Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the stranger-things department: Financial Times Alphaville: Look, we know we write a lot about Jane Street, but it's a fascinating place, and people seem interested in it. So it was hard to resist writing about the trading shop entering the mobile phone game space (kinda). Back in 2013 Jane Street developed a card game called "Figgie," which it made to simulate open outcry trading, teach trading nous, and generally burnish its reputation for quirkiness -- de rigueur in the industry.

All you need are 40 cards from a normal deck, and the rules have been public for a while. During Covid, Jane Street made a virtual version for remote interns. Now it's a mobile game that's publicly available on the official Apple and Google app stores.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the Apple-graveyard department: Along with introducing a new iPad Air and iPad Pro during its Let Loose event, Apple quietly killed its ninth-gen iPad -- also known as the last iPad with a headphone jack. From a report: The 10th-gen iPad is now the sole entry-level iPad in Apple's official lineup and, as such, has received a $100 price cut. Released in late 2022, the 10th-generation iPad arrived starting at $449, or about $120 more than base entry-level iPads from previous years. Apple justified the price increase with new iPad Air-like features, like a 10.9-inch screen and USB-C support.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the how-about-that department: Motional, the autonomous vehicle startup borne out of a $4 billion joint venture between Hyundai and automotive supplier Aptiv, will pause its commercial operations and delay plans to launch a driverless taxi service as it undergoes a restructuring, TechCrunch reported Tuesday. From a report: The aim is make progress on the core technology and the business model, while preserving capital, according to sources familiar with the changes. Motional has pushed its plan to launch a commercial driverless robotaxi service with its second-generation AV -- the Hyundai Ioniq 5 -- to 2026, two years later than planned.

The company told employees Tuesday during an all-hands meeting that the changes will include layoffs, but did not provide a figure of how many people would be affected, according to sources who spoke to TechCrunch on condition of anonymity. Motional began notifying employees if they were laid off shortly after the meeting ended. The company employed more than 1,300 people prior to a 5% cut in workforce in March 2024. Motional will halt its commercial operations, which today includes taxi rides in autonomous Hyundai Ioniq 5 vehicles in Las Vegas via the Uber and Lyft network. The company will also end deliveries for Uber Eats customers in Santa Monica using its autonomous vehicles. A human safety operator is behind the wheel in all of its commercial operations.

Posted by Zack Zwiezen from Kotaku
On May 7, Xbox announced that it was closing four studios: Arkane Austin (Redfall), Tango Gameworks (Hi-Fi Rush), Alpha Dog Games (Mighty Doom), and support studio Roundhouse Games. The news is yet another example of Xbox—which has spent billions buying up studios—cutting costs, laying people off, and rearranging…

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Posted by from MMO Champion
Dragonflight Patch 10.2.7 - Dark Heart Live This Week



The War Within Alpha - Hallowfall Main Story Quest Preview

Today we are looking at the main story quest for Hallowfall. Keep in mind this quest chain is missing context and will likely change over time. MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD!

The Guiding Star

Anduin previously left with Adelgonn, one of the Earthen leaders, during the events of the Isle of Dorn questing. The two were intent on traveling to Hallowfall to seek aid from the Arathi against the Nerubians.

You meet Anduin and Adelgonn near Hallowfall's entrance. Upon entering and seeing the crystal in the sky, you eventually reach the town of Dunell's Kindness and meet Faerin, an Arathi lamplighter, and General Steelstrike.

The general recently ordered a retreat that caused a lamplighter and many troops to be placed in harm's way. Faerin wants you to help her recover them.

You take a lynx cart to the Aegis Wall while Faerin explains their situation to you and Anduin.

The Arathi here call the crystal in the sky a "star." They named it Beledar, meaning the "Emperor's Vision" of holy light.

These Arathi are known as the Hallowfall expedition of the Arathi Empire. They followed the Emperor's sacred vision across the sea to fight in Renulash, the final battle between light and dark.

However, they were caught in a storm and enveloped in golden radiance. The entire armada was transported here in a flash and has been fighting the Nerubians ever since.

Faerin was the only child transported with the Armada and grew up fighting the Nerubians, losing her arm and one eye in the process. She then explains that lamplighters are trained to charge into the darkness to save the lost and keep the dawntowers lit.

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Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the pushing-the-limits department: Microsoft has deployed a generative AI model entirely divorced from the internet, saying US intelligence agencies can now safely harness the powerful technology to analyze top-secret information. From a report: It's the first time a major large language model has operated fully separated from the internet, a senior executive at the US company said. Most AI models including OpenAI's ChatGPT rely on cloud services to learn and infer patterns from data, but Microsoft wanted to deliver a truly secure system to the US intelligence community.

Spy agencies around the world want generative AI to help them understand and analyze the growing amounts of classified information generated daily, but must balance turning to large language models with the risk that data could leak into the open -- or get deliberately hacked. Microsoft has deployed the GPT4-based model and key elements that support it onto a cloud with an "air-gapped" environment that is isolated from the internet, said William Chappell, Microsoft's chief technology officer for strategic missions and technology.

Posted by Tony_Bacala from The Toyark


Hasbro dropped another entry to it’s ongoing Marvel 85th Anniversary line for Marvel Legends.  Venom will be coming on a ToyBiz inspired retro Spider-Man cardback.  He’ll be same size as the Omega Red body with additional torso/ab articulation like the ...

The post Venom – Marvel Legends 85th Anniversary appeared first on The Toyark - News.

Posted by Kenneth Shepard from Kotaku
Today, May 7, Xbox announced it’s shutting down three studios and merging another. This includes Redfall developer Arkane Austin and Mobile Doom studio Alpha Dog Games, while Roundhouse Games is being absorbed into Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax Online Studios. But perhaps most shocking of all is the closure…

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Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the breaking-news department: Less than two weeks after President Biden signed a bill that will force TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the popular social media app or face a ban in the United States, TikTok said it sued the federal government on Tuesday, arguing the law was unconstitutional. From a report: TikTok said that the law violated the First Amendment by effectively removing an app that millions of Americans use to share their views and communicate freely. It also argued that a divestiture was "simply not possible," especially within the law's 270-day timeline, pointing to difficulties such as Beijing's refusal to sell a key feature that powers TikTok in the United States.

"For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban, and bars every American from participating in a unique online community with more than one billion people worldwide," the company said in the 67-page petition it provided, which initiates the lawsuit. "There is no question: The act will force a shutdown of TikTok by Jan. 19, 2025." TikTok is battling for its survival in the United States, with the fight set to play out primarily in courts over the next few months. While lawmakers who passed the bill have said the app is a national security threat because of its ties to China, the courts must now weigh those concerns against TikTok's argument that a sale or ban would violate the First Amendment free-speech rights of its users and hurt small businesses that owe their livelihood to the platform.

Posted by Tony_Bacala from The Toyark


A new Sketch Edition DC Multiverse variant is live today with Entertainment Earth’s Hush Batman. He’s coming packed with two batarangs, alt hands, a collector card, stand for it, and special collector box to match the theme.  Retail is $29.99 ...

The post DC Multiverse Batman Hush Sketch Exclusive appeared first on The Toyark - News.

Posted by Ethan Gach from Kotaku
One of the worst years for cancellations, cuts, and closures in the history of the video game industry has just claimed its next victims, including Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks. Developers and fans alike are in disbelief. “Great teams are sunsetting before our eyes again, and it’s a fucking gut stab,” wrote Dinga…

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Posted by Eric Schulkin from Kotaku
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Posted by Levi Winslow from Kotaku
Co-op shooter Helldivers 2 was enjoying tons of success in the months since its February launch. Then, a few days ago, Sony announced that PC players had to link (or create) a PlayStation Network account to continue playing the game. This enraged fans who have been playing for months, resulting in a massive…

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Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the how-about-that department: Disney CEO Bob Iger says the company is shrinking the MCU with a new mission to drop the number of Marvel TV series to two a year and the film output to no more than three movies per year. The comment follows Iger conceding last year that Marvel had diluted audience's focus by making too many TV shows. From a report: Iger said this is part of Disney's overall strategy to reduce output and focus on quality, a strategy "that's particularly true with Marvel."

"We're slowly going to decrease volume and go to probably about two TV series a year instead of what had become four and reduce our film output from maybe four a year to two, or a maximum of three," the Disney CEO said during the company's quarterly earnings call Tuesday. "And we're working hard on what that path is." Iger says Marvel has "a couple of good films in '25 and then we're heading to more 'Avengers,' which we're extremely excited about," adding: "Overall, I feel great about the slate. It's something that I've committed to spending more and more time on. The team is one that I have tremendous confidence in and the IP that we're mining, including all the sequels that we're doing, is second to none."

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the how-about-that department: The identity of the leader of one of the most infamous ransomware groups in history has finally been revealed. From a report: On Tuesday, a coalition of law enforcement led by the U.K.'s National Crime Agency announced that Russian national, Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev, 31, is the person behind the nickname LockBitSupp, the administrator and developer of the LockBit ransomware. The U.S. Department of Justice also announced the indictment of Khoroshev, accusing him of computer crimes, fraud and extortion.

"Today we are going a step further, charging the individual who we allege developed and administered this malicious cyber scheme, which has targeted over 2,000 victims and stolen more than $100 million in ransomware payments," Attorney General Merrick B. Garland was quoted as saying in the announcement. According to the DOJ, Khoroshev is from Voronezh, a city in Russia around 300 miles south of Moscow. "Dmitry Khoroshev conceived, developed, and administered Lockbit, the most prolific ransomware variant and group in the world, enabling himself and his affiliates to wreak havoc and cause billions of dollars in damage to thousands of victims around the globe," said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey, where Khoroshev was indicted.

Posted by Black Convoy from TFW2005


Via Amazon Japan we have our first stock images of the highly anticipated Takara Tomy Mssing Link C-03 Bumblebee and C-04 Cliffjumper. As with Missing Link Optimus Prime, these molds are faithful to the original G1 toys but with new added articulation. See the images after the break and then join to the ongoing discussion on the 2005 Boards!

The post Takara Tomy Mssing Link C-03 Bumblebee and C-04 Cliffjumper Official Stock Images appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Posted by Black Convoy from TFW2005


We have quite an interesting finding here. Via Twitter user @JesseWittenrich we have our first images of the prototypes of four unreleased redecos of the Transformers G2 Flipchangers. These figures were originally planned to be released during G2 but the line’s cancellation resulted in the figure being held back. These molds were later redecoed and released in the Machine Wars line as Mirage/Prowl, Hoist/Hubcap, Skywarp/Thundercracker and Megatron/Megaplex. The images come from a private auction group on Facebook and we not only get images of these unreleased redecos, but information about the official names of two of them. The light green indy car mold was » Continue Reading.

The post Unreleased Transformers G2 Flipchangers Redecos Images appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Posted by Kenneth Shepard from Kotaku
One of 2023’s most criminally underrated games is getting a second chance. Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is Spike Chunsoft’s spiritual successor to its beloved murder mystery series Danganropa. It launched on Switch to decent reception last year, but several reviewers noted some technical trouble on Nintendo’s…

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Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the feed-and-speed department: Apple revealed its refreshed iPad Pro lineup at its "Let Loose" virtual event Tuesday, featuring a slimmer design, OLED displays, and the company's latest M4 chip. The new 13-inch and 11-inch models boast enhanced brightness, color saturation, and contrast, with the 13-inch model measuring just 5.1 millimeters thick, making it Apple's thinnest device ever.

The M4 chip, which powers the new iPad Pros, delivers a 50% faster CPU and improved efficiency compared to the previous-gen M2 chip. Apple has also introduced updated accessories, including a redesigned Magic Keyboard with an aluminum palm rest and function key row, and the Apple Pencil Pro with squeeze gestures, Find My location tracking, and haptic feedback. The switch to OLED technology ensures consistent display quality across both iPad Pro sizes, addressing the previous disparity between the 12.9-inch Mini LED model and the smaller, traditional-screen version.

The base storage for both models is now 256GB, with prices starting at $999 for the 11-inch and $1,299 for the 13-inch. Both are available for preorder today and will be available in stores next week.

Posted by Willa Rowe from Kotaku
After a short technical test, Supergiant Games started this week with a bang by releasing Hades II into Early Access. The sequel to the studio’s 2020 action roguelite has been eagerly awaited by fans of the original, but it turns out the audience for Hades 2 is much bigger than anybody was expecting. Not even 24 hours…

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