Category Archives: Blog

Prey is great.

No, seriously. If you’re not playing it, go do that. If you are playing it, you’re probably reading this and thinking “gahhhhhhh I want to go play more Prey.” I get it. I’m right there with you.

Resources are a big deal in a game like Prey, where your ammo, your health, even your ability to unlock upgrades depends, in large part, on scavenging for crap. Unfortunately — or maybe not, if you have an easy relationship with cheating — Prey 1.0 is a little bit broken in this regard.

How it’s supposed to work

Here’s the deal. The Talos-1 space station you’re trapped inside of is littered with all manner of trash and useful items, any of which can be dumped into a machine called the Recycler. Once you’ve dumped them in, you simply press a button and the Recycler works its magic, turning everything into basic organic, mineral, synthetic, or exotic resources. Read more…

More about Entertainment, Gaming, Prey, Arkane Studios, and Bethesda Studios

“Just cause Yahoo has a search box, it doesn’t mean they’re Google.” 

In this case, Snapchat is Google, and Facebook is Yahoo. It takes guts to lob a line like that in your first-ever earnings call as CEO of a public company, particularly when your shares just dropped 25 percent. 

But that’s what Snap CEO Evan Spiegel told investors on a call Wednesday when they dared to ask about Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s tendency to copy his company. 

The analyst specifically referenced Facebook’s F8 presentation, but we all know Facebook has done much more to copy Snap than just pitching a similar augmented reality future.  Read more…

More about Business, Snapchat, Evan Spiegel, Snap Inc, and Business

Melissa McCarthy is hosting Saturday Night Live once again and she could not be more excited to put the oh-so-attractive Sean Spicer hair piece back on her head.

In a delightful song-and-dance rendition of “I Feel Pretty,” McCarthy twirls herself into the makeup chair to be hilariously transformed into White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. The image of McCarthy-as-Spicer and the beautiful words of the West Side Story classic are a perfect juxtaposition.

Considering what happened this week in U.S. politics, this should be quite the appearance. Read more…

More about Videos, Tv, Snl, Saturday Night Live, and Melissa Mccarthy

Tesla is not content with just a spot in your driveway. 

The company today began accepting orders for the latest product in its arsenal, the long-awaited Solar Roof. Installation of the energy-generating tiles are set to begin this summer in the U.S., and in 2018 for areas outside of the country. 

Notably, Tesla says that a Solar Roof will be cheaper than a traditional non-solar roof. How is this possible? Let’s let Tesla explain. 

“Although the cost of our solar tiles is more expensive up front, it can be more than offset by the value of energy the tiles produce,” notes the press release. “In many cases, the reduction in a home’s electricity bill over time will be greater than the cost of the roof.” Read more…

More about Tesla, Elon Musk, Powerwall, Solar Roof, and Tech

Back in March, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security banned electronics on planes coming to the U.S. from eight Middle Eastern and African countries. Now, the ban is expected to be expanded to some European countries, based on reports from Reuters and The Daily Beast.

That would mean electronics bigger than smartphones, like laptops, e-readers, and tablets, wouldn’t be allowed on board and would have to be checked. Airlines like Emirates, Royal Jordanian, Qatar Airways, and others that fly between the U.S. and the eight countries initially included in the ban have been dealing with the new rules for almost two months. Read more…

More about Europe, Airlines, Air Travel, Dhs, and Electronics Ban

She loves fashion and coding. So when prom season came around, she had the perfect idea for a DIY dress.  

Last year, the world was awed by Zac Posen’s light-up Met Gala dress for Claire Danes. Among its fans was 17-year-old Claire Smith, a homeschooled high school senior and budding engineer from Maryland. Smith was inspired by Posen’s dress and decided to try to make her own version.

More about Diy, Dress, Teens, Prom, and Adafruit

The idea that Google, the web’s biggest advertising company, is reportedly preparing to launch an ad blocker sounds absurd on its face. It’s a bit like a jewelry store hiring a ring of diamond thieves or the postal service unleashing a pack of roving neighborhood dogs.

But it’s more understandable when you consider one fundamental truth about ad blocking companies: They don’t exist to block ads — they exist to serve as middlemen between ads and consumers. The biggest ad blockers charge the biggest advertising vendors to let their ads pass through their software. They’re better described as ad filters than ad blockers. Read more…

More about Google, Ad Blocking, Business, and Advertising

More about Business, Conversations, List, Lawsuit, and Fyre Festival

It was supposed to be everything a player at one of the nation’s top college rugby programs dreams of — a shot at the national championship. 

But the dream ended in tragedy for University of California sophomore Robert Paylor. He was paralyzed after a hit in the first minutes of a game that Cal went on to win. 

Now an online crowdfunding campaign seeks to raise money for Paylor’s medical treatment, while his teammates and coaches say they won’t leave his side. 

Details about Paylor’s injury and the hit that caused it have not yet been revealed. But his family released a statement offering some information on Tuesday, three days after Saturday’s national title game.  Read more…

More about Sports, Crowdfunding, Entertainment, and Sports

Apple is once again the king of the global smartphone market, even after a dip in iPhone sales.

When Apple released its Q2 2017 earnings report, one of the few points of concern — other than what exactly the company might do with its massive wealth — was the noticeable drop in sales for its signature product.  

Tim Cook & Co. are clearly focused on competing with their own records, because Apple appears to face little challenge from anyone else in the popularity department. A Strategy Analytics research report on global smartphone sales crowned the iPhone the undisputed leader in the market, as Apple absolutely dominated all comers.   Read more…

More about Apple, Iphone 7, Market, Iphone 7 Plus, and Iphone 8