Monthly Archives: May 2015
Scotland Yard Feared Trek, X-Files Fans Could Pose Threat
Scotland Yard -- London's Metropolitan Police Service -- kept files on Star Trek, The X-Files, and a handful of other American science fiction shows due to fears that fans of such programming might start a cult, or go insane, harming themselves and others.
A report titled "UFO New Religious Movements and the Millennium" was filed in 1998-99 following the mass suicide of the 39 Heaven's Gate cult members in San Diego. Special Branch claimed the cult members were big fans of X-Files and Star Trek.
The shows themselves weren't believed to be harmful. The concern stemmed from the theory that the people who believed the end of the world was coming due to the millennium might also be fans of those shows. The report, brought to light by The Telegraph, mentions that such shows often touch upon themes involving UFOs, conspiracies, and mythic events.
Apple Watch OS 1.0.1 Now Available
Apple Watch users can now download the wearable's first OS update. Apple Watch OS 1.0.1 includes various performance improvements, display support for new emojis, and additional language support.
With the new update, Apple Watch now supports seven additional languages: Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, Russian, Thai, and Turkish. OS 1.0.1 also brings improvements to Siri and third-party apps, as well as more precise calorie and distance measurements for workouts.
To download the update, make sure your Apple Watch is connected to a power source. You can then initiate the download through the Watch app on your iPhone.
This Virtual Reality Headset Lets You Shoot Things with Your Eyes
Virtual reality’s on its way to becoming a crowded space—even well in advance of any first-generation consumer hardware being available. Among the latest entries into the space is Fove’s eye-tracking headset, which launched on Kickstarter on Tuesday.
Like the headsets we’ve seen from Samsung, Oculus, and Sony, the demo hardware I sat down with last week isn’t final yet. In fact, a Fove team member noted that the two headsets I used had been built by hand after I inquired about fit—on the second visor, one of the lenses kept touching my eye. Accommodations for flatter nose bridges and even diopter adjustments is still to come.
Japanese Retro Console Plays Pretty Much Everything
The Japanese Retrofreak console plays basically all the old cartridges you can think of. The Japanese two-piece console plays Famicom, Super Famicom, Mega Drive, PC Engine games... along with Super NES, NES, TurboGrafx-16, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Color, Genesis and Supergrafx.
The Retrofreak is a Swiss Army knife of consoles that puts itself just barely above even the great Retron5 as far as total number of accepted carts is concerned.
First spotted on Kotaku, the one-stop, retro-shop solution comes with a console and an adapter that accepts the myriad of games. The included controller is reminiscent of the trusty Super NES controller, but the console accepts any USB controller. That includes support for PS3 and PS4 controllers, in case you have any of those kicking around.
The Big Screen Flash Will Also Be Barry Allen
Filmmaker Phil Lord (The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street) recently chatted about his plans for plotting Warner Bros.' big screen rendition of The Flash, as well as the recently announced animated Spider-Man movie he's producing for Sony.
While appearing on the Hippojuice podcast, Lord confirmed that his feature film version of the DC superhero will indeed be Barry Allen, the same incarnation used on The CW's The Flash.
Microsoft Cuts Xbox One Price in Japan and China
In an attempt to spur interest in its current-gen console, Microsoft has slashed the price of Xbox One in both China and Japan.
According to a report from Tech In Asia (via GamesIndustry), the Xbox One Kinect bundle has been discounted in China an extra RMB 500, bringing its new price to RMB 4299, or $693 USD. Meanwhile, Microsoft has also slashed the price of the the Kinect-less option from RMB 3699 to RMB 2999, or $483 USD.
While Xbox One continues to sell incredibly well in the United States, toppling the PlayStation 4 last month in console sales, Microsoft's gaming box can't seem to gain traction in Japan.
This 20 Inch Titanfall Model is Insanely Detailed
Good Smile Company has announced its 1/12th scale model of the Stryder Titan from Titanfall, complete with pilot, is now available for pre-order.
The model comes with over 100 points of articulation and measures 20 inches high. It's chock-full of little details, like fully articulated fingers for grasping weapons, or anything really, along with LED lights and a railgun with detachable ammo drum.
As you can see from the photos, the level of detail is impressive with this model, but at a price of $430, it's to be expected. Customers not in Japan can pre-order the model through threezerostore.com, and get an exclusive chain gun to boot. The good news is that shipping is free, so you've got that going for you. Which is nice.
Valve Files for VR-Related ‘Chaperone’ Trademark
Valve Corp. has filed an application in the United States for a "Chaperone" trademark that's related to a virtual reality product.
Spotted by Reddit, Valve applied for "Chaperone" back in March with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The name appears related to a VR device or project from the Portal and Half-Life video game company.
The USPTO application states that "Chaperone" is for: "hardware and software, sensors, and beacons for the detection and measurement of physical objects and the representation of such objects in virtual reality environments; devices used for the detection and measurement of physical objects and the representation of such objects in virtual reality environments; electronic apparatus for the detection and measurement of physical objects and the representation of such objects in virtual reality environments."
Former TNA Wrestler Voicing a Character in Telltale’s Game of Thrones
Nuufolau Joel Seanoa, better known by his professional ring name Samoa Joe, has announced that he will be voicing a character for Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series.
Samoa Joe broke the news on Twitter. Though it's not yet known what character he'll play, his tweet included the hashtag #pitfighter. ProWrestling.net theorises that HBO's Game of Thrones television show is building up to some pitfighting, a role it says Joe would be perfect for.
In 2012, Samoa Joe scraped into IGN's list of Top 50 wrestlers. He is best known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
Oni’s Invader Zim Comic Gets a Fanzine Prequel
If you're eagerly awaiting the debut of Oni Press' upcoming Invader Zim comic book sequel, the publisher has just revealed a new special that will help make the wait easier. Prior to the July launch of Invader Zim #1, Oni will release a magazine-style comic called TruthShrieker that teases what's to come in the new series.
