Hornet
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Dodge will reveal a Hornet plug-in hybrid in August
Dodge has unveiled plans to release a plug-in hybrid version of its Hornet compact in August.
'Hollow Knight: Silksong' is a faster, more elegant sequel
Hollow Knight was a gorgeous, entertaining action platform game that appeared out of nowhere for a lot of us. The rare result of a crowdfunding campaign that succeeded, the game stood out with its combination gorgeous cartoon(ish) characters, lush levels, high-quality sound and a perfect balance of exploration and action. I think the indie picked up a lot of new fans when it appeared on the Switch last year. Enough to warrant its sequel, Silksong, heading to both Nintendo's hybrid console, alongside PC. That is, when it does launch.
Researchers create super-fast Tor-style anonymity network
The price of making sure that the feds aren't reading your emails is download speeds that can be measured in weeks rather than seconds. A group of academics are hoping to change that, however, by taking the basic idea of the Tor anonymity network and slapping on more than a few go-faster-stripe decals. Hornet has been crafted by a team from universities in Zurich and London and promises to keep your information safe from prying eyes while reaching speeds of up to 93 GB/s. Phowar.
Samsung and Google censor LGBT apps in South Korea
Samsung is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, in the hub of an exceedingly connected country: South Korea boasts the fastest internet connection speed in the world and is second globally in smartphone penetration. It's in this environment that both Samsung and Google have banned popular gay social networking apps from their online stores, Buzzfeed News reports. Samsung rejected the gay hookup app Hornet from its South Korean store in 2013, citing local values and laws that disallow LGBT content. Hornet is available in the US and other countries, though it remains banned in Argentina, Iceland, Syria and South Korea, the report says. Samsung confirmed to the site that it blocks LGBT apps on a country-by-country basis, though it's notable that Argentina and Iceland both legalized same-sex marriage in 2010.
Star Citizen's Hornet available to all backers this week
I'm a Star Citizen backer, but I didn't pledge enough to pilot the Anvil Hornet prior to launch. Thanks to Cloud Imperium, though, I'll be flying it in Arena Commander anyway, at least for the next week. The Hornet has been unlocked for all backers, according to a posting on the game's website. "The Hornet is the civilian version of the F7A Hornet flown off of the elite Bengal carrier vanguard of the UEE Navy," CIG explains. "It may not be the prettiest ship but it is the go-to short range fighter due to Anvil's sturdy design and ability to take as much punishment as it can dish out." In other SC news, Chris Roberts published another Letter from the Chairman last night which includes tidbits on multicrew ships, modular ship design, and exterior customization options.
Star Citizen vid shows off the Hornet's 100 different damage states
If you've yet to watch this week's episode of Wingman's Hangar (or any episode of Wingman's Hangar, for that matter), number 59 features plenty of interesting nuggets for Star Citizen fans. Nearly half of the show's 32-minute running time is devoted to the space sim's ship damage states, and Cloud Imperium shares plenty of behind-the-scenes footage on the creation process as well as a roundtable discussion featuring the principal designers. Lead ship modeller Chris Smith says that the Hornet alone has 100 different states. "We wanted a lot of fidelity, kind of movie-like breakup on these ships with lots of little pieces," he explains. Click past the cut for the full episode!
CIG releases Star Citizen Hornet commercial, brochure
It's a fine day to be a Star Citizen immersion nut, as Cloud Imperium has released a new spaceship commercial and a glossy spaceship dealer brochure to match. The subject of all this adulation is Anvil Aerospace's F7C Hornet, a multipurpose craft that serves both military and civilian pilots in Star Citizen's galaxy. The new video is rendered "100 percent in-engine in real time at 4k resolution," according to CIG's website. "We scale everything for the super-high resolutions that will be the basis of tomorrow's gaming experience; our assets are designed with high poly-counts instead of having details baked into their textures," the company explains. See for yourself after the break!
Halo RC vehicles aren't just for Avatars anymore
Why should your Avatar have all the fun with a Warthog prop? Available from NKOK, a RC controlled Warthog can be yours for a mere $25. So save that money you'd have spent on your Avatar and spend it on yourself. You're worth it! Later this month, NKOK will also release an RC Mongoose (that's the dune buggy-thing) and the Hornet (chopper-thing) for $25 and $35, respectively. Now, not to look a gift horse in the mouth but ... where's our RC Scarab? [Via 1Up]
Prox Dynamics' Black Hornet nano-copter gets demoed on video
Prox Dynamics' PD-100 "Black Hornet" nano-copter has already gone through a number of different prototypes and test flights, but it looks like things have really started to come together with the last few models, and the company has taken advantage of the opportunity to show off their progress in a couple of videos. One of those shows a "simulated" indoor mission, in which the 15 gram copter scouts out a nondescript office building whilst some suitably dramatic music plays in the background. The other, slightly more interesting video demonstrates how the two latest models are able to handle themselves in flight, and hold up against some obstacles, like the always problematic flapping clip board. Head on past the break to check 'em out for yourselves, and hit up the link below for some more information about the copter itself. Oh, and watch the skies, people. Very, very closely.
Ion-based Acer Hornet nettop specs leak out: 1080p HDMI playback, Wii-like gaming, $299
Well, well, what's this? We just received a ton of information on that hot little Acer Hornet nettop we'd heard about a while back, and if this pile of documentation is as real as it looks, this thing could be the holy grail of cheap HTPCs -- not only does it support 1080p video playback over HDMI, the "Media Center" version will indeed come with a Wii-like remote that can be used for gaming as well as media control. Specs look more than decent for the targeted $149-$299 price range: the low end model pairs what sounds like an Atom N230 with 1GB of RAM and an 80GB drive preloaded with Vista Home Basic, while higher end models get 2GB of RAM, a 160GB drive, and a "Boxshell" quickboot OS in addition to Vista Home Premium. All this plus super-quiet sub-26dB operation and a slick diamond-shaped chassis designed to hang off the back of your flatscreen? We're potentially in love -- when you gonna make our dreams come true, Acer? Full spec chart after the break.P.S. We know that upper-right image is a ripped Nintendo press image, but this slide actually leaked from elsewhere a month ago -- and unless someone's decided to go way beyond the usual fakery by meticulously crafting the 20-page technical and supplier info document and lengthy presentations we received today, we're thinking this is actually real and not some April Fools thing. Let's hope!Update: DigiTimes has it from "industry sources" that the Hornet will launch in China on April 8th for below $299.[Thanks, Anonymous]
Acer's Ion-based Hornet nettop leaked in presentation slides?
Despite NVIDIA's claims that we'd have an Ion desktop sometime this Spring, we still haven't really seen it in consumer-bound hardware -- until now, that is. Although unconfirmed, slides have purportedly leaked out of what is said to be the Acer Hornet Ion-based nettop. Aside from the platform and a HDMI output, we don't have any specs for the machine. What we do know is that it's sporting a wireless game controller / air mouse -- in case you didn't pick up on the Wii influence, one of those background photos is a direct rip from NIntendo's ad campaign -- and can apparently hang from the back of LCD TVs. The images also tout its eco-friendly design, small form factor, "silent operation," and a price tag of only a couple hundred dollars. Elaborate Photoshop or impending PC? Something feels fishy here, so while we sit and impatiently wait for some official word, hit up the read link for more pics. [Via Slash Gear]
Northrop Grumman lands contract to develop threat-sensing binoculars
DARPA has been talking up the idea of threat-sensing binoculars for some time now, but it looks like it's now putting up a good chunk of cash to make 'em a reality, with Northrop Grumman today announcing that it's snagged a $6.7 million contract to further develop its Human-aided Optical Recognition/Notification of Elusive Threats (or HORNET) system. That'll use electro-encephalogram electrodes placed on a soldier's scalp to monitor their neural responses to the presence or absence of potential threats, which helps to train the system's algorithms and ultimately alert them to threats before their mind is actually able to process the information (in theory, at least). Of course, there's no indication as to when such a system might actually be put to use, and DARPA itself is still leaving itself a bit of wiggle room, with it only committing to the first 12-month phase of the project at the moment. [Via Danger Room]
