At the same time, looking at what we’ve seen so far (including Dan’s hands-on time with the game at E3), I still think there’s room for Rivals to surprise us all. Plenty of people who’ve actually played the game have suggested that it’s actually pretty decent. Behind the abused license seem to lurk a paced, deep tactics game that just wants to be given a chance.
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Which you can do come December 4th, when the game releases worldwide on both iOS and Android devices.
As EA themselves point out, this isn’t a “drop-and-watch” game like other competitive strategy tiles on mobile. You do have control of your units through all stages of a match. EA are also pretty serious about making this a major mobile title for them, as indicated by their yearly earnings report:
It will also be our next official EA competitive gaming franchise, with a complete ecosystem beginning to roll out in Q4, including community tournaments and a championship pro scene. This is a fast-paced, head-to-head strategy game that is easy to play, a lot of fun, and perfect for competitive play. We’ve had great engagement and feedback in our soft-launch testing, and strong interest from competitive players. This is our first entry into mobile esports, and we’re excited for Command & Conquer: Rivals to expand our global audience of players and spectators.
What is currently unknown, and what we’ll be looking closely at, is the monetisation systems. EA have a bad reputation in this space, and I doubt their overall strategy will shift dramatically for Rivals, but if we’re lucky, it may be just enough to make it worth-while. The influences of games like Fortnite also can’t be ignored, which subsist largely on cosmetic DLC – proof, of sorts, that you don’t need to resort to pay-to-win to engage your player base.
The Automotive Grade Linux (AGL) All Member Meeting takes place bi-annually and brings the AGL community together to learn about the latest developments, share best practices and collaborate to drive rapid innovation across the industry.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 11-01-2018, 05:23 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Steam's Halloween Sale Ends November 1, Here Are The Best Deals
While other digital storefronts have been running their spooky sales for the past week or two, Steam has just jumped on the horror train and kicked off its Halloween Sale 2018. That means lots of great PC games are available for sizable discounts between now and November 1. To help cut through the clutter, we've selected some of the best games that got the deepest discounts. Here's what we found.
If it's horror games you're looking for, you have plenty of options. The online multiplayer game Friday the 13th: The Game and the creepy underwater lab exploration game Soma are on sale for $6 each. Call of Cthulhu, which tests your character's sanity as he investigates the mysteries and cosmic horrors surrounding the death of a family, is on sale for $41. And Salt and Sanctuary, often referred to as a side-scrolling Dark Souls, is on sale for $9.
In non-horror news, the fast-paced roguelike Dead Cells is down to $20, while the bug kingdom-set game Hollow Knight is discounted to $10. You can fight off extra-terrestrial shapeshifters in Prey for $15 or explore an open-world pinball world in Yoku's Island Express. And if you have fond memories of playing Ninja Gaiden, don't miss out on The Messenger for $15.
You'll find more of our picks below, or you can check out all of the games currently on sale on Steam here.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 11-01-2018, 05:23 AM - Forum: Windows
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New accessibility improvements in Skype 8.0
Skype is designed to keep you connected to the people who matter the most and help you do the work you need to do. We take your feedback very seriously and are grateful to our active accessibility community who point us to areas of improvement to live up to our vision. Building on the work we announced earlier this year, we’ve been listening to your feedback and have continued to work to make the latest version of Skype (version 8.0) even more accessible.
Based off your suggestion to make the transition to the new version easier, we created the Accessibility support for Skype page with details on how to easily use a screen reader to move from Skype version 6 or 7 to Skype version 8.0. The page also demonstrates keyboard shortcuts for Skype version 8.0, as well as how to complete key scenarios in Skype with a screen reader, including chat, adding expressions, and navigating a profile.
In addition, since our last update on accessibility, we made a few more improvements to the latest version of Skype, including:
Focus assist, which announces when you receive an incoming call for keyboard only and screen reader users.
Screen reader announcements from users in the active call list.
Navigational focus announcements within the contact list and settings to improve flow.
Announcing the name, content, and actions of a pop up dialog.
New message announcements when users are in another chat.
Smoother navigation that takes a more natural left-to-right and top-to-bottom path.
Displaying additional information when sending and receiving messages. For example, Skype now announces when messages are sent and when messages you attempt to send have failed.
We are committed to continually improving our software and services to meet the needs of all our customers. Please share your thoughts and ideas via the Microsoft Accessibility UserVoice or contact the Disability Answer Desk for real-time support via phone, chat, or ASL videophone—your feedback is always appreciated. If you are an early adopter—and comfortable with early preview releases—please consider joining the Skype Insider community.
Apple declares iPhone 5 obsolete six years after launch
By AppleInsider Staff Wednesday, October 31, 2018, 09:06 pm PT (12:06 am ET)
As this year’s cutting edge iPhone XS and XR handsets ship to rave reviews, Apple quietly declared its six-year-old iPhone 5 — itself once considered the world’s most advanced smartphone — obsolete.
The iPhone 5 was added to Apple’s “vintage and obsolete” product list on Tuesday, noting the hardware is now considered vintage in the United States and obsolete in the rest of the world. Devices that fall into the “vintage” category, defined as products in production for more than five years but less than seven, are excluded from ongoing repair support except in regions where local laws preclude such prohibitions.
Mac Otakara noted the addition to Apple’s product support document on Wednesday.
Apple debuted iPhone 5 at a special media event in 2012. The 4-inch handset was the first of Apple’s smartphones to move away from the 3.5-inch screen size that dictated iPhone’s form factor for five device generations. Apple has since embraced a looser stance on designs with larger screens, a trend toward “phablets” that culminated in this year’s 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max.
Along with a larger Retina display, iPhone 5 introduced a number of technologies, some of which, like the proprietary Lightning port, are still in use today. The handset was Apple’s first to support 4G LTE connectivity and its last to sport a 32-bit A-series chip. Apple cut off iOS support for iPhone 5, and other legacy devices with 32-bit processors, when it released iOS 11 last year.
Apple routinely obsoletes legacy devices as new hardware versions take their place.
Open Source Forum is an invitation only event (request an invitation required – deadline is Nov. 23, 23:59, JST) that will be held in Japan annually. The event is designed to advance the open source industry in Japan by bringing the hottest open source technology topics and people together to collaborate.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 10-31-2018, 10:39 PM - Forum: Windows
- No Replies
This month on Bing: election info, NFL answers and more
This October, we’re excited to announce several new features at Bing.
Multi-perspectives on ballot initiatives
With the midterm election a week away, we want to make it as easy as possible to find the information you are looking for about measures on the ballot.
We try hard to make well-educated decisions when we vote, but we live in a world overloaded with information. With Bing’s multi-perspective answer, we hope to help voters understand the full range of arguments for or against key propositions by clearly presenting and summarizing the main arguments on each side.
For example, Colorado voters can stay up to date on Proposition Y (redistricting limitations), or Proposition 111 (payday lending practices) while voters in Florida can view for and against arguments for Amendment 9 (offshore drilling) and Amendment 4 (felons’ voting rights).
Covering more than 75 measures nationwide, Bing gives voters the information they are looking for before heading to the polls on November 6.
A new way to view and browse images
We’ve updated the UX of the image detail page on Bing desktop to more easily highlight new and relevant information about images you click on. For example, if you’re searching for images of food, Bing will automatically find recipes associated with that image, presenting the information in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Looking for outfits or costumes? Bing will help you find related product pages where you can purchase the item you are looking for. The intention behind these changes it to make it easier than ever to find relevant information and inspiration for your image-based searches.
We’ve also extended these UX changes to our new visual search results page, where you can search using an image as an input. Whether you’ve uploaded an image yourself or are browsing the web, Bing’s object detection features can help you more easily zoom in on particular parts of the image which you might want to search, learn more about, or buy.
NFL expanded
With the NFL season in full swing, we’ve come up with even more ways for football fans to stay on top of their game. No matter what information you’re looking for, Bing presents a comprehensive picture of each game with stats, schedules, viewing information, injury reports, news, and even predictions.
Additionally, Bing’s pre-game insights provide specialized notes that guide both new and experienced football fans on the history of the teams and the matchup, as well as what to watch for in the current showdown.
Word of the day
Finally, as we’re approaching the new year—we want to give everyone a fun and easy opportunity to expand their vocabulary. Bing’s new word of the day is simple way to expose yourself to new words and concepts. Learn the featured word’s meaning, pronunciation, and see the word in context. You can also navigate through the words for the past week to catch up on words you may have missed.
Tomorrow’s word? That’s a surprise!
We value your feedback
As always, we value your perspective, and one of the best ways for you to provide it is via the Bing Insider Program, which gives our users the opportunity to provide feedback to Bing engineers and partner teams via monthly calls, Insider events, interactive feedback sessions, and more.
Please register here to become a Bing Insider. Even if you don’t join today, the website is full of great content featuring our Insiders as well as new Bing features. We hope you enjoy the new site and come back often.
Nintendo Releases Updated List Of Switch Top-Sellers
Nintendo has released its latest round of global sales data as of September 30, and once again its slate of first-party games ran the field. While the top five Nintendo Switch games all continued their steady success and remained in place relative to each other, the bottom half of the list was scrambled by some newcomers that have joined the list.
The biggest change is from Mario Tennis Aces, which rocketed to number six on the list with 2.16 million copies, after debuting in the number ten spot as of June 30. Kirby Star Allies, which cracked the list in March figures, has now tied Arms for the number seven slot at 2.1 million. The re-release of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze also made the list with 1.67 million.
On the 3DS the list is less dynamic. All ten games have retained their exact positions as the system puts out fewer new releases, and the pace of new purchases appears to have slowed as well. Between March and September, for example, Pokemon X/Y sold an additional 50,000 copies. That's steady success for a franchise that has already sold in the tens of millions, but the system is definitely starting to show its age. Check below for the full list.
Nintendo Switch
Super Mario Odyssey -- 12.17 million
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe -- 11.71 million
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild -- 10.28 million
Splatoon 2 -- 7.47 million
1-2 Switch -- 2.64 million
Mario Tennis Aces -- 2.16 million
Arms -- 2.10 million
Kirby Star Allies -- 2.10 million
Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze -- 1.67 million
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 -- 1.53 million
3DS
Mario Kart 7 -- 17.04 million
Pokemon X/Y -- 16.29 million
Pokemon Sun/Moon -- 16.10 million
Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire -- 14.06 million
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 10-31-2018, 04:39 PM - Forum: Windows
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Microsoft expands AccountGuard defending democracy program to UK
By Hugh Milward, Microsoft UK Director, Corporate External & Legal Affairs
Today, we’re taking another important step forward in protecting democracy with the launch of Microsoft AccountGuard for the UK, part of our Defending Democracy Program and an expansion of AccountGuard for the US, announced in August.
We work with governments and other customers around the world daily to help them take steps to strengthen their security and concerns have been raised about possible interference in elections. We have seen foreign entities attempting to carry out cyberattacks and attempting to undermine trust in the democratic process.
Effective immediately, Microsoft AccountGuard is open to all candidates running for office; the campaign organisations of all elected politicians; political parties; technology vendors who primarily serve campaigns and committees; and certain charity and non-governmental organisations, such as bodies that organise the electoral process, involved in the democratic process.
Microsoft announced AccountGuard for the US in August
The service will provide notification about cyberthreats, including attacks by known nation-state actors, in a unified way across both email systems run by eligible organisations and the personal accounts of these organisations’ leaders and staff. It will also offer ongoing security guidance and education and provide early adopter opportunities for security features.
The technology is free of charge to eligible organisations using Office 365 and is designed to protect organisations that underpin democracy from cyberattacks. Interested organisations can visit www.microsoft.com/accountguard to learn more.
As we’ve said before, we know that Microsoft can’t solve this challenge alone, and as we continue to expand the program, we’ll look for opportunities to work with others across government, civil society and industry.
Whether you’re a contributor or committer building the platform, or you’re using the platform to attain your business goals, Cloud Foundry North America Summit is where developers, operators, CIOs and other IT professionals go to share best practices and innovate together.
