‘Resogun’ developer teases multiplayer-centric ‘Stormdivers’

Last November, Finnish game developer Housemarque declared that the arcade genre “is dead.” The studio’s last title, Nex Machina, was warmly received by the press and currently boasts an 88 rating on Metacritic. “Lackluster sales,” however, meant the company needed to change direction if it wanted to keep making games. It vowed to make “something completely different” and today, we have our first tease of the team’s new project. The game is called Stormdivers and it promises a “multiplayer-centric experience” blended with “hard flying and heavy hitting gameplay.” What that means in practice, though, is a mystery.

Housemarque has been working on the game for two years. That means it was in development before the release of Nex Machina and PS4 exclusive Matterfall. Last year’s blog post will have shocked some people — but clearly, this is a move the company has been deliberating for some time. Such a shift, though, isn’t so strange when you consider Housemarque’s history. Before Resogun and Super Stardust HD, the developer worked on a bunch of different games including two snowboarding titles (Supreme Snowboarding and Transworld Snowboarding) and a mobile version of The Chronicles of Narnia. Arcade shooters are a long-running passion, but the team is capable of much more.

It’s hard to know what, exactly, the company has in mind though. A teaser trailer shows a forest shrouded in mist and the occasional man-made structure. It switches to a shot of a deadly lightning storm before revealing the name of the game and a strange, fiery figure running through the undergrowth. Is it a battle royale title similar to PUBG or Fortnite? Or a close-quarters brawler like Absolver? Mikael Haveri, Housemarque’s head of publishing, offers few hints: “It’s going to be very much still a Housemarque game, with the gameplay being the primary component and then that visual flair right after it.”

Not very helpful. He did, however, reveal that the genre will be “new” to the company and the camera perspective will be different to previous games. Most Housemarque titles use a top-down perspective, so this would indicate a third-person or first-person view. As for the multiplayer component — it’s still unclear, for now. “We’ll probably bring an experience to you day one that explores a certain side of it,” Haveri said, “but for us, this is focused on just giving you a Housemarque multiplayer experience, and then hopefully taking it wherever our inspiration, and the community’s feedback will take it.”

Stormdivers will run on Unreal; a popular video game engine but one that Housemarque has only used once before (Matterfall). It will also leverage the “Housemarque VFX Engine,” a piece of artificial branding for the company’s “added layer of special effects candy.” According to Haveri, the team has been inspired by a bunch of developers — both in Japan and the West — who have found success with fast, strategic and combo-based gameplay. He highlights FromSoftware, the developer of Bloodborne and Dark Souls, and PlatinumGames, the studio behind Bayonetta and Square Enix’s Nier: Automata.

“This is hopefully a much more financially viable option.”

“There’s a lot of really good, hardcore games coming out of Japan that I think are very true to the roots that we’ve been developing for a long time,” Haveri said. “Where it’s a tough experience that’s still skill-based and rewarding.” When asked about the West, he pointed to games like Rocket League. “I think ease of access, making it easy to pick up and hard to master, that’s always been one of our core models as well,” he said. “These are the examples that we really resonate with.”

Housemarque is a two-team studio. The other half is working on a yet-to-be-announced title “within the triple-A space,” which should offset any risk associated with Stormdivers. Haveri said the company is in good health, however, and will expand if its new games are successful. The greater risk, in his opinion, would have been to keep churning out arcade games that are critically acclaimed but commercial flops. “This is hopefully a much more financially viable option,” he said.

Unsurprisingly, there’s no release date for Stormdivers — a 2018 launch is possible, Haveri said, depending on “how we scale up the team and if we focus on a single platform or multiple platforms.” He hinted that a publishing partner could accelerate that timeline too. “Hopefully we’ll get a nice schedule going throughout the summer with updates on Stormdivers,” he said. “but it’s all about creating the perfect storm for what players are into. So rather than get it out quick and hope that something sticks, we’ll try to perfect it a little bit and make something that everybody will be happy to play for a long time to come.”

The OnePlus 6 may feature a ceramic back

OnePlus is experimenting with new materials for its upcoming flagship.

With the OnePlus 6 launch imminent, we’re starting to see more and more details emerge about the upcoming flagship, with a new OnePlus India teaser suggesting the phone will feature “new materials” in its construction. Last year’s OnePlus 5 and 5T offered an aluminum chassis, and we could see a ceramic-backed OnePlus 6.

Same expert craftsmanship, new materials #OnePlus6 pic.twitter.com/kRzFAcYrzp

— OnePlus India (@OnePlus_IN) April 21, 2018

There are only so many materials that can be used for a phone’s chassis, Manufacturers in recent times have gravitated to either aluminum or glass-based designs. The Mi Mix 2 and 2S and the Essential Phone are notable for using a ceramic back, and that’s likely the direction OnePlus is taking with its upcoming phone.

Considering the company is partnering with Marvel over an Avengers-themed phone, it could even be made out of Vibranium.

An early leak of the device showed off a glass back, and that could also be a possibility. A ceramic or glass back opens the door for wireless charging, which would certainly be a noteworthy addition. We already know that the OnePlus 6 will be the first phone from the manufacturer to offer water resistance.

OnePlus experimented with StyleSwap covers that let users customize the look of the OnePlus 2, switching focus to first-party cases with more recent devices like the OnePlus 5T.

We’ll just have to wait and see what OnePlus has to offer with its upcoming flagship, but what sort of materials would you like to see on the OnePlus 6?

OnePlus ‘all set’ to launch the OnePlus 6 in India, Amazon’s ‘Notify Me’ page going live today

We don’t have a launch date yet, but the OnePlus 6 listing is going up on Amazon India later today.

After weeks of rumors, leaks, and teasers, it looks like we’re finally close to the launch of the OnePlus 6. The company has sent out a media note stating that it is “all set” to launch the OnePlus 6 in India “soon,” with the phone’s listing set to go live on Amazon India later tonight (at 00:00 hours IST). Interested customers can register on Amazon and get notified of updates regarding the launch via the retailer’s “Notify Me” option.

From the media note:

OnePlus, the leading premium Android smartphone maker, is all set to launch its much-awaited flagship – the OnePlus 6 in India soon. After a series of teasers and hints by OnePlus CEO and Founder Pete Lau, the newly christened OnePlus 6, will be available for ‘Notify Me’ starting 00:00 hrs tonight, 22nd April 2018 exclusively on Amazon.in.

There’s plenty to look forward to in the OnePlus 6 — the phone will be powered by the Snapdragon 845, and offer 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. We got an early look at the first camera samples taken with the device earlier this week, and recent teasers suggested the OnePlus 6 will offer water resistance and will likely be made out of ceramic.

For a third year in a row, OnePlus is teaming up with Amazon to make its upcoming flagship available on the retailer. As noted by Amazon India’s director of category management Noor Patel, the OnePlus 6 is one of the most anticipated phones of the year:

OnePlus 6 is inarguably one of the most anticipated smartphones in India today. We are glad to remain the partner of choice for such an iconic brand for over 3 years now and bring our customers exclusive access to the new OnePlus 6. Customers can visit the dedicated Amazon.in OnePlus 6 page (www.amazon.in/oneplus) at 00:00 hrs tonight and follow the instructions to get notified with updates for the new OnePlus 6!

While the phone’s listing will go live on Amazon India later today, we don’t have any details on when the device will be unveiled. We’ll hopefully have the answer to that question in the coming days, and in the meantime, here’s a new trailer:

Vice goes to the big screen with Motherboard science documentary

Vice-owned outlet Motherboard’s documentary The Most Unknown, about “the biggest questions in science,” will debut on Netflix after its theatrical run. The publication sent nine scientists around the world to get answers to big topics like the definition of consciousness, what exactly comprises dark matter and where life originated. According to Motherboard, “The film is an experiment, one in which we posited that by tossing scientists who’d never met into a petri dish of our own design, we’d learn something about what it means to dedicate one’s life to questions we’re not yet sure we can answer.”

The doc’s limited theatrical debut is May 18th ahead of its August premiere on Netflix. According to Variety, Netflix will be the exclusive streaming home for the film for two years. Two weeks after the streaming debut, Vice plans to publish segments of the film on the Motherboard site proper, in addition to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and YouTube.

As Variety notes, this isn’t Vice and Netflix’s first fling. That’d be Jim and Andy: The Great Beyond, about Jim Carrey’s method performance in the Andy Kaufman biopic The Man in the Moon. But you have to imagine HBO is wondering why it didn’t get a piece of the action for either. After all, the premium network has had a lot of success with Vice News, an award-winning weekly news program.

Source: Variety

Cult classic ‘Night Trap’ comes to Switch

If you weren’t able to get your hands on one of the 5,000 copies of the campy horror game, Night Trap, for the PS4 last August, fear not! Limited Run Games announced on Friday that it will be releasing the cult classic once again, this time for the Nintendo Switch.

Never say never!

Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition is coming to the Nintendo Switch this Summer both digitally and physically!https://t.co/j1ZxEqvV8L pic.twitter.com/ZbsXKWvkn1

— Limited Run Games (@LimitedRunGames) April 20, 2018

Night Watch was a full motion video (FMV) game for the Sega CD released in 1992. The game’s premise is that a bunch of scantily clad co-eds must defend themselves from a band of marauding vampires. You play as a special agent who must remotely watch the house’s surveillance feeds and spring traps on the blood-sucking interlopers.

Laughably campy by today’s standards, Night Trap caused quite the stir back in the ’90s. It was often uttered in the same breath as the other moral panic of the day, Mortal Kombat. If you want to see what all the hubbub is about, Night Trap is slated for release this summer.

Via: Variety

Source: Limited Run Games

Inside Cellink, the Swedish company building 3D printers for living tissue

One day we’ll replace our old knackered organs with brand new ones that are printed out exclusively for us with a 3D printer. And when we do, we’ll quite possibly use a printer like the Cellink Bio X to do so.

The $39,000 Bio X is the latest 3D bioprinter made by Cellink, a biotech company headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden. In addition to the ability to print living tissues, it also boasts a pleasingly high-end finish, with a miniature touchscreen on the front, and smart “patent pending Clean Chamber Technology” that’s able to remove 99.97 percent of all airborne particulate over 0.3 microns in size. It’s white in color, like an iPod, and about the size and shape of a tabletop ice maker. If Apple’s design guru Jony Ive printed out human skin samples, they would probably be printed using something like this.

We’re viewing the Bio X at Cellink’s offices in Gothenburg, the second-largest city in Sweden. Having started with just a handful of employees in a single room of this office building, a hub for biotech companies, Cellink has gradually taken over more and more of the building. Currently they have 50 employees occupying two floors. On the company’s website, the corporate photo shows this whole team, huddled together on a sunny beach somewhere, smiling into the camera like it’s the group photo from the last day of summer camp. They’re all wearing blue t-shirts bearing one of two possible slogans: “Keep Calm and Bioprint” or “Let Me Take a Cellfie.”

Anyone who wanted to do 3D bioprinting had to make their own ink from scratch.

The rapid growth of Cellink has left its offices in a constant state of expansion. Some rooms are packed full of things, while others are almost entirely empty; as if it’s still awkwardly figuring out what to do with all this new space. It’s like a teenager in the middle of a growth spurt. Everywhere you look in Cellink’s HQ there are large glass walls. They’ve got things written all over them in sharpie, because that’s what happens in research labs and tech startups ever since A Beautiful Mind came out. On one of the glass walls is scrawled “Learning never exhausts the mind — Leonardo da Vinci.” Just about the only place you’d expect to find see-through glass, but don’t is a wall-length window that would once have looked out over Gothenburg. It’s been frosted over to stop people from rival companies peering in.

“What we’re doing here is to develop the technology which allows scientists and researchers to create human organs and tissues at each using a biological ink, modified 3D printers and human cells,” Erik Gatenholm, co-founder and CEO of Cellink, told Digital Trends. “What we do at Cellink is to provide this entire package of components to customers and users worldwide so that they can get started as easily as possible.”

Entering the industry at an important juncture

3D bioprinting is one of those technologies which sounds so science fiction it really shouldn’t exist anywhere outside of a Michael Crichton novel. It works much like regular 3D printing, with sequential ultra-thin sheets of materials printed one layer at a time. Unlike ordinary 3D printing, however, in bioprinting it’s possible to add in cells and biomaterials to fabricate parts which look and act like natural tissues.

In the long term, this will give us vascular organs like new hearts and kidneys. In the short term, it creates simpler materials which can be used for applications like testing out new drugs.

“This was an area that was totally open. I decided to claim it.”

Erik Gatenholm got into bioprinting at an exciting time. He first discovered it thanks to work carried out by his father, a professor of chemistry and chemical engineering at Sweden’s Chalmers University of Technology. In 2015, Gatenholm Sr. acquired a $200,000 bioprinter for his lab. Gatenholm Jr. was intrigued, although he was also shocked to discover that there was no such thing as a standardized bio-ink yet.

At that time, anyone who wanted to do 3D bioprinting had to make their own ink from scratch. It was like asking the owner of a new Epson inkjet to start creating pigments and dyes in their home office before being able to print out an email. He was surprised — but excited. “As an entrepreneur, you look for areas which are open, or at least relatively open,” he said. “Nowadays, it’s difficult to find an area that’s completely open. But we looked into it and this was an area that was totally open. I decided to claim it.”

Gatenholm hooked up with Héctor Martínez, a PhD student who was working on tissue engineering. They developed a bio-ink of their own, made from a seaweed-derived material called nanocellulose alginate, which could be used for printing tissue cartilage. In 2015, they put the product online, priced at $99 for a cartridge. Then they waited.

“We built a little webshop and launched it,” Gatenholm continued. “We weren’t even a real company at that point. That first night we got our first sale. It was from the University of Michigan — and they didn’t up buying just one cartridge; they bought five. It was instant confirmation. That fuelled us.”

Creating a standardized bio-ink wasn’t just exciting from an entrepreneurial perspective. It was also exciting because it could speed up the adoption of bioprinting. Asking researchers to mix their own inks was costly, time-consuming, and — crucially — made it harder to reproduce work and share data.

Going public

With their business beginning to bear fruit, Gatenholm and Martínez began attending academic conferences, trying to drum up more business. “We kept hearing from people who said they’d love to try our ink, but that they didn’t have a printer,” he said. “So we decided to get into printers, too.”

“It was important to me to get it under $5,000.”

The result of that realization was the INKREDIBLE 3D printer, launched in late 2015. It was priced at $4,999, a world away from the six-figure bioprinter Gatenholm’s father had bought for his lab. “It was important to me to get it under $5,000,” he said. “That makes it a credit card purchase.”

Just ten months after it launched, Cellink went public, being listed on the Nasdaq. Its shares were oversubscribed by 1,070 percent. Trading began on November 2016, a year after the INKREDIBLE 3D started shipping.

“That was a blast,” he said. “Coming from the U.S., the IPO is viewed as the big exit. It means you’ve been running your company for 10 years, and you’re ready to make an exit. In Sweden, we took in our first round in spring 2016. At that point, one of our main investors said, ‘We should go public.’ I thought it was crazy, that we weren’t at that point yet. But he explained that it didn’t have to be an exit. We could use it raise funding without diluting our company too much.”

Was Gatenholm concerned about the IPO? After all, as impressive as sounds, the dot-com bubble was full of similarly speedy public offerings, which turned out to be little more than pump-and-dump schemes. Pet accessories company Pets.com had its own meteoric rise and public offering — only 268 days before it went into liquidation.

No, he said. Unlike a lot of those companies — and despite the fact that the 3D bioprinting of complete vascular organs is still decades away — Cellink has one big thing going in its favor: it is making money. “We had a product on the market,” he said. “We had a good business going. Many companies which have had a premature IPO didn’t yet have a product. They just had an idea, but no sustainable model. We’re profitable.”

The groundwork has been laid

Ultimately, this is what makes Cellink so profitable, and tantalizing to investors. It is new technology, but an old business model. It’s the same model that’s likely behind whatever printer you’ve got sat on your desk at work: sell affordable hardware and bring back repeat business for the inks. It’s smart, and it means that Cellink is different from other biotech companies in areas like, say, drug discovery, who have to be willing to burn cash for a decade before they’ve got a product on the market.

They’ve got big customers, too. The printers are used in dozens of research institutes around the world, including the likes of MIT and Harvard. The U.S. Army uses its products, as does Johnson & Johnson and Toyota. Applications range from the 3D bioprinting of tumors for personalized cancer research to… well, whatever a car company like Toyota wants 3D bioprinting for. It’s a world away from the pricey printer Gatenholm saw in his dad’s lab.

Cellink staff

“A lot of the legwork has been done in the past ten years,” he said. “We’ve watched behemoth systems, big expensive ones, that used to be sold for $200,000. They did an essential function. I always recognize that when I present this business. I’m humble about the work they’ve done. A lot of them were great systems, great companies, but they just didn’t have it in them to take the next step.”

Cellink is hoping that it does. We’re hoping it does, too. Because while there’s clearly a whole lot of money to be made from this industry, it’s also got the chance to improve life for millions, or even billions, of people. This is the kind of stuff science and technology was made for.

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Tiny dents in solar cells could make them more efficient than ever

Looking for a way to make solar panels more efficient? Why not try putting a dent in them? No, it’s not a “fix the TV by banging your hand on it” solution, but an actually demonstrable discovery from researchers at the United Kingdom’s University of Warwick.

This isn’t something you could do with your own home solar panel by way of a ladder and a hammer, though. Instead, the research shows that it’s possible to squeeze extra power out of solar cells by deforming the tiny p-type and n-type crystals in photovoltaic semiconductors.

Most commercial solar panels are made up of two layers, which create a junction at the boundary where the positively charged p-type and negatively-charged n-type semiconductors meet. When the solar cell absorbs light, this junction splits the photo-excited carriers in opposite directions, thereby generating current and voltage. But while this junction is crucial for producing electricity, it also comes with a limit — called the Shockley-Queisser limit — which stops any more than 33.7 percent of the power in sunlight being transformed into electricity.

For their demonstration, the Warwick researchers used conductive tips to force semiconductors into a device called a nano-indenter, which deformed the individual crystals. By making the semiconductors non-symmetrical, they were able to create something called the “bulk photovoltaic effect,” another way to collect charge. Combining these two approaches resulted in improved efficiency of solar cells and the chance to generate more electrical energy from sunlight.

“This flexo-photovoltaic effect is a new effect,” Marin Alexe, a professor in the Department of Physics at Warwick, told Digital Trends. “It shows that by engineering the strain applied, any semiconductor can be transformed in a photovoltaic generator without a need [for] chemical doping or any other processing. We haven’t yet evaluated in detail how effective is this effect. But in principle there is nothing to prevent combining the two effects, the classical harvesting using p-n junctions and the present flexo-PV effect.”

So what’s next for the research? And, more importantly, when will be able to lay our hands on these more efficient solar cells? “Next, we would like to understand the microscopic mechanism of this intriguing bulk photovoltaic effect, which stays as the basis of the flexo-PV effect,” Alexe continued. “Then we will look to quantify the gain and efficiency at both macro and nano-scale.”

Alexe acknowledged that this could be the start of a “long and painful optimization and engineering process.” However, the team has filed a patent application to lay claim to their work. Now they just need to find some industrial partners to further develop their ideas.

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Celebrate 4/20 with the dopest weed gadgets in the observable universe

The 20th of April is here and you’re probably asking yourself one thing, “Where did I leave the eye drops?”

Jokes aside, 4/20 annually sees marijuana enthusiasts across the world planning extravagant cannabis-themed celebrations centered around the simple act of igniting that aromatic herb, and inhaling. And as the weed industry grows, so too does the demand for ingenious gadgets designed to enhance or simplify the smoking experience. At Digital Trends, we love all kinds of technology, so we thought it would be fun to put together a list of the coolest cannabis-related gadgets on the planet. Sit back, relax, and scroll on down to find out which weed gizmos we thought were the most dope — pun intended.

Pax 3

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

The third iteration of Pax Labs’ eponymous handheld vaporizer is as sleek and subtle as ever, and it’s still effective for covert smoke sessions. What was dubbed by The New York Times as “the iPhone of vaporizers” lives up to its reputation, dealing out stealthy hits of THC — or CBD, if that’s your bag — in stylish fashion. The PAX 3, available in black, gold, rose gold, and silver, heats up in just about 20 seconds, and this time around it’s capable of vaping concentrates, not just flower.

The included half-pack oven means you don’t have to load huge bowls anymore, increasing the vape’s efficiency, and terpene profiles still come through extremely well. Multiple strength settings allow you to crank up the heat when a load has already been partially smoked, and the Vapor smartphone app allows you to do cool stuff like dim the lights (for maximum secrecy) or boost the heat.

Puffco Peak

First revealed at the 2018 CES conference in Las Vegas, the Puffco Peak made an impression on the industry. Perhaps the world’s first “smart dab rig,” the Peak is a battery-powered gizmo with four different heat settings which heats up in 20 seconds, effectively eliminating the need for propane or butane-based torches. It charges in two hours and lasts for 30 dabs (a number which increases if you’re in “sesh mode,” which keeps the nail hot).

You can pre-load the Peak and place the glass cap on before heating up. The Peak is compact at just 7 inches and comes with a carrying case. Never has dabbing been simpler or more enjoyable. The Peak is sold out right now, but when it comes back into stock, it will run you $380. That may sound steep, but there is really nothing else like it.

The Magical Butter Maker

Landlords and neighbors aren’t always enamored with the smell of weed. If you’re risking eviction or arrest by smoking in your house, it’s probably a good idea to explore some other methodologies. Enter the Magic Butter Maker, which “magically” turns your bud, trim, and shake into THC-infused butter, oil, or tincture. All you have to do is throw in some herb along with butter or oil — whatever you want to infuse — and, in less than a day, you’ll have cannabutter or tincture at the ready for use in cooking or other applications.

The best part? The MBM doesn’t emit the nasty smell that usually accompanies the cannabutter creation process. Plus, it will save you money by effectively turning low-grade trim into high-potency edibles. What’s not to like? Keep in mind: Purchasing from Amazon won’t include a warranty (you need to go through the official site for that), and the machine can get loud at times, so stash it in the garage while it’s working. We recommended decarboxylating your bud before throwing it in the machine.

Hydrology9

Many users prefer vaporization to other methods because it’s safer, cleaner, and easier on your lungs. On the other hand, some prefer to smoke out of a bong (or “water pipe,” as it were) because of the smooth water filtration. The Hydrology 9 — from Cloudious 9 — offers the best of both worlds, functioning as a compact, portable … vape-bong?

Built from anodized aluminum and borosilicate glass, the Hydrology 9 vaporizes flower at its base before filtering the vapor through a water chamber. It’s a truly futuristic device — both conceptually and aesthetically — and it is designed to be easy to clean, too. For 4/20, you can get a Hydrology 9, a leather carry pouch, and a replacement cylinder tube all for $200 (it usually retails for $250).

Wisp Vaporizing System

For experienced users, the concept of a weed Keurig is kind of silly. After all, you really don’t need such an elaborate setup to get high and if it’s anything like the coffee version, it’s probably inefficient and wasteful.

That said, the Wisp system could be a godsend for someone who isn’t comfortable with loading fat bowls into a giant bong or rolling up a Backwoods. Simply pull out the vapor bottle (which has a bag in it, like the Volcano), open the little weed pod, affix it to the bottle’s base, reinsert the bottle, and press the cloud icon. In a matter of minutes, you will have a pre-vaporized single-serving hit waiting for you. The coolest part? Like with a Keurig, you can get different “flavors” (read: strains) of cups for different purposes. The Wisp could be a perfect introductory product for an older person with arthritis, or something similar.

Right now, the Wisp is on sale for just $99 using a promo code (the sale expires at midnight on April 21). There’s a catch, though: Right now, you can only get the Wisp pods if you live in Massachusetts. The website leads us to believe the list of states will grow in the future, though.

Leaf

Most of the gadgets on this list are fun little weed-related toys. The Leaf “plug-n-plant” grow system, though, is a bit more serious. For $3,000 you can start your very own grow operation in a 4-by-2-foot box. The automated Leaf box functions as a miniature grow house, where you can fit two plants to yield four to five ounces of bud. The box contains an autonomous climate control system and an automatic nutrient dosing system, so you don’t even have to tend to the plants yourself — just throw ’em in and wait.

The BIOS 200W LED system ensures that plants will receive the correct amount of “sunlight” each day, while a mounted HD camera allows you to view the plants’ progress at any point. There’s even a mobile app where you can source grow recipes from the community, in case you’d prefer a more hands-on approach. You don’t even have to use it for weed; this bad boy can grow tomatoes, wheatgrass, kale, or nearly any other crop that’ll fit in the box. It’s not exactly a cheap toy for 4/20, but it’s very, very cool.

Grobo One

If the Leaf doesn’t strike your fancy, perhaps the Grobo One will? Just like Leaf, this automated grow box system comes complete with full-spectrum LED lighting, automatic watering, pH control, and nutrient feeding, an odorless carbon filter, and a fluid glass pane which toggles between transparent and opaque at the press of a button. Everything gets controlled via the Grobo app, which offers real-time statistical feedback to help you follow the progress of your plants.

The app also comes pre-loaded with several recipes — you know, in case you ever want to grow something that’s not pot — and it gives you information on day-to-day growth, temperature, humidity, and nutrient levels. Right now, Grobo is up for pre-order with units shipping in the fall.

GrowBuddy

Growing anything is a delicate undertaking that requires both dedication and careful planning, but growing marijuana is a next-level endeavor, with so many different strains and variables in play. If you’re an aspiring grower — or, hell, even if you’ve had a green thumb (again, pun intended) for years — the GrowBuddy mobile app, available for iOS and Android, can revolutionize your methodology and your results.

The app features a ton of tools dedicated to helping you catalog your grow schedules and plans, including a nutrient calculator and automatic data syncing between all your devices. The app also links to a huge marketplace where you can procure seeds, lights, pesticides, and anything else you might need to grow your dream strain. The GrowBuddy website even features a Q&A forum where enterprising botanists can link up with one another to discuss what works and what doesn’t work. With GrowBuddy, you can work smarter and harder.

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Texas court rules 2015 revenge porn law is unconstitutional

Revenge porn is getting attention across the nation as state, regional and even federal lawmakers wrestle with how to deal with the practice of posting private, intimate photos of people without their permission. A 2015 Texas law that made revenge porn a misdemeanor with up to a year of jail time and a $4,000 fine was struck down by the 12th Court of Appeals as violating the First Amendment. The court also dropped a charge against Jordan Bartlett Jones, who challenged the law after he was denied a Writ of Habeas Corpus last year.

In the ruling, the 12th Court of Appeals said that the law defines revenge porn too broadly and, as such, violates the First Amendment, which Chief Justice James Worthen believes prohibits restrictions on free speech based on its content. In addition, the appeals court felt that the law reached too far in targeting third parties who may have shared intimate photos unknowingly, noted the Texas Tribune. The Texan prosecuting attorney plans to ask the 12th Court to reconsider its decision, and then take the case to a higher court if unsuccessful, according to the Austin American-Statesman

Via: Phys Org

Source: Texas 12th Court of Appeals

AT&T sued for pilfering news-streaming technology

My24hournews.com filed suit against AT&T for skipping out on a $100 million deal to use the former company’s news-streaming technology and hampering that’s company’s launch.

According to a Bloomberg report, My24hournews.com says that AT&T backed out of a $100 million investment in the streaming company. Yet the telecom/pay TV goliath still used My24hournews.com’s streaming technology.

My24hournews.com states that it invented a system to stream news to computers and mobile devices. It’s that tech that it says AT&T is using without living up to an earlier deal.

AT&T for its part said that the suit lacks merit and that this is the third time My24hournews.com has filed essentially the same suit against them.

Source: Bloomberg