Spintires: MudRunner is the ultimate version of the million-seller hit Spintires. Drive incredible all-terrain vehicles, venturing across extreme landscape! It’s not just an enhanced edition, it’s the ultimate off-road experience!
The Road to Battlefield V Starts with Free Expansions and In-game Rewards
At DICE, it’s currently all hands-on deck for the launch of Battlefield V on October 19. However, we’re not forgetting our Battlefield veterans and have planned ongoing giveaways as well as plenty of award opportunities this summer for our current players.
We’ve called all the above the Road to Battlefield V. The road’s foundation is built on opportunities to grab expansions from both Battlefield 1 and Battlefield 4. Battlefield 1 players can also earn gear for later use in Battlefield V, such as exclusive paratrooper gear and weapon skins.
More than 20 maps worth of free content
The anticipation for Battlefield V is real. In the meantime, why not grab each expansion from both Battlefield 1 and Battlefield 4 for free? You’ll have to watch our calendar to ensure you’re ready to pick them up them when they arrive.
Some players have already claimed Battlefield 1 In the Name of the Tsar with its six massive maps and ability to join the ranks of the largest mobilized army to enter World War I. Others have jumped at the opportunity fight in a British amphibious assault using a powerful torpedo boat and airship in Battlefield 1 Turning Tides. And before the end of July, two of the most infamous battles of WWI will be free with the giveaway of Battlefield 1 Apocalypse.
If you missed the previous expansion giveaways, don’t bang your head against a tank – you may still get the chance to claim them again in the future.
Weekly rewards and the best place to earn them
There are also more opportunities to make the battlefield your own with weekly in-game rewards just for playing Battlefield 1. When logging into Battlefield 1, a new menu lists daily tasks that go toward earning various rewards, like weapon and equipment skins, dog tags, and squad XP boosts. The available rewards unlock weekly and can be earned during that window. Missed a week? Don’t worry, you can still catch up by playing!
We’ve even added tailor-made map playlists on that rotate every Tuesday. Consider these a tour through the variety of Battlefield 1 maps and modes as well as a great place to complete those daily and weekly challenges.
Get Battlefield V gear now
Those Battlefield 1 in-game rewards also include periodic, exclusive vanity items for Battlefield V, available for use in that game at launch. Battlefield V will let players customize their own company of soldiers with special soldier sets containing weapon skins, camo patterns, head gear, and face paint for the British Special Air Service (SAS) and German Airborne troops. There are eight available before launch. You can grab six of these when you pre-order the Battlefield V Deluxe Edition, but the only way to earn the additional two soldier sets is via the Road to Battlefield V.
Join the fight in Battlefield V on Xbox One starting October 11 with the EA Access Play First Trial, October 16 for Battlefield VDeluxe Edition early enlister access, and October 19 for the Battlefield V Standard Edition.
Some say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and one of retro gaming’s founding fathers Space Invaders has endured plenty of sycophancy over the last four decades. After appearing on the Wii U in 2015 and proclaiming the inclusion of a pixelated duck in its 2016 sequel before utilising the 3DS hardware a year later, Super Destronaut comes to the Switch complete with its current-gen ‘DX’ suffix and a coat of fluorescent paint to brighten up the tried-and-tested arcade classic formula.
Right from the off, developer Petite Games have brazenly embraced the concept of the retro shooter, using a garish colour palette, pixelated sprites and a glorious electro soundtrack. As cool and old-school as the tunes are, at times the music speeds up and slows down in a manner that might even give an aspirin a headache, but at least there’s soothing but sparse voice work to increase the production value.
Aesthetically, the playing field is a mix of scrolling wireframe models, bold, neon pixel art aliens and fireworks. Lots of fireworks. While this can be quite pretty when things start off at a leisurely pace, the combination of particles, lights and enemy fire can distract and cause a number of frustrating game overs.
The alien intruders themselves are actually cute, quirky and quite likeable. Each has their own colour and groovy animation as they go from side to side. They are also equipped with specific power-ups – such as homing missiles – or have certain attack patterns, and they generally try to cause you as much hassle as possible. While most of the enemy fire is straightforward, overbearing special effects can obscure your view, and this – along with the limited movement of your ship – makes some attacks almost impossible to avoid. In addition, translucent ghosts are a hazard, as are the waves that descend from the top of the screen; needless to say, the action is pretty unrelenting.
So, Super Destronauts on the surface is an unashamedly derivative but decent enough arcade shooter which has its roots firmly planted in nostalgic soil, but is there anything in terms of modes or mechanics to make it stand out? Challenge mode does exactly what it says on the tin. The 30 stages wildly fluctuate in terms of difficulty and range from the pretty standard jaunt of reaching a certain score to reaching a certain score within a set time limit. There are other objectives to complete, such as getting your multiplier to a particular level or collecting a variety of power-ups. On the plus side, all of these are available from the beginning, meaning that if certain stage doesn’t really appeal, you can always move on.
Time attack gives you 90 seconds to go for a high score, and there’s a local multiplayer mode thrown in as well. As with the challenge mode, things get repetitive quickly, regardless of whether you’re playing alone or with a friend. Finally, hardcore mode gives you just one life to rack up your best score.
With no online multiplayer, your other option is to reach for the top of the various online leaderboards. Killing enemies without getting hit will increase your multiplier and in turn allow you to reach astronomical scores to post for all to see. Whether this is enough to keep you coming back after you’ve completed all of the challenges or have a buddy to play with is up to you; while the core of Super Destronaut DX is functional – even fun in short bursts – it is unlikely to keep your attention for long, especially considering the stern competition on Switch right now.
Conclusion
If Space Invaders floats your intergalactic boat, Super Destronaut DX will definitely scratch your itch and the attempts to nudge and wink its way through your fond memories of neon lights and electro tunes are admirable. However, unless you’re a high score hunter or a multiplier maniac who has had their fill of more interesting shooters or music-based games on the system like Just Shapes And Beats or Lumines Remastered, Super Destronaut DX will end up being a brief time killer, but not much else.
N.E.R.O.: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure Brings Gorgeous Storytelling To Switch
Game publisher Soedesco has announced that N.E.R.O.: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure, which previously launched on Xbox One, PC, and PlayStation 4, is headed to Switch this October.
In the game, players assume the role of a young boy, wandering through a mysterious dreamlike world to explore the touching story of his family. The game blends exploration-style gameplay within phosphorescent environments with interactive puzzle solving.
Our friends over at Push Square praised the game’s beautiful scenery in a review for the game, but noted that the puzzle gameplay actually gets in the way of the storytelling.
“N.E.R.O. intrigues as an interactive visual novel, but it fails in its attempts to be a game. The puzzles here are laughably easy, and they subsequently get in the way of the storytelling. There are some beautiful cutscenes and an interesting story here, but they’re too often impeded by unenjoyable gameplay.” – Push Square
It’s an intriguing title, but one that seems to have a few issues bringing it down. Maybe this is one for you to consider if you’re sold on the storytelling premise alone.
The game is set to launch with both physical and digital editions on 26th October.
What do you think? Are you sold on the beauty alone, or would you need to be more convinced on the gameplay side of things? Let us know below.
Daily Deal – IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad, 66% Off
Live Spectating: * You will no longer be removed from the matchmaking queue while live spectating. * Fixed a bug where you could get stuck in a Battle Cup match lobby. * Alt-Clicking on the death screen damage numbers no longer incorrectly broadcasts the message. * Fixed various bugs that would occur after changing the camera to Player Perspective and back to Free Camera (for example having to drag to select units, and still seeing that player’s mouse cursor). * Chat can be now opened like normal by hitting Enter (live spectators still cannot send messages, but this allows them to bring up the chat history). * Enemies can no longer be selected by clicking their portrait on the top bar. * Fixed a bug where you’d see an error message if you tried to live spectate a game you were already live spectating.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 07-19-2018, 10:45 AM - Forum: Minecraft
- No Replies
Minecraft: Java Edition Update Aquatic Released!
There’s a whole new ocean of features, impatiently waiting for you to dive in! Take a delightful swim with dolphins and tropical fish. Explore mysterious ruins and tragic shipwrecks while hunting for new deep-sea treasures. Meet turtles on the shore and defend their eggs from mobs with the new trident!
The Update Aquatic is out now on Minecraft: Java Edition! Load up the game and click Play to dive in.
A WORLD OF NEW CREATURES The oceans of the Overworld are populated by both fish and foe alike. Some will fight you, while others will become your buddy! Play with the dolphins, swim with majestic turtles, or brawl with the hostile Drowned. And if you do come up for air, watch out for the Phantom soaring the skies!
EXPLORE THE DEPTHS Swim through a paradise of colourful reefs, deep sea trenches, and kelp forests – all filled with neat new blocks to use in your builds! Legend also speaks about shipwrecks and forgotten ruins, rumoured to hold treasures for any adventurer brave enough to explore them…
WIELD NEW ITEMS It is said that the oceans are home to some mythical items, and only the most daring adventurers reap the rewards! Discover shipwrecks and underwater ruins, take a swing at the Drowned for a chance to earn a mighty trident, or assemble the awesome conduit.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 07-19-2018, 10:45 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Destiny 2 Update 1.2.3
Solstice of Heroes
Moments of Triumph
Moments of Triumph bounties will become available in-game for the Solstice of Heroes event starting July 31, 2018.
Players may access a set number of Triumphs on Bungie.net prior to the event beginning.
Players can complete Triumphs to earn points that they can trade for rewards such as emblems, a Sparrow, and a code to purchase a special T-shirt.
When the summer event becomes available on July 31, 2018, players can receive these Triumph bounties from the special summer event vendor and will have the entirety of the event to complete them.
Triumphs are based on account-specific data; once a Triumph has been claimed and redeemed for points, it cannot be claimed for points on another character.
All Triumphs can be tracked via bungie.net; the highest values of a character on that account will be displayed.
In-game rewards will become available on July 31, 2018. Stay tuned to @Bungie for announcements of availability.
NOTE: All information concerning Solstice of Heroes: Moments of Triumph may be found at help.Bungie.net.
Investment
Bounties
5 Crucible bounties a day will now be available from Shaxx.
5 Vanguard bounties a day will now be available from Zavala.
These bounties rotate on a daily cadence.
Bounties can expire after you obtain them. Expiration of individual bounties is shown in the tooltip.
Exotic Masterworks
Catalysts for Legend of Acrius, Telesto, and Sleeper Simulant are now available as rewards from Prestige “Leviathan,” Prestige “Leviathan, Eater of Worlds,” and Prestige “Leviathan, Spire of Stars,” respectively.
Exotic catalysts from Heroic strikes now have slightly higher drop chances.
The Skyburner’s Oath Exotic catalyst from the “Leviathan” raid now has slightly higher drop chances.
The catalyst for Sturm can now be found by defeating enemies on Nessus.
Miscellaneous Quality-of-Life Changes
Adjusted Escalation Protocol weapon reward chances to be more deterministic.
Players improve their chances each time they defeat the boss.
Once all Mercury Forge weapons have been obtained, they become available for direct purchase from Brother Vance in the Lighthouse (second vendor page).
Momentum has been removed from Heroic adventures.
The “Pursuits” inventory bucket has been moved to the top of Inventory categories.
Fixed an issue where unequippable emotes could be selected.
Fixed an issue where no sound would play on increasing and decreasing the handicap on Challenge Cards.
Commas have been added to large numbers as separators on the IGCR and PGCR.
Fixed an issue which prevented the Season 3 Dead Orbit Gauntlet Ornament from receiving progress from Arcstriders using the Way of the Warrior subclass tree.
Armor may now be purchased from Iron Banner and Faction Rallies vendors.
Strikes
Strike Modifiers
Blackout: Now increases enemy melee damage significantly but is no longer a guaranteed one-shot kill for all players.
Glass: Slightly reduced the health and shield penalty.
Grounded: Significantly reduced incoming damage when you are airborne, to account for odd geometry that Guardians may not have any control over.
Developer Insight: The goal is to ensure these modifiers are noticeable, but when Guardians advance their Power and stats, they can notice themselves overcoming the debuffs.
Nightfall
The Nightfall tutorial experience for new players has been updated to no longer call out pre-1.1.3 Nightfall mechanics.
Destinations
Mars
Fixed an issue that was preventing some players from accessing Mars adventures.
Fixed an issue that caused some open world chests on Mars to not drop Glimmer or Mars tokens.
Fixed an issue which prevented prophecy materials for Brother Vance from dropping from chests found on Mars.
Sandbox
Exotic Armor Updates
Hunter
Lucky Raspberry
Increased the chance to fully recharge Arcbolt Grenade on Arcbolt Grenade hits.
Now guarantees a full recharge when Arcbolt Grenade hits four targets.
St0mp-EE5
Increased benefits when using Strafe Jump and Triple Jump.
Young Ahamkara’s Spine
Now also improves Tripmine Grenade’s blast radius and throw speed, and makes your Tripmine Grenades harder to destroy.
Solar ability hits now grant some Tripmine Grenade energy (33%).
Added new FX treatment to the improved Tripmine Grenades to differentiate them from normal Tripmine Grenades.
Removed target-marking functionality.
Titan
ACD/0 Feedback Fence
Now grants Fury Conductor stacks on melee hits instead of kills.
Now reduces melee damage received while you have stacks of Fury Conductor.
More stacks of Fury Conductor further reduce melee damage received.
Doom Fang Pauldrons
Void melee kills now grant more Super energy.
Shield Throw hits now grant Super energy.
Dunemarchers
Reduced the time to activate Linear Actuators while you’re sprinting to 1.5 seconds (down from 5 seconds).
Increased the damage of the chain lightning effect (+70% in PvP, 440% in PvE).
Warlock
Crown of Tempests
Collapsed the total number of stacks of Conduction Tines to 3 (with the same total effect).
Conduction Tines now also reduces the speed that Super energy depletes while Stormtrance is active.
Karnstein Armlets
Melee kills now instantly heal you, then grant continuous healing for 8 seconds.
Removed bonus resilience, mobility, and enemy highlights on melee kills.
Starfire Protocol
Empowered weapon damage hits now grant some Fusion Grenade energy (20%).
Armor
Plasteel Reinforcement Mod now includes “Trait” in its tooltip, to have conformity with Restorative and Mobility Enhancement Mods.
Corrected stowed Hand Cannon position on the Haakon’s Iron Strides ornament.
Dragon’s Shadow now has an audio cue when it reloads your weapons.
Updated tooltip presentation of some Warmind Exotic armor item intrinsic perks.
Updated the perk description for Sanguine Alchemy to better reflect its functionality.
Fixed an issue that was causing targets marked by Sanguine Alchemy to produce orbs when defeated.
Fixed an issue that caused Wraithmetal Mail’s active perk to appear in the UI without an icon.
Fixed an issue that caused Starfire Protocol not to work with the Dawnblade Attunement of Sky ability path.
Fixed an issue that prevented Warlock melee attack damage when players were using the Ophidian Aspect Exotic and Hive Swords or orb carry objects.
Abilities
Fixed an issue for high framerates on PC that caused players to suddenly lose momentum after activating Supers and aerial dodge abilities.
Exotic Weapons
Increased the number of rounds granted to Crimson on respawn.
Weapons
Fixed an issue that allowed empty swords to drop heavy ammo bricks on death in the Crucible.
Fixed the Rapid-Fire Frame intrinsic perk on Basilisk (Dead Orbit Shotgun).
Fixed an issue that impacted the recoil of West of Sunfall 7 and the Trials of the Nine Hand Cannon, A Cold Sweat.
Fixed an issue causing the Iron Banner Hand Cannon, Finite Impactor, to not properly track Masterwork statistics.
Raid
Prestige Raid Lairs
Each week, there is a curated weapon suite and a global activity modifier for Spire of Stars and Eater of Worlds Prestige. The weapon set and modifier will be the same across both activities.
Prestige Eater of Worlds will become available at 11 a.m. PDT on July 17, 2018.
Prestige Spire of Stars will become available at 10 a.m. PDT on July 18, 2018.
Prestige raid lairs will drop weapons at 400 Power and Exotic catalysts.
Raid armor ornaments will become unlockable.
Misc
Fixed an issue which prevented Hunters from receiving some loot chest rewards in the Spire of Stars raid lair.
PC
Clan Chat
Adds a new in-game text chat channel that allows online Destiny 2 clan members to communicate (in real time). This chat channel is separate from the companion clan chat channel.
Director Map PC (Mouse) User Experience
Scrolling area reduced to the edges of the game window.
Cursor is now restricted to game window when a map is active (mouse capture).
Edge scrolling now freezes when game window loses focus.
Misc
Fixed an issue which caused bluetooth headphones to not play sound properly on some PC configurations. For more info, please see the Vital Information section of our Destiny Audio Guide.
Crucible
Iron Banner Updates
The Iron Banner game mode now uses Iron Temple fire pits as capture zones instead of standard Control flags.
Added new Power Play rules unique to Iron Banner:
Upon capturing a third zone, all three zones lock for 20 seconds.
After 20 seconds, all three zones reset to neutral and must be recaptured.
Added new audio for fire pits and Power Play alerts.
Updated score and time limits to match standard Control now that Quickplay is also 6v6.
Private Match Bug Fixes
Private Match is no longer available to trial users.
Crucible Lab Update
Added “BETA” to the activity tooltip.
Added support for more Labs in the future.
Added end-of-match rewards.
Crucible Playlist Update
Quickplay
Increased player configuration to 6v6 and updated playlist description.
Removed Supremacy.
Updated Clash win score to 100.
Updated Control win score to 150.
Control Zones are initially neutral.
Competitive
Updated playlist description.
Countdown: Bomb Fuse timer lowered from 40 seconds to 35 seconds.
Rumble is now available full-time.
Supremacy is now a rotating 6v6 playlist with a score to win of 150.
Crucible Ranks Update
Players can now earn Valor Rank from the following playlists:
Competitive
Crucible Labs
Iron Banner
Joining a game in progress now protects your Valor Win Streak for that game.
If you lose: No penalties incurred to your Valor Win Streak.
If you win: Valor Win Streak increases.
Players will now be matched using their Glory Rank.
This means your opponents will be of similar rank to you.
The higher you climb, the tougher the opponent!
Glory Loss Streaks have been re-tuned to be less punishing over time.
Consecutive losses now decrease the Rank Points lost instead of increasing.
Streaks still cap out at five.
All Rank Streaks no longer reset once they hit their cap.
Fixed a bug where Rank Up toasts were not firing once a player hit orbit.
Fixed a bug where players who logged into a character for the first time after a weekly reset would incur the Glory Rank weekly award/penalty.
Fixed a bug where players were incorrectly hearing the rank points increase/decrease sounds where there was no rank attached to the activity.
Audio
Miscellaneous adjustments to increase the readability of enemy audio cues across all modes.
Eververse
Summer Event Engram
For the duration of Solstice of Heroes, players will earn a bonus Solstice Engram with each Prototype Engram earned through Prestige level-up.
When decrypting Solstice Engrams, players will receive new items until they’ve unlocked all items in the box. Once all items have been acquired, additional Solstice Engrams will award duplicate items. Players may track what items they’ve earned from the Solstice Engram through the engram’s preview.
New item type: armor glows. Players who earn the Solstice of Heroes armor sets may use armor glows obtained from Eververse or the Solstice Engram.
Armor glows illuminate portions of the Solstice of Heroes armor and shine brightest when the element of the armor glow and the Guardian’s subclass align.
Once obtained, armor glows may be used and re-used on any Solstice of Heroes armor piece, regardless of class.
During Solstice of Heroes, players may purchase event-exclusive items from Eververse for Bright Dust.
Prismatic Matrix
The Prismatic Matrix has been temporarily removed. It will return in Season 4.
Prismatic facets have been deprecated. Dismantling deprecated Prismatic facets will grant Bright Dust.
Other
HDR Calibration
Adds a calibration screen for HDR on all platforms. It can be accessed through the Brightness video setting when HDR is turned on.
GDPR Compliance
Updated LSLA screen in bootflow, including link to GDPR resources.
Item Preview Updates
Players can preview spawn effects and Sparrow contrails in their inventory.
Greg Kroah-Hartman on Linux, Security, and Making Connections at Open Source Summit
People might not think about the Linux kernel all that much when talking about containers, serverless, and other hot technologies, but none of them would be possible without Linux as a solid base to build on, says Greg Kroah-Hartman. He should know. Kroah-Hartman maintains the stable branch of the Linux kernel along with several subsystems. He is also co-author of the Linux Kernel Development Report, a Fellow at The Linux Foundation, and he serves on the program committee for Open Source Summit.
In this article, we talk with Kroah-Hartman about his long involvement with Linux, the importance of community interaction, and the upcoming Open Source Summit.
The Linux Foundation: New technologies (cloud, containers, machine learning, serverless) are popping up on weekly basis, what’s the importance of Linux in the changing landscape?
Greg K-H: There’s the old joke, “What’s a cloud made of? Linux servers.” That is truer than most people realize. All of those things you mention rely on Linux as a base technology to build on top of. So while people might not think about “Linux the kernel” all that much when talking about containers, serverless and the other “buzzwords of the day,” none of them would be possible without Linux being there to ensure that there is a rock-solid base for everyone to build on top of.
The goal of an operating system is to provide a computing platform to userspace that looks the same no matter what hardware it runs on top of. Because of this, people can build these other applications and not care if they are running it locally on a Raspberry Pi or in a cloud on a shared giant PowerPC cluster as everywhere the application API is the same.
So, Linux is essential for all of these new technologies to work properly and scale and move to different places as needed. Without it, getting any of those things working would be a much more difficult task.
LF: You have been involved with Linux for a very long time. Has your role changed within the community? You seem to focus a lot on security these days.
Greg K-H:I originally started out as a driver writer, then helped write the security layer in the kernel many many years ago. From there I started to maintain the USB subsystem and then co-created the driver model. From there I ended up taking over more driver subsystems and when the idea for the stable kernel releases happened back in 2005, I was one of the developers who volunteered for that.
So for the past 13 years, I’ve been doing pretty much the same thing, not much has changed since then except the increased number of stable trees I maintain at the same time to try to keep devices in the wild more secure.
I’ve been part of the kernel security team I think since it was started back in the early 2000’s but that role is more of a “find who to point the bug at” type of thing. The kernel security team is there to help
take security problem reports and route them to the correct developer who maintains or knows that part of the kernel best. The team has grown over the years as we have added the people that ended up getting called on the most to reduce the latency between reporting a bug and getting it fixed.
LF: We agree that Linux is being created by people all over the map, but once in a while it’s great to meet people in person. So, what role does Open Source Summit play in bringing these people together?
Greg K-H:Because open source projects are all developed by people who work for different companies and who live in different places, it’s important to get together when ever possible to actually meet the people behind the email if at all possible. Development is an interaction that depends on trust, if I accept patches from you, then I am now responsible for those changes as well. If you disappear I am on the hook for them, so either I need to ensure they are correct, or even better, I can know that you will be around to fix the code if there is a problem. By meeting people directly, you can establish a face behind the email to help smooth over any potential disagreements that can easily happen due to the lack of “tone” in online communication.
It’s also great to meet developers of other projects to hear of ways they are abusing your project to get it to bend to their will, or learn of problems they are having that you did not know about. Or just learn about new things that are being developed in totally different development groups. The huge range of talks at a conference like this makes it easy to pick up on what is happening in a huge range of different developer communities easily.
LF: You obviously meet a lot of people during the event. Have you ever come across an incident where someone ended up becoming a contributor or maintainer because of the exposure such an event provided?
Greg K-H: At one of the OSS conferences last year, I met a college student who was attending the conference for the first time. They mentioned that they were looking of any project ideas that someone with their skill level could help out with. At a talk later that day a new idea for how to unify a specific subsystem of the kernel came up and how it was going “just take a bunch of grunt work” to accomplish. Later that night, at the evening event, I saw the student again and mentioned the project to them and pointed them at the developer who asked for the help. They went off to talk in the corner about the specifics that would be needed to be done.
A few weeks later, a lot of patches started coming from the student and after a few rounds of review, were accepted by the maintainer. More patches followed and eventually the majority of the work was done, which was great to see, the kernel really benefited from their contribution.
This year, I ran into the student again at another OSS conference and asked them what they were doing now. Turns out they had gotten a job offer and were working for a Linux kernel company doing development on new products during their summer break. Without that first interaction, meeting the developers directly that worked on the subsystem that needed the help, getting a job like that would have been much more difficult.
So, while I’m not saying that everyone who attends one of these types of conferences will instantly get a job, you will interact with developers who know what needs to be done in different areas of their open source projects. And from there it is almost an easy jump to getting solid employment with one of the hundreds of companies that rely on these projects for their business.
LF: Are you also giving any talks at Open Source Summit?
Greg K-H:I’m giving a talk about the Spectre and Meltdown problems that have happened this year. It is a very high-level overview, going into the basics of what they are, and describing when the many different variants were announced and fixed in Linux. This is a new security type of problem that is going to be with us for a very long time and I give some good tips on how to stay on top of the problem and ensure that your machines are safe.
Sign up to receive updates on Open Source Summit North America:
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 07-19-2018, 10:45 AM - Forum: Windows
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The power and promise of digital healthcare in the Middle East and Africa
Mirembe, 24, lives in a rural village in north-east Uganda, where access to healthcare is limited. Mirembe is pregnant and walks, cradling her swollen belly and fanning herself from the heat, 15 kilometres to the closest clinic to check on her unborn child.
Hundreds of expectant mothers, elderly men and women, and sickly children line the corridors of the clinic patiently awaiting medical attention. Midwives and nurses are few, and they wearily dart from patient to patient doing what they can to help. Mirembe will wait six hours to be attended to.
When she’s finally seen, she’s told the clinic doesn’t have an ultrasound machine. If she wants to have an ultrasound, she must travel to the Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda’s largest public hospital, where she must pay 20,000 Ugandan shillings, equivalent to about US$5, for a prenatal visit. In this part of the world, that is a significant amount of money.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 830 women die from pregnancy or childbirth-related complications around the world every day. It’s estimated that in 2015, roughly 303 000 women died during and after pregnancy and childbirth. Many of these deaths were in low-resource locations like Uganda, and most could have been prevented.
However, technology is helping to eliminate some of the challenges of distance and lack of trained medical staff. Mirembe can now hear her unborn child’s heartbeat from the comfort of her own home through an innovative app call WinSenga, which reassures her that both she and her baby are healthy.
WinSenga is a mobile tool, supported by Microsoft technologies, which helps mothers with prenatal care. The idea was conceived when the Microsoft Imagine Cup competition inspired then-university students Okello and Aaron Tushabe to use their computer science skills to tackle some of Africa’s biggest problems. They were motivated by the plight of mothers like Mirembe who live outside the reach of modern medical care.
The handheld device scans the womb of a pregnant woman and reports foetal weight, position, breathing patterns, gestational age, and heart rate. The app makes use of a trumpet-shaped device and a microphone which transmits the data to a smart phone. The mobile application plays the part of the nurse’s ear and recommends a course of action. The analysis and recommendations are uploaded to the cloud and can be accessed by a doctor anywhere.
This is just one example of how Africa, a continent that bears one-quarter of the global disease burden but only has two percent of the world’s doctors, could outperform developed nations’ healthcare systems by leapfrogging over inefficiencies and legacy infrastructure.
In fact, digital healthcare in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region is booming with the proliferation of disruptive solutions underpinned by 21st century innovations like cloud, mobile, Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Let’s talk telemedicine
One trend revolutionising the delivery of healthcare in MEA is telemedicine, which is the use of telecommunication and IT to provide clinical healthcare over long distances. Given the region’s high rate of mobile penetration, telemedicine is growing rapidly. In fact, the telemedicine market in MEA was estimated at $2.19 billion in 2015 and is projected to reach $3.67 billion in 2020.
Forward-thinking countries like Botswana are making swift progress when it comes to the implementation of sustainable telemedicine projects. Microsoft and the Botswana Innovation Hub launched Africa’s first telemedicine service over TV white spaces in 2017. Through this initiative, clinics in outlying areas of Botswana can now access specialised care remotely using TV white spaces, which are unused broadcasting frequencies in the wireless spectrum.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 07-19-2018, 10:45 AM - Forum: Windows
- No Replies
Visit Xbox at this week’s San Diego Comic-Con 2018
San Diego Comic-Con, the world’s largest comic and pop-culture festival, is coming soon and Xbox is bringing the fun with exclusive gear, panels, celebrity guests, and more! See below for details on everything Xbox at SDCC and join the fun from California or from the comfort of your own couch.
Xbox Booth (San Diego Comic-Con badge required) Hall A, Booth #100
For the first time ever, Xbox will have exclusive gear available at SDCC! Stop by to pick up exclusive clothing and items from Xbox and your favorite games and then get them customized on the spot with your Gamertag. See some of the items available here.
Visit us on Thursday, July 19 and Saturday, July 21 for signing sessions with some of your favorite developers and designers, but get there early: only the first 100 people to receive passes will be eligible!
Signings (San Diego Comic-Con badge required):
Brendan Greene (“PlayerUnknown”), Creative Director, PUBG Corp – Thursday, July 19 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. PDT
Joe Neate, Executive Producer, and Mike Chapman, Design Director, Sea of Thieves – Saturday, July 21 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. PDT
Xbox Gear Comic-Con Sweepstakes
Can’t make it to the booth to pick up the exclusive gear? Retweet @Xbox to potentially win an Xbox Gear Comic-Con prize pack! Four winners will receive a collection of exclusive Xbox Gear, and one grand prize winner will receive the gear and an Xbox One X.
Follow @Xbox or @XboxCanada on Twitter and retweet the following tweet when it goes live at the start of San Diego Comic-Con: “RT and follow for a chance to win exclusive #XboxSDCC #XboxGear! NoPurchNec. Ends 7/22/18. #Sweepstakes Rules: bit.ly/2KV2DQ1.” You have until July 22 to enter. Click through for the Official Rules.
Sea of Thieves Panel (San Diego Comic-Con badge required) Room 5AB, Saturday, July 21 from 1:30pm – 2:30pm PDT
Special guest and Sea of Thieves fan Freddie Prinze Jr. (“Star Wars Rebels,” “24,” “Scooby Doo,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer”) joins the Rare crew, Joe Neate, Mike Chapman, and Peter Hentze as they discuss the lore and expanded universe of Sea of Thieves. Attendees will also receive a limited-edition Sea of Thieves comic and time-limited exclusive in-game DLC!
Xbox Live Sessions
If you’re not in San Diego but still want to follow along with the fun, we’re hosting two action-packed Xbox Live Sessions that you won’t want to miss.
PUBG featuring Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene: On Thursday, July 19 at 5:00 p.m. PDT, PUBG Creative Director Brendan Greene (@PLAYERUNKNOWN) and Microsoft Executive Producer Nico Bihary (@nico_bihary) will join Rukari Austin (@rukizzelrukizzel) to get their loot on in PUBG’s Miramar map live from inside of a PUBG Bus created by West Coast Customs. That’s right – Xbox, PUBG Corp., and West Coast Customs have teamed up to create a one-of-a-kind, tricked out PUBG Bus which will be home to the livestream and available to see in-person at The Experience at Comic-Con.
Sea of Thieves with Freddie Prinze Jr.: On Saturday, July 21 at 5:00 p.m. PDT, Sea of Thieves fan Freddie Prinze Jr. (@RealFPJr) will sail the high seas with members of the Rare team and Major Nelson in an episode of Xbox Live Sessions that’s sure to test the sea legs of the seasoned actor. Fans at home can tune in and watch on http://mixer.com/Xbox and http://twitch.tv/Xbox.
Xbox at “The Experience at Comic-Con”
Head over to Petco Park where you can play Xbox One games, earn free swag, and win awesome prizes! No Comic-Con badge required.
Visit the Samsung truck at The Experience at Comic-Con, located in the Lexus Lot at Petco Park. Climb aboard the truck to compete in Forza Motorsport 7 on Xbox One X via Samsung’s 2018 QLED TVs. More information can be found here.
Come visit the first stop of the Xbox One Summer of PUBG tour. Win prizes, check out the PUBG Bus, and stick around for the Xbox Live Sessions! More information can be found here
For all the SDCC details, visit the Xbox SDCC website. For more Xbox news, follow @Xbox on Twitter and stay tuned to Xbox Wire. See you at San Diego Comic-Con!
