Rapper Bow Wow recently posted a photo a photo on Instagram of the private jet he was about to board. Unfortunately, someone spotted Bow Wow Wow sitting on his commercial plane:
Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford star in Blade Runner 2049. Ridley Scott, who directed Blade Runner in 1982 (35 years ago!), is the exec producer. It was directed by Denis Villeneuve (Arrival).
Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. K’s discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.
Oracle yeah, but Cisco? I guess they are dicks too.
An anonymous reader quotes The Hill:
Oracle voiced support on Friday for FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's controversial plan to roll back the agency's net neutrality rules. In a letter addressed to the FCC, the company played up its "perspective as a Silicon Valley technology company," hammering the debate over the rules as a "highly political hyperbolic battle," that is "removed from technical, economic, and consumer reality"... Oracle wrote in their letter [PDF] that they believe Pai's plan to remove broadband providers from the FCC's regulatory jurisdiction "will eliminate unnecessary burdens on, and competitive imbalances for, ISPs [internet service providers] while enhancing the consumer experience and driving investment"... Other companies in support of Pai's plan, like AT&T and Verizon, have made the argument that the rules stifled investment in the telecommunications sector, specifically in broadband infrastructure.
Cisco has also argued that strict net neutrality laws on ISPs "restrict their ability to use innovative network management technology, provide appropriate levels of quality of service, and deliver new features and services to meet evolving consumer needs. Cisco believes that allowing the development of differentiated broadband products, with different service and content offerings, will enhance the broadband market for consumers."
After receiving a report of a cat in a tree holding an assault rifle, the Newport Oregon Police Department attended the scene, and, after ascertaining that the gun was actually a stick, they issued a "verbal warning" to the offending cat.
(more…)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Rensenware" forces players to get a high score in a difficult PC shoot-em-up to decrypt their files. As Malware Hunter Team noted yesterday, users on systems infected with Rensenware are faced with the usual ransomware-style warning that "your precious data like documents, musics, pictures, and some kinda project files" have been "encrypted with highly strong encryption algorithm." The only way to break the encryption lock, according to the warning, is to "score 0.2 billion in LUNATIC level" on TH12 ~ Undefined Fantastic Object. That's easier said than done, as this gameplay video of the "bullet hell" style Japanese shooter shows. As you may have guessed from the specifics here, the Rensenware bug was created more in the spirit of fun than maliciousness. After Rensenware was publicized on Twitter, its creator, who goes by Tvple Eraser on Twitter and often posts in Korean, released an apology for releasing what he admitted was "a kind of highly-fatal malware." The apology is embedded in a Rensenware "forcer" tool that Tvple Eraser has released to manipulate the game's memory directly, getting around the malware's encryption without the need to play the game (assuming you have a copy installed, that is). While the original Rensenware source code has been taken down from the creator's Github page, a new "cut" version has taken its place, showing off the original joke without any actually malicious forced encryption.
The EVATAR is a working model of a reproductive system made from a mouse ovary and bits of a human uterus, cervix, vagina, fallopian tubes, and liver. Developed by Northwestern University researcher Teresa Woodruff and her colleagues, the EVATAR is intended to help better test the effects of medicines and toxins on women. And now it's completed its first full menstrual cycle. From National Geographic:
The tissues produced hormones that coursed through the miniature reproductive system, their levels rising and falling over 28 days.
Eventually, multiple synthetic systems could be linked up to essentially create a “human in a dish,” some researchers hope, reducing the need to experiment directly on people or animals.
And scientists hope such devices could one day use a patient’s own tissues to tailor treatments to an individual. Woodruff imagines a future in which a person’s medical care might be tailored using a series of personalized avatar devices as their own metabolism changes through the years.
“I think the future of women’s health is bright,” (Woodruff) says.
Today Entertainment Weekly unveiled its striking new three-part cover story featuring members of the Twin Peaks cast who will return for the cult series' 2017 revival. Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), Audrey Horne (Sherilyn Fenn), Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), and David Lynch (either as himself or Regional Bureau Chief Gordon Cole) pose in the middle panel, with Shelly Johnson (Mädchen Amick), Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook), and Norma Jennings (Peggy Lipton) to their right and an owl (Bob? Is that you?), Nadine Hurley (Wendy Robie), Ed Hurley (Everett McGill), and James Hurley (James Marshall) to their left. Together the three panels look like the last supper set in the Black Lodge—note the heavy red curtain backdrop and the long Double R Diner countertop.
It's exciting to see the characters together again, but it's also pretty jarring. Michael Ontkean will not reprise his role as Sheriff Harry S. Truman, which makes me wonder—if this dumb Entertainment Weekly cover seems strange without him, what'll the revamp be like? They were peripheral characters, but the absence of Log Lady and Albert Rosenfield stings after the recents deaths of Catherine E. Coulson and Miguel Ferrer (although there's an honorary log in the cover's right corner). Audrey Horne looks mischievous as ever, while Special Agent Dale Cooper looks like somebody's dad. Another important note is that James Hurley is completely bald now.
Entertainment Weekly also released nine exclusive images of scenes from the revival—hit the jump to see those.
SUZANNE TENNER/SHOWTIME, VIA ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Here you'll find David Lynch giving James Hurley and a flanneled hooligan (his son, perhaps?) a stern talking to.
SUZANNE TENNER/SHOWTIME, VIA ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Norma Jennings and Shelly Johnson share a knowing look at the Double R.
PATRICK WYMORE/SHOWTIME, VIA ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
David Duchovny returns as the cunning DEA Agent Denise Bryson. Which reminds me, why exactly are cis dudes still playing trans women on TV? Sorry David—you're my boo, but it's the truth. Trans women should definitely play trans women on TV.
SUZANNE TENNER/SHOWTIME, VIA ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
RIP Miguel Ferrer :(
SUZANNE TENNER/SHOWTIME, VIA ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Andy (Harry Goaz) and Lucy (Kimmy Robertson) look adorably content!!! Thank heavens Lucy didn't lose her signature style—that sweater is a thing of beauty.
SUZANNE TENNER/SHOWTIME, VIA ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Is Hawk (Michael Horse) the new Twin Peaks Sheriff? HE'D BETTER BE.
Seiken Densetsu collection for Switch (in Japan) ⊟
The Switch is a nice place for a multiplayer RPG, and Square is offering a bundle of three of them in Japan. Seiken Densetsu Collection includes Seiken Densetsu 1 (Final Fantasy Adventure in North America), 2 (Secret of Mana), and 3 (which was never released outside of Japan!) on a single cartridge with this really lovely packaging.
Even if Square Enix doesn’t localize this – and it might, who knows! – remember that the Switch is region-free, and you can even buy things from other regions’ eShops. So New Mana might be in your future.
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia limited edition set throws in reversible cover, pins ⊟
The 3DS’s remake for 1992′s Japan-only Famicom game Fire Emblem Gaiden will come out May 19 with the usual limited edition bundle that all RPGs get nowadays. And while the now-standard soundtrack CD and artbook (hardcover) aren’t a surprise, the $59.99 set also comes with three pins for Marth and the game’s main characters, as well as a reversible cover sheet that looks like the original Famicom packaging. All remakes need this.
Don’t forget the amiibo figures:
“Also launching on May 19 are the Alm and Celicaamiibo figures, available only as a set at a suggested retail price of $24.99. When used in the game, these amiibo will activate their own exclusive dungeons, allowing heroes to earn items and level up their armies further by defeating bosses. By selecting Mila’s Turnwheel from the menu on the overworld map, they will also be able to take advantage of their Alm and Celica amiibo in battle. During combat, players can sacrifice a portion of Alm or Celica’s health in order to summon a computer-controlled illusory hero, which will act as a temporary ally for a single turn.
As Alm and Celica get stronger, their stats can be saved to their respective amiibo, allowing their summoned unit to grow in strength alongside them. In addition, all Fire Emblem amiibo from the Super Smash Bros. series can be used to summon an illusory hero of that character, allowing players to seek assistance from spectral visages of Marth, Ike, Roy, Robin, Lucina and the upcoming Corrin amiibo. All other currently available amiibo are also compatible, and will summon an additional monster to the battleground to assist players in battle, providing some much-needed help in case of a strategic emergency.”
Seattle's cool, but I wasn't inclined to leave Portland over it. Maybe for a really good job.
"Seattle tech workers who own their homes can expect to have about $2,000 more in disposable income each month than tech workers in the Bay Area," according to a new study from LinkedIn and Zillow. An anonymous reader writes:
"For technology workers who rent, Seattle, Austin and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania came out on top among the housing markets analyzed, with the Bay Area at #4..." the two companies reported. "Salaries for other industries don't hold up as well in the San Francisco area, though. Even highly-paid finance workers keep only about 32 percent of their incomes after paying for housing and taxes. In Charlotte or Chicago, they can pocket a median of 61 percent."
The Bay Area's high housing prices are apparently offset by the high salaries paid there to tech workers, according to the study. Even so, both home owners and renters pay roughly half the median income for housing on the west coast, "while a rental in the middle of the country costs more like 25 percent of the median income."
The report also identified the best cities for health workers -- Phoenix, Indianapolis, and Boston -- as well as for finance workers, who do best in Charlotte, Chicago and Dallas. The top 15 cities for tech workers also included those same cities except Chicago and Phoenix, while also including known tech hotspots like Denver, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. But surprisingly the top 15 best cities for tech workers also included Detroit, Nashville, St. Paul (Minnesota) and Tampa, Florida.
Hey y’all, it’s Jaffe, game director over at The Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency. I have a confession to make. For the past few months, whenever players would suggest that Drawn To Death would be a perfect fit as one of the free games for PlayStation Plus, I’d have to bite my tongue (And if you know me, you know that ain’t easy!).
All I could do was nod and say, “That’d be great. We’d love it, but no plans for that. Nice idea, though!”
But behind the scenes we had been talking to the folks over at PS Plus. I wanted to find a way to invite all of you PS Plus members into this experience and give you a look at what really excites me about games these days. We’ve been working on Drawn To Death for nearly three years, and over time, it really has become this robust, highly competitive game — and we haven’t even talked about a lot of the new features yet. Needless to say, I thought you could all help us build an unbelievable community for the game.
I just couldn’t say anything.
Until now.
We just couldn’t wait any longer to share the good news, so here we are — finally — loud and proud and excited as-all-get-out to announce that Drawn To Death launches April 4 and is free for PS Plus members!
Drawn To Death, as you may know, is a third-person shooter/brawler that takes place entirely inside the pages of a high school kid’s notebook. All of the kid’s creative drawings come to life and battle it out in this highly competitive, fast paced, online action game.
Besides the surprisingly tactical combat, unique over the tops levels, and fantastically deep characters, there’s a lot more to Drawn To Death that we haven’t really talked about. Here are the five coolest new features we’ve added to the game that will be included at launch:
Sphinx Missions: Wake the mysterious Sphinx and see if you can solve her eight battle-focused riddles. For every riddle solved, a new weapon — or a new level — will be rewarded!
Character-centric Missions: Besides levelling up characters, players will also have the opportunity to work through 15 action-packed missions per each of the six launch characters. Earn costumes and rare Taunts as you work your way through your favorite characters. Master all of the character missions and you may come face to face with the Volcano God!
Mystery Boxes: Who doesn’t love Mystery Boxes?! The Drawn To Death Mystery Boxes are filled to the brim with amazing character taunts and insanely creative character skins. Get a free Mystery Box just by playing three matches online and then earn Mystery Boxes for every 150 kills you execute on the battlefield!
Climb the Tower: The Drawn To Death launch tower is based on the theme Dark Fairy Tales, and if you play in ranked mode, you’ll have a chance to reach the tower’s top, earning insane stickers for every floor you reach!
Insane Mystery Special Offer: I’m not at liberty to go into detail or spoil the surprise but let me just say this: “Destroy my enemies and my life… is yours!”
I hope I’ve gotten you at least a little interested in Drawn To Death, and perhaps even adding it into your game collection.
And if I haven’t yet convinced you (Or even if I have!), I wanted you to know that myself and a handful of the Bartlet Jones crew will be doing a live stream of the game today at 3:00 PM Pacific right here on Twitch to show off the game and all these new features. We’ll also be taking questions, talking games in general, and heck, who knows, maybe there’ll even be a surprise or two! Hope you can join us!
Take care, y’all. As always, thanks for the support and interest in all the games we’ve worked on over the years. We’re nothing without you!
We’re getting an Advance Wars-ish game for Switch ⊟
It’s called Wargroove, and it looks like the closest thing we’ll get to Advance Wars until Intelligent Systems breaks free from the captors forcing it to produce an endless supply of Fire Emblem games.
Developed by Chucklefish Games, Wargroove is a turn-based strategy title supporting up to four players and allowing you to build your own stages. It releases this year for Switch, as well as for PC and Xbox One.
Awesome if true. The other have region free stuff buy you still have to use local currency to pay.
Report: Switch eShop is a region free paradise ⊟
I’d heard that the Switch was region free, but according to reporter Laura Kate Dale, it’s SPECTACULARLY region free. “You can access other region’s Eshops easily. UK Switch. Make a NA account. No checks made. Log into eshop. Eshop shows NA games and prices.”
Not only that, she says you can use the same payment method across shops – as in, your credit card will work in another region’s shop. This is the world’s greatest region-free system if this is how it’s going to work, and I cannot wait to get all the weird little games I can get off the Japanese shop.
An anonymous reader shares an Esquire article: If New Zealand is on your bucket list, it's time to fill out a job application. You see, the tech industry in Wellington, New Zealand is trying to recruit experts from around the world to their community, so they're offering a free trip if you can prove you want the job and deserve an interview. They're calling it a "global talent attraction program" and 100 potential recruits will be invited on the free (yes, free) week-long trip. But, of course, the catch is you have to prove why you could serve as a software developer, creative director, product manager, analyst or digital strategist to get a free ticket. Once you do, your itinerary will be filled with interviews and meetings with others in the New Zealand tech community members, as well as excursions around Wellington.
We’ve got a cool bundle to share for new and existing PlayStation Plus members!
Starting today, if you purchase a one year membership through PlayStation Store, you’ll get three additional months of PS Plus and three months of Showtime through PlayStation Vue — a value of $111.95 — for a bundle price of $59.99. The Showtime offer is only available to new subscribers to Showtime through PlayStation Vue.
This promotion runs through March 31, 2017 while supplies last. To see the full terms and conditions of this offer, please visit our website.
As a member of PS Plus, you can enjoy benefits and features such as online multiplayer on PS4, free games, online game save storage, and exclusive discounts.
We continue to work on providing great offers and value for PS Plus members, so we hope you enjoy!
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
