Posted by from MMO Champion
Mists of Pandaria Classic Beta Raid and PvP Testing Schedule
Originally Posted by Blizzard
(
Blue Tracker /
Official Forums)
Thank you for joining us in the Mists of Pandaria Classic Beta.
Next up: the first MoP Raid: Mogu’shan Vaults.
We’re planning two Mogu’shan Vaults Beta weekends:
Friday, May 16 - Monday, May 19
Friday, May 30 - Monday, June 2
Raid weekends will begin at 1:00 p.m. PDT on Friday and end at 10:00 a.m. PDT on Monday.
FYI: we’re also planning something new for a Classic Beta, a test PvP Season. We intend to kick that off in the Beta on Thursday, May 22.
Please stay tuned for more information!
Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the you-don't-say department: Qatar is gifting Trump a $400 million luxury 747 to serve as a temporary Air Force One, but experts warn that retrofitting it to meet presidential security standards could take years, cost hundreds of millions more, and risk national security due to potential embedded surveillance. The Register's Iain Thomson reports: The current VC-25s aren't just repainted 747s. They're a pair of flying fortresses that must be capable of allowing the president to run the country, survive wartime conditions (even nuclear), and be totally secure from outside influence or intrusion. While the precise details of the current airframe are a tightly guarded secret, some details are included on government fact sheets or have been revealed in various media reports. For a start, it must have an in-flight refueling capability so the president can go anywhere in the world and stay up as long as needed. Retrofitting this to an existing 747 would be very expensive, as the feds would need to strengthen portions of the hull to handle the refueling system and reconfigure the fuel tanks to handle trim issues.
Then there's the hull, which is known to be armored, and the windows are also thicker than you'd find on a normal flight. The government would also need to build in weapons systems like the chaff rockets used against radar-guided missiles, flares against heat seekers, and AN/ALQ-204 Matador Infrared Countermeasure systems, or similar to try and confuse incoming missiles. Next up, the engines and electrical systems would have to be replaced. The electronics in the current VC-25s are hardened as much as possible against an electromagnetic pulse that would be generated by a nuclear detonation. There are also claims that the aircraft have extra shielding in the engines to help against missile fragments should a physical attack happen.
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Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the we'll-see-about-that department: According to Rest of the World, a major confrontation between Meta and the local authorities in Nigeria is currently taking place: "Local authorities have fined Meta $290 million for regulatory breaches, prompting the social media giant to threaten pulling Facebook and Instagram from the country." Techdirt reports: As with earlier EU fines imposed on the company, the sticking point is Meta's refusal to comply with local privacy laws [...]. The fine itself is small change for Meta, which had a net income of $62 billion on a turnover of $165 billion in 2024, and a market capitalization of $1.5 trillion. Meta's current revenues in Nigeria are relatively small, but its market shares are high: "According to social media performance tracker Napoleoncat, Meta has a massive presence in the country, with Facebook alone reaching about 51.2 million users as of May 2024, more than a fifth of the population. Instagram had 12.6 million Nigerian users as of November 2023, while WhatsApp had about 51 million users, making Nigeria the 10th largest market globally for the messaging app."
Since many Nigerians depend on Meta's platforms, the company might be hoping that there will be public pressure on the government not to impose the fine in order to avoid a shutdown of its services there. But it is hard to see Meta carrying out its threat to walk away from a country expected to be the third most populous nation in the world by 2050. In 2100, the population of Nigeria could reach 541 million according to current projections.
Posted by from MMO Champion
Patch 11.1.7 PTR - Build 60799
Build 60799 will be deployed to the Public Test Realms soon.
Legacy of Arathor 11.1.7 PTR Development Notes
Originally Posted by Blizzard
(
Blue Tracker /
Official Forums)
Here are this week’s updates to the Legacy of Arathor 11.1.7 PTR:
The Greedy Emissary Returns
The Greedy Emissary event is now available for testing. During this event you’ll be able to encounter deviously greedy emissaries in Stormwind, Orgrimmar, Dornogal, and Undermine for new diabolical rewards— including a mount. You won’t want to miss some truly iconic rewards including recolors of classic Tier 2 armor sets for your characters.
Treasure Goblins spawn every hour on the hour in Stormwind, Orgrimmar, and Dornogal. In Undermine, each rare can spawn a portal when they are defeated (one portal per rare, per hour). And if you’re lucky enough to find an elixir on a Treasure Goblin, try using it on the next portal!
User Interface and Accessibility
New Setting: Assisted Highlight – Highlights a suggested ability on the Action Bar to use. Assisted Highlight can be enabled in Options > Advanced Options.
Removed the Help Tip for minimizing the Spellbook.
Spell Changes
Originally Posted by MMO-Champion
Hunter (
Forums)
Master's Call (New) Command Pet Ability. Command Pet Ability. 40 yd range. Instant. 45 sec cooldown.
< This article continues on their website >
Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the cease-and-desist department: Google is enhancing Android's Factory Reset Protection (FRP) to make stolen phones virtually unusable by detecting setup wizard bypasses and requiring a second factory reset until ownership is verified. Android Authority reports: You can factory reset an Android phone in several ways. However, triggering a reset through the Android recovery menu or Google's Find My Device service activates Factory Reset Protection (FRP). During setup after such a reset, the wizard requires you to verify ownership by either signing into the previously associated Google account or entering the device's former lock screen PIN, password, or pattern. Failing this verification step blocks setup completion, rendering the device unusable. [...]
Factory Reset Protection (FRP) is a valuable feature that discourages theft by rendering stolen Android phones useless to potential buyers if wiped improperly. However, FRP isn't foolproof; thieves have discovered numerous methods over the years to circumvent it. These bypasses typically involve skipping the setup wizard, allowing someone to use the phone without entering the previous owner's Google account details or screen lock.
During The Android Show: I/O Edition, Google announced plans to "further harden Factory Reset protections, which will restrict all functionalities on devices that are reset without the owner's authorization." While the company didn't elaborate much, a screenshot it shared suggests that Android will likely detect if someone bypasses the setup wizard and then force another factory reset, preventing unauthorized use until the user proves ownership. [...] Google stated this FRP improvement is coming "later this year." Since the stable Android 16 release is coming soon, this timeline suggests the feature won't be part of the initial launch. It might arrive later in one of Android 16's Quarterly Platform Releases (QPRs), but that remains to be seen.
Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the what-to-expect department: Nextcloud has accused Google of sabotaging its Android Files app by revoking the "All files access" permission, which the company says
cripples functionality for its 824,000 users and forces reliance on limited alternatives like SAF and MediaStore. The Register reports: Nextcloud's Android Files app is a file synchronization tool that, according to the company, has long had permission to read and write all file types. "Nextcloud has had this feature since its inception in 2016," it said, "and we never heard about any security concerns from Google about it." That changed in 2024, when someone or something at Google's Play Store decided to revoke the permission, effectively crippling the application. Nextcloud was instructed to use "a more privacy-aware replacement." According to Nextcloud, "SAF cannot be used, as it is for sharing/exposing our files to other apps ... MediaStore API cannot be used as it does not allow access to other files, but only media files."
Attempts to raise the issue with Google resulted in little more than copy-and-pasted sections of the developer guide. "Despite multiple appeals from our side and sharing additional background, Google is not considering reinstating upload for all files," Nextcloud said. The issue seems to stem from the Play Store. While a fully functional version is available on F-Droid, the Play Store edition is subject to Google's imposed limitations. Regarding the All files access permission, Google's developer documentation states: "If you target Android 11 and declare All files access, it can affect your ability to publish and update your app on Google Play."
< This article continues on their website >
Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the would-you-look-at-that department: An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media: Late last night, House Republicans introduced new language to the Budget Reconciliation bill that will immiserate the lives of millions of Americans by cutting their access to Medicaid, and making life much more difficult for millions more by making them pay higher fees when they seek medical care. While a lot of attention will be justifiably given to these cuts, the bill has also crammed in new language that attempts to entirely stop states from enacting any regulation against artificial intelligence.
"...no State or political subdivision thereof may enforce any law or regulation regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems during the 10 year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act," says the text of the bill introduced Sunday night by Congressman Brett Guthrie of Kentucky, Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The text of the bill will be considered by the House at the budget reconciliation markup on May 13.
That language of the bill, how it goes on to define AI and other "automated systems," and what it considers "regulation," is broad enough to cover relatively new generative AI tools and technology that has existed for much longer. In theory, that language will make it impossible to enforce many existing and proposed state laws that aim to protect people from and inform them about AI systems. [...] In theory none of these states will be able to enforce these laws if Republicans manage to pass the Budget Reconciliation bill with this current language.
Later this week, Marvel Rivals developers NetEase will bring back the free-to-play online shooter’s very first cosmetic battle pass. However, if you didn’t buy it the first time around, you’re now going to have to pay a higher price. And the developer confirmed this is how it will work moving forward for all returning…
