Theranos settles Walgreens lawsuit with ‘no finding of liability’
Theranos, the lab testing and equipment company, has had a bad couple of years. The company has been accused of all sorts of wrongdoing, including fake test results and false claims of “innovative” laboratory equipment. Last November, drugstore Walgreens sued beleaguered lab equipment and testing company Theranos for a reported $140 million, the details of which were sealed behind several non-disclosure agreements. Today, however, Theranos has announced a “confidential settlement agreement” with Walgreens that apparently “resolves all claims among those parties.”
The details are again undisclosed by Theranos, though the company seems to want to imply that recent internal changes have led to this moment. “Over the past 16 months, the Company has built a new senior management team, changed the composition and structure of its Board of Directors, installed an expert technology and scientific advisory board, and implemented a new quality and compliance program,” writes the company in a statement.
While it’s hard to believe that a $140 million lawsuit can be settled this easily, it does look like Theranos is slowly facing its regulatory and legal battles in the hopes of becoming a powerhouse again.
Source: Theranos
Command a spaceship fleet in the ‘Dreadnought’ PS4 open beta
Ever dreamed of commanding a whole fleet of giant spaceships? You now have your chance. Six Foot, Yager and Grey Box have launched the PS4 open beta for Dreadnought, their long-in-the-making tactical space battler. The test expands on the long-running closed tests on PC and PS4 by giving everyone access to eight new maps, a new vessel (the Trident Hero Ship), an in-game friends list, squads and a slew of PS4-specific additions like PS4 Pro support and Remote Play. An expanded beta like this wouldn’t normally garner so much attention, but the closed betas (and the open beta on PC) have racked up some positive buzz — this is a game concept that appears to work well in practice.
To recap, Dreadnought is a free-to-play, team-based title that has players choosing just the right ships (which you can customize, we’d add) to fight in harmony. In some ways, it’s a slower-paced, spaceborne equivalent to class-based shooters like Team Fortress 2 or Overwatch, where you might have to serve in a support role. One player can have the game’s namesake Dreadnought dealing heavy damage while Tactical Cruisers keep it in top shape, for example. And like a classic sea battle, positioning and overall strategy sometimes matter more than your moment-to-moment decisions.
The game is due to reach both PS4 and Windows PCs sometime later in the year, and the beta will no doubt help influence that timing. It’s too soon to say if it’ll be a breakout hit, but its combination of cerebral gameplay and eye-catching visuals (this is basically the spaceship battle you envisioned as a kid) might give it a chance.
Source: PlayStation Blog, Grey Box
Facebook is reportedly working on a tablet for video calls
Facebook’s hardware aspirations go beyond virtual reality. The social network is working on a video calling device that’ll feature a wide-angle lens, a mic, speakers, a touchscreen between 13-and-15 inches and will maybe even run Android, according to Bloomberg’s sources. Like offerings from Amazon, the unnamed Facebook video device could only cost a “few hundred dollars” when it’s ready to buy.
The publication’s sources say that could happen as soon as Facebook’s F8 conference next spring. One potential feature is an auto-scanning camera that’d lock in on individual people in a room, a la how Microsoft’s Kinect works.
The piece of kit comes from Zuck’s Building 8 lab, where developers and engineers cook up experimental ideas. Beyond the video calling tablet, apparently the social network is working on an AI-powered smart speaker of its own that’d cost $100 — similar to Amazon’s Echo line, Apple’s forthcoming HomePod and Google Home.
Source: Bloomberg
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