A report in the Financial Times claims Foxconn has employed teenaged students to manufacture iPhone X components and that those students worked illegal overtime. Additionally, according to one of the students cited in the report, a school had students working at the factory as part of their educational programs.
The report cited only six workers out of the thousands working at the facility. But Apple and Foxconn have acknowledged that cases of illegal overtime did occur and that they are taking action to address the situation.
MTV’s short-lived animated series Clone High USA,which premiered 15 years ago this month,is one of those brilliant cult TV classics, like Arrested Development or Freaks and Geeks.
Enlarge / An artist’s impression of the oddly shaped interstellar asteroid `Oumuamua. (credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser)
Since mid-October, the astronomy community has been buzzing about what might be our Solar System’s first confirmed interstellar visitor. An automated telescope spotted an object that appeared as if it had been dropped on the Solar System from above, an angle that suggests it arrived from elsewhere. Now, a team of astronomers has rushed out a paper that describes the object's odd properties and gives it the name “1I/2017 U1 ‘Oumuamua.” In Hawaiian, ‘Oumuamua roughly means “first messenger,” and the 1I indicates that it’s the first interstellar object.
‘Oumuamua was first spotted on October 19 by the Pan-STARRS1 automated telescope system. Pan-STARRS1 turned out to have captured images of the object the day previously, but the automated analysis software hadn’t identified it. Further images over the next few days allowed researchers to refine its travel through our Solar System, confirming that ‘Oumuamua was making the most extreme approach toward the inner Solar System of any object we’ve ever seen. In essence, it appeared to have been dropped onto the Solar System from above, plunging between the Sun and the orbit of Mercury. It was also moving extremely quickly.
The Solar System was formed from a flattened disk of material, and all of the planets orbit roughly in the plane of that disk. Smaller objects, like dwarf planets and comets, may take somewhat more erratic approaches with orbits tilted out of that plane, but they still roughly aligned with it. We had literally never seen anything like ‘Oumuamua.
Cards Against Humanity, the self-described “party game for horrible people” is doing something totally not horrible. Notorious for its crazy marketing campaigns, the company announced a holiday promotion called “Cards Against Humanity Saves America”. Basically, the company purchased a plot of vacant land on the border of the United States of America and Mexico, preventing Donald Trump from building his wall.
“Donald Trump is a preposterous golem who is afraid of Mexicans,” the company writes. “He is so afraid that he wants to build a twenty-billion-dollar wall that everyone knows will accomplish nothing. So we’ve purchased a plot of vacant land on the border and retained a law firm specializing in eminent domain to make it as time-consuming and expensive as possible for the wall to get built.”
In December, for $15, the company will send customers six “America-saving surprises” right to their doorstep. The first one will include a map of the plot on the border, some new cards for the game, and a few other goodies. In a spoof explanation video, the game is giving a piece of land to all people who took part in the promotion, meaning that if the US government wanted to construct the border wall, it would have to drag every individual to court. “It will be fun, it will be weird, and if you voted for Trump, you might want to sit this one out.” The promotion sold out on its first day.
They purchased a plot of vacant land on the border of the United States and Mexico to “make it as time-consuming and expensive as possible for the wall to get built”
They also retained a law firm specializing in eminent domain, so you know they mean business
Wow. This is a nightmare to read and understand. EA sucks. Buying up studios then shutting them down a few years later. Turning game progression into a real money transaction. Fucking nuts.
Enlarge / Much like this space-defense mission, EA's launch plans for the Star Wars: Battlefront II economy seem to be blowing up. (credit: EA/DICE)
Before we deliver a proper verdict for Star Wars: Battlefront II, we want to take a moment to talk about the game's troubling, multilayered economy. The online multiplayer shooter is now officially available for paying EA Access subscribers, which offers a 10-hour trial of the game ahead of its November 16 launch on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.
Fans are already biting into that game-economy burrito, and it sure seems like a seven-layer thing, made up of loot boxes, battle points, credits, crystals, crafting parts, and star cards (which themselves come in two types and four tiers). The whole thing already looks confusing and messy, and fans have pointed out major issues with how the economy debuted in the game's paid EA Access launch this weekend.
EA has since responded to fans' most heated complaints, both in ridiculous and seemingly sensible ways. But even EA's best response belies a glaring truth: nothing short of a full rewrite will undo the damage of real money to Battlefront II's gameplay mechanics.
The landing date for Playerunknown's Battlegrounds on Xbox One is now official: December 12. The white-hot PC shooter game will land on all Xbox One consoles that day in the paid "Xbox Game Preview" program—which is Xbox's "Early Access" equivalent and therefore indicative of an unfinished product.
That should sound familiar to players of PUBG's current PC version, which has leaned on its Early Access status there while suffering from its share of bugs. Yet today's news has a silver lining for that platform as well: a simultaneous announcement of the PC edition's "1.0" version coming "in late December," according to the CEO of PUBG Corp., Chang Han Kim.
The announcement, made at this week's Paris Games Show during an Xbox event, is sadly scant on some key details for both platforms. In the Xbox One's case, Kim was not forthcoming about the console version's price [Update: because Microsoft already announced it at $29.99], nor whether the Xbox Game Preview price would be different from the console version's final cost (whenever it's "completed," that is). Kim also didn't go into detail about what enhancements owners of the upcoming Xbox One X should expect for PUBG. (And there certainly wasn't any mention of the game coming to other consoles any time soon.)
PORTLAND, Oregon—If you think you've seen everything there is to offer at a massive "retro gaming expo," then you're a lot like me. I went to last weekend's Portland Retro Gaming Expo with low expectations, simply hoping to have fun and play games with a few friends. But the annual show has continued its explosive growth, and this year's edition featured so much rare and weird gaming stuff from yesteryear that I couldn't help but pull out my camera.
In part, I'm a sucker for rare games, in original, mint-condition boxes, being collected and sold in a giant pavilion, which PRGE offered on its biggest show floor yet. And I always enjoy a massive free-play floor that lets me save quarters on classic pinball and video arcade machines, which PRGE also delivered with its biggest selection since the show began in 2006.
"Marvel would often suggest that the show include all sorts of frankly stupid things into the show like Wolverine curtains adorning the windows of Logan’s room."
Say what you will about Fox’s original X-Men film kicking off he modern superhero movie wave, but know that that film wouldn’t have existed were it not for the incredible success of the X-Men animated series that came before it.
Overwatch's popularity is in no small part related to its bright, colourful and fun cast of heroes (and anti-heroes). The roster and surrounding universe of Blizzard's arena-shooter has helped to make the game a smash hit worldwide, as well as inspiring cosplayers, fan-artists and Rule 34 aficionados everywhere.
Now you can see all of the artistic decisions and creative choices that went into forming the Overwatch universe, thanks to the release of The Art of Overwatch, a huge tome from Dark Horse publishing. The new book features just over 350 pages over preliminary sketches, concept art and alternate designs for the game's locations, weaponry, vehicles and, of course, characters.
The book is available in a standard hardback edition and a Limited Edition featuring a magnetic clamshell cover, an acetate slipcover featuring Tracer, and three glossy prints. For all you Kindle-lovers, the book is also available in digital format.
The Art of Overwatch, from Dark Horse, is available now.
Two Amazon customers who purchased 27 gallon plastic storage bins earlier this year were surprised to find their UPS delivery weighed 93.5 pounds, approximately 65 pounds of which was tightly compacted bales of marijuana.
Today, Amazon announced yet another way for Prime members to get their packages. The new Amazon Key system allows delivery personnel to drop off packages inside Prime members' homes, providing "secure home access" when the homeowner is not available. Amazon Key works in two parts: choosing in-home delivery while checking out on Amazon and providing access to your home through Amazon's new Key in-home kit, which includes a smart lock provided by Kwikset or Yale and a special version of the company's new Cloud Cam security camera.
The old-school method of leaving a key underneath your doormat is inconvenient and often anxiety-inducing, so Amazon believes its new lock-and-camera system will make accessing your home when you're not around more secure. Prime members can purchase the Key edition of the Cloud Cam and a smart lock for a total of $249, and they can have it installed for free. With the lock on your door and the indoor security camera monitoring the doorway, the in-home kit can allow authorized people into your home.
Amazon delivery employees aren't given a passcode to enter the home; rather they request access into the home, and Amazon's records verify that the employee is at the right address at the right time. All of this is done through an encryption process, and once the process is complete, the Cloud Cam begins recording, and the door is unlocked for the employee to enter. Customers can stay on top of in-home deliveries with real-time alerts and by watching the video of the delivery either in real time or after it's completed.
Mine is still plugged in. Never used it except for voice commands. Or one voice command in particular. "Xbox record that."
First dead in our hearts, and now dead at the manufacturing plant, the Kinect is no longer in production. Microsoft’s experimental motion detecting camera, which first launched in November, 2010, will die off once existing retail stock is sold, Microsoft told the website Fast Co. in an interview.
ugh. i think im gonna buy a gamecube just so i can play this again. so good.
Eternal Darkness is a 2002 GameCube game featuring an epically dark story that takes place over thousands of years. It’s a series of interconnected tales, almost like a collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories, that weave together myth, occultism, and some of the dark chapters in religion. While most people…
Most anyone who has played Overwatch knows that it can quickly turn into quite the time-sink. Committed players start chasing victories, competitive rankings, and loot boxes. The hours can really pile up. One person is the new standard bearer for that dedication.
Today, Overwatch player Treeboydave shared on reddit that he hit level 4,000. His stats page indicates that this took almost 3,500 hours to accomplish. Here's what his portrait border looks like at level 4,002.
Treeboydave says that he doesn't necessarily care about levels, though. His current goal is to put 150 hours into every character. He's not too far away (at least by his standards). He needs to put in another 266 hours between 8 characters to get there. At the rate he has been playing, he should get there in about 39 days.
It seems as if Treeboydave stands alone atop the mountain of Overwatch leveling. Other people have beat him to some unofficial milestones, though. Late last year, another player hit the unofficial level cap of 1,800 in about 1,700 hours. But Treeboydave has the longevity mixed with the obsessive dedication to Overwatch to go unparalleled for now.
Overwatch’s Halloween event has been announced, along with new spooky skins. While there are a lot of great new skins on offer, the fandom has already been freaking out over Symmetra’s Halloween skin that depicts her as a Dragon.
If you still have an AOL Instant Messenger account, now might be a good time to start saying your goodbyes. In ten weeks—the morning of December 15th to be precise—AIM will be shut down. The writing has been on the wall for some time—in March, AIM stopped supporting MD5 authentication, cutting off many third-party IM clients (like Adium) from accessing the service.
Now the plan is to disable all AIM services other than @aim.com e-mail addresses, according to a help page. Any images, attachments, or transcripts need to be saved before then because everything is being deleted.
Still, the service has had a pretty good run. Twenty years is a very long time on the Internet—just ask Myspace—and it has outlasted its biggest rival, which was killed off in 2014. Launched in 1997, AIM was the instant messaging platform of the Internet's golden years, spawning an entire new dialect of chatspeak that remains with us today. But nothing lasts forever, and the rise of the smartphone and platforms like WhatsApp have supplanted IM as the way most of us communicate.
Another 7-Eleven has been robbed by a suspect holding a roman candle firework in his hand and wearing a Halloween mask early Sunday morning in north Austin, said the Austin Police Department. It happened at about 3:16 a.m. at the gas station in the 9200 block of Burnet Road just north of Research Boulevard, police said.
In 2012, Gatorade released Bolt!, a game for the iPhone that used the fastest man alive to inspire kids to try their best, remain dedicated, and always avoid water. Some people found this problematic—including California’s attorney general. On Thursday, The Gatorade Company agreed to pay a $300,000 settlement for…
Many Californian’s regularly scheduled broadcasts were interrupted Thursday morning with strange emergency messages warning of extraterrestrial invasions and the beginning of Armageddon. The bizarre warnings aired on TVs in the Orange County area, affecting Cox and Spectrum cable users, according to the Orange Country…
Take it from a wise 20-something: you will, at some point, require medical attention for something entirely avoidable and at least somewhat embarrassing. Just how embarrassing it is may vary, but it’s OK. It happens to the best of us.
[Update: Blizzard says the Halloween Terror event will run from October 10 through November 2.]
Word among all the cool kids on Reddit is that that Blizzard's arena-shooter Overwatch is digging out the decorations for a re-run of its popular Halloween event from October 2016.
That in itself was a given, but pictures have surfaced of "new in-store advertisements", along with instructions that they are to be displayed on October 9, leading many to believe that the spooky capers will ensue from the following day, a Tuesday, typically used as a starting point for seasonal events.
This is obviously just a mere possibility. After all, the 2017 Summer event was a week later than many predicted. But, for whatever it's worth, last year's event began on October 11, so it's a reasonable assumption.
Who would you like to see get a creepy new skin this year? I'm hoping for Zombra!
Getting a game through a publisher’s certification process can be difficult. Games are tested in extreme conditions and fail for the slightest error. In the 90s, one developer snuck their games through Sega’s certification with a few clever tricks that disguised glitches as part of the game.
Speaking with Florida’s News-Press, Kids In The Hall member Kevin McDonald has teased that the sketch comedy troupe might be coming back to TV at some point. The group—which also includes Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson—originally came to TV with the Kids In The Hall show in the…
Last night, Ryan Gosling hosted Saturday Night Live, and he took the opportunity to reprise his role as the obsessive, moody driver from 2011's Drive. This time, he only had one thing on his dark mind. Avatar.
Earlier this month, we wrote about the most awesome “I woke up to this” moments that have ever happened, and this story that happened to Tim Newton from Alaska definitely belongs there.
“Tim was awakened by noises on [his] deck last week – and looked outside. In astonishment, he grabbed his camera.. and can you believe it? Mama Lynx and her SEVEN kits!!” – he later wrote on his facebook page.
“She called to them and they all lined up right outside in front of where he was standing (he was inside the screen door!) Amazing ALASKA WILD LIFE!!! They proceeded to run and play on our deck, and then in our yard!”
“I’ve concluded that lynx must spend 1 percent of their waking lives chasing rabbits, and 99 percent chasing their kids. It was pretty much non-stop frolicking and rough-housing.”
Beating Cuphead should come with a complimentary Mensa membership. It's a tough game, but Cuphead's difficulty lies more in exhaustive pattern recognition than anywhere else. Reactive shooting and jumping only go so far. Eventually, it's hardly reactionary anymore; it's muscle memory at that point.
There's a cognitive brilliance about Cuphead that makes it more rewarding than most other platformer shooters. There's a process to every single fight: Introduction, dissection, analysis, execution. Liberally sprinkle in failure at each step. No one is going to stumble into success in Cuphead. Every victory is earned. Every victory is sweet.
