Jan 20
Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson touted “game-changing” funding aiming to modernize locks and dams on the Mississippi River — even though she voted against it.
Jan 20
<img width="1280" height="720" src="https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Activision-Logo-1280×720.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy" style="margin: auto;margin-bottom: 5px;max-width: 100%" data-attachment-id="707747" data-permalink="https://www.slashgear.com/why-microsofts-activision-blizzard-acquisition-is-such-a-big-deal-19707693/activision-logo-3/" data-orig-file="https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Activision-Logo.jpg" data-orig-size="1440,810" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Activision Logo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="
Image: Eric Broder Van Dyke/Shutterstock
” data-medium-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Activision-Logo-1280×720.jpg” data-large-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Activision-Logo-1280×720.jpg” />It’s been a big Tuesday for the game industry. This morning, Microsoft announced that it has entered a deal to purchase Activision Blizzard, the largest third-party games publisher in the world. Microsoft is paying nearly $70 billion for Activision Blizzard, making the $7.5 billion it paid for ZeniMax Media and its subsidiaries a year ago look like a paltry sum. … Continue reading
Jan 20
Video reviews will be used in 2022 North and Central American soccer tourneys
Posted in: Today's ChiliSoccer’s Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is seemingly here to stay, at least in some parts of the world. CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) has revealed it will use VAR to help refs in numerous 2022 competitions. You can expect the technology in all remaining CONCACAF qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the men’s and women’s U20 Championships and the W Championship.
The organization’s decision was prompted in part by success with VAR in 2021 competitions like the CONCACAF Champions League, Gold Cup and Nations League Finals. The Confederation said progress on VAR had been “considerably” delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but now has enough VAR-qualified referees and venues to expand the technology’s use.
VAR still has its critics despite receiving FIFA’s approval for World Cup use in 2018. Enthusiasts are concerned the requests for video reviews can slow down matches, and that the use of centralized review hubs could be used to skew decisions. Soccer already has plenty of drama over tackles and handballs, they argue — VAR just draws out those disputes and takes away from the thrill of the game.
However, the arguments against the system appear to have lost some momentum. VAR helped reverse 17 out of 20 bad calls during the 2018 World Cup, and some backers have contended that video reviews would have overturned other mistakes if they had been used more consistently. Like it or not, tech is more likely to loom in the background of soccer matches than it has before.
Jan 19
After what’s felt like ages of waiting, Amazon revealed a little more about its plans for its Lord of the Rings prequel streaming series today, namely, its name: The Rings of Power. Sauron’s plans to ensorcell the Elves, Dwarves, and realms of Men with his magical trinkets has been at the heart of Tolkien’s universe…
Jan 19
Online tax filers will soon be required to submit a selfie to a third-party identity verification company using facial recognition tech in order to file their taxes or make IRS payments online.
Jan 19
Android tablets are a dime a dozen, but finding one that’s a real iPad rival is like scouring for a diamond in the rough. That’s why Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, which was unexpectedly leaked on an official Bixby support page, looks so intriguing.
Jan 19
Weigh-ins can sometimes lead to avoiding health checkups altogether. Here’s how to ask your provider to skip the scale.
Jan 19
<img width="1200" height="800" src="https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/free-n95-face-masks-us-pharmacies-1200×800.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="KN95 cone-shaped face mask" loading="lazy" style="margin: auto;margin-bottom: 5px;max-width: 100%" data-attachment-id="707944" data-permalink="https://www.slashgear.com/white-house-brings-free-n95-masks-to-pharmacies-across-the-us-19707941/free-n95-face-masks-us-pharmacies/" data-orig-file="https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/free-n95-face-masks-us-pharmacies.jpg" data-orig-size="1440,960" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="free-n95-face-masks-us-pharmacies" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="
danielmarin/Shutterstock
” data-medium-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/free-n95-face-masks-us-pharmacies-1080×720.jpg” data-large-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/free-n95-face-masks-us-pharmacies-1200×800.jpg” />Amid the ongoing surge of the Omicron variant, the White House has announced it is making a supply of free N95 masks available at local pharmacies. Throughout the pandemic, health agencies around the world have continued to emphasize the benefits of wearing masks in public as a way of slowing the spread of the virus. Unfortunately, not all masks are … Continue reading
Jan 19
Splitgate, the sci-fi portal shooter that transported me back to carefree Quake 3 Arena days, is getting a slew of updates on January 27th with its Beta Season One update. There’s a map builder for constructing and sharing stages with friends, a 100 level battle pass, as well as new One Flag CTF and Evolution modes. (The latter gives the losing team of every round increasingly powerful weapons.) Developer 1047 Games also says the Foregone Destruction map is getting a major fidelity bump, which should be a sign of similar upgrades coming to other maps.
“Our custom map creator will continue to evolve alongside the rest of the game,” Ian Proulx, CEO of 1047 Games, said in a statement. “We’re looking at the map creator as an evolutionary tool driven by the community — it’s a robust feature for fans to play with day one of our new season, and we’re really interested in hearing feedback from the community regarding the types of features and tools they want.”
All of this sounds like great news for Splitgate fans—at least, the few who’ve stuck around. According to SteamDB, the game is currently seeing 1,000 to 2,500 players per day, a far cry from its 67,000 player peak five months ago. I’d wager the launch of Halo Infinite’s free multiplayer mode in December didn’t help (that’s where all my free time has been spent lately), but Splitgate’s popularity has also steadily dropped since its open beta last August.
Sure, it was impressive that Splitgate hit 10 million downloads in under 30 days, but with the plethora of free shooters out there, 1047 Games will need to do more to actually keep people interested for the game’s full release. A hardcore fanbase isn’t enough.
Jan 19
Researchers at the Zwicky Transient Facility in California have analyzed the degree to which SpaceX’s Starlink satellite constellation is affecting ground-based astronomical observations. The results are mixed.
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