Posts Tagged ‘computers’

tFor a game with an almost cartoonish art style, Commandos 2: Men of Courage happens to be one of the most visceral and realistic recreations of the Second World War. Unlike the legions of gung-ho WW2 shoot-em-ups that have you blasting through waves of identikit baddies, the Commandos series rewards stealth, cunning, and guile. Instead of a one-man army, you get a crack squad of artfully differentiated commandos whose strengths and weaknesses contribute real depth to the gameplay.

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The Classics: ‘Commandos 2: Men of Courage’

There’s no doubt that the late night TV scene is a cutthroat one — we all still remember the epic Conan vs. Leno battle for the seat of The Tonight Show a few years ago. Jimmy Fallon’s now giving us his own look at what goes on behind the scenes of his Late Night show with a new digital original entitled Game of Desks. It’s a ridiculous and affectionate tribute to Game of Thrones that casts Fallon in several roles, including an Eddard Stark-esque protagonist — but Fallon also dons a blonde wig for his own disturbing take on dragon queen Daenerys Targaryen.

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Watch this: Jimmy Fallon enters the world of Rockefell in ‘Game of Desks’

In Michigan, you can smoke marijuana and still drive a car . That’s what the Michigan Supreme Court ruled this Tuesday, albeit on a technicality. Though Michigan has a zero-tolerance policy for driving “under the influence” of marijuana, it also has a law on the books that exempts medical marijuana users from any sort of persecution for its use, and so the court had to decide which of the two laws it wanted to uphold. Since Michigan doesn’t actually specify an amount of marijuana in a user’s system that impairs driving judgement enough to be considered “under the influence,” simply outlawing drugged driving altogether went too far, argued the court

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Medical marijuana users can drive drugged, rule Michigan courts

The Wall Street Journal and New York Times both report that recent cyber attacks against US oil, gas, and power companies have come from Iran. The hackers were targeting control systems and probing for the kind of access that would give them the ability to disrupt oil pipelines and other infrastructure. The cyber attacks are likely backed by the Iranian government, though apparently the evidence isn’t definitive. Iran has apparently been stepping up its cyber warfare capabilities since its nuclear facilities fell victim to Stuxnet , widely believed to have been launched by a collaboration between the US and Israel.

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Hacks targeting US oil, gas, and electric companies traced to Iran

If you’re looking to trick out your bike , Magura’s eLECT might be the electronic suspension system you crave — if you’re willing to sacrifice optimal reaction time. Using a 3D accelerometer, the eLECT analyzes terrain with a 0.2 second window to adjust to how bumpy or smooth your ride is. At first glance, 0.2 seconds seems impressive, but it equates to a distance of 3.6 feet when traveling at 12.4MPH. Indeed, on challenging trails, a lot can happen in 3.6 feet, and eLect’s reaction time might be a touch on the slow side. While the system isn’t quite perfect, it does offer some sweet options

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Meet Magura’s eLECT, an electronic suspension fork for tech-savvy cyclists

An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from PC Mag’s SecurityWatch: “We’ve pointed out some problems with Twitter’s new two-factor authentication. For example, since just one phone number can be associated with an account, Twitter’s two-factor authentication won’t work for organizations like the Associated Press, The Onion, or The Guardian. They were hacked; they could still be hacked again in the same way. However, security experts indicate that the problem is worse than that, a lot worse.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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How To Hack Twitter’s Two-Factor Authentication

Developers in Argentina have begun receiving letters from Google informing them that “Google Play will no longer be able to accept payments on behalf of developers registered in Argentina starting June 27, 2013.” The change applies to both paid apps and apps that use in-app purchases. The move appears to be related to new, restrictive regulations the Argentine government has imposed on currency exchanges, which The Telegraph detailed this past September. Twitter has quite a few developers complaining about the changes , but it’s not clear how many people will be affected. Android customers in Argentina will still be able to purchase apps in the Play store and developers from the country can continue to offer free apps. Celularis has a…

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Google no longer able to pay Android developers in Argentina, pulling apps on July 27th

Google is working on building up wireless networks in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and other developing regions, reports The Wall Street Journal . Google is said to be “deep” in the process of funding and building such networks, and is looking to partner with local companies and seeking to have local regulators open up spectrum reserved for TV and other industries. That spectrum may be so-called “white spaces,” the portions that TV companies don’t use but which are still licensed to them. After all, in March, Google announced a trial to deliver wireless broadband to ten schools in South Africa over white spaces, which would seem to be in line with the larger ambitions reported today. Continue reading…

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Google may fund and build wireless networks in Africa, Southeast Asia, WSJ reports

Rumors have been flying around about a major visual redesign to Apple’s iOS ever since Jony Ive took on an interface design role following the departure of senior VP and mobile software head Scott Forstall . Most of those rumors have focused on a new, “flat” design that would remove many of the skeumorphic aspects of iOS that have cropped up over the years, and now 9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman has been tipped off to a number of new features and design elements in iOS 7. For starters, Ive will reportedly banish the mismatched “heavy textures” found across iOS in favor of a unified scheme largely featuring more simple black-and-white tones.

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Jony Ive’s iOS 7 redesign reportedly eliminates ‘heavy textures’ for a flat, ‘black and white’ design

Worried it might lose younger block-buying customers to video games and computers, Lego has teamed up with Sony to bring the two closer together. PCWorld reports that researchers at Sony’s Computer Science Laboratories in Tokyo have already started working on a number of experimental Lego products — including DualShock-controlled robots and camera-mounted figures. While Lego’s main business remains construction focused, the company is experimenting with new prototypes to stay ahead of the curve, even if it has no firm plans to release any commercial products. Continue reading…

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Sony and Lego research leads to DualShock-controlled minibots

New weekly shows. New fascinating guests. New exciting antics. Absolutely no pants.

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On The Verge is coming back

US Senators’ indulgent treatment of Apple CEO Tim Cook at this week’s hearing on tax avoidance didn’t escape the writers at The Daily Show. On Wednesday’s episode, host Jon Stewart skewered lawmakers like John McCain (R, AZ) and Claire McCaskill (D, MO) with a supercut of fawning and adoration, punctuated with lines like “you’ve managed to change the world,” ” we love the iPhone and the iPad,” and “I harassed my husband until he converted to a MacBook.” Cook was called in to testify about Apple’s offshore profit shifting — avoiding US taxes on over $100 billion of income by keeping it stashed overseas. After throwing in a shot about Apple Maps, the host ripped the senators for asking Cook what kind of tax code he thought… Continue reading…

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‘The Daily Show’ rips fawning Senators at Tim Cook’s tax hearing

Over four years into his tenure, President Barack Obama says he is reining in drone strikes. In a speech on the future of counterterrorism , Obama announced that he had signed a presidential guidance statement on drone warfare, codifying the cases in which it is justifiable. Targets, he says, must pose a “continuing, imminent threat” to US persons, and it must be nearly certain that the target is present in an area and non-combatants will not be injured or killed. Continue reading…

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Obama promises more oversight for drone strikes, progress on closing Guantanamo Bay

The Very Large Telescope is about to turn 15, and to celebrate the European Southern Observatory has released a spectacular image of a radiant pink gas cloud. Naturally the shot you see above — showcasing just one nursery (IC 2944, according to Phys.org ) where stars are born in spectacular fashion — was captured by the VLT. The telescope’s massive optical power makes it feel as if you’re right there, but in reality this cloud lies some 6500 light-years away. Researchers turned on the Very Large Telescope in May of 1998, and since then it’s proven to be an indispensable tool cited in countless scientific papers and studies. And as you can clearly see, it’s still producing wondrous results

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As it turns 15, the ESO’s Very Large Telescope captures another interstellar stunner

Over 30 years after The Warriors took America on a dangerous midnight tour of New York, the city seems like a different world. Graffiti has been sanded, neighborhoods have gentrified, and citizens no longer fear attacks by roving mimes. But the traces of 1970s New York live on beneath repainted facades, and Scouting New York brings us along in a fascinating three-part attempt to find and photograph every location where The Warriors was filmed.

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Tracking ‘The Warriors’ through old New York, in 1979 and 2013

The HTC First, an Android smartphone collaboration between HTC and Facebook, will not be coming to the UK — at least for now. Originally scheduled for a summer release via EE and Orange, Facebook confirmed to The Verge that it is “going to limit supporting new devices,” and has asked EE and Orange to hold off deploying the HTC First while it works to make Home “substantially better.” Continue reading…

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Facebook puts HTC First launch on hold in the UK to ‘focus on making Home better’

AMD boasted that its Z-60 Hondo chip would bring Call of Duty to thin tablets , and its boasts were for naught, but it looks like the company’s latest processor core is going to see a lot of use in the next generation of cheap laptops. Today, AMD has revealed its basic performance claims for its Jaguar core, the same one that’s reportedly built into the chips in both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 . The resulting Temash and Kabini APUs could finally have the combination of performance and battery life you’d need in an inexpensive Windows 8 tablet or laptop. While some of AMD’s charts are a little misleading out of context, this one is fairly straightforward: AMD claims that its low-power Temash system-on-chip simultaneously manages to… Continue reading…

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AMD Jaguar: the Xbox One and PS4 cores that could power your next cheap laptop

Microsoft is updating its Windows Phone YouTube app today. In a statement to The Verge, the company says it’s making some changes to address concerns from Google. “Microsoft updated the Windows Phone YouTube app to address the restricted video and offline video access concerns voiced by Google last week,” says a spokesperson. “We have been in contact with Google and continue to believe that our two companies can work together to hone an app that benefits our mutual customers, partners and content providers.” The update follows Google’s demand for Microsoft to remove the YouTube app fully from its Windows Phone Store.

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Microsoft updates YouTube Windows Phone app to address some Google concerns

We’ve seen the rapid voice search advancements Google has made in Chrome for the desktop , but since Siri is currently the sole method of entering voice queries on the iOS version, iPhone and iPad owners haven’t been given the same treatment. That’s soon going to change, as Google today announced that a forthcoming update to Chrome for iOS will include its own voice search technology. It’s not as simple as hitting a button on Apple’s pop-up keyboard (Siri occupies that spot), but Google has added a microphone shortcut that appears directly above the keyboard. Tapping that will let you take advantage of Google’s often faster (and arguably more accurate) voice search on iPhone and iPad

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Google bringing its own voice search to Chrome for iOS, adds fullscreen mode to Android phones

A new report from Oxfam estimates that at least $18.47 trillion is being held by individuals in so-called “tax haven” countries across the globe. The international agency says that a large bulk of that (approximately $12.29 trillion) can be traced to the EU. Oxfam says if you were to add all of that up, it’d be enough to end extreme poverty twice over. “These figures put the UK at the centre of a global tax system that is a colossal betrayal of people here and in the poorest countries who are struggling to get by, and put the government on the side of the privileged few,” said Emma Seery, Oxfam’s Head of Development Finance and Public Services

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Oxfam claims $18.47 trillion held in ‘tax havens’ as EU leaders meet to discuss solutions

Qualcomm has demonstrated a new prototype Mirasol display for use in smartphones, marking a return to the reflective technology designed to allow for comfortable outdoor reading on color e-readers and other devices. The new prototype is 5.1 inches diagonally and has a resolution of 2560 x 1440; at 576 pixels per inch, the display is sharper than the 443 ppi 5-inch 1080p panels that have found their way into multiple smartphones over the past six months. Engadget saw the prototype at SID Display Week in Vancouver, Canada, and reported that while the colors are somewhat less vibrant than those exhibited on other screen technologies, Qualcomm claims the display is six times more power efficient than LCD and OLED screens. The new… Continue reading…

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Qualcomm resurrects Mirasol reflective displays with new 576 ppi smartphone panel

We’ve already been told a fifth season of Arrested Development on Netflix is unlikely due to scheduling issues with the show’s busy ensemble. But it turns out show creator Mitch Hurwitz barely managed to get everyone together for season four — set to debut on the streaming service this weekend. In fact, he often couldn’t. In an interview with Rolling Stone , Hurwitz admitted that not only were episodes and scenes shot out of order to accomodate cast members, but also revealed “half of the stuff is on green screen.” He cites one example to illustrate the challenges show runners faced: an on-screen conversation Michael (Jason Bateman) and Lindsay (Portia de Rossi) required the actors to film their lines four months apart

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Green screens were necessary to film ‘half’ of new ‘Arrested Development’ season

Dr. Terrence Early, a psychiatrist in Santa Barbara, CA, is convinced he’s found the holy grail of care for severely depressed patients — those who’ve tried a litany of antidepressants, and even electroconvulsive therapy, to no avail. “These are the very sickest patients,” Early, who estimates that he’s treated 80 people over 500 sessions with the method, says. “And the results have been dumbfounding.” Continue reading…

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The Special K cure: new tests show club drug’s promise for treating severe depression

In yet another sign of just how crowded the mobile payments market is becoming, Boost Mobile today launched its own mobile wallet app. Dubbed (predictably) Mobile Wallet, the new service allows customers of the Sprint -owned MVNO to make payments in over 135 countries and set up bill payments with more than 3,500 companies across the US. Of course, it also lets you re-up any of your Boost cellular accounts. Continue reading…

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Boost Mobile launches mobile wallet app, offers prepaid Visa card for in-store purchases

One of the most iconic chairs in modern design is returning to its structural roots, thanks to more environmentally-friendly developments in manufacturing. Furniture maker Herman Miller this week announced that its Eames Molded Plastic Chair and Side Chair will now be produced in fiberglass, more than 20 years after designer Ray Eames abandoned the material over environmental concerns. Both models will be available this summer in various bases and nine “vintage” colors. The Michigan-based Herman Miller began producing Ray and Charles Eames’ chair in 1950, using fiberglass-reinforced plastic

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Iconic Eames chair returns to its fiberglass roots