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James Cameron compares imploded OceanGate submersible to sinking of the Titanic

Jak Connor | Science, Space, & Robotics | Jun 23, 2023 4:40 AM CDT

Officials have announced a grim ending to the missing OceanGate submarine that contained five passengers on a journey to visit the wreckage of the Titanic, 12,500 feet below the surface of the ocean.

James Cameron compares imploded OceanGate submersible to sinking of the Titanic

US Coast Guard announced that debris from the Titan submersible that went missing on Sunday was discovered on the sea bed, approximately 1,600 feet from the hull of the Titanic. The debris indicated that the Titan submersible imploded on its way down to the sea floor, killing all five passengers. James Cameron, the director of the Titanic movie, has compared the tragedy of the OceanGate submersible with the events that led to the sinking of the Titanic.

"I'm struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship, and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field on a moonless night, and many people died as a result. For us, it's a very similar tragedy where warnings went unheeded," said Cameron to ABC. Cameron is referring to the many signs OceanGate's submersible wasn't at regulatory standard to be journeying at such depts of extreme pressure.

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Meta will remove news from Facebook and Instagram in Canada

Jak Connor | Business, Financial & Legal | Jun 23, 2023 4:15 AM CDT

Canada's Senate has passed a new bill that will force Google and Meta to pay media outlets for news content shared in the region.

Meta will remove news from Facebook and Instagram in Canada

The new legislation that was passed in Canada's Senate is called the Online News Act, or officially Bill C-18, and according to reports, it will force tech companies such as Meta and Google to pay news publishers for their content. Meta has responded to the recently passed Bill that is expected to become law by saying it will comply with the Online News Act by removing news from Facebook and Instagram in Canada.

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Reddit is pressuring subreddits to reopen by replacing moderators and it's working

Jak Connor | Business, Financial & Legal | Jun 23, 2023 3:19 AM CDT

Reddit is getting many subreddits back online after informing moderators that the company would appoint new moderators to reopen the subreddit if the blackout isn't ended.

Reddit is pressuring subreddits to reopen by replacing moderators and it's working

Thousands of subreddits went dark after Reddit announced new pricing for its API, which directly affects third-party developers that create tools and apps using Reddit's data. These new pricing changes made it impossible for popular third-party apps such as Apollo to operate, as it would cost the app $10 million a year for Reddit's API. Additionally, many volunteer moderators take advantage of third-party tools to make their job of moderating the subreddit much faster and more efficient. Some of these tools would now no longer exist.

Now reports indicate Reddit is pressuring moderators of subreddits that are still protesting the API changes. According to an employee of Reddit, who spoke to a moderator of a subreddit, Reddit's "expectation here is that communities reopen," per a moderator of r/DIY. According to the moderator, the fear is that Reddit will replace the moderators with new people that "don't care about the subreddit the way we do", running the risk of the entire subreddit being ruined.

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Continue reading: Reddit is pressuring subreddits to reopen by replacing moderators and it's working (full post)

Here's everything about the Elon Musk vs Mark Zuckerberg cage fight

Jak Connor | Business, Financial & Legal | Jun 23, 2023 2:33 AM CDT

Elon Musk has challenged Mark Zuckerberg to a cage fight, and while the likelihood of such an event taking place seems extremely low, stranger things have happened.

Here's everything about the Elon Musk vs Mark Zuckerberg cage fight

How did this even begin? Mario Nawfal, an entrepreneur and CEO of IBC Group, tweeted about Meta's rumored app called Threads, which is expected to be the company's direct response to Twitter. According to these rumors Threads will have automatic integration with Instagram, allowing Instagram users to pull all of their following/account over to Threads, which will essentially work in the same fashion as Twitter.

Nawfal's tweet caught the attention of Musk, who responded facetiously by saying, "I'm sure Earth can't wait to be exclusively under Zuck's thumb with no other options. At least it will be 'sane.' Was worried there for a moment 😅." A Twitter user responded to Musk by saying, "Better be careful, @elonmusk. I heard he [Zuckerberg] does jujitsu now," to which Elon replied, "I'm up for a cage match if he is lol."

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Missing Titanic submersible found, officials declare all passengers deceased after 'implosion'

Jak Connor | Science, Space, & Robotics | Jun 23, 2023 1:53 AM CDT

Officials have given an update on the missing OceanGate submersible that disappeared on Sunday, and according to the US Coast Guard, the Titan was destroyed.

Missing Titanic submersible found, officials declare all passengers deceased after 'implosion'

The deep-sea submersible entered the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday carrying five passengers on a journey to the wreckage of the Titanic. One hour and forty-five minutes into its descent, communications were lost, and the search for the submersible called Titan began. Days of searching went by, with the only sign of Titan coming on Wednesday when Canadian aircraft reported hearing a "banging noise" coming from within the search area.

The story came to its grim end when a Canadian ship discovered debris from the submersible on the sea bed, approximately 1,600 feet from the Titanic wreckage. According to the US Coast Guard, major fragments of the submersible were located, including the tail cone and pressure hull. Officials said the debris indicated the Titan and its occupants experienced a "catastrophic implosion".

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Continue reading: Missing Titanic submersible found, officials declare all passengers deceased after 'implosion' (full post)

LG's CLOi ServeBot is designed to be your robot sever the next time you go out for dinner

Kosta Andreadis | Science, Space, & Robotics | Jun 23, 2023 12:58 AM CDT

The future of restaurants with robot servers taking your order and bringing you food and drink is one step closer to becoming a reality, thanks to the LG CLOi ServeBot. LG describes it as a "restaurant-focused service robot" that has even been awarded some certification, deeming it safe for operation in consumer environments.

LG's CLOi ServeBot is designed to be your robot sever the next time you go out for dinner

The LG CLOi ServeBot we see here is a new and improved model with more carrying capacity and shelf space and other improvements aimed to make the lives easier for the human employees at a restaurant.

It's not a full-fledged waiter or waitress, but it can be set up to automate looking at menus, letting customers drop off their finished plates and stuff on the LG CLOi ServeBot, and more. It can even handle soup!

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Continue reading: LG's CLOi ServeBot is designed to be your robot sever the next time you go out for dinner (full post)

AVerMedia's Live Streamer MIC 350 is a custom-tuned USB condenser microphone for creators

Kosta Andreadis | Peripherals | Jun 23, 2023 12:26 AM CDT

AVerMedia's new Live Streamer MIC 350 (AM350) is "the world's first USB condenser microphone custom-tuned by DIRAC," providing a professional recording experience in a simple package. If you've spent time dealing with recording and audio, you might know that DIRAC and its patented audio tuning solutions have been hailed for their quality. If not, then you do.

AVerMedia's Live Streamer MIC 350 is a custom-tuned USB condenser microphone for creators

The new Live Streamer MIC 350 features DIRAC Audio Tuning Technology for quick access to various templates and audio setups, which is matched with inbuilt noise reduction and pop filter and dual microphone pickup patterns so you can switch between cardioid or omnidirectional modes. Plus, pristine recording with 24-bit 96 kHz audio. And you've got onboard controls to switch between the patterns, mute, adjust mic gain, and more.

An excellent choice for streaming, podcasting, and recording vocals for music without the need for additional equipment - the Live Streamer MIC 350 is now available with an MSRP of USD 199.99. The introductory price includes a shock mount, pop filter, and Live Streamer MIC 350. A package valued at USD 267.97.

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Continue reading: AVerMedia's Live Streamer MIC 350 is a custom-tuned USB condenser microphone for creators (full post)

Seagate's first PCIe Gen5 SSD, the FireCuda 540, gets leaked via retail listings

Kosta Andreadis | Storage | Jun 22, 2023 10:57 PM CDT

It was only a matter of time before Seagate launched its first PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD, so this is not unexpected news. But with retail listings over at Amazon UK and B&H Photo (which have been taken down), we've got details on what to expect from the new Seagate FireCuda 540 SSD - the company's first Gen5 storage solution.

Seagate's first PCIe Gen5 SSD, the FireCuda 540, gets leaked via retail listings

First, the company isn't looking to break records in terms of overall speed, with the 2TB variant of the FireCuda 540 listed as offering up to 10,000 MB/s sequential read/write speeds and up to an impressive 1.5 million random IOPS.

Seagate also notes that the FireCuda 540 4TB variant supports up to 3,940 TB of TBW (total bytes written), equivalent to writing and deleting 90% of the capacity every day for five years. This endurance rating is up there, especially compared to competing brands, and is backed by three years of Seagate's 'Rescue' data recovery service.

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Continue reading: Seagate's first PCIe Gen5 SSD, the FireCuda 540, gets leaked via retail listings (full post)

Microsoft still expects PS6, next Xbox by 2028

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jun 22, 2023 7:15 PM CDT

In new court filings, Microsoft's legal counsel reiterates a 2028 forecast for the next PlayStation and Xbox console generation.

Microsoft still expects PS6, next Xbox by 2028

If the traditional hardware cycle is anything to go by, Gen10 could launch in 2028. The modern games industry has taught us that things change quite fast, especially with disruptive services like Game Pass, and world-altering events like the pandemic and challenging economic climate.

In a recent findings of fact filing in the FTC provisionary injunction court case (Case 3:23-cv-02880-JSC Document 177), Microsoft lawyers once again mention a potential release date for the PS6 and next-gen Xbox. It's a very small mention, and the date is in relation to the 10-year Call of Duty deal that Microsoft has offered Sony. Microsoft lawyers say that the 10-year deal would overlap with the launch of Gen10 consoles...assuming they came in 2028.

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Continue reading: Microsoft still expects PS6, next Xbox by 2028 (full post)

Warzone 1.0 shutting down as Activision unifies Call of Duty infrastructure

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jun 22, 2023 6:40 PM CDT

After engaging tens of millions of players and making tons of revenues, Warzone 1.0 will officially shut down in September.

Warzone 1.0 shutting down as Activision unifies Call of Duty infrastructure

Warzone Caldera, the first iteration of the landmark free-to-play Call of Duty mode that radically transformed Activision-Blizzard's business, is officially closing shop on September 21, 2023. The mode will be pulled offline on all platforms and gamers will need to move over to Warzone 2.0. The move remains clear: Activision has unified the Call of Duty ecosystem with a new updated proprietary games engine that is capable of belting out new premium games, the F2P Warzone 2.0, and the upcoming Warzone mobile--there's just too many spinning plates going at once.

Activision says that all existing content that was purchased in Warzone 1.0 from MW 2019, Black Ops Cold War, and Vanguard will still be available in those games, but the base F2P game will be taking offline.

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Microsoft explains why Xbox cloud game streaming is so costly

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jun 22, 2023 5:14 PM CDT

Microsoft's corporate VP of Xbox Sarah Bond clarifies why Xbox game streaming is a costly venture.

Microsoft explains why Xbox cloud game streaming is so costly

Xbox,s game streaming infrastructure isn't cheap to operate. The service is bundled as a value proposition in Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, which helps subsidize the cost of the service. But ultimately it sounds like Xbox Cloud Streaming, aka xCloud, has not been profitable for Microsoft for one big reason: the service is powered by unprofitable Xbox console hardware.

As part of her testimony in the recent FTC vs Microsoft evidentiary hearing, Xbox exec Sarah Bond offers more details about how xCloud works. Microsoft's game streaming service doesn't actually use server blades or Azure. Instead, xCloud uses literal Xbox Series X hardware to power the service. That means Microsoft has to acquire more Xbox consoles--which it does so at a loss--in order to beef up its servers.

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Activision refused to bring Call of Duty to Xbox unless Microsoft went beyond 70-30 rev share

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jun 22, 2023 4:38 PM CDT

Microsoft executive Sarah Bond confirms that Activision refused to bring Call of Duty to its Gen 9 consoles unless Microsoft promised a better revenue share.

Activision refused to bring Call of Duty to Xbox unless Microsoft went beyond 70-30 rev share

Activision has used its $31 billion Call of Duty franchise as a very influential negotiation tactic to secure lucrative multi-year deals. These deals extend to favorable revenue shares that go beyond the typical 70-30 split (Activision keeps 70% of revenues, platform-holder gets 30%).

As part of her testimony at a recent FTC vs Microsoft evidentiary hearing, Sarah Bond confirmed that Activision CEO Bobby Kotick refused to bring Call of Duty to the Xbox Series X/S Gen 9 launch unless Microsoft made a specific revenue split deal. "It was clear that Call of Duty would be on PS5 and that would not have been good if it was not also on Xbox if it was launching at the same time," Bond said. "It was clear if we did not move beyond the standard rev share, he would not place Call of Duty on Xbox."

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Continue reading: Activision refused to bring Call of Duty to Xbox unless Microsoft went beyond 70-30 rev share (full post)

Xbox's Phil Spencer has final say on game exclusivity

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jun 22, 2023 3:34 PM CDT

As the CEO of Microsoft's video games division, Phil Spencer has authority on which games become exclusive and which games don't.

Xbox's Phil Spencer has final say on game exclusivity

The evidentiary hearing for the FTC vs Microsoft preliminary injunction case is under way--a case that could ultimately determine the fate of the $68.7 billion Microsoft-Activision merger--and key Xbox executives have given interesting testimony to defendants and plaintiffs. A large part of the FTC's case hinges on Microsoft's willingness and incentive to make content exclusive to the Xbox ecosystem, and we've received some interesting answers from Xbox leadership on this topic.

Xbox Game Studios lead Matt Booty was one of the key witnesses in today's evidentiary hearing and his testimony outlined a general understanding of the Xbox business. Testimony from the Xbox Game Studios head confirms that Xbox's CEO Phil Spencer has the final say on game exclusivity.

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Sony wouldn't share PS6 details with Activision following Microsoft acquisition

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jun 22, 2023 2:36 PM CDT

If Microsoft successfully acquires Activision, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan confirms that Sony will stop sharing details of its new PlayStation hardware with Activision in order to protect its trade secrets.

Sony wouldn't share PS6 details with Activision following Microsoft acquisition

In a recent court filing (Case #3:23-cv-02880-JSC, document #134-2) in the FTC's preliminary injunction case against Microsoft, Sony's Jim Ryan outlines a new business relationship that would ensue as a result of the Microsoft-Activision merger. If Microsoft is able to merge with Activision, then Sony will cease providing Activision with information about its next-generation PlayStation consoles, including its upcoming PS6.

The filing includes part of Jim Ryan's deposition taken in April 2023, which mentions "Once Microsoft acquired Activision...SIE could no longer share confidential details about its next console in development."

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Microsoft's much-hated Clippy was effectively born on a Mac

Darren Allan | Software & Apps | Jun 22, 2023 2:00 PM CDT

Remember Clippy? Of course you do - if you were around in the 90s anyway, when the iconic paperclip was unleashed as Microsoft's assistant for Office. But the helper wasn't created on a Windows 95 PC, as you might imagine.

Microsoft's much-hated Clippy was effectively born on a Mac

No siree Bob, as PC Gamer spotted, a YouTube video from Great Big Story, in which Clippy creator Kevan Atteberry is interviewed, reveals that the character was first conceived on a Mac.

Atteberry (now a children's book author and illustrator) actually worked on Microsoft Bob (another high-profile flop) before being asked to come up with an assistant for Microsoft Office.

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MachineGames new Indiana Jones game was multiplatform before Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jun 22, 2023 1:30 PM CDT

ZeniMax's head of publishing Pete Hines indicates that MachineGames' Indiana Jones game was originally a multi-platform game before Microsoft purchased ZeniMax in 2021.

MachineGames new Indiana Jones game was multiplatform before Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax

New testimony and evidence in the FTC vs Microsoft evidentiary hearing reveals details about MachineGames' Indiana Jones project (aka Project Relic). Although the game was revealed in 2021, the new Indiana Jones game actually pre-dates Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda. As it turns out, Disney had signed a licensing deal with ZeniMax before the acquisition was made.

Following the $7.5 billion buyout, Disney had inquired on which platforms the Indiana Jones project would release on. This makes sense, as Disney probably prefers wider net of platforms that could reap more sales revenues. In the hearing, FTC counsel asked ZeniMax's Pete Hines if the licensing deal was leader-changed, and Hines confirmed that it was. The original licensing agreement saw the Indiana Jones game coming to multiple consoles. Hines also confirmed that the Indiana Jones project is indeed an Xbox platform exclusive, meaning it won't be coming to PlayStation.

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Continue reading: MachineGames new Indiana Jones game was multiplatform before Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax (full post)

Archaeologists discover 4,000-year-old 'Stonehenge of the Netherlands'

Jak Connor | Science, Space, & Robotics | Jun 22, 2023 12:20 PM CDT

Dutch archaeologists unveiled a 4,000 religious site that also included a burial mound that contained more than 60 individual human remains.

Archaeologists discover 4,000-year-old 'Stonehenge of the Netherlands'

The site was unveiled on Wednesday and is being described as the "Stonehenge of the Netherlands". Reports indicate that the burial mound contained men, women, and children, while also serving as a solar calendrer with passages specifically designed to allow the sun to shine through during the longest/shortest days of the year.

"What a spectacular archaeological discovery! Archaeologists have found a 4,000-year-old religious sanctuary on an industrial site," the town of Tiel said on its Facebook page. "This is the first time a site like this has been discovered in the Netherlands," it added in a statement.

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NVIDIA confirms RTX 4060 GPU is on sale June 29, and is 20% faster than RTX 3060

Darren Allan | Graphics Cards | Jun 22, 2023 11:55 AM CDT

NVIDIA has published a blog post about the incoming RTX 4060 graphic card's 1080p gaming chops, confirming that it'll be on sale in a week, on June 29 (as was previously rumored).

NVIDIA confirms RTX 4060 GPU is on sale June 29, and is 20% faster than RTX 3060

NVIDIA provides comparisons against the RTX 3060 (and RTX 2060), giving us a firm idea of how the new most affordable ($299) Lovelace graphics card will perform.

The key overall metric is that the RTX 4060 is 20% faster than the RTX 3060 in most games (meaning those without DLSS 3 support). If a game does support DLSS 3, that obviously makes a huge difference, with NVIDIA reckoning that you'll get up to 70% better performance in this case.

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Continue reading: NVIDIA confirms RTX 4060 GPU is on sale June 29, and is 20% faster than RTX 3060 (full post)

Apple's Vision Pro will have a special mode for using it on an airplane

Oliver Haslam | Extended Reality (XR) | Jun 22, 2023 11:51 AM CDT

Apple's Vision Pro headset is official and now that the visionOS software's been released to developers for testing we're starting to learn more and more about it. Now, we're learning that there's a special mode that people will have to use when wearing the headset on a plane.

Apple's Vision Pro will have a special mode for using it on an airplane

That's according to a new MacRumors report that is based on the outlet's diving into that visionOS release and associated developer kit. According to them, a special Travel Mode will be available for those on a plane and it will be triggered by a number of different prompts. But once enabled, it could limit the features that are available for use.

For example, when Travel Mode is enabled the Vision Pro's awareness features will be disabled, which suggests that some sensors will be available. That's possibly due to the number of people around the wearer and the close quarters they will find themselves in. The Travel Mode will also require the wearer to stay stationary as well, likely for similar reasons.

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Continue reading: Apple's Vision Pro will have a special mode for using it on an airplane (full post)

The Google Pixel Tablet might still get its stylus and keyboard despite missing launch

Oliver Haslam | Mobile Devices | Jun 22, 2023 11:37 AM CDT

The Google Pixel Tablet is the latest attempt by Google to make an iPad competitor and it will no doubt also hope that its launch can kickstart the Android tablet world. But it doesn't currently have a first-party keyboard or stylus, something that is a surprise to some. Now, it's thought that Google might have plans to change that in the future.

The Google Pixel Tablet might still get its stylus and keyboard despite missing launch

We'd already seen some leaks that had suggested that Google did have designs on launching its own accessories, but now there is another leak that seems to confirm that was the case and in fact, it still might be.

A new Android Authority report cites developer Pratyush as having found an indication that the stylus and keyboard exist. That's based on a URL that leads to the latest version of the tablet's Retail Demo app which was released on May 21. According to that app and the strings found inside it, a Keyboard for Pixel Tablet and Pen for Pixel Tablet were indeed planned enough to have found their way into that app.

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Continue reading: The Google Pixel Tablet might still get its stylus and keyboard despite missing launch (full post)

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