Tag Archives: author_name|Mariella Moon

Overwatch 2 will let you dress your heroes as Cowboy Bebop characters

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Ever compared Cassidy to Spike Siegel or gunslinger Ashe to gun-toting Faye Valentine? Write this date down: March 12. That's when Blizzard is launching Overwatch 2's collaboration with legendary anime Cowboy Bebop, which will bring five skins based on the show to the game. The trailer released for the collaboration also shows the hacker Sombra dressed as her fellow hacker Ed, the Tank hero Wrecking Ball/Hammond as the data corgi Ein and the Samoan warrior Mauga as Jet Black. 

Speaking of that trailer, it certainly looks and feels like Cowboy Bebop's opening animation — it even uses the same theme song. Clearly, this collaboration is looking to appeal to the anime's fans, though we wish it could've happened sooner, say during the show's 25th anniversary last year. Blizzard did launch an anime tie-up in 2023, but it was with Japanese superhero show One-Punch Man.

Wrecking Ball's Ein skin will be available for free to all players, but the other skins will be sold through the Overwatch 2 shop. The collaboration will also give you access to new emotes, highlight intros and other items you can buy. Blizzard will officially introduce each skin and item on March 11, perhaps so you'd at least have an idea of how much you're spending a day later. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/overwatch-2-will-let-you-dress-your-heroes-as-cowboy-bebop-characters-130022260.html?src=rss

Overwatch 2 will let you dress your heroes as Cowboy Bebop characters

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Ever compared Cassidy to Spike Siegel or gunslinger Ashe to gun-toting Faye Valentine? Write this date down: March 12. That's when Blizzard is launching Overwatch 2's collaboration with legendary anime Cowboy Bebop, which will bring five skins based on the show to the game. The trailer released for the collaboration also shows the hacker Sombra dressed as her fellow hacker Ed, the Tank hero Wrecking Ball/Hammond as the data corgi Ein and the Samoan warrior Mauga as Jet Black. 

Speaking of that trailer, it certainly looks and feels like Cowboy Bebop's opening animation — it even uses the same theme song. Clearly, this collaboration is looking to appeal to the anime's fans, though we wish it could've happened sooner, say during the show's 25th anniversary last year. Blizzard did launch an anime tie-up in 2023, but it was with Japanese superhero show One-Punch Man.

Wrecking Ball's Ein skin will be available for free to all players, but the other skins will be sold through the Overwatch 2 shop. The collaboration will also give you access to new emotes, highlight intros and other items you can buy. Blizzard will officially introduce each skin and item on March 11, perhaps so you'd at least have an idea of how much you're spending a day later. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/overwatch-2-will-let-you-dress-your-heroes-as-cowboy-bebop-characters-130022260.html?src=rss

The New York Times is cracking down on Wordle clones

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There have been plenty of Wordle clones even before The New York Times purchased the real thing in 2022, to the point that they had become a common sight on app stores. It sounds like The Times has been trying to cull the numbers of Wordle knockoffs recently, though, and has been sending DMCA takedown notices to their developers. As 404 Media reports, the latest notice the news organization sent could take out not just the target game itself, but also thousands of other alternatives and spinoffs. 

The Times' latest DMCA notice was filed against Chase Wackerfuss, the person behind a Wordle clone called "Reactle." In its notice, the publication said that GitHub must delete the infringing repository and the hundreds of forked repositories based on it. Wackerfuss already took down Reactle's GitHub page — he told 404 Media it wasn't worth getting into a legal battle with The New York Times and just deleted his repository. According to the publication, though, it was forked 1,900 times before it was removed and was used to create versions of Wordle in dozens of different languages, as well as spinoffs with various twists. Some of those spinoffs turned Wordle into crossword puzzles and two-player games, while others transformed it into guessing games that use emoji and other symbols instead of letters and words. 

Based on the takedown request The Times sent to Reactle, the newspaper is claiming ownership of the name Wordle, as well as its mechanics. "The Times's Wordle copyright includes the unique elements of its immensely popular game, such as the 5x6 grid, green tiles to indicate correct guesses, yellow tiles to indicate the correct letter but the wrong place within the word, and the keyboard directly beneath the grid," the DMCA notice reportedly read. "This gameplay is copied exactly in the repository, and the owner instructs others how to knock off the game and create an identical word game." Seeing as Wordle has a pretty simple premise, though — I was easily able to create a simpler but similar word-guessing game when I took a basic programming course — this takedown request likely won't spell the end for its clones and alternatives. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-new-york-times-is-cracking-down-on-wordle-clones-100004668.html?src=rss

The New York Times is cracking down on Wordle clones

Posted on by

There have been plenty of Wordle clones even before The New York Times purchased the real thing in 2022, to the point that they had become a common sight on app stores. It sounds like The Times has been trying to cull the numbers of Wordle knockoffs recently, though, and has been sending DMCA takedown notices to their developers. As 404 Media reports, the latest notice the news organization sent could take out not just the target game itself, but also thousands of other alternatives and spinoffs. 

The Times' latest DMCA notice was filed against Chase Wackerfuss, the person behind a Wordle clone called "Reactle." In its notice, the publication said that GitHub must delete the infringing repository and the hundreds of forked repositories based on it. Wackerfuss already took down Reactle's GitHub page — he told 404 Media it wasn't worth getting into a legal battle with The New York Times and just deleted his repository. According to the publication, though, it was forked 1,900 times before it was removed and was used to create versions of Wordle in dozens of different languages, as well as spinoffs with various twists. Some of those spinoffs turned Wordle into crossword puzzles and two-player games, while others transformed it into guessing games that use emoji and other symbols instead of letters and words. 

Based on the takedown request The Times sent to Reactle, the newspaper is claiming ownership of the name Wordle, as well as its mechanics. "The Times's Wordle copyright includes the unique elements of its immensely popular game, such as the 5x6 grid, green tiles to indicate correct guesses, yellow tiles to indicate the correct letter but the wrong place within the word, and the keyboard directly beneath the grid," the DMCA notice reportedly read. "This gameplay is copied exactly in the repository, and the owner instructs others how to knock off the game and create an identical word game." Seeing as Wordle has a pretty simple premise, though — I was easily able to create a simpler but similar word-guessing game when I took a basic programming course — this takedown request likely won't spell the end for its clones and alternatives. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-new-york-times-is-cracking-down-on-wordle-clones-100004668.html?src=rss

SpaceX lawsuit claims repeated instances of gender discrimination and basic safeguarding failures

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Warning: The following article covers matters of a sensitive nature.

A SpaceX employee has filed a lawsuit against the company, accusing it of siding with a supervisor who pressured her into having sexual relations with him. The plaintiff said that she and other female employees also had to endure "humiliating comments" questioning their credentials, that she was passed up for promotions in favor of male candidates and that she experienced retaliation when she complained about being paid less than her male counterparts. 

The plaintiff, Michelle Dopak, has been working at the aerospace corporation's headquarters in California since 2017. According to her complaint, she experienced discrimination early on in her employment when she was passed up for job opportunities in favor of external male candidates. Her male colleagues allegedly spread rumors about their female coworkers, as well, claiming that they only got their jobs because of their looks. Dopak and two of her female colleagues met with Gwynne Shotwell to complain about both issues — "an action that no male colleague or employee at SpaceX would ever feel the need to do to justify their hiring and stop such discriminatory actions," the lawsuit reads. The SpaceX president, however, apparently didn't take any action. 

After a reorganization in 2019, the plaintiff was placed under the supervision of a male boss who allegedly pressured her into having a sexual relationship that lasted years. When she got pregnant as a result, she said her married supervisor offered her $100,000 to have an abortion, which she had refused. She also accused SpaceX of colluding with her boss to transfer 48,289 shares worth $3,718,253 out of his name so that he could get out of paying child support. 

Her complaints didn't end there. After getting promoted to a position she had been chasing for years, she found out that a male colleague who was hired at the same time was being paid $5,000 more. The company officials she talked to about the pay disparity couldn't justify it and allegedly offered her only $2,500 more if she also took a reduction in stock benefits. In the lawsuit, the plaintiff said the offer was "a message that if you complain at SpaceX, we will just retaliate against you and find other ways to punish you."

The lawsuit accuses SpaceX of forcing female employees who have claims of sexual harassment and discrimination into bringing their claims to arbitration so that they could be kept secret from the public. "SpaceX has also attempted to coerce and force [the plaintiff] into only bringing her claims in arbitration even though such claims are barred from being forced to arbitration," the complaint continues.

The plaintiff is asking for general, compensatory and consequential damages, including lost wages, earnings and other employee benefits. She's also asking the court to prohibit SpaceX from continuing any "unfair and unlawful business practices." SpaceX is currently facing another proposed class action lawsuit that claims it pays women and minorities tens of thousands less than what it pays white male employees. In January, the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against SpaceX, as well, accusing it for illegally firing a group of engineers who criticized Elon Musk for making crude jokes on X about the sexual misconduct accusations against him.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/spacex-lawsuit-claims-repeated-instances-of-gender-discrimination-and-basic-safeguarding-failures-133014753.html?src=rss

SpaceX lawsuit claims repeated instances of gender discrimination and basic safeguarding failures

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Warning: The following article covers matters of a sensitive nature.

A SpaceX employee has filed a lawsuit against the company, accusing it of siding with a supervisor who pressured her into having sexual relations with him. The plaintiff said that she and other female employees also had to endure "humiliating comments" questioning their credentials, that she was passed up for promotions in favor of male candidates and that she experienced retaliation when she complained about being paid less than her male counterparts. 

The plaintiff, Michelle Dopak, has been working at the aerospace corporation's headquarters in California since 2017. According to her complaint, she experienced discrimination early on in her employment when she was passed up for job opportunities in favor of external male candidates. Her male colleagues allegedly spread rumors about their female coworkers, as well, claiming that they only got their jobs because of their looks. Dopak and two of her female colleagues met with Gwynne Shotwell to complain about both issues — "an action that no male colleague or employee at SpaceX would ever feel the need to do to justify their hiring and stop such discriminatory actions," the lawsuit reads. The SpaceX president, however, apparently didn't take any action. 

After a reorganization in 2019, the plaintiff was placed under the supervision of a male boss who allegedly pressured her into having a sexual relationship that lasted years. When she got pregnant as a result, she said her married supervisor offered her $100,000 to have an abortion, which she had refused. She also accused SpaceX of colluding with her boss to transfer 48,289 shares worth $3,718,253 out of his name so that he could get out of paying child support. 

Her complaints didn't end there. After getting promoted to a position she had been chasing for years, she found out that a male colleague who was hired at the same time was being paid $5,000 more. The company officials she talked to about the pay disparity couldn't justify it and allegedly offered her only $2,500 more if she also took a reduction in stock benefits. In the lawsuit, the plaintiff said the offer was "a message that if you complain at SpaceX, we will just retaliate against you and find other ways to punish you."

The lawsuit accuses SpaceX of forcing female employees who have claims of sexual harassment and discrimination into bringing their claims to arbitration so that they could be kept secret from the public. "SpaceX has also attempted to coerce and force [the plaintiff] into only bringing her claims in arbitration even though such claims are barred from being forced to arbitration," the complaint continues.

The plaintiff is asking for general, compensatory and consequential damages, including lost wages, earnings and other employee benefits. She's also asking the court to prohibit SpaceX from continuing any "unfair and unlawful business practices." SpaceX is currently facing another proposed class action lawsuit that claims it pays women and minorities tens of thousands less than what it pays white male employees. In January, the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against SpaceX, as well, accusing it for illegally firing a group of engineers who criticized Elon Musk for making crude jokes on X about the sexual misconduct accusations against him.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/spacex-lawsuit-claims-repeated-instances-of-gender-discrimination-and-basic-safeguarding-failures-133014753.html?src=rss

Microsoft is holding a Surface and Windows AI event on March 21

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Microsoft has announced that it's holding an event on March 21 that will focus on its upcoming generative AI devices and features. The event entitled "Advancing the new era of work with Copilot" will start at 9AM Pacific/12PM Eastern time that date. Microsoft promises to unveil "the latest in scaling AI in your environment with Copilot, Windows and Surface," but it has shared no other details on what its announcements could be. 

As Windows Central had previously reported, the company is expected to launch the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 on March 21. They're apparently slated to be Microsoft's first AI PCs that will be equipped with the new Intel Core Ultra or Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processors. Both models have neural processing units (NPUs) that boost AI capabilities, which is why the upcoming Surfaces will most likely be the first to support the new AI features coming to Windows 11. 

Those new AI features could include real-time live captions and translations, upscaling for games and frame rate smoothing. Microsoft is also reportedly working on a feature called AI Explorer that will give users a way to conduct searches across apps, documents, web pages, images and chats using natural language. Windows Central said AI Explorer might have the capability to understand context and suggest actions based on what's on the screen. It could also create a history of the tasks a user does on their computer to make them searchable later on. We'll know for sure if Microsoft truly is launching new Surface devices and new AI features a couple of weeks from now — we will, of course, keep you updated on what the company reveals. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-announces-a-surface-and-windows-ai-event-for-march-21-130447407.html?src=rss

Microsoft is holding a Surface and Windows AI event on March 21

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Microsoft has announced that it's holding an event on March 21 that will focus on its upcoming generative AI devices and features. The event entitled "Advancing the new era of work with Copilot" will start at 9AM Pacific/12PM Eastern time that date. Microsoft promises to unveil "the latest in scaling AI in your environment with Copilot, Windows and Surface," but it has shared no other details on what its announcements could be. 

As Windows Central had previously reported, the company is expected to launch the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 on March 21. They're apparently slated to be Microsoft's first AI PCs that will be equipped with the new Intel Core Ultra or Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processors. Both models have neural processing units (NPUs) that boost AI capabilities, which is why the upcoming Surfaces will most likely be the first to support the new AI features coming to Windows 11. 

Those new AI features could include real-time live captions and translations, upscaling for games and frame rate smoothing. Microsoft is also reportedly working on a feature called AI Explorer that will give users a way to conduct searches across apps, documents, web pages, images and chats using natural language. Windows Central said AI Explorer might have the capability to understand context and suggest actions based on what's on the screen. It could also create a history of the tasks a user does on their computer to make them searchable later on. We'll know for sure if Microsoft truly is launching new Surface devices and new AI features a couple of weeks from now — we will, of course, keep you updated on what the company reveals. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-announces-a-surface-and-windows-ai-event-for-march-21-130447407.html?src=rss

Post-apocalyptic city builder Frostpunk 2 arrives on July 25

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Frostpunk's sequel finally has a release data, giving fans of the post-apocalyptic city-building survival game something to look forward to in the coming months. 11 Bit Studios has announced at the Xbox Partners Showcase that Frostpunk 2 will be available for Windows PCs starting on July 25. PC Game Pass subscribers will also be able to play it from day one. It's a full-fledged sequel to the original game, set 30 years after its events, where oil has taken over steam as society's main energy source. 

Players take on the role of the city's leader and will have to guide its citizens while facing the world's increasingly harsh, icy climate. In the sequel, they will get the chance to build larger cities divided into districts, with each one serving a specific purpose. One district could be in charge of food production, for instance, while another could serve as people's shelter. 

Similar to the game before it, Frostpunk 2 is expected to throw problems at the player that will force them to make some difficult decisions and challenge their morals. Players will meet various factions of citizens with ideals conflicting their own as their city grows, and they have to navigate the consequences of their decisions after siding with one faction over the rest. If it truly is like its predecessor, then players can expect a moody, somber experience that could be quite depressing at times. 

Both standard and Digital Deluxe editions of the game are now available for pre-order. The Digital Deluxe version comes with a seven-day beta access to parts of the game in April, exclusive access to story mode 72 hours before official release, thee post-release DLCs, a digital novella, an artbook and the game's soundtrack. Frostpunk 2 will also be making its way to consoles and will be coming to the Xbox Game Pass subscription service at a later date. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/post-apocalyptic-city-builder-frostpunk-2-arrives-on-july-25-190018322.html?src=rss

Post-apocalyptic city builder Frostpunk 2 arrives on July 25

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Frostpunk's sequel finally has a release data, giving fans of the post-apocalyptic city-building survival game something to look forward to in the coming months. 11 Bit Studios has announced at the Xbox Partners Showcase that Frostpunk 2 will be available for Windows PCs starting on July 25. PC Game Pass subscribers will also be able to play it from day one. It's a full-fledged sequel to the original game, set 30 years after its events, where oil has taken over steam as society's main energy source. 

Players take on the role of the city's leader and will have to guide its citizens while facing the world's increasingly harsh, icy climate. In the sequel, they will get the chance to build larger cities divided into districts, with each one serving a specific purpose. One district could be in charge of food production, for instance, while another could serve as people's shelter. 

Similar to the game before it, Frostpunk 2 is expected to throw problems at the player that will force them to make some difficult decisions and challenge their morals. Players will meet various factions of citizens with ideals conflicting their own as their city grows, and they have to navigate the consequences of their decisions after siding with one faction over the rest. If it truly is like its predecessor, then players can expect a moody, somber experience that could be quite depressing at times. 

Both standard and Digital Deluxe editions of the game are now available for pre-order. The Digital Deluxe version comes with a seven-day beta access to parts of the game in April, exclusive access to story mode 72 hours before official release, thee post-release DLCs, a digital novella, an artbook and the game's soundtrack. Frostpunk 2 will also be making its way to consoles and will be coming to the Xbox Game Pass subscription service at a later date. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/post-apocalyptic-city-builder-frostpunk-2-arrives-on-july-25-190018322.html?src=rss