For the third year in a row, the RIAA’s annual report (PDF) shows recorded music revenue growing rapidly, shooting up 11.9 percent from 2017 for a total of $9.8 billion. Just as we saw over the last few years, the reason for that growth came from one…
Source: Engadget – RIAA reports music streaming pulled in .4 billion last year
Monthly Archives: February 2019
Amazon discontinues its quirky Dash buttons
Amazon’s physical Dash buttons are no more. The e-commerce giant has stopped selling its quirky, tap-to-order Dash buttons as of February 28th. It was an inevitable decision Amazon had to make with the advent of more advanced IoT devices, especially…
Source: Engadget – Amazon discontinues its quirky Dash buttons
Nanotechnology Makes It Possible For Mice To See In Infrared
An anonymous reader quotes a report from ScienceDaily: Humans and other mammals are limited to seeing a range of wavelengths of light called visible light, which includes the wavelengths of the rainbow. But infrared radiation, which has a longer wavelength, is all around us. People, animals and objects emit infrared light as they give off heat, and objects can also reflect infrared light. A multidisciplinary group of scientists led by Xue and Jin Bao at the University of Science and Technology of China as well as Gang Han at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, developed the nanotechnology to work with the eye’s existing structures.
In this study, the scientists made nanoparticles that can anchor tightly to photoreceptor cells and act as tiny infrared light transducers. When infrared light hits the retina, the nanoparticles capture the longer infrared wavelengths and emit shorter wavelengths within the visible light range. The nearby rod or cone then absorbs the shorter wavelength and sends a normal signal to the brain, as if visible light had hit the retina. “In our experiment, nanoparticles absorbed infrared light around 980 nm in wavelength and converted it into light peaked at 535 nm, which made the infrared light appear as the color green,” said one of the researchers. The researchers tested the nanoparticles in mice, which, like humans, cannot see infrared naturally. Mice that received the injections showed unconscious physical signs that they were detecting infrared light, such as their pupils constricting, while mice injected with only the buffer solution didn’t respond to infrared light. The study was published in the journal Cell.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Nanotechnology Makes It Possible For Mice To See In Infrared
Confessions of an idle gamer
Every Friday, several A.V. Club staffers kick off our weekly open thread for the discussion of gaming plans and recent gaming glories, but of course, the real action is down in the comments, where we invite you to answer our eternal question: What Are You Playing This Weekend?
Source: Kotaku – Confessions of an idle gamer
Twitter Is 'Experimenting' With a Hide Tweet Feature to Help Make the Site Less Awful
Twitter’s quest to fix its platform continues, this time with an experimental replies moderation feature. The “Hide Tweet” feature will be a public experiment, but it’s not clear yet who will have access to it.
Source: Gizmodo – Twitter Is ‘Experimenting’ With a Hide Tweet Feature to Help Make the Site Less Awful
The Soul-Crushing Despair Of Anthem's Worst Boss
I’m well on my way to hitting the 100-hour mark in my time with Anthem, in part because it’s my goddamn job but also because I’m a glutton for the grind. In all my time with BioWare’s loot shooter, however, nothing in the diverse array of bugs nor the plethora of petty inconveniences has filled with me with as much…
Source: Kotaku – The Soul-Crushing Despair Of Anthem’s Worst Boss
RadeonSI Driver Adding Displayable DCC For Raven Ridge
Delta Color Compression (DCC) support for scan-out surfaces will soon be supported by AMD Raven Ridge hardware in conjunction with the latest AMDGPU Linux kernel code and the RadeonSI OpenGL driver…
Source: Phoronix – RadeonSI Driver Adding Displayable DCC For Raven Ridge
The New Red-Band Hellboy Trailer Is as Gleeful as It Is Gory
The second trailer for Neil Marshall’s R-rated Hellboy reboot is here, and like the first trailer in December, it features glimpses at the main characters (especially David Harbour as you-know-who), and it’s gory and full of monsters. But this trailer’s also got way more of Milla Jovovich’s sinister sorceress,…
Source: io9 – The New Red-Band Hellboy Trailer Is as Gleeful as It Is Gory
'Mewtwo Strikes Back' CG remake shows off its first trailer
Pokémon The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back debuted in 1998, and now we have a trailer for the CG-rendered reimagining that’s coming to theaters in Japan on July 12th. A post on the official site revealed that Masaomi Ichimura will return as…
Source: Engadget – ‘Mewtwo Strikes Back’ CG remake shows off its first trailer
HBO Chief Richard Plepler, Who Greenlit Game of Thrones, Steps Down Amid AT&T Takeover
The chief executive and chairman of HBO, Richard Plepler, is leaving the company amid changing tides following a recent AT&T takeover of HBO’s parent company, Variety reported Thursday. His departure will mark the end of a nearly 30-year career with HBO, during which time the admired company head spearheaded and…
Source: Gizmodo – HBO Chief Richard Plepler, Who Greenlit Game of Thrones, Steps Down Amid AT&T Takeover
Prominent New Yorkers Are Trying To Get Amazon To Bring Back HQ2
The New York Times reported Thursday that an open letter will be published in the Times on Friday that asks Amazon to reconsider its decision to walk away from its plan to build a 25,000-employee campus in Long Island City, Queens. The company pulled the plug on the project, dubbed HQ2, following vocal and persistent opposition to the plan after it was announced three months ago. CNET reports: The letter was signed by the CEOs of Mastercard, Warby Parker, Goldman Sachs, Tishman Speyer and Jetblue, among others. The presidents of the Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York and state AFL-CIO, which were expecting thousands of construction jobs to come from the project, also signed, as did U.S. Reps. Hakeem Jeffries and Carolyn Maloney. “We know the public debate that followed the announcement of the Long Island City project was rough and not very welcoming,” the letter stated. “Opinions are strong in New York — sometimes strident. We consider it part of the New York charm! But when we commit to a project as important as this, we figure out how to get it done in a way that works for everyone.”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has also had several conversations with Amazon, including CEO Jeff Bezos, about bringing back the project, the Times said. The letter and Cuomo’s behind-the-scenes efforts are part of the latest fallout since Amazon abandoned HQ2 in New York. The opposition has celebrated the exit as a victory for grassroots campaigns and a stand against lavish government incentives for new development plans. Amazon was slated to get about $3 billion in tax breaks for building the project. Supporters, who weren’t as vocal during the run-up to Amazon leaving, expressed shock and consternation about Amazon’s decision and worried that New York would appear unfriendly to new businesses. While the business community was broadly seen as in favor of the project, the letter shows how both the camps supporting and opposing HQ2 included unions and Democratic U.S. congress members.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Prominent New Yorkers Are Trying To Get Amazon To Bring Back HQ2
Not Even a Wild Original Series Connection Could Save Star Trek: Discovery From Itself
In a hard swerve from the first season, Star Trek: Discovery’s sophomore outing has been a lot happier to leave its overarching story with Spock simmering in the background as it focused on mostly standalone, classically Star Trek tales. It’s worked great so far, but tonight’s episode tried to have it both ways, and…
Source: Gizmodo – Not Even a Wild Original Series Connection Could Save Star Trek: Discovery From Itself
Excuse Me Did You Drop This By Any Chance
Mike Winkelmann, aka Beeple, is an artist who has worked across all kinds of media.
Source: Kotaku – Excuse Me Did You Drop This By Any Chance
New Horizons photos shed more light on Kuiper Belt
Those of you following NASA’s New Horizons know the interplanetary space probe made the farthest-ever flyby in human history on New Year’s Day, when it circled Ultima Thule, an object in Kuiper Belt. Now, a discovery from New Horizons’ 2015 trip arou…
Source: Engadget – New Horizons photos shed more light on Kuiper Belt
Destiny 2: Season of the Drifter Promises New Rewards and Challenges
When Destiny 2 the Season of the Drifter launches on March 5, all players of Destiny 2 will have access to new rewards and challenges. Bungie has revealed the roadmap for the Season of the Drifter expansion and earlier promises that were made to players have come into focus. Annual Pass owners will have an abundance of new endgame content in the form of weapons, gear, lore, and quests, but even base game owners will have access to plenty of new adventures, gear, and events. Ranks in Crucible, Gambit, and Vanguard activities are reset with the new expansion release. Bungie is ready to show its playerbase what the roadmap for a Bungie-controlled Destiny looks like.
As a new season of Destiny begins, developers from Bungie are back on the record about how our shared adventure is about to evolve again. The Drifter is back with a new way to play Gambit, along with a full calendar of new challenges to make your Guardian more powerful.
Discussion
Source: [H]ardOCP – Destiny 2: Season of the Drifter Promises New Rewards and Challenges
Today’s selection of articles from Kotaku’s reader-run community: How Anthem Could Have Been Great •
Today’s selection of articles from Kotaku’s reader-run community: How Anthem Could Have Been Great • My Thoughts On Pokemon Sword and Shield • TAY Retro: Atari 2600 – “Mine” [TV Commercial, NA] • Switch and Phone – The Glass Age Of Gaming
Source: Kotaku – Today’s selection of articles from Kotaku’s reader-run community: How Anthem Could Have Been Great •
Linux 5.0, Radeon VII, Intel Iris Driver & Other Exciting Milestones In February
While February is the shortest month, this year there wasn’t any letdown of exciting open-source/Linux milestones. Besides the usual FOSDEM conference with the interesting mix of tech topics, AMD’s Radeon VII release excited open-source Linux GPU driver fans, Linux 5.0 approached the finish line with a lot of new features, GCC 9 and Clang 8 are also approaching their respective finish lines, and a lot of other activities made this February quite exciting on the Linux/open-source scene…
Source: Phoronix – Linux 5.0, Radeon VII, Intel Iris Driver & Other Exciting Milestones In February
A new, triple-A Star Wars game will be announced at Celebration Chicago in April

Enlarge / The Chicago event is part of a convention series for Star Wars fans. (credit: Lucasfilm)
Respawn Entertainment, the studio behind Titanfall and Apex Legends, will reveal its new Star Wars video game at the Star Wars Celebration event in Chicago on April 13. The game was teased at the EA press conference at E3 last year, but only the title was revealed. An announcement post on StarWars.com from Lucasfilm says we can expect more from a panel at the Star Wars convention on that date:
In a special panel on Saturday, April 13, EA and Respawn will pull back the curtain on Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, in which gamers will meet a Padawan who survived Order 66 and explore the galaxy in the time after the fall of the Jedi Order. The discussion will feature never-before-released details ahead of the game’s fall 2019 release.
Lucasfilm also promises new developments for the massively multiplayer online PC game Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Respawn Entertainment’s key people were responsible for many of the most influential first-person shooters over the past several years, from Medal of Honor: Allied Assault to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and even the critically acclaimed but not widely played Titanfall 2. The studio went through a public and ugly breakup with publisher Activision before stepping out on its own to develop Titanfall.
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Source: Ars Technica – A new, triple-A Star Wars game will be announced at Celebration Chicago in April
Lessons I’ve learned from a decade of neighborhood chili cook-offs
I don’t consider myself a competitive person, but my friends would likely require your largest bath sheet to wipe away tears of laughter if they heard me say so. It’s true there are certain events that raise my blood pressure and get my adrenaline up, like vacation rounds of Celebrity. My husband Brian and I somehow…
Source: LifeHacker – Lessons I’ve learned from a decade of neighborhood chili cook-offs
How a Batman Book That Never Was Gave Birth to Mister Miracle
Mister Miracle was one of the best comics on shelves last year—but the first reunion between Sheriff of Babylon partners Tom King and Mitch Gerads at DC almost took place much closer to home than that the cosmic Fourth World. It started, as a lot of things at DC Comics do, with the Batman.
Source: io9 – How a Batman Book That Never Was Gave Birth to Mister Miracle