Alex Gilyadov

Contributor

Alex is a freelance writer for various outlets including GameSpot, Playboy, and CGMagazine. He's also a huge fan of Breaking Bad, and thinks The Sopranos is slightly overrated.

Articles by Alex Gilyadov

Flagship 'Dota 2' tournament sets cash prize record
Dota 2's flagship tournament, The International 2016, is now the most lucrative eSports competition in history with a record-breaking $18.6 million prize pot. The total purse of last year's tournament was under $18.5 million, and under $11 million in 2014. The prize pool will continue to grow for another two weeks as it's funded by fans buying Battle Passes, Dota 2's new in-game digital program that will last until August 13th.
Solar-powered machine turns urine into drinkable water
Scientists from a Belgian university have built a solar-powered machine that can turn urine into drinkable water. They deployed it at a 10-day music and theater festival in central Ghent, Belgium. The experiment was a success as the scientists were able to recover a 1,000 litres of unconsumed water, which will be used to make Belgian beer, from the urine of several partygoers.
'Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV' gets its first English trailer
A new theatrical trailer is out for Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, the film companion to the upcoming video game. This is the first time audiences can hear the CG movie's star-studded English-language voice talent.
Hillary Clinton's mobile game lets you run your own campaign
The Democratic National Convention opens today in Philadelphia and there has been some serious inner-DNC turmoil the past few days involving a ton of leaked emails. WikiLeaks published messages that show party officials rallying up against Bernie Sanders, and even making fake Craigslist ads to to target Donald Trump. But the Hillary Clinton campaign is moving full-steam ahead the only way it knows how: by releasing a mobile game.
Scientists find a way to make cells respond to stimuli
Through the use of synthetic biology researchers have been able to program cells to perform unique functions, like produce drugs in response to disease markers. In order to create more complex cellular circuits, several MIT engineers have now found a way to program cells to respond to a series of events.
Spotify will play ads based on your playlists
If you're a Spotify user, your friends and family aren't the only ones who are able to check out your playlists. The popular streaming service is now the latest platform that is opening its data to targeted, programmatic advertising. Everything from your age and gender, to the music genres you like to listen to will be targetable by participating third-party companies
Edward Snowden designed an iPhone case to prevent wireless snooping
Edward Snowden is still trying to combat smartphone radio surveillance three years after spilling the NSA's secrets. With help from hacker Andrew "Bunnie" Huang, Snowden presented on Thursday designs at the MIT Media Lab for a case-like add-on device that monitors electrical signals sent to an iPhone's internal antennas.
'Don't Starve: Shipwrecked' gets a PS4 release date
If you own a PlayStation 4 and have been patiently waiting to play Don't Starve: Shipwrecked, then you're in luck. The nautical-themed expansion will be released on August 2nd on the PSN store, with a 10 percent launch discount to boot. Though that August 2nd date is only a few weeks away, this marks a several month delay for the expansion. Shipwrecked was originally supposed to launch on Sony's console sometime this spring.
'Pokémon Go' helps Nintendo break major stock market record
Nintendo continues to make headlines, all thanks to Pokémon Go. Now the video game giant had the biggest daily turnover of any company on the Tokyo stock market this past Friday, July 15th.
CBS News is coming to Apple TV as a free app
If you're a cord cutter who owns an Apple TV and is on the hunt for live news coverage, then you're in luck. CBS News has launched an updated app for the streaming device that will provide 24-hour news programming. It also curates video playlists and news stories for users based on previously watched videos.
MasterCard is lending its mobile payment tech to banks
MasterCard is hoping to make in-store mobile payments -- the ability to wave your phone at a terminal to buy something -- more accessible. The company is teaming up with several banks, including Citi and Bank of America, to let customers pay for stuff using bank apps on their phones. Meaning, you won't have to download a dedicated app.
Blizzard has had enough of rude 'World of Warcraft' players
Blizzard wants to put a stop to inappropriate behavior in World of Warcraft. The company is rolling out a new silence penalty that will limit abusive players from engaging with the game in a few major ways.
ESPN will air 18 hours of eSports coverage on July 17th
ESPN is increasing its eSports coverage in a big way. The network will be airing 18 hours of eSports programming on ESPN2 and ESPNU on Sunday, July 17th. This will mark the first time ESPN will air an entire eSports block on its major networks, a far cry from the days when it relegated League of Legends matches to streams on the web.