‘World of Warcraft’ keeps growing with ‘Legion’ in August

Blizzard will launch World of Warcraft ‘s sixth expansion, Legion , on August 30th, unleashing hordes of hellish beasts and fresh quests into the game world. Legion adds the Demon Hunter hero class, customizable artifact weapons and a new continent called the Broken Isles, among other updates. Pre-orders are live now in two flavors: the $50 Standard Edition or the $70 Digital Deluxe Edition, which includes an adorable demon dog as a pet, the Illidari Felstalker mount, and in-game goodies for Heroes of the Storm , StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3 (all of which are Blizzard properties as well). Pre-ordering the Standard or Digital Deluxe versions of Legion grants players the ability to boost one character up to level 100 and early access to the Demon Hunter class. Plus, there’s one more way to give Blizzard your money: The $90 Collector’s Edition includes everything from the Digital Deluxe version plus a hardcover art book, a two-disc behind-the-scenes Blu-ray / DVD set, a CD soundtrack and a Legion mousepad. This bundle will be available at retail only. World of Warcraft is an MMO that debuted in 2004 and quickly evolved into one of the most popular video games in the world. It hit a player-count high in 2010 with 12 million subscribers, but that number fell to 10 million in 2014 and finally 5.5 million in September 2015. That’s still millions of players, but the decline has fueled whispers of WoW ‘s demise — something that Blizzard will surely try to silence with Legion . Starting in 2016, Blizzard will no longer report subscriber numbers for World of Warcraft , so we’ll have to rely on gut feelings going forward. Source: BusinessWire

More here:
‘World of Warcraft’ keeps growing with ‘Legion’ in August

Experts Crack Petya Ransomware, Enable Hard Drive Decryption For Free

Reader itwbennett writes: Petya appeared on researchers’ radar last month when criminals distributed it to companies through spam emails that masqueraded as job applications. It stood out from other file-encrypting ransomware programs because it overwrites a hard drive’s master boot record (MBR), leaving infected computers unable to boot into the operating system. Now, security experts have devised a method that, while not exactly straightforward, allows users to recover data from computers infected with the ransomware without paying money to cyber criminals. Folks over at BleepingComputer have confirmed that the aforementioned technique works. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Continue Reading:
Experts Crack Petya Ransomware, Enable Hard Drive Decryption For Free

Facebook Live gets a discovery section and instant reactions

Facebook Live is set to make a splashy launch of new sharing- and discovery-centric features with appearances by Mark Zuckerberg and product chief Chris Cox. The social network is looking to tap its billion-plus user advantage and built-in social and group features to gain an edge on rivals like Periscope . As such, it has revealed new features like live streaming within groups and events, real-time reactions, invitations to watch video with friends and a live map showing video in 60 countries. The biggest and most logical feature is the ability to broadcast live within groups and events . If you’re putting on a concert, race or charitable event, for example, it makes infinite sense to be able to stream key moments to members. You’ve already got a captive audience, so friends and family who are subscribed but can’t make it in person can still experience the fun at a distance. If you feel the need to express yourself without commenting, Facebook also revealed live reactions for videos. As shown above, you can drop in one of the new emoticons (love, haha, wow, sad or angry) with each popping up on the screen in real time. In addition, if you’re only able to catch a Facebook Live replay, you’ll see comments and reactions pop up during the video as if it were live. On the discovery side, Facebook unveiled “Live Video Destinations” on mobile. That’s a dedicated section where you can find popular streams and live video from friends or folks and topics you’re interested in. It lets you search live and recorded videos and stream your own instantly with a “go live” button. Desktop users, meanwhile, get “Facebook Live Map, ” a button that helps you find live video in 60 countries around the world. If you want watch with a friend, every stream now gets an “invite” button, as well. Facebook may have jumped late into live video well after rivals like YouTube, Periscope and Meerkat, but it’s certainly a high priority now. The company pushes live video to the top of your feeds and notifies you about new streams, though you can now turn those off , thankfully. With product head Chris Cox and Zuck himself involved in the latest Facebook Live feature push, expect live streams to become an even larger part of your feeds. The features will roll out over the next few weeks.

Read More:
Facebook Live gets a discovery section and instant reactions

Grab a Free License for CloudBerry Backup Pro for Mac or Linux, Normally $30

OS X/Linux: CloudBerry Lab is giving away free licenses to its premium backup client, which normally costs $29.99. It offers encryption, compression, and unlimited backups to cloud storage providers such as Amazon S3, Google Nearline, Microsoft Azure, and Rackspace. Read more…

View article:
Grab a Free License for CloudBerry Backup Pro for Mac or Linux, Normally $30

iPhone 7s May Sport Curved Glass and AMOLED Display

anderzole quotes a report from BGR: With calls for Apple’s upcoming iPhone models to be “spectacular, ” it appears that pundits and those who have been quick to proclaim that we’ve reached “peak iPhone” have nothing to worry about. While we’ll know what type of wild new features the iPhone 7 will incorporate in just about three months, a new report from reputed analyst Ming-Chi Kuo provides us with some interesting insight as to what Apple has planned for 2017 when it releases what will presumably be called the iPhone 7s. According to a research note Kuo provided to investors, Apple is busy working on an iPhone model with curved pieces of glass and an AMOLED display. What’s more, the report relays that Apple also has plans to shake up its iPhone lineup with a model sporting a 5.8-inch display. Further, Kuo believes that the bezels on the iPhone 7s will be smaller than they are on Apple’s current iPhone lineup. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

View original post here:
iPhone 7s May Sport Curved Glass and AMOLED Display

Petya Ransomware Uses DOS-Level Lock Screen, Prevents OS Boot Up

An anonymous reader writes: A new type of ransomware was discovered that crashes your PC into a BSOD, restarts your computer, and then prevents your OS from starting by altering the hard drive’s master boot record (MBR). This keeps the user locked in a DOS screen that doubles as the ransomware’s ransom note. The ransomware’s name is Petya, and was currently seen only targeting HR departments in Germany. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Read More:
Petya Ransomware Uses DOS-Level Lock Screen, Prevents OS Boot Up

$350 million Nintendo land coming to Universal Japan’s park

When Nintendo announced it was granting Universal Studios the rights to some of its properties for theme park rides, it was anyone’s guess where they’d show up first. Now we know that they’ll debut in the gaming juggernaut’s back yard: Japan. Regional news outlet Sankei (Japanese) reports that the attraction is scheduled for completion by 2020, the year Tokyo is slated to host the Olympics. And lest you think this will be a simple statue of Princess Peach and a Mario Kart -themed go-kart track, the publication says this should be on par with the likes of Universal’s Harry Potter -themed zone but focused entirely on everyone’s favorite Italian plumber. Hell, it could even be called “Super Mario World.” Crazier things have happened! Need more evidence for how serious of a deal this is? Universal is putting up ¥40 billion ($351, 509, 200) — given Nintendo’s current financial woes , the company is probably happy someone else is footing the bill. For that amount, maybe we’ll see a full scale version of the entire Mushroom Kingdom in a few years. 4) Busy start of 2016 for Nintendo. See the picture below for details (from Sankei: https://t.co/NRejTXGL6Q ) // end pic.twitter.com/EMHunhgYFa — Dr. Serkan Toto (@serkantoto) March 5, 2016 Via: Dr. Serkan Toto (Twitter) Source: Sankei (Japanese)

Read More:
$350 million Nintendo land coming to Universal Japan’s park

Business card with built-in ECG is perfect for cardiologists

Some people can make business cards that stand out and show off their skills. Take for example, that one engineer who created a card that lights up and that programmer who designed one that can play Tetris . But what if you’re a medical professional, specifically a cardiologist? A company called MobilECG has created a business card that’s directly connected to your field: it has a built-in ECG that actually works. According to its blog post , the device has sensors that measure “the real ECG signal between the users’ hands, ” so long as their thumbs are touching the finger pads. Of course, you’ll have to explain to patients that while it works, MobilECG created it as a toy. The Hungarian startup clearly states that it’s “not suitable for diagnostic purposes, ” so they can’t abstain from getting an actual ECG done. The company is gauging people’s interest in the card at the moment and is planning to sell it for a rather hefty price of $29 per if it ever decides to release it. If you have the skills to make small electronic devices from scratch, though, you can try to create your own version. The card is open source, and MobilECG posted all its codes and schematics (PDF) online. Via: Gizmodo , Damn Geeky Source: mobilecg

Read More:
Business card with built-in ECG is perfect for cardiologists

Google is shutting down its car insurance comparison service

Google is sending one of its lesser-known tools called Compare to the slaughterhouse. We don’t blame you if you’ve never heard of it before — in the email sent to the service’s partners and posted by Search Engine Land , the big G said it “hasn’t driven the success [Google] hoped for.” Compare gives you a way to view several offers from car insurance, mortgage lending and credit card companies in the US and the UK. You only have to type in some info, such as your car’s make and model, to make it work. It’s still up and running if you want to try it out , but don’t expect too much. The tech giant has initiated the shutdown process today, and it will be completely offline by March 23rd. One of the difficulties Google encountered, according to The Wall Street Journal , is that auto insurance typically requires state-by-state approval. The publication also noted that Google failed to convince some big insurers and lenders to be part of Compare, leading to limited choices and people seeking answers elsewhere. Google didn’t reveal whether it plans to pursue the niche again in the future — Compare itself is the new version of Google Advisor — and only said that it’s focusing on AdWords for now. Here’s the full email to partners posted by Search Engine Land : Dear Partner, Beginning on February 23, 2016, we will start ramping down the Google Compare product, which is currently live in both the US and UK. We plan to terminate the service as of March 23, 2016. As you know, Google Compare (formerly Google Advisor in the U.S.) has been a specialized, standalone service that enables consumers to get quotes from a number of providers for financial products such as car and travel insurance, credit cards and mortgages. Despite people turning to Google for financial services information, the Google Compare service itself hasn’t driven the success we hoped for. We greatly appreciate your partnership and understand that this decision will be disappointing to some. But after a lot of careful consideration, we’ve decided that focusing more intently on AdWords and future innovations will enable us to provide fresh, comprehensive answers to Google users, and to provide our financial services partners with the best return on investment. We’re grateful for all the feedback that you have provided over the course of this product’s development, and we are looking forward to partnering with you to achieve greater success in the future. We will work with you during this transition and beyond. Please reach out to your Google representative if you have any questions and to discuss the next steps. The Google Compare Team Via: The Wall Street Journal Source: Search Engine Land

Continued here:
Google is shutting down its car insurance comparison service

Yahoo is laying off 1,700 people and closing five offices

Yahoo can’t seem to figure out how to turn itself around. Today it announced a new ” aggressive strategic plan ” to pare itself down to focus on its strength in its Q4 earnings report. That plan involves laying off 15 percent of its workforce and closing five international offices. The offices closing will be in Dubai, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Madrid and Milan. The layoffs will mean the company will have only 9, 000 employees by the end of 2016. The overall goal is to reduce operating costs by $400 million in the coming year. The company brought in $1.27 billion in revenue during the quarter. The company had a huge writedown of $4.5 billion. Ouch. In a statement CEO Marissa Mayer said, “today, we’re announcing a strategic plan that we strongly believe will enable us to accelerate Yahoo’s transformation. This is a strong plan calling for bold shifts in products and in resources.” During the earnings’ livestream Mayer noted that when she took over, the company was full of legacy businesses and a declining revenue stream that had to be shuttered. She noted that the Mavens (mobile, video, native and social) sector was a revenue source that had an “incredibly fast growth line of business.” Mayer also said that it needs to be engage its users and will focus on its top businesses, Search, Mail and Tumblr. It will also be even more bullish on mobile with upcoming changes to the sports and finance apps and the recent change to the search app. Source: Yahoo

View article:
Yahoo is laying off 1,700 people and closing five offices