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Sony cancels PAX East presence due to coronavirus risk

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Feb 19, 2020 4:16 PM CST

Sony today announced it won't be attending PAX East, and all of its plans for the show have been cancelled.

Sony cancels PAX East presence due to coronavirus risk

Sony is skipping PAX East to play it safe against the spreading coronavirus, which is spreading fast across the globe. The games-maker previously planned to show off key first-party games like Ghosts of Tsushima and even have a hands-on The Last of Us Part II demo, but those showcases have been scrapped. This is the second major event Sony has missed in February; first with Taipei Game Show's mandatory cancellation, and now the elective withdrawal from PAX East.

Sony gave a statement on the situation: "Today, Sony Interactive Entertainment made the decision to cancel its participation at PAX East in Boston this year due to increasing concerns related to the coronavirus. We felt this was the safest option as the situation is changing daily. We are disappointed to cancel our participation in this event, but the health and safety of our global workforce is our highest concern."

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Continue reading: Sony cancels PAX East presence due to coronavirus risk (full post)

Gamestop execs panic internally as business sinks, plummeting morale

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Feb 19, 2020 12:32 PM CST

Gamestop is in trouble. It's been in trouble for a long time now as it bleeds money due to lower hardware and game sales. But the company isn't exactly making things better; higher-ups are panicking, leading to bizarre business decisions that restrict earnings in the long run.

Gamestop execs panic internally as business sinks, plummeting morale

In a new expose from Polygon, a number of Gamestop employees paint a bleak picture for the company's future. The retailer is endemic with strange business decisions that verge on the edge of mismanagement.

Store managers are tasked with lumbering responsibilities that don't actually equate to sales, like pushing phone-trade ins, many of which pester and bombard guests with offers and information. It's like going into a store for a product and only getting bombarded for advertisements for other products, but from an exasperated human who's needlessly stressed. Gamestop has been using its workforce as reverse door-to-door salesman for a while now, but the pressure has apparently gotten worse as Gamestop earnings slip, putting even more weight on managerial shoulders.

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THQ Nordic buys World War Z, Switcher 3 dev Saber Interactive

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Feb 19, 2020 11:33 AM CST

Saber Interactive is now part of THQ Nordic's massive stable of studios and game subsidiaries, which includes Deep Silver's umbrella of devs, Tarsier Studios, and indie devs like Coffee Stain.

THQ Nordic buys World War Z, Switcher 3 dev Saber Interactive

The Embracer Group (formerly THQ Nordic) just bought Saber Interactive for $525 million in mixed cash and company shares, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. Saber, who is mostly known for World War Z, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, the Ghostbusters remaster, Killing Floor 2, and Switch ports of games like The Witcher 3 and Vampyr, was an attractive prospect because they not only have their own proprietary games engine tech but pulled in a sizable $105 million in revenues in 2019.

Saber currently employs 630 workers across 5 teams around the world and will continue as a work-for-hire studio that gleans royalty-based revenues from its projects. In fact, that's another major reason why Embracer bought the company. The parent company wants to grow Saber to 1,500 employees to take on more contracts and work on new games.

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Continue reading: THQ Nordic buys World War Z, Switcher 3 dev Saber Interactive (full post)

SpaceX will take its first space tourists in late 2021, early 2022

Jak Connor | Science, Space, & Robotics | Feb 19, 2020 4:20 AM CST

Elon Musk's SpaceX is checking off milestones as it moves towards making commercial space travel a real thing. Now, we are hearing about when SpaceX will be taking its first tourists.

SpaceX will take its first space tourists in late 2021, early 2022

TheNextWeb has reported that SpaceX will begin to send tourists to orbit as soon as 2021, but the costs it won't be like a international flight -- they will be much higher than that. Space Adventures is the company that will be handling the bookings for SpaceX's orbital experience, and they also handled the brokering deal of tourists going into orbit throughout 2001 and 2009.

According to Quartz, the last space tourism flight by Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte cost a whopping $30 million. Space Adventures expects that SpaceX will be taking four passengers on their first flight to space "late 2021 and mid-2022", but that won't happen until the Crew Dragon Capsule completes its first manned flight in just a couple of months. Once that is complete, SpaceX has set the runway for tourists entering space.

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Continue reading: SpaceX will take its first space tourists in late 2021, early 2022 (full post)

Uncharted Movie has no director, but filming will begin anyway

Jak Connor | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Feb 19, 2020 3:45 AM CST

The upcoming Uncharted Movie has experienced several directors leaving, and at the moment, the film doesn't have an officially announced director, but it will begin filming anyway.

Uncharted Movie has no director, but filming will begin anyway

Star of the upcoming Uncharted Movie, Tom Holland spoke to IGN and revealed some details about the delayed movie. According to Holland, the movie will begin filming in the next four weeks, which slates it for sometime in March. Holland also mentions that the stunt team has already begun planning action sequences for shooting in Berlin.

Holland also teases that the movie will portray a young Nathan Drake that will give a fresh take on the character. The movie will also take heavy inspiration from the extremely successful game franchise, but more specifically, the last game -- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. Here's a quote from Holland, "We didn't get to meet [Drake] all that much when he was younger," he said. "But it's a pretty awesome movie. It's global. We travel the world. We see some amazing place. And Mark Wahlberg and I are going to have a great summer together."

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Continue reading: Uncharted Movie has no director, but filming will begin anyway (full post)

Chernobyl nuclear fallout being healed by... radiation absorbing Fungi

Jak Connor | Science, Space, & Robotics | Feb 19, 2020 3:16 AM CST

Back in late April 1986, a nuclear accident happened that shook the planet. This disaster was none other than Chernobyl, and the nuclear fallout was devastating.

Chernobyl nuclear fallout being healed by... radiation absorbing Fungi

Since the Chernobyl nuclear explosion, the radioactive site has become more of a real-life research site for scientists. Researchers have since sent in several robots to examine the site and how the nuclear fallout has affected both plant and animal life. In 1991, a team found that black-spotted fungi were growing on the walls of one of the nuclear reactors. The team also found that this fungi was slowly breaking down the radioactive graphite from the core, and was growing more strongly towards the center of the zone.

In 2007 a follow-up study was conducted by researchers at the University of Saskatchewan, and found that certain types of fungi were "attracted" to radiation and actually grew more rapidly in radioactive conditions. The three fungi species were Cladosporium sphaerospermum, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Wangiella dermatitidis. These species of fungi and five others were then sent to the International Space Station in 2016 to be exposed to further radiation.

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Grand Theft Auto IV is returning to Steam, but with no multiplayer

Jak Connor | Gaming | Feb 19, 2020 2:50 AM CST

A new listing on the Steam Store has revealed that Grand Theft Auto IV will be returning back to Valve's platform under the new name of "Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition".

Grand Theft Auto IV is returning to Steam, but with no multiplayer

According to the listing, the resurfaced game won't pack all of its features it had before. The listing says that starting on the 19th of March 2020, "Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition will replace both Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City wherever it is currently digitally available." It also mentions that the Complete Edition will also be playable via the Rockstar Games Launcher.

Potential buyers should also note that the game will be arriving with no multiplayer mode, no leaderboards, and no Games for Windows Live. The game will also be coming back to Steam with some in-game radio stations being "temporarily disabled". Those radio stations are; RamJam FM, Self-Actualization FM, and Vice City FM. If you are interested in any more information regarding what Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition will or will not have, I've provided dot points in the entirety of this post. A link to the Steam listing can also be found here.

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Continue reading: Grand Theft Auto IV is returning to Steam, but with no multiplayer (full post)

Netflix's 'The Witcher' is still the no.1 series in the entire world

Jak Connor | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Feb 19, 2020 2:11 AM CST

The Witcher TV show was undoubtedly a massive success for Netflix, but is that success still going even into the new year?

Netflix's 'The Witcher' is still the no.1 series in the entire world

In short, yes, yes, it is. According to BusinessInsider, who received some more statistics from data firm Parrot Analytics, in regards to how the show was doing from January 14th to February 12th, The Witcher is still the most in-demand series globally across all platforms. The Witcher has remained the most in-demand show since it took first place from Disney Plus' 'The Mandalorian'.

So how did Parrot Analytics come to this conclusion? Well, they measure viewership, demand expressions, engagement, and the impact of the show. Netflix really wants to keep that ball rolling, so they have already greenlit season two of The Witcher, more on that can be found here. If you are after anymore Witcher news, check out this link here.

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Continue reading: Netflix's 'The Witcher' is still the no.1 series in the entire world (full post)

Corsair announces Scimitar RGB Elite gaming mouse, 'micro your macros'

Jak Connor | Peripherals | Feb 19, 2020 1:39 AM CST

Corsair has just taken to their social media's to announce a new gaming mouse, this time around they are aiming it directly at MOBA and MMO gamers.

Corsair announces Scimitar RGB Elite gaming mouse, 'micro your macros'

The new mouse is called the Scimitar RGB Elite, and it comes jam-packed with a bunch of programmable keys. Corsair is offering 17 programmable keys on the Scimitar RGB Elite, and it's mostly designed for gamers that are playing both MOBA/MMO games, but they can be used for whatever your heart desires.

The Scimitar RGB Elite also comes with Corsair's Key Slider control system that allows users to reposition the button cluster forwards or backward to a degree of 8mm. The mouse sports an 18,000 DPI optical sensor, Omron switches that have a click-rate of 50 million, as well as 4 RGB lighting zones that can be customized with Corsair's iCUE software. The Corsair Scimitar RGB Elite gaming mouse is priced at $79.99 USD, and if you are interested in more information, check out this link here.

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Continue reading: Corsair announces Scimitar RGB Elite gaming mouse, 'micro your macros' (full post)

The Witcher is being re-created in Virtual Reality, playable right now

Jak Connor | Gaming | Feb 19, 2020 12:31 AM CST

The first Witcher game wasn't the greatest title in the series, but it certainly put a spotlight on Geralt of Rivia. While the game hasn't aged amazingly well, perhaps a new perspective is needed to re-spark people's interest.

The Witcher is being re-created in Virtual Reality, playable right now

That's where modder Patryk Loan has come in by announcing that he plans to re-create the entire first Witcher game in virtual reality. The new project's goal is to take the entire game developed by CD Projekt Red and allow players to experience it from the first-person perspective in virtual reality.

Loan, is currently re-building the game in Unreal Engine 4 and plans to have it compatible with a range of different virtual reality headsets. At the moment it supports, Oculus, HTC, and WMR. For players that want to jump into the action now, the game only lets you explore Kaer Morhen, but Loan is working on new maps and even adding a "fully playable plot, like a Prologue".

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Continue reading: The Witcher is being re-created in Virtual Reality, playable right now (full post)

Samsung will be manufacturing Qualcomm's next-gen 5G chips on 5nm

Anthony Garreffa | Mobile Devices | Feb 18, 2020 11:52 PM CST

Qualcomm announced its Snapdragon X60 modem today, with Samsung winning the contract to manufacture the new X60 modem on its 5nm node.

Samsung will make the new Snapdragon X60 modem on its 5nm node according to Reuters, after early reports suggested that TSMC would handle the entire load for Qualcomm. Reuters reports that Samsung will fabricate "at least some of Qualcomm's X60 modem chips".

Samsung has quickly become the world's second-biggest chip manufacturing business in the world, making chips for companies like NVIDIA and IBM -- as well as itself, obviously. Samsung manufacturing Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X60 is an important step for the South Korean giant, especially in the tech-fueled race towards 5G dominance going forward.

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Continue reading: Samsung will be manufacturing Qualcomm's next-gen 5G chips on 5nm (full post)

Google's next-gen Pixel 5 confirmed, prepare your excitement

Anthony Garreffa | Mobile Devices | Feb 18, 2020 11:22 PM CST

So, Google has just kinda spoiled its Pixel 5 unveiling party -- by confirming it in public, kinda. Google's next-gen Pixel 5 smartphone has appeared on the Android Open Source Project, or AOSP.

Google's next-gen Pixel 5 confirmed, prepare your excitement

9to5Google reports that there's "potential confirmation from AOSP code comments that Google's next mainline Pixel phone will, unsurprisingly, bear the name "Pixel 5." The confirmation comes from a new code change for Android's Linux kernel, which the AOSP developer explains has only been tested on the Pixel 4 and not the Pixel 5".

Since the story went live, theree has been some sneaky last-minute code changes which has replaced "on a Pixel 5 with 4.19" with "on an arm64 device with 4.19". Too late though, Google... too late. We should expect Google to unveil its next-gen Pixel 5 and Pixel 5 XL smartphones at its annual Google I/O developer conference in June, just after Computex 2020.

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Continue reading: Google's next-gen Pixel 5 confirmed, prepare your excitement (full post)

PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X specs teased again, monster consoles

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Feb 18, 2020 10:50 PM CST

Well, well, well... what do we have here? We have some new leaked specs on Microsoft's next-gen Xbox Series X and Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5 console. The new posts are from 4chan, so take a walk to your cupboard and pick up whatever salt you have, because you're going to need it.

PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X specs teased again, monster consoles

The new new post is reportedly a "game tester in a 3rd party studio" that has leaked out some specs for the second version of a PlayStation 5 developer kit. The specs are interesting, as it sees the PlayStation 5 with 12.6 TFLOPs of performance from an "RDNA 1.5" GPU -- this is very interesting. It's not RDNA (Radeon RX 5000 series) and it's not RDNA2 (next-gen Radeon).

The Xbox Series X in these specs has a slightly slower 11.8 TFLOPs performance, but a higher-clocked Zen 2-based CPU at 3.7GHz (compared to 3.6GHz of the PlayStation 5). The PlayStation 5 has 18GB of GDDR6 memory while the Xbox Series X has 16GB of GDDR6, but both consoles have 4GB of DDR4 system RAM.

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Continue reading: PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X specs teased again, monster consoles (full post)

EA servers go down; hurts Apex Legends, Star Wars Battlefront II, more

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Feb 18, 2020 10:23 PM CST

EA servers went down today, taking down millions of players that were either playing or wanting to play huge games like Apex Legends, FIFA 20, Star Wars Battlefront II, and more.

EA servers go down; hurts Apex Legends, Star Wars Battlefront II, more

Gamers were being blasted with error messages logging into EA games, with Down Detector reporting the EA server outages involved connectivity and log-in problems. Apex Legends, FIFA 20, Star Wars Battlefront II and other games were all affected, with EA quick off the mark tweeting out status updates.

EA was first aware of the issue, and then thanked gamers for their patience once all was restored. Apex Legends should be back up by the time you read this, while FIFA 20 is still niggly, and the Star Wars Battlefront II team is still working on a fix.

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Continue reading: EA servers go down; hurts Apex Legends, Star Wars Battlefront II, more (full post)

Warren Buffett dumps $800 million worth of Apple stock, still has $72B

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Feb 18, 2020 9:43 PM CST

Warren Buffett has just offloaded $800 million worth of his Apple shares in the last quarter, according to SEC filings secured by Business Insider.

Warren Buffett dumps $800 million worth of Apple stock, still has $72B

Berkshire Hathaway, where Buffett is the CEO, offloaded 3.7 million Apple shares between the months of October and December 2019 when Apple share prices increased by over 30% from $219 to $294. Even with the offloading of 3.7 million shares and securing $800 million, Berkshire Hathaway still holds $72 billion worth of Apple stock -- or around 5.6% of Apple.

In saying that, the $72 billion worth of Apple stock represents over 32% of Berkshire Hathaway's entire portfolio. The investment firm purchased its first loads of Apple stock in 2016, when Apple stock was sitting at around $100 -- Buffett's company spent $1 billion on 9.8 million shares at the time.

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Continue reading: Warren Buffett dumps $800 million worth of Apple stock, still has $72B (full post)

Jetman Dubai: the closest person to fly like a real-life Superman

Anthony Garreffa | Science, Space, & Robotics | Feb 18, 2020 9:29 PM CST

Alright, so I need to do this -- it has gone to the top of my bucket list instantly. Jetman Dubai has unleashed a new video that shows pilot Vince Reffet flying through the sky in a jet-powered carbon-fiber suit like a real-life Superman, or Iron Man, depending on how you want your superheroes.

Jetman Dubai: the closest person to fly like a real-life Superman

The pilot launches off the ground and flies into the air at around the 2-minute mark in the video, flying around Dubai and heading south towards Jumeirah Beach Residence. Jetman Dubai notes that Reffet in "eight seconds [Reffet] had reached 100 meters height, in 12 seconds 200m, 19 seconds 500m, and reached 1000m in 30 seconds at an average speed of 130 knots". Crazy, but oh-so-damn-awesome stuff.

Reffet has a bunch of GoPro cameras attached to the suit which gives us some utterly gorgeous footage of his flight, which is wicked-fast in the end and makes me want to do it personally... even though I'm deathly afraid of heights, it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, that's for sure.

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Continue reading: Jetman Dubai: the closest person to fly like a real-life Superman (full post)

Qualcomm Snapdragon X60: next-gen 5G modem announced, built on 5nm

Anthony Garreffa | Mobile Devices | Feb 18, 2020 9:11 PM CST

Qualcomm has just unveiled its new Snapdragon X60 modem, built on the new and super small 5nm node, the new 5G modem won't make it into smartphones until sometime in 2021.

Qualcomm Snapdragon X60: next-gen 5G modem announced, built on 5nm

The new Qualcomm Snapdragon X60 5G modem-RF System sees customers like Apple for example, buying its X60 modem alongside the separate RF antenna in a single package. Qualcomm is offering its mmWave Module separate to the Sub-6GHz, with both of them finding a new home inside of the Qualcomm SDX60 chip.

Qualcomm is offering up in the realms of up to 7.5Gbps download speeds, while upload speeds tap out at 3Gbps -- this is no better than the current Snapdragon X55 modem. Where the new Snapdragon X60 steps up to the plate is that it is built on the smaller, more efficient 5nm node -- hinting that its next-gen SoC will be built on the 5nm node -- something that should be unveiled at its annual Snapdragon Tech Summit in December 2020.

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Continue reading: Qualcomm Snapdragon X60: next-gen 5G modem announced, built on 5nm (full post)

GDC 2020 continues as planned, won't be canceled over coronavirus

Anthony Garreffa | Trade Shows | Feb 18, 2020 8:29 PM CST

Mobile World Congress (MWC) was canceled in the end over coronavirus, and then the Facebook global marketing summit was canceled -- but the Game Developers Conference (GDC) is going ahead, not afraid of the coronavirus outbreak.

GDC 2020 continues as planned, won't be canceled over coronavirus

GDC is being hosted in San Francisco, the same city as Facebook's recent summit -- but it will be going ahead, with precautions. GDC is banning China-based exhibitors and attendees from coming to GDC this year, and while there are some China-based exhibitors using US-based staff, that makes up just 10 of the 550 companies attending GDC 2020.

The organizers will be taking other precautions that will amplify their usual flu season cleanliness protocols, something that includes disinfecting electrostatic sprayers in high-traffic areas, more frequent wipedowns of objects like doorknobs and microphones, more hand sanitizer stations, and daily carpet sanitation.

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Continue reading: GDC 2020 continues as planned, won't be canceled over coronavirus (full post)

US Navy supercomputer: 290,304 CPU cores, 590TB RAM, 14PB storage

AMD has secured itself another design win for a crazy-specced supercomputer, where its kick ass EPYC Rome CPUs will power the US Navy's new Cray Shasta supercomputer.

US Navy supercomputer: 290,304 CPU cores, 590TB RAM, 14PB storage

The new Cray Shasta supercomputer will find a new home with the US Navy's Department of Defense Supercomputing Resource Center (DSRC), where it will become a part of the High Performance Computing Modernization Program. It packs some serious computing power, with a peak theoretical computing capability of 12.8 PetaFLOPS.

This is all thanks to:

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Continue reading: US Navy supercomputer: 290,304 CPU cores, 590TB RAM, 14PB storage (full post)

Neo takes the blue pill in The Matrix, deepfaked into Office Space

Anthony Garreffa | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Feb 18, 2020 7:11 PM CST

I would have to say that this deepfake video of Keanu Reeves and Hugo Weaving being inserted from The Matrix and being deepfaked into Office Space is one of my favorites so far. Check it out:

Neo takes the blue pill in The Matrix, deepfaked into Office Space

YouTuber Ctrl Shift Face worked with Chris Ume did some great work seeing Neo take the blue pill in The Matrix, which saw him inserted back into the fake reality and not taking the red pill coming into the real-world. Neo wakes back up in his crappy life, but instead he is now deepfaked into Office Space.

Neo -- or I guess in this case since he never came out of The Matrix, Mr. Anderson, hangs up on Morpheus and goes back to his job but in the end he hates his life so much he jumps off the roof killing himself... but it's done beautifully using a scene from The Matrix. Amazing work, something I seriously want to see more of.

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Continue reading: Neo takes the blue pill in The Matrix, deepfaked into Office Space (full post)

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