Posted by Randall Munroe from XKCD
We're getting a lot of complaints from commuters who were routed onto a coaster, but the theme park patrons who spent hours stuck on an intercity line are also not happy.

Posted by Tony_Bacala from The Toyark


Mezco Toyz 5 Points Samurai Jack Deluxe Set Pre-Orders -> Entertainment Earth, Big Bad Toy Store, The Chosen Prime, ToyGeek, Amazon (#ad) Samurai Jack, the noble warrior, slices his way into the 5 Points lineup – and he’s not alone. ...

The post Mezco Toyz 5 Points Samurai Jack Deluxe Set appeared first on The Toyark - News.

Posted by Mechafire from TFW2005


Hasbro Pulse has taken to their Instagram to announce yet another Transformers Fanstream for June 24th: “Ready for more Studio Series action!? Mark your calendars. The next Transformers Fanstream takes over the Hasbro Pulse YouTube channel on June 24th at 11:00am ET! Nate and Evan are taking over to bring you an exclusive look at the latest Studio Series reveals – don’t miss out!” Presumably this is where the next mainline Studio Series wave, containing the much-discussed 86 Leader Megatron, will finally be officially revealed.

The post Hasbro Pulse Transformers Fanstream Announced For June 24th appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Posted by from MMO Champion
Embrace the Heat During the Midsummer Fire Festival

Originally Posted by Blizzard
(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Take part in a time of merriment and celebration dedicated to the hottest season of the year. The Midsummer Fire Festival brings with it a variety of activities and rewards to light up Azeroth’s summer.

When: June 21–July 5

Where: Major Horde, Alliance, and Neutral Cities

Currency: Burning Blossom

---

New in 2025: The Midsummer Fire Festival comes to Khaz Algar!

New faction achievements to gain from honoring the flames in the four major zones—Azj-Kahet, Hallowfall, Isle of Dorn, and The Ringing Deeps:

Flame Keeper of Khaz Algar (Horde)

Flame Warden of Khaz Algar (Alliance)

New Items Available from the Holiday Vendor:

Grand Helm of the Fire Festival Transmog (Head)

Grand Mantle of the Fire Festival Transmog (Shoulders)

Grand Belt of the Fire Festival Transmog (Waist)

New Cosmetic Drops from Frost Lord Ahune:

Crown of the Frost Lord (Head)

Glazfuris, Scythe of the Deep Chill (Two-Hand Polearm)

Rethfuras, Scorched Scythe of Cinders (Two-hand Polearm)

Glazfuris, Spire of the Deep Chill (Two-Hand Staff)

Rethfuras, Scorched Stave of Cinders (Two-Hand Staff)

Holiday Event Boss

Use the Group Finder (I) to participate in an encounter against Ahune, granting a Satchel of Chilled Goods (which contains holiday loot) as a daily reward. This is available to characters level 10 and above.

Daily Quests

< This article continues on their website >

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the how-about-that department: david.emery writes: Microsoft is making it harder to use Chrome on Windows. The culprit? This time, it's Windows' Family Safety feature. Since early this month, the parental control measure has prevented users from opening Chrome. Strangely, no other apps or browsers appear to be affected.

Redditors first reported the issue on June 3. u/Witty-Discount-2906 posted that Chrome crashed on Windows 11. "Just flashes quickly, unable to open with no error message," they wrote. Another user chimed in with a correct guess. "This may be related to Parental Controls," u/duk242 surmised. "I've had nine students come see the IT Desk in the last hour saying Chrome won't open."

Posted by from MMO Champion
WoW Weekly: The Legacy of Arathor Content Update is Now Live, and More!

Originally Posted by Blizzard
(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Go on an Adventure in the Legacy of Arathor Content Update—Now Live!

Take your adventures further in the Legacy of Arathor.

You’ll amp up the challenge in Overcharged Delves, go Lorewalking with Lorewalker Cho, get a helping hand with the new Combat Assistant and Single-Button Assistant… and more.

For the complete Legacy of Arathor launch details and everything in the content update, read our previously published article.

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WoWCast: Immerse Yourself in the Ghosts of K’aresh Content Update

Join Community Manager Bethany Hudson as she sits down with Assistant Lead Quest Designer Steph Yoon and Lead Encounter Designer Drew De Sousa as they discuss the Ghosts of K’aresh content update.

Discover an all-new zone, continue your journey through The War Within campaign, and much more. We look forward to seeing you on the Public Test Realm (PTR) and having you experience what we have in store next.

Head over to our article for more details on the Ghosts of K'aresh content update.

---

WoW Classic 20th Anniversary Edition Phase 5 Launches July 10



< This article continues on their website >

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the interesting-differences department: A United Nations study has found a sharp global divide on attitudes toward AI, with trust strongest in low-income countries and skepticism high in wealthier ones. From a report: More than 6 out of 10 people in developing nations said they have faith that AI systems serve the best interests of society, according to a UN Development Programme survey of 21 countries seen by Bloomberg News. In two-thirds of the countries surveyed, over half of respondents expressed some level of confidence that AI is being designed for good.

In China, where steady advances in AI are posing a challenge to US dominance, 83% of those surveyed said they trust the technology. Like China, most developing countries that reported confidence in AI have "high" levels of development based on the UNDP's Human Development Index, including Kyrgyzstan and Egypt. But the list also includes those with "medium" and "low" HDI scores like India, Nigeria and Pakistan.

Posted by AzT from TFW2005


Transformers #24 and Void Rivals #23 arrive in September: **END OF STORY ARC ** OPTIMUS PRIME VS MEGATRON. This is it. And the new era of TRANSFORMERS begins with the most shocking ending to ANY comic book this year! WHEELIE MEETS COBRA-LA! Everyone’s favorite rhyming Autobot makes his debut in VOID RIVALS, coming face to face with Pythona! Discuss the details revealed so far with fellow readers on the 2005 boards! Transformers #24 Creator credits: (W) Daniel Warren Johnson, (A) Jorge Corona, Mike Spicer, (CA) Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike Spicer, (A/CA) Jorge Corona, Mike Spicer, (CA) David Nakayama, (CA) Jeff Spokes, (CA) Pye Parr, (CA) Daniel » Continue Reading.

The post Skybound’s Transformers Comics Solicitations: September 2025 appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the PSA department: BrianFagioli writes: In a move that could quietly wreak havoc across the Windows ecosystem, Microsoft is purging outdated drivers from Windows Update. The company claims it is doing this for security and reliability, but the result might be broken hardware for users who rely on legacy devices.

If you're using older peripherals or custom-built PCs, you could soon find yourself hunting for drivers that have vanished into the digital abyss. This initiative, buried in a low-profile blog post, is part of Microsoft's new cleanup program. The first wave targets legacy drivers that already have newer replacements available. But the real kicker is that Microsoft isn't warning individual users about which drivers are going away.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the endangered-species department: Semicolon usage in British literature has declined from once every 205 words in 2000 to once every 390 words today, representing a nearly 50% drop, according to analysis commissioned by language learning company Babbel. The punctuation mark appeared once every 90 words in British literature from 1781, making the current frequency the lowest on record.

A survey of young learners in the London Student Network found that more than half of respondents could not correctly use semicolons, with only 11% describing themselves as frequent users. The average score on a semicolon knowledge quiz was 49%.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the channeling-steve-jobs department: A senior Broadcom executive has defended VMware's controversial licensing changes by arguing that customers complaining about costs simply weren't using the software bundles properly. VMware shifted away from selling perpetual licenses for individual products to subscription bundles after Broadcom's acquisition. Some smaller and mid-sized customers claim their costs increased eight to 15 times under the new pricing structure, prompting migration plans to alternative platforms.

Joe Baguley, Broadcom's chief technology officer for EMEA, countered that 87% of VMware's top 10,000 customers have signed up for VMware Cloud Foundation, and that cost complaints "don't play out" when Broadcom sits down with customers directly.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the major-decisions department: Lawmakers in Britain have narrowly approved a bill to legalize assisted dying for terminally ill people, capping a fraught debate in Parliament and across the country that cut across political, religious and legal divides. From a report: MPs passed the bill by 314 votes to 291, in their final say on the question. The bill -- which has split lawmakers and sparked impassioned conversations with their constituents the breadth of Britain -- will now move to the House of Lords for its final rounds of scrutiny.

Friday's vote puts Britain firmly on track to join a small club of nations that have legalized the process, and one of the largest by population to allow it. It allows people with a terminal condition and less than six months to live to take a substance to end their lives, as long as they are capable of making the decision themselves. Two doctors and a panel would need to sign off on the choice. Canada, New Zealand, Spain and most of Australia allow assisted dying in some form, as do several US states, including Oregon, Washington and California.

Posted by Black Convoy from TFW2005


THe official E-Hobby website have been updated with official listings of their new exclusive Transformers Optimus Prime, Soundwave & Tarn Garage Kits. We finally have official images of the first wave of these 3D-printed unpainted miniatures. Read on for the product description (via Google translate). Transformers characters are now available as miniature garage kits! The Transformers Miniature Garage Kit (tentative) series is here! Transformers characters will be released as realistic miniature garage kits. As these are 3D printed products, they will be delivered in the form of support material. Paint these miniatures, each about 50 mm long, and collect your » Continue Reading.

The post E-Hobby Exclusive Transformers Optimus Prime, Soundwave & Tarn Garage Kits Official Images & Product Information appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the turning-coal-into-gold department: Turning recently closed coalmines into solar energy plants could add almost 300GW of renewable energy by 2030, converting derelict wastelands to productive use, according to a new report. From a report: In a first of its kind analysis, researchers from Global Energy Monitor (GEM) identified 312 surface coalmines closed since 2020 around the world, and 134 likely to close by the end of the decade, together covering 5,820 sq km (2,250 sq miles) -- a land area nearly the size of Palestine.

Strip mining turns terrains into wastelands, polluted and denuded of topsoil. But if they were filled with solar panels and developed into energy plants, the report claims, they could generate enough energy to power as big and power hungry a nation as Germany.

Posted by Joe Moore from The Toyark


From the 2001 movie Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack comes a new Godzilla action figure from Hiya Toys. They have opened up pre-orders for their Heat Ray Godzilla Figure from the movie. The 7″ tall figure ...

The post Hiya Toys GMK Heat Ray Godzilla Figure appeared first on The Toyark - News.

Posted by Joe Moore from The Toyark


Sideshow Collectibles has opened up pre-orders for their upcoming Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi – Pagetti Rook Sixth Scale Figure. One of Jabba The Hutt’s sail barge crew, Pagetti Rook is the guard who tries to ...

The post Star Wars – Pagetti Rook Figure by Sideshow appeared first on The Toyark - News.

Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the hodl-to-handcuffs department: The DOJ has filed a civil complaint to seize $225.3 million in cryptocurrency linked to pig butchering scams -- long-con frauds where victims are tricked into fake crypto investments. The funds were laundered through a blockchain network, and the DOJ says recovered money will go toward reimbursing victims. The Verge reports: The 75-page complaint (PDF) filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia lays out more detail about the seizure. According to it, the US Secret Service (USSS) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) tied scammers to seven groups of Tether stablecoin tokens. The fraud fell under what's typically known as "pig butchering": a form of long-running confidence scam aimed at tricking victims -- sometimes with a fake romantic relationship -- into what they believe is a profitable crypto investment opportunity, then disappearing with the funds. Pig butchering rings often traffic the workers who directly communicate with victims to Southeast Asian countries, something the DOJ alleges this ring did.

The DOJ says Tether and crypto exchange OKX first alerted law enforcement in 2023 to a series of accounts they believed were helping launder fraudulently obtained currency through a vast and complex web of transactions. The alleged victims include Shan Hanes (referred to in this complaint as S.H.), the former Heartland Tri-State Bank president who was sentenced to 24 years in prison for embezzling tens of millions of dollars to invest in one of the best-known and most devastating pig butchering scams. The complaint lists a number of other victims who lost thousands or millions of dollars they thought they were investing (and did not commit crimes of their own). An FBI report (PDF) cited by the press release concluded overall crypto investment fraud caused $5.8 billion worth of reported losses in 2024.

Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the would-you-look-at-that department: alternative_right shares a report from ScienceAlert: The colossal black hole lurking at the center of the Milky Way galaxy is spinning almost as fast as its maximum rotation rate. That's just one thing astrophysicists have discovered after developing and applying a new method to tease apart the secrets still hidden in supermassive black hole observations collected by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). The unprecedented global collaboration spent years working to give us the first direct images of the shadows of black holes, first with M87* in a galaxy 55 million light-years away, then with Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole at the heart of our own galaxy. [...]

Their results show, among other things, that Sgr A* is not only spinning at close to its maximum speed, but that its rotational axis is pointed in Earth's direction, and that the glow around it is generated by hot electrons. Perhaps the most interesting thing is that the magnetic field in the material around Sgr A* doesn't appear to be behaving in a way that's predicted by theory. M87*, they discovered, is also rotating rapidly, although not as fast as Sgr A*. However, it is rotating in the opposite direction to the material swirling in a disk around it -- possibly because of a past merger with another supermassive black hole. The findings have been detailed in three papers published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. They can be found here, here, and here.

Posted by Black Convoy from TFW2005


The new Transformers Age Of The Primes Titan Class Star Optimus Prime has already been released in some markets, and a post in the Transformers Botposting FB group got our attention about a possible misassembled Missasembled Chest Windows Issue. This seems to be a common problem in most copies so far. The transparent chest part is not assembled properly, causing the chest windows not to be aligned with the chest sides. Fortunately, there’s an easy fix for this. Just remove the screws on this clear part and then push the left and right side until they fit correctly, then put the screws in » Continue Reading.

The post Transformers Age Of The Primes Titan Class Star Optimus Prime Possible Missasembled Chest Windows Issue appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the time-is-running-out department: An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: The Earth could be doomed to breach the symbolic 1.5C warming limit in as little as three years at current levels of carbon dioxide emissions. That's the stark warning from more than 60 of the world's leading climate scientists in the most up-to-date assessment of the state of global warming. [...] At the beginning of 2020, scientists estimated that humanity could only emit 500 billion more tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) -- the most important planet-warming gas -- for a 50% chance of keeping warming to 1.5C. But by the start of 2025 this so-called "carbon budget" had shrunk to 130 billion tonnes, according to the new study.

That reduction is largely due to continued record emissions of CO2 and other planet-warming greenhouse gases like methane, but also improvements in the scientific estimates. If global CO2 emissions stay at their current highs of about 40 billion tonnes a year, 130 billion tonnes gives the world roughly three years until that carbon budget is exhausted. This could commit the world to breaching the target set by the Paris agreement, the researchers say, though the planet would probably not pass 1.5C of human-caused warming until a few years later.

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