Columbus Day is considered a federal holiday, leading many government offices, including the Department of Motor Vehicles, to close. Find out if the DMV is closed on this holiday and what services may be affected.
Columbus Day is considered a federal holiday, leading many government offices, including the Department of Motor Vehicles, to close. Find out if the DMV is closed on this holiday and what services may be affected.
Since only some businesses observe Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day, is it possible to send mail?
Since only some businesses observe Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day, is it possible to send mail?
The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine is back online in a read-only state, after DDoS attacks took the entire platform offline on October 9. Founder Brewster Kahle posted on Monday (via The Verge) that the service is “resumed in a provisional, read-only manner” without the ability to save new pages.
Security researcher Troy Hunt said last week’s attacks coincided with the Internet Archive’s plan to disclose a previous breach that led to the theft of over 31 million records. Hunt, who runs the Have I Been Pwned? service, believed the timing of the two attacks was likely “entirely coincidental,” citing the involvement of “multiple parties.”
The hacking group Blackmeta claimed responsibility for the attacks, posting that the Internet Archive “belongs to the USA.” The nonprofit, founded in the early days of the web in 1996, is headquartered in San Francisco.
Kahle says it’s “safe to resume” using the Wayback Machine, so you can resume your nostalgic trip to your favorite Geocities post-grunge tribute sites. However, the founder warns that the service may need further maintenance, so don’t be shocked if it goes down again.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/internet-archives-wayback-machine-is-back-online-after-last-weeks-ddos-attacks-155820797.html?src=rss
I have absolutely nothing negative to say about Neva. As a story, Neva is a living fairy tale that plays out in dreamlike scenes of natural beauty, starring two creatures bonded by tragedy and propelled by an intense need to protect each other — and save the world in the process. As a game, Neva offers exquisite swordplay and intuitive platforming action, with a contained suite of abilities that evolves purposefully with each new stage. As a piece of art, every frame of Neva is breathtaking.
This is what a faultless game looks like. This is how it feels to play something perfect.
Alba is the protagonist in Neva and she’s badass. When we meet her, she’s a seasoned warrior and nomad with a cloud of silver hair, dancer’s limbs, and a billowing red cape that hides a slender sword. Her wolf companion, Neva, is just a cub at first, easily distracted and still learning how to navigate the forests and fields of their world. In the beginning, Neva needs Alba. By the end of the game, after seasons of growth and vicious battles, Alba also needs Neva.
None of these descriptors are spelled out in words, but the characters’ actions and a few beautifully animated vignettes make their backstories clear, and the entire story unspools in a similar fashion. The only speech in the game comes from Alba as she calls out, “Neva?” or, “Neva!” or, “Nevaaa,” with each press of the interaction button. Her tone and level of panic shifts dynamically with Neva’s position in the environment — Alba’s voice is strained with worry when she and the wolf are separated, and it’s soothing or playful when they’re near each other. Standing next to Neva and pressing to interact lets Alba pet her (and yes, there are achievements for doing so). In a million small ways, the game’s mechanics forge a deep emotional connection between Alba and Neva, until it eventually feels like they’re a singular entity, fighting the darkness as one.
Alba and Neva’s world is stunning. It’s composed of lush forests, sun-drenched valleys, soaring mountains and twisting cave systems — and all of it is being consumed by an oozing, ink-black decay spread by swarms of bulbous monsters with stark white faces. The decay acts like cordyceps, suffusing the bodies of massive animals and transforming them into zombie-like murder machines. In other areas, it takes the form of spiky brambles and skeletal vines that deal damage if you touch them. The monsters — round bodies, screaming faces and spidery limbs — appear consistently with a variety of ranged, melee, airborne and rushing attacks. It’s Alba and Neva’s mission to destroy the decay and the monsters, and reclaim their land. For the completionists among us, there are also glowing white flowers hidden among the levels, and finding them all unlocks something special.
The game is divided into four seasons, and as Neva grows, so do her abilities. Alba, meanwhile, is always strong and she only becomes more powerful as she and Neva learn how to fight together. To start, Alba can jump, double jump and dodge, and she has a basic sword attack and a downward thrust that can strike enemies and burst through weak floors from above. In the back half of the game, Neva is able to leap on invisible platforms and essentially teleport to any area she pleases, watching from high ridges as Alba climbs walls of white flowers to reach her.
This is a distinct contrast to the early stages, when Alba had to coax cub-Neva to jump across small gaps, and it drives home the game’s core theme of parental love. Eventually, Alba is able to throw Neva into battle like an aimed projectile, and she’ll ferociously attack whatever enemy she hits. This ability is a little silly at times — like when you’re trying to reach a hidden flower and you end up hurling Neva into a wall repeatedly until the angle is just right — but it quickly feels like a natural, necessary extension of Alba’s arsenal. Besides, Neva doesn’t seem to mind.
Mechanically, Neva is an incredibly light and responsive platformer. Playing on PlayStation 5, inputs never lag; Alba is able to jump, double jump and dodge with ease, and this trio of abilities resets with the lightest of touches to the terrain. Enemy hitboxes are tight, encouraging players to fight up close and dodge through dangers in between swings of Alba’s sword. Health regenerates as Alba lands hits without taking damage herself, and healing cairns are sprinkled generously throughout the scenes. Mid-air levels, where Alba leaps between cliff sides and bounces off floating enemy blobs, cultivate a brilliant sense of precision, daring players to push Alba’s maneuvers to their absolute limits. Neva offers subtle yet clear direction through environmental cues alone, and I never once felt lost in its platforming sauce. The levels shift with the seasons: complex navigation puzzles and delightfully tricky mirror levels are steadily added to the sidescrolling action, constantly testing Alba and Neva’s capacity to work together.
Alba and Neva are connected in every scene, but their bond is tangible during battles, particularly once the wolf throw becomes a reliable part of Alba’s attack-dodge rhythm. This only makes it more distressing when, in some stages, Alba has to battle on her own. Neva’s presence brings a fullness to Alba’s abilities, and especially in the game’s last few hours, my controller felt distinctly empty any time she didn’t fight alongside me.
I don’t want to say too much about the final stages of Neva. The game builds to an inevitable, emotionally intense conclusion, with pockets of deep longing and sublime reconciliation sprinkled throughout the rising action. Yes, Neva will make you cry. I definitely did, with big, ugly tears.
Neva is infused with magical realism, blending the familiar with the impossible in a format that looks like a living children’s book. Otherworldly terror creeps around the edges of each landscape, foreboding and exquisite, and the game’s animations are anime-smooth. Neva looks incredible and it plays just as beautifully — a rare and powerful combination. Just like Alba and Neva.
Neva comes out on October 15 on PC, macOS, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Switch, developed by Nomada Studio and published by Devolver Digital.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/neva-review-a-platformer-thats-so-perfect-it-made-me-cry-160037311.html?src=rss
Amazon isn’t a stranger to acquiring various companies and services, but it’s finally taking steps to streamline its many acquisitions, as reported by The Information. PillPack, bought by Amazon in 2018, and Amazon Pharmacy, launched in 2020, are slowly being combined into one service. Amazon is also attempting to combine the online components of Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh, albeit in a different manner.
PillPack is a service that sends customers medication packs containing the required pills for a single day’s consumption, while Amazon Pharmacy is geared towards general purchases. One of the planned changes is to allow PillPack users to handle their orders using Amazon Pharmacy accounts. They can also use coupons and Prime discounts on their PillPack purchases. Additionally, Amazon Pharmacy will accept Medicare through PillPack in January.
Although Amazon has plans to expand Amazon Pharmacy to the UK, Canada and Australia, this hasn’t happened yet. The service remains US-only.
Right now, both pharmacy services already ship orders from the same facilities, which is a change from the previous arrangement. PillPack previously had its own facilities, and the change will make same-day deliveries in 20 new cities possible, bringing the total available locations close to 30 from less than 10 right now.
Amazon previously acquired Whole Foods in 2017, but it wasn’t connected to Amazon’s regular grocery deliveries or Amazon Fresh at all. Now, Amazon is placing popular items at Whole Foods and Amazon in Fresh centers in the US, UK, Italy and Spain. Shoppers can now stick to using only Amazon Fresh more often instead of buying from multiple stores at once. One driver can also deliver everything in a single order, which helps Amazon reduce costs.
Additionally, Amazon is testing a mini-warehouse located in a Whole Foods store that lets customers pick up orders. This warehouse stores products like Coca-Cola and Oreos, which aren’t allowed in Whole Foods stores due to policies. Amazon intends to help shoppers avoid visiting multiple stores due to a lack of products, a problem Whole Foods suffers from due to it stocking fewer brands.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazon-will-reportedly-merge-its-pharmacy-operations-and-some-grocery-delivery-services-160914672.html?src=rss
Bungie seems to have set its sights on the mobile games market, as Destiny: Rising, a new mobile sci-fi RPG shooter title, is coming to Android and iOS. This spinoff is being developed by NetEase Games, the same company that developed the free-to-play Diablo: Immortal. Destiny: Rising will also be free to download and play when it launches.
Destiny: Rising is set in a different timeline from Destiny and Destiny 2, but NetEase promises players they’ll meet some familiar faces and new ones. The narrative is focused on a time after the Dark Age. Players will get to explore Earth after “The Collapse” and see how humanity tries to recover from a loss of civilization.
Besides playing in a first-person perspective, NetEase Games is introducing a new third-person viewpoint, previously only limited to specific weapons and equipment. The game also supports smartphone-compatible controllers if you own them.
As a Destiny 2 spinoff, Destiny: Rising will have both PvE and PvP modes, both familiar and new. Players are able to create clans and make friends, both fighting alongside or against them in challenges.
Some of you may realize that since NetEase Games is developing and publishing Destiny: Rising, the game is likely to have many microtransactions. Sadly, there’s no concrete info about this right now, but if we can take Diablo: Immortal as an example, these worries may come true.
It’s worth noting that Bungie had just laid off 220 employees this past August despite the success of its latest expansion, the Final Shape. Many Destiny 2 players may also recall that the company recently released a roadmap detailing future plans in the wake of those layoffs.
NetEase Games is opening sign-ups right now for a closed alpha test taking place next month. Those interested can visit the official website to learn more. There’s no official release date at this time.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/destiny-rising-is-bungies-new-mobile-game-published-by-netease-games-163054704.html?src=rss
Adobe is joining several other players in the generative AI (GAI) space by rolling out its own model. The Firefly Video Model is powering a number of features across the company’s wide array of apps. At Adobe MAX, the company announced that some of those are available in beta today.
Generative Extend is a Premiere Pro feature that Adobe previewed earlier this year. It enables editors to add generated footage and audio to the start or end of a clip. This can help cover a transition or edit if the required shot isn’t available. All editors need to do is drag out the beginning or end of a clip. Adobe says the tool can also correct eyelines and actions that change unexpectedly in the middle of a shot.
Adobe said it worked with professional video editors over the last year to better understand how GAI could help resolve some issues in their workflow. While Generative Extend might give them the footage they need, other creatives may be less enthused. It may mean that reshoots are no longer required, taking days of work (and income) away from the cast and crew.
That said, Generative Extend is only intended for small tweaks. The feature is also limited to a maximum resolution of 1080p for now, so it’s not exactly cinema quality.
In September, Adobe previewed its text-to-video (similar to OpenAI’s Sora and Meta’s Movie Gen) and image-to-video features. Those are now available in the Firefly web app in beta, thought you may have to join a waitlist.
Adobe says that, like with other Firefly generative models, both the Firefly Video Model and the features it powers are designed to be safe for commercial use. Its Content Credentials watermarks are applied to whatever the video model outputs.
Elsewhere, Photoshop is gaining some features Adobe showed off earlier this year, with Generative Fill and Generative Expand now running on the latest Firefly Image Model (the company says this can generate images four times faster than previous versions). The Generate Similar tool is fairly self-explanatory — it can generate variants of an object in the image until you find one you prefer. Adobe released those features today.
In addition, Adobe is adding a neat feature to the Remove tool, which lets you delete people and objects from an image with ease, like Google’s Magic Eraser. With Distraction Removal, you can remove certain common elements with a single click. For instance, it can scrub unwanted wires and cables, and remove tourists from your travel photos.
Meanwhile, Frame.io V4, said to be the biggest update to the collaborative photo and video production platform since it debuted nine years ago, is available to all users. Adobe has entirely redesigned it to, for instance, improve workflows and upgrade the video player. It also emerged that Canon, Nikon and Leica will support its Camera to Cloud (C2C) feature, which allows for direct uploads of photos and videos to Frame.io. Adobe says that means most major manufacturers are now supporting C2C.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/adobe-starts-rolling-out-generative-ai-video-tools-in-beta-163703601.html?src=rss
Leslie Abramson spoke out about the Menendez brothers. Learn what the former attorney had to say and where she stands amid the renewed attention on the case.
Leslie Abramson spoke out about the Menendez brothers. Learn what the former attorney had to say and where she stands amid the renewed attention on the case.
Americans are confused why only some businesses are closed on October 14, 2024, which is a federal holiday.
Americans are confused why only some businesses are closed on October 14, 2024, which is a federal holiday.
Fujifilm has released its first sub-$1,000 camera in a long while and resurrected the 11-year old “M” branding with the $799 X-M5. With that price, it’s primarily aimed at photographers on a budget or vloggers looking to step up from a smartphone. Fujifilm film cut a few features like a viewfinder (EVF) to get to that price point, but it does have the company’s latest 26-megapixel X-Trans 4 CMOS sensor and decent video specs.
For a camera without a viewfinder, the X-M5 should handle pretty well. It has front and back control dials, along with a top setting dial that includes a new “Vlog” mode. It also comes with the same film simulation dial found on the X-T50, to help social media users and creators create cool photos straight out of the camera.
When in vlog mode, you get a full GUI interface on the touchscreen for easy access. That includes things like a “portrait enhancer,” background defocus and product priority, much as we’ve seen on Sony’s vlogging products.
For vloggers, it has a 3-inch, 1.04-million dot fully articulating rear display that’s hopefully bright enough to use in sunlight (because, again, no EVF). There are both headphone and microphone ports for vloggers, but they’re not located on the left as usual. Instead, Fujifilm placed the 3.5mm mic input on the rear (where the EVF would usually go) and the headphone port on the right side. That’s to avoid having the display hit the mic or headphone cable when it flips out, as can happen on other cameras.
You’ll never mistake it for a sports camera, but the X-M5 can shoot 8 fps bursts with the mechanical shutter, or an outstanding 20 fps in electronic mode (both with continuous autofocus). It can capture a decent 82/60 compressed RAW frames in those modes before the buffer fills, again very respectable for such a small camera.
Video is also pretty strong, with 6.2K open gate 3:2 capture, 4K 60p and Full HD at up to 240 fps (these specs match the X-T50 as you may have noticed). There’s a bit of crop for 4K 60p (1.18x) and FHD past 120fps (1.29x) but otherwise everything is one-to-one.
Another thing missing is in-body stabilization so the X-M5 is limited to what the lens provides or electronic stabilization. In the latter mode, there’s a minimum 1.32x crop for 4K 30fps video and a significant 1.44x when shooting 4K 60p. The small body also has overheating limitations when using LP (long play) recording, but those can be reduced with a $200 fan attachment.
Other features including three internal microphones that allow for surround sound-like capture, a 9:16 short movie mode for TikTok creators, high-speed movie transfer, up to 440 frames of battery life and a single UHS-I card slot.
I couldn’t understand what Fujifilm was thinking when it released the X-T50 for $500 more than the X-T30 II. Now we know — it’s hoping budget buyers will gravitate toward the X-M5 instead. It goes on pre-sale today for $799 and Fujifilm also unveiled the 16-55mm f/2.8 (24-70mm full-frame equivalent) lens selling for $1,199 and XF500mm f/5.6 super telephoto (750mm equivalent) now on pre-order for $2,999.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/fujifilms-x-m5-is-its-first-sub-1000-camera-in-years-140715888.html?src=rss
