. A Facebook spokesperson spoke to Engadget and said, "We are looking into this issue, but believe this is likely information obtained before changes we made in the past few years to better protect people's information".

Continue reading: Facebook user data exposed online again, 267 million accounts now wild (full post)

Jackass 4 will be coming back to the big screen on March 5, 2021

Jak Connor | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Dec 20, 2019 12:31 AM CST

Deadline has reported that Paramount Pictures has announced that the Jackass film-franchise will live on with another movie.

Jackass 4 will be coming back to the big screen on March 5, 2021

This will mark the fourth movie in the Jackass franchise, with the first being released back in 2002. Since then, there have been three more movies released, which in total bring the franchises gross to more than $335 million at the box office. Of course, this wouldn't be a Jackass film if the creator, Johnny Knoxville, wasn't involved. He will be returning for the fourth film.

So what will the fourth movie be about? Exactly what the other ones are about. Knoxville and his friends all playing pranks on each other and performing a variety of dangerous and strange stunts that should definitely not be performed at home. Jackass 4 will be arriving on the big screen on March 5th, 2021.

Continue reading: Jackass 4 will be coming back to the big screen on March 5, 2021 (full post)

Microsoft to 'virtually eliminate' loading times on Xbox Series X

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Dec 19, 2019 9:11 PM CST

Most gamers are still using mechanical HDDs and once you step into the world of SSDs you can never, ever go back -- and finally, console gamers will enjoy those same fast storage freedoms, and even more.

Microsoft to 'virtually eliminate' loading times on Xbox Series X

We know that the PlayStation 5 will have super-insane loading times, with Spider-Man loading in just 0.8 seconds on a prototype PS5 versus 8.1 seconds on the PS4. We know that Microsoft and Sony have near-identical semi-custom designs from AMD with Zen 2/RDNA 2 hardware inside, and we're hearing about the new Xbox Series X packing the same super-fast storage as the PlayStation 5.

In a recent interview with GameSpot, Jason Ronald who is the Xbox Partner DIrector of Program Management said: "It's really about giving the developers the tools and the capabilities to use the hardware in the most efficient way possible. A good example of that is on the [solid state drive] side--we've basically reached the limit of [what's] possible with the traditional rotational drive. We're basically at the upper bounds of the raw performance we can get there. So we've invested in NVMe SSDs and we're also giving developers a lot of new capabilities on top of that to try to virtually eliminate load times".

Continue reading: Microsoft to 'virtually eliminate' loading times on Xbox Series X (full post)

Tenet trailer drops, Christopher Nolan's mysterious new movie

Anthony Garreffa | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Dec 19, 2019 8:40 PM CST

Christopher Nolan is back, with WB dropping a trailer for his craziest movie ever -- Tenet. Check out the official trailer to Tenet below:

Tenet trailer drops, Christopher Nolan's mysterious new movie

Until now, Tenet has been shrouded in mystery and even though the official trailer is here, Nolan's new movie is still shrouded in mystery. John David Washington heads up Tenet, playing what seems to be some super-spy saving the world from World War 3.

Nolan being Nolan, we have some time travel goodness here, stunning cinematography (it wouldn't be a Nolan movie without it), and oodles of mystery. Nolan shot Tenet across 7 different countries, so we should expect some truly beautiful shots throughout the movie.

Continue reading: Tenet trailer drops, Christopher Nolan's mysterious new movie (full post)

Lyft blocking real names like 'Cocks', 'Cummings', 'Dick', and more

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Dec 19, 2019 8:07 PM CST

Lyft has found itself in quite the bad position just before the holidays, with the ride-sharing giant seeing its algorithm flagging names and banning them, or going as far as asking them to change their name.

Lyft blocking real names like 'Cocks', 'Cummings', 'Dick', and more

The algorithm itself is flagging names like "Dick", "Finger", "Cummings" and others as inappropriate and not meeting Lyft's "community guidelines". One Lyft customer, Michael Finger, was emailed by Lyft with the email stating the company "noticed the name on your Lyft account doesn't align with our Community Guidelines". Crazy.

Another was Kevin Cocks, who received a push notification with the same warning and asked him to "update" his name by 12/21 in order to continue using Lyft. Lyft's mysterious algorithm is also picking up non-English names with a user named Bubunyo, where he received the same email about the Community Guidelines -- he said "if you are expecting me to use an English name, it won't happen cos I'm not English. You might as well ban me".

Continue reading: Lyft blocking real names like 'Cocks', 'Cummings', 'Dick', and more (full post)