Latest News - Page 2656

Xbox boss Phil Spencer believes it's a great time for the gaming console market, and years ago shot down talk of the console business dying. Instead, the Microsoft Xbox One and Sony PlayStation 4 have both garnered major attention by gamers:

"I have a lot of respect for the team at Sony and the success they've had with PS4, and it's a great time for the console industry," Spencer said in an interview with Edge. "I've said this a few times, but four years ago when I was sitting doing these interviews it was, 'do people need consoles any more?' and, 'isn't this just dead? Everybody's playing on their phone.' And now you're looking at the PS4 having sold over - I don't remember their last number - but over 20 million."

Game studios still must work hard to develop AAA games for consoles that are successful - and some wonder if game console units are actually profitable for Microsoft or Sony. In the end, manufacturers will continue pushing forward with consoles, as gamers are still interested in buying them.

Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer isn't having a good day, as the Internet is flooding his business with angry phone calls, emails, and Yelp reviews.

Palmer, an avid hunter, was hunting in Zimbabwe when he shot 13-year-old Cecil the Lion. The lion, which lived on protected national parkland, was lured out of its sanctuary - and was shot by the bow hunter. After being wounded, Palmer and his paid guides tracked the animal for about 40 hours before finally killing him.

The lion was extremely popular among tourists at the park, and had six lioness mates and more than a dozen cubs. Palmer paid more than $50,000 to go lion hunting while in Zimbabwe, and killed an animal that wore a GPS collar while being tracked by Oxford University researchers, according to The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force.

There was some surprise when Square Enix announced Rise of the Tomb Raider would be exclusive for the Microsoft Xbox platform for one year.

"I hope fans know that it wasn't an easy decision. I think any sort of partnership at this level is a decision that took a long time for us to get to," said Phil Rogers, CEO of the Americas and Europe at Square Enix, in a statement to The Examiner. "The decision at a studio level, we took very, very seriously. We knew it would, in the short-term, disappoint fans."

Square Enix apparently made the decision after noting Microsoft's continued passion for the Tomb Raider series: "Having been working with us on previous games in a lesser sense, they've been supportive. [However], for Rise of the Tomb Raider, they've just brought this passion and belief that has really enabled us to blow people away. People should feel that about Microsoft. Their commitment to Tomb Raider is just amazing for us."

Alaska Airlines has teamed up with the airport security firm CLEAR to test a biometrics platform that could one day replace traditional boarding passes. The biometrics system should make it even easier to check-in, and save passengers a bit of time before boarding a flight.

A kiosk machine at the Mineta San Jose International Airport scans a traveler's eye, or checks fingerprints, before hopping on a plane. It's a groundbreaking effort that costs members $179 per year, and is currently being tested in 12 US airports.

"We have no specific timeline, but we look forward to working with Alaska Airlines to expand our relationship to other cities in their network," said Ken Cornick, president and CFO of CLEAR, in a statement published by the San Jose Mercury News. "Having direct access to a boarding pass and not needing to print it or download it into their phone is both a significant customer advantage and security advantage."

US military officials are increasingly concerned about small drones being used as flying improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that can be used against civilians and military personnel.

To help defend against future threats, the Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar (C-RAM) system is being developed, a gun-based solution that could be used to down drones. However, it is extremely difficult to quickly identify and engage drones:

"In addition, due to their size, construction material, and flight altitude, hobbyist drones are difficult to defend against if their presence in a particular area is unknown or expected," said Kelley Sayler, associate fellow at the Center for a New American Security, in a recent paper.

The White House has responded to an online petition to pardon Edward Snowden, which generated more than 167,000 signatures since going live in June 2013.

The petition had the following description: "Edward Snowden is a national hero and should be immediately issued a full, free, and absolute pardon for any crimes he has committed or may have committed related to blowing the whistle on secret NSA surveillance programs."

"Instead of constructively addressing these issues, Mr. Snowden's dangerous decision to steal and disclose classified information had severe consequences for the security of our country and the people who work day in and day out to protect it," said Lisa Monaco, President Obama's Advisor on Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.

Acer is excited for the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, and consumers can purchase the Aspire E Series notebook powered by Windows 10 starting tomorrow.

The Aspire E Series will launch during the first week of August, Acer said in a press statement. The notebooks support either 15.6-inch or 17.3-inch displays, powered by Intel CPUs.

The cheapest model, the E5-573-58FN, has the following specifications: 15.6-inch display, 5th Generation Intel Core i5-5200U CPU, 8GB RAM, 500GB HDD, DVD-Super Multi Double-Layer Drive, and will be available for $499.99.

Intel and Micron have began production of 3D XPoint flash memory, a new class of inexpensive high-density, high-performance flash memory that heralds a new age of performance for high-end data management.

Intel's new 3D Xpoint class has been in development for over a decade and represents a breakthrough in next-generation storage solutions. 3D XPoint tech is 10 times more dense than standard memory, and Intel boasts that the new tech allows users to access data at "speeds previously impossible for non-volatile storage".

"For decades, the industry has searched for ways to reduce the lag time between the processor and data to allow much faster analysis," said Rob Crooke, exec Intel's Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group. "This new class of non-volatile memory achieves this goal and brings game-changing performance to memory and storage solutions."

A startup company from Germany wants you to forget about your regular house keys, and use a hands-free fob that has been named the Kiwi Ki.

The system operates using radio-frequency identification (RFID) and unlocks a house door as the resident approaches. The mechanism is available for less than $450, and each key fob requires a monthly fee.

"It is much more secure than a normal key. A normal key can be copied easily, sometimes just from a photograph," said Henryk Ploetz, a security analyst, in a statement to Euronews. "With this one you can't do that. That is the case for all contactless keys, but this one is as secure or more secure than all other contactless systems."

The Obama Administration and law enforcement officials want access to encrypted data, arguing the government and law enforcement need to be able to retrieve information. Ideally, the government would receive warrants and conduct a legal and transparent operation, but companies are willing to stand their ground regardless.

Here is what cryptologist Matt Blaze said during a recent event in Washington, DC (per Washington Times):

"I don't think [FBI] Director [James] Comey wants the world that he's asking for," said .... "I think the world in which we build systems with this added constraint of ensuring law enforcement access is going to cause such an increase in the kinds of digital crimes that are going to become more serious that - even if we take all of the things that we disagree about about values and put them aside - we are going to have the things that we agree about get a lot worse, and that really scares me as we rely on those systems more and more."

Veteran Halo and Destiny alums have split from Bungie's studios to chase new virtual-reality dreams, forming their very own new studio called Endeavor One.

"We are artists, writers, designers, engineers, cinematic wizards, gamers, friends and professionals," reads the studio's credo on its official website. "We are makers who passionately believe in the future of VR and AR."

Shortly after their formation, the ex-Bungie team is ready to release their first VR-ready endeavor called Jump, which centers around players leaping around futuristic cityscapes--a concept that seems quite revolutionary and could be quite exciting for the immersive virtual platform. The object of the game is to reach the tallest skyscraper with as few jumps as possible while each city--New York, Seattle, Philadelphia, Tokyo, etc.--hustles and bustles in modernized flair.

Square Enix's Japan division today announced that it has expressed interest in releasing the new Dragon Quest XI: In Search of Departed Time on Nintendo's new NX hardware.

The Japanese publisher revealed the new game during a special Dragon Quest themed presentation, revealing that Dragon Quest XI will be releasing on PlayStation 4, the 2DS and 3DS handhelds, and possibly Nintendo's new NX system.

"In addition we are considering the launch of Dragon Quest XI on Nintendo's in-development console, the NX," the publisher said in a new expressed interest press release.

Bethesda wants to give gamers an enjoyable - and customizable experience - while playing Fallout 4, and won't rely on just pre-determined frameworks to get the job done.

If you remember purchasing a house in Skyrim, there was a minimum amount of customization available to gamers. That apparently won't be the case in Fallout 4:

"It's not just, 'Hey, here's Breezehome [one of the houses in Skyrim],' where we just picked a house, and you can buy it, and you can go to somebody and say, 'Here's this much gold, and put this thing into my house.'" said Pete Hines, VP of Marketing at Bethesda, in a statement to GameSpot. "[In Fallout 4] it's, 'Now I'm building it, I'm actually building the house, I'm building the wall, I'm placing the door, I made the table, I made the mattress.' It's that sense of making your own way in the world and defining, 'Who am I and where do I live and what's my story in this world?"

It turns out 92 percent of Americans think the US government should take some form of action in retaliation for cyberattacks and data breaches, according to a survey from the Vormetric cybersecurity company. The US government is under attack by cybercriminals, and they are proving to be successful in their efforts to steal data and compromise networks.

The survey found 45 percent of Americans believe the Obama Administration should initiate talks with the suspected country's leaders to stop future breaches. Thirty-six percent say trade sanctions should be created, and 31 percent believe diplomatic sanctions on a nation's representatives located in the United States should take place.

A surprising number of people think there should be more stringent measures, including 25 percent of respondents saying all ties should be cut off with the responsible country - and 10 percent even think a retaliatory cyberattack might help.

With the release of Windows 10 right around the corner, people are finding that the automatic installation of Windows 10 updates are annoying, and there are problems associated with some of the updates.

Microsoft has been listening to these complaints, releasing a new troubleshooting package, KB3073930, something that allows you to hide or block Windows driver updates. NVIDIA's driver updates were causing GeForce owners headaches with crashes with the latest updates included with Windows 10 build 10240.

This tool was developed for Windows 10 Insiders, but it will now work with normal users when Windows 10 launches on July 29. You can download the package from Microsoft Support.

We've seen a considerable amount of old school games being teased on Unreal Engine 4, with Mario, Sonic and even Pokemon, but now it's time to see what a possible open-world Kirby game could look like in Unreal Engine 4.

For fans of Kirby, is this something you want to see happen? A massive, beautiful, next-gen Kirby game could be something that could happen in the future. While this is just a tease, there's no stopping the developers from making these games using Unreal Engine 4.

Samsung has unveiled the new SE370 series of monitors, with two sizes to choose from: 23.6-inch and 27-inch, both of which can charge your smartphone wirelessly. Both monitors feature Qi charging pads built into their base, which is an excellent feature to see Samsung use.

The new SE370 monitors from Samsung have a native resolution of 1920x1080, use a PLS panel, have a response time of 4ms, DisplayPort and HDMI connectivity, and support for Windows 10. Samsung says that the new SE370 monitors "declutters work areas by doing away with unnecessary cables and ports needed to charge mobile devices".

You can place your Qi compatible smartphone onto the charging area, with it glowing green with its LED, to show you that your smartphone is being charged. Senior Vice President of Samsung's Visual Display Business, Seok-gi Kim explains: "Technology should support, not interfere with, active lifestyles. Our customers increasingly rely on mobile devices to obtain information and interact with others; so by doing away with the clutter on their desks, we are helping them to use their mobile devices in a smarter way".

343 Industries took some heat after it was announced Halo 5: Guardians won't support split-screen - and now the game developer is discussing its decision.

"The decision to remove split-screen support from Halo 5: Guardians was one of the most difficult ones we've ever had to make as a studio," said Josh Holmes, executive producer, in a blog post. "We know that for many of our fans, Halo has meant playing together with friends in the same room. We all have great memories of past Halo split-screen multiplayer matches."

Indeed, it looks like 343 Industries wanted to "deliver a true next-gen experience" and "tough choices had to be made." To help deliver the best gaming environment, there needed to be room for scale - and Halo 5 could have been comprised if a split-screen setting was included in the game.

Israel understands the importance of building a strong cybersecurity defense, as attacks on its critical infrastructure greatly increased over the past few years.

Israel Electric, responsible for more than 80 percent of Israel's power production and infrastructure, saw cyberattacks increase from a few hundred per hour in 2013 - up to 20,000 per hour in 2014, according to reports. The Israeli government and major businesses are on a cybersecurity hiring spree, trying to help defend against evolving threats.

"You can't be a good defender unless you understand the offense," said Amos Yadlin, former military chief and head of the Tel Aviv University Institute for National Security Studies, in a statement to Bloomberg News. "Therefore, defensive efforts must overlap to some degree with offensive efforts, including those of intelligence collection."

Forty-four percent of drivers don't like the idea of self-driving vehicles as a personal vehicle, with 41 percent preferring a vehicle that allows for human takeover ability, and just 15 percent approve of a fully capable self-driving vehicle, according to a survey from the University of Michigan Transport Research Institute.

The survey revealed men and younger survey participants approve of self-driving vehicles on a larger scale, while women and older drives have major concerns. And it looks like drivers want a steering wheel and pedals, just in case they feel the need to take over.

"Self-driving vehicles are often discussed in regard to their potential safety, energy consumption and environmental benefits," said Brandon Schoettle, a co-author of the study, in a statement published by NBC News. "However, less attention has been paid to considering the actual level of automation, if any, that drivers desire in their vehicle."