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Amazon avoids fines and other penalties in Illinois warehouse collapse
Amazon won't face fines and other penalties following the collapse of an Illinois warehouse that killed six workers during a tornado.
NSF offers a closer look at how the Arecibo Observatory collapsed
The trouble at Arecibo began this August, when one of the auxiliary cables supporting the receiver platform slipped out of its socket atop Tower 4, one of the telescope's main support struts. Once free, the cable struck Arecibo's reflector dish, leaving behind a gash about 100 feet long.
Luxury phone maker Vertu is calling it quits
Luxury phone maker Vertu is in the process of being wound up after an attempt to rescue the business from administration failed. The Financial Times reports that the firm, which apparently had debts of around £138 million, will close with the loss of around 200 jobs. The news comes as a surprise, given that the outfit recently signed a technology-sharing deal with Chinese giant TCL.
EVE Evolved: Stepping through the EVE Gate
Though EVE Online is often lauded for its rich decade-long player history full of wars and complex political dealings, the NPC storyline and New Eden's ancient backstory have always held my fascination. I started playing in early 2004 after reading dozens of fiction chronicles and mock scientific articles on the EVE website that painted the picture of a real living universe where incredible things could happen. Sure enough, my first years of play were punctuated with compelling live events and storyline arcs like the Crielere research project that led to the development of cloaking devices, the theft of a Federation Navy titan by Serpentis pirates, and the Blood Raiders taking over Delve. CCP has frequently stated that its goal with EVE is to create the ultimate sci-fi simulator, and the core of a compelling sci-fi setting is a living universe that grows and changes. The best sci-fi TV shows are those with a constant cycle of revealing compelling mysteries and then solving them and of encountering escalating challenges to be overcome. EVE has done this extremely well a few times in its life, such as with the release of wormholes or when the Sansha incursions events were kicking off, and each time the concurrent player numbers have spiked. Guild Wars 2 has shown the power of an evolving living storyline to get people into the game and keep them actively playing in the long term, something that should be the norm for MMOs and that EVE Online could take much greater advantage of. In this edition of EVE Evolved, I look at some of the big NPC mysteries revealed in EVE Online's decade-long history and ask why they were abandoned and where they could go now.
OpCapita picks up GAME retail chain, plans to keep 333 stores open
The staff of UK video game retailer GAME's remaining 333 stores can breathe a collective sigh of relief today: investment firm OpCapita is buying the chain. "We are pleased to have reached agreement with the Administrator," declared managing partner Henry Jackson, "We strongly believe there is a place on the high street for a video gaming specialist and GAME is a leading brand in the £2.8bn market in the UK." The retailer's UK assets will be transferred to Baker Acquisitions Limited, an OpCapita funded company. The firm stated that it has "no plans for any further store closures," and that it hopes to safeguard the remaining 3,200 jobs the chain still has under its belt. Read on for the official press release.
UK retailer GAME goes into administration
Retailer Game, owner of the Game and Gamestation chains has entered administration. The chain has 1,270 outlets in Europe and Australia and rumors have circulated for months concerning unrest at the highest levels of the business. It was unable to agree deals with publishers Capcom and Electronic Arts for the latest titles, meaning it had to turn away customers looking to buy Mass Effect 3 during its blockbuster opening weekend. After the board informed shareholders that "it's uncertain any of the solutions [...] being explored by the board will be successful," the company's share price fell by 71 percent. A week later, the company withdrew its share listing from the London Stock Exchange as its share value collapsed to from 62p a year ago to 2.39p. A statement released today said that insufficient progress had been made in finding a rescue solution, but the company will continue to trade while talks continue: "Further to this morning's announcement of the suspension of trading in shares of GAME Group plc, the board has concluded that its discussions with all stakeholders and other parties have not made sufficient progress in the time available to offer a realistic prospect for a solvent solution for the business. The board has therefore today filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator. In the short term the Board's intention is that the business will continue to trade and discussions with lenders and third parties will continue under the protection of the interim moratorium."
Sprint to LightSquared: it's over
The writing's been on the wall for a few weeks and now Sprint's officially severing its partnership with LightSquared. Philip Falcone's project had a contractual deadline of March 15th to gain regulatory approval for its LTE service on the 1.6GHz spectrum, which was shot down by the FCC in February. A day later, Big Yellow exercised its right to pull the plug, paying back $65 million in prepayments and continuing to build out a LTE network on its own. Nextel's better half didn't slam the door shut entirely, however. If, by some miracle (and it would be a big one), the company can change Julius Genachowski's mind, it'd certainly consider teaming up again, so no hard feelings, eh? For its part, LightSquared has issued a formal response, saying that the contract termination is in "the best interests of both parties" and "not unexpected given the regulatory delays." On the upside, the company has had its coffers swelled by a not inconsiderable $65 million, which is the first good news it's had for a while.
Elpida files for bankruptcy protection as debts of $5.5 billion are revealed
DRAM Maker Elpida has petitioned for a corporate reorganization (the equivalent of Chapter 11 or Administration) as the company has revealed it is close to collapse. President Yukio Sakamoto is expected to resign as the scapegoat for the calamity as it files for protection at the Tokyo District Court. The company, founded in 1999 as NEC Hitachi Memory Inc. has produced DRAM Products since 2000. It founded three wholly-owned subsidiaries: Tera Probe, which conducted wafer probe testing, Akita Elpida Memory Inc. which handled the back-end processes of DRAM production and Rexchip Electronics Corp, which handled the front-end. After a blockbuster period of invention, a fall in prices and the global recession in 2006 forced the company to enter restructuring with a 30 billion Yen ($372.54 million) Government-backed loan. That swathe of cash was used to pump more money into investment and R&D, but the combination of strong Yen and the Thailand flooding has once again forced the company to come clean about its finances. It revealed today that it had debts of 448,033 million Yen, or $5.5 billion and without the protection of the court wouldn't last too much longer. Times of Japan points to the strength of Samsung's memory offerings as being a big contributor to Elpida's collapse, with president Sakamoto saying that DRAM is now as cheap as a "rice ball."
'Collapse' game site registered by Ignition
Domain hound superannuation has dug up pending website domain Collapse-TheGame.com, registered to Ignition Entertainment. The discovery would fit nicely with recent comments made by Ignition's Shane Bettenhausen, who told SideQuesting that there's a "99 percent chance" the company would be announcing a new project at E3. Of course, there's no evidence yet linking the so-called "Collapse" to the potential E3 reveal. Bettenhausen added that the publisher's next project "might be" for NGP and suggested that Ignition's E3 announcement was dependent on Sony's press conference plan, according to SideQuesting. Ignition's latest release, El Shaddai, was developed by its Tokyo-based studio and debuted in Japan a month ago. It's expected to be released in North America and Europe later this year. The company's recently consolidated Austin branch is said to be working on the long-delayed FPS Reich. Additionally, Ignition's website (pictured above) indicates that the publisher has "more coming soon" to reveal.
EVE Evolved: Just another week in the Sleeper's den
Following last week's reassuringly popular article "Untangling the mystery of the Sleepers", our little expeditionary alliance has had an extremely action-packed week. In addition to several PvP encounters with roaming gangs, there's been a POS siege, a system invasion and a lot of drama. At the end of it all, I'm left with a renewed sense of awe for the unique experiences EVE Online can deliver if you're just willing to seek them out and actively involve yourself. At times I can truly immerse myself in EVE and feel like I'm taking an actor's part in a kind of intergalactic play scene, an experience I've never come close to in any other MMO. Taking part in these events is almost like being painted into an illustrative chapter of some historic record. In this article, I hope to solidify that record and share a glimpse of what it's like to immerse yourself in this part of EVE. What follows is a storytold account of Total Comfort alliance's deadly week in the Sleeper's den.
Gaming to Go: Super Collapse! 3
With so many titles currently available for Nintendo's popular portable, a number of gems are all but guaranteed to be overlooked by the millions of players struggling through the DS's large library of games. Sometimes those unknown titles are examples of portable gaming at its finest, utilizing the stylus and touchscreen in ways both clever and fun. Sometimes they're not. Super Collapse! 3 toes the thick line between those two extremities, representing a puzzle game that's neither amazing or awful. It's simply good, through and through, a title largely unknown that can still be plenty of fun if you're willing to give it a go. The Collapse! series of puzzle games has been around since 1999, though Super Collapse! 3 is the first title in the lineup to make the jump to the DS. Reviews generally suggest this incarnation does little to improve or mix up the basic gameplay of the series, though that's perfectly fine if you've never given the games a spin. I hadn't even heard of Collapse! until about a week ago, but what I've played since has been a pretty solid amount of fun, so why not come along with this week's edition of Gaming to Go and see if you might enjoy it too? #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } NEXT >> %Gallery-33720%
Cellphones failed again after Minnesota bridge collapse
When major disasters strike, cellphones have a bad habit of being about as useless as that morning piece of burnt toast. At least, that's what those working Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks found out, and those who were directly involved in the Minnesota bridge collapse more than a few weeks ago witnessed as well. Again, the culprit In Minnesota appeared to be overloaded cellular towers and switch traffic that apparently affected all carriers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area where the collapse happened. With cellular service being integral to everyday life, should there not be contingency plans in place for continuing service in the event of a disaster? A recent suggestion of cellular "peer-to-peer" service that bypasses towers and switches in an emergency sounds intriguing to us. Maybe in 2015 or so we'll see it happen.
Puzzle Quest creators talk about upcoming Galactrix
Who would've thought blending RPG elements into a puzzle game would become so successful? Puzzle Quest's incredible fan following has earned its spiritual successor, Galactrix, a great deal of attention. In an interview with IGN, Lead Designer Steve Fawkner reveals that the team is trying their best to make this game feel unique: "the last thing we want to hear from gamers is "oh that's just a Puzzle Quest clone" (which we admit to doing).When questioned on its gameplay mechanics, Fawkner stated the game was not based on Bejeweled, but another popular puzzle game: "I would say that it would better be described as Collapse in space." A crucial difference between the two titles is that Galactrix features real-time puzzle battling.As revealed in the interview, there are plans to introduce downloadable content and 6 player multiplayer. It will be interesting to see how this game develops over time.
