Новости за 13.04.2022

Humanity's expansion across the globe is inextricably tied to the environmental conditions that our early ancestors faced. On Wednesday, a research team from South Korea's Pusan National University revealed research from supercomputing modeling that suggests just how much of humanity's rise is thanks to changes in prehistoric weather.

Don't count on playing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's next-gen update in the near future. CD Projekt Red has delayed the free upgrade's release "until further notice" after deciding to finish the project with an internal development team instead of Saber Interactive. The company wants to evaluate the necessary "scope of work," according to a statement.

Wizards of the Coast owner Hasbro is buying D&D Beyond, one of the most popular digital toolsets for playing Dungeons and Dragons. In a press release spotted by Gizmodo, the publisher said on Wednesday it had agreed to pay $146.3 million to acquire the platform from current owner Fandom. In a post over on the toolset’s official forums, the D&D Beyond team said the purchase would not change how players use the toolset to run their campaigns. “Wizards of the Coast has no plans to stop supporting D&D Beyond. Читать дальше...

Niantic is best known for creating augmented reality games based on existing franchises, but its next title will be an original one. Peridot is all about breeding and caring for unique virtual pets.

TikTok is testing a way for users to “dislike” comments in an effort to help people “feel more in control” over what they are seeing. The company revealed the experiment in a blog post about its most recent community guidelines enforcement report, which tracks how TikTok is enforcing its safety policies.

Just a couple weeks after Kia announced a European release window for its EV9, the automaker has revealed when US drivers will be able to get behind the wheel of the electric SUV. It said at the New York Auto Show that the EV9 is coming Stateside in the second half of 2023.

It’s hard to believe that FL Studio (née Fruity Loops) has been around for 24 years. It’s even harder to believe that it took 20 years for someone to make dedicated hardware for the DAW. And that it was another four years before a second company had a stab at it, after Akai’s Fire. Now Novation is taking its well regarded LaunchKey series, giving it a light facelift and rebranding it as FLKey – the first keyboard MIDI controller designed exclusively for controlling FL Studio.

A former lawyer with California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing has accused Governor Gavin Newsom of interfering with the agency’s sexual harassment lawsuit against Activision Blizzard. According to an email seen by Bloomberg, DFEH assistant chief counsel Melanie Proctor said Tuesday she was resigning her position to protest the abrupt firing of Janette Wipper, the watchdog’s chief counsel.

Apple is looking to build on the success of TV+ by locking in Tom Hanks' production company to an exclusive multi-year deal. The agreement with Playtone covers series, documentaries and unscripted projects.

Meta has been conspicuously eager to stake its future on augmented reality and the metaverse, but a new report from The Verge might shed light on exactly what the social media giant hopes to deliver. According to anonymous sources, the company aims to launch its first AR glasses, part of its Project Nazare initiative, in 2024. You would see a "lighter, more advanced" model in 2026, and a third iteration in 2028. The initial model would be independent of your phone, but you would need a "phone-shaped... Читать дальше...

Amazon’s IMDb TV is rebranding. Beginning April 27th, the ad-supported streaming service will be known as Freevee, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Amazon’s Studios division told the outlet the new name is designed to better reflect how much it costs to access the platform.

Amazon is said to have intensified its anti-union efforts ahead of a union election at a warehouse later this month. The Amazon Labor Union told Motherboard the company is mandating daily anti-union meetings at LDJ5, a facility in Staten Island, New York. It's also said to have distributed anti-union literature and disciplined a leader of the drive for organizing on the warehouse floor. What's more, ALU says Amazon has hired anti-union consultants to pose as employees.

Amazon has brought its checkout-free "Just Walk Out" technology to airports, grocery stores and other shops, but now it's coming to a particularly useful place for sports fans: the ballpark. The Houston Astros have teamed up with Amazon to install Just Walk Out systems at two concession stores in Minute Maid Park. Visit 19th Hole or Market and you can buy snacks or souvenirs between innings by inserting your credit card at the entry gate, grabbing things off the shelf, and leaving when you're done. Читать дальше...

Don't expect to make a fortune from digital items sold in Meta's virtual world. Meta has confirmed to CNBC that it will take a total 47.5 percent cut from digital asset sales in Horizon Worlds, including 30 percent through the Meta Quest Store and 17.5 percent through Horizon Worlds itself. Creators may need to charge a premium to ensure healthy income for themselves, then.

No Man’s Sky is already an enormous game and yet Hello Games isn’t exactly out of ideas about how to expand the universe. The developer has released the Outlaws update, which adds the game’s first new starship in two years, smuggling and much more.

The Kia Niro has long been a staff-favorite here at Engadget. On Wednesday, the Korean automaker took to the NYIAS 2022 stage to show off its latest iterations of the popular compact sport utility, one for every kind of driver. 

Sony and Nintendo are following Microsoft in halting payments for unused gaming subscriptions in the UK. The country's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has obtained an agreement with Sony that will wind down unused PlayStation Plus accounts. Sony will remind inactive subscribers how to end payments and, if there's still no activity, stop taking payments altogether. Nintendo, meanwhile, no longer auto-renews Switch Online subscriptions by default.

Hyundai will manufacture EVs in the US starting in December this year with the electrified Genesis GV70 crossover model, the company announced at the NY Automotive Forum in a video seen by Automotive News. It's part of a grand plan to invest $7.4 billion in the US by 2025 to develop a family of EVs and smart mobility technology. 

Back in January, Samsung launched a portable projector called Freestyle at CES. We thought the product was a solid choice for the product category, seeing it only weighs 1.83 pounds and has auto focus and auto leveling features to help align whatever it is you're watching. However, at $900, it was quite a bit more expensive than similar portable projectors like Anker's. If you've keeping an eye out for deals on the device, you my want to head over to Woot: You can get the Samsung Freestyle for only $650... Читать дальше...

Still waiting on a new Tesla with its higher-capacity batteries? Perhaps, once the company’s employees have got theirs, you’ll also be able to grab a Model Y with longer range. Electrek reports Tesla is selling the Model Y in a new Standard Range AWD variant that uses 4680 cells to offer 279 miles of range and five-second 0-60MPH for $59,990, which is $3,000 less than the Long Range AWD.

Robosen Robotics' Optimus Prime robot can automatically transform into a truck just like the movie/cartoon versions, but the breathtaking $900 price makes it more a toy for collectors than children. Now, Hasbro and Robosen have launched a companion Trailer and Roller set for Optimus Prime with equally cool auto-conversion features and an equally steep $750 price. 

Clubhouse has started testing an in-room gaming feature, the company has confirmed to TechCrunch, and its debut game could help users get to know each other better. The feature's launch title called "Wild Cards" presents users a series of icebreaker questions and challenges. It could ask you to "pitch an idea for a movie in 60 seconds," for instance, or to "share five things from your search history." To play, you'll have to choose the "Games" option under +Rooms. It'll open a social room for you where you can invite friends to play. Читать дальше...

Polar is today launching a new pair of watches designed to encourage you to get your sneakers on and start running. The Pacer and Pacer Pro are back-to-basics devices with an emphasis on high-quality data to help you train, run and recover. Both devices use lightweight bodies and round cases, with color Memory In Pixel displays sat below a Gorilla Glass 3.0 crystal. And both use the same custom system-on-chip which the company says will run much faster than many of its older devices.

If you don't need all the fancy features of Google's Nest thermostat, Amazon's smart thermostat is a solid, budget-friendly option. Now, it's an even better deal thanks to a 20 percent discount that has dropped it down (again) to an all-time low price of $48. 

Spotify hasn't been just a music streaming service for quite some time now. Over the past few years, it has acquired exclusive shows and inked massive deals as part of its push to become a power player in the world of podcasts. One of the company executives that helped make that happen was Courtney Holt, who played a key role in bringing on the Obamas, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, as well as controversial host Joe Rogan to the platform. Now, The Ankler reports that Holt is leaving the company after almost five years. Читать дальше...