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Via now provides veterans with free rides in the DC area
Veterans in the DC area can now book up to four free rides per month through the ride-sharing company Via. The new VetRides program could help veterans get to medical appointments, classes and job interviews.
Facebook will help military veterans become AR and VR engineers
Facebook has launched a new resource hub to help veterans and serving members of the military improve their digital literacy and find new employment opportunities. As part of the venture -- undertaken in partnership with mentoring organization SCORE -- Facebook will be launching a 12-month career development program focused on AR and VR engineering, aimed at veterans with backgrounds in electrical and mechanical engineering, and computer science.
Amazon discounts Prime subscriptions by $40 for veterans
With Veterans Day coming up, Amazon has launched a new promotion aimed at armed forces members. Starting today and until November 11th, if you've served in the military, or are a current active duty or reserve member, you can get $40 off the first year of an Amazon Prime subscription. If you're already a subscriber, fret not: you can use the promotion as a way to extend your membership at a discount.
US veterans can now use an iPhone to access their health records
Apple is widening American veterans' access to health records from their iPhones. In the wake of a test this summer, any veteran receiving care through the Veterans Health Administration can use Apple's Health app on iOS to pull up their medical data. You can check lab results, medications and other data in one place without having to get printed copies or otherwise walk through an elaborate process. This includes care across multiple providers, whether it's Johns Hopkins or UC San Diego.
Xbox Adaptive Controllers will be used for veteran therapy
The Xbox Adaptive Controller might just become an important tool for some US military veterans. Microsoft and the Department of Veterans Affairs have formed a partnership that will donate controllers, consoles, games and adaptive gear to 22 Veterans Affairs rehabilitation centers across the US. The accessible gamepads will help with rehab and therapy activities focused on hand-eye coordination and muscle activation, and should help veterans both have fun and socialize.
Google helps veterans find civilian jobs that match their skills
When you leave the US military, it's not always clear how your skills will translate to a civilian job. You may end up taking a position below your aptitude simply because you underestimated your experience. Google, at least, believes it can help. It just upgraded its job search feature with tools that help veterans find roles that match their talents. Type in "jobs for veterans" and you can enter your military job codes to look for corresponding roles. It works with any site that uses Talent Solution, including CareerBuilder, Getting Hired and FedEx Careers.
Lyft expands its free ride program to veterans and job-seekers
Last year starting with Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Lyft launched its "Relief Rides" program for folks caught in hurricanes and other emergencies. Now, the ride-sharing company has announced that it will start offering its services in non-emergency situations, too. It has committed $1.5 million to upgrade the program, giving returning veterans and low-income job-seekers access to rides for job interviews, medical visits and more.
Amazon will help train veterans for tech jobs
Last week, Amazon said it would bring 100,000 full-time jobs to the US by 2018. This week, the online retailer announced a registered apprenticeship program with the US Department of Labor that will offer training to veterans. The initiative follows CEO Jeff Bezos' pledge to hire 25,000 veterans and their spouses over the course of five years. That goal was announced back in May.
AI will shape health care plans for US veterans
American veterans needing health care are about to get help from an unusual source: artificial intelligence. The Department of Veterans Affairs and Flow Health have forged a 5-year alliance that will see the two build a massive medical knowledge graph (based on the records of 22 million veterans) that uses deep learning to customize health plans for vets. The system aims to identify the common genetic factors that make people vulnerable to given diseases and not only improve diagnoses, but recommend treatments on a case-by-case basis.
White House teams with Uber and Lyft on free rides for veterans
Uber and Lyft are doing a rare team-up to offer "tens of thousands" of free rides to veterans who need transportation to seek work, according to a message from the White House. Uber pledged to donate 10,000 rides worth around $125,000, while Lyft told Techcrunch that it's giving away "thousands of rides" in total. The White House pointed out that the rides will be particularly beneficial to the estimated 50,000 homeless veterans, two-thirds of whom don't have access to transportation. In addition, Uber will today offer riders a chance to donate $5, which it'll use to offer additional rides.
ReWalk rehab exoskeleton goes home with a patient
The FDA may have only cleared the ReWalk exoskeleton for home use just two weeks ago, but it's already finding use outside of hospitals and clinics. Retired US Army Sergeant Theresa Hannigan (shown meeting the President in March) has become the first patient in the US to take one of the mobility machines home, letting her walk and reclaim much of the independence she lost after being paralyzed. The Argo-made gear is expensive to own at nearly $70,000, but the Department of Veterans Affairs plans to cover the cost of ReWalk technology for Hannigan and anyone else who's eligible to use it. The exoskeletons will have some positive side-effects, to boot -- since recipients are much more active, they reduce the chances of heart disease and other conditions that might take them back to a doctor. [Image credit: Debbie Hill-Pool/Getty Images]
The US military wants brain implants to treat combat trauma
For soldiers coping with brain injuries and post-traumatic stress, coming home may be tougher than the actual fighting; their conditions can last a lifetime. Long-term relief may be on the horizon for US veterans, though. DARPA is supporting the White House's brain mapping initiative by funding the development of implants (conceptualized below) that alleviate the symptoms of warriors' mental problems, ranging from PTSD to extreme depression. The technology, built by Massachusetts General Hospital, Draper Laboratory and UC San Francisco, will use sensors to watch for unusual neural activity at multiple parts of the brain. If something's wrong, the implants will use deep electrical stimulation to restore healthy activity -- permanently, if possible.
Champions Online extends automatic veteran rewards to lifetime subscribers
Lifetime subscriptions are tricky things. Being able to simply drop money and forever have access to a game is nice on paper, but it takes a while before it starts paying for itself, and it really comes back to bite you if you turn out to not enjoy a game's direction. Champions Online was one of the first games to offer a lifetime option, and as of today Cryptic Studios has sweetened the offer slightly by giving lifetime subscribers all of the game's veteran rewards. As soon as you purchase a lifetime subscription, even if you've never logged into the game before, your account is eligible for every single long-term subscriber benefit. Obviously this won't have much of an impact on people who have already been lifetime subscribers since the beginning, but more recent players will benefit from an influx of new rewards. It's up to you whether or not those extra perks are worth a $300 investment in the game.
The Daily Grind: Should MMOs put an end to veteran rewards?
In previous Daily Grinds, we've asked you whether you sub for veteran rewards, whether they should be recycled, and whether they should be more awesome, but we've never asked you whether they should exist in the first place. Massively reader The_Grand_Nagus wrote to us pointing out that while old-school gamers, accustomed to playing a single game for years, take for granted veteran rewards and expect them from studios as something they "deserve" as compensation for their loyalty, other players consider that attitude to be selfish and entitled, believing that what vets got for their loyalty and money was the game they paid for and that they deserve nothing more, certainly not rewards that future players or new players can't realistically earn. The Ultima Online community, for just one example, spent the summer storming over whether new players should even be allowed to use veteran rewards purchased from actual veterans. Some players genuinely believe that all new players should wait another 16 years to erect a garden shed in their yards. Garden sheds are serious business. It all starts to seem a little silly in the context of our modern, free-to-play, game-hopping MMO culture, where veteran rewards teeter on becoming an outright waste of developer resources since few people stick around long enough to become vets (and games seldom stick around long enough to accrue such devotion). What's your take? Are veteran rewards a product of a bygone era of subscriptions and loyal communities? Should studios do away with them? Or should modern MMOs use veteran rewards to encourage loyalty in a market that seems to provide fewer and fewer reasons to stay faithful? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Black Ops 2 personalization packs 25% off, proceeds to help veterans
Activision, Treyarch and Microsoft have partnered to help veterans find jobs via the Call of Duty Endowment non-profit organization and a sale on Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 personalization packs. From October 8-14, players can download personalization packs, which offer a calling card, weapon skin and three targeting reticles, from the Xbox Marketplace for 25 percent off. All profits generated during this sale will go toward the Call of Duty Endowment. "With this drive, we continue to pledge our support to the Call of Duty Endowment in support of veterans, and really appreciate everyone in our community who contributes to this great cause and gives back," Mark Lamia, Studio Head of Treyarch, said in a press release regarding the event.
Defense Mobile to offer Sprint-based cellular service to soldiers and veterans (updated)
While the US military can devote many resources to putting smartphones on the battlefield, it can't do the same for soldiers' private lives. A new carrier, Defense Mobile, wants to fill that void: it just announced a deal to use Sprint's CDMA and LTE networks for cellular service devoted to active-duty forces, reserves and veterans. The provider will offer plans at enlisted rank budgets, ranging from $20 for the basics to $60 for a family plan. It won't skimp on the handset selection, though -- the company already promises the Galaxy S 4, HTC One and iPhone 5. Defense Mobile hopes to go live in 2014, and it should arrive with both apps and branding tailored to each military branch. Update 7/2/2015: A lot has changed in the past two years. Defense Mobile is now partnering with AT&T as well, and hopes to integrate Verizon by late 2015. Pricing is also very different -- it starts at $30 per month for 300 minutes, 300 messages and 300MB of data, with higher tiers giving you unlimited voice and texting along with larger data buckets (up to 12GB individually, or 36GB on a family plan). The base price is higher, then, but you'll also get a plan that's better suited to your smartphone.
Google launches VetNet, uses Google+ to link veterans with civilian jobs (video)
As eager as Google has been to help veterans find work in the civilian world, most of its work has been parallel to what's already going on. It's hoping to use its social networking skills from Google+ as the linchpin for a larger effort. Enter VetNet: the portal aggregates job-finding resources from Hire Heroes USA, Hiring Our Heroes and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families, using Google+ pages for program tracks that cover job hunting basics, career networking and entrepreneurial courses. Former soldiers will logically need to sign in, but they'll get access to video discussions through Hangouts, a Google Calendar for events and, naturally, a place to connect with fellow vets. The VetNet hub is already live; if transitioning to work outside the armed forces feels like too much of a solitary pursuit so far, the service could be a prime opportunity.
"Guide Dog" player and sightless guild-mate honored with in-game items
Back in January, Lisa Poisso posted a touching story about two players, Hexu, an enhancement shaman played by British Army soldier Ben Shaw, who, while serving in Iraq, was involved in an incident with a roadside bomb in Basra. He suffered multiple shrapnel wounds and had to have both eyes surgically removed. Despite this, Hexu has accepted many challenges, including WoW raiding. But how does a sightless player raid? Well, that's where Davidian comes in. Davidian is a Death Knight, played by a Scotsman named Owen, and is Hexu's in-game guide. He uses a series of macros, both on Hexu's machine and his own, to help Hexu perform in-game actions from repairs to killing Deathwing, the two even ranking side by side in DPS. Why are we repeating this story? Well, Blizzard has honored Hexu and Davidian with two in-game items: Hexu's Amplifying Helm, and Davidian's All-Seeing Eyes. The item descriptions on the tooltips are particularly touching: "A man with a friend is never without vision" and "Sharp enough to see for two men" respectively. I was really touched by this, and so are Hexu and Davidian's guild, Die Safe, who have posted a thread on the EU forums thanking Blizzard for this recognition.
Aion's Rallying the Troops event begins Feb 27th
If the recent news about Aion's upcoming conversion to free-to-play has sparked your interest or you had left previously but want to pop back in for a little look-see, NCsoft is offering the perfect opportunity to do just that! Starting February 27th, Rallying the Troops will allow Daevas and Daevas-to-be to jump into the stunning world of Atreia for free, getting a head start on preparing for the much anticipated 3.0 patch, Ascension. Each player, whether new, returning, or currently subscribed, will receive bonuses during that time, including double XP, a 30% boost in AP, and crucible insignias. New recruits need only make an account to begin playing a free extended trial. Returning veterans will play for free through March 12th. All those currently serving, along with the returning veterans, will benefit from more medals and relic loot drops from fortresses. As an added incentive, everyone who subscribes by March 12th will receive a free set of Daevanion armor. If you have ever had the desire to check Aion out, there is no time like the present... starting Monday, of course.
SnowWorld breathes new life into severely burned Afghanistan veteran
We know video games can offer deeply immersive experiences that affect our real-world emotions and draw intense reactions from our real-life bodies and minds. We know this, and finally the professional medical community is beginning to recognize our insight, with truly encouraging results, as described by GQ's recent feature, Burning Man.Sam Brown's body was burned horrifically during his tour in Afghanistan, after his Humvee ran over an IED, GQ writes. He spent many months after the accident drugged out of consciousness on rave-grade hallucinogens and enduring the highest levels of physiological pain during therapy that no amount of morpihne could tame. And then a cognitive psychologist told him to play SnowWorld, a virtual-reality game full of snowball-chucking snowmen and penguins, while his skin was stretched, a procedure that normally garnered a score over 10 on Brown's pain scale.Playing SnowWorld, he gave the pain a six.Hunter Hoffman, the psychologist behind SnowWorld, is working on further research into the art of pain distraction through video games, but already results such as Brown's show great potential. Hoffman is using $7.5 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health to expand his research, including the incorporation of Second Life-style elements into video game therapy. Read the entire, captivating story at GQ. [Image via MGShelton]
