Technology

An Until Dawn remake is coming to PS5 and PC this year

Engadget - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 13:15

The rumors were true: a remake of Until Dawn is coming to PlayStation 5 and PC later this year. As revealed during the latest State of Play showcase, the upgraded version of the interactive horror game is being built in Unreal Engine 5 and it will have several new bells and whistles.

You'll be able to experience the action from a third-person perspective for the first time. Ballistic Moon, which is handling the remake in the stead of original developer Supermassive Games, is expanding the color palette to make it more cinematic and bringing in contextual character movement animations.

There's also a new score from horror composer Mark Korven (The Witch), while the characters, visual effects and environments are all getting upgrades. "We’ve endeavored to keep the fantastic narrative integratory of the original, but we have seized the opportunity to expand upon unexplored emotional parts of the story," Ballistic Moon creative director Neil McEwan wrote on the PlayStation Blog.

The remake should arrive before the movie adaptation of Until Dawn that was announced in January. Unless the cast members all reprise their roles, the new version of the game will likely have bragging rights in at least one respect: the presence of a bonafide Academy Award winner in the form of Rami Malek.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/an-until-dawn-remake-is-coming-to-ps5-and-pc-this-year-191524477.html?src=rss
Categories: Technology

Clownfish “count” white stripes to determine if an invader is friend or foe

Ars Technica - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 13:07

Enlarge / Clown anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris) seem to recognize different species of clownfish by counting white stripes. (credit: Kina Hayashi)

Many people tend to think of clownfish, with their distinctive white bars against an orange, red, or black background, as a friendly sort of fish, perhaps influenced to some extent by the popular Pixar film Finding Nemo. But clownfish can be quite territorial when it comes to defending their host anemone from intrusion by others, particularly those from their own species. A new paper published in the Journal of Experimental Biology describes how clownfish determine if a fish approaching their home is friend or foe by "counting" the number of white bars or stripes on their bodies.

As previously reported, mathematical ability is often considered uniquely human, but in fact, scientists have found that many animal species—including lions, chimpanzees, birds, bees, ants, and fish—seem to possess at least a rudimentary counting ability or number sense. Crows can understand the concept of zero. So can bees, which can also add and subtract, as can both stingrays and cichlids—at least for a small number of objects (in the range of one to five). Some ants count their steps.

This so-called "numerosity" simply refers to the number of things in a set, according to cognitive psychologist Brian Butterworth, an emeritus professor at University College London and author of Can Fish Count? What Animals Reveal About Our Uniquely Mathematical Minds. It has nothing to do with reasoning or logical mathematical intelligence. This is information that will be in the environment, and counting animals must have some mechanism for extracting this numerical information from the environment. But it nonetheless makes for a fascinating field of study.

Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Categories: Technology

Comcast agrees to kill 10G branding after advertising watchdogs said it was misleading

Engadget - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 12:55

Comcast is discontinuing its its “Xfinity 10G Network” branding to describe its internet service after a National Advertising Review Board (NARB) panel found that the term could mislead consumers into thinking that Comcast’s cellular and broadband services would offer much faster speeds than current-generation networks. Comcast rivals T-Mobile and Verizon had challenged the branding with the National Advertising Division (NAD), an ad industry watchdog, which had recommended that Comcast get rid of it in October 2023. Comcast’s confusing branding is at the heart of this challenge: “5G” refers to mobile internet, while “10G” refers to 10-gigabit broadband speeds typically delivered to homes through physical infrastructure.

On Wednesday, the NARB said that it agreed with the NAD’s decision and recommended that Comcast “discontinue use of the term 10G in the product service name ‘Xfinity 10G Network’ and when 10G is used descriptively to describe the Xfinity network.” The NARB found that the branding could mislead consumers into thinking that “10G” offered significantly faster speeds than current-generation 5G networks

The NARB also decided that using “10G” to refer to home broadband, as Comcast did, was misleading because consumers would assume that they would get 10-gigabit internet speeds on every Xfinity connection. In reality, as Ars Technica pointed out, getting those speeds requires getting Xfinity’s fiber-to-the-home connection, which typically costs hundreds of dollars more in monthly fees, installation, and activation over Xifnity’s regular cable broadband plans.

In a statement that Comcast provided to the NARB, the company agreed to stop using the misleading branding in its marketing. "Although Comcast strongly disagrees with NARB's analysis and approach, Comcast will discontinue use of the brand name 'Xfinity 10G Network' and will not use the term '10G' in a manner that misleadingly describes the Xfinity network itself," Comcast said. 

The company said, however, that it still “reserves the right” to use both “10G” and “Xifnity 10G” in ways that do “not misleadingly describe the Xfinity network itself”, so expect both terms to still show up in Xfinity marketing, just, hopefully, in less misleading ways.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/comcast-agrees-to-kill-10g-branding-after-advertising-watchdogs-said-it-was-misleading-185550194.html?src=rss
Categories: Technology

Comcast agrees to kill 10G branding after advertising watchdogs said it was misleading

Engadget - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 12:55

Comcast is discontinuing its its “Xfinity 10G Network” branding to describe its internet service after a National Advertising Review Board (NARB) panel found that the term could mislead consumers into thinking that Comcast’s cellular and broadband services would offer much faster speeds than current-generation networks. Comcast rivals T-Mobile and Verizon had challenged the branding with the National Advertising Division (NAD), an ad industry watchdog, which had recommended that Comcast get rid of it in October 2023. Comcast’s confusing branding is at the heart of this challenge: “5G” refers to mobile internet, while “10G” refers to 10-gigabit broadband speeds typically delivered to homes through physical infrastructure.

On Wednesday, the NARB said that it agreed with the NAD’s decision and recommended that Comcast “discontinue use of the term 10G in the product service name ‘Xfinity 10G Network’ and when 10G is used descriptively to describe the Xfinity network.” The NARB found that the branding could mislead consumers into thinking that “10G” offered significantly faster speeds than current-generation 5G networks

The NARB also decided that using “10G” to refer to home broadband, as Comcast did, was misleading because consumers would assume that they would get 10-gigabit internet speeds on every Xfinity connection. In reality, as Ars Technica pointed out, getting those speeds requires getting Xfinity’s fiber-to-the-home connection, which typically costs hundreds of dollars more in monthly fees, installation, and activation over Xifnity’s regular cable broadband plans.

In a statement that Comcast provided to the NARB, the company agreed to stop using the misleading branding in its marketing. "Although Comcast strongly disagrees with NARB's analysis and approach, Comcast will discontinue use of the brand name 'Xfinity 10G Network' and will not use the term '10G' in a manner that misleadingly describes the Xfinity network itself," Comcast said. 

The company said, however, that it still “reserves the right” to use both “10G” and “Xifnity 10G” in ways that do “not misleadingly describe the Xfinity network itself”, so expect both terms to still show up in Xfinity marketing, just, hopefully, in less misleading ways.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/comcast-agrees-to-kill-10g-branding-after-advertising-watchdogs-said-it-was-misleading-185550194.html?src=rss
Categories: Technology

Comcast agrees to kill 10G branding after advertising watchdogs said it was misleading

Engadget - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 12:55

Comcast is discontinuing its its “Xfinity 10G Network” branding to describe its internet service after a National Advertising Review Board (NARB) panel found that the term could mislead consumers into thinking that Comcast’s cellular and broadband services would offer much faster speeds than current-generation networks. Comcast rivals T-Mobile and Verizon had challenged the branding with the National Advertising Division (NAD), an ad industry watchdog, which had recommended that Comcast get rid of it in October 2023. Comcast’s confusing branding is at the heart of this challenge: “5G” refers to mobile internet, while “10G” refers to 10-gigabit broadband speeds typically delivered to homes through physical infrastructure.

On Wednesday, the NARB said that it agreed with the NAD’s decision and recommended that Comcast “discontinue use of the term 10G in the product service name ‘Xfinity 10G Network’ and when 10G is used descriptively to describe the Xfinity network.” The NARB found that the branding could mislead consumers into thinking that “10G” offered significantly faster speeds than current-generation 5G networks

The NARB also decided that using “10G” to refer to home broadband, as Comcast did, was misleading because consumers would assume that they would get 10-gigabit internet speeds on every Xfinity connection. In reality, as Ars Technica pointed out, getting those speeds requires getting Xfinity’s fiber-to-the-home connection, which typically costs hundreds of dollars more in monthly fees, installation, and activation over Xifnity’s regular cable broadband plans.

In a statement that Comcast provided to the NARB, the company agreed to stop using the misleading branding in its marketing. "Although Comcast strongly disagrees with NARB's analysis and approach, Comcast will discontinue use of the brand name 'Xfinity 10G Network' and will not use the term '10G' in a manner that misleadingly describes the Xfinity network itself," Comcast said. 

The company said, however, that it still “reserves the right” to use both “10G” and “Xifnity 10G” in ways that do “not misleadingly describe the Xfinity network itself”, so expect both terms to still show up in Xfinity marketing, just, hopefully, in less misleading ways.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/comcast-agrees-to-kill-10g-branding-after-advertising-watchdogs-said-it-was-misleading-185550194.html?src=rss
Categories: Technology

Arrests in $400M SIM-Swap Tied to Heist at FTX?

Krebs on Security - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 12:41

Three Americans were charged this week with stealing more than $400 million in a November 2022 SIM-swapping attack. The U.S. government did not name the victim organization, but there is every indication that the money was stolen from the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which had just filed for bankruptcy on that same day.

A graphic illustrating the flow of more than $400 million in cryptocurrencies stolen from FTX on Nov. 11-12, 2022. Image: Elliptic.co.

An indictment unsealed this week and first reported on by Ars Technica alleges that Chicago man Robert Powell, a.k.a. “R,” “R$” and “ElSwapo1,” was the ringleader of a SIM-swapping group called the “Powell SIM Swapping Crew.” Colorado resident Emily “Em” Hernandez allegedly helped the group gain access to victim devices in service of SIM-swapping attacks between March 2021 and April 2023. Indiana resident Carter Rohn, a.k.a. “Carti,” and “Punslayer,” allegedly assisted in compromising devices.

In a SIM-swapping attack, the crooks transfer the target’s phone number to a device they control, allowing them to intercept any text messages or phone calls sent to the victim, including one-time passcodes for authentication or password reset links sent via SMS.

The indictment states that the perpetrators in this heist stole the $400 million in cryptocurrencies on Nov. 11, 2022 after they SIM-swapped an AT&T customer by impersonating them at a retail store using a fake ID. However, the document refers to the victim in this case only by the name “Victim 1.”

Wired’s Andy Greenberg recently wrote about FTX’s all-night race to stop a $1 billion crypto heist that occurred on the evening of November 11:

“FTX’s staff had already endured one of the worst days in the company’s short life. What had recently been one of the world’s top cryptocurrency exchanges, valued at $32 billion only 10 months earlier, had just declared bankruptcy. Executives had, after an extended struggle, persuaded the company’s CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, to hand over the reins to John Ray III, a new chief executive now tasked with shepherding the company through a nightmarish thicket of debts, many of which it seemed to have no means to pay.”

“FTX had, it seemed, hit rock bottom. Until someone—a thief or thieves who have yet to be identified—chose that particular moment to make things far worse. That Friday evening, exhausted FTX staffers began to see mysterious outflows of the company’s cryptocurrency, publicly captured on the Etherscan website that tracks the Ethereum blockchain, representing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of crypto being stolen in real time.”

The indictment says the $400 million was stolen over several hours between November 11 and 12, 2022. Tom Robinson, co-founder of the blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic, said the attackers in the FTX heist began to drain FTX wallets on the evening of Nov. 11, 2022 local time, and continuing until the 12th of November.

Robinson said Elliptic is not aware of any other crypto heists of that magnitude occurring on that date.

“We put the value of the cryptoassets stolen at $477 million,” Robinson said. “The FTX administrators have reported overall losses due to “unauthorized third-party transfers” of $413 million – the discrepancy is likely due to subsequent seizure and return of some of the stolen assets. Either way, it’s certainly over $400 million, and we are not aware of any other thefts from crypto exchanges on this scale, on this date.”

The SIM-swappers allegedly responsible for the $400 million crypto theft are all U.S. residents. But there are some indications they had help from organized cybercriminals based in Russia. In October 2023, Elliptic released a report that found the money stolen from FTX had been laundered through exchanges with ties to criminal groups based in Russia.

“A Russia-linked actor seems a stronger possibility,” Elliptic wrote. “Of the stolen assets that can be traced through ChipMixer, significant amounts are combined with funds from Russia-linked criminal groups, including ransomware gangs and darknet markets, before being sent to exchanges. This points to the involvement of a broker or other intermediary with a nexus in Russia.”

Nick Bax, director of analytics at the cryptocurrency wallet recovery firm Unciphered, said the flow of stolen FTX funds looks more like what his team has seen from groups based in Eastern Europe and Russian than anything they’ve witnessed from US-based SIM-swappers.

“I was a bit surprised by this development but it seems to be consistent with reports from CISA [the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency] and others that “Scattered Spider” has worked with [ransomware] groups like ALPHV/BlackCat,” Bax said.

CISA’s alert on Scattered Spider says they are a cybercriminal group that targets large companies and their contracted information technology (IT) help desks.

“Scattered Spider threat actors, per trusted third parties, have typically engaged in data theft for extortion and have also been known to utilize BlackCat/ALPHV ransomware alongside their usual TTPs,” CISA said, referring to the group’s signature “Tactics, Techniques an Procedures.”

Nick Bax, posting on Twitter/X in Nov 2022 about his research on the $400 million FTX heist.

Earlier this week, KrebsOnSecurity published a story noting that a Florida man recently charged with being part of a SIM-swapping conspiracy is thought to be a key member of Scattered Spider, a hacking group also known as 0ktapus. That group has been blamed for a string of cyber intrusions at major U.S. technology companies during the summer of 2022.

Financial claims involving FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings are being handled by the financial and risk consulting giant Kroll. In August 2023, Kroll suffered its own breach after a Kroll employee was SIM-swapped. According to Kroll, the thieves stole user information for multiple cryptocurrency platforms that rely on Kroll services to handle bankruptcy proceedings.

KrebsOnSecurity sought comment for this story from Kroll, the FBI, the prosecuting attorneys, and Sullivan & Cromwell, the law firm handling the FTX bankruptcy. This story will be updated in the event any of them respond.

Attorneys for Mr. Powell said they do not know who Victim 1 is in the indictment, as the government hasn’t shared that information yet. Powell’s next court date is a detention hearing on Feb. 2, 2024.

Update, Feb. 3, 12:19 p.m. ET: The FBI declined a request to comment.

Categories: Technology

Niantic is bringing an AR skateboarding game to Apple Vision Pro

Engadget - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 12:37

Pokémon Go creator Niantic is bringing an AR skateboarding game to the Apple Vision Pro mixed-reality headset. The company teamed up with Reality Crisis, another player in the AR gaming space, to create Rodney Mullen’s SKATRIX. For the uninitiated, Mullen is a professional skateboarder who is credited with creating a number of iconic tricks, including the ollie and the kickflip.

This is the first augmented-reality skateboard game ever, unless you count using an actual skateboard to speed around town catching pocket monsters in Pokémon Go. Niantic says the gameplay will involve players navigating the real world to “explore and collect skatepark elements.” The game will use the same AR precision elements as the company’s other titles to “turn the world into an endless skatepark.” A gameplay demo shows an avatar skating in real-world locations like parking lots and inside of washing machines. However, there’s one really expensive elephant in the room.

The Apple Vision Pro costs $3,500 and isn’t exactly suited to removing from the living room, let alone the home. You’ll also look pretty stupid wearing Apple’s bulky ski goggles while out and about, not to mention it’d be mighty easy to snag it from your head and race away, perhaps on a real-life skateboard. 

To that end, Niantic and Reality Labs are also bringing the game to standard mobile devices, including iOS and Android smartphones. Much of the gameplay is still under wraps, but Niantic promises that players will be able to share custom-made skateparks with other users on both mobile devices and mixed-reality headsets.

Rodney Mullen’s SKATRIX will be released sometime this year. As for the Apple Vision Pro, the device looks to be getting all kinds of apps. The headset will have access to Microsoft’s entire 365 productivity suite at launch, along with a Zoom app. All told, Apple says there will be 600 apps available for tomorrow’s release.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/niantic-is-bringing-an-ar-skateboarding-game-to-apple-vision-pro-183740925.html?src=rss
Categories: Technology

Niantic is bringing an AR skateboarding game to Apple Vision Pro

Engadget - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 12:37

Pokémon Go creator Niantic is bringing an AR skateboarding game to the Apple Vision Pro mixed-reality headset. The company teamed up with Reality Crisis, another player in the AR gaming space, to create Rodney Mullen’s SKATRIX. For the uninitiated, Mullen is a professional skateboarder who is credited with creating a number of iconic tricks, including the ollie and the kickflip.

This is the first augmented-reality skateboard game ever, unless you count using an actual skateboard to speed around town catching pocket monsters in Pokémon Go. Niantic says the gameplay will involve players navigating the real world to “explore and collect skatepark elements.” The game will use the same AR precision elements as the company’s other titles to “turn the world into an endless skatepark.” A gameplay demo shows an avatar skating in real-world locations like parking lots and inside of washing machines. However, there’s one really expensive elephant in the room.

The Apple Vision Pro costs $3,500 and isn’t exactly suited to removing from the living room, let alone the home. You’ll also look pretty stupid wearing Apple’s bulky ski goggles while out and about, not to mention it’d be mighty easy to snag it from your head and race away, perhaps on a real-life skateboard. 

To that end, Niantic and Reality Labs are also bringing the game to standard mobile devices, including iOS and Android smartphones. Much of the gameplay is still under wraps, but Niantic promises that players will be able to share custom-made skateparks with other users on both mobile devices and mixed-reality headsets.

Rodney Mullen’s SKATRIX will be released sometime this year. As for the Apple Vision Pro, the device looks to be getting all kinds of apps. The headset will have access to Microsoft’s entire 365 productivity suite at launch, along with a Zoom app. All told, Apple says there will be 600 apps available for tomorrow’s release.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/niantic-is-bringing-an-ar-skateboarding-game-to-apple-vision-pro-183740925.html?src=rss
Categories: Technology

Niantic is bringing an AR skateboarding game to Apple Vision Pro

Engadget - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 12:37

Pokémon Go creator Niantic is bringing an AR skateboarding game to the Apple Vision Pro mixed-reality headset. The company teamed up with Reality Crisis, another player in the AR gaming space, to create Rodney Mullen’s SKATRIX. For the uninitiated, Mullen is a professional skateboarder who is credited with creating a number of iconic tricks, including the ollie and the kickflip.

This is the first augmented-reality skateboard game ever, unless you count using an actual skateboard to speed around town catching pocket monsters in Pokémon Go. Niantic says the gameplay will involve players navigating the real world to “explore and collect skatepark elements.” The game will use the same AR precision elements as the company’s other titles to “turn the world into an endless skatepark.” A gameplay demo shows an avatar skating in real-world locations like parking lots and inside of washing machines. However, there’s one really expensive elephant in the room.

The Apple Vision Pro costs $3,500 and isn’t exactly suited to removing from the living room, let alone the home. You’ll also look pretty stupid wearing Apple’s bulky ski goggles while out and about, not to mention it’d be mighty easy to snag it from your head and race away, perhaps on a real-life skateboard. 

To that end, Niantic and Reality Labs are also bringing the game to standard mobile devices, including iOS and Android smartphones. Much of the gameplay is still under wraps, but Niantic promises that players will be able to share custom-made skateparks with other users on both mobile devices and mixed-reality headsets.

Rodney Mullen’s SKATRIX will be released sometime this year. As for the Apple Vision Pro, the device looks to be getting all kinds of apps. The headset will have access to Microsoft’s entire 365 productivity suite at launch, along with a Zoom app. All told, Apple says there will be 600 apps available for tomorrow’s release.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/niantic-is-bringing-an-ar-skateboarding-game-to-apple-vision-pro-183740925.html?src=rss
Categories: Technology

Avatar visual effects workers vote to unionize

Engadget - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 11:45

A group of visual effects artists who work on the Avatar movies have voted to unionize. Fifty-seven out of 88 eligible VFX workers at TCF US Productions 27 (a Walt Disney Studios subsidiary) voted in favor of the union in a National Labor Relations Board election. Nineteen workers voted against the effort and two ballots were void.

TCF US Productions 27 is not the main VFX house that works on the Avatar series. That would be Weta FX, which employs most of the 1,000-plus people who work on those projects. But an industry source pointed out to The Hollywood Reporter that the bargaining unit is notable, since that's "the core team that answers to Jim Cameron," the creator and director of the movies. “They are not necessarily impressive in size, but in influence.”

Barring objections from management and labor being taken up, the workers will join the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). They'll follow VFX artists from Marvel and Walt Disney Studios (both of which voted unanimously to unionize) in organizing with IATSE. Workers from VFX house DNEG in British Columbia have joined the union too.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/avatar-vfx-artists-vote-to-unionize-174501416.html?src=rss
Categories: Technology

Avatar visual effects workers vote to unionize

Engadget - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 11:45

A group of visual effects artists who work on the Avatar movies have voted to unionize. Fifty-seven out of 88 eligible VFX workers at TCF US Productions 27 (a Walt Disney Studios subsidiary) voted in favor of the union in a National Labor Relations Board election. Nineteen workers voted against the effort and two ballots were void.

TCF US Productions 27 is not the main VFX house that works on the Avatar series. That would be Weta FX, which employs most of the 1,000-plus people who work on those projects. But an industry source pointed out to The Hollywood Reporter that the bargaining unit is notable, since that's "the core team that answers to Jim Cameron," the creator and director of the movies. “They are not necessarily impressive in size, but in influence.”

Barring objections from management and labor being taken up, the workers will join the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). They'll follow VFX artists from Marvel and Walt Disney Studios (both of which voted unanimously to unionize) in organizing with IATSE. Workers from VFX house DNEG in British Columbia have joined the union too.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/avatar-vfx-artists-vote-to-unionize-174501416.html?src=rss
Categories: Technology

Avatar visual effects workers vote to unionize

Engadget - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 11:45

A group of visual effects artists who work on the Avatar movies have voted to unionize. Fifty-seven out of 88 eligible VFX workers at TCF US Productions 27 (a Walt Disney Studios subsidiary) voted in favor of the union in a National Labor Relations Board election. Nineteen workers voted against the effort and two ballots were void.

TCF US Productions 27 is not the main VFX house that works on the Avatar series. That would be Weta FX, which employs most of the 1,000-plus people who work on those projects. But an industry source pointed out to The Hollywood Reporter that the bargaining unit is notable, since that's "the core team that answers to Jim Cameron," the creator and director of the movies. “They are not necessarily impressive in size, but in influence.”

Barring objections from management and labor being taken up, the workers will join the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). They'll follow VFX artists from Marvel and Walt Disney Studios (both of which voted unanimously to unionize) in organizing with IATSE. Workers from VFX house DNEG in British Columbia have joined the union too.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/avatar-vfx-artists-vote-to-unionize-174501416.html?src=rss
Categories: Technology

Palworld’s Pokémon pastiche is Xbox Game Pass’ biggest-ever 3rd-party game launch

Ars Technica - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 11:43

Enlarge (credit: Pocketpair)

The unexpected success of Palworld continues to be one of the biggest gaming stories of 2024 so far, as developer Pocketpair says the game's sales and Xbox downloads have exceeded 19 million, with 12 million in sales on Steam and 7 million players on Xbox. Microsoft has also announced that the game has been the biggest third-party launch in the Game Pass service's history, as well as the most-played third-party title on the Xbox Cloud Gaming service.

These numbers continue a remarkable run for the indie-developed Pokémon-survival-crafting-game pastiche, which sold 5 million copies in its first weekend as a Steam Early Access title and had sold 8 million Steam copies as of a week ago. There are signs that the game's sales are slowing down—it's currently Steam's #2 top-selling game after over a week in the #1 spot. But its active player count on Steam remains several hundred thousand players higher than Counter-Strike 2, the next most-played game on the platform.

Sometimes described (both admiringly and disparagingly) as "Pokémon with guns," Palworld's unexpected success has driven some Internet outrage cycles about the possibility that it may have used AI-generated monster designs and allegations that its designers copied or modified some of the 3D character models from the actual Pokémon series to create some of the game's more familiar-looking monsters.

Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Categories: Technology

Elgato introduces its first-ever HDMI 2.1 capture cards

Engadget - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 11:40

Elgato’s going all-in on HDMI 2.1. The company just announced a pair of capture cards that support the latest display technology specification. The 4K X and 4K Pro offer true HDR10 support, USB 3.2 connectivity, VRR and can capture 4K gameplay at 144fps.

Also, this card actually works with newer USB-C iPad models. This is the first time a capture card has ever offered native support for iPads, according to Elgato and parent company Corsair. The 4K X is compatible with both Windows and Mac computers and captures 4K gameplay at 144fps, you need a native display that supports these metrics. Otherwise, you’ll capture 4K at 120fps. You shouldn’t get any screen tearing with this device, due to the magic of HDMI 2.1.

The 4K Pro goes even further. This is a capture card in the traditional sense, as it resides inside of your PC. You get all of the features provided by the 4K X, but the passthrough spec bumps up to 8K and 60fps. Elgato claims this card will transform “your high-end single or dual-PC setup into a live-streaming powerhouse.”

To that end, the 4K Pro offers low-latency passthrough support up to 240fps in 4K, all while capturing 4K content at 1080p and 240fps. As you can see, this card boasts a wide range of specs, so you can adjust to find the best fit for your live-streaming needs. The card also integrates with the company’s Multi App tool, allowing you to send capture feeds to multiple apps at the same time. Elgato gives an example of recording raw gameplay while streaming simultaneously in OBS, Discord and Zoom. The 4K Pro is only compatible with Windows machines via a PCIe 2.0 x4 connection.

The cards work with most popular broadcast apps, including OBS Studio, Twitch Studio, Streamlabs Desktop, vMix and others. You also get access to the company’s capture management app, which exports content as AAF files for editing in Adobe Premiere, Vegas Pro and related software.

Both of these capture cards are available now. The portable 4K X costs $230, while the PCIe-adjacent 4K Pro costs $280. In related news, Samsung just inserted HDMI 2.1 support into its Q990D soundbar.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/elgato-introduces-its-first-ever-hdmi-21-capture-cards-174046239.html?src=rss
Categories: Technology

Elgato introduces its first-ever HDMI 2.1 capture cards

Engadget - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 11:40

Elgato’s going all-in on HDMI 2.1. The company just announced a pair of capture cards that support the latest display technology specification. The 4K X and 4K Pro offer true HDR10 support, USB 3.2 connectivity, VRR and can capture 4K gameplay at 144fps.

Also, this card actually works with newer USB-C iPad models. This is the first time a capture card has ever offered native support for iPads, according to Elgato and parent company Corsair. The 4K X is compatible with both Windows and Mac computers and captures 4K gameplay at 144fps, you need a native display that supports these metrics. Otherwise, you’ll capture 4K at 120fps. You shouldn’t get any screen tearing with this device, due to the magic of HDMI 2.1.

The 4K Pro goes even further. This is a capture card in the traditional sense, as it resides inside of your PC. You get all of the features provided by the 4K X, but the passthrough spec bumps up to 8K and 60fps. Elgato claims this card will transform “your high-end single or dual-PC setup into a live-streaming powerhouse.”

To that end, the 4K Pro offers low-latency passthrough support up to 240fps in 4K, all while capturing 4K content at 1080p and 240fps. As you can see, this card boasts a wide range of specs, so you can adjust to find the best fit for your live-streaming needs. The card also integrates with the company’s Multi App tool, allowing you to send capture feeds to multiple apps at the same time. Elgato gives an example of recording raw gameplay while streaming simultaneously in OBS, Discord and Zoom. The 4K Pro is only compatible with Windows machines via a PCIe 2.0 x4 connection.

The cards work with most popular broadcast apps, including OBS Studio, Twitch Studio, Streamlabs Desktop, vMix and others. You also get access to the company’s capture management app, which exports content as AAF files for editing in Adobe Premiere, Vegas Pro and related software.

Both of these capture cards are available now. The portable 4K X costs $230, while the PCIe-adjacent 4K Pro costs $280. In related news, Samsung just inserted HDMI 2.1 support into its Q990D soundbar.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/elgato-introduces-its-first-ever-hdmi-21-capture-cards-174046239.html?src=rss
Categories: Technology

Elgato introduces its first-ever HDMI 2.1 capture cards

Engadget - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 11:40

Elgato’s going all-in on HDMI 2.1. The company just announced a pair of capture cards that support the latest display technology specification. The 4K X and 4K Pro offer true HDR10 support, USB 3.2 connectivity, VRR and can capture 4K gameplay at 144fps.

Also, this card actually works with newer USB-C iPad models. This is the first time a capture card has ever offered native support for iPads, according to Elgato and parent company Corsair. The 4K X is compatible with both Windows and Mac computers and captures 4K gameplay at 144fps, you need a native display that supports these metrics. Otherwise, you’ll capture 4K at 120fps. You shouldn’t get any screen tearing with this device, due to the magic of HDMI 2.1.

The 4K Pro goes even further. This is a capture card in the traditional sense, as it resides inside of your PC. You get all of the features provided by the 4K X, but the passthrough spec bumps up to 8K and 60fps. Elgato claims this card will transform “your high-end single or dual-PC setup into a live-streaming powerhouse.”

To that end, the 4K Pro offers low-latency passthrough support up to 240fps in 4K, all while capturing 4K content at 1080p and 240fps. As you can see, this card boasts a wide range of specs, so you can adjust to find the best fit for your live-streaming needs. The card also integrates with the company’s Multi App tool, allowing you to send capture feeds to multiple apps at the same time. Elgato gives an example of recording raw gameplay while streaming simultaneously in OBS, Discord and Zoom. The 4K Pro is only compatible with Windows machines via a PCIe 2.0 x4 connection.

The cards work with most popular broadcast apps, including OBS Studio, Twitch Studio, Streamlabs Desktop, vMix and others. You also get access to the company’s capture management app, which exports content as AAF files for editing in Adobe Premiere, Vegas Pro and related software.

Both of these capture cards are available now. The portable 4K X costs $230, while the PCIe-adjacent 4K Pro costs $280. In related news, Samsung just inserted HDMI 2.1 support into its Q990D soundbar.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/elgato-introduces-its-first-ever-hdmi-21-capture-cards-174046239.html?src=rss
Categories: Technology

Snap is recalling its Pixy drone after battery fire

Engadget - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 11:37

Snap is recalling all of its Pixy drones after four reports of its batteries overheating, according to the company and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The company says it will issue refunds to all drone owners who return the device.

“Snap, in cooperation with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission is recalling the battery that comes with the Pixy Flying Camera because the battery can overheat, posing a fire hazard,” the company writes on its website. According to the CPSC, battery issues have caused one “minor” fire and one “minor” injury.

The company has detailed instructions for returning the flying camera — without their batteries — on its website, and says all Pixy owners are eligible for a refund of the purchase price, even if they received it as a gift or no longer have a receipt. Snap says that anyone with a Pixy drone should participate in the recall even if their device appears to be working properly.

The Snapchat maker introduced the mini drone in April 2022, but abandoned the project just four months later as Snap shifted resources away from hardware projects. The company never shared how many drones sold, but the CPSC says the recall affects about 71,000 devices.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/snap-is-recalling-its-pixy-drone-after-battery-fire-173731938.html?src=rss
Categories: Technology

Snap is recalling its Pixy drone after battery fire

Engadget - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 11:37

Snap is recalling all of its Pixy drones after four reports of its batteries overheating, according to the company and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The company says it will issue refunds to all drone owners who return the device.

“Snap, in cooperation with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission is recalling the battery that comes with the Pixy Flying Camera because the battery can overheat, posing a fire hazard,” the company writes on its website. According to the CPSC, battery issues have caused one “minor” fire and one “minor” injury.

The company has detailed instructions for returning the flying camera — without their batteries — on its website, and says all Pixy owners are eligible for a refund of the purchase price, even if they received it as a gift or no longer have a receipt. Snap says that anyone with a Pixy drone should participate in the recall even if their device appears to be working properly.

The Snapchat maker introduced the mini drone in April 2022, but abandoned the project just four months later as Snap shifted resources away from hardware projects. The company never shared how many drones sold, but the CPSC says the recall affects about 71,000 devices.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/snap-is-recalling-its-pixy-drone-after-battery-fire-173731938.html?src=rss
Categories: Technology

Snap is recalling its Pixy drone after battery fire

Engadget - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 11:37

Snap is recalling all of its Pixy drones after four reports of its batteries overheating, according to the company and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The company says it will issue refunds to all drone owners who return the device.

“Snap, in cooperation with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission is recalling the battery that comes with the Pixy Flying Camera because the battery can overheat, posing a fire hazard,” the company writes on its website. According to the CPSC, battery issues have caused one “minor” fire and one “minor” injury.

The company has detailed instructions for returning the flying camera — without their batteries — on its website, and says all Pixy owners are eligible for a refund of the purchase price, even if they received it as a gift or no longer have a receipt. Snap says that anyone with a Pixy drone should participate in the recall even if their device appears to be working properly.

The Snapchat maker introduced the mini drone in April 2022, but abandoned the project just four months later as Snap shifted resources away from hardware projects. The company never shared how many drones sold, but the CPSC says the recall affects about 71,000 devices.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/snap-is-recalling-its-pixy-drone-after-battery-fire-173731938.html?src=rss
Categories: Technology

Elon Musk proposes Tesla move to Texas after Delaware judge voids $56 billion pay

Ars Technica - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 11:30

Enlarge / Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks at Tesla's "Cyber Rodeo" on April 7, 2022, in Austin, Texas. (credit: Getty Images | AFP/Suzanne Cordeiro)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has had enough of Delaware after a state court ruling voided his $55.8 billion pay package. Musk said last night that Tesla will hold a shareholder vote on transferring the electric carmaker's state of incorporation to Texas.

Musk had posted a poll on X (formerly Twitter) asking whether Tesla should "change its state of incorporation to Texas, home of its physical headquarters." After over 87 percent of people voted yes, Musk wrote, "The public vote is unequivocally in favor of Texas! Tesla will move immediately to hold a shareholder vote to transfer state of incorporation to Texas."

Tesla was incorporated in 2003 before Musk joined the company. Its founders chose Delaware, a common destination because of the state's low corporate taxes and business-friendly legal framework. The Delaware government says that over 68 percent of Fortune 500 companies are registered in the state, and 79 percent of US-based initial public offerings in 2022 were registered in Delaware.

Read 8 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Categories: Technology

Pages

Subscribe to Superior Systems aggregator - Technology