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How to watch this week's Congressional UFO hearing
A Congressional subcommittee is set to hold a hearing into UFOs. The panel will hear "firsthand accounts" of UFOs and "assess the federal government’s transparency and accountability" regarding possible threats to national security. You can watch Wednesday's hearing here.
Astrophysicist who claimed to find alien tech may have done the science wrong
Last month, theoretical physicist Avi Loeb made headlines with the sensational claim that tiny spherules recovered from the bottom of the ocean were probably of alien origin. “It’s most likely a technological gadget with artificial intelligence,” he said to The New York Times, which published a story today about the Harvard professor’s contentious claims. Although the biggest scientific breakthroughs often start with a bold hypothesis, Loeb’s peers believe the decorated astrophysicist’s assertions can be called many things — but “good science” isn’t one of them.
NASA names 16-person panel tasked with investigating UFOs
NASA has unveiled the 16-member panel that will focus on "unclassified sightings and other data collected from civilian government and commercial sectors."
Pentagon forms new task force to investigate UFO sightings
The Pentagon has established a new group to investigate UFO sightings.
US government says it doesn't know what was behind 143 UFO sightings
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has published its long-awaited report on nearly two decades worth of UFO sightings.
Fortnite's new season lets you fly UFOs and play as Superman
Fortnite has unveiled its 7th season of chapter 2 with the ability to play as Superman or Rick & Morty's Rich Sanchez and fly in a UFO
Pentagon officially releases 'UFO' footage
The officially-released videos show UFOs darting around US skies.
SpaceX Falcon 9 launch leaves a creepy cloud over LA
It seems like everyone in southern California is looking up and asking "what is that?" this evening, and after revelations earlier this week about government investigations into unidentified flying objects, UFO is a popular answer. In truth, the trails were left by a SpaceX launch in the last hour from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara, CA. You can watch a live video feed of the launch below.
Pentagon funded UFO identification program for 5 years
Recent UFO research isn't just the work of the X-Files or former pop punk stars. The New York Times has learned that the US Department of Defense quietly funded a program (Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification) designed to explain UFO reports. The program was initially funded in 2007 at the behest of Senator Harry Reid, and sent most of its money ($22 million per year) went to an aerospace firm run by his friend Robert Bigelow, who's "absolutely convinced" UFOs have visited Earth and has been making inflatable habitats for NASA. The money stopped flowing in 2012, but the program is technically active to this day.
Tom DeLonge needs your help funding his next UFO obsession
Former Blink-182 singer and guitarist Tom DeLonge is taking his fascination with/conspiracy theories about UFOs to their logical conclusion point: He's partnering with former government officials on a public benefit corporation studying "exotic technologies" from Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP) that the consortium says can "revolutionize the human experience."
TalkTalk's new (almost) gigabit broadband is actually affordable
While BT's broadband networks dominate the UK, other ISPs want to avoid giving their rival any more money by creating their own. Just yesterday, Virgin Media announced it had begun installing 152Mbps connections across Manchester as part of a £3 billion UK expansion, but now TalkTalk is going one better with the launch of Ultra Fibre Optic (UFO) broadband in York. Although it's effectively a gigabit service, TalkTalk has steered away from using the term, choosing instead to brand it under the UFO name. Homes and businesses in the city will enjoy up to 940Mbps, which is over six times faster than Virgin Media's current theoretical limit and 12 times quicker than BT's current fibre allocation.
Ancestry website won't let you borrow its UFO records
You wouldn't think that genealogy websites would have much need to defend copyrights, but they're apparently quite zealous -- so long as you're interested in alien spaceships, at least. Ancestry.com has forced enthusiast site The Black Vault to take down legions of declassified US records on UFO research because some of them were taken from its Fold3 subsidiary. While the documents are public domain, their digital copies supposedly aren't -- Black Vault has to either get permission or digitize the records itself in order to post this content online, a spokeswoman says.
Barely Related: Night Vale travels to YouTube, UFO files
Partying is such sweet sorrow. Welcome to Barely Related, a conversational Friday column that presents the non-gaming news stories that we, the Joystiq staff, have been talking about over the past week. And no, we're not stopping our focus on industry and gaming news. Think of this as your casual weekly recap of interesting (and mostly geeky) news, presented just in time to fill your brain with things to discuss at all of those weekend shindigs. Grab a fresh drink, lean back in your armchair, and get ready to talk nerdy with us.
UK Ministry of Defence's UFO department was disbanded three years ago, had 'no defense purpose'
National Archive documents recently released show that the UK government's very own UFO department, which had reported on sightings for over 50 years, was shut down three years ago. The department apparently never revealed any "potential threats" to the country, so the Ministry of Defence closed both the hotline and email address that fielded the public's sightings of UFOs. A civil servant briefed the current defence minister, Bob Ainsworth, saying: "The level of resources diverted to this task is increasing in response to a recent upsurge in reported sightings, diverting staff from more valuable defence-related activities." The recently released files also covered some of the sightings reported from across the UK in 2009, which included, perhaps unsurprisingly, Stonehenge.
UFO Online abducts cows, starts second beta phase
Remember kids: Just say no to alien probing! If you're like any of us on the Massively staff, then you're sick of being abducted by intergalactic bullies and dissected for kicks. That's why we're glad that gamigo's fighting back with UFO Online, which is one step closer to launch today. The publisher announced that UFO Online is beginning its second beta phase following a period of reflection and development after the first. The game's studio, Funatics, has expanded the game to include two new aliens, a better loot system, more complex missions, and more strategic combat. Phase two of the aliens' diabolical plan, er, the studio's approach will also see a better tutorial, performance optimization, and UI improvements that all should make a significant difference for those testing the game. If smacking down grey-skinned invaders appeals to you, you can apply for the beta on the website and read up on our first impressions of this turn-based tactical MMO. [Source: gamigo press release]
Daily iPhone App: Grabatron
For those of you who enjoy Future Games of London's Hungry Shark series, you might want to check out its new game: Grabatron (US$0.99 for the iPhone version, $2.99 on the iPad). Designed as a homage to 1950's monster and alien invasion movies, you play as a UFO which uses a claw to abduct farm animals and people or use huge objects like cars as battering rams. Like in the Hungry Shark games, you control the UFO by using the iPhone's built-in gyroscope. Tilt to the right or left to go in that direction. The UFO hovers over wide and varied landscapes, like army bases, farms and even 1950's Las Vegas, so there's plenty of changing scenery to keep things fresh. You can also explore subterranean caverns, some filled by scientists you can terrorize, while others hold power-ups, like stronger spaceship armor or a more powerful claw. While the game is fun to play, it can get a bit repetitive. You can only hurl a person to their doom with a giant claw so many times before you want more to do. Fortunately, there's a lot to explore and 30 separate missions to keep you engaged. My only beef with the game is that there are separate versions for the iPhone and iPad. I like my apps universal, and those who feel that they shouldn't have to buy the same game twice will be disappointed. However, for its fun, playability, and overall design, I recommend Grabatron to any casual iOS gamer.
Jagged Alliance Online and UFO Online entering closed beta testing
Double your turn-based strategy and double your fun with gamigo's upcoming UFO Online and Jagged Alliance Online. Both browser-based titles are gearing up to enter closed beta very soon. UFO Online, which focuses on defending territory from opposing factions and aliens (the extraterrestrial kind), begins its open beta today, while Jagged Alliance Online -- a squad-building, mercenary-themed title -- will follow in the next few days. To sign up to be a part of the testing, head on over to the games' official sites. [Source: gamigo press release]
UFO Online wants your slogan on its loading screens
Loading screens are a necessary evil for many of our favorite MMORPGs, but as long as they're festooned with some cool concept art and a lore snippet or two, we generally don't complain. If you've ever wanted the opportunity to personalize your loading screen without resorting to third-party hacks, gamigo has a contest you'll want to check out. UFO Online - Fight for Earth is in need of a few good loading screen slogans, and players who come up with the best catch-phrases will find their words immortalized on the the turn-based strategy title's various transition panels (as well as their name in the game's credits). gamigo is looking for "anti-alien slogans," so put on your xenophobic thinking caps and send your best entries to the official contest email address. A final vote will be conducted on the game's Facebook page in short order, so get a move on, soldier!
E3 2011: Gamigo goes turn-based with UFO Online and Jagged Alliance Online
Free-to-play developer gamigo, known best for titles like the up-and-coming Black Prophecy, wants to get further into the browser market... and in a big way. Later this year, the company will be releasing two new titles, both tactical, squad-based, turn-based, and browser-based and both in the Unity engine. And while both games do have some similarities, they feel very different from each other. UFO Online is set in a gloomy future of alien invasion, but players will also have to contend with defeating their fellow humans in an effort for world domination. If you like to take your turn-based gaming with a cold shot of stat- and skill-management, then you'll love UFO Online. Jagged Alliance Online plays in similar ways but is more straightforward. We sat down with gamigo at E3 for an exclusive look at the two titles, so click past the cut to read more! %Gallery-125873%
mobiBLU's A10 UFO player may lift off when playing Jefferson Airplane
Is it a portable media player, or just a media player? Should it be worn around the neck, or simply left on the living room table? These questions and more become yours to answer should you choose to invest in mobiBLU's A10 UFO. All we're told is that it's available in glossy red or glossy black and that it features Bluetooth, support for a multitude of file formats, a built-in battery, headphone jack and 2/4/8GB of internal storage. If you look carefully, you'll notice that the red version is actually already starting to float upwards upon the strumming of the first chords in "White Rabbit." Far out, man.[Via AnythingButiPod]
