ESL major event delivers over $4.2 million to players

Chris Smith | Gaming | Aug 27, 2015 4:28 AM CDT

As confirmed by Valve and ESL, the recently completed ESL One Cologne event saw teams gather a massive $4.2 million dollars in total - split between prize money, stickers and signature sales.

Coupled with a total viewership of 27 million people and a peak concurrent number sitting around 1.3 million, HLTV reported that this event saw a massive 180% increase in crowd-funded dollars over ESL One Katowice, which involved $1.5 million in community support given away.

This method of funding means that teams and players must market themselves well, hoping to sell in-game stickers and signatures to adoring fans to represent them whilst playing in public servers. This is slightly different to the Dota 2 model, which sees funding go directly into the prize pool, whereas ESL One sits at a static $250,000 no matter how much is raised.

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ASRock, G.Skill, Kingston team up to smash more records at IDF 2015

Chris Smith | Motherboards | Aug 27, 2015 3:28 AM CDT

If you're looking for blisteringly-fast RAM to throw into your next rig, now is the time to open your eyes. DDR4 is hot off the press and it seems each and every company is fighting for that top clock spot.

The latest news from ASRock are some brand new records set during IDF 2015. First up is the 4x Intel XTU category, seeing a score of 1910 marks, followed by the MaXXMEM category at 3894.5 marks. Achieved with the help of overclockers 'Splave' and 'L0ud_sil3nc3', this 1910 4x Intel XTU record was posted at no other time than during a live keynote (see above).

With the help of Kingston DDR4 memory, the MaXXMEM 3894.5 score was achieved on the second day of overclocking, with Intel CEO Brian Krzanichru watching closely, offering the help of an i7-6700K CPU.

Continue reading: ASRock, G.Skill, Kingston team up to smash more records at IDF 2015 (full post)

'Fast and the Furious' ride coming to Universal Orlando

Ben Gourlay | Celebrities & Entertainment | Aug 26, 2015 11:33 PM CDT

Despite the concerns outlined in my review of this year's 'Fast and the Furious 7' - now the world's fifth highest grossing film of all time, the public appetite for the franchise clearly isn't going anywhere, which is why Universal are so keen to exploit the franchise in as many avenues as possible, including a new thrill ride at the studio's Orlando theme park.

According to the studio's official blog, the ride is going to "fuse everything you love about the films with an original storyline and incredible ride technology. You'll get to check out some of the high-speed, supercharged cars you've seen on the big screen. You'll be immersed in the underground racing world made famous in the films and explore the headquarters of Toretto and his team. Then, you'll board specially-designed vehicles for an adrenaline-pumping ride with your favorite stars from the films.". But fans of the 'Disaster: A Major Motion Picture Starring You!' and 'Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue' attractions will have to take one for the Fast Family, as both will permanently close to make way for the new ride due to open in 2017.

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FAA approves Gogo's plans for 70Mbps in-flight Wi-Fi

Gogo has just received approval from the FAA to offer consumers 70Mbps in-flight Wi-Fi, up from the much slower speeds of 9.8Mbps. The FAA only just this week approved the final Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) required to use it.

The new system was meant to be streaming content on planes already, but the FAA didn't provide the final STC required, but now that it has Gogo is free to offer 70Mbps Wi-Fi to its customers. Gogo has over 500 aircraft waiting on antenna upgrades, with the plan now being to have the new antennas installed by early 2016.

2Ku will be installing the new satellite antennas, where they'll also be future-proofed to work with new spot beam satellites. This upgrade is going to be huge, as it will increase the speeds from 70Mbps to 100Mbps. 100Mbps shared across a plane full of people might not seem like much, but it's better than nothing.

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Driverless crash trucks could help keep construction crews safer

Michael Hatamoto | Electric Vehicles & Cars | Aug 26, 2015 6:20 PM CDT

It seems like only a matter of time before autonomous trucks will hit US roadways, but it looks like there's a very specific purpose for the first to roll out: self-driving construction crash trucks, aimed to inform drivers about roadwork.

Using GPS waypoints, the autonomous workzone trucks are able to follow a lead car, mimic the lead vehicle's path, driving and braking patterns. The trucks are outfitted with rear-end crash barriers, lights, and large signs that update drivers to upcoming construction and road hazards.

"Any time a driver can be removed from these vehicles in a very dangerous situation, and if the vehicle's struck, there's nobody inside of it to receive the damage or the injuries, that's measuring success," said Robert Roy, president of Royal Truck & Equipment Inc, in a statement published by the Associated Press.

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The Witcher 3 sold over 6 million copies in six weeks

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Aug 26, 2015 3:32 PM CDT

Today CD Projekt RED has announced that its celebrated dark fantasy RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt cleared an impressive 6 million copies sold within the first six weeks of its launch.

"We've just concluded our shareholder conference where we announced that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt family got a bit bigger -- we sold over 6 million copies of the game in six weeks since launch," CD Projekt RED studio head Adam Badowski revealed. At $60 a pop we can estimate that CDPR made a whopping $360 million in less than two months from its magnum opus. Wow.

CDPR isn't about to let all that success go to its head, and Badowski affirms that the studio isn't going to let cash compromise its artistic vision. Ultimately gamers come first to CDPR. "One could think we have six million reasons to be happy and that's it," Badowski said. "Yes, six million copies is a great achievement for a company making RPGs, but this business is not only about that. If our games are a gallery of sound, picture and text - you are the visitors of this gallery. To an artist, there's no sweeter sight than people enjoying their work. That's why, in the name of all the devs in the studio, I'd like to say thanks to each and every one of you."

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Nintendo NX will let you share replays and track high scores

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Aug 26, 2015 2:54 PM CDT

A new patent reveals that Nintendo's upcoming NX system has a unique and rather dynamic sharing functionality that will let users compare and share high scores, achievements and video replays.

The Nintendo NX patent, originally spotted by Nintendo Enthusiast, is pretty beefy, but the general jist of it centers around users comparing their in-game feats. Essentially players will be able to compare each other's scores on a wide network of users, send and receive replay video clips, and check their standings on live leaderboards.

All shared data will consist of a "sheet" of content including high scores (which can be cross-checked with live leaderboards), a grading system (stars, etc), customized user-created messages and drawings (think Miiverse sketches) and the ability to view replay video. All users will be able to share and publish these "sheets" of content. The above picture is a mock-up scheme that servers as an example of a shared post.

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Facebook testing its own Cortana-like AI service called 'M'

Derek Strickland | Software & Apps | Aug 26, 2015 1:14 PM CDT

Facebook is testing out its own AI-controlled service called "M" that's aimed at making your digital life easier.

The new Facebook AI is called "M" and will be very much like Siri and Cortana, but instead of being tethered to a specific OS, M will be embedded in Facebook's messaging system. So that means everyone can use it regardless of the brand of your device. Touted as a digital assistant, M isn't like the other AI on the market, and will actually roll up its sleeves to complete specific tasks.

"Unlike other AI-based services in the market, M can actually complete tasks on your behalf," David Marcus,Facebook's Vice President of Messaging Products, said in an announcement post. "It can purchase items, get gifts delivered to your loved ones, book restaurants, travel arrangements, appointments and way more."

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Corsair shows off Gaming Sabre Laser, with help from Team Dignitas

Michael Hatamoto | Peripherals | Aug 26, 2015 12:14 PM CDT

Corsair launched the Corsair Gaming Sabre Laser gaming mouse, a new product made in collaboration with the Team Dignitas eSports team.

The Sabre Laser RGB gaming mouse weighs around 100 grams, and features an 8,200 DPI laser sensor, 1,000Hz USB refresh rate, 16.8M color backlighting, and eight programmable buttons. It is compatible with the Corsair Utility Engine (CUE) software.

The mouse is available now, and has a $54.99 MSRP.

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Report: 40% of Americans impacted by healthcare data breaches

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Aug 26, 2015 12:06 PM CDT

Almost 45 percent of Americans have suffered from a cyberattack targeting sensitive health information, according to a recent iSheriff white paper.

It has been an absolutely atrocious year for healthcare data breaches, with the likes of Anthem, Premera, CareFirst, and UCLA Health Systems suffering breaches - totaling a whopping 143 million patient records.

"When more than forty percent of the US population has been a victim of a data security breach, we must recognize this is an epidemic that can and will hit any healthcare provider," said Paul Lipman, CEO of iSheriff. "These breaches not only cost time and money, they risk compromised medical records that could impact health diagnoses and outcomes. Cybercrime is the new healthcare crisis."

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