Author Archives: Mariella Moon

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered arrives October 31 on PS5 and PC

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Jan-Bart van Beek, Guerilla Games' art and animation director, has officially announced that a remastered version of Horizon Zero Dawn is arriving on October 31. The game will feature over 10 hours of re-recorded audio, mocap, as well as improved character models, animation, lighting and textures that he said will bring it "to the same visual fidelity" as Horizon Forbidden West. That means it has been upgraded for the PlayStation 5 and compatible PCs, and it even supports the PS5 Pro, which will be available on November 7. 

In his announcement, van Beek explained that seven years is a long time when it comes to computer graphics and that a lot of technological improvements have become available since the game's original release. Nixxes, a Dutch video game developer, worked on the remaster, which will also feature improved audio and Atmos rendering that will make it more immersive. The remastered version will come with The Frozen Wilds expansion and all its additional lands, machines and skills, as well. Those who get the PC version can also expect support for ultra-wide resolutions and for performance-enhancing technologies, such as NVIDIA's DLSS 3 AI-based rendering accelerator. 

The original game's accessibility features, like its remappable controls and haptic cues, have been carried over to this version. In addition, there's a new optional accessibility feature that can notify players of interactable elements with sound and haptic feedback. 

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered will be available for purchase for $50, but those who already own the original game and the complete edition version can upgrade for $10, whether they're buying on the PS5 or on the PC via Steam or the Epic Games Store. The $10 upgrade will even be available to players who added the game to their libraries from one of Sony's Play at Home program giveaways during the pandemic lockdowns. Fans upgrading with a PS4 game disc will have to insert it into their console every time they play, though, so they cannot access the upgrade offer if they have the disc-free version of PS5. Pre-orders for both PC and PS5 will open on October 3.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/horizon-zero-dawn-remastered-arrives-october-31-on-ps5-and-pc-052407167.html?src=rss

TikTok removes Russian state-owned media accounts for ‘covert influence’

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TikTok has announced in its US Elections Integrity Hub that it has removed accounts associated with Rossiya Segodnya and TV-Novosti, which own and run Russia state media outlets Sputnik and RT. The company said that it kicked the accounts off the social media platform for "engaging in covert influence operations" that go against its guidelines for spam and deceitful behavior. TikTok clarified that the accounts' content weren't shown in the For You feed under its state-affiliated media policy and were also labeled as such. Their videos were already restricted in the EU and the UK, as well, but now the accounts had been permanently banned and are no longer visible to anyone in the world. 

As CNBC notes, Sputnik has issued a statement on X that says "TikTok users and [its] 86,000 subscribers are no longer allowed to know the truth about most urgent geopolitical issues and laugh at Western politicians' gaffes in Sputnik International videos."

TikTok didn't give specific examples of how the outlets are trying to spread misinformation and to manipulate this year's presidential elections in the US. But the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the FBI have just told reporters that Russia has generated the most AI content related to the election, so far. It has reportedly created and spread AI-made text, images, audios and videos online, mostly to "denigrate the Vice President and the Democratic Party" and to sow division by focusing on topics like immigration. 

Earlier this month, the US government formally issued sanctions against Rossiya Segodnya and TV-Novosti, accusing RT of moving "beyond being simply a media outlet." It said the Russian government embedded a cyber operational team with ties to Russian intelligence within RT, and that team allegedly focuses on "influence and intelligence operations all over the world." That team even pays social media personalities to spread "unbranded content" meant to influence foreign government elections, the feds said. 

Meta banned Russian state media outlets on its products, including Facebook and Instagram, "for foreign interference activity" shortly after the US government announced the sanction. It said it found evidence in the past that the outlets tried to hide foreign interference activities and that it expects them to continue with their deceptive practices. 

If you're wondering what kind of fake videos Russia has been releasing, Microsoft detailed a few in a recent threat analysis report. One video showed "Kamala Harris" attacking Trump rally attendees, while another video used an actor to accuse the Vice President of being involved in a 2011 hit-and-run incident that paralyzed a 13-year-old girl. There's also another fake video showing a New York City billboard claiming that Harris wants to change children's gender. The company warned that more Russian-made staged and AI-generated videos are bound to circulate online as the US gets closer to the election. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/tiktok-removes-russian-state-owned-media-accounts-for-covert-influence-133006441.html?src=rss

OpenAI staffers reportedly ‘taken aback’ by ‘ominous’ logo rebranding

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OpenAI could undergo massive changes next year, which include getting a brand new logo. According to Fortune, though, staff members were less than enthused when they got a sneak peek of its supposed new logo at a recent company-wide meeting. The company's hexagonal flower symbol, which has become pretty recognizable thanks to ChatGPT's popularity, is gone. Instead, it's replaced by a large black "O" or a simple ring or circle that staffers reportedly found to be devoid of creativity — ominous, even. 

Based on how the publication's sources described it, the new logo sounds like the complete opposite of OpenAI's current one, which was designed to represent "precision, potential and optimism." The company apparently started its redesign efforts a year ago after hiring new people for its internal creative and design team. Fortune says one of the reasons OpenAI is going for a brand new look is because it doesn't own the typefaces used for its logo and its website. The company is, perhaps, looking to solidify its identity as it becomes more of a household name. 

Fortune also previously reported that OpenAI is changing its convoluted non-profit corporate structure next year. The company started as a non-profit, and a non-profit entity still controls its for-profit arm. Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, reportedly told employees that the company is moving away from its non-profit structure and is becoming a more traditional for-profit company. If OpenAI's leaders listen to employee feedback, though, then the new OpenAI will debut with another logo and not one that even its own people find sinister.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-staffers-reportedly-taken-aback-by-ominous-logo-rebranding-160017936.html?src=rss

The Arc browser that lets you customize websites had a serious vulnerability

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One of the feature that separates the Arc browser from its competitors is the ability to customize websites. The feature called "Boosts" allows users to change a website's background color, switch to a font they like or one that makes it easier for them to read and even remove an unwanted elements from the page completely. Their alterations aren't supposed to be be visible to anyone else, but they can share them across devices. Now, Arc's creator, the Browser Company, has admitted that a security researcher found a serious flaw that would've allowed attackers to use Boosts to compromise their targets' systems. 

The company used Firebase, which the security researcher known as "xyzeva" described as a "database-as-a-backend service" in their post about the vulnerability, to support several Arc features. For Boosts, in particular, it's used to share and sync customizations across devices. In xyzeva's post, they showed how the browser relies on a creator's identification (creatorID) to load Boosts on a device. They also shared how someone could change that element to their target's identification tag and assign that target Boosts that they had created. 

If a bad actor makes a Boost with a malicious payload, for instance, they can just change their creatorID to the creatorID of their intended target. When the intended victim then visits the website on Arc, they could unknowingly download the hacker's malware. And as the researcher explained, it's pretty easy to get user IDs for the browser. A user who refer someone to Arc will share their ID to the recipient, and if they also created an account from a referral, the person who sent it will also get their ID. Users can also share their Boosts with others, and Arc has a page with public Boosts that contain the creatorIDs of the people who made them. 

In its post, the Browser Company said xyzeva notified it about the security issue on August 25 and that it issued a fix a day later with the researcher's help. It also assured users that nobody got to exploit the vulnerability, no user was affected. The company has also implemented several security measures to prevent a similar situation, including moving off Firebase, disabling Javascript on synced Boosts by default, establishing a bug bounty program and hiring a new senior security engineer.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/the-arc-browser-that-lets-you-customize-websites-had-a-serious-vulnerability-133053134.html?src=rss

Theater chains will spend $2.2 billlion to lure you back to the movies

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The biggest theater chains in the US and Canada are giving their cinemas a major upgrade in hopes of enticing more people to watch movies outside of their homes. According to Variety, they're planning to spend $2.2 billion to modernize 21,000 screens over the next three years — even adding activities audiences can do, like pickleball and ziplining. Michael O'Leary, the president and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), told the publication that the industry feels it has "turned a corner" and that "audiences are coming back to the theaters." However, they have to do more to make the shared cinematic experience more enjoyable. 

People have become used to waiting for films to come out on streaming over the past years, after all, and they're not going out for movies they don't feel compelled to see as soon as they come out. The total US domestic revenue for this year's summer box office, for instance, is over 10 percent lower than last year's. Variety says AMC, Regal Cinemas, Cinemark, Cineplex, Marcus Theatres, B&B Theatres, Harkins Theatres and Santikos Entertainment have all told NATO that they're investing money to better their facilities. 

The companies are expected to spend their budgets on upgrading their laser projectors and their sound systems, as well as on installing more comfortable seating, better AC, lighting and carpeting. And, yes, they're adding new attractions like pickleball courts, arcades, ziplines and bowling alleys, which could change what it means to go to the movies. The image above is a pickleball court at a B&B Theatre cinema. "This investment of resources is the next step in our industry’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that going to the theater remains a unique and special experience for generations to come," O'Leary said. Whether the strategy works or not remains to be seen, but that these companies are willing to spend a collective amount of $2.2 billion in upgrades signifies that they're at least in a better place than they were in at the height of the pandemic. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/theater-chains-will-spend-22-billlion-to-lure-you-back-to-the-movies-140054935.html?src=rss

Netflix teases the next seasons of Avatar, Squid Game and Arcane at Geeked Week

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At its in-person fan event for Geeked Week this year, Netflix has shown teasers and sneak peeks of its upcoming shows, including the second season of Avatar: The Last Airbender. In addition to revealing that the new season is already in production, Netflix has also announced that Miya Cech (Are You Afraid of the Dark?) is playing earthbending master Toph. 

A teaser for Squid Game season 2 shows Lee Jung-jae wearing his player 456 uniform again to compete in another round of deadly games with other contestants hoping to win millions of dollars. The next season of Squid Game will start streaming on December 26. 

The streaming giant has also revealed that One Piece live action's Mr. 0 and Miss All-Sunday will be portrayed by Joe Mangianello and Lera Abova, respectively. And for Wednesday fans, Netflix has released a teaser for the second season of Wednesday that will arrive sometime in 2025. 

For animation fans, Netflix has released a teaser for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, with Liev Schreiber voicing protagonist Sam Fisher. It has also given viewers a short look at a new Devil May Cry animated series by Korean company Studio Mir, which is coming in April 2025. 

Netflix has teased a new Tomb Raider animated series that's coming in October and a Rebel Moon game that's arriving in 2025, as well. Finally, the company has given Arcane fans a clear schedule for the final chapter of the critically acclaimed show: Act 1 will be available to stream on November 9, followed by Act 2 on November 16. A third and final Act will close out the show with a proper ending on November 23.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/netflix-teases-the-next-seasons-of-avatar-squid-game-and-arcane-at-geeked-week-035246559.html?src=rss

The EU gives Apple six months to make cross-device interoperability easier

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The European Commission is done waiting for Apple to comply with the rules of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). It has started proceedings designed to ensure that the company complies with its interoperability obligations as one of DMA's designated gatekeepers, which are made up of the industry's largest and most important players. The commission explained that under the DMA, it has the right to "adopt a decision specifying the measures a gatekeeper has to implement to ensure effective compliance," and it's giving Apple six months to comply with the measures it comes up with if it doesn't want to face huge fines. 

One of the areas the commission will focus on is iOS connectivity for connected devices, such as smartwatches, headphones and virtual reality headsets. The manufacturers of these products "depend on effective interoperability with smartphones and their operating systems," the commission said. It plans to specify how Apple should provide effective interoperability that would allow non-Apple devices to easily pair and connect with iPhones, as well as to get notifications. The commission will also look at the process Apple set up to address developers' requests for third party interoperability with iOS and iPadOS. 

"Today is the first time we use specification proceedings under the DMA to guide Apple towards effective compliance with its interoperability obligations through constructive dialogue," EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. "We are focused on ensuring fair and open digital markets. Effective interoperability, for example with smartphones and their operating systems, plays an important role in this. This process will provide clarity for developers, third parties and Apple. We will continue our dialogue with Apple and consult third parties to ensure that the proposed measures work in practice and meet the needs of businesses."

Back in June, the commission issued its preliminary findings for an investigation it opened on Apple. It found that Apple breached DMA rules because it wouldn't allow App Store developers to freely tell users about alternate payment options outside of its ecosystem. The company told Engadget that time that it "has made a number of changes to comply with the DMA in response to feedback from developers and the European Commission" over the preceding months. 

Apple has made several changes to its system to avoid getting fined in the EU, including opening up iOS and iPadOS to third-party app stores and allowing developers access to its NFC technology. It has also withheld new features from European users due to DMA rules, however, including Apple Intelligence, iPhone Mirroring on the Mac and SharePlay Screen Sharing. 

The company told Bloomberg that it has conjured ways that would allow developers to request additional iOS and iPadOS interoperability while protecting its users' security. It added that undermining its systems' protections would put its European users at risk. As the news organization notes, the commission could launch an investigation into Apple if the company doesn't comply with the measures it comes up with over the next six months. If found guilty, the company could face a fine worth 10 percent of its global annual revenue. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/the-eu-gives-apple-six-months-to-make-cross-device-interoperability-easier-140030456.html?src=rss

Iranian hackers tried to send Trump leaks to Biden campaign

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In late June and early July, Iranian hackers sent unsolicited emails to people associated with President Biden's camp. Those emails contained excerpts from materials not available to the public that had been stolen from former President Trump's campaign, according to a joint statement issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The feds clarified that there's no evidence that those recipients replied to the sender. In addition, the bad actors sent stolen materials to news publications, including The Washington Post and Politico. 

The Post reported in August that the FBI was investigating Iranian hackers' attempt to infiltrate both Trump's and Biden's (now Kamala Harris') campaigns using spear-phishing techniques. Feds didn't find any evidence that anybody from the Democratic Party fell for their scheme. But the bad actors were reportedly able to take control of an email account owned by Roger Stone, a long-time Trump adviser, which they then used to send more emails with spear-phishing links to his contact list. 

"As the lead for threat response, the FBI has been tracking this activity, has been in contact with the victims, and will continue to investigate and gather information in order to pursue and disrupt the threat actors responsible," the authorities said in their announcement. 

The stolen materials were sent from an AOL account through emails signed with the name "Robert," according to The Post. When asked by the publication, they denied that they were connected to Iranian cyber attackers. While the feds didn't say what materials were sent out, The Post says they include the Trump campaign's research on Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance, as well as internal poll results. 

Trump's camp is now calling for the Harris camp to disclose what materials it received, while asking news publications not to publish the stolen information. Harris spokesperson Morgan Finkelstein said the Democratic campaign is cooperating with authorities, since some of their people were also targeted on their personal emails, but they're "not aware of any material being sent" to them directly.

Microsoft previously found evidence that a group linked to the Iranian government created a website that throws attacks and insults at former President Trump. But Iran isn't the only country that's attempting to interfere with this year's presidential election in the US. Microsoft recently reported that Kremlin-affiliated Russian troll farms are running disinformation campaigns focused on discrediting Harris and her running mate Tim Walz. These Russian troll farms have been releasing inauthentic videos showing the Democratic nominees in a bad light, including one that used a fake actor to accuse Harris of being involved in a 2011 hit-and-run incident that paralyzed a 13-year-old girl. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/iranian-hackers-tried-to-send-trump-leaks-to-biden-campaign-120017606.html?src=rss

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are suing Palworld creator Pocketpair

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Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocketpair in Tokyo. Pocketpair is the Japanese video game developer behind Palworld, a game people have been describing as a Pokémon parody, featuring cute gun-toting monsters. The game, released in Early Access form on January 18, was an instant hit, selling 15 million copies on Steam and crossing 25 million players within just a month. 

The Pokémon Company said a few days after Palworld came out that it was going to investigate a game "released in January 2024" and will "take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to Pokémon." Looks like the investigation is over, and it has decided to take legal action. 

"This lawsuit seeks an injunction against infringement and compensation for damages on the grounds that Palworld, a game developed and released by the Defendant, infringes multiple patent rights," Nintendo said in its announcement of the lawsuit. 

Pocketpair previously said that its game is more like Ark Survival Evolved and Valheim than Pokémon. Company CEO Takuro Mizobe claimed that Palworld "cleared legal reviews" and that no lawsuits were filed against Pocketpair regarding its development. While Palworld's monsters would look familiar to Pokémon fans, it takes on a darker tone. You can choose to play as a friend to the monsters known as "Pals" and fight off the poachers trying to kill them. But you can also kill and eat Pals, make them fight to the death and even sell them into slavery.

Shortly after Nintendo announced its lawsuit, Pocketpair responded. "At this moment, we are unaware of the specific patents we are accused of infringing upon, and we have not been notified of such details," the company wrote. "It is truly unfortunate that we will be forced to allocate significant time to matters unrelated to game development due to this lawsuit. However, we will do our utmost for our fans, and to ensure that indie game developers are not hindered or discouraged from pursuing their creative ideas."

Update, September 19 2024, 9:40AM ET: This story has been updated with Pocketpair's response to Nintendo's lawsuit.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-and-the-pokemon-company-are-suing-palworld-creator-pocketpair-031320550.html?src=rss

Google wins appeal against $1.7 billion EU fine for ‘abusive’ advertising practices

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The amount of fines Google has to pay in Europe may have become just a bit smaller. It has successfully convinced the European Union's General Court to annul the €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) penalty levied against it back in 2019 for what the European Commission described as "abusive practices in online advertising." According to the Financial Times, the General Court agreed with the commission's assessment that Google did block rival advertisers from its platform. However, it argued that the commission failed to take into account "all the relevant circumstances" when it assessed how long the company had implemented anti-competitive practices. 

The commission, under competition chief Margrethe Vestager, found back in 2019 that Google had prohibited publishers from placing search adverts from competitors on its search results pages from 2006 until 2009. It changed its rules slightly in 2009, but it wasn't until 2016 that it removed the clause pertaining to the restriction in its contracts. The fine for this particular case was larger than expected, because the commission said it took into account "the duration and gravity of the infringement."

"This case is about a very narrow subset of text-only search ads placed on a limited number of publishers' websites," Google said in a statement to the Financial Times. "We made changes to our contracts in 2016 to remove the relevant provisions, even before the commission’s decision. We are pleased that the court has recognized errors in the original decision and annulled the fine. We will review the full decision closely." Meanwhile, the commission told the publication that it "will carefully study the judgment and reflect on possible next steps." It could still appeal the court's decision.

This is just one of the multiple antitrust fines the European Commission has slapped against Google over the past years. Earlier this month, EU's highest court upheld a different $2.7 billion penalty against the company. The commission imposed that fine on Google back in 2017, because it found that the company, as Vestager explained, "abused its market dominance as a search engine by promoting its own comparison shopping service in its search results, and demoting those of competitors." 

Vestager is stepping down from her role as the European Union's commissioner for competition within the next few weeks. She has been tough on big tech companies throughout her run, and the market abuse cases she has filed over the years led to the creation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a regulation meant to prevent the largest players in the industry from abusing their market power.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-wins-appeal-against-17-billion-eu-fine-for-abusive-advertising-practices-123006698.html?src=rss