Crytek's VR demo "Back to Dinosaur Island" from GDC 2015 is amazing

Crytek was showing off a demo that was impressing everyone at the Game Developers Conference last month, but it has only seen the light of day outside of GDC 2015 just now.

The "Back to Dinosaur Island" VR demo is embedded above, and was shown off at GDC 2015 on the Oculus Rift to showcase Crytek's impressive VR technology inside of its CryEngine. The environment and attention to detail on the dinosaurs is pretty impressive, with Crytek Producer Fatih Özbayram taking to Twitter to describe the demo:

"Our demo has a variety of interactions. One of them is the interaction with a Hollywood feel T-Rex which mimics your head movements. The narrative [of] our demo is you being a baby dinosaur sitting in the middle of a nest of other dinosaur babies about to hatch. We've chosen dinosaurs as we wanted to nod to the origins of Crytek".

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'Rockstar Games' adds Bill Paxton as anti GTA lawyer Jack Thompson

Ben Gourlay | Celebrities & Entertainment | Apr 16, 2015 12:46 AM CDT

Last week we revealed the surprising news that the BBC was working on a telemovie drama based on the 2003 legal wranglings between activist lawyer Jack Thompson and Rockstar Games over the release 'Grand Theft Auto III', with 'Harry Potter' star Daniel Radcliffe in the lead role. Now it seems they've also found their lawyer.

James Cameron regular and 'Titanic' star Bill Paxton has stepped into the role as Jack Thompson, according to Deadline Hollywood. The eccentric lawyer became the butt of jokes in the gaming community for his increasingly outlandish commentary, which ultimately saw him disbarred in 2008.

The same report confirms that 'Harry Potter' star Daniel Radcliffe has been cast in the role of Rockstar Games founder Sam Houser. The feature is due to start filming later this month.

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Zack Snyder teases a few seconds of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Anthony Garreffa | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Apr 15, 2015 11:07 PM CDT

Zack Snyder: if you're reading this, please stop. Snyder, the director of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, has just released a few seconds of the trailer to one of the biggest movies of 2016.

Snyder has confirmed we're to receive the official trailer to Batman v Superman next week, but before then there's a 15-minute "Batman v Superman IMAX Trailer Event" happening at particular IMAX theaters on Monday, April 20. But at 9am tomorrow morning on Twitter, there will be five seconds of footage from the movie - so prepare yourselves, and set an alarm on your phone.

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The end of a CS:GO season is here, player shuffling commences

Chris Smith | Gaming | Apr 15, 2015 7:54 PM CDT

What worked this season, what didn't work? Can we shed any dead weight and can we poach some of the best? All questions that many CS:GO teams ask within themselves at the end of a season in order to improve their performance.

With the end of the CyberGamer Premier league here and Team Streamline taking the title (securing $2670 into their back pockets), the team shuffling has commenced.

Now that Australian CS:GO has some financial backing, international appearances and company support, it is starting to become counted as a much more legitimate addition to the local and global gaming scene - previously being completely overshadowed by League of Legends and Starcraft II thanks to their developer and Australian Cyber League support.

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Netflix wishes they didn't give Aussie ISP quote-free deals

Chris Smith | Internet & Websites | Apr 15, 2015 7:33 PM CDT

If you're on a contract with Optus or iiNet there's a possibility that you've been enjoying watching quota-free Netflix content in recent times, thanks to the online streaming giant signing deals with these ISP's in order to secure unlimited viewership for their customers down under.

In a recent statement, Netflix reflected on these past signing and have commented that "we should have avoided that and will avoid it going forward."

According to an interview with Gizmodo, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is a strong believer in data cap abolishment worldwide. Claiming "there's no reason for data caps. We want to make the internet unmetered. Period. The capped model is antiquated: we want to make it about speed."

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Symantec: Hackers had a great year in 2014, looking to improve in 2015

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Apr 15, 2015 12:39 PM CDT

Cybercriminals had an extremely successful year in 2014, and are constantly looking for new ways to compromise businesses and users. Last year saw "far-reaching vulnerabilities, faster attacks, files held for ransom and far more malicious code than in previous years," according to the Symantec 2015 Internet Security Threat Report - and information security is becoming more important for companies.

There were 317 million new pieces of malware written in 2014, while ransomware attacks aimed at breaching user files increased 113 percent. Data breaches remained a major problem, with millions of US consumers compromised, as the total number of incidents increased 23 percent.

"The criminals are getting better," said Kevin Haley, director of security response at Symantec, in a statement published on NBC News. "Success breeds success and other criminals want to get into the game, so we need to step up our game in terms of protecting our information and keeping it safe."

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Aircraft could be vulnerable to cybercriminals, GAO report says

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Apr 15, 2015 12:28 PM CDT

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is showing increased concern that hundreds of commercial aircraft are vulnerable to possible cyberattack from remote operators. If done successfully, hackers would be able to possibly install malware on flight control computers, take over control of the aircraft, compromise navigation systems and warning systems.

Air traffic control also is increasing to support Internet-based solutions, giving criminals another pipeline to tamper with flights. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and several senators wish to read over the full GAO report - and expect the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to make necessary security protocols mandatory.

"Modern communications technologies, including IP connectivity, are increasingly used in aircraft systems, creating the possibility that unauthorized individuals might access and compromise aircraft avionics systems," the GAO report says. That level of IP connectivity, however, is what could create a link between aircraft and cybercriminals - posing a threat to the aircraft, its crew and passengers.

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Dell unveils the Linux-powered version of its XPS 13 laptop

Anthony Garreffa | Laptops | Apr 15, 2015 3:07 AM CDT

Dell has announced the Ubuntu-powered version of its impressive XPS 13 laptop, giving consumers the option of grabbing the Windows, or Linux-based version of its 13-inch laptop at the time of purchase.

The company took to a blog post to announce that since the launch of its XPS 13 back in January, it had the idea of launching a developer-friendly version of its laptop, but it wanted to make sure that it could offer the best possibly product to anyone who purchased one. Dell said: "There were issues with the touchpad and a repeating keystroke that took longer to address than we, and others, would have liked".

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Google's ambitious wireless service reportedly called 'Project Fi'

Anthony Garreffa | Connectivity & Cloud | Apr 15, 2015 1:41 AM CDT

Google wants to offer a wireless service to people in the United States, but it looks like their plans of unveiling this as a semi surprise have been popped.

A recent look at the firmware image for the Nexus 6 has teased that there will soon be a service that offers consumers the option of paying for only what they use, with the future service provided with a logo, and a temporary name: Project Fi. Android Police noticed an app called "Tycho" that housed numerous clues to Project Fi, with the app looking to provide the option of activating the service, but giving consumers additional options, too.

These options include putting the account on hole, resuming it, or closing it down completely, without needing the consumer to call a customer care number. Project Fi users can also port their own number to the service, or they can use their number from a separate Google Voice system, too.

Continue reading: Google's ambitious wireless service reportedly called 'Project Fi' (full post)

Samsung can't keep up with the crazy demand for its Galaxy S6 edge

Anthony Garreffa | Mobile Devices | Apr 14, 2015 10:31 PM CDT

Samsung released its Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge smartphones last week, but the S6 edge is selling many more units than the South Korean giant had initially expected, according to reports out of Korea.

Before the launch, the Galaxy S6 edge was poised for around 20-30% of the sales of the Galaxy S6, but the numbers are closer to 50% of the Galaxy S6, worldwide. Korean publication Yonhap News reports that the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge sales "have been much higher than expected", with the new smartphones due to real an all-time high when compared to the launch of any of the other Galaxy S smartphones.

We've reviewed the Galaxy S6 edge and fell in love with it, so it comes as no surprise to us that the S6 edge is doing so well.

Continue reading: Samsung can't keep up with the crazy demand for its Galaxy S6 edge (full post)

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