Posted by from MMO Champion
Patch 11.2 - Ghosts of K'aresh

Patch 11.2 - Ghosts of K'aresh Developer Interviews

Some outlets had the opportunity to ask the developers some additional questions. We've recapped some of the highlights below.

ScreenRant

Screenrant interviewed Assistant Lead Quest Designer, Stephanie Yoon, the Associate Art Director, Tina Wang, and two Lead Encounter Designers for Ghosts of K'aresh, Taylor Sanders and Andrew De Sousa.

Players are able to gather a lot of hints and clues about where we're headed to next in Midnight with the story in this patch

Tazavesh was a really cool space that was built out as a dungeon, so the team did some revamping to make it work for flying, opened up some doors, and now more players will be able to see it.

Using a Reshii Wrap, players can take waygates and move as energy through conduits and even dodge through boss mechanics

The Dimensius fight will involve players diving through space, dodging lasers and even planets being thrown.

WellPlayed

WellPlayed talked to Tina Wang, Associate Art Director and Stephanie Yoon, Assistant Lead Quest Designer.

Ve’nari has a list of animals ready for you, so you won't be heading off to just any zone to collect animals for your eco-dome.

Players will be able to fly right away in of K'aresh, as there are shattered land masses that are separated by the twisting void that are unreachable without flying.

Capstone World Quest are only while in phase diving.

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Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the waking-up-to-reality department: Swiss Re has identified extreme heat as a significant insurance threat in its latest annual report on emerging risks with the Zurich-based reinsurer noting that up to half a million people globally die from extreme heat effects each year. The death toll exceeds the combined impact of floods, earthquakes and hurricanes. Heat waves contributed to conditions that generated $78.5 billion in insured wildfire losses globally from 2015-2024, Swiss Re reported.

The Los Angeles wildfires this year could add up to $45 billion in insured losses, according to UCLA Anderson School of Business estimates. The insurance industry has historically underestimated heat-related costs because damages spread across multiple policy types rather than appearing as a single category. Construction firms face rising medical insurance and workers compensation claims when outdoor workers suffer heat injuries, plus potential liability for inadequate cooling breaks.

Posted by from MMO Champion
Patch 11.2 - Ghosts of K'aresh

Today's WoWCast introduces us to Patch 11.2, Ghosts of K'aresh! It features a new Artifact Cloak, Dungeon, Raid, Delves, Outdoor World updates, and more!

Ghosts of K'aresh

The Ethereals in Burning Crusade told us about K'aresh, a beautiful arid homeworld that was ruined by Dimensius the All-Devouring consuming their world-soul

We helped the Ethereals get revenge and thought the matter was finished

We’ll be setting foot on the shattered void-touched land because we have heard that evil forces are trying to resurrect Dimensius the All-Devouring. If he’s allowed to return, it would be the end of the Ethereals and then the end of Azeroth.

Alleria will be here front and center with her old mentor Locuswalker, as he bring us to his old home planet

Lorewalking gave hints to the coming content for players that completed it in Legacy of Arathor.

Tazavesh, the Veiled Market will be a home base in K’aresh

New Raid - Manaforge Omega

Giant facility that was built on the planet to harvest cosmic energy

We’ll be facing down a spider like creature that they are harvesting silk from

We’ll also face a mysterious council of Demon Hunters that made their way to K’aresh

The final boss is Dimensius, the largest raid boss the team has ever created. It is the size of Stormwind!

Players will enter the raid through the mana intake pipe by turning themselves into energy with their Artifact Cloak.

The first boss encounter is against a Warden that oversees the pipes, so players will need to go in and out of energy form to survive

Artifact Cloak - Reshii Wraps

The team wanted to give players an upgradable artifact with visible components that doesn’t interfere with any tier sets

The cloak helps turn players’ bodies into energy form

A very powerful person in the campaign helps players gather Ethereal artifacts and coalesces them into a Reshii Wrap

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Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the internet-of-snitches department: The UK Information Commissioner's Office has issued its first guidance demanding manufacturers of air fryers, smart speakers, fertility trackers, and smart TVs respect users' privacy rights after reports of excessive data collection in homes.

The regulator requires companies to ensure data security, provide transparency to consumers, and regularly delete collected information. Stephen Almond, the ICO's executive director for regulatory risk, said smart products know who users live with, their music preferences, and medication details. The guidance addresses "internet of things" devices, including fertility trackers that record menstrual dates and body temperature before sending data to manufacturer servers.

Additionally, smart speakers that monitor family members and visitors must allow users to configure settings that minimize personal information collection. The ICO warned manufacturers it stands ready to take enforcement action in the event of noncompliance.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the interest-of-transparency department: Nature will automatically publish peer review reports and author responses alongside all newly submitted research papers starting this week. The flagship scientific journal previously offered transparent peer review as an optional service since 2020, while Nature Communications has required it since 2016.

All exchanges between authors and anonymous reviewers will become publicly accessible (reviewer identities remain confidential unless they choose disclosure). Nature aims to open what it calls the "black box" of science by revealing the months-long conversations that shape research papers before publication.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the how-about-that department: Starting in summer 2026, Netflix subscribers in France will be able to watch commercially broadcast TV content "without ever having to leave the service." The Verge adds: The streaming giant has announced a distribution deal with French media company TF1 Group to make TF1's free-to-air live TV channels and on-demand TF1 Plus streaming content available to French Netflix users as part of their existing subscription plan.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the deeper-cuts department: U.S. public companies have cut their white-collar workforces by 3.5% over the past three years, marking a fundamental shift in corporate philosophy that views fewer employees as a path to faster growth. One in five S&P 500 companies now employ fewer people than they did a decade ago, according to employment data-provider Live Data Technologies.

The reductions extend beyond typical cost-cutting measures and coincide with record corporate profits at the end of last year. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told employees Tuesday that AI will eliminate certain jobs in coming years, while Procter & Gamble announced plans to cut 7,000 positions to create "broader roles and smaller teams."

Bank of America reduced its workforce from 285,000 in 2010 to 213,000 today while revenues climbed 18% over the past decade. Managers have faced particularly steep cuts, with their ranks falling 6.1% between May 2022 and May 2025. Companies are flattening organizational structures and pushing remaining employees to handle larger workloads as executives track revenue per employee more closely.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the how-about-that department: DC Studios co-head James Gunn argues that the movie industry is "dying" primarily because productions begin before screenplays are complete, while also delivering a sharp critique of his former employer Marvel Studios, which he claims Disney has "killed" through output mandates.

Gunn dismissed common explanations for Hollywood's struggles like declining theater attendance or improved home viewing experiences, telling Rolling Stone that "the number one reason is because people are making movies without a finished screenplay." The filmmaker has implemented a strict rule at DC Studios requiring finished scripts before production starts, recently scrapping a project because its screenplay wasn't ready.

The director, who previously helmed three "Guardians of the Galaxy" films for Marvel, said Disney's corporate directive to increase output destroyed the studio's creative process. "They were under a corporate mandate, yeah. That wasn't fair. It wasn't right. And it killed them," Gunn said, referring to Marvel's mandated production quotas for movies and television shows. By contrast, Gunn said DC Studios operates without numerical mandates. "We don't have the mandate to have a certain amount of movies and TV shows every year. So we're going to put out everything that we think is of the highest quality," he explained.

Posted by Tony_Bacala from TFW2005


The fine folks over at Fanatical have organized a charity gaming bundle which benefits the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) in the UK.  The bundle includes 13 games with a retail value of over $199 dollars and is being offered for $5.99.  And on top of that, all the proceeds go to the charity.  The games will be provided as Steam keys, so not for console gamers like PS5, Switch, XBox etc. Read on to check out all the details, and if you were thinking about picking up TF: Battlegrounds or just want » Continue Reading.

The post Fanatical Charity Bundle Featuring Transformers Battlegrounds appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Posted by from MMO Champion
Dastardly Duos Week 3: Spicy Mean-Ball Pet & Cosmetic Shoulders Rewards

Week 3 of the Dastardly Duos event is here! In this post, we quickly go over how to unlock this week's rewards: Winner's Podium toy upgrade, the Spicy Mean-Ball pet, and two cosmetic shoulders.

Take the quest Week 3: Spread the Word from Vinnie Sweets.

Defeat 6 dastardly bosses during the match to complete the week 3 achievement Defeat the Dastardlies.

Win the Dastardly Duos match to complete the weekly quest and turn it in to gain the Highest Score measure for your Winner's Podium.

Speak with Wodim the Troll-Servant to purchase the newly unlocked rewards:

New Pet: Mean-Ball Ball Bag - Teaches Spicy Mean-Ball

New Cosmetic Shoulders: Blue Dastardly Epaulet & Black Dastardly Epaulet

Posted by Joe Moore from The Toyark


Pre-orders are available for a new Iron Man figure by ThreeZero. The Marvel DLX – Iron Man Mark 7 (Black x Gold) 1/12 Scale Figure is a Big Bad Toy Store Exclusive. The figure stands nearly 7″ tall, with 48 ...

The post Marvel DLX – BBTS Exclusive Iron Man Mark 7 Black x Gold Figure appeared first on The Toyark - News.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the talent-war department: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman accused Meta of attempting to poach his developers with $100 million sign-on bonuses and higher compensation packages as the social media giant races to catch up in AI race. Altman said Meta, which has a $1.8 trillion market capitalization, began making the offers to his team members after falling behind in AI efforts. "I've heard that Meta thinks of us as their biggest competitor," Altman said on the Uncapped podcast [video] hosted by his brother.

None of his "best people" had accepted Zuckerberg's offers, he said. Meta has been recruiting top researchers and engineers from rival companies to build a new "superintelligence" team focused on developing AGI. The Facebook parent company has struggled this year to match competitors, facing criticism over its Llama 4 language model and delaying its flagship "Behemoth" AI model.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the oops department: An anonymous reader shares a report: Microsoft has a long history of being criticized for coming up with clunky product names, and for changing them so often it's hard for customers to keep up. The company's own employees once joked in a viral video that the iPod would have been called the "Microsoft I-pod Pro 2005 XP Human Ear Professional Edition with Subscription" had it been created by Microsoft. The latest gripe among some employees and customers: The company's tendency to slap "Copilot" on everything AI.

"There is a delusion on our marketing side where literally everything has been renamed to have Copilot it in," one employee told Business Insider late last year. "Everything is Copilot. Nothing else matters. They want a Copilot tie-in for everything." Now, an advertising watchdog is weighing in. The Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division reviewed Microsoft's advertising for its Copilot AI tools. NAD called out Microsoft's "universal use of the product description as 'Copilot'" and said "consumers would not necessarily understand the difference," according to a recent report from the watchdog.

"Microsoft is using 'Copilot' across all Microsoft Office applications and Business Chat, despite differences in functionality and the manual steps that are required for Business Chat to produce the same results as Copilot in a specific Microsoft Office app," NAD further explained in an email to BI. NAD did not mention any specific recommendations on product names. But it did say Microsoft should modify claims that Copilot works "seamlessly across all your data" because all of the company's tools with the Copilot moniker don't work together continuously in a way consumers might expect.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the how-about-that department: Field Notes, the analog notebook company that began as designer Aaron Draplin's side project 20 years ago, has sold over 10 million notebooks and operates in 2,000 stores worldwide, co-founder Jim Coudal told Fast Company. The Chicago-based company, which Coudal says just completed its best year for sales and revenue with 2025 tracking to exceed those numbers, has grown from selling 13 notebooks on its launch day to producing quarterly edition runs of 30,000 to 60,000 packs. The brand's subscription model, launched in 2009 with 1,500-pack print runs, now encompasses 67 limited editions and provides both predictable cash flow and regular customer engagement opportunities for the company.

Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the heed-thy-warning department: An anonymous reader quotes a report from Time Magazine: While AI could offer transformative benefits, without proper safeguards it could facilitate nuclear and biological threats and cause "potentially irreversible harms," a new report commissioned by California Governor Gavin Newsom has warned. "The opportunity to establish effective AI governance frameworks may not remain open indefinitely," says the report, which was published on June 17 (PDF). Citing new evidence that AI can help users source nuclear-grade uranium and is on the cusp of letting novices create biological threats, it notes that the cost for inaction at this current moment could be "extremely high." [...]

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Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the drastic-times-call-for-drastic-measures department: In response to escalating tensions with Israel, Iran has begun throttling internet access, with plans to disconnect from the global internet entirely to prevent Israeli cyberattacks. The Iranian government also urges citizens to delete WhatsApp -- one of the country's most popular messaging platforms -- claiming without evidence that the Meta-owned app has been weaponed by Israel to spy on its users. (WhatsApp vehemently denied those claims in a statement to the Associated Press.) Telegram is also said to be blocked as well. The Verge reports: The announcements come amidst the escalating war between Iran and Israel, which broke out after Israel attacked the country on June 12th, and a rise in reported internet outages. Civilians have claimed that they've been unable to access basic but critical telecommunications services, such as messaging apps, maps, and sometimes the internet itself. Cloudflare reported that two major Iranian cellular carriers effectively went offline on Tuesday, and The New York Times reports that even VPNs, which Iranians frequently use to access banned sites like Facebook and Instagram, have become increasingly harder to access. [...]

Israel's role in the cyber outages has not been officially confirmed, but independent analysts at NetBlocks noticed a significant reduction of internet traffic originating from Iran on Tuesday, starting at 5:30 PM local time. According to Tasnim, a news network affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Iranians will still have access to the country's state-operated national internet service, though two Iranian officials told the Times that the internal bandwidth could be reduced by up to 80 percent.

Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the big-wins department: The U.S. Senate has approved the GENIUS Act with a 68-30 final vote that "saw a huge surge of Democrats joining their Republican counterparts," reports CoinDesk. What the bill sets out to do is create the first federal regulatory framework for U.S. stablecoins, requiring issuers to maintain full 1:1 reserves in cash or Treasuries, adhere to regular audits and anti-money laundering rules, and gain regulatory approval -- all while allowing foreign stablecoin access under strict oversight rules. From the report: As written, the bill would set up guardrails around the approval and supervision of U.S. issuers of stablecoins, the dollar-based tokens such as the ones backed by Circle, Ripple and Tether. Firms making these digital assets available to U.S. users would have to meet stringent reserve demands, transparency requirements, money-laundering compliance and regulatory supervision that's also likely to include new capital rules. "This is a win for the U.S., a win for innovation and a monumental step towards appropriate regulation for digital assets in the United States," said Amanda Tuminelli, executive director and chief legal officer of the DeFi Education Fund, in a similar statement. [...]

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Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the third-time's-the-charm department: President Trump will extend the deadline for ByteDance to divest TikTok's U.S. operations by another 90 days, marking the third extension since taking office. The extension aims to prevent a TikTok ban while negotiations with potential buyers like Oracle and Project Liberty continue. CNBC reports: "President Trump will sign an additional Executive Order this week to keep TikTok up and running," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. "As he has said many times, President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark. This extension will last 90 days, which the Administration will spend working to ensure this deal is closed so that the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure."

ByteDance was nearing the deadline of June 19, to sell TikTok's U.S. operations in order to satisfy a national security law that the Supreme Court upheld just a few days before Trump's second presidential inauguration. Under the law, app store operators like Apple and Google and internet service providers would be penalized for supporting TikTok. ByteDance originally faced a Jan. 19 deadline to comply with the national security law, but Trump signed an executive order when he first took office that pushed the deadline to April 5. Trump extended the deadline for the second time a day before that April mark. Trump told NBC News in May that he would extend the TikTok deadline again if no deal was reached, and he reiterated his plans on Thursday.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the change-in-heart department: An anonymous reader shares a report: [...] the rise in China of open technology, which relies on transparency and decentralisation, is awkward for an authoritarian state. If the party's patience with open-source fades, and it decides to exert control, that could hinder both the course of innovation at home, and developers' ability to export their technology abroad.

China's open-source movement first gained traction in the mid-2010s. Richard Lin, co-founder of Kaiyuanshe, a local open-source advocacy group, recalls that most of the early adopters were developers who simply wanted free software. That changed when they realised that contributing to open-source projects could improve their job prospects. Big firms soon followed, with companies like Huawei backing open-source work to attract talent and cut costs by sharing technology.

Momentum gathered in 2019 when Huawei was, in effect, barred by America from using Android. That gave new urgency to efforts to cut reliance on Western technology. Open-source offered a faster way for Chinese tech firms to take existing code and build their own programs with help from the country's vast community of developers. In 2020 Huawei launched OpenHarmony, a family of open-source operating systems for smartphones and other devices. It also joined others, including Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent, to establish the OpenAtom Foundation, a body dedicated to open-source development. China quickly became not just a big contributor to open-source programs, but also an early adopter of software. JD.com, an e-commerce firm, was among the first to deploy Kubernetes.

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Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the new-and-improved department: Longtime Slashdot reader jrepin writes: Plasma is a popular desktop (and mobile) environment for GNU/Linux and other UNIX-like operating systems. Among other things, it also powers the desktop mode of the Steam Deck gaming handheld. The KDE community today announced the latest release: Plasma 6.4. This fresh new release improves on nearly every front, with progress being made in accessibility, color rendering, tablet support, window management, and more.

Plasma already offered virtual desktops and customizable tiles to help organize your windows and activities, and now it lets you choose a different configuration of tiles on each virtual desktop. The Wayland session brings some new accessibility features: you can now move the pointer using your keyboard's number pad keys, or use a three-finger touchpad pinch gesture to zoom in or out.

Plasma file transfer notification now shows a speed graph, giving you a more visual idea of how fast the transfer is going and how long it will take to complete. When any applications are in full screen mode Plasma will now enter Do Not Disturb mode and only show urgent notifications. When you exit full-screen mode, you'll see a summary of any notifications you missed.

Now, when an application tries to access the microphone and finds it muted, a notification will pop up. A new feature in the Application Launcher widget will place a green New! tag next to newly installed apps, so you can easily find where something you just installed lives in the menu.

The Display and Monitor page in System Settings comes with a brand new HDR calibration wizard. Support for Extended Dynamic Range (a different kind of HDR) and P010 video color format has also been added. System Monitor now supports usage monitoring for AMD and Intel graphic cards -- it can even show the GPU usage on a per-process basis.

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