Amazon’s next game will have a Twitch-centric wager system
Ever since Amazon bought livestreaming website Twitch, the retailer has slowly but surely begun building video tools into its offerings. It’s new free game engine, Lumberyard, already lets developers quickly incorporate and scale community features from the outset, but Amazon has a lot more planned than that. At this years TwitchCon event, Amazon Game Studios confirmed that Breakaway, its new free-to-play multiplayer game made by Killer Instinct developer Double Helix, a company it acquired more than two years ago, will offer a new form of in-game Twitch currency and incorporate numerous Twitch features specifically aimed at building the video service’s reputation as the home of live eSports.
The new digital currency is called Stream+ and allows Twitch viewers to earn “loyalty points” as they watch live games unfold and use them to bet on the outcome of key moments. The longer they watch, the more they accumulate, but additional points can be earned by participating in public polls. Twitch is staying clear of real-money gambling on its service and instead showers fans with in-game rewards as they move their way up the loyalty point leaderboard.
Breakway will incorporate all of these new Twitch features, which include Metastream, a platform that provides players and viewers with access to a real-time stats that can be incorporated into streams; Broadcaster Spotlight, a notification system that tells players if their teammates or opponents are livestreaming the match they’re playing in; and Broadcaster Match Builder, a matchmaking feature that lets streamers build custom matches and invite their subscribers, followers and viewers to play against/with them.
Amazon Game Studios says that it is working on two other games that have been “built for Twitch broadcasters, viewers, and players.” New World is a MMO that lets you “carve your own destiny with other players in a living, hostile, cursed land” and Crucible is a six-on-six “battle to the last survivor on a hostile alien world. Players choose and customize heroes, making alliances and betraying allies on their path to victory.”
Via: Geekwire
Source: Amazon Game Studios
Zero-Day Acquisition Platform Triples iOS 10 Bug Bounty to $1.5 Million
Exploit acquisition platform Zerodium has increased its reward for a successful jailbreak of iOS 10 to $1.5 million, far surpassing Apple’s recent payout offer for discovering and reporting vulnerabilities in its software.
Late last year, Zerodium briefly offered and paid out $1 million to one hacking team for the successful creation of a browser-based jailbreak for iOS 9.1 and 9.2, but dropped the going rate for an exploit to $500,000.
Rather than report the vulnerabilities to Apple, Zerodium said that it would sell the exploit to its customers, which include major technology, finance, and defense corporations, as well as government agencies.
Instead of being limited to a specific timeframe, the new $1.5 million reward is a permanent offer that aims to compensate for Apple’s recently hardened security regime, said Zerodium founder Chaouki Bekrar.
We’ve increased the price due to the increased security for both iOS 10 and Android 7, and we would like to attract more researchers all year long, not just during a specific bounty period as we did last time.
At the same time, Zerodium’s decision to up its bug bounty can be seen as a response to the imminent launch of Apple’s own program.
Last month at the annual Black Hat Conference, Apple announced the launch of an invite-only Security Bounty Program that would offer rewards of up to $200,000 to researchers depending on the vulnerability discovered. Apple said the program would be limited to a few dozen researchers and would go live in September.
Earlier this week, several news media outlets were seemingly duped into reporting on an alleged ‘secret’ meeting of prominent hackers at Apple’s Campus in Cupertino, which was supposed to include a briefing on the company’s bug bounty program. The meeting was apparently a hoax perpetrated by the hackers themselves.
@qwertyoruiopz Forbes punk’d
— franz (@neozeed) September 28, 2016
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Related Roundup: iOS 10
Tags: Zerodium, jailbreak
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Taiwan Government Takes Bank Applications to Offer Apple Pay
Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission has begun accepting applications from the country’s banks for offering Apple Pay to their customers, according to a report out today (via DigiTimes).
The mobile payment service will initially be limited to the use of credit cards, although other financial card systems like debit cards are expected to be allowed at a later date.
Apple Pay is expected to be provided by Taiwan’s four big banks – CTBC Bank, Cathay United Commercial Bank, E.SUN Commercial Bank, and Taishin International Bank. Customers should be able to apply to use Apple Pay at the end of the year at the earliest.
Last month, Taiwan became joint-third in line with Switzerland to adopt Apple’s carrier billing feature for iTunes users, allowing them to charge app and media transactions directly to their cellphone bill.
Apple debuted the billing scheme in Germany back in October 2015, before rolling it out to users in Russia a month later. Apple is likely to continue to expand the initiative to more countries as it seeks to secure deals with carriers for lower transaction handling rates.
Related Roundup: Apple Pay
Tag: Taiwan
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Note 7: Return rate passes 81% in Australia, as Chinese TV criticizes Samsung
A mixed picture as Samsung looks to restart sales in some parts of the world.
As we approach a full month since the Galaxy Note 7’s battery issues first came to light, there are signs of the recall program approaching its conclusion in some countries. Samsung Australia has issued a statement saying 81% of old Note 7s sold in the country. The news comes just over a week since the official Note 7 recall kicked off in the country.
There’s no word on when new sales of the Note 7 will begin in Australia, but Europe is looking at an October 28 restart date, following the full completion of the recall program.
Samsung ‘full of arrogance,’ says Chinese state TV.
Meanwhile Samsung has found itself in hot water in China, as state TV broadcaster CCTV has criticized its handling of the Note 7 recall. Reuters reports that the broadcaster called Samsung’s behavior “full of arrogance,” contrasting the way it issued a video apology in the U.S., but just a short statement in China. “Samsung’s discriminatory policy has caused discontent from Chinese consumers,” CCTV is quoted as saying.
Despite its insistence that Note 7s sold in China used a different battery supplier, and are thus safe, Samsung has faced isolated reports of overheating in new Note 7s sold in the country. Where it’s been able to inspect the phones involved, Samsung has attributed the damage to external sources of heat, as opposed to the battery itself overheating.
The recall — and subsequent negative press — comes at an inopportune time for Samsung in China, where it’s struggling to keep pace with local brands like Huawei and Xiaomi. Both Chinese rivals are set to launch their own big-screened competitors to the Note 7 in a early November.
Sales of the new Note 7 are set to begin in Korea on October 1, as Samsung expects to pass the 80% mark for the recall in its home market.
Samsung Galaxy Note 7
- Galaxy Note 7 recall: Everything you need to know
- Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review
- The latest Galaxy Note 7 news!
- Here are all four Note 7 colors
- Complete Galaxy Note 7 specs
- Join the Note 7 discussion in the forums!
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Where to buy a PlayStation 4 with a copy of Fifa 17 for £150
With the release of the new PlayStation 4 Slim and PlayStation 4 Pro, retailers across the UK have been slashing prices of the original PlayStation 4 console. Some of the major retailers around the country have been selling the 500GB PS4 with a copy of Fifa 17 for a staggering £150. But with it being such a low price, stock levels have understandably been intermittent.
Here’s all the places we’ve seen the deals in stock, we can’t guarantee they’ll have stock in if you have a look, but they’re worth bookmarking just in case.
Tesco
Tesco is one of the retailers getting involved with the deal. You need to add both items to your basket and the price of the game will be taken off at the checkout. This deal is available in store as well, so you may want to pop down to your local store to try your luck.
Game
Game has been running its own PS4 deals as well, with customers noticing the retailer is selling a console with a copy of Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens and a copy of the film on Blu-ray for £150.
Game also has an out of stock deal on its website for a PS4 with Fifa 17 and a two month Sky Cinema pass for Now TV.
Game Aberdeen’s Twitter account has said it’s been selling the 500GB console for £150 and the 1TB version for £180, although it does say “when they’re gone they’re gone”. You may want to get to your local store quickly to see if they have any left.
John Lewis
John Lewis has the same deal as Tesco listed on its website. Again, you’ll need to add both products to the basket to get the discount. But also again, the game is in stock, but the console is out of stock. The same deal is likely to be available in John Lewis stores.
Smyths Toy Store
Smyths Toy Store also has the PS4 and Fifa 17 deal on its website, but it’s the same story, console out of stock, game in stock. Keep checking back to see if more consoles are delivered.
If you’re unlucky and don’t manage to get your hands on one of the deals, the PS4 Slim can be had from £250, or you can get an Xbox One S with built-in 4K Blu-ray player and a copy of Fifa 17 for £250.
The NES Mini is cooler, but Japan’s Famicom Mini is way cooler
While the NES Mini may look pretty cool, Nintendo has just announced that Japan will be getting its own tiny piece of nostalgia in the form of the Famicom Mini, and we have to say, it looks an awful lot better.
- Nintendo’s new console available to order, but it’s not what you expected
It’s official title is the Nintendo Classic Mini: Family Computer and will be a miniature version of the Japanese exclusive NES released in 1983. It will also come with 30 games pre-installed like the European version, although it won’t feature games such as Kid Icarus or Final Fantasy. Instead it will have Final Fantasy III, Atlantis no Nazo, Downtown Nekketsu Koshinkyoku: Soreyuke Daidundokai, NES Open Tournament Golf, River City Ransom, Solomon’s Key and a couple of other Japanese titles.
Another difference is the controllers are hardwired to the console, whereas the controllers on the NES Mini can be swapped out. The NES Famicom is due for release on November 10th for 5980 Yen, or about $59.
- Nintendo NX: Release date, specs and everything you need to know
- Pokemon CEO “reveals” details about Nintendo NX
Nintendo revealed the NES Mini back in July, confirming it would be its next console release. We were hoping for the Nintendo NX, but we may only have to wait until next month to see an official announcement for it. The NES Mini is a much smaller version of the company’s original console which was released in Europe in 1986 and comes with 30 of Nintendo’s biggest 8-bit games pre-installed.
HTC Vive launches dedicated VR store for everything besides games
HTC is launching a new app store for its VR hardware. Viveport escapes beta testing today, showcasing all the other VR possibilities besides survival horror, shooting and such. The company is promising the hub will show off art, creativity tools, education apps and more — hoping to surface things that might get lost in the depths of Steam’s bigger catalogue. The store also includes Viveport Premieres: content that’s debuting on the Vive headset, including Google Spotlight Stories’ Petal, Stonehenge VR, The Music Room and more.
There’s also a cryptic final comment in the press release from Rikard Steiber, President of Viveport, teasing unlimited content for people wiling to jump through some social media and puzzle-based hoops in the near future. But for now, see what’s on offer — for a price — right here.
Teddy Ruxpin returns with animated LCD eyes
Teddy Ruxpin is back — again — and this time, the creepy/adorable stuffed toy comes with animated, emoji-like eyes. The bear can blink, turn its irises into snowflakes and transform them into hearts and flowers. It can even suspiciously narrow its eyes at you, like it already knows you’d want to toss it in the trash after it creeps you out one too many times in the middle of the night. Unlike the original bear that had a slot for cassette tapes on its butt, the new Teddy Ruxpin designed by Wicked Cool Toys has a 4GB hard-drive heart that stores 40 stories.
Teddy can still speak and narrate the stories stored in its memory, but now children can read along using its companion iPad app. Squeeze Teddy’s hand to skip stories or its foot to switch to sing-a-long mode. The company won’t be selling the bear until 2017, but it showed the updated teddy bear off at Dallas Toy Fair this week. The YouTube channel MommyandGracieShow got to play with it at the event — watch the video below if you want to see Teddy Ruxpin’s new high-tech peepers.
Source: CNET, The Guardian
Adobe Adds iPhone 7 Camera Support to Lightroom for iOS
Adobe has updated its Lightroom app for iOS to take advantage of the enhanced cameras on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
The latest version of Lightroom for iPhone, v2.5.2, brings specific lens and sensor profiles for both of Apple’s new devices, featuring specific dual-lens optimizations for the 5.5-inch handset.
The update also brings improved color, noise, and lens profiles for Adobe’s digital negative (DNG) image format when used in conjunction with the iPhone 7 series, allowing photographers to edit images while avoiding the bugbear of visible distortions typically brought about by lossy data compression.
In addition to support for Adobe’s RAW file format, the new iteration of Lightroom supports the DCI-P3 wide color gamut display featured in iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, and first seen in the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. The improved standard offers 25 percent more color than sRGB.
The latest update builds on Adobe’s last, version 2.5, which brought RAW shooting capability to owners of Apple devices equipped with a 12-megapixel camera, including the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, 9.7-inch iPad Pro, and iPhone SE.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for iPhone is a free download for iPhone and iPad on the App Store. [Direct Link]
Related Roundup: iPhone 7
Tag: Adobe Lightroom
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Melinda Gates’ initiative is about getting more women into tech
Melinda Gates has been supporting the global fight against malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS with her husband since 2000. And she’ll continue to do so, but now she’s also building her own office and dedicating resources to tackle gender inequality in the tech industry. In an interview with Backchannel, Gates said her new initiative’s goal is to get more women working in technology and to get them to stay there. Gates is more than just the Microsoft founder’s wife: she worked in Redmond for a decade after getting her undergrad and MBA in computer science from Duke.
“I care about computer science,” she told Backchannel, lamenting the fact that there were more female computer science graduates back in the ’80s. While more and more women are going into law and medicine, female computer science graduates now only make up 18 percent of the total. It used to be 37 percent back in the ’80s. Gates stressed the importance of women’s presence in tech titans’ development labs to make sure they’re able to address the needs of half of the world’s population. She cited Apple’s Health app, as an example, calling its lack of ability to track menstruation a “blatant error” that might not have happened if there were more women working on its development.
She explained:
“When you look in the labs at who’s working on AI, you can find one woman here, and one woman there. Your’e not even finding three or four in labs together.
The other thing I know from work around the world is that women truly only get empowered when there’s a collective of them. You get one woman down in a village trying to break the system. She can’t do it at the village level unless she’s got women around her. It’s the power of the collective. Then she can go demand her rights.”
Gates is still in the research stage of her new project, and it could take a couple of years to conjure up a course of action. What she knows, however, is that she wants to get to the root of things, starting with getting young girls in grade school interested in the field. One possible way to do that is to highlight women in the industry who can become role models for the younger generation.
If you have an idea you’d like Gates to consider, Backchannel is now compiling comments to write up a letter of advice for the philanthropist.
Via: The Verge
Source: Backchannel
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