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Sri Lanka temporarily bans social media after terrorist bombings
Extremist violence has once again prompted Sri Lanka to put a halt to social media in the country. The government has instituted a "temporary" ban on social networks, including Facebook, WhatsApp and Viber, after a string of apparently coordinated bombings that targeted churches and hotels on April 21st, killing over 200 people. Udaya Seneviratne, secretary to Sri Lanka's president, described as an attempt to "prevent incorrect and wrong information" from spreading in the wake of the terrorist attacks.
Twitter: It was a 'mistake' not to suspend bomb suspect for threats
Hours after FBI Director Christopher Wray announced the arrest of Cesar Sayoc in connection with sending 13 IEDs, Twitter finally suspended two accounts tied to Sayoc. Once he was identified, internet users quickly found posts of his showing videos and pictures taken at rallies for President Donald Trump, as well as a number of social media posts threatening various people, including some of the same people that the bombs were addressed to. One of the people who received his threats was political analyst Rochelle Ritchie, who tweeted screenshots showing threats Sayoc made toward her, and Twitter's response to her reports: to do nothing. Despite promising her a "nice silent air boat ride" on October 11th after she appeared on Fox News, the company inexplicably decided there was "no violation" of its rules. Now, after his arrest, and after removing both accounts, Twitter's Safety account tweeted "We made a mistake when Rochelle Ritchie first alerted us to the threat made against her. The Tweet clearly violated our rules and should have been removed. We are deeply sorry for that error."
Disarm a bomb with your hand, a robot arm and Leap-motion controller
Neutralizing explosives, it turns out, is a delicate and complicated procedure -- but a company called Mirror Training hopes to make it simpler. "Our company has built an interface that literally uses your own hand and arm to move a robotic arm," announced CEO Liz Alessi. "I like to call it 'wear your robot.'" The interface uses a Leap Motion controller to detect an arm and hand movements, allowing a bomb squad robot to directly mirror its operator's actions. In tests, Alessi says, it has allowed operators to disarm mock-bombs twice as fast as traditional control methods.
Fallen Earth lays the foundation for 2012 in its January state of the game address
Senior Game Designer Marie Croall sounded the klaxons and ran up the flag for the wastelanders of Fallen Earth in the latest state of the game address. For her and the team, it's time to shake off the ravages of holidays and get to work on laying the foundation for the game in 2012. Croall says that this month players should expect to get the ability to use bombs in Territory Control, which should change things up somewhat. The Territory Control PvP feature will be significantly expanded in the months afterward as well. Also on tap for the near future are additional mid-level quests, the augmentation system for customizing gear, improving the flow of starter areas, and better rare drops across the board. The art team is excited to move on to giving Haven a facelift much like the work the team did on the recent Embry Crossroads revamp. Perhaps the most intriguing is that Croall hints at a major top-secret project in the works: "This month we're also breaking ground on one of the biggest systems we've ever done. It's still too early to really get into details on but we'll make sure this one was worth waiting for."
Learn the ins and outs of Renaissance bombs in latest Assassin's Creed: Revelations trailer
Tired of having to scour the library for all of your favorite assassin bomb recipes? Thankfully Ubisoft is streamlining that process with its next Assassin's Creed game launch, Revelations, as seen in the video above. It's like YouTube, but for 16th century assassins!
New bomb-sniffing laser could be used to locate IEDs
We've already seen lasers with the potential to spot explosives, and now a team of researchers is focusing its beams on roadside bomb detection. Chemistry professor Marcos Dantus of Michigan State University has led the production of a laser that has the "sensitivity and selectivity" to accurately identify improvised explosive devices. This particular bomb-sniffing laser emits short pulses that make molecules vibrate and longer pulses used to "listen" to the resulting "vibrational cords," these so-called cords are used to distinguish telltale molecules from the harmless sort. The research is being funded in part by the Department of Homeland Security. Full PR after the break.
iRobot agrees to provide US Navy with bomb disposal and recon bots in a deal worth up to $230 million
iRobot may still be best known as the creator of the homely Roomba vacuum-cleaning drone, but savvy readers will know the company's endeavors span a pretty broad range of robot-related activities. One of those has now borne fruit in the shape of a multiyear agreement with the US Navy for the provision of "portable robotic systems" that can identify and dispose of explosives while also performing a bit of reconnaissance work in their spare time. The announcement doesn't tell us the particular model(s) or number of bots that will be provided, but there is clarification to say that iRobot will be responsible for providing spares, repairs, training, and accessories along with the hardware, with the total revenue for the company potentially swelling to $230 million over the full course of the contract, which lasts through 2015. Our guess is that the "throwable" robot shown off a couple of weeks back would be a good candidate for this task, though we doubt it'll be thanking us for endorsing it for such perilous work.
DOFUS introduces Rogue and Masqueraider classes
Class-based fantasy games aren't unusual these days; in fact, they're the standard. It's rare that such a title has more than a handful of classes, though. Then there's DOFUS. The six-year-old free-to-play title recently added Masqueraiders and Rogues, bringing the game's class total to a whopping 14. Rogues function a bit differently than the rascally backstabbers you may be used to from other games. Rogues effectively dictate actions on the battlefield through the use of bombs and walls, which direct enemy movements and function as a form of crowd control. Masqueraiders take their power from a variety of wearable masks, which allow the player to adopt several fighting styles. Three masks types are available: the cowardly mask (ranged damage), the psychopath mask (close combat damage), and the classic mask (crowd control). Finally, Masqueraiders can also avail themselves of several buff-type spells including plastron, tororuga, and trance. Head to the official DOFUS website for all the details.
Librarians gone bad: TERA's Runekeepers revealed
As we jog nearer and nearer to TERA's release, En Masse continues to unveil the intricacies of this world. Few things are as important to talk about than the uglies and nasties that we'll be beating on for the duration of our career, which is why the studio has added a new entry to its beastiary with the Runekeeper. Near or far, no player will be safe from TERA's Runekeepers. These nasty demons pack a punch up close, with spiked fists that seem to say "Kill!" in a universal language. If you keep your distance, the Runekeeper is liable to chuck a bomb at you -- not a chemical bomb, mind you, but little critters known as guuthangs who have a tendency to explode. It's a lose-lose situation between your face and the guuthangs, really. Oddly enough, the Runekeepers have a massive hunger for knowledge. "Unfortunately, the runekeepers' destructive nature makes it impossible for them to get a library card," the official description reads. "Barakas insist the runekeepers actually devour the books."
TUAW's Daily App: Call of Atlantis
I am really looking forward to Puzzle Quest 2, since I was such a fan of the first game on XBLA. But until that comes out, Call of Atlantis is a polished gem-matcher that combines match-3 gameplay with a little bit of story and adventure. I believe it started out as a PC game, but you wouldn't be able to tell -- the graphics look like they were designed for the iPhone, and the gameplay fits perfectly on a mobile device. If you've played any match-3 games, you already know the score here -- switch icons on a board to match up three of the same kind, and those will disappear, bringing more into play. But Call of Atlantis mixes things up a bit by providing items to grab -- the idea on each stage is to get certain parts of a larger item (or special powerup items) to the bottom of the screen, and off the board. Complete all the pieces of the main item and the level is over. Matching four or five of a kind will power up a meter that will help clear the board out, and collecting powerup items like Bombs will clear out part of a board for you as well. It's simple gameplay, but a strategy quickly unfolds -- do you clear that enticing five of a kind, or go for the quick three right below the item you need to collect? And while there is an overarching story of Gods and Atlantis, complete with art and voiceover, it's just icing on the cake of sweet, sweet gameplay. Call of Atlantis is a steal at 99 cents -- it's a budget title that feels and plays like a much more expensive game.
If you throw away your console, the terrorists have won
In one of those fun, yet uncomfortable, instances where real life and video games interact, Fox News has uncovered a dusty (and old, very old) PlayStation controller during a raid of an Afghanistani farmhouse, which doubled up as a munitions depository. Lying there, in among rockets, grenades, plastic explosives and tank shells, was this humble blue-hued PlayStation appendage, which we're told can be rewired to act as a remote detonator. Should you question just how seriously the US government is taking this growing tide of console-aided terrorism, below you'll find a press release (seriously, a state-issued press release) detailing the detainment of four men in connection with the illegal transportation of digital cameras and PlayStation 2s to a "terrorist entity" in Paraguay. If convicted of the most egregious charge, they face 20 years in prison... for contraband consoles. Face, meet palm.
Editorial: Thoughts on the Ensidia ban
Are you wondering what has caused all the ruckus in the raiding community the past few days? Have you been typing your fingers to the bone since Wednesday night, arguing for one side or the other in forums and chat channels? Whoever you are, or whatever side you're on, in the still-burning aftermath of Ensidia's ban, I feel some reflection is needed. Thus, I am going explain, to the best of my ability, what happened to cause such uproar in the raiding community this week. I am also going to, as the title implies, offer my speculations.
Engineering fun builds up in Beta
New schematics are finally in for Engineers in the Wrath Beta, with the exception of the eagerly anticipated and widely speculated upon motorcycle. Despite the glaring absence of The Hog, there are a bunch of neat stuff for Engineers from the basic -- such as the space-saving Hammer Picks and Bladed Pickaxes -- to the cool and complex, such as MOLL-E, a portable mailbox. Check out the gallery for a quick look at the new schematics in Beta and an overview after the jump. %Gallery-30265%
Navy seeks methods for predicting where bombs will be placed
Apparently not content with having bees do all the dirty work of sniffing out bombs, the Navy is now seeking proposals for methods of actually predicting where bombs will be placed. According to Wired's Danger Room, the Office of Naval Research is looking for both "theoretical and technical approaches," which would not only allow for the prediction of bomb placements, but give them the ability to identify and localize bomb makers, predict changing threat tactics, and track the components being used in bomb assembly, among other feats of prognostication. On the technical side of things, the Navy's apparently has a keen interest in "advanced sensor networks," which would automatically detect when a bomb has been placed, allowing them to neutralize 'em with minimal human involvement. Those looking to get in on the action better act fast though, as proposals are due July 20th.
Project Grizzly inventor crafts real-world Halo suit for military use
While it's not likely that you'll encounter the Arbiter on any given day, the slightly off-kilter Project Grizzly inventor has gone out of his way (and possibly his mind) to create what resembles a real-life Halo suit, sporting protection from gunfire and ensuring you an award at Covenant gatherings. Troy Hurtubise created the suit, dubbed Trojan, in hopes of protecting Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan and US soldiers in Iraq, and considering that it has withstood knives, bullets, light explosives, clubs, and even a round from an elephant gun, it sounds like quite the winner. Proclaimed to be the "first ballistic, full exoskeleton body suit of armor," Trojan is crafted from high-impact plastic lined with ceramic bullet protection over ballistic foam, and features nearly endless compartments, morphine / salt containers, knife and gun holsters, emergency lights, a built-in recording device, pepper spray, ingestible transponder for those "last resort" scenarios, and there's even a fresh air system powered by solar panels within the helmet. Mr. Hurtubise claims the 18 kilograms (40 pounds) suit is comfortable enough to make road trips in (yes, he tried it), and if any major military would take him up on it, they could reportedly be produced for "around $2,000 apiece." Now that's a bargain, folks.[Thanks, Alec]
