On the same day Russia celebrated its role in defeating Nazi Germany, many of the country’s online platforms were defaced in protest of the war in Ukraine. The Washington Post reported on Monday that Russians with smart TVs saw channel listings replaced with a message implicating them in the ongoing conflict. “The blood of thousands of Ukrainians and hundreds of murdered children is on your hands,” the message read, according to the outlet. “TV and authorities are lying. No to war.”
In addition to smart TVs, the apparent hack targetted some of the country’s largest internet companies, including Yandex. Hackers also went after Rutube, Russia’s alternative to YouTube. “Our video hosting has undergone a powerful cyberattack. At the moment, it is not possible to access the platform,” the service said in a statement it posted on its Telegram channel. Rutube later stated it had isolated the attack and that its content library wasn’t accessed in the incident.
Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24th, the country has come under consistent attack from hackers. In the early days of the conflict, Anonymous claimed responsibility for a series of DDoS attacks that left several official government websites, including one belonging to the Ministry of Defence, inaccessible. It’s believed Anonymous was also responsible for an incident that saw several Russian state TV channels play the Ukranian national anthem. At the same time, Ukraine, with help from Microsoft and other western companies, recently managed to prevent Russian military hackers from disrupting one of the country’s energy providers.
Paramount+ has released the first trailer for Players, its long-awaited League of Legends mockumentary from American Vandal creators Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda. Set to debut on June 16th, the series centers on Fugitive Gaming, a fictionalpro team that, after years of disappointment, hopes to win League’s most prestigious prize but must first overcome infighting between two of its star players.
According to Riot Games writer Kien Lam, the studio put in “a lot of hard work” to make the series authentic, and not feel cringe or campy. “I think you have every right to be skeptical given other gaming shows, but have some faith here,” Lam said. With Players, Riot clearly hopes to replicate at least some of the success it saw with Arcane. The Netflix animated series was both a critical and commercial success for Riot, and even managed to draw new players to the studio’s now decade-old MOBA.
Weeks after its workers won a union election for the first time, Amazon fired two of the employees who were involved in organization efforts. It's the first time Amazon has forced out workers involved in the union drive since the election win on April 1, according to Motherboard, though it's not whether the company took these actions in retaliation.
Mat Cusick, a warehouse worker and communications lead for the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), was on COVID-19 leave to care for a loved one when he received notice of his firing on May 3rd, he told the outlet. The reason Amazon gave was that it let go Cusick for “voluntary resignation due to job abandonment.”
Fellow organizer Tristan Dutchin said he was fired four days later for failing to meet productivity targets. "I believe it was retaliatory," Dutchin, who has been a vocal union advocate in the press, told Motherboard.
Amazon has fired workers on both sides of labor organizing drives at JFK8. In March 2020, the company terminated the employment of Chris Smalls, who led a protest over Amazon's alleged failure to protect workers from COVID-19. Smalls is now the president of ALU. In April, the company was ordered to reinstate a JFK8 worker who it fired after a protest two years earlier.
Last week, Amazon let go six senior managers who were said to have been involved in the company's anti-union efforts at JFK8. Amazon said it pushed them out as part of “management changes." Some believed they were fired as a result of the union's election win.
Amazon has challenged the election result in court. It has yet to recognize the ALU. Engadget has contacted Amazon for comment.
Notorious facial recognition company Clearview AI has agreed to permanently halt sales of its massive biometric database to all private companies and individuals in the United States as part of a legal settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union, per court records.
Monday's announcement marks the close of a two-year legal dispute brought by the ACLU and privacy advocate groups against the company over allegations that it had violated Illinois data laws. Additionally, Clearview will not offer any of its services to Illinois local and state law enforcement agencies for the next five years, though Federal agencies and state departments outside of Illinois will be unaffected. The settlement must still be approved by a federal judge before it takes effect.
“By requiring Clearview to comply with Illinois’ pathbreaking biometric privacy law not just in the state, but across the country, this settlement demonstrates that strong privacy laws can provide real protections against abuse,” Nathan Freed Wessler, a deputy director of the ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, said in Monday's statement. “Clearview can no longer treat people’s unique biometric identifiers as an unrestricted source of profit. Other companies would be wise to take note, and other states should follow Illinois’ lead in enacting strong biometric privacy laws.”
Moog has temporarily discounted all of its iOS and macOS synths. For a limited time, you can buy the Minimoog Model D, Model 15, Animoog Z apps for 50 percent off – making them $7, $15 and $10, respectively. That’s not as generous of a promotion as we saw last year when Moog made those same synths free in honor of founder Bob Moog’s birthday.
Still, if you’ve been looking for a solid soft synth or two to add to your collection, you can’t go wrong with a classic like the Minimoog Model D. Moog has consistently updated all three apps. For instance, the company recently added desktop support to its Model 15 synth and made the app compatible with non-Apple DAWs. With AUv3 compatibility built into both the Minimoog Model D and Model 15 apps, you can also use the synths in conjunction with Logic, GarageBand and Mainstage.
For the 2022 season, Formula 1 has entered a new era. The sport introduced a new car spec for this year, complete with a new set of regulations that govern how it can be used. There’s a new circuit in the United States as well as a continuation of the sprint race format that’s still in its infancy. Big changes for teams at the start of the season led EA-owned Codemasters to redesign the latest entry in the F1 game series to match the real-life updates on the track.
As studios typically do for games like this, Codemasters is touting F1 22as the “biggest overhaul” to the title in years. And with the debut of a new generation car, it’s not hyperbole. Specifically, the company says the handling is “better than ever” with upgrades to the aerodynamic and suspension simulation, plus changes to tires per the real-life regulations. Codemasters says it was in contact with both F1 and teams on how the new generation of cars would drive so it could completely overhaul mechanics and the physics of the game to mirror IRL racing.
In an effort to increase the realism of the game, Codemasters has swapped out the voice of the race engineer on your team for Marc Preistley, a former member of McLaren Racing’s F1 crew. The studio even went so far as to record Preistley’s guidance through a Formula 1-spec headset so the audio is as authentic as possible. Further changes to race day include Formation Lap and AR-guided grid lineup. Pit stops have been updated for the speed of real life and there’s a timed pit box entry mechanic that impacts the efficiency of your stop.
Practice sessions now include an AR projection on the track to help both experienced drivers refine their lines and rookies to learn circuits. What’s more, both Formation Lap and safety car sequences give you the option of actively participating or watching a more broadcast-like cinematic version of the process. Codemasters says this gives users who crave authenticity the ability to go through every motion of a race, but it also offers more casual gamers the choice of something more relaxed. Pit stops are another area where things can be as active as you want them to be. You can either manually hit your pit box with the timing mechanic or watch from a TV-style perspective.
EA/Codemasters
For beginners, there’s a new Adaptive AI feature. Codemasters says this is built for users who are fans of F1 but may not be skilled at racing games just yet. Essentially, the game’s AI plays more closely alongside the user so that even a novice driver can participate in the race rather than struggle to keep up with the pack. There are two levels to Adaptive AI: standard and a more aggressive mode that slows down the game even more.
F1 22 will also add the sprint race format that Formula 1 adopted for select weekends in 2021 and has continued this season. A short dash determines the starting grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix at these circuits rather than traditional qualifying (quali is used to set the grid for the sprint). Sprint races will be part of the season at Imola, Austria and Brazil and they’re part of the game at those locales as well. F1 added a second race in the US this year in Miami, and that circuit will also feature in the game. Codemasters made changes to Australia, Spain and Abu Dhabi in line with the updates to the actual tracks that better accommodate the new cars.
There are changes for the career or My Team mode as well. First, you can choose between three entry levels: newcomer, midfield challenger or title contender. You can begin with a team that already has established operations and a great driver, or you can make things more challenging. There are things like the option of skipping an interview or not dealing with a facilities problem, issues that real team bosses face, that can impact how your season goes if you don’t handle them properly.
EA/Codemasters
In My Team, you’ve had the ability to customize your livery before, but Codemasters has expanded this area. There are more finishes for the car (gloss, metallic, matte, satin) and there are more places on the car that are available to change. Interface updates here allow you to copy and paste livery color schemes to places like your engineering facility so that you have a cohesive identity for your team.
With F1 Life, the game’s new central hub, you’re able to see the supercars you unlock from playing (that are driveable in secondary game modes), browse your trophy case and customize your driver’s style. There’s a closet here where you can update both casual and race wear – right down to the helmet and gloves. F1 Life also serves as the lobby for multiplayer racing, where your driver and their personal style will show up for everyone to see. You even have the ability to customize your “space” or living area where furniture, lighting, art and more can all be swapped out as you see fit.
Lastly, there’s a VR component for PC. With this game mode, you’ll be able to race from the perspective of the driver, taking in the entire race from the cockpit. If you’ve ever seen a driver cam during a race, that should give you a pretty good idea of what to expect here. You can still race against friends even if they don’t have a VR headset since online play is still available for players who opt for the more immersive virtual reality option.
F1 22 will be available June 28th as a digital Champions Edition on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC (Epic, Origin and Steam). The “regular” version will follow on July 1st.
ASUS is today showing off what it considers to be The Pinnacle of Performance in the form of a whole raft of new laptops. All of them are getting new, more refined industrial design and the more prominent use of ASUS’ Delta-style logo, as well as better thermals. Topping the range is the new Zenbook Pro 16X OLED, a 5.6lb behemoth with a 16-inch, 16:10, 60Hz 4K OLED Dolby Vision and Pantone-validated touchscreen display. Nestled inside the NVIDIA Studio-rated machine is space for a 12th-generation Intel Core CPU, reaching as high as the i9-12900H CPU, which can be paired with an RTX 3060 GPU. ASUS is saying that the most interesting facet about this new machine isn’t the raw brawn on offer, but the fact that it’s now got much more staying power. Its new cooling system, officials claim, will enable the system to burn through a 140W TDP without throttling, while generating just 40db in fan noise.
Daniel Cooper
The model which will, however, catch most people’s eyes is the new, updated, Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED, the one with that cutsey but surprisingly useful second screen. The OLED in its product name refers to a 14.5-inch, 2,8K, 120Hz OLED display up top, which is paired with a 12.7-inch ScreenPad Plus. ASUS says that the ScreenPad Plus is now brighter than its predecessor, with a better auto-tilt which improves cooling. Inside, you’ll be able to order a 12th-generation Core i9-12900H and pair it with an RTX 3050 Ti GPU.
It’s this machine that I’ve been able to play with, briefly, before the announcement, and I'm certainly a fan. The model I was using included a 12th-generation Core i7-12700H with 16GB RAM, but performance seemed to be buttery-smooth. Also, and this might sound reductive, but given just how much is crammed into that body, it's surprisingly light and small. The only downside, like last year's model, is that the cramped trackpad takes a long while getting used to, and feels ancient compared to most modern laptops.
As well as the headline acts, ASUS is also adding OLED displays to a number of its other machines, including the 15.6-inch Zenbook Pro 15 Flip OLED, the Zenbook S13 Flip OLED and S13 OLED. You can also now pick up a bigger Zenbook Pro 17, with a 17.3-inch display and the ability to spec for AMD’s Ryzen 9 6900HX CPU paired with an RTX 3050 GPU.
Further down the product line river, the Vivobook series are also getting OLED displays thrown at several devices. That includes Vivibook Pro models in 14.5-, 15.6- and 16-inch sizes, each packing an OLED display and the option to spec a Core i9-12900H or Ryzen 8 6900HX, up to 32GB DDR5 RAM, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti and up to 2TB SSD storage. The Vivobook S series, meanwhile, gets OLED options for its 14.5-, 15- and 16-inch models, which can be specced with Intel Core i7 models paired with Iris Xe or Radeon graphics, depending on your budget and needs.
ASUS
The company is also unloading a Vivobook 13 Slate OLED Artist Edition, versions of its existing 2-in-1 with themed accessories and kickstand covers. The artists in question are Philip Colbert (pictured) and Steven Harrington, the former famous for his pop-art style imagery, the latter working in what’s described as a “contemporary Californian psychedelic-pop aesthetic.”
Many of these laptops will be available at as-yet undetermined dates in the near future, with prices naturally dependent on the many build-to-order options at hand. The Zenbook Pro 16X OLED, when it does arrive, will set you back a minimum of $2,600, while the Zenbook 14 Pro Duo OLED will retail for a minimum of $2,000 when it’s available for order.
Lincoln College says it will close this week in the wake of a ransomware attack that took months to resolve. While the impact of COVID-19 severely impacted activities such as recruitment and fundraising, the cyberattack seems to have been the tipping point for the Illinois institution.
The college has informed the Illinois Department of Higher Education and Higher Learning Commission that it will permanently close as of May 13th. As NBC News notes, it's the first US college or university to shut down in part because of a ransomware attack.
Lincoln says it had "record-breaking student enrollment" in fall 2019. However, the pandemic caused a sizable fall in enrollment with some students opting to defer college or take a leave of absence. The college — one of only a few rural schools to qualify as a predominantly Black institution under the Department of Education — said those affected its financial standing.
Last December, Lincoln was hit by a cyberattack, which "thwarted admissions activities and hindered access to all institutional data, creating an unclear picture of fall 2022 enrollment. All systems required for recruitment, retention and fundraising efforts were inoperable," the college said in a statement posted on its homepage. "Fortunately, no personal identifying information was exposed. Once fully restored in March 2022, the projections displayed significant enrollment shortfalls, requiring a transformational donation or partnership to sustain Lincoln College beyond the current semester."
Barring a last-minute respite, the one-two punch of the pandemic and a cyberattack have brought an end to a 157-year-old institution. Lincoln says it will help students who aren't graduating this semester transfer to another college.
The New York Times has apologized after Monday’s Wordle included a solution for some players that may have been offensive due to its connection to recent political events in the US. Warning: potential spoiler ahead.
Some Wordle players woke up today to find out the solution to the daily puzzle was “fetus,” a selection The New York Times said was “entirely unintentional and a coincidence,” in a note the outlet’s Games team published at 12:01AM. According to The Times, the word was loaded into the game “last year,” meaning its selection predates both the company’s purchase of Wordle and the May 2nd leak of a draft decision by the US Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.
When The Times Games teamdiscovered last week that Monday’s puzzle would feature the word fetus, it said it did its best to alter the answer for “as many solvers as possible.” However, due to the way Wordle loads data, those who keep the game running in a tab that they never refresh still saw the old selection. The Times said it hopes to avoid a similar situation occurring in the future.
“We’re now busy revamping Wordle’s technology so that everyone always receives the same word,” the outlet said. “We are committed to ensuring that tens of millions of people have a gratifying and consistent experience, every day.” The Games team added that it wants Wordle “to remain distinct from the news,” a stance that has drawn criticism from some players.
Electronic Arts is stepping back into Middle-earth. The publisher has announced a free-to-play mobile game called The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth. The RPG is the first EA mobile title based on J.R.R. Tolkien's works. EA Capital Games is developing the game. The studio was behind another successful collectible mobile RPG in 2015's Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes.
Heroes of Middle-earth will include characters from both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, along with collection systems, turn-based combat and "immersive storytelling." EA said in a press release that players will experience "iconic stories from the world of Tolkien and take up the fight against the great evils of Middle-earth." Unsurprisingly, given that this is a free-to-play mobile title, there will be microtransactions.
“We are incredibly excited to partner with The Saul Zaentz Company and Middle-earth Enterprises on the next generation of mobile role-playing games,” said EA's vice-president of mobile RPG Malachi Boyle said. “The team is filled with fans of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and each day they bring their tremendous passion and talents together to deliver an authentic experience for players. The combination of high-fidelity graphics, cinematic animations, and stylized art immerses players in the fantasy of Middle-earth where they’ll go head-to-head with their favorite characters.”
This will be EA's first LOTR title since 2009's The Lord of the Rings: Conquest, as Polygon notes. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, NetEase and Glu Mobile (which EA bought last year) are among the other publishers who have released mobile LOTR games.
EA expects to start limited regional beta tests of The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth this summer.
