Technology

Vader Immortal, as captured from live Oculus Quest hardware. While this captured image is a bit fuzzy, Vader’s animation and presentation within the VR experience is quite satisfying.”> Enlarge / This dramatic staredown moment from Vader Immortal, as captured from live Oculus Quest hardware. While this captured image is a bit fuzzy, Vader’s animation and …

Vader Immortal world premiere: Star Wars comes to VR with story, humor, stakes Read More »

Enlarge / An infographic from Advanced Intelligence showing the hacking group Fxmsp’s breach-selling business model. (credit: AdvIntel) In a report published Thursday, researchers at the threat-research company Advanced Intelligence (AdvIntel) revealed that a collective of Russian and English-speaking hackers are actively marketing the spoils of data breaches at three US-based antivirus software vendors. The collective, …

Hackers breached 3 US antivirus companies, researchers reveal Read More »

Enlarge (credit: Peter KovalevTASS via Getty Images) Last year was a brutal one for holders of bitcoin. The price fell from its all-time high of $19,500 in December 2017 to a low of $3,100 a year later. Then the price mostly languished between $3,000 and $4,000 in the early months of 2019. But recently bitcoin …

Bitcoin is worth $6,000 for the first time this year Read More »

The Pixel 3a XL. [credit: Ron Amadeo ] Google finally took the wraps off the Pixel 3a at Google I/O this week. It’s a cheaper, plastic version of the Pixel 3 with the same great camera and the same great Google software support. There really isn’t a ton to say about the Pixel 3a. The phone …

Google Pixel 3a hands-on: The only Pixel phone to buy Read More »

Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) (credit: Senate.gov) Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) today announced plans to introduce “The Protecting Children from Abusive Games Act,” which would target “the exploitation of children through ‘pay-to-win’ and ‘loot box’ monetization practices by the video game industry,” according to a summary released by Hawley’s office. As outlined, the bill would mirror …

Senator Hawley announces bill banning loot boxes, pay-to-win mechanics Read More »

Enlarge / SpaceX performs its fourteenth overall parachute test supporting Crew Dragon development in the Mojave Desert in March 2018. (credit: NASA) SpaceX had a problem during a test of its Crew Dragon parachute system in April, NASA confirmed on Wednesday. “The test was not satisfactory,” said NASA’s chief of human spaceflight, Bill Gerstenmaier, at …

SpaceX had a problem during a parachute test in April Read More »

Enlarge (credit: Mighty Travels / Flickr) More than 100 e-commerce sites around the world are infected with malicious code designed to surreptitiously skim payment card data from visitors after they make purchases, researchers reported on Wednesday. Among those infected are US-based websites that sell dental equipment, baby merchandise, and mountain bikes. In total, researchers with …

Unless you want your payment card data skimmed, avoid these commerce sites Read More »

Enlarge / Give kids something to talk about, and they’ll take it home with them. (credit: Courtney Celley/USFWS) There are significant generational differences when it comes to opinions on climate change in the US. Students are more open to learning about this scientific issue without getting snagged on the culture wars that have divided American …

Who can convince those who reject climate science? Maybe their kids Read More »

In a series a comparative text samples published on Facebook, co-author Paige Leitman shows significant similarities throughout her “The Black Road” adventure and the Elsweyr adventure published by Bethesda. [credit: Paige Leitman/WotC & Bethesda Netherlands ] [Update 3:52 pm Eastern: While the original Facebook post linking to the “Elsweyr” adventure has been taken down, the …

Bethesda’s latest Elder Scrolls adventure taken down amid cries of plagiarism Read More »