danah boyd’s SXSW keynote is sold out. When it’s over, a dozen fans rush the stage.
These fans aren’t young groupies hoping to get a closer glimpse at their favorite rock star, but full-grown adults hoping to hear one more word from boyd. She’s one of the world’s sharpest authorities on how teens interact with technology, and for many, her word has become canon for understanding why teens do what they do.
The stage-rushers are e-marketers, digital strategists, and marketing gurus,...
Titanfall is the first big Xbox One exclusive, and by association, the most important game in years. It could be the killer app that convinces people to buy an Xbox over a PlayStation. It's widely believed that's because Microsoft paid top dollar to its formerly struggling developer, Respawn Entertainment, to ensure the hotly anticipated game would be a Microsoft exclusive. But today, Respawn studio head Vince Zampella says the company may also bring the game to mac.
@TZB17 We are talking to Aspyr, they should do it
— Vince Zampella (@VinceZampella) March 13, 2014
Though it was no secret that the game would appear on personal computers — two days ago, it arrived on Windows PCs alongside Xbox One — we assumed that Windows PC was simply one of three Microsoft platforms for the game. Now, though, Zampella says that the studio's in talks with Aspyr Media — famous for porting PC games to Mac — to bring Titanfall to OS X.
Before Mac users celebrate, though, they should know that there's likely to be a sizable delay. Though Asypr managed to release a port of Bioshock Infinite only four months after the original game debuted, ports have generally taken much longer. For example, Call of Duty: Black Ops didn't arrive on Mac for nearly two years after its original debut in 2010.
Images of an Amazon-branded game controller have leaked, all-but confirming the existence of an Amazon set-top box for your TV. The images were first posted by media blog Zatz Not Funny, and come from a Brazilian regulatory agency similar to the FCC. They depict a traditional-looking game controller with media control buttons at its bottom. It actually looks remarkably similar to the controller for OnLive, but with Xbox-style offset analogue sticks. The controller also features three central buttons that look like Android's back, home, and menu keys, and a button beneath that bears the logo for GameCircle, Amazon's service for cloud saves, leaderboards, and achievements.
It's suggested that the unnamed box will run a fork of the Android OS, just like Amazon's Kindle Fire line of tablets. Those tablets act very much as a storefront for Amazon, offering a wide selection of games, movies, and books. It's likely that Amazon will attempt to leverage its large content offerings with the launch of a set-top box. The recent acquisition of Killer Instinct / Strider developer Double Helix cemented rumors that Amazon had higher hopes for its TV box than just a media streamer, with gaming also said to be a focus. The Amazon TV box was apparently planned for a holiday 2013 release, but that date was reportedly pushed back, and the most recent rumors suggest an official announcement is imminent.
Lo! We bring you good tidings, fair Plexians!
You’ve been very patient, and we’re thrilled to announce that Chromecast support is now free for everyone! All you have to do is update to the new releases of our iOS and Android apps, and you can enjoy the absolute best local media app for Chromecast. (And of course, a giant thank you to all the Plex Pass members who supported us during the preview period. You all rock. Namaste.)
Seriously, though, if you’ve been waiting to check out Plex on the Chromecast, it’s completely awesome. Downright rad. Not only do we provide the highest quality streaming around for your photos, music and videos (guaranteed, or your pixels back), we just added “content mirroring” which displays details for your media on the big screen while you browse, which is an incredibly cool, unique, and useful feature. Impress your friends. Make your parents think all that money for college didn’t go to waste.
And really, we could end the blog post right here. Chromecast support is free, now get back to your couch and check it out.
But we slipped in a few more awesome things for you…
In the six+ years we’ve been working on Plex for you, one of the most often requested features is “can I shuffle all my music?” Well, as of today, on iOS and in the web app, yes, yes you can! We’re happy to be introducing our play queues feature, which is—as you might have guessed—a prelude to full-blown playlists for Plex. As always, we don’t take new features lightly; what you’re seeing below is a shuffle of over 40,000 tracks, using the highest quality shuffle mechanism there is. It’s incredibly fast, even over a remote connection. And once you’ve created a play queue, you can easily add to or edit it.
Not only can you play or shuffle all your music, but you can also use our rich and powerful filtering system to narrow down what you’re going to listen to. In this next example, I’m about to shuffle all my Australian music (and if you’re not listening to Australian music, sir or madam, you are missing out. The melodies! The lyrics! The facial hair!).
And really, why would we stop at just shuffling music? You can also use play queues with video. For example, and because I have very good taste in TV shows, I’m just sitting down on the couch with Barkley, about to partake in an Archer marathon. Quickly queue up all unwatched episodes, shuffle all episodes, or for example, I could also use our powerful filters to shuffle all unwatched movies rated G to protect Barkley’s sensitive ears while I write code, for you.
This feature is brand new, available for everyone on iOS and the web app, today. We’ll be expanding to other platforms, and making it even more awesome over the coming months.
So now we’re really done, right? House lights up, people heading for the exits? Hardly.
We’ve got one super cool brand new feature for Plex Pass members on iOS called Camera Upload. It’s easy to explain: point the Plex app at a server and a photo library, and it’ll make sure all the photos on your camera roll automatically upload to that library. We do all the work for you, in the background, using a brand new iOS 7 feature. Keep your phone in your pocket, as your photos are backed up safely in a Plex library, and then you can access them on all Plex apps, share them with friends or family, or (of course) fling them to your Chromecast (free for everyone now!).
We’ve even made a little promo video for the feature, since we dig it so much:
And that’s all she wrote, folks. Until next time, here’s Barkley, relaxing after a beach jaunt, face full of sand and delight. He’s a damn fine dog.
The post Chromecast free for everyone, and great new features for iOS! appeared first on Plex Blog.
Amazon is about to raise the price of its Prime membership service for the first time ever in the US, bringing the cost up to $99 per year, $20 above where it's been for nearly a decade. The price change goes into effect on April 17th, and those signing up or renewing their service before then will still be able to pay the original, less-expensive price for a final year.
Prime's offerings have increased substantially since launch
While Prime's offerings aren't changing alongside the price increase, Amazon is citing Prime's increasingly substantial offerings as reason for the jump. It notes that there are now more items eligible for free shipping under Prime and points to Amazon Instant Video, access to which is now included in all Prime subscriptions. Amazon is also reported to be working on a music streaming service, which could ultimately be bundled with Prime as well.
Prime's student rate will also rise, though only by $10, up to $49 per year. Amazon's chief financial officer warned that the company was considering raising the price of Prime between $20 and $40 earlier this year, at the time citing increased shipping costs as reason for the added expense. This is Amazon's second big price increase on a US shipping service in a matter of months: back in October, Amazon increased the minimum order needed for free shipping to $35, up from $25, where it had been at for over a decade. Amazon also raised the price on Prime in the UK and Germany earlier this year.
iPhone and iPad owners' latest gaming addiction is now available on Android. Threes, which has been out for just over a month on iOS, is launching today on Android 4.0 and above for $1.99. The deceptively simple puzzle game has players sliding together numbers to create larger ones until they fill up a grid, so players are only ever competing to beat their own (or maybe a leaderboard's) high score. The Android version, which was ported for developer Sirvo by Hidden Variable Studios, appears to be identical to its iPhone counterpart, with both featuring a playful and colorful style that makes the game a joy to play. If you buy it, just make sure that you have time for a few rounds — it can be hard to put down.
Xbox Live has an undisputed champion. Ray Cox, better known online as Stallion83, has just become the first person to crack an Xbox Live Gamerscore of 1 million points. He did it playing Titanfall, the blockbuster first-person shooter released earlier this week, and live-streamed his efforts via Twitch.tv. Xbox's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb was first to congratulate Cox on his achievement... and Achievements.
Massive Achievement Unlocked: On behalf of the entire @Xbox team, congrats to @Stallion83 the first person get over 1-Million Gamerscore
— Larry Hryb (@majornelson) March 13, 2014
Gamerscore is earned by performing certain feats, known as Achievements, in Xbox 360 and Xbox One games. Each Achievement is worth a certain amount of Gamerscore, and each full game has a maximum of 1,000 points. This means that, on average, Cox has fully exhausted the list of achievements in 1,000 games. He was awarded a Guinness World Record in 2010 for the Highest Xbox Live Gamerscore, which stood at 511,342 at the time.
I punched a giant robot and pulled a wriggling human being out of its chest. Then I tossed the soldier aside, stomped on a few of his buddies, and fired a barrage of rockets at some snipers hiding on top of a building. And I'm not even very good at this game.
Titanfall represents a lot of firsts. It's the first major exclusive for the Xbox One, Microsoft's next-generation console (it’s also available on PC and, in a lesser capacity, the Xbox 360). It's the first game from Respawn...
As the lights go down in the theater, an “EA” logo flashes across the screen, which prompts a few errant chuckles from the moviegoers around me. I laugh too, and I’m not exactly sure why. Maybe it’s that it looks like a video game is booting up, or maybe we just all know movies adapted from video games are at a high risk of being absolutely terrible. Super Mario Bros. Street Fighter. Mortal Kombat. Doom. I could keep going.
This one is Need for Speed, a movie based on EA’s...
On March 12th, 1989, Sir Tim Berners-Lee put forth a proposal to make information sharing possible over computers, using nodes and links to create a "web" that would eventually stretch worldwide and become the modern internet. Now, 25 years to the day after he disseminated that proposal, Berners-Lee has called for the internet he invented to stay free and open.
In a guest post on Google's official blog, Berners-Lee asked internet users to press for the development of a "digital bill of rights" that would "advance a free and open web for everyone." Berners-Lee hails today's anniversary as a day to celebrate, but also warns that internet users should think and act ahead of "key decisions on the governance and future of the Internet" that he says are "looming."
In order to maintain unfettered access to an internet that is gradually becoming more restricted, Berners-Lee points to the Web at 25 campaign. The campaign will celebrate the internet by showing a series of birthday messages from web luminaries and promoting the use of a #web25 hashtag. Berners-Lee hopes the campaign — which also features a video message from the inventor — will act as a focal point for the kind of grassroots action he's calling for. The Web at 25 campaign, along with fellow net neutrality campaign home Web We Want, incorporates Berners-Lee's bill of rights concept as a part of its future plan for a free and open internet
Berners-Lee has been a staunch proponent of an open internet in recent years, and a critic of the surveillance activities of groups such as the American NSA and British GCHQ. Speaking to The Guardian, the internet inventor detailed why he was using the anniversary to push for online freedom. "Our rights are being infringed more and more on every side, and the danger is that we get used to it. I want to use the 25th anniversary for us all to do that, to take the web back into our own hands and define the web we want for the next 25 years."
Berners-Lee asked internet users to push for an online 'bill of rights'
His comments on the internet's future come at the same time as thoughts from Google's Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen. Schmidt and Cohen — co-authors of recently published book The New Digital Age — wrote about the current state of internet freedom in The New York Times. The article references recent web censorship by governments in countries such as Russia and Iran, but also says that given the "energies and opportunities out there," it would be possible to end repressive internet censorship within a decade.
In Berners-Lee's eyes, an unrestricted web is vital to human development. "Unless we have an open, neutral internet we can rely on without worrying about what's happening at the back door, we can't have open government, good democracy, good healthcare, connected communities, and diversity of culture."
Now is the absolute worst time for Xbox Live to be down. Today marks the debut of Titanfall, the game that could make or break the Xbox One game console. It's a masterpiece of mechanical manslaughter, and Microsoft pulled out all the stops for its release, delivering new system updates, new peripherals and even a "fix" for the Xbox One game controller ahead of its launch today. But now, as prospective US players return home from work to play the Xbox One's killer app, many are finding themselves unable to sign into their consoles and actually play the game.
Unable to sign in to Xbox Live on Xbox One? We're on the case to get this issue fixed as soon as possible! http://t.co/99xfLNeme4 ^PC
— Xbox Support (1-5) (@XboxSupport) March 11, 2014
With some games, that might not be a gigantic problem. You could simply play a single-player mode. But Titanfall is a multiplayer-only game that's joined at the hip to Xbox Live, dependant on the service for everything from dedicated servers to AI calculations. You can't even play the tutorial without a connection.
Of course, it's certainly not unheard of for a popular new game to have online issues at launch, and Microsoft's Major Nelson claims the sign-in issue has nothing to do with Titanfall itself. But Microsoft had a chance to show that Xbox One, with its increased dependency on Microsoft's more powerful cloud, could be better than previous failures. Five hours into this outage, that's probably not the message that locked-out Titanfall players will be taking home. Here's hoping a fix won't take much longer.
Update: The official Xbox Support Twitter account claims that Xbox Live is "good to go," though the status page still lists service as "limited."
Thanks for your patience, Xbox Live is good to go! Try these specific steps to get back in the game now: http://t.co/iakwR3sZDz ^CW
— Xbox Support (1-5) (@XboxSupport) March 12, 2014
Google launched the Add-on store today for Docs and Sheets, which basically gives you apps for your documents. The Add-on store has tools made by third-party developers (and a few Google originals) that you can install to add features to documents and spreadsheets that weren't available before, like creating labels or sending customized emails. The feature resembles the Google Play Store and currently features about 30 add-ons.
This is a way for Google to enhance Docs and Sheets with some of the features that are mainstays in Microsoft's Word and Excel programs. One of the launches is an add-on from Avery Label Merge, which lets you merge data from a Google spreadsheet into Avery address labels. Mailchimp's add-on lets you choose different templates and make customized emails, and then send them from directly within Google Docs.
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And then there are some unexpected add-ons that could prove to be really useful. EasyBib’s Bibliography Creator lets students look up academic sources, and then create and insert citations into a document in MLA, APA, and Chicago Manual of Style formats. UberConference also released an add-on that lets you invite people via email to a voice conference call from within a document, letting a group edit that document all together. This isn't the first time Google has opened up Drive to third-party developers, but these are the first app-like programs specifically for documents, and they could add enough new functionality to encourage users to convert from other services.
Google says it will put more add-ons in the store as it approves programs that developers have submitted.
Yousef AlnafjanSigh. I was betting on it to be the 2014 game of the year.
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Release Date of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – An Open Letter Ever since we started working on the third installment in The Witcher franchise, it has been our aim to produce a title that would take our 11 years of experience in creating RPGS and distill them into a quintessence, into a game that would effectively crown those years. At the same time, we have wanted The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to expand creative boundaries, set new benchmarks, develop the genre as a whole. Ultimately, you, the players, must get an unforgettable adventure to experience in a vast, open world – and that’s most important. We’ve created a story that flows naturally, cinematically, rendered it in amazing sound and visuals, while preserving full freedom of choice – all for you. We knew this to be an ambitious plan, but believed we could achieve it by bringing together our team with its creative energies and current gaming platforms with their technical capabilities. A project this vast and complex would inevitably require special care in its final stages, manual fine-tuning of many details, thorough testing time and again. We recently reexamined what we had achieved thus far, and faced a choice about the game’s final release date. The decision we made was difficult, thoroughly considered, and ultimately clear and obvious. We could have released the game towards the end of this year as we had initially planned. Yet we concluded that a few additional months will let us achieve the quality that will satisfy us, the quality gamers expect from us. Consequently, we have set the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for February 2015. Dear gamers - we know many of you would have liked to play The Witcher 3 sooner, as soon as possible, even. We’re sorry to make you wait longer than you, or we, initially assumed you would. At the same time, we believe the game will prove to be worth the wait and meet the expectations you have of us. We believe The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be an exceptional RPG, one of the best, providing many hours of wonderful entertainment. Dear shareholders – we are aware of the responsibility that rests with us and thank you for the trust you have granted us thus far. We firmly believe that quality – more than any other factor – determines a game’s success, and that the decision we have made is thus equally valid in business terms. The Board of CD PROJEKT SA thewitcher.com |
Yousef AlnafjanPervy foreign geeks @ ~12:00.
The whole thing is worth watching, though.
When robot maker Kuka announced that it would be pitting its Agilus robot against table tennis star Timo Boll last month, we expected a fair fight. Conditioned professional human athlete against a cold, merciless, bright orange mechanical arm on a small wooden field, both wielding the same armament: a miniature bat. Boll was once ranked world number one, but Kuka claimed its robot was the quickest in the world. The Agilus was named for its lightning-fast movements, and would presumably be able to rapidly spin into position and return Boll's balls from anywhere on the table.
Those hoping for a titanic struggle between human and robot will need to wait: Kuka posted the promised video today to muted reactions. The match appears rigged. Boll drops shots to the robotic arm as he hurtles carelessly around the arena, and puts return shots in easy reach of his foe. Soon the table tennis pro is down 6-0. But Boll has a Hollywood-style epiphany — perhaps realizing he's playing against a programmable arm — and strikes back to take the game with a powerful smash that puts the ball over the top of his opponent.
Meanwhile, the camera crew is more focused on providing Michael Bay-esque slow-motion shots of the action, cutting in and out of rallies in progress to preserve the narrative. A making-of video explains how the crew were able to get the shots — by standing next to the table and sliding a giant camera in front of Boll's face — but steers clear of showing unedited footage of the match in progress. A match like this could've been an intriguing window into future questions of sportsmanship and competitive entertainment; as it is, it's nothing more than a glorified commercial.
Yousef AlnafjanHas technology gone too far?
Smartwatches are a dime a dozen these days, so if you're making one and want to get noticed, you'd better have an enticing hook. And, in the case of the HeadWatch, it literally has a hook -- one that anchors the main body of the device to your ear so it can double as a sort of hands-free headset. Seeking $300,000 of crowdfunding cash through Indiegogo, the HeadWatch is standard wearable fare, mostly. It's an Android-based, touchscreen smartwatch that acts as a companion for your smartphone, with a few frills like notification light strips and a temperature sensor thrown in.
Now, the "watch" descriptor isn't entirely accurate, as the main body of the thing is removable, making the strap more of a preferred mount than anything. On the underside of the watch face is that hook we mentioned, and presumably a speaker/mic setup allowing you to use it in headset mode. Making and taking calls on watches is far from a new idea, but if you'd rather not broadcast over loudspeaker, then we don't see why you'd opt to move HeadWatch from wrist to face in favor of, you know, just getting your phone out of our pocket. Perhaps we're just old-fashioned. Anywho, early bird pledges of $184 (including shipping) will get you a HeadWatch IOU, but as it looks to be barely past the (strange) concept stage at this point, 300 grand in crowdfunding dollar seems practically unachievable.
Filed under: Wearables, Mobile
Source: HeadWatch (Indiegogo)
The Indiegogo campaign for Christian-themed video game Bible Chronicles: The Call of Abraham has concluded well short of its target of $50,000. The campaign from developer Phoenix Interactive Studios raised $875 from nine backers when it ended on March 5.
This was Phoenix Interactive Studios' second attempt to raise money to complete The Call of Abraham, after developers originally launched a Kickstarter campaign in January. This effort was canceled in the 11th hour after raising $19,000 of its $100,000 goal from 199 backers.
Kickstarter has an all-or-nothing clause, so Phoenix Interactive Studios could not keep that money. However, Indiegogo does not have this clause, meaning the $875 will stay with the studio. It is unclear how Phoenix Interactive Studios will move forward on the project.
A Steam Greenlight page for The Call of Abraham went live in January and currently has 244 comments, though the game has not been approved by Valve yet.
In Call of Abraham, a third-person adventure game, you play as a member of Abraham's caravan and will (virtually) travel to places like Egypt and Mesopotamia. The game was not designed with evangelism in mind, its designers said in January, but rather seeks only to tell a story they believe is interesting and one that had a "real impact" on the course of history.
For or more on Call of Abraham, be sure to check out our in-depth interview with the game's creators.
| Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @EddieMakuch |
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| Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com |
Yousef AlnafjanWow, that image grabs the attention. You can play that game here:
http://sinkhslair.com/sinkhgame.php?width=1920
Clearly the Dark Souls of flash games.
Press X to kiss your boyfriend. Post-apocalyptic Loom. Multi-gender drifting…
Since its publication yesterday, Newsweek's huge Bitcoin scoop has proved unsurprisingly explosive both online and offline. A cover story by reporter Leah McGrath Goodman strongly stated that a man who went by the name Dorian Nakamoto was in fact Satoshi Nakamoto, the secretive creator of Bitcoin. But the piece has raised questions about everything from journalistic ethics to whether model trains would make an appropriate apology gift. Amid heavy criticism, however, Newsweek says it's still standing by the story.
Ms. Goodman's research was conducted under the same high editorial and ethical standards that have guided Newsweek for more than 80 years. Newsweek stands strongly behind Ms. Goodman and her article. Ms. Goodman's reporting was motivated by a search for the truth surrounding a major business story, absent any other agenda. The facts as reported point toward Mr. Nakamoto's role in the founding of Bitcoin.
Newsweek's response follows a sharp refutation from Nakamoto, who told the AP that his original words were misinterpreted and that he had not, in fact, even heard of Bitcoin until he was contacted for the article. After chasing Nakamoto through Los Angeles, reporters are still attempting to make contact with him. The Bitcoin community, meanwhile, is trying to get in touch for a different reason: they want to create some kind of happy ending for a reclusive man who has been driven into the public eye.
As of this writing, about 18 bitcoins (over $11,000 at the current rate) have been sent to an address run by a member of the Bitcoin subreddit, who will attempt to deliver them to Nakamoto at the end of the month. "If this person is Satoshi, then the funds are a small 'thanks' and won't make much of a difference," they write. "However, if this person is not Satoshi, then these funds will serve as a 'sorry for what happened to you,' help with medical bills his family is facing, any legal bills they may incur, or anything else." Separately, a group is debating the merits of sending Dorian Nakamoto model trains, listed as one of his hobbies in the Newsweek article. These suggestions have been toned down significantly since yesterday, when popular posts suggested hiring bodyguards or helping with a relocation effort.
Goodman's story opened with an apparent admission by Nakamoto: "I am no longer involved in that and I cannot discuss it ... It's been turned over to other people. They are in charge of it now. I no longer have any connection." Beyond that, though, it relied on parallels between the two men, bolstered by interviews with his family, former coworkers, and current Bitcoin lead developer Gavin Andresen. Dorian Nakamoto's political beliefs, alleged computer engineering prowess, periods of unemployment and ill health, and linguistic quirks were all employed in service of the story. In other words, there was plenty for skeptics to pick apart — and that's exactly what happened. The Bitcoin subreddit immediately began its own investigation, pulling in things like poorly-written Amazon reviews to contrast with known Nakamoto writings.
Dorian Nakamoto's door, where reporters leave cards & gyms pitch memberships. More on @BloombergWest 1pm ET pic.twitter.com/GpHDDj8tZa
— Jon Erlichman (@JonErlichman) March 7, 2014
The bigger issue, though, was how far Goodman had gone to expose Dorian Nakamoto's identity. Among other things, the story ran with a photograph of Nakamoto's house in Temple City, complete with a readable shot of his license plate and house number. The address wasn't given, but a single well-constructed Google search could reveal it. Amid harsh criticism, the photograph disappeared, only to reappear not long after. The same removal and reinstatement seemingly happened with a paragraph of the essay. Goodman was alternately praised for her research and castigated for making a man with a quiet, low-profile life vulnerable to paparazzi and potential theft (Satoshi Nakamoto is thought to possess $400 million in Bitcoin.)
2/2 That stuff other "investigative" tech reporters are doing? (Quoting court records and press releases, riffing on tweets?) Not reporting.
— Jason Pontin (@jason_pontin) March 6, 2014
The Reddit community, with its strong stance against revealing identifying information, quickly claimed the moral high ground. But moderators also worked unsuccessfully to stop Redditors from doxxing Goodman herself in revenge, deleting threatening comments. "Great, I already see the next headlines: Bitcoin users send death threats to Newsweek author," said one member of /r/Bitcoin. "You're doing Bitcoin a terrible service by starting a (counter) witch hunt." The occasional, inevitable misogynist tweet or comment didn't help the cause either, although these were in the vast minority.
Elsewhere online, people were debating the ethics of just reading the article. With its return to print, Newsweek had instituted a new paywall that prevented some from accessing the story, leading them to turn to recaps on other sites or mirrored copies on Reddit. Was this "stealing" an article from Newsweek? Did Newsweek have an obligation to make its controversial story as widely accessible as possible? These questions were at least headed off in its followup statement, which was exempted from the paywall.
Despite Newsweek's statement, it's becoming widely suspected that Dorian Nakamoto was simply an innocent bystander. An account associated with the "real" Satoshi Nakamoto has denied any connection, though it's entirely possible it's now operated by someone else or is a deliberate attempt by Dorian Nakamoto to shake suspicion ("He'll deny everything," his brother said before the story ran.) Either way, the tide has turned against the magazine. "All I can think of is, I'm so glad I'm not the editor of Newsweek," said Tina Brown — who, up until about six months ago, actually was Newsweek's editor.
Update: Goodman has also spoken to Forbes, further explaining the details of her short conversation with Dorian Nakamoto.
Yousef AlnafjanCool
The official announcement of the next HTC One should happen soon, and it looks like the upcoming flagship phone will support at least one intriguing new accessory. Twitter account @evleaks has posted what appears to be a press image of the new One, with a sleek cover that can display information like the time and weather using colorful lights. With its plentiful holes, the case looks sort of like a modern take on a Lite Brite, and features much of the same utility as Yota's E Ink-enabled smartphone, letting you check important information without waking up your device. The news comes not long after we caught a glimpse of the new one in a leaked video; @evleaks also claims that, much like the previous One, the new version will be available in a Google Play edition. The next-generation HTC One is expected to be revealed on March 25th.
Holes. Time. Colors. Also, like its predecessor, look for M8 to arrive as a Google Play Edition. pic.twitter.com/HtklHp2GP1
— @evleaks (@evleaks) March 8, 2014
Yousef Alnafjan"There are two, and only two, similarities between our Shaq Fu, and the abomination that was born in the nineties," the crowdfunding page explains. "The name, and the starring character."
1994 saw the release of one of the more bizarre games of the 16-bit era: Shaq Fu, a fighting game starring none other than professional basketball player Shaquille O'Neal. Two decades later Shaq is trying to build a sequel. The retired player recently launched an Indiegogo campaign for Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn, seeking $450,000 to bring the game to life.
Shaq is partnering with a new studio called Big Deez Productions, which claims to be made up of industry veterans from franchises like Halo and Street Fighter. The game itself is described as "a modern day take on the classic beat ‘em up." You, naturally, play as Shaq, fighting off waves of foes, using a variety of martial arts moves. The developers promise a co-op mode and destructive environments, while the early screenshots look suspiciously like Street Figher IV. The sequel is slated to launch on PC, with mobile devices possible if the campaign raises enough money. The stretch goals are particularly strange: if you donate $500 Shaq will follow you on Instagram, while $750 will get you a personalized YouTube message.
While the original Shaq Fu isn't exactly a classic, the development team is hoping the sequel will go in a different direction. "There are two, and only two, similarities between our Shaq Fu, and the abomination that was born in the nineties," the crowdfunding page explains. "The name, and the starring character." A Legend Reborn isn't Shaq's only return to video games: he was also featured in the strange mobile action game Shaq Down that hit iOS and Android last year. This time, however, the player appears to be particularly involved with the project, going so far as to get into the motion capture studio for an added dose of authenticity.
Yousef AlnafjanHe used his real name and made people think it's an alias? Wow.
There have been many theories bandied about as to the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin. Nothing conclusive has married the name to an individual or group, but now Newsweek claims to have found the Nakamoto, a 64-year-old Japanese-American man of the same name residing in California. Allegedly living an understated life, Nakamoto's said to no longer be connected to the digital currency he's implicated in making. We know this all sounds annoyingly cut and dried (a story's often more exciting than the reality, after all), but there's still Nakamoto's name changes and classified government work, among other things, to keep things mysterious. Whether this truly is the father of Bitcoin is still up for discussion, too -- there's still been no clear admission as such -- so we'll just point you to the Newsweek piece and let you make your own mind up.
Update: After an eventful day of dodging reporters and engaging in a multi-car chase through Los Angeles, Nakamoto has sat down with the Associated Press to strongly deny he has anything to do with the digital currency. Indeed, he told the AP that he's never even heard of Bitcoin until three weeks ago when his son told him a reporter called to ask questions about it. However, the Newsweek article itself quotes Nakamoto's brother as saying that "he'll never admit to starting Bitcoin" and that "he'll deny everything." All of which is to say the true identity of Bitcoin's founder remains very much unconfirmed.
Update 2: Apparently the genuine Satoshi Nakamoto has just posted on to the P2P Foundation (a forum for peer to peer currency) stating that he is not Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, the person whom Newsweek fingered as Bitcoin's founder.
Filed under: Internet
Source: Newsweek, Bloomberg, Associated Press, P2P Foundation
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A California man who Newsweek claimed was the inventor of the popular digital cryptocurrency Bitcoin is now denying the report. Dorian Nakamoto told the Associated Press that he's not "the face behind Bitcoin," despite a claim by Newsweek that he was deeply involved with its inception.
Nakamoto says he first heard about Bitcoin three weeks ago
Newsweek's original report claimed Nakamoto (named in the story as Bitcoin creator "Satoshi Nakamoto") helped create the currency, though did not have him on the record admitting it. That report, published earlier today, quotes Nakamoto saying he was "no longer involved" in the Bitcoin project, and made the case that his background and expertise matched up with the enigmatic cryptocurrency founder. The 64-year-old Nakamoto disputed that, telling the AP that he hadn't even heard of Bitcoin until three weeks ago.
Much of the intrigue in the Bitcoin story centers on Nakamoto, who handed over the reins of the Bitcoin Foundation to chief scientist Gavin Andresen and has managed to stay out of the spotlight ever since. There have been myriad attempts to track him down, though none that have resulted in something definitive. Newsweek's naming of Dorian Nakamoto was enough to pique the interest of a swarm of reporters who pursued him around Los Angeles, where the 64-year-old once again said he was simply "not involved."
Update: Following both the Newsweek and AP report, a posting on the P2P Foundation community blog from an account that's historically been associated with Nakamoto stated baldly that "I am not Dorian Nakamoto." An expanded version of the AP report notes that Newsweek stands by its story, while noting from its own interview with Nakamoto that he believes there was a misunderstanding with the Newsweek reporter due to his English that "isn't flawless." Nakamoto told the AP that he originally said was simply no longer in engineering, but did not include anything about an involvement in Bitcoin. Newsweek's reporter Leah McGrath Goodman told the AP that the exchange that was in the original story remains correct.