Monthly Archives: April 2015
Valve Announces The Dota 2 Major Championships
Competitive Dota 2 will see three new official events added to its calendar, beginning this fall with the Dota Major Championships fall tournament. Seasonal events lead up to the annual International Championships each summer.
"These marquee tournament events will see top teams competing at premier venues around the world," the Dota 2 website explains. "There will be limited trade periods during the year for participating teams. As the Fall event approaches, more tournament details will be announced." Additionally, these three "additional tournaments will be Valve-sponsored events hosted by third-party organizers at different locations around the world," and participating teams will "be required to adhere to limited roster trade periods during the year."
Digital Tattoos Let You Control Devices With Your Mind
What if you could use your tattoos for more than just letting people know which band you were really into in college? What if your tattoo could control your smartwatch?
New Scientist has a report of a team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has created a flexible electronic skin that conforms to the body and can monitor the brain's electrical activity. The tiny EEG can monitor brain activity for up to two weeks before falling off, so it's really more of a temporary tattoo than a permanent one.
Consisting of a small system of gold electrodes that hide discreetly behind the wearer's ear, the digital tattoo was attached to test subjects who then used the power of their minds to spell out the word "COMPUTER" on a screen in front of them, presumably in some sort of test to label things as literally as possible.
Researchers Find Flaw in Samsung Galaxy S5 Security
At the upcoming RSA Security conference in San Francisco, one group of researchers will discuss flaws in the Samsung Galaxy S5 that could allow unauthorized parties to gain access to the device.
Security firm FireEye has discovered a way to grab biometric data, which includes fingerprints, from certain Android devices before it reaches a separate, secure zone where it's encrypted.
Tao Wei and Yulong Zhang from FireEye told Forbes that before the information reaches that protected area, it's possible to collect it and create copies of the information.
New to Amazon Prime for May 2015
Headed our way for Amazon Prime in May -- free to watch for Prime members on Amazon's Instant Video app -- is an eclectic, cult-y grouping of films that range from Luc Besson's The Professional to John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China to the late Antonia Bird's frontier cannibal flick Ravenous.
Netflix in May: Inglourious Basterds, Boxtrolls, More
Plus, fans of Syfy's Defiance and USA's Suits can catch up on the most recent seasons. Let's have a look...
IGN SPOTLIGHT
- Big Trouble In Little China
Game of Thrones’s 7 Best Dragon Moments
Spoiler Warning for all of Game of Thrones up through the first two episodes of Season 5...
Okay, so it's not like dragons are exactly in abundance on Game of Thrones. The era we're currently following, story-wise, is not one filled to the brim with winged death-bringers. There are exactly three dragons right now. Two of them won't move out of their mom's basement and the other pops by every other weekend to do laundry.
But even though this isn't the time of Targaryen rule and dragons aren't swirling around in the sky (or even battling each other like they were in the Dance of Dragons civil war a few hundreds year previous) these magical beasts are still utterly captivating. Like the White Walkers, dragons are a game-changer. If they ever decided to attack - like full on - nothing could stand in their way. They'd incinerate everyone and everything in their path, no matter who's going after what throne or who's betraying whom at which wedding. All mortal squabbles bend the knee before the mighty dragon. So any time they're on the screen we can't help but see their potential. As in "Man, one day these guys are going to be huge, destructive equalizers." Everyone's argument will be invalid. And incinerated.
Smuggling Contraband Into Prisons Turns Drones Into Mules
Some tech-embracing smugglers have turned to drones to deliver contraband to associates behind prison walls.
According to a report by The New York Times, just such a scenario played out at the Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, South Carolina. According to the Times' report, guards manning the security cameras at the prison noticed blinking lights near the facility's perimeter fence in the thick of the night.
A guard was dispatched to the scene, only to discover a man on the other side of the fence fleeing into the nearby woods. The next morning, authorities discovered "a cellphone, tobacco and marijuana," along with a small drone caught in near-by power lines.
Why it Matters if a Fictional Character Is Gay
Warning: This article contains spoilers for All-New X-Men #40!
Quite a bit of controversy was stirred up this week when Iceman was outed as gay by fellow X-Man Jean Grey. The scene in All-New X-Men #40 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mahmud Asrar quickly spread around the web, sparking all sorts of debate and forever changing the kind of Iceman pictures you’ll get in your image search results. While many legitimate topics were raised, the one thing I heard the most was, “So what if a fictional character is gay?” Great question, Internet. Let’s discuss.
Send Directions From Desktop to Device With Google Maps
Sometimes typing in directions from point 'A' to point 'B' on a mobile device can be a pain. Google has recognized this and has given Android users the ability to send directions from their computers to their phones.
It doesn't work for all devices, and getting it to work requires you to make sure you have your ducks in a row. The first step is to sign into your Google account from your PC. Provided the Google account on your phone is the same on your PC, you should then be able to type "send directions" into the Google search bar.
Enter your starting and ending locations, choose your phone from the drop-down menu, and then send the directions to your phone.
Our First Hands-On With The Apple Watch
For some folks, today's deliveries have included a surprisingly heavy package containing an Apple Watch. If you're not part of that group, or you're just wondering what all the fuss is about, we've got you covered with some initial thoughts on the Apple Watch Sport, which is the first model we've received. Below you'll find a couple galleries full of photos ranging from the packaging to the Watch itself, as well as a brief, early take on setting up the device and the first hours of wearing it.
Also, if you missed it earlier, our friends at PC Magazine already unboxed the standard Apple Watch the the Milanese Loop band, which comes in a very different box than the Sport. Check that out below.
Guitar Hero Live First Songs Revealed
Activision has revealed the first ten songs in Guitar Hero Live.
On the official Guitar Hero Facebook page, a screenshot shows off ten tracks. The same post promises "hundreds" available on day one, between the game itself and GHTV, its online component.
The revealed songs include:
- Ed Sheeran - Sing
- American Authors - Best Day of My Life
- Jake Bugg - What Doesn't Kill You
- Gary Clark Jr - Don't Owe You a Thang
- Band of Skulls - Asleep at the Wheel
- Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks
- Alter Bridge - Cry of Achilles