Facebook made a bot that can lie for better bargains Posted: 14 Jun 2017 10:00 AM PDT Chatbots can help you order pizza, accept payments and be super racist, but their usefulness has been pretty limited. However, Facebook announced today that it has created a much more capable bot by giving it the ability to negotiate, strategize, and... |
'Shadow of the Colossus' was rebuilt from the ground up for PS4 Posted: 14 Jun 2017 09:37 AM PDT When Sony unveiled a remake Shadow of the Colossus for the PS4, it raised one big question: is it just a glorified remaster, or a true revamp? Thankfully, it's more than just a quick-and-dirty upgrade. Sony's Shuhei Yoshida tells Famitsu that every a... |
'Minecraft' looks like a completely different game in 4K Posted: 14 Jun 2017 09:15 AM PDT The best demonstration of the Xbox One X's 4K capabilities comes from an unlikely, blocky source: Minecraft. Behind closed doors at E3 2017, Microsoft showed off a handful of games it upgraded to 4K just for the Xbox One X, including Gears of War 4,... |
Humble Bundle sweetens its subscription with games that don't expire Posted: 14 Jun 2017 08:51 AM PDT Humble Bundle's monthly subscription is fine if you enjoy getting a surprise mix of big-name and indie games. But what if you'd like access to a more reliable catalog, too? You're set as of this week. The $12 per month service now includes access to... |
'The Darwin Project' is a 'Hunger Games'–style battle arena Posted: 14 Jun 2017 08:30 AM PDT The Darwin Project came out of nowhere and snapped up the spotlight at Microsoft's E3 press conference. It's the first game from the 12-person development house Scavengers Studio, and it combines the best aspects of games like Don't Starve and Player... |
Facebook's Safety Check now includes status updates and fundraisers Posted: 14 Jun 2017 08:14 AM PDT Facebook's Safety Check is a useful feature, but its implementation has experienced some bumps along the way. Now, the company hope to smooth out some of those rough edges with new features it announced today. |
It takes a smart city to make cars truly autonomous Posted: 14 Jun 2017 08:00 AM PDT Artificial intelligence is driving the autonomous car. Coupled with robust computers, automobiles of the future will be more powerful than any other device we own. But they'll only be as powerful as their surrounding allows. If your vehicle doesn't k... |
'Ni No Kuni 2' changes everything but the Ghibli-esque charm Posted: 14 Jun 2017 07:52 AM PDT Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom is beautiful. If it's not the detailed environment, it's the expressive cartoon characters interacting with each other like some kind of CGI anime masterpiece. That's due to animation director Yoshiyuki Momose's input -... |
Instagram is making it harder for users to be shills on the sly Posted: 14 Jun 2017 07:37 AM PDT Some of Instagram's biggest stars are notorious for quietly shilling products, but that's about to change. The company confirmed in a blog post this morning that it's working on a new post format that clearly spells out when an image or Instagram Sto... |
Firefox finally unveils its faster, more memory-efficient browser Posted: 14 Jun 2017 07:22 AM PDT The team behind open-source browser Firefox has released a much-awaited version that promises to be faster and less of a memory hog. Version 54 is the first to use "multiple process" tech that has been available for a while now on Chrome, Safari, Edg... |
'Gran Turismo Sport' is a blast even if you're terrible at it Posted: 14 Jun 2017 07:00 AM PDT I've never been into Gran Turismo (or racing games in general), but when my colleague Timothy J. Seppala asked if I wanted to play the franchise's next title, GT Sport, I didn't think twice about saying yes. Especially after seeing how gorgeous the l... |
Xbox's new avatar options include prosthetics and a baby bump Posted: 14 Jun 2017 06:47 AM PDT Haven't given your Xbox Live avatar much thought lately? Neither have I, and that's probably why Microsoft is taking action on that front. Yesterday, the company announced that the avatar system will get a major overhaul sometime in Fall 2017. |
Microsoft patches Windows XP to stop foreign hack attacks Posted: 14 Jun 2017 06:22 AM PDT Last month, Microsoft took what it called the "highly unusual" step of patching older Windows versions like XP against the WannaCrypt ransomware virus. It's doing the same in June to protect against attacks that are potentially even more sinister. "T... |
IBM will put connected car data to better use Posted: 14 Jun 2017 06:00 AM PDT As cars get smarter, we're going to have to deal with all of the information our daily drives create in a way we've never had to bother with before. Thankfully, IBM is offering to be the middleman that represents our vehicles in the confusing new wor... |
Razer's Blade Stealth packs a larger display into a familiar frame Posted: 14 Jun 2017 06:00 AM PDT While the Razer Blade Stealth is a solid laptop, that 12.5-inch display is rather confining... especially when you know that there are other small laptops with larger displays. Razer is setting things right, though. It's introducing a new version of... |
US: North Korea's been hacking everyone since 2009 Posted: 14 Jun 2017 05:34 AM PDT US authorities believe the North Korean government has been using an army of hackers called "Hidden Cobra" to deploy cyber attacks over the past eight years. That's according to the Technical Alert formally issued by the Homeland Security and the FBI... |
Europe's top court rules that ISPs should block The Pirate Bay Posted: 14 Jun 2017 05:05 AM PDT Even though its founders are long gone, The Pirate Bay remains one of the biggest piracy websites on the planet. Over the last decade, the torrent hub has been shutdown, reborn and consistently targeted in numerous lawsuits, of which one is only now... |
Qualcomm’s new chips will give rise to more smart speakers Posted: 14 Jun 2017 04:02 AM PDT The smart speaker trend started with Amazon's Echo, and now includes Google Home and Apple HomePod, but it could get a lot more crowded thanks to Qualcomm. It has just unveiled a reference "smart audio" design, including microphone, speaker and voice... |
The Morning After: Wednesday, June 14th 2017 Posted: 14 Jun 2017 03:00 AM PDT Welcome to the middle of the week. It was Nintendo's turn to dominate E3, the world's biggest gaming show. Super Mario Odyssey is coming to the Switch this October, Intel is making VR better and the Atari 2600 is back. Kind of. |
TSA begins testing fingerprint check-ins at two US airports Posted: 14 Jun 2017 01:20 AM PDT It's never a nice experience to stand in line at the airport for hours just to get a pat down when you get to the end. Hopefully, TSA's new biometric fingerprint tech could make air travel a more pleasant experience for most people. Starting this wee... |
Facebook Messenger's AI 'M' can now assist you in Spanish Posted: 13 Jun 2017 11:50 PM PDT It sounds like Facebook "M," the AI-powered virtual assistant for Messenger, has learned a new language. According to the social network, it can now dole out suggestions in Spanish if that's your default language in the US or if you're in Mexico. The... |
Intel’s wireless HTC Vive add-on is where VR is headed Posted: 13 Jun 2017 10:12 PM PDT Complexity is bad for VR. The lengthy wires you need to connect a VR headset to your gaming PC or PlayStation 4 might not be a huge deal to geeks, but they're the sort of thing mainstream consumers would never live with. We know wireless is the answe... |
Uber board member resigns after making a sexist remark Posted: 13 Jun 2017 08:30 PM PDT Are you familiar with David Bonderman? If not, you might now remember him as the Uber board member who resigned because he made a sexist remark during a meeting meant to address the company's toxic, misogynistic culture. At the meeting, board member... |
Sony's fantastical Toio cubes combine robotics with papercraft Posted: 13 Jun 2017 08:02 PM PDT Sony's made some endearingly offbeat electronic toys over the years -- looking at you people who gave your Aibos funerals. The company's newest addition to its crowdfunding site, First Flight, is likely to evoke the same response. Say hello to the To... |
Audi teases self-parking A8 ahead of launch Posted: 13 Jun 2017 07:01 PM PDT Audi will launch its next generation A8, which is expected to have level 3 autonomous, on July 11th. Ahead of that unveiling, the company released a video of the new vehicle parking itself. |