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'Star Trek' star Leonard Nimoy passes away at 83
The Star Trek and sci-fi world at large suffered a great loss today, as Leonard Nimoy has passed away at the age of 83. Best known for his role as human/alien Spock in the TV and movie series, he had been hospitalized two days ago for chest pains. His wife Susan Bay Nimoy told the New York Times her husband died of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which he attributed to an old smoking habit. In recent years, he'd returned to our TV sets on Fringe playing the scientist William Bell, and made a cameo appearance as Spock Prime in Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013.
Friend, former Joystiq editor Andrew Yoon passes away at 29
On Thursday, January 29, friend and former Joystiq editor Andrew Yoon tragically drowned while on vacation in Austin, Texas. He was 29. Following his tenure at Joystiq, I was fortunate enough to convince Andrew to pick up his life in New York and join me in Los Angeles as part of the Shacknews editorial team. In 2012, Andrew became the site's Editor-in-Chief. But Andrew outgrew his passion for writing about games and his ambition rekindled a childhood dream to create a game of his own. In September 2014, Andrew and his partners secured over $16,000 in funding in a Kickstarter campaign to develop Divorce! The Card Game, which is set to launch later this month. In January, he and a team of creators won an award at GXDev 2015 for the game Cactus Seeking Hug (play it, it's brilliant). Andrew was a spirited friend and co-worker, with an unrivaled passion and vast void for a stomach. He was always cheerful, stylish and hungry. His slim frame could consume an ungodly amount of food – seriously, his Twitter was 90% photos of things he was about to eat. He was kind and funny, a conversation with him was always guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. If you needed help, like a couch to crash on, he was there. At one point in our lives we managed an editorial team together; we shared airtime on the podcast Weekend Confirmed; heck, we even lived in the same small apartment complex in Los Angeles. Although our interactions became limited to small conversations and giggles between meetings at press events in recent years, I will always consider him a friend. Our condolences go out to Andrew's friends, family and colleagues at his startup Anyo. For those able, a memorial fund has been set up to cover burial costs and to honor his memory. Joystiq Editor-in-Chief Ludwig Kietzmann remembers his dear friend in a letter after the break.
Android TV's rise is bad news for (most of) Google TV
The writing has been on the wall since Android TV appeared last summer, but now it's official -- Google TV (and all the hardware that used it) is yesterday's news. Google gave developers confirmation that "most Google TV devices won't support the new platform," although a small subset of devices will be upgraded to the new Android 5.0 software. There's no word on exactly which ones are covered, but the team at Google will be focusing their efforts on Android TV and the Cast ecosystem. Old Google TV boxes will still work of course, but you can pretty much cancel any hope of further updates or continued support from future apps.
Unable to find a suitor, Twitpic is shutting down on October 25th
It looked like Twitpic would live on after a trademark spat with Twitter. Last month, the photo-sharing service announced that it was shutting down, and then that it had been acquired. It seems that whatever deal was on the table went south as the service is really truly shutting down on October 25th. Founder Noah Everett took to the company's blog to announce its ultimate fate, stating that "agreeable terms could not be met" after sifting through "a handful of potential acquirers." Everett also said that while the announcement that Twitpic would stay active was premature, the company felt that is was important to let its users know it would keep on trucking as soon as it could. If you need to grab your images, you can get info on exporting data and snapshots here.
Apple posts tribute to Robin Williams
On August 11, 2014 the world lost Robin Williams, a legend in comedy in and cinema. Recently, Apple released an advertisement that featured the actor's dialog from "Dead Poets Society." Tim Cook has already paid his respects via Twitter, but now his company has as well. Apple posted the above image, along with the text, "We are deeply saddened by the passing of Robin Williams. He inspired us through his passion, his generosity, and the gift of laughter. He will be greatly missed."
Currents officially transitions to Google Play Newsstand with latest update
When Google Play Newsstand made its debut back in November, the folks in Mountain View let us know that Currents would be merged with the new app. Well, the day has come when Currents officially bites the dust. With a recent update, users are prompted to click through to Newsstand when trying to access the shuttered software and all current subscriptions are ported over automatically. After you swipe over the first time, Currents will be disabled and its icon disappears from the Apps menu. Of course, iOS users are still waiting for Google's Newsstand to hit their mobile devices, which is expected to happen soon.
Justin 'JewWario' Carmical passes away at 42
Justin Carmical, a games writer and entertainer known for his You Can Play This series and "JewWario" persona, has passed away. Carmical's wife, Jenny Valentine, posted on Facebook that she was with Carmical when he took his own life on January 23. "He knew I loved him, he knew all of you loved him," Valentine wrote. "You all made him so happy, every time he was recognized from his videos, it made him giddy with joy." Carmical was 42 at the time of his passing - far too young for someone of his talent. We share our condolences to his friends and family.
Nvidia marketing manager killed trying to rescue man from train
Nvidia marketing manager Philip Scholz, 35, was killed on January 20 when a commuter train struck both him and an unidentified man whom Scholz was trying to help off the tracks. Mercury News reports that Scholz saw the man, who is currently in critical condition, down on the tracks and laid down to help him up. It is not known why the man was on the tracks, but Scholz's wife, Emily Scholz, told Mercury News that it "didn't matter" to her at this point, and she wanted people to know her husband aimed to do well. "I just want people to know that he wasn't doing something stupid, or that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He wasn't in some kind of argument. He was doing the right thing when it happened." Philip Scholz's memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on February 10, at the Veterans Memorial Building in Pleasanton.
Distro Issue 109: Turning the lights off on innovation
Well faithful readers, the day has come. In this final issue of our weekly, we examine the death of innovative devices that despite miscalculated timing, still had their influence on a handful of gadgets that we use today. We also throw down the review gauntlet for the Jambox Mini, HP SlateBook x2 and one of Sony's newfangled "lens cameras." Eyes-On goes after a hunk of stainless steel, Rec Reading has Tim Cook on the new iPhones and Weekly Stat tallies digital publication readership. Head to those trusty repositories one last time and enjoy some end of the week leisurely reading. Distro Issue 109 PDF Distro in the iTunes App Store Distro in the Google Play Store Distro in the Windows Store Distro APK (for sideloading) Like Distro on Facebook Follow Distro on Twitter
Audio pioneer Ray Dolby passes away
We've sad news to report today in the world of audio: Ray Dolby has passed on. His death comes relatively soon after losing both Dr. Fritz Sennheiser and Dr. Amar Bose, and as with those two gentlemen, Dolby's legacy will continue to impact viewers and listeners around the globe for many years to come. Dolby founded Dolby Laboratories in 1965, seeking to provide a place for like-minded engineers to "push the limits of sight and sound," as is stated on the outfit's homepage. He is perhaps best known for the Dolby noise-reduction system, and in more modern times, for his company's iconic stamp on just about every major motion picture and piece of AV equipment known to man. Dolby's surround sound magic continues to lead the industry, with Dolby 3D and Dolby Atmos as its latest contributions. Ray Dolby was 80 years old, and is survived by his wife Dagmar as well as sons Tom and David. A tribute video compiled by Dolby Labs can be found after the break.
Giant Bomb's Ryan Davis passes away at 34
Giant Bomb founder and Gamespot alum Ryan Davis has died. Giant Bomb put out a statement this morning, saying that Davis passed away last week. The site did not divulge the cause of death. "Many of you know that Ryan was recently married. In the face of this awfulness, many of us will at least always remember him as we last saw him: outrageously, uproariously happy, looking forward to his next adventure with the biggest grin his face could hold," Matthew Rorie wrote. Davis founded Giant Bomb in 2008 with longtime compadre Jeff Gerstmann after they departed Gamespot. Our condolences go out to Davis' friends, family and colleagues at Giant Bomb.
Computing UI visionary Douglas Engelbart passes away at age 88
The computing world lost one of its great minds and true pioneers yesterday. Douglas Engelbart passed away at age 88, just over a half-century after he joined the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) -- the place where much of his ground-breaking computing research would take place. Among his (and his research team's) many inventions made at SRI are the mouse, bitmapped screens, hypertext, networked computers and elements of a modern, windowed GUI. Should you be among those unfamiliar with his work, we've included a video of his epic and appropriately named "Mother of All Demos" that he gave in 1968 to introduce many of his computational contributions to the world. Tip of the cap, Mr. Engelbart. You will be missed, but assuredly not forgotten.
RIP: Google Reader
We hope you've had time to say your goodbyes, because Google Reader bows out today, ending its eight-year existence. The search giant gave a two-month warning, with many users incensed that they'd be losing their defacto RSS reader -- their favorite way to absorb news and internet goings-on. We'd like to hear why Reader managed to pull in such a devoted following, so leave us your memories in the comments below and let us know which service you've moved your feeds to, because some of us haven't decided yet.
Spotify's web player exploited by Chrome extension to download songs as MP3s
This is why we can't have nice things. Spotify's web player has been rolling out to more users since its closed beta launch late last year, but today an extension popped up in the Google Chrome store (it's already been pulled) allowing users to download songs as MP3 files. According to the notes left by its author, the company wasn't using any encryption on its HTML5 player, making it a pretty simple project to put together. We're waiting to hear back from Spotify about the breach, and while Google appears to have been quick on the ball to remove the extension -- in a similar manner to how it's treated YouTube download tools in the Chrome Web Store -- hopefully this won't give others pause on distributing premium content using HTML5.
Martin Kevan, Far Cry 3's Dr Earnhardt, passes away, aged 66
Actor and author Martin Kevan has died at age 66 after a brief battle with cancer. Kevan, best known for his roles in Happiness is Loving Your Teacher and Un Tuer si proche, as well as penning the novel Racing Tides, played the mad Dr. Earnhardt in Far Cry 3. As the Montreal Gazette notes, Kevan enjoyed a successful career in film, TV, and theater speaking in both English and French. We pass on our condolences to his friends, family, and colleagues.
Mass Effect 2 Zaeed actor Robin Sachs passes away at 61
Voice actor Robin Sachs has passed away after a long career, playing parts like Ethan Rayne in Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Hedronn on Babylon 5. Bioware has posted a quick note on the company blog remembering Sachs' work on their franchises, including serving as Admiral Saul Karath in Knights of the Old Republic, Lord Pyral Harrowmont in Dragon Age Origins, and perhaps most memorably as vicious bounty hunter Zaeed Massani in Mass Effect 2.As Bioware says, "our thoughts are with Robin's family and friends during this difficult time." Thanks for the stories, Zaeed.
Heavy Rain composer Normand Corbeil passes away, aged 56
Normand Corbeil, the celebrated screen and video game composer, has died at age 56. Corbeil, twice nominated for Emmy awards for his work on Hitler: The Rise of Evil and Human Trafficking, composed the award-winning music of Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain. He also co-composed Indigo Prophecy, and was working on the studio's next project, Beyond: Two Souls. After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in August 2012, Corbeil passed away on January 25.One of the key components of Heavy Rain, a game Joystiq doled out five stars to, was its powerful, often deeply melancholic music. As our reviewer put it, Corbeil's "superb" accompanying score drew you into the experience because it fit the situation so well.Our thoughts go out to his family, friends and colleagues. Gaming has lost a great composer, but Corbeil's work lives on, and we hope you take the time today to enjoy it.
'GamesMaster' Sir Patrick Moore has died
Revered British astronomer, writer, and broadcaster Sir Patrick Moore has died, aged 89. As the BBC reports, Moore passed away peacefully yesterday at his home in England.Moore was one of Great Britain's most recognizable personalities. He had a glittering career as a writer and broadcaster of astronomy, most famously presenting BBC mainstay The Sky at Night for over half a century. Yet he wasn't afraid to present himself unseriously, as British gamers who grew up in the 1990s will undoubtedly remember.As the face, or more specifically the cyborg head of GamesMaster, Moore was an integral part of one of the few successful video game shows TV can boast. Although his stint on GamesMaster was likely only a minor sideline in his incredible life, this tribute video by Big Daddy D shows just how memorable it was.
Nintendo Power officially closes, last issue should be out December 11
Yesterday marked the day Nintendo Power, after running for 24 years, officially closed. The news of the magazine's end broke back in August, but yesterday some of the now former staffers revealed on Twitter they'd completed the last issue, and the office had closed its doors. That final issue should be out on December 11.You can read the favorite memories of many Nintendo Power staffers here, as well as reminisce with us and other writers as we remember a publication so prominent in our gaming childhoods.
Apple's Ping no longer pinging back, leaves memories of white noise in its wake
"I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride Something touched me deep inside... the day the music died." R.I.P. Ping (09.01.2010 - 09.30.2012)
