John Drury

Plus: Slow Horses season 3 and Letterkenny’s final season

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We’ve all been busy here at RPS picking out our favourite demos in this spring’s Steam Next Fest. Looking at both the popular upcoming demo list and the most wishlisted list, survival crafting game Voidtrain sits comfortably in second place on both. I decided to download the demo and see what the fuss was about, and wow, is Voidtrain completely wild.

I thought Voidtrain might be relatively new, but it's actually been knocking around for a couple of years. It’s been in early access on the Epic Games Store since 2021, and after announcing a Steam release for October 2022, the game got indefinitely delayed. Voidtrain's Steam page currently has a vague release date of sometime in 2023, but the demo is a good reason enough to check it out while the team is still tightening some loose screws.

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King Koopa’s set contains a whopping 2,807 pieces

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Environmentalist, author, and journalist Bill McKibben wrote about an innovative idea that would help curb Europe’s dependency on Russian fossil fuels, and the Biden administration might actually implement the plan.

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The post How US-made heat pumps could help weaken Russian power over Europe [Update] appeared first on Electrek.

Grab your pitchfork and put on your sturdiest boots, readers – it is once again time to reap the pastoral delights of small-town farm life. Story Of Seasons: Friends Of Mineral Town, Xseed Games’ same-subtitled remake of the 2003’s Harvest Moon release, is now out on Steam. One to watch out for, if you fancy Stardew Valley‘s mix of farming, fishing and romancin’ with more of a cutesy chibi flair.

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Apple, Amazon, Google, and the Zigbee Alliance today announced a new working group that plans to develop and promote the adoption of a new IP-based connectivity standard for smart home products, with a focus on increased compatibility, security, and simplified development for manufacturers.


Zigbee Alliance board member companies such as IKEA, Legrand, NXP Semiconductors, Resideo, SmartThings, Schneider Electric, Signify, Silicon Labs, Somfy, and Wulian will also contribute to the project.

The so-called "Project Connected Home over IP" aims to make it easier for device manufacturers to build devices that are compatible with smart home and voice services such as Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, and others by defining a specific set of IP-based networking technologies for device certification.

The new standard will incorporate existing smart home technologies, such as Apple's HomeKit and Google's Weave and Thread:

We're contributing two of our market-tested and open-source smart home technologies, Weave and Thread. Both are built on IP and have been integrated into millions of homes around the world. Weave, an application protocol, works over many networks like Thread, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy, and even cellular. Even when devices are on different networks, Weave allows them all to securely work with each other.

The new connectivity standard will be open source and royalty free, with code to be maintained on GitHub. The working group has a goal to release a draft specification and a preliminary reference implementation in late 2020.

For consumers, this should ultimately lead to more smart home accessories that support multiple platforms like HomeKit and Alexa.


This article, "Apple, Amazon, Google, and Zigbee Alliance to Develop Open Standard for Smart Home Devices" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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In five of the kingdoms in Super Mario Odyssey, Mario meets a Shiba Inu wearing a hat. The dog will dig up spots in the ground where coins and Power Moons can be found by Ground Pounding. Whenever Mario throws Cappy, the dog will chase after him, attempting to catch him and return him to Mario.

In the Metro Kingdom, it is possible to accidentally cause the dog to jump off the edge of a building into the abyss below. Normally, the fence prevents the dog from jumping off, however, the dog is able to climb the bench shown in the footage if Cappy is above the abyss, and jump after Cappy.

The dog will reappear in its original location shortly after falling off the building.
_{Main Blog | Twitter | Patreon | Store | Source: myself, Super Mario Odyssey (Switch) on original hardware}

Hurray! It’s nearly time to dive back into the mind of Edmund McMillen, The Binding Of Issac developer renown for letting us throw the tears of a neglected child at gross manifestations of maternal cruelty. The Legend Of Bum-bo is a prequel to Issac, billed as a “puzzle based deckbuilding roguelike” built from cardboard. According to this release trailer, it’s coming out on the 12th of November.

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Oh, to be a Mac owner. Not that we’ve got it great on PC – my rig’s been bricking it since last week’s Windows update, after all – but it’s been a long time since a big OS update killed half of my game library. Desktop gaming always gets around to leaving a generation behind, though. 32-bit applications have been on the chopping block for a few years – and with this month’s “Catalina” update, Apple are making the first move towards killing them off for good.

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Including Super Mario Party and Mario Tennis Aces

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The game known internationally as Super Mario Bros. 2 is called Super Mario USA in Japan. Top left: the game’s cover as seen in the North American version of Super Mario All-Stars, top right: the cover in the Japanese version.

Bottom: Drawings of “American Mario” from the official Japanese guide for Super Mario All-Stars, based on the name “Super Mario USA”.
_{Main Blog | Twitter | Patreon | Store | Source: see bottom of all images}

Amazon is matching prices, because it’s Amazon

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While one of the best things about having a gaming-spec PC is the sheer freedom you have in input devices, it really does help to have a reliable, widely supported gamepad. My current go-to is the XBox One controller, but there might be another competitor on the horizon. You’ll have to opt in to the latest Steam beta to use it, but you can now use a Nintendo Switch Pro controller on Steam, remarkably useful gyro-aiming and all.

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Sony’s VR headset keeps getting cheaper

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Please take care of yourself, Sakurai

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Some may grumble about the recent glut of HD updates and remasters that have been bulking out release schedules the past few years, but when it means that a new generation can experience joys like 1999’s RTS/tank-combat hybrid Battlezone 2: Combat Commander, then I’m all for it.

Following up from the slightly wonky re-release that was Battlezone 98 Redux, Big Boat Interactive (under Rebellion’s publishing banner) have poured a lot more time and effort into the sequel’s enhancement, which launched via both Steam and GOG today.

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‘Director’s cut’ promises more weirdness, more crimes

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Coming next year

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You can feel the $8 leaving your wallets

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Logitech resurrected the trackball device today with its announcement of the MX ERGO, which the company is calling its "first new innovative trackball in nearly a decade".

Pitched to consumers looking for alternatives to mice and touchpads, the Bluetooth-based MX ERGO features an adjustable metal hinge with angle options at either zero or 20 degrees for personalizing the comfort level, which improves wrist posture and pronation, according to Logitech.

"We are so excited by this new trackball. It is back, better than ever and the idea for this trackball innovation was inspired by our users, who invented creative ways to achieve their desired level of comfort, sometimes adding additional wedges under their trackball for elevated angles," said Anatoliy Polyanker, global portfolio and brand director at Logitech. "The MX ERGO is our first adjustable trackball that delivers on the need for elevated comfort in a beautiful design."

The sculpted shape is designed to offer full palm and finger support, with a soft rubber on top for a comfortable grip over many hours of work. An LED light indicates when "precision mode" is activated using the dedicated button on the side of the MX ERGO. This special mode is said to allow the user to instantly change cursor speed and accuracy.

The device also supports multi-device connectivity through Logitech's Easy-Switch and Logitech Flow software, which allows users to seamlessly switch between two computers with one mouse, as well as copy and paste content, images and documents between them.


The rechargeable battery lasts up to four months on a full charge, depending on usage, and Logitech reckons the MX ERGO can give a complete day of work with just one minute of charge if the device is low on power.

The Logitech MX ERGO is priced at $99.99 and should be available to buy on the Logitech website and select retail stores throughout the U.S. in September.


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It’s late afternoon after a long weekend and lord knows you probably don’t want to be wherever you are right now. We’ve got you covered with this soul-saving video of a hydraulic press doing gloriously destructive things to a series of unlucky fast food burgers.

If you’re not familiar with the Hydraulic Press Channel on YouTube, then you’ve been missing out on some of the most hilariously pointless footage ever committed to digital video.

In the latest clip, the Finnish folks that have crushed everything from “deep freezed stuff” to cable boxes, and who were famously unable to fold a sheet of paper more than seven times, work their way through fast food burgers, with results that you can pretty much expect.

The real fun comes about two minutes into the below video, when they stack six burgers in an extrusion canister, then use the press to force the beef, cheese, buns, lettuce, pickles, and special sauce through a single 3mm hole.

When the host of the segment says, “It is going to be quite messy,” he is making a gross understatement.

Enjoy, and be sure to watch the slow-motion replay accompanied by Rossini’s “William Tell Overture.”

Today, in news I never thought I’d hear: Evil Genius 2 has been announced. Evil Genius, to refresh your memory, is a 2004 real-time strategy game made by Elixir Studios, about a Bond-y villain building super secret bases for dastardly reasons while fending off meddling spies. It’s a bit like Dungeon Keeper, and it is good fun. Sniper Elite developers Rebellion picked up the rights to Evil Genius back in 2006 and, after a foolish attempt at a free-to-play Evil Genius for Facebook a few years back, now say they’re making an actual proper real Evil Genius 2. … [visit site to read more]

The House Financial Service Committee approved the Financial CHOICE Act 2.0 today, signaling the first concrete move to roll back consumer protections and gut the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. 

The committee voted today to send the Financial CHOICE Act 2.0 — introduced by bank-backed Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling last month — to the full house for consideration, likely sometime next month.

According to The Hill, today’s 34-26 party-line vote came after nearly 24 hours of debate and markups of the bill, which included several amendments that would have preserved some of the provisions under the Dodd-Frank Act.

The 589-page legislation [PDF], which has received significant opposition from advocates, retailers, and others, is a revision of the previous Financial CHOICE Act introduced by Hensarling last year.

As it stands, the Financial CHOICE 2.0 Act would, among other things:

• Require the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to get congressional approval before taking enforcement action against financial institutions

• Restrict the Bureau’s ability to write rules regulating financial companies

• Revoke the agency’s authority to restrict arbitration

• Revoke the CFPB’s authority to conduct education campaigns

• Prevent the Bureau from making public the complaints it collects from consumers in its Consumer Complaint Database

• Revamp the agency’s structure by allowing the CFPB director to be fired at will by the President

• Require the agency’s budget to be subject to the annual congressional appropriations process

• Prevent the CFPB from having oversight over the payday lending industry

• Rename the CFPB to the Consumer Law Enforcement Agency

• Require banks to undergo stress tests every other year, with banks agreeing to increase their capital never having to undergo stress tests

• Revoke the so-called qualitative test that evaluates a bank’s plan for managing capital and risk

• Remove requirements under the Durbin Amendment [PDF] that guided how much credit card networks could charge retailers for processing debit card transactions

The bill’s approval by the House Financial Service Committee was met with strong opposition by consumer advocates, the retail industry, and other lawmakers.

Our colleagues at Consumers Union say the bill’s approval puts consumers at risk while protecting the financial interests of big banks and shady lenders.

“Congress created the CFPB to ensure consumers get a fair deal and to protect them from predatory practices that can undermine their financial security,” Pamela Banks, senior policy counsel for Consumers Union, said in a statement. “This bill strips the CFPB of most of its power and would leave consumers vulnerable to fraud, hidden fees and costly gotchas by banks and unscrupulous financial firms.”

Several groups, including the National Consumer Law Center, Americans for Financial Reform, and Public Citizen, lambasted the bill’s provision restricting the CFPB and Security and Exchange Commission’s authority to restrict forced arbitration.

“Contrary to its title, H.R. 10 would deprive consumers and investors of any choice of their day in court when resolving serious disputes with powerful financial institutions and force them into a rigged system,” Amanda Werner, arbitration campaign manager with Americans for Financial Reform and Public Citizen, said in a statement.

Werner noted that forced arbitration clauses “only serve to kill consumer class action lawsuits and cover up widespread fraud and abuse.”

The Center For American Progress said in a statement that the Financial CHOICE Act is only the right choice for Wall Street bankers.

“It shows a blatant disregard for the painful lessons learned during the 2007–2008 financial crisis,” Marc Jarsulic, Vice President for Economic Policy at the Center for American Progress, said in a statement. “The so-called CHOICE Act removes protections against taxpayer-funded bailouts, erodes consumer protections, and undercuts necessary tools to hold Wall Street accountable.”

Even the retail industry, which had urged Congress to not roll back financial reforms involving debit card transactions, called out the Committee for moving forward with the legislation.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association — which counts a number of major retailers, such as Apple, Best Buy, Gap, Target, Walmart, and others, as members — said in a statement that it would keep fighting the Financial CHOICE Act’s provisions related to swipe fees. RILA and other industry groups believe that by revoking the swipe fee reforms, retailers would pass on the new, more expensive processing costs to consumers.

“While we believe in financial reforms that make sense for America’s community banks and local credit unions, the repeal of hard-fought debit swipe fee reform included in the CHOICE Act gives big banks and card networks a green light to raise costs on every business in America that accepts debit cards,” Austen Jensen, Vice President of Government Affairs and Financial Services for RILA, said in a statement.

On the other side of the debate, the American Bankers Association called today’s vote an important step.

“We commend Chairman Hensarling and members of the Committee for their tireless efforts to help our nation’s banking industry serve their customers and communities,” Rob Nichols, ABA president and CEO, said in a statement, calling the Financial CHOICE Act “needed regulatory relief.”

Kicks off with Nier: Automata; Breath of the Wild is a bonus game

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Today I’m wearing my leather jacket and trying to convince Cara to bop me with a plank then toss me into a bin, celebrating the launch of Full Throttle Remastered [official site]. Tim Schafer’s Double Fine Productions have updated and re-released LucasArts’ 1995 stonking adventure game, which Tim Tam led development on back in his LucasArts days. Parts of Full Throttle always niggled and annoyed but it rose well above them, and I’m hopeful that still holds true. I can’t think of any game in the past 22 years which has surpassed Full Throttle’s opening, for starters. … [visit site to read more]

The future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues to remain in question with yet another attack being lobbed at the Bureau this week as lawmakers introduced new legislation both in the House and Senate that would abolish the agency.

The legislation — dubbed Repeal CFPB Act — was introduced by Texas lawmakers Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. John Ratcliffe. The Act would eliminate Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, essentially dismantling the CFPB.

Title X of Dodd-Frank — a provision known as the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 — established the CFPB as an independent agency tasked with reining in deceptive and anti-consumer practices in a variety of financial products and services.

The recently introduced pair of bills — S. 370 [PDF] and H.R. 1031 [PDF] — would completely undo the provision, making it as if the CFPB never existed.

Sen. Cruz and Rep. Ratcliffe claim in a joint statement about the bills that they would “free consumers and small businesses from the CFPB’s regulatory blockades and financial activism.”

The CFPB and Dodd-Frank Act have been a target of lawmakers and the Trump Administration in recent weeks.

In early February, Trump signed a mostly symbolic executive order directing federal regulators to revise the rules established by the 2010 financial reforms.

Last week, Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, announced plans to revise the Financial Choice Act bill he introduced last year to include provisions that would eliminate Wall Street financial stress tests and turn the head of the CFPB into an appointed position.

In a Feb. 8 memo, Hensarling reportedly said his revised bill would overhaul the annual stress tests the Federal Reserve uses to determine if banks have enough capital to sustain a financial crisis.

With respect to the CFPB, the revised Financial Choice Act would largely transform the Bureau into a law enforcement agency, as it would only be able to pass rules that have been mandated by Congress.

The CFPB has also been the center of a legal battle related to whether or not its leadership structure is unconstitutional.

The CFPB, has a rare — but not unique — leadership structure. Its sole Director is appointed by the President, but can only be removed from office if the administration demonstrates that the Director has done something deserving of dismissal. Most agencies with just one director-level administrator work at the discretion of the Oval Office, meaning the President can fire that person at whim.

The Bureau is currently appealing a court ruling that would allow the President to fire a CFPB Director without having to show cause.

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Unused Yoshi sprites from Super Mario World.

From an announcement about a Tetris licensing agreement between Nintendo and the Soviet Foreign Trade Association.

Will debut later this year

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It's been nearly a year since a U.S. federal judge originally ordered Apple to help the FBI hack into an iPhone owned by Syed Farook, one of the shooters in the December 2015 attacks in San Bernardino. As we learned in the months after the initial court order -- which Apple continually opposed -- the FBI enlisted the help of Israeli mobile software developer Cellebrite to open up the iPhone 5c in question.

Now a hacker has reportedly stolen and publicly released a cache of Cellebrite's most sensitive data, including its tools used to hack into older iPhones, as well as Android and BlackBerry smartphones (via Motherboard). Techniques that the firm uses to open "newer iPhones" were not included in the public posting, but it's also not clear exactly which models of iPhone are considered "older." Farook's iPhone 5c, which launched in 2013, is likely in that category.


Apple's main stance against the court order last year was its fear that creating such an operating system that bypassed the iPhone's basic security features -- essentially creating a "master key" for all iOS devices -- would set a "dangerous precedent" for the future of encryption and security. The bypass could also potentially make its way into the public and affect hundreds of millions of Apple customers, with Apple CEO Tim Cook claiming that the software the FBI wanted to use to force open Farook's iPhone was "the equivalent of cancer."

As pointed out by Motherboard, the newly leaked tools "demonstrate that those worries were justified." According to the hacker in question who shared Cellebrite's tools on Pastebin, the purpose behind the leak was to highlight the importance of the inevitability that any brute force tools aimed at bypassing encryption software "will make it out" into the public.

"The debate around backdoors is not going to go away, rather, its is almost certainly going to get more intense as we lurch toward a more authoritarian society," the hacker told Motherboard in an online chat.

"It's important to demonstrate that when you create these tools, they will make it out. History should make that clear," they continued.

Back in January the same hacker stole 900GB of sensitive Cellebrite data, but according to a Cellebrite spokesperson, only its customers' "basic contact information" had been put at risk. Delving into the cache of information, it was proven that the breach had uncovered much more detailed "customer information, databases, and a vast amount of technical data regarding Cellebrite's products."

In a README file posted alongside the more recent data dump on Pastebin, the hacker in question left a message directly addressing the FBI: "@FBI Be careful in what you wish for."

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.


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