I’ll use this as an excuse to find out how many other Ace Combat fans there are in the community. (Now you can guess where my username came from.) There aren’t many flight franchises out there, but this one has always done it for me—yes, even Assault Horizon (at least the soundtrack was good). The “seventh” game has me hyped for multiple reasons: It’s the first time the series has launched on PC, it supports VR, and it also returns to the original mythology of the series. I wonder if there will be a special edition with a bundled flight stick.



Putting gamers in the cockpit of the most advanced war planes ever developed, Ace Combat 7 delivers the fiercest air combat experience ever created through photorealistic visuals, intense dog-fighting action, a multitude of authentic and futuristic aircraft to fly, an immersive storyline, and even virtual reality! Leveraging the power of the newest generation gaming consoles, Ace Combat 7 will blow players away with the evolution of its graphics engine. Beautifully rendered cloud-filled skies and highly detailed cityscapes enhance the sense of unparalleled speed and set the stage for the most engaging aerial battles in the franchise’s storied 20 year history. Ace Combat 7 will provide an arsenal of ultra-modern super weapons and formidable enemies that the series is known for.

Discussion

Source: [H]ardOCP – Ace Combat 7 Fuels Up For Release On Xbox One And PC In 2017

You know, it’s not even the price that is the biggest issue for me (well, maybe the 77″ $20K model is); it’s the fact that there is still going to be a panel lottery regardless of what you pay. I thought I could stop worrying about stuff like banding with OLED panels, but it looks like opening up a display will continue to be an anxiety-ridden event. Anyway, I think the actual news here is how cheap the introductory (C7) models are, which start at $2.5K. (I don’t remember any new models starting off that low in the past, though this is the first time I have paid attention to their initial costs.) Funny thing is that B&H just opened up a stock center in my state, so I have to pay sales tax from now on…



…electronics retailer B&H jumped the gun and put up the prices for LG’s 2017 OLED C7, E7 and W7 series TVs before LG could make an official announcement. As you might imagine, the new OLED TV screens are going to cost you an arm and a leg. And maybe a second arm and a second leg. Pretty much everything you’ve got, actually. The most expensive screen in this year’s lineup is the new W7 Signature Series, which comes in both 65-inch and 77-inch versions. The 65-inch version is going to sell for a gut-wrenching $7,996 (about £6,370 or AU$10,590) while the 77-inch version will come in at a take-out-a-mortgage sale price of $19,996 (about £16,000 or AU$26,500).

Discussion

Source: [H]ardOCP – LG’s Wallpaper-Thin OLED TV Starts At ,000

What do Ars writers do during their downtime? Troll technical support scammers, apparently. This writer spent two hours messing about with an “Albert Morris,” which may or may not be his real name based on his accent. I have better things to do, so I would have just told him it was “Debian Linux. The Kali distribution,” off the bat.



Technical support scams are the bottom of the barrel for cyber-crime. Using well-worn social engineering techniques that generally only work on the least sophisticated computer users, these bootleg call-center operations use a collection of commercially available tools to either convince their victims to pay exorbitant fees for “security software” or extort them to gain control of their computer. And yet, these schemes continue to rake in cash for scammers. We’ve dealt with these scammers before at Ars, but this week I got an opportunity to personally engage with a scam operation—so naturally, I attempted to inflict as much damage on it as possible.

Discussion

Source: [H]ardOCP – Two Hours Trolling A Windows Support Scammer

I had honestly believed that Amazon never accepted PayPal because Jeff Bezos had some vendetta against the online payments company—why else would it take so long? Pretty much every online merchant supports PayPal. Apparently, they just never really talked all that much to develop a business relationship. I think PayPal on Amazon might be kind of moot, though, since the latter already provides the convenience and security of the former. (Well, at least I would like to think that my CC info is safe with the largest online retailer, as it would be disastrous if Amazon had even the tiniest leak.) And with PayPal taking their sweet time with things like refunds, I wonder if it is worth it at all.



While Amazon’s most loyal shoppers generally have their payment information saved as part of the Amazon Prime program, some shoppers might prefer the convenience of using PayPal as their primary digital wallet, said Paul Condra, analyst at Credit Suisse. That might produce more sales for Amazon, which may also benefit customers in Europe where credit cards are less prominent, he said. “There are people who don’t want to put their credit card information on Amazon and would like to use PayPal,” he said. PayPal separated from eBay — Amazon’s onetime arch rival — to concentrate on expanding its electronic transactions business without being shackled to the slow-growing online marketplace. Schulman, who became CEO after the split, has been forging agreements to increase the number of people using PayPal and the frequency they use it.

Discussion

Source: [H]ardOCP – Amazon May Finally Accept PayPal