Relationship
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Intel CEO resigns over ‘relationship’ with employee
Intel CEO and board member Brian Krzanich will step down from his role at the company, effective immediately. In a statement, Intel said that it had been recently informed of a "past consensual relationship" with a company employee. After an investigation by both internal and external counsel, officials have confirmed that the relationship violated Intel's non-fraternization policy.
Junk technology: Why your penis pedometer is DOA
If all you want for Christmas is a penis pedometer, get ready to be disappointed. NSFW Warning: This story may contain links to and descriptions or images of explicit sexual acts.
Facebook has a cure for your broken heart: more Facebook
Your best friend, Facebook — you know the one who toyed with your emotions for personal gain; repeatedly brought up moments you'd rather forget; and refused to call you by your chosen name for, like, ever — really wants to help you get over your ex. That's right, yesterday the good vibes social network that wears its thumbs-up on its sleeve, started testing a set of features for the recently estranged.
We're live from Motorola's 'Relationship' event!
Weeks of leaks and an early Moto G unveiling in India didn't keep Motorola from putting on a show here in New York (oh, and London too). And why should it? We're expecting to see a brand new Moto X take the stage this morning, and if we're really lucky, we might catch a glimpse of a shiny new Moto 360 to go with it. The most puzzling angle of all is Motorola's insistence that today will change our "mobile relationships," but hey -- it's still early and there's plenty of time for bizarre, corporate rationale. Bring it, Moto.
Cute robots make good filmmakers and maybe better companions
What is the last risk you took? Who do you love most in the world? If you died tomorrow, what would you regret the most? Posing those questions to your friends would probably net you a snide rejoinder, and a stranger would walk away in a huff (if you were lucky). Artist and engineer Alexander Reben wanted to explore what kinds of relationships could arise between humans and robots, so he did the only logical thing: he and his team build a legion of cute machines to ask those very questions.
Drama Mamas: Girlfriend gamer
Drama Mamas Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are experienced gamers and real-life mamas -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of the checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your realm. Do you remember when WoW was shiny and new? Ah, memories. Dear Drama Mamas, I am fairly new to gaming. I started playing about 4 months ago and have since become borderline obsessed with how much fun I am having. There are tons of things to do and I love discovering new things all the time. Currently I belong to my Boyfriend's guild. We play on a very low pop server and there are currently only 4 active members in the guild. He and His friends like it that way- and that's fine. They are all in charge and have been gaming forever. Mostly they focus on occasional PVP (and pet battles- don't tell him I told you!). I really enjoy playing with them and don't feel self conscious about my occasional noob-ness,However I feel that being a part of his guild/ playing on a low pop. server is a limiting experience for me as a newer gamer.
Samsung denies rumor of increased cost of chip production
Word's been going around that due to the recent friction between Apple and Samsung on the end product front, Samsung has decided to charge Apple even more for another one of its businesses: The chip assembly line. Apple depends on Samsung to make a few different components for its devices, and the rumor mill was saying that Samsung was making things harder for Apple on that supply side. But Samsung has now said that prices haven't changed, for Apple or anyone else. A spokesman for Samsung says that prices on the chips Apple is using "are set at the beginning of the year and aren't changed easily." That's not exactly a denial of the friction we've heard about, but it does make sense that Samsung wouldn't change any deals already in place. Any deals in the future, however, might be strained, to say the least. Apple is not a company that likes to depend on any other companies, especially competitors (just look at the recent replacement of Google Maps for an example of that one). So even if prices for Apple haven't yet changed, odds are that both Samsung and Apple are looking for ways to change this agreement back to their own advantage.
Drama Mamas: The case of the raid leader and his future wife
Drama Mamas Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are experienced gamers and real-life mamas -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of the checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your realm. I'm not usually a fan of Coldplay, but my new favorite show, Newsroom, made me like this song. It's also appropriate for this week's letter. Note: You can't fix people. Hey Drama Mamas, I'm writing you guys to talk about a situation that is on the brink of breaking open. Just to say ahead of time, this is a situation of a couple who are in the upper ranks. She is an officer, one of two and he is the raid leader. As the GM, I leave the raid leading to my raid leader. I participate in the raids as well, but I prefer not to be the one giving all the directions in the middle of fights. The issue is his fiance. We'll call her A. Out of the two, she wears the pants. More often than not, she is either talking over the raid leader ( we'll call him B) or running the show through him where the rest of us cannot hear (their computers are right next to each other). This wouldn't be much of an issue, but it undermines the person I put in charge so when he actually tries to lead, our others don't give him the respect and attention he needs. Often times, I will step in and start calling the shots when things get too out of hand.
Facebook and Walmart to 'deepen' involvement, won't rollback FarmVille prices just yet
The involvement between Facebook and Walmart is about to get a lot cozier than gift cards in aisle three. Facebook says it wants to "deepen" its connection to Walmart and hopes to learn from the big-box retailer's skill in building a long-term business; that's rather important when the social network is still young enough for the ink to be wet on shares from its initial public offering. To that end, Facebook's entire executive team will meet with Walmart at its Arkansas headquarters on July 20th in the hopes the two companies will be singing kumbaya when all is said and done. Knowing that both companies have taken a bruising in their public images from time to time, we can understand why some might be apprehensive about the idea of any tighter collaboration -- not until they can buy FarmVille harvests for 88 cents, at least.
Drama Mamas: Should a WoW widow become a WoW player?
Drama Mamas Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are experienced gamers and real-life mamas -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of the checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your realm. We are all for couples spending time in Azeroth together to strengthen their relationships, but is that the solution to this week's drama? Boy, do I need the Drama Mamas advice! Here is my dilemma....my husband is a devout WoW player (we have been together for 2 years), my adult son and teenage daughter from my previous marriage live with us and they also play WOW. I feel sad, left out and jealous (of the time he spends on it, having to wait for raids and dungeons to be over with so I can talk to him, him getting to have fun while I have to work and last, but certainly not least, of his relationships with certain guild members.) I have been kicking around playing with him, but I get totally overwhelmed just thinking about it.
Google to switch on 'semantic search' within months, emphasize things as well as words
A search engine should be about more than just keywords. MC Hammer believes that passionately and Google must do too, because over the next few months and years it'll gradually adjust its own algorithms to put greater emphasis on "semantic search". Under this system, search queries are run through a vast knowledge database that discovers relationships with other words and facts. A Mountain View exec explained it thus: If you search for "Lake Tahoe", you won't just get ranked websites containing those two words but also key attributes about the lake, such as its location, altitude, average temperature and Bigfoot population. If a piece of knowledge isn't the in the ever-expanding database, the search engine will still use semantic search to help it recognize and evaluate information held on websites. In doing this, Big G hopes to compete with social networks that are amassing their own valuable (and sometimes intrusive) databases full of personal information, while also encouraging people to stay longer on its site and see more targeted ads. Google, who is Viviane Reding?
Drama Mamas: When "just friends" intrudes on love
Drama Mamas Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are experienced gamers and real-life mamas -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of the checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your realm. The above song was played once an hour on MTV when it first came out. (In before the "when they were still playing music" comments.) Twenty-seven years later and I'm still sick of it. It is also from a movie about a love triangle -- I hear -- which makes it kind of pertinent to this week's letter. My name is Robby and I've recently stumbled upon your "Drama Mamas" section on WoW Insider. I find that this column focuses on an often overlooked facet in dealing with MMORPGS, the human part. I've been an avid WoW player for about 2.5 years. I'm fortunate enough to have a wonderful girlfriend of 4 years that plays with the same enthusiasm that I do. We try and play together when we can but life is life and we are limited by school and work etc.
EverQuest becomes ever after: A talk with Linda Carlson of SOE
When it comes to getting involved with community, Sony Online Entertainment's Director of Global Community Relations Linda Carlson knows it well. Most often seen tromping around conventions dressed as her beer-craving Dwarven alter-ego Brasse, Carlson was a fixture at SOE's Fan Faire events and author of her own gaming comic long before she ever started working for the studio. As we had the chance to find out recently, this was due at least in part to EverQuest changing her life many, many years prior. While these days meeting up with someone you've met online is considered fairly commonplace, when you look back to the earliest days of MMO gaming, it generally was not something many people did. Even if you did meet someone from "on the computer," they tended to be folks from one or another BBS -- local connections that were easily made and just as easily dismissed. The idea of not only meeting someone online in a romantic fashion but leaving the country you live in to see him/her was considered completely insane. "What if you don't get along? Or what if he/she is a murderer?" your friends might ask, since this was all really new territory and nobody quite knew what would happen. Still, some early MMO gamers like Carlson gathered up their courage and took that gamble. In honor of Valentine's Day, we interviewed Carlson about how her EverQuest connection became an "ever after" -- join us after the break!
Bang & Olufsen announce chip co-op deal with Intel
Well, along with all the other things that happened this year at CES, Bang & Olufsen announced a new cooperation agreement with Intel. What does that mean to you, the consumer? Not terribly much, on the outside -- B&O products have carried Intel chips in the past, but this marks the first time the two companies have had an official relationship, and should mean we'll be seeing refreshes of B&O products every time Intel brings forth new chips. And that's always great news, isn't it? Hit up the source link for full, flowery quotes from reps at both Intel and Bang & Olfusen. Full press release is after the break.
Google calls Apple "valuable partner"
Steve Jobs is trashing Google internally according to rumors, but Google is having none of it. Company reps told the press at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week that Google considers Apple "a very close and valuable partner," and that they believe that the relationship between the two companies "is stable." Of course, they were responding to rumors that Microsoft's Bing search engine would replace Google on the iPhone, and common sense will tell you that it'll be a cold day somewhere very warm before Apple chooses to partner with Microsoft over Google. If push came to shove, Steve would probably create his own search engine before partnering up with anyone in Redmond. But maybe the Google folks are also playing politics a little here -- Steve is not an unreasonable man, and he is known for being direct, especially in personal communication. Jobs can complain all he want in an internal meeting, but in public, it's probably best that Google takes the high road. Apple and Google may eventually have to show down over cell phones, but until they absolutely have to, it's probably better if they both play as nice as possible. [via Ars]
Teen found safe after running away to meet "WoW Soulmate"
We all know that online gaming can strike up a romance between players, but sometimes romance can be taken a bit too far. Over the holidays, 16-year-old Andrew Kane of Barrie in Ontario, Canada, decided that he had to meet his 42-year-old online lover, Lauri Price from Texas. Price had taken a trip up to Canada to meet Kane, but when Kane had asked for a ride from his parents to a nearby hotel to meet Price, his parents returned with the pretty much expected, "No." This lead Kane to run away from his house at the early morning hour of 2 A.M. on an awkward quest to meet his "World of Warcraft soulmate." Kane went missing for two days until he and Price were found at a Future Shop in Orilla, Ontario on December 31st via a tip from the public. Kane had apparently lied about his age to Price, saying he was 20. The legal age of consent in Canada is currently 16. Police have said that Price will not be receiving any criminal charges and is free to travel back to the United States. Kane had been "seeing" Price for over a year via their relationship on World of Warcraft. [Thanks for the tip, Eric!]
Guildwatch: Analyzing the situation
If there's one thing you can take away from this week's GW downings, it's that most guilds are ready for Icecrown. We're seeing lots and lots of guilds finishing off the Trial of the Crusader, and quite a few of them are even starting to nab the Tribute achievements. For endgame raiders, Icecrown can't show up too soon. Fortunately, while you wait, there's lots of guilds looking for more and drama to read through as well. You can click the link below to read this week's Guildwatch, and don't forget to send us your tips: drama, downed or recruiting, we want to hear it all at guildwatch@wow.com. Enjoy!
Man arrested for assaulting girl he met in World of Warcraft
Here's an unfortunate World of Warcraft mention in the news: a man has been arrested and charged with all sorts of terrible things for having a relationship with a 14-year-old girl that he originally met in Azeroth. Daniel Joseph Czelusniak is 23 and from North Royalton, Ohio, and is being held by Pennsylvania State Police after having a relationship with the girl last year, meeting at a hotel and her house. He originally met her four years ago (when she was 10 but apparently claimed she was 14) while they were both playing World of Warcraft.Of course, this is hardly the game's fault: parents of young children need to closely supervise their activity online while they're doing anything, be it browsing the Internet or fighting dragons in Northrend. WoW itself is rated T by the ESRB, which means no children under the age of 13 should really be playing it without parental supervision anyway, and the added online component of the game should be even more of a red flag for anyone overseeing younger children. This is a great game (and you couldn't find a nicer community of people who play it), but there are the same dangers in this environment as anywhere else your child might go online.
Bandai's latest handheld helps women "understand" men
For the longest time now, we were under the impression that it was men looking for miraculous ways of understanding woman. Clearly, we've had the whole thing backwards. Bandai has apparently polled thousands of opinionated males in order to fill its latest handheld with data that woman aged 20 to 30 will pay ¥2,499 ($28) to know. In all seriousness, we can't imagine this thing having a very good search mechanism, so its actual usefulness is definitely questionable. One thing's for sure, though -- handing one of these to your SO / ex-lover with a smirk is guaranteed to get a rise.[Via ShinyShiny]
Forum post of the day: You and me against the World ... of Warcraft
Gotnerf of Vashj is facing a not-entirely-uncommon dilemma. His fiancé is has shown no interest in playing WoW. He believes that once she spends some time seeing him enjoy the game she will want to join in. Gotnerf asked other guys how they got their wives to play. While some suggestions were entirely unhelpful, many seemed encouraging. Leadfoot of Feathermoon suggested a direct approach "You know how you're always saying we should spend more time together? We can share this together, honey." That's more or less how it worked for me. Zelkari of Spirestone recommended something most ladies can't resist, "Show her druids and their flight form." Strumpet of Eldre'thalas had some very grounding advice from experience:
