Technology

Hours after The Wall Street Journal published a shocking report alleging Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick was aware of sexual misconduct allegations at the company, the company’s board of directors posted a statement voicing its support of the CEO. The board’s language shows no indication that Kotick is in danger of losing his job. “The Board remains confident in Bobby Kotick’s leadership, commitment and ability to achieve these goals,” the statement concludes. Here is the board of directors’ statement in full: The Activision Blizzard Board remains committed to the goal of making Activision Blizzard the most welcoming and inclusive company in the industry. Under Bobby Kotick’s leadership the Company is already implementing industry leading changes including a zero tolerance harassment ...

Brave has announced that its web browser now includes a native cryptocurrency wallet, replacing the previous one that was based on the MetaMask wallet extension. With it, most users should have their blockchain needs covered (depending on what blockchain they use, more on that in a second): they’ll be able to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, store their NFTs, keep track of how much coins are selling for, and experience the magic of Web3, or websites that have built-in blockchain features. Brave also says that its built-in wallet will take up fewer CPU resources compared to extension-based ones (like the aforementioned MetaMask) and be less susceptible to phishing or attempts to steal NFTs. The wallet seems to work mainly with the Ethereum or Ethereum-based blockchains (...

The Epos H3Pro Hybrid is a wireless gaming headset with several perks and just a few easily dismissed flaws. It offers good sound quality, active noise cancellation (ANC), and a lightweight, comfortable fit (even for larger head sizes) suitable for long gameplay sessions. All of those assets are tough to find in one headset, and I won’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone who can afford to drop $279 on a gaming headset. Compared to other popular options, that’s a lot of money. But as it turns out, buying the H3Pro Hybrid is easier to justify because it doubles as a set of equally good wireless Bluetooth headphones. In the interest of not getting called out for wearing a gaming headset in public, this headset’s magnetically attached lift-to-mute boom microphone can be yanked off, converting ...

In late 2019, Riot revealed a new publishing label designed to give indie studios the chance to play around in the vast League of Legends universe — and today, the first two Forge games are finally releasing. That includes Hextech Mayhem, a rhythm platformer from Bit.Trip developer Choice Provisions, which is out on the Switch and PC, with a version also coming to Netflix Games in the future. Joining it is Ruined King, a turn-based role-playing game from Airship Syndicate, which was previously revealed in 2019. It’s launching first on the PC, Switch, PS4, and Xbox One, with next-gen versions for PlayStation and Xbox also on the way. [embedded content] [embedded content] Outside of those two games, Riot revealed a new title called Song of Nunu from Rime developer Tequila Works. It’s describ...

Ohio is suing Facebook’s parent company, Meta, claiming the social media platform misled the public about the effects its products have on children. The lawsuit, filed November 12th on behalf of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS), is seeking more than $100 billion in damages. The suit alleges that between April 29th and October 21st, Facebook and top executives violated federal securities law when they intentionally misled the public and deceived shareholders about how its products can negatively affect children. “Facebook said it was looking out for our children and weeding out online trolls, but in reality was creating misery and divisiveness for profit,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement Monday. He added that when the Wall Street Journal began publishi...

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Japanese design company Balmuda today announced its first smartphone at a press event in Tokyo. The straightforwardly titled Balmuda Phone is the debut product from Balmuda Technologies, a new division of the company previously known for stylish, premium home appliances like air purifiers and rice cookers. Balmuda’s toaster in particular has a cult following in Japan. As you’d expect, the Balmuda Phone is quite a bit different to other phones on the market. CEO Gen Terao said on stage that he felt that smartphones have gotten too big and unwieldy in recent years, so the Balmuda Phone was designed with compactness and elegance as the primary goals. It has a very sharp 4.9-inch 16:9 1080p display and is roughly comparable to a 4.7-inch iPhone SE; the display is slightly bigger and the phone ...

After a tease last week, Fortnite’s highly anticipated collaboration with Naruto is finally here. Starting Tuesday, you’ll be able to play as characters from the hugely popular anime series Naruto: Shippuden in Epic Games’ hit battle royale. There will be four Naruto characters that are now available in the in-game item shop — Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Kakashi Hatake — as well as a Naruto glider, two emotes, and two loading screens. But Fortnite isn’t just getting Naruto skins. A throwable paper bomb kunai is being added as a weapon to the game. You’ll be able to meet Kakashi Hatake as an NPC on the Fortnite island and get quests from him. And there will be an entire Naruto-themed Creative map you can explore based on the Hidden Leaf Village from the anime. You’ll s...

Google is adding a handful of new features to Google Maps in time for the holiday season, which collectively should make getting around a slightly less fraught experience. The new features were announced in a blog post today. A new “Area Busyness” feature provides information on how popular neighborhoods are rather than just specific destinations, while the app’s “Directory” tab is rolling out globally to give more info on the stores and amenities inside locations like malls and airports. Google Maps is also expanding its grocery pickup tracking feature to cover more stores across the US, and is attempting to make its restaurant reviews more detailed. The Directory tab gives information about stores and amenities inside large complexes like airports.Image: Google Area Busyness is an expans...

Faraday Future is launching an investigation into recent allegations of financial fraud at the startup, including claims from a recent short-seller report by J Capital. The EV startup’s board of directors has formed a “special committee of independent directors,” which has hired a law firm to perform the investigation. J Capital had accused Faraday Future of lying about the number of reservations it had collected for its ultra-expensive electric SUV, the FF91. It also accused Faraday Future’s founder Jia Yueting of unfairly benefitting from the startup’s recent public listing, which it accomplished after merging with a special purpose acquisition company. “Faraday Future seeks to do business in the most ethical and transparent way,” the company said in a press release. “As a new public com...