In brief: Blizzard is making some changes to its event plans amidst a slew of sexual assault allegations and scrutiny from federal investigators. Instead of hosting an online-only “BlizzConline” convention next year, the company is scrapping the concept entirely so it can funnel its resources into what it feels matters most: developing games. Blizzard says…
In context: Movie adaptations of video games have generally not been too well-received with producers failing to capture the essence in a non-interactive format. Video games based on movies have done arguably better. A few notable examples include Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019), Mad Max (2015), Alien Isolation (2014), and GoldenEye 007 (1997). Saber…
Enlarge / Proxima Centauri, the closest star to Earth aside from the Sun. Modern human society has been making it ever more challenging for astronomers to get their job done. While we’ve designated radio-quiet areas and dark skies initiatives, tensions have been heightened recently by the launch of broadband-Internet satellites, which are present in rapidly…
Kids — Despite the strong voting results, many advisers had concerns and caveats. Beth Mole – Oct 26, 2021 10:26 pm UTC Enlarge / A nurse gives a boy a dose of the Pfizer vaccine at a COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Florida on the day before classes begin for the 2021-22 school year. A panel…
BlizzConcelled — Feb. show nixxed in favor of “supporting our teams and progressing development.” Kyle Orland – Oct 26, 2021 8:35 pm UTC Enlarge / A Warcraft-themed statue sits in front of the Blizzard employee campus. Following an online-only BlizzCon earlier this year, Blizzard announced in May that its annual, announcement-packed convention for 2022 would…
In brief: Spotify this week said it finished the third quarter with 381 million total monthly active users, an increase of 19 percent year over year and up four percent from the previous quarter. Of those, 172 million are premium subscribers, meaning they pay a monthly fee to use the service without ads. The remaining…
Like PCs and other tech products as of late, tablets have seen a resurgence and demand’s been reaching new record levels. Not only are tablets more powerful today, but the displays are better, and we can enjoy features on mainstream models previously reserved for more expensive flagships. Whether you need a new tablet for work…
What just happened? The US government’s fears regarding potential Chinese surveillance have grown rapidly over the past few years, with both the Trump and Biden administrations taking action to combat this perceived threat. Indeed, today, Biden’s Federal Communications Commission has formally banned China Telecom (a provider of cloud, internet, and mobile connectivity services) from operating…
Dealmaster — Dealmaster also has deals on webcams, PS5 and Xbox games, and Dell monitors. Ars Staff – Oct 27, 2021 8:11 pm UTC Ars Technica The Dealmaster has finished reading Ars’ mammoth macOS 12 review, which means the time has come for another roundup of the best tech deals we could find from across…
Whatever happens… happens — “If the cops and the bounty hunters don’t get you, the Syndicate will.” Jennifer Ouellette – Oct 27, 2021 2:12 am UTC John Cho leads an ensemble cast as Spike Spiegel in the Netflix live-action series Cowboy Bebop. The countdown continues for the premiere next month of Cowboy Bebop, the Netflix…