fighter – Ken May

“All eras” of Star Wars come together in revealing Battlefront II trailer

EA A new cinematic trailer for the next announced Star Wars video game, Battlefront II , was briefly advertised on an official EA Twitter account before being deleted. As of press time, mirrors of the video still haven’t been taken down. Normally, an all-sizzle, no-gameplay trailer doesn’t constitute a reason to break into your regularly scheduled news feed, but the trailer does hint at new things for the multiplayer-focused series, including an expansion to “all eras” and a possible new-character campaign. The trailer opens by focusing on an unidentified woman, and she shows up at the same time as the climactic moment of Return of the Jedi . We see the woman among a group of apparent Imperial guards—clad in mostly black, helmeted armor with red accents—who look up and see the in-construction Death Star explode. This unnamed woman is the only one without a helmet on, and she looks up at the explosion with astonishment, not anguish. Moments later, a TIE Fighter flies through the busted Death Star’s debris, and then we see the same kind of black-and-red helmet in a TIE Fighter cockpit engaging hyperdrive. Since this was combined with teaser text about “a new soldier’s story,” it’s not crazy to expect a structured campaign as a result, in which players use the new character to complete missions within the game’s multiplayer battlegrounds. Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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“All eras” of Star Wars come together in revealing Battlefront II trailer

Norway Is Killing FM Radio Tomorrow

On Wednesday, Norway will become the first country in the world to start shutting down its national FM radio network in favor of digital radio. Norwegians have had years to prepare, but the move is still catching many off guard. Read more…

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Norway Is Killing FM Radio Tomorrow

US Army’s ‘Phaser’ could fry entire drone swarms in a volley

While the US military has enjoyed several decades of aerial dominance with few enemy fighter planes to shoot down, the emergence of ISIS drones presents a new threat to American ground troops. To combat swarms of these cheap, small dangers, the US Army is testing a new anti-air device that is designed to blow multiple UAVs out of the sky in a single shot. They call it the Phaser. No, it’s not a Star Trek-style turret. The Raytheon-built “Phaser” is a microwave-emitting dish that sits atop a shipping container containing its diesel generator power source. It relies on external radar systems to track targets, then fires a burst of radiation powerful enough to fry control systems, enough to knock drones out of the air. While it’s functionally similar to radio-based anti-UAV systems like the rifle-style DroneDefender concept, the Phaser shoots a broad swathe of energy wide enough to catch several targets per shot. The Phaser’s electronics-destroying capabilities means it isn’t just good at skeet-shooting drones — it can knock out anything with circuits. That means iPads, computers, targeting systems or even cars speeding toward checkpoints, Popular Mechanics points out. Think of it like an electromagnetic pulse (EMP), the shockwave emitted from nuclear explosions that disables electronics. As the demonstration video below mentions, the Phaser can modulate the intensity of the blast, choosing to disrupt activity or damage a machine’s computational innards. The Phaser began testing in 2013 and has only recently become declassified. But further details, like maximum range, are understandably still hidden. As with most weapon concepts still in the test phase, it’s unclear if or when this system will see field deployment. Via: Popular Mechanics Source: Aviation Week

Street Fighter V will roll back request for kernel access on Windows [Updated]

Enlarge / No, not really, Capcom. (credit: Aurich Lawson) On Thursday, Street Fighter V ‘s first “season” concluded with a downloadable update that included the game’s 22nd fighting character. (If you’re curious: the new guy is Urien, a tall fellow who first appeared in Street Fighter III wearing only a thong.) But the download updated more than just the game’s roster. It also brought apparent sweeping changes to the PC version—which now demands kernel access from players before every single boot of the game. Windows’ User Account Control (UAC) system warns computer users when an application wants to write or delete sensitive files, and, in the case of PC games, you typically only see these warnings during installations. SFV’s Thursday patch, however, apparently includes “an updated anti-crack solution” that Capcom insists is “not DRM” but rather an anti-cheating protocol. The anti-crack solution is causing a UAC prompt to pop up for the PC version’s users. (Our own Aurich Lawson confirmed the news by booting the latest patched version; his Windows prompt appears above.) Unfortunately, Capcom’s public-facing messages about PC version “hacks” have not been about cheats but about players finding workarounds to unlocking in-game content. In July, Capcom issued a stern warning to any PC player who found alternate ways to unlock Street Fighter ‘s alternate costumes, which normally require grinding through the game’s lengthy “survival” modes. Capcom producers also condemned PC players who used characters hidden in that game’s version before they were officially released. Thursday’s patch notes mentioned that the new anti-crack solution is particularly targeted at “illicitly obtaining in-game currency and other entitlements” (so it’s, you know, DRM). Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Street Fighter V will roll back request for kernel access on Windows [Updated]

Graphene e-paper is brighter and bendier

Who said that e-paper was old stuff ? Certainly not China — the country’s Guangzhou OED Technologies has created what it says is the world’s first graphene -based e-paper. The extremely strong yet light material promises very thin screens that are both brighter and more flexible. You could get e-readers that are easier to read on a sunny day, for instance, or activity trackers that can put up with more abuse. It should even be less expensive, as graphene’s carbon is much easier to find than the exotic indium metal you see in conventional e-paper. The main question is simply availability. The company expects to start production of graphene e-paper in a year, and it’s not clear just who’s lined up. You shouldn’t count on Amazon making a graphene Kindle, unfortunately. If the technology takes off, though, it could give e-paper some relevance in an era when it’s being crowded out by LCD- and OLED-based devices. Via: DNA India Source: Xinhua

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Graphene e-paper is brighter and bendier

California’s Bullet Train Will Now Start In the Bay Area—Which Might Save It

Organizers for California’s high-speed train just announced that when their bullet train opens, it’ll start service out of the Bay Area, not Southern California like originally planned. Read more…

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California’s Bullet Train Will Now Start In the Bay Area—Which Might Save It

BBC Three is now an online-only channel

For sentimentality’s sake, we hope you indulged in your pre-bed ritual of catching a cheeky episode of American Dad! on BBC Three last night — because as of the early hours of this morning, it ceased to exist as a broadcast channel. For the next few weeks, it’ll be repurposed to promote BBC Three’s new online-only identity before disappearing from your TV’s EPG… forever . The switch has been a long time coming, of course, with the BBC setting the ball rolling almost two years ago as part of continued cost-cutting measures. Despite some opposition from the public, the BBC Trust formally approved the broadcaster’s plan for an online-only BBC Three late last year, and that transition has concluded today . The BBC Trust’s green light wasn’t without fine print, with various conditions set “to ensure younger audiences continue to be well served.” BBC Three became known for its experimental and often hilarious commissions, and the BBC has been keen to comfort loyal viewers with the promise its doctrine won’t die alongside the linear TV channel. As part of BBC Three’s rebirth, it’ll further embrace new media , with its YouTube channel and social network activity becoming more important outlets for content. In addition to BBC Three’s iPlayer presence, a new online portal called The Daily Drop is already live, highlighting content on social media channels and blending in blog posts, news and short-form videos. Joining that site later today is another platform, “The Best Of, ” which will primarily feature long-form content like documentaries, dramas and comedies, such as the new series of Cuckoo that premieres online this evening. Plenty of new commissions have been announced across all these genres already, and while BBC Three Controller Damian Kavanagh admits “we won’t get everything right immediately, ” he’s confident “being online means we can now adapt and iterate quickly.” “We aren’t constrained by duration or form anymore so the shackles are off when it comes to creativity.” Source: BBC

Microdia Somehow Fit 512GB Onto A MicroSD Card

MicroSD cards are ridiculously, laughably, annoyingly tiny. (No, seriously: they’re small enough to be stolen by three slightly strong ants.) They’re about the same size of your baby fingernail, only with half a terabyte of storage now crammed in there. Read more…

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Microdia Somehow Fit 512GB Onto A MicroSD Card

A $25 Blood Test Could Detect Every Virus That’s Ever Infected You

Every time a virus gets you sick, your immune system keeps a record. This essentially becomes a kill list that lets your body recognize and readily dispatch of any virus that tries to invade again. Scientists have now created $25 test blood test that prints out this list—an easy and cheap way to find out every virus that’s ever made you sick. Read more…

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A $25 Blood Test Could Detect Every Virus That’s Ever Infected You

The Chevrolet Bolt Will Be A 200-Mile Electric Tesla Fighter For $30,000

It seems that General Motors has a couple electric surprises in store for next week’s Detroit Auto Show. In addition to the all-new 2016 Chevrolet Volt extended range plug-in hybrid, they’re also cooking up a pure electric crossover aimed right at Tesla Motors for a fraction of the price — and it’s called the Chevrolet Bolt. Read more…

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The Chevrolet Bolt Will Be A 200-Mile Electric Tesla Fighter For $30,000