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Intel acquires Rivet Networks, the maker of ‘Killer’ WiFi cards

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Once upon a time Bigfoot Networks was just a startup promising to lower latency with a “network gaming accelerator,” before delivering its tech under the Killer wireless brand. Its aftermarket NIC measurably outperformed onboard Ethernet ports, and increased anticipation for upcoming wireless hardware as gamers distanced themselves from the routers.

Qualcomm bought the company in 2011, then later spun it off as Rivet Networks, and continued to deliver Killer networking hardware that popped up in a lot of Dell/Alienware gaming laptops, among others, promising tweaks that might improve wireless connections, speed and responsiveness. Its focus is bandwidth utilization, as well as prioritizing things like gaming or high-bandwidth tasks like video streaming. However, occasionally its driver optimizations and drivers could cause issues too, with preinstalled SmartByte software causing an issue that could severely limit a user’s internet connection

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Tencent is taking over troubled RPG ‘System Shock 3’

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Chinese conglomerate Tencent will be “taking the System Shock franchise forward,” developer OtherSide Entertainment has announced. A few days ago, ownership of the System Shock 3 website was transferred to Tencent Holdings, sparking rumors that the Asian company will work on the RPG franchise’s upcoming sequel. Now, OtherSide has confirmed the reports.

System Shock 3 was announced way back in 2015. As Eurogamer notes, it suffered from various setbacks, including losing its publisher Starbreeze due to money troubles. While we saw a pre-alpha glimpse of the game at GDC 2019, reports that the game is no longer in development circulated earlier this year.



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Amazon’s free-to-play shooter ‘Crucible’ is now available on Steam

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The game has also launched with three game modes. “Heart of the Hives” is a 4 vs. 4 battle mode against giant boss Hives that spawn throughout the world, while the “Alpha Hunters” mode pits eight teams of two against each other. Finally, in “Harvester Command” mode, two teams of eight battle to capture and activate essence harvesters across the map.

Amazon Games has also kicked off an 8-week Pre-Season period for the game, allowing players to learn skills and hone strategies before Season 1 begins. Early players can use the 1,000 Credits they earn to redeem in-game items, as well as a Pre-Season Battle Pass for 950 Credits. Crucible is now out for North American players, with other regions to follow. Those who aren’t quite into shooters and prefer RPGs, however, may want to wait for New World, Amazon’s MMORPG that’s scheduled for launch on August 25th.



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‘The Simpsons’ aspect ratio problem will get fixed (again) on May 28th

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About five years ago, Fox launched Simpsons World as a streaming arm of its FXX network that would give the show’s fans a way to watch any episode they wanted. Unfortunately, it initially launched with cropped versions of old 4:3 episodes (intended to fill up widescreen HDTVs) that cut off a number of key visual gags. After a few months, they fixed the problem and all was well until last fall when Disney shifted The Simpsons over to Disney+, and did the same thing all over again.

They promised to correct the issue, and now, months later, executive producer Al Jean is back again to announce the fixed episodes are almost here. He tweeted that episodes from the show’s first 19+ seasons will be available for streaming in their original 4:3 format starting May 28th. Additionally, Disney+ is adding a short, The Longest Daycare, that will be available on March 29th. If only all of 2020’s big problems were so easily addressed.



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Scientists create a cyborg eye that mimics the real thing

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This isn’t just about cosmetic similarity. In some ways, it’s close and even superior to organic eyes. Its responsivity is nearly the same across the visible light spectrum, while its response and recovery times are faster. The nanowires are even denser than the photoreceptors in a real eye.

It’ll be a long while before an artificial eye like this is ready to restore sight. Its 100-degree diagonal viewing angle isn’t as wide as the 130 degrees of the real thing, although that can be improved. The total light-detecting area is just 0.08in wide, and its 100-pixel resolution is well below what you’d need for a meaningful image. The current manufacturing process is also expensive and slow, while there’s a chance the materials will lose effectiveness over time.

Still, this promises to be a milestone for cyborg eyes. With enough refinement, this could lead to implants that restore eyesight while preserving the natural look. The scientists also believe they could one day power the eye with sunlight — you might not need a separate power source, at least until it gets dark.

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Jammy’s new MIDI guitar can control all your virtual instruments

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The Jammy Evo rethinks the original’s formula, and was designed as a MIDI controller first and foremost. In other words, it’s not a MIDI controller crammed into a guitar. There are more buttons on the body of the instrument, which should provide some performance methods outside of typical guitar playing, and Jammy says that you should be able to even track drums using the controller. The Evo also has an accelerometer — you can tilt it Guitar Hero-style to modulate certain parameters such as the cutoff frequency. It has improved optical sensors too, so it can better handle your picking and strumming while reducing latency. Polyphonic tracking — which has proven difficult to perfect across manufacturers — should also be improved, and will help translate guitar chords into, say, piano chords.

The company has already raised $85,000 on Kickstarter — well above its $50,000 goal — so it does seem like musicians are interested in what the Evo has to offer. It was also a good move on Jammy’s part to reduce the price by a few hundred dollars compared to last year’s model. Hopefully the Evo can deliver on the original Jammy’s promise of a guitar that powers a symphony of virtual instruments.

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‘Serious Sam 4’ arrives on PC and Stadia in August

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You won’t have to wait too much longer for a Serious Sam revival. Croteam and Devolver Digital have announced that Serious Sam 4 will be available on PC and Google Stadia sometime in August. Consoles will be a no-show at launch due to a Stadia exclusive, Devolver told Kotaku. However, the publisher told Engadget that PlayStation and Xbox versions should arrive in early 2021.

As for the mechanics? For the most part, you know what to expect if you’ve ever played a Serious Sam game: your job is to save the world from Mental’s forces by shooting seemingly endless waves of ridiculous enemies. The difference is in the execution. It’s a huge visual upgrade over past titles, of course, but new technology also allows situations where you’re fighting “thousands” of enemies at a time. There are new foes like the Belcher and new weapons like an auto shotgun, but it’s clear you’ll feel at home whether you’re playing by yourself or in a four-player co-op mode. This is for gamers who miss the classic, arcade-like feel of early first-person shooters and don’t mind threadbare stories.

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Virgin Orbit’s first launch demo takes place this weekend

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Virgin Orbit is finally ready to try a proper launch demo. The spaceflight outfit now expects the launch demo mission to take place on either May 24th or May 25th between 1PM and 5PM Eastern each day. If there’s enough of a launch window, the Cosmic Girl carrier aircraft will release LauncherOne over the Pacific, where the rocket will fire its engine in mid-air for the first time. It will sustain that flight for as long as possible and deploy a payload in orbit if successful, Virgin said.

The company is aware this is risky. No one has previously lit a liquid-fuelled rocket in a horizontal position at a 50-mile attitude — this could go well, or it could go spectacularly wrong.

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Sphero spins off a new company to make robots for police, military use

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Sphero has brought four million robots to market, including programmable tank robots, and it’s experience in mobility could come in handy. We’ve also seen it make wearables. Though so far, those have been used to create music, not keep users safe.

It’s not entirely surprising that Sphero would see an opportunity in the military and first responder space. Police in Massachusetts are reportedly testing Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot. The UK military has bomb disposal robots, and the US is testing robotic combat vehicles.

Plus, Sphero has hinted that making robotic toys isn’t as lucrative as you might think. In 2018, it cut jobs after a lousy holiday season, and it quit making licensed Disney bots like BB-8 and R2-D2. At the time, it explained that the toys didn’t sell well after their tie-in movies were released.

While it would be great to have robots that keep first responders safe, it’s still a bit disturbing to think that future robot armies might evolve from the adorable, educational toys you’ve been using for years.

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AT&T says it will drop ‘5G Evolution’ branding after backlash

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The carrier isn’t happy, to no one’s surprise. It “respecfully disagrees” with the board’s recommendation, according to a statement, and said it was complying to support the “self-regulatory process.” You can read the full statement below. It didn’t say whether or not the 5GE icon would disappear from customers’ devices (i.e. the area where the misleading claims matter most), but it isn’t using 5G Evolution as part of its current advertising.

The decision came following a T-Mobile complaint, and more than a year after AT&T settled with Sprint (now part of T-Mobile) in a lawsuit over the 5GE label.

The planned change comes somewhat late when AT&T is already in the midst of rolling out its true 5G network. It may provide a more accurate representation of AT&T’s true coverage, though, and it might discourage providers from embellishing their network capabilities going forward.

“AT&T respectfully disagrees with the reasoning and result reached by the Panel majority. AT&T’s customers nationwide continue to benefit from dramatically superior speeds and performance that its current network provides. As a supporter of the self-regulatory process, however, AT&T will comply with the NARB’s decision.”

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