At this weekend’s WonderCon 2023, JAKKS Pacific will host a panel to reveal its line for The Super Mario Bros. Movie. io9 got an exclusive sneak peek of the iconic Mario Kart, inspired by Nintendo and Illumination’s new animated adaptation, which will be part of JAKKS Pacific’s 2023 toy and collectible releases.
Panera Bread isn’t telling its legion of customers to shove their hand directly into their broccoli and cheese bread bowl, but a few Missouri franchisees are letting their customers know they can throw their palm onto the kiosk to pay for their meal. It’s not the first time Amazon’s palm-reading payment tech has been…
Amazon One’s palm-reading technology that can substitute for credit cards and tickets is now available for Panera customers. With this new partnership, the fast casual chain becomes the first national restaurant to let diners use their palm for payments and loyalty points.
To purchase food, customers will first need to link their MyPanera membership with an Amazon One account. This removes the need to hand over a phone number at the checkout, which traditionally provided the server with available rewards. Palm scans can be used to access loyalty rewards, for payment, or for both.
One of the reasons Panera is excited about the prospect of introducing Amazon One in stores is the ability to get to know its customers better. The company claims that being able to identify customers at the checkout will allow servers to recognize names and also their favorite orders, turning “the guest experience into a true and meaningful relationship.” Yes, next time you want a “You pick two” you’re going to have to make a friend first. Good luck.
Amazon One launched in 2020 and has since expanded into a slew of Whole Foods stores (owned by Amazon) and concert venues. Artists and activists pushed back about the planned move into sports and music events, claiming the technology could provide personal data to government agencies.
As well as announcing the new partnership, Amazon also confirmed it’s now allowing customers to pre-enroll in Amazon One. Panera says Amazon One is already available in two St Louis locations, but has plans to roll it out more widely in the coming months.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-palm-reading-tech-tested-panera-cafes-133037398.html?src=rss
It seems like every major developer is working on an open-world shooter with co-op and RPG elements. But with Redfall, by drawing inspiration from a number of its previous titles, alongside other standouts in the genre, Arkane Studios has added fun new twists to the typical fps survival game. After getting a chance to go hands-on with a preview build of the game, I’m really excited to see more of how Arkane is adding its own flavor to that formula.
Set in the fictional island town of Redfall, Massachusetts, your goal is to cleanse the land of the growing vampire invasion. However, these aren’t your standard bloodsucking ghouls. Instead of ancient monsters, these vampires are the result of a science experiment gone wrong. This gives high-ranking vampires powerful psionic abilities that elevate them to near god-like status, which they’ve used to convert some of the surviving townsfolk into a cult. But more importantly, the mashup of sci-fi and supernatural in a contemporary setting has some really neat impacts on gameplay as well.
That’s because, in addition to your standard range of pistols, shotguns and sniper rifles, you’ll have to rely on updated interpretations of iconic vampire killing weapons too, especially since bullets only weaken vampires before you properly finish them off. So alongside your trusty stake, you’ll also have access to things like stake launchers, flare guns and even a high-powered UV beam rifle which adds a new dimension to typical gunplay. On top of that, as a looter shooter, there’s a variety of weapon rarities (from standard to unrivaled) with bonus traits like being able to reload faster or having increased accuracy while moving. And if you’re a fan of a particular combo, you can also craft and customize weapons to suit your playstyle.
Sadly, while I didn’t have a chance to play them all, Redfall’s cast offers a lot more personality than your typical roster of vampire slayers. There’s robotics engineer Remi, who uses her mechanical companion Bribon to distract enemies while she blasts away. Alternatively, there’s mercenary Jacob who slays foes from afar using his sniper rifle, cloaking device and mystical “Undead Eye,” or Layla, who has special telekinetic abilities that she can use to create shields or launch herself (or party members) into the air for elevated attacks. However, I spent most of my time playing as Devinder, who holds the curious role of being an occult influencer in “cryptozoology”, while also having an interesting mix of both melee and AOE attacks thanks to his electric spear and UV staff that stuns any vampires in its range.
Then there’s the world itself, which feels alive and fleshed out in a way that many open-world games fail to. Not only does the town of Redfall look like a realistic seaside town (you know aside from the crimson skies and vampires flying around), it’s also spooky and atmospheric, and actually gave me chills and goosebumps. In one mission, I even had to resort to smashing all the TVs in a house because the vampires use them to broadcast creepy propaganda to convert more cultists to their side. I mean really, who likes hearing nosferatu whisper in your ear about drinking your fluids?
Then there are other things like vampire nests, which you can clear out to get loot and experience. That said, if you choose to ignore a nest, you could be in for a tough time later as its influence spreads to cover more ground, while also making enemies harder to kill. And while Redfall’s map isn’t the biggest, it’s really dense, with tons of sidequests ranging from finding a popcorn machine to boost the morale of other survivors, to unlocking bunkers and strongholds hidden throughout the town.
In a lot of ways, Redfall has clear ties to the stealthy combat in Dishonored, though it actually reminds me most of another franchise: Borderlands. The main difference is that its pacing is a bit less frenetic, opting instead for a slightly slower, more tactical style of combat, similar to what we got in Prey. There’s a nifty skill tree that lets you enhance a character’s abilities, so you can choose if you want to play more offensively by adding extra damage and range to your attacks, or you can play a support role by focusing on healing and recovery skills. And though my preview was restricted to single-player, I feel like the most fun way to play will be with friends, where you can combo multiple characters’ skills in a four-person squad to create some surprising team attacks. I’m not going to lie, having a buddy watching my back would have made the game way less scary, which is a testament to Arkane’s success at creating an eerie atmosphere.
My one small complaint is that I wish characters had a dash or roll ability. I often found myself simply circle-strafing while I waited to reload for my abilities to come off cooldown. While Devinder is able to teleport by throwing out a beacon in front of him, it takes a while to do, which makes it feel like it’s better suited to traversing terrain like bridges or cliffs than dodging attacks in the heat of battle.
Redfall isn’t reinventing the genre, but it feels like Arkane has taken the best elements from previous games in the category and mashed them together, while adding its signature blend of polish and creativity. And I am really looking forward to playing more when it comes out on Xbox and PC later this spring on May 2nd.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/redfall-hands-on-a-creepy-and-creative-twist-on-the-modern-looter-shooter-140010541.html?src=rss
Amazon is once again refreshing its Fire TV sets, but the focus now is less on whiz-bang features and more on where those sets will fit. The 4K-capable Fire TV Omni QLED line now comes in smaller 43-, 50- and 55-inch models. These TVs start at a lower $450 but still offer up to 96-zone local dimming as well as HDR using Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive. To no one’s surprise, you can expect far-field microphones for Alexa control as well as promises of an upgraded Ambient Experience (always-on art similar to Samsung’s The Frame) with “dynamic” pieces that respond to conditions like the time and weather. That update comes later in the year.
There’s also a new Fire TV 2 range (pictured below) aimed squarely at viewers looking for a small bedroom set. The 32-inch 720p and 40-inch 1080p variants aren’t based on QLED, require using a remote for Alexa and are limited to HDR based on HDR10 and HLG. However, the price might hit the sweet spot — the 32-inch panel costs $200.
The Fire TV Omni QLED series is available for pre-order today, and will be available through Best Buy’s website on May 11th. Amazon is selling the Fire TV 2 through its own site beginning today.
Amazon’s timing is apt. Roku just launched its first in-house TVs, with its entry Select line starting at $149 (for a 24-inch screen) and QLED-based Plus coming in below $500. While the companies’ offerings don’t quite overlap, Amazon’s revised lineup is clearly better suited to competing against Roku’s. In both cases, the strategy is similar: this is as much about getting a platform and services into your living room as it is selling hardware.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-refreshed-fire-tv-omni-qled-lineup-includes-cheaper-smaller-models-140052321.html?src=rss
The pair used primitively made tools to create a hole in the wall of their cell and scaled a containment wall, only to be busted at the restaurant.
In an effort to reshape the growing satellite market, a group of private companies led by Arkisys is preparing to test a system that would enable the construction of spacecraft directly in orbit.
It’s not just Android phones that are vulnerable to a screenshot security flaw. Developer Chris Blume has discovered that Windows 11’s Snipping Tool falls prey to a similar exploit. The utility doesn’t completely erase unused PNG image data, making it possible to recover some of the cropped-out picture and potentially obtain sensitive data. As BleepingComputerverified with researcher David Buchanan, you can extract the supposedly hidden info using a slightly modified version of the script used to demonstrate the Android vulnerability.
The issue doesn’t affect some PNG files, including optimized images. You can also wipe the unused data by saving the cropped picture as another file in an image editing tool. JPEG files also leave data from the original screenshot, but the exploit isn’t known to work with the format at this stage.
holy FUCK.
Windows Snipping Tool is vulnerable to Acropalypse too.
An entirely unrelated codebase.
The same exploit script works with minor changes (the pixel format is RGBA not RGB)
Tested myself on Windows 11 https://t.co/5q2vb6jWOnpic.twitter.com/ovJKPr0x5Y
— David Buchanan (@David3141593) March 21, 2023
We’ve asked Microsoft for comment and will let you know if we hear back. In a statement to BleepingComputer, Microsoft says it’s “investigating” the security reports and will “take action as needed” to protect users.
Buchanan and programmer Simon Aarons recently found a severe “aCropalypse” flaw in the Markup screenshot feature on Google Pixel phones. While Google has since patched the security hole with its March update (now expanded to Pixel 6 phones), the fix only addresses images created after installing the patch. Provided Microsoft releases a corresponding Windows 11 update, existing images may have the same problem.
The concern, as you might guess, is that an intruder with access to your images might use a script to recover information you intend to hide, such as contacts and business secrets. The culprit could use the info for harassment, blackmail or espionage. While this may not be as much of a headache for locally stored screenshots (you have larger problems if an attacker already has access to your device), it could be very troublesome for unmodified images you save in the cloud.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/windows-11-security-flaw-exposes-cropped-out-screenshot-data-131519887.html?src=rss
The “Murder Mystery 2” actor says her co-star doesn’t mince words when it comes to her love life.
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