Signify, the company formerly known as Philips Lighting, promised voice control for the Hue Play HDMI Sync Box back in January at CES. Now, the feature is finally rolling out as part of the device’s latest software update. The HDMI box syncs the company’s smart lights with whatever is playing on your TV for a watching experience that’s more immersive than usual. However, it didn’t ship with voice control out of the box.
This update makes the device compatible with Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri, giving you the power to switch it on or off, to start or stop the light sync function, to switch sync modes (video, music and games) and even to switch HDMI channels by issuing a voice command. The latest software update also enables synchronized surround lighting for color-capable Hue lights when watching Dolby Vision or HDR10+ content.
Nightdive Studios’ System Shock remake has been in the works for quite a while now that we wouldn’t be surprised if fans felt concerned about its future after Tencent took overSystem Shock 3’s development. The project’s still definitely under way at Nightdive, though: in fact, the developer has just released a demo of the game with all its unlockable weapons for the first time.
The studio explained that the remake gives the game a new look and feel, but that it retains the story, style and gameplay of the original cyberpunk action-adventure title. System Shock is set in the year 2072 and revolves around a hacker whose story begins when they were caught trying to access files about a space station. It was originally released back in 1994 for PC and inspired newer popular games like Deus Ex and BioShock.
Microsoft is doing more to keep tabs on your kids’ digital habits. It just released the preview version of an Xbox Family Settings app for Android and 10,000 iOS users that manages what, when and how children play on Xbox consoles. You can set time limits on a day-by-day basis, set content filters for each child, restrict communications with other plays or review past activity. Young gamers can make requests to extend their limits if they’ve been diligent with school work.
Not surprisingly, Microsoft has special controls for Minecraft. There’s a handy toggle to quickly unlock access to online play for the company’s world-shaping game without wading through the usual menus. There may be similar features for other games if feedback prompts it, Microsoft said.
Apple is continuing its string of AI startup acquisitions, this time to improve Siri’s performance. The company has confirmed to Bloomberg that it recently acquired Inductiv, a Waterloo, Ontario, Canada-based company that uses AI to correct data — which, in turn, improves machine learning. The company didn’t elaborate on its plans and relied on its standard response that it “buys smaller technology companies from time to time,” but Siri appears to be the focus.
The iPhone maker appears to be focused on improving its voice assistant’s understanding as of late, most recently acquiring Voysis to boost natural language comprehension. Cleaner data would go a long way toward that goal by reducing the chances that garbage information confuses Siri.
HBO parent WarnerMedia didn’t directly address Amazon’s points of contention, instead saying that its workers “look forward” to a deal that’s “on par” with how Amazon allows access to Disney+, Hulu and Netflix. You can read its full statement below as well.
While Amazon didn’t officially elaborate on why it insisted on Prime Video Channels access, this is really about control. It wants to offer the same experience (that is, the Amazon experience) that HBO customers already get, and having to limit some customers to the Max app would rule that out. It’s not clear why WarnerMedia isn’t embracing Channels — it also cut off Apple TV Channels today and began pointing users to the HBO Max app — although doing so would mean relinquishing control over HBO Max’s presentation. Either way, this isn’t good for would-be customers — you’ll have to use HBO Max through non-Amazon methods, assuming you haven’t passed on the service in the first place.
“With a seamless customer experience, nearly 5 million HBO streamers currently access their subscription through Amazon’s Prime Video Channels. Unfortunately, with the launch of HBO Max, AT&T is choosing to deny these loyal HBO customers access to the expanded catalog. We believe that if you’re paying for HBO, you’re entitled to the new programming through the method you’re already using. That’s just good customer service and that’s a priority for us.”
— An Amazon spokesperson
“We are thrilled that HBO Max is widely available at launch to customers through a variety of devices and distribution partners as well as HBOMax.com. Our goal is to make HBO Max available on every platform possible to as many viewers globally as possible so they can enjoy beloved shows from HBO, the Warner Bros. movie and TV library and a diversity of hit programming exclusive to HBO Max. We look forward to reaching agreements with the few outstanding distribution partners left, including with Amazon and on par with how they provide customers access to Netflix, Disney+ and Hulu on Fire devices.”
Ninja (aka Tyler Blevins) is finally stretching his virtual legs months after jumping to Mixer. He’s launching his first produced live series, Ninja Battles featuring Fortnite, on his Mixer channel starting May 28th at 3PM Eastern. The weekly program will see 60 top Fortnite players and “gaming personalities” square off to win a slice of a $400,000 prize pool. Loaded, Ninja’s management company, has confirmed that some competitors will include World Cup winner Bugha, fellow Mixer streamer Ewok, NickEh30 and others.
The six-week series should last through July, and you can follow along on individual broadcasters’ channels if you prefer their point of view.
Twitch has created a new home for gaming-related news. Dubbed Twitch Gaming, the company says the channel will feature game reveals, developer interviews and Twitch drops, with the platform’s streamers presenting the content. One of the first things it will air is a Valorant tournament the weekend of the game’s launch on June 2nd.
Also planned is exclusive coverage related to the ongoing Summer Game Fest. Twitch says it’s partnering with developers like Blizzard and CD Projekt Red to facilitate that part of its schedule. Among other things, there will also be a game jam that starts on June 26th. At each stage, the site’s users will be able to co-stream the channel’s content to share the moment with their fanbase.
Then, in an interview with Fox News Wednesday morning, Kellyanne Conway singled out one Twitter employee by name: Yoel Roth, the company’s head of site integrity. Referring to him as the “head of integrity,” Conway spelled out his Twitter handle and said “somebody in San Francisco go wake him up and tell him he’s about to get more followers.”
On Fox & Friends, Kellyanne Conway appears to direct online harassment at Twitter’s head of site integrity, Yoel Roth: “Somebody in San Francisco will wake him up and tell him he’s about to get a lot more followers.” pic.twitter.com/H9ceUu6Ezv
Conway also claimed that Roth is “constantly attacking Trump voters,” an apparent reference to years-old tweets criticizing the Trump Administration. Fox News also seized on the comments and stated that Roth was “in charge” of Twitter’s decision to fact-check the president. Trump’s sons and Trump’s official campaign account also shared tweets singling out Roth to their millions of followers.
Twitter confirmed that Roth was not singlehandedly responsible for the decision to fact check Trump. Roth is part of Twitter’s larger trust and safety team, which makes policy decisions. As others have pointed out, Roth primarily deals with platform abuse — misuse of the company’s API, spam and bot campaigns — not fact checking or content decisions.
“No one person at Twitter is responsible for our policies or enforcement actions, and it’s unfortunate to see individual employees targeted for company decisions,” a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement.
But Twitter’s comments have done little to quiet the angry mob of Trump supporters, many of whom have long accused the company of being biased against conservatives. Over the last day, Roth has been inundated with harassment and even death threats, Protocol reported.
For Twitter, the incident is yet another reminder of how much work it still needs to do if it hopes to fix its harassment problem. For all of the new reply-limiting controls and anti-bullying tools, there’s little any one user can do when thousands of users swarm one person all at once.
In recent years, a number of private aerospace firms have designed and tested crew capsules of their own including Blue Origin’s New Shepard, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceshipTwo, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. While the New Shepard and SpaceShipTwo are built for suborbital flights, NASA awarded Boeing and SpaceX multi-billion dollar contracts in 2014, as part of its newly-formed Commercial Crew Program, to shuttle astronauts to the ISS and back. SpaceX is expected to get $2.6 billion for six trips, while Boeing received $4.2 billion for a similar number of flights.
SpaceX
However, only SpaceX has so far managed to achieve flight certification from NASA. During an uncrewed test flight in December of 2019, Boeing’s spacecraft suffered a timing system malfunction which prevented it from reaching a high enough orbit to reach the ISS and returned to Earth after just two days, rather than the expected eight.
The Crew Dragon capsule is just the fifth crew transport vehicle ever deemed worthy by NASA, following the Gemini, Apollo, Mercury, and Space Shuttle. The Dragon capsule measures 13 feet in diameter and has seating for seven. It’s even got a toilet that Behnken and Hurley can use on their 19-hour journey to the ISS, though both SpaceX and NASA have remained mum on the details of where all those knobs and hoses go.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Behnken and Hurley are both accomplished test pilots and have been training for this mission since their selection in 2018. Once they do eventually get up on the ISS, NASA plans for them to remain aboard for anywhere from one to three months, up to 120 days, until another SpaceX mission ferries more astronauts up to relieve them. Their return trip is expected to be even more harrowing as the Crew Dragon will reenter the atmosphere above the Atlantic Ocean before deploying its parachutes for a water landing.
The Crew Dragon capsule isn’t the only new equipment SpaceX will be testing on this mission. The company has designed and fabricated a new generation of spacesuits to go along with it. Gone are the old-school Advanced Crew Escape System (ACES) suits (aka the “pumpkin suits”), replaced with a sleek design that was initially dreamt up by Hollywood costume designer Jose Fernandez. How this design was transformed into a functional spacesuit — even the capabilities of the suits themselves — remain closely guarded SpaceX secrets.
The COVID-19 outbreak has put a couple additional wrinkles in NASA’s preparations for this mission. “The health and welfare of the crew is always paramount,” Courtney Beasley, communications specialist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, told CNN in March. “All of our crew must stay in quarantine for two weeks before they launch. This ensures that they aren’t sick or incubating an illness when they get to the space station and is called ‘health stabilization.'”
“During quarantine, the astronauts live in their crew quarters — NASA has crew quarters for this purpose at Kennedy and Johnson Space Centers, and Roscosmos has them in Baikonur,” she continued. “They don’t have direct contact with anyone who has not been pre-cleared by NASA flight surgeons. The time is spent preparing for flight, studying and resting, as well as working out and making video calls to friends and family members.”
NASA has implemented additional precautions for ground control as well. Facial coverings and physical distancing are mandatory, every new shift reports to a different control room so that the previous shift’s can be deeply cleaned. Civilian visitors were not allowed at Kennedy Space Center to view the launch and only a couple dozen reporters were invited to cover it in person.
This afternoon NASA astronauts will take off from US soil for the first time since NASA’s space shuttle program ended in 2011. The launch is historic for another reason too. It will be the first time NASA launches astronauts in a SpaceX spacecraft, and it marks the beginning of what could be many crewed missions NASA astronauts will complete via SpaceX.
You can watch the launch via the NASA Live feed. It’s scheduled for 4:33PM ET, with pre- and post-launch coverage, including the national anthem sung by Kelly Clarkson.
