Your Facebook friends list could determine your loan approval success

Chris Smith | Internet & Websites | Aug 5, 2015 5:47 PM CDT

This Tuesday, Facebook's latest patent was approved, giving this internet giant the ability to judge your friends list through a financial eye. This new ability means that a lender can examine the credit ratings of your Facebook friends in order to judge if you're suitable for a loan or not.

The full text reads: "When an individual applies for a loan, the lender examines the credit ratings of members of the individual's social network who are connected to the individual through authorized nodes. If the average credit rating of these members is at least a minimum credit score, the lender continues to process the loan application. Otherwise, the loan application is rejected."

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Xbox chief says Xbox One titles need 'more diversity' to woo gamers

Michael Hatamoto | Gaming | Aug 5, 2015 4:30 PM CDT

Xbox chief Phil Spencer thinks Microsoft needs to push third-party game developers harder when it comes to creating different style of games for first-party Xbox One titles.

During Gamescom, Microsoft will show off exclusive game titles including the following: Crackdown, Scalebound and Quantum Break - with all three titles providing third-person action play. Unfortunately, Microsoft wants to see different types of game genres:

"More diversity in terms of genre and mechanics, I think it's a great thing for this industry to push," Spencer recently told GameSpot. "So yes, you do find a lot of third-party action games from us, and I do think we should be pushing harder on genre and control."

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Microsoft: Positive talks about backward compatibility for Xbox One

Michael Hatamoto | Gaming | Aug 5, 2015 3:35 PM CDT

Xbox chief Phil Spencer is excited about Microsoft's decision to support Xbox One backward compatibility, saying it provides a "valuable" way to keep gamers engaged.

Since Microsoft must emulate each Xbox 360 game to make it playable for the Xbox One, receiving publisher support is critical. It's a great sales and marketing campaign, allowing players the opportunity to catch up on previously-released games if they haven't already played them - and allow those of you with an Xbox 360 game library, the chance to play select titles one more time.

"We're having great conversations with all the publishers about backward compatibility," Spencer recently told GameSpot. "It's really been a good time for something like backwards compatibility to come around, because so many of the publishers have built more service-based games where they're able to find a business opportunity in the longevity of games."

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Acer launches Predator G6-710 gaming PC during Gamescom

Michael Hatamoto | Computer Systems | Aug 5, 2015 2:33 PM CDT

Acer used Gamescom 2015 as the launch pad for its newly redesigned Predator gaming desktop, known as the Predator G6-710.

The gaming system is powered by the latest 6th Generation Intel Core i7-6700K CPU, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980, 64GB DDR4 dual-channel RAM, and Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi MB5 and Environmental Audio Extensions (EAX) 5.0 and 5.1 channel audio.

Ideally, the gaming rig is "futureproof" with the addition of 64GB RAM, so owners have the chance to play video games and watch movies in stunning detail.

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Battlefield 4 shows off Night Operations in latest DLC

Michael Hatamoto | Gaming | Aug 5, 2015 2:19 PM CDT

Electronic Arts has shown off the Battlefield 4 Night Operations DLC from DICE playtest sessions, so gamers can enjoy some unique gameplay.

Battlefield 4 shows off Night Operations in latest DLC

The studio also showed off the night version of Zavod 311, dubbed Zavod: Graveyard Shift, so you can expect to use the night vision and thermal imaging scopes - or a different gadget so you're able to identify enemy locations.

Zavod: Graveyard Shift supports Conquest, Rush, Team Deathmatch, Obliteration, Domination and Gun Master. EA promises Gun Master will play "very differently" at night, and even included a secondary layout.

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Autodesk unveils its Stingray game engine, with Oculus Rift support

Autodesk has announced a new Stingray game engine, with full support for the Oculus Rift out of the box when it launches later this month on August 19.

Autodesk unveils its Stingray game engine, with Oculus Rift support

Autodesk is better known for its computer visualization tools for architecture, engineering, CGI and more with software like Maya and 3DS Max, but this venture into the gaming world is going to be a big one. Stingray will see Autodesk doing everything in-house, instead of using Autodesk software somewhere along the game-making procedure, pulling assets in from other game engines like Unity or Unreal Engine. The company is pitching Stingray to game developers as a way of providing seamless interoperability between Autodesk's software, with a "one-click workflow and live link".

Stingray will launch with full support for the Oculus Rift DK2 headset out of the box, with Autodesk referring to the DK2 as one of Stingray's platforms that will support "Deployment and Testing". This means Stingray will allow developers to view their projects through the Rift during development, where they can then publish a game that's compatible with the DK2 with ease.

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DICE unveils new Robbery expansion for Battlefield Hardline

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Aug 5, 2015 9:33 AM CDT

DICE teased that there was a new game mode coming for Battlefield Hardline, and here it is: Robbery. The new expansion is the second for Battlefield Hardline, with Criminal Activity launching not too long ago.

Battlefield Hardline: Robbery has four new maps, a new 5v5 game mode known as 'Squad Heist', four new weapons, two new gadgets, two new factional vehicles and new vehicle upgrades, new camos and vehicle paints, and 'The Legendary Super Feature'. As for the new Squad Heist game mode, the developer refers to it as "refreshing and familiar". DICE explains that Squad Heist has three distinct stages:

Battlefield Hardline: Robbery will be made available for Early Access for Battlefield Hardline Premium members starting next month.

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ROCCAT teases both Sova and Nyth peripherals at Gamescom

Anthony Garreffa | Peripherals | Aug 5, 2015 3:16 AM CDT

Gamescom 2015 - ROCCAT has debuted its new Nyth gaming mouse at Gamescom, with the Nyth being a new MMO-hybrid gaming mouse with a "completely hot-swappable side button grid" that is sure to have MMO gamers foaming at the mouth.

ROCCAT teases both Sova and Nyth peripherals at Gamescom

The new ROCCAT Nyth has huge out-of-the-box customization, with a massive 36,738 different combinations thanks to its 33 different buttons. ROCCAT founder and CEO, René Korte, explains: "We've loved cracking the challenge of the Nyth. Making a mouse so deeply customizable was a great test for our creative and design teams. What we ended up with was not only a one of a kind MMO-centric piece of gaming equipment, but a mouse that is a chameleon. Turn it into a MOBA mouse, an FPS weapon, and more; any gaming configuration for any genre you can think of. That's what the Nyth brings to the table".

But the more exciting product that ROCCAT was showing off, at least to me, was the Sova prototype. ROCCAT showed off the Sova prototype at E3 2015 earlier this year, with the modular gaming board wanting to see you gaming in the living room. ROCCAT has announced that there will be more than one model of the Sova, with Korte saying: "After the great reception at E3 for our Sova prototype, we were given so much feedback, and pursued that further with surveys and more testing. Gamers want a PC gaming living room solution that's affordable, effective, and meets their spec priorities".

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Seagate announces a new 2TB 'Game Drive' for the Xbox One

Anthony Garreffa | Storage | Aug 5, 2015 2:25 AM CDT

Gamescom 2015 - Seagate has used the mega games event Gamescom to announce its new 2TB Game Drive for the Xbox One, with the storage unit also working on the Xbox 360.

Seagate's new 2TB Game Drive features the Xbox green-and-black color theme and is powered by a single USB 3.0 cable. The drive features Xbox and Seagate logos and allows you to have your catalog of downloaded games, achievements and so much more on-the-go. Senior Director of Product Marketing for Seagate, Jeff Fochtman, explains: "This exciting new collaboration with Microsoft Xbox is an important milestone for Seagate that will help us to reach a new audience, which has an insatiable appetite for storage". "There was a clearly defined need in this market for additional plug-and-play storage and Seagate is happy to be able to provide the solution," he added.

The new Seagate Game Drive will retail for an MSRP of $109.99, and will be made available at GameStop, Amazon and other consumer electronic retailers across the world.

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Corsair announces new RGB keyboards, mice and headsets

Anthony Garreffa | Peripherals | Aug 5, 2015 1:25 AM CDT

Corsair has just unveiled a bunch of new gaming peripherals during Gamescom 2015, with new STRAFE RGB mechanical gaming keyboards, Scimitar RGB MMO/MOBA mouse, and new flagship VOID gaming headsets.

Corsair announces new RGB keyboards, mice and headsets

One of the jewels in Corsair's new gaming peripherals is the ultra-quiet STRAFE RGB Silent, which is the world's first keyboard with Cherry MX RGB Silent gaming switches, which will "deliver the speed and precision of linear mechanical switches with significantly quieter actuation". Corsair adds that the STRAFE RGB Silent has "new switches combined with the noise-suppressing architecture of the keyboard chassis", that makes the "pro-level STRAFE RGB Silent 30% quieter than other mechanical gaming keyboards".

Corsair's new VOID headsets come in three flavors: wireless, USB or analog stereo. The VOID gaming headset earcups are "shaped to fit the human ear, providing the utmost comfort while delivering spectacular audio fidelity". The USB and wireless VOID headsets feature innovative features like InfoMic status LEDs, and a CUE Control dial that lets gamers control their gaming soundscape without pausing their game.

Continue reading: Corsair announces new RGB keyboards, mice and headsets (full post)

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