Author Archives: Mariella Moon

GOG gets into cloud gaming with Amazon Luna partnership

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GOG, the gaming storefront owned by CD Projekt, is getting into cloud gaming by teaming up with Amazon Luna. Since the Luna cloud service streams games from Amazon's cloud servers, you'll be able to access the titles you've purchased from the store across any compatible device you own, including PCs, Macs, Android and iOS mobile devices, as well as smart TVs and Fire tablets. That is, so long as those devices are installed with the Luna app and you're connected to the internet. You'll also be able to use any Luna-compatible devices and controllers, such as Xbox One's and PS4's, to play your games. 

In its announcement, GOG says you'll be able to play any of the games you own on its platform, provided that they're also on Luna. The CD Projekt subsidiary has confirmed those titles include the Witcher series and Cyberpunk 2077, but you can check if your other games are accessible if you already have Amazon's cloud streaming service. Take note that if you find a game you want to play within the Luna client, you don't have to go to GOG to buy it first. If the title is available on both services, any game you purchase from Luna will also appear in your GOG library. Your downloads will remain DRM-free even if you buy from Luna, and you'll be able to enjoy GOG Galaxy features, such as cloud saves and achievements. 

The collaboration isn't quite live yet, and the companies have yet to announce when it'll be available other than it's coming "soon." Access to it will be limited to regions where Luna is available, however, namely in the USA, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gog-gets-into-cloud-gaming-with-amazon-luna-partnership-084558767.html?src=rss

GOG gets into cloud gaming with Amazon Luna partnership

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GOG, the gaming storefront owned by CD Projekt, is getting into cloud gaming by teaming up with Amazon Luna. Since the Luna cloud service streams games from Amazon's cloud servers, you'll be able to access select titles you've purchased from the store across any compatible device you own, including PCs, Macs, Android and iOS mobile devices, as well as smart TVs and Fire tablets. You simply need to install the Luna app on your device and make sure you're connected to the internet. You'll also be able to use any Luna-compatible devices and controllers, such as Xbox One's and PS4's, to play your games.

In its announcement, GOG says you'll be able to play any of the games you own on its platform, provided that they're also on Luna. The CD Projekt subsidiary has confirmed those titles include the Witcher series and Cyberpunk 2077, but you can check if your other games are accessible if you already have Amazon's cloud streaming service. A Luna spokesperson told us that while GOG's entire library will not be available on the Amazon service at launch, the selection will expand in the coming months. 

Take note that if you find a game you want to play within the Luna client, you don't have to go to GOG to buy it first. If the title is available on both services, any game you purchase from Luna will also appear in your GOG library. Your downloads will remain DRM-free even if you buy from Luna, and you'll be able to enjoy GOG Galaxy features, such as cloud saves and achievements. 

The collaboration isn't quite live yet, and the companies have yet to announce when it'll be available other than it's coming "soon." Access to it will be limited to regions where Luna is available, however, namely in the USA, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.

Update, March 20, 2024, 3:45AM ET: This article was updated to clarify that the entire GOG library will not be available on Luna by the time their partnership launches.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gog-gets-into-cloud-gaming-with-amazon-luna-partnership-084558767.html?src=rss

Tesla settles long-running racial discrimination court battle with former worker

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Owen Diaz's lengthy court battle against Tesla is officially over, now that both parties have agreed on a settlement. Attorney Lawrence Organ, Diaz's lawyer, told CNBC that that the "parties have reached an amicable resolution of their disputes," but that the "terms of the settlement are confidential." If you've been following this case for a while now, that means you won't get to find out how much Diaz is getting after the massive $137 million in damages he was originally awarded got dramatically lowered to $3.2 million. 

The former elevator operator famously sued the automaker for enabling a racist workplace, saying that he faced discrimination "straight from the Jim Crow era" as a Black individual. He said his fellow workers left left drawings of swastika and racist graffiti, such as ones of Inki the Caveman, on his workspace and around Tesla's Fremont assembly plant. Diaz also said that he and other Black workers were subjected to racial slurs, and that the company failed to address thes behaviors despite repeated complaints. 

In 2021, a San Francisco court ordered Tesla to pay $137 million in damages to its former worker, which was one of the highest amounts awarded to a plaintiff suing on the basis of discrimination. However, a judge during the appeals that followed found the amount excessive and lowered it to $15 million, even though he upheld the original jury's verdict. The parties went back into trial after Diaz refused the lowered amount, but a jury lowered the damages Tesla must pay even further to $3.2 million. At the time, Diaz's lawyer said he was wrongly attacked by the defense and that they had already requested a new trial due to misconduct. It looks like both parties have since agreed to negotiate behind closed doors. 

While Diaz's case is done, Organ also represents Marcus Vaughn, who filed another lawsuit against the automaker for racial harassment. Vaughn called Tesla's Fremont plant a "hotbed for racist behavior" and petitioned the court last year to give his lawsuit class action status so that he could add 240 Black colleagues to his complaint. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tesla-settles-long-running-racial-discrimination-court-battle-with-former-worker-133036456.html?src=rss

Tesla settles long-running racial discrimination court battle with former worker

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Owen Diaz's lengthy court battle against Tesla is officially over, now that both parties have agreed on a settlement. Attorney Lawrence Organ, Diaz's lawyer, told CNBC that that the "parties have reached an amicable resolution of their disputes," but that the "terms of the settlement are confidential." If you've been following this case for a while now, that means you won't get to find out how much Diaz is getting after the massive $137 million in damages he was originally awarded got dramatically lowered to $3.2 million. 

The former elevator operator famously sued the automaker for enabling a racist workplace, saying that he faced discrimination "straight from the Jim Crow era" as a Black individual. He said his fellow workers left left drawings of swastika and racist graffiti, such as ones of Inki the Caveman, on his workspace and around Tesla's Fremont assembly plant. Diaz also said that he and other Black workers were subjected to racial slurs, and that the company failed to address thes behaviors despite repeated complaints. 

In 2021, a San Francisco court ordered Tesla to pay $137 million in damages to its former worker, which was one of the highest amounts awarded to a plaintiff suing on the basis of discrimination. However, a judge during the appeals that followed found the amount excessive and lowered it to $15 million, even though he upheld the original jury's verdict. The parties went back into trial after Diaz refused the lowered amount, but a jury lowered the damages Tesla must pay even further to $3.2 million. At the time, Diaz's lawyer said he was wrongly attacked by the defense and that they had already requested a new trial due to misconduct. It looks like both parties have since agreed to negotiate behind closed doors. 

While Diaz's case is done, Organ also represents Marcus Vaughn, who filed another lawsuit against the automaker for racial harassment. Vaughn called Tesla's Fremont plant a "hotbed for racist behavior" and petitioned the court last year to give his lawsuit class action status so that he could add 240 Black colleagues to his complaint. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tesla-settles-long-running-racial-discrimination-court-battle-with-former-worker-133036456.html?src=rss

The PS5 Pro is reportedly coming this holiday season

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Confession time: I already have a copy of Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth for the PS5 even though I still don't have a PlayStation 5 console. I never get consoles the moment they come out and usually wait a few years for their next version. In the PlayStation 5's case, I thought it was going to be the PS5 Slim, but it looks like I could have another option by the end of the year: The PlayStation 5 Pro. Tom Henderson of Insider Gaming says the PS5 Pro details leaked by the Moore’s Law is Dead YouTube channel came from documentation Sony itself recently sent to third-party developers. 

Take the website's confirmation with a grain of salt, of course, but Henderson has a pretty good track record when it comes to leaks. In 2022, he reported that Sony was working a "genuine professional controller" for the PS5, two months before the DualSense Edge was officially announced. He also revealed that the company was set to release a version of the console with a detachable disc drive a full year before Sony introduced the smaller and lighter PS5 model. 

Based on leaked information on the PS5 Pro so far, it will offer improved and consistent frame rate (FPS) at 4K, as well as a "performance mode" for 8K resolution. It's also expected to be able to render games up to 45 percent quicker and to have ray tracing capabilities that are two to three times faster than its non-pro counterpart. Plus, the documentation Moore’s Law is Dead featured in its video shows that it will have a GPU with 67 Teraflops FP16 (33.5 Teraflops FP32) performance, which indicates faster speeds and better graphics overall.

Henderson says Sony is targeting a holiday release for the PS5 Pro, most likely to take advantage of heightened sales for the season. However, that could still change, depending on whether the company feels there haven't been enough first-party title releases this year. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-ps5-pro-is-reportedly-coming-this-holiday-season-084404542.html?src=rss

The PS5 Pro is reportedly coming this holiday season

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Confession time: I already have a copy of Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth for the PS5 even though I still don't have a PlayStation 5 console. I never get consoles the moment they come out and usually wait a few years for their next version. In the PlayStation 5's case, I thought it was going to be the PS5 Slim, but it looks like I could have another option by the end of the year: The PlayStation 5 Pro. Tom Henderson of Insider Gaming says the PS5 Pro details leaked by the Moore’s Law is Dead YouTube channel came from documentation Sony itself recently sent to third-party developers. 

Take the website's confirmation with a grain of salt, of course, but Henderson has a pretty good track record when it comes to leaks. In 2022, he reported that Sony was working a "genuine professional controller" for the PS5, two months before the DualSense Edge was officially announced. He also revealed that the company was set to release a version of the console with a detachable disc drive a full year before Sony introduced the smaller and lighter PS5 model. 

Based on leaked information on the PS5 Pro so far, it will offer improved and consistent frame rate (FPS) at 4K, as well as a "performance mode" for 8K resolution. It's also expected to be able to render games up to 45 percent quicker and to have ray tracing capabilities that are two to three times faster than its non-pro counterpart. Plus, the documentation Moore’s Law is Dead featured in its video shows that it will have a GPU with 67 Teraflops FP16 (33.5 Teraflops FP32) performance, which indicates faster speeds and better graphics overall.

Henderson says Sony is targeting a holiday release for the PS5 Pro, most likely to take advantage of heightened sales for the season. However, that could still change, depending on whether the company feels there haven't been enough first-party title releases this year. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-ps5-pro-is-reportedly-coming-this-holiday-season-084404542.html?src=rss

Twitch is ending its pandemic-era Prime Video watch parties

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If you're one of the — apparently few — remaining people still doing watch parties now that the pandemic lockdowns are way behind us, we're sorry to say that watching Prime Video shows with your pals on Twitch will no longer be an option soon. The Amazon subsidiary is removing the Prime Video Watch Party feature from its online streaming platform on April 2, almost four years after it became available to all of its users. Twitch introduced the feature in a closed beta test back in 2019 and then rolled it out to US streamers in 2020, shortly after the world pretty much shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

You might have used watch parties as a way to connect with other people those days, so that you could still be together even if you couldn't be at the same place. It may have been a godsend if you'd spent those lockdowns alone and may have helped you get through some really tough, isolating days. According to Variety, almost one-fifth of adults in the US had participated in a virtual co-viewing experience back in 2020. But your habits may have changed after the lockdowns had lifted. You may no longer be using that Peloton bike and home gym setup... and you may no longer be hosting or attending watch parties as often anymore, or at all. Not when you can go to the gym or go to actual theaters with friends. 

In Twitch's announcement, it said that the feature's usage on its platform has "declined over the years." Instead of thinking of ways on how to make it more appealing, the company has decided to remove it altogether and to invest its resources in other features. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/twitch-is-ending-its-pandemic-era-prime-video-watch-parties-110004438.html?src=rss

Pornhub says adios to Texas

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If Pornhub were a cowboy, then it has just tipped its hat and ridden off into the sunset to leave Texas. It's now inaccessible in the state after the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled that Texas can start enforcing its age verification regulations for porn websites. As 404Media reports, when you visit Pornhub or any other adult entertainment website owned by its parent company Aylo from within the state, you'll now get a message that begins with: "Dear user, as you may know, your elected officials in Texas are requiring us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website."

The message then explains that the practice would "impinge on the rights of adults to access protected speech" and that it's the "least effective and yet also most restrictive means of accomplishing Texas' stated purpose of allegedly protecting minors." Texas' age verification rules require porn website visitors to prove their age by providing a copy of one of their government IDs. Aylo said in its message that "providing identification every time you want to visit an adult platform is not an effective solution for protecting users online, and in fact, will put minors and your privacy at risk."

Texas governor Greg Abbott signed the age verification bill into law last year, but a group of porn websites that included Pornhub filed a lawsuit to block it a month later. A judge issued a preliminary injunction that blocked its immediate enforcement, ruling that the plaintiffs showed that they "will likely be violated if the statute takes effect" and that they will "suffer irreparable harm." However, the state's attorney general, Ken Paxton (pictured above), appealed the injunction. The court did strike down the law's requirement to "display health warnings about the effects of the consumption of pornography," but Paxton has clearly won the battle. 

Pornhub's message for its Texas visitors is the same one it shows visitors from other states with similar age verification laws, including Utah, Montana, North Carolina and Mississippi. Last year, Aylo also started requiring Louisiana visitors to verify their identities through the state's digital driver's license wallet app, but most states don't have a comparable application that works with its system. "We believe that the only effective solution for protecting minors and adults alike is to verify users' age on their device and to either deny or allow access to age-restricted materials and websites based on that verification," Aylo explained in its message. 

In a rather amusing yet expected turn of events, there was a spike in Google searches for "VPN" after the appeals court's ruling came out. As you might have guessed, Texas now tops the list of states for VPN searches, indicating that people are now looking for ways to circumvent Pornhub's shutdown in the region. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/pornhub-says-adios-to-texas-071814587.html?src=rss

Whoops! Amazon served costly ads for products people couldn’t actually buy

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It can be quite annoying to click through an Amazon ad in your results only to find out that the product you want can't be shipped to your place. Now, imagine you're the small business owner being charged for those ads. (Forget corporations and drop shippers, I know you all hate them.) There you are, thinking you're going to make a killing based on how much ad action you're getting. Except those ads don't translate to sales, because Amazon has been serving them to people who can't even buy your products. That's apparently what happened to at least one seller who told Bloomberg that he was charged between $200,000 and $300,000 for ads served to California residents, where he can't sell his advanced gaming computer items. 

The seller stopped shipping to California due to the state's personal computer power consumption regulations, which would require him to get costly lab reports for his products. But Amazon's automated system apparently continued advertising his products there and allegedly denied that there was an issue when he flagged the problem and followed up for several weeks. Since he was being charged thousands, the seller, who employs 80 people in Virginia to assemble custom computers, reportedly made zero profit in November, December and January. 

Amazon has acknowledged the issue in a statement sent to Engadget. It told us that it had investigated the matter and found that it only affected "a tiny fraction" of sellers. It also said that it had already apologized to the seller who talked to Bloomberg and that the company is in the process of refunding him $15,000. That's a tiny fraction of the hundreds of thousands the seller said he'd lost, but Amazon says it only served "a very small portion" of his listings to California residents. "We will similarly contact and refund any affected sellers, and are updating our processes to ensure any such ads are not charged going forward," the spokesperson said. 

The company's advertising system generally can't geo-target advertisements like Google ads can, because it focuses on matching buyers to certain brands or products they may be interested in. It also can't ensure that the product it's advertising complies with state regulations and, hence, can be shipped to its residents. As Bloomberg notes, this is far from the first time Amazon faced an issue regarding its advertisements. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission filed an antitrust lawsuit against the company, and one of the regulator's accusations was that it was "deliberately increasing junk ads that worsen search quality." A report that came out after the lawsuit revealed that Amazon can strike deals with other companies to make sure their listings are devoid of junk ads, though, which is why Apple's official product pages might look cleaner and less cluttered compared to its competitors'.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/whoops-amazon-served-costly-ads-for-products-people-couldnt-actually-buy-123046646.html?src=rss

Japan’s Space One rocket launch attempt ends in a fiery explosion

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A startup company called Space One launched a rocket earlier in hopes of becoming the first private entity in Japan to put a satellite in orbit. Unfortunately, its attempt ended in a fiery explosion, mere seconds after lift off at 11AM local time. Its 60-foot-long rocket Kairos launched from the company's Space Port Kii in Wakayama, a prefecture south of Osaka in Japan's Kansai region. Space One director Mamoru Endo told reporters at a conference that the rocket's automated system detected an anomaly five seconds after liftoff and triggered its self-destruct function. The company has yet to figure out what that anomaly is and will be investigating the incident for answers. 

Kairos was carrying payload for the Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center, which collects and analyzes imagery information for the Japanese government. That satellite was supposed to be an alternative to an existing Japanese satellite monitoring military facilities in and rocket launches from North Korea. Masakazu Toyoda, the company's president, said during the conference that Space One is "prepared to take up the next challenge." He also emphasized how common failed launches are in space travel. And that is true — SpaceX, for instance, lost several Starship vehicles over the past few years when they blew up during testing. 

Space One, backed by Canon and aerospace manufacturer IHI, eventually hopes to offer satellite launch services using small rockets, which it says "offer greater scheduling flexibility than large ones." It's also aiming to provide the "world's shortest lead time from contractual engagement to launch, as well as the world's most frequent launching schedule" while also minimizing the costs of putting satellites into orbit. Since the company must be able to stage a successful launch before customers come knocking on its doors, it will most likely announce its next attempt in the near future. 

Last year, Japanese company ispace also failed to become the first private company to land on the moon when it lost contact with its Hakuto-R lander. But the country's space agency, JAXA, is doing better than its private counterparts: Its SLIM lunar lander successfully touched down in January and is expected to resume its operations in late March after the lunar night is over. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/japans-space-one-rocket-launch-attempt-ends-in-a-fiery-explosion-104937369.html?src=rss