July 15, 2016 - The WAN Show Document

[LinusTech]

Main News Topics

Pokemon GO

 

Pokemon Go tops Twitter daily users, sees more engagement than Facebook

Source 1: techcrunch.com/pokemon-go-tops-twitters-daily-users...

• Now the biggest mobile game in US history

• 5.92% of the US Android population engage with the app on a daily basis

  • Highest percentage of daily users on Android is in Australia, at 7.98% of all Android users in the country

• Current peak daily active users is just over 20 million

  • Candy Crush Saga reached approximately 20 million back in 2013

  • Clash Royale only reached about 6 million at its peak in 2016

• Closing in on Snapchat on Android

• Pokemon Go Android application could even pass Google Maps on Android in terms of daily users

• On Monday, the average iPhone user spent 33 mintues in Pokemon Go, beating Facebook which saw 22 minutes and 8 seconds average

• Pokemon Go is still being beaten by others like Game of War and Candy Crush Saga

  • Important to note that since adoption is so high on Pokemon Go there will be many more casual users

  • Game of War holds the top spot with an average usage time of 1:58:31, showing that it has an incredibly engaged userbase, but a userbase that is less significant in overall size than Pokemon Go

• Too early to tell if Pokemon Go has staying power, but the initial results are more than impressive

 

Two Men Fall Off a Cliff Playing Pokemon GO

Source 1: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/626831-two-me OP: glengraegill

Source 2: http://www.tweaktown.com/news/53015/two-men-fall-cliff-playing-pok

• Two San Diego men in their early 20s fell off a cliff after crossing a fenced area to get there

• One fell between 75 and 100 feet, the other fell approximately 50 feet and was found unconscious by firemen

• Both were taken to trauma centers, suffering moderate injuries

 

Teen Hit by Car

Source 1: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/627034-teen-hit-by-car-playi OP: goodtofufriday

Source 2: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/15-year-old-hit-by-car-after-playing-pokemon-go/

• 15-year old female from Pennsylvania was hit by a car and hospitalized for injuries to her collarbone and foot, in addition to numerous cuts and bruises

• Mother says “I blame the game, because she would not have been outta my house. My daughter is a hermit.”

• “The Pokemon game took her across a major highway at 5 o’clock in the evening, which is rush hour. No game is worth a child’s life.”

• The driver stopped and waited with the girl until she was taken to the hospital

• The game does have a warning during the loading screen that says “Remember to be alert at all times. Stay aware of your surroundings.”

 

US holocaust museum asks players to stay away

Source 1: theguardian.com/pokemon-go-us-holocaust-museum…

• Somehow a US holocaust museum has been designated as a Pokestop in the new mobile game

• Communications director for the museum has said they are trying to get the museum removed from the game, and that “playing the game inside a memorial to victims of Nazism is ‘extremely inappropriate’”

• A Dutch hospital has also asked that players refrain from entering the building with the sole purpose of playing Pokemon Go after some players ventured into restricted areas

• “There is indeed a sick Pokemon at AMC, but we’ll look after him well. Please don’t visit him” they said via Twitter.

 

Long Island pizza place sales are up 75% by using Pokemon Go lures

Source 1: gamespot.com/pokemon-gos-latest…

• L’inizo Pizza Bar in Long Island, New York started using in-game lures (purchased via microtransactions) to bring in customers

• As of Monday, July 11 it was reported that Pokemon Go had 7.5 million downloads US downloads and was bringing in 1.6 million in daily revenue through iOS microtransactions alone

  • For context, Clash Royale makes about $350,000 per day on iOS

• Niantic Labs has confirmed that “retail establishments will be able to pay to have their shop become a sponsored location” that hosts rare Pokemon, attractive items, or a gym

• One of the first being revealed in the next topic...

 

McDonalds Partnership

Source 1: http://gizmodo.com/pokemon-go-partnership-with-mcdonalds-is-on-sou

• Redditors discovered decompiled code in Android and iOS versions of Pokemon Go earlier this week

• Indicated a potential sponsorship deal with McDonald’s

• A “well-placed source” has confirmed with Gizmodo that the sponsorship is moving forward and is set to launch in one country in Asia

• Gizmodo learned that “every McDonald’s restaurant in this country will either be a PokeStop or a gym”

• Unable to confirm which country would debut the partnership, but they guess based on “several compelling reasons” that it will be Japan

• Japan is the birthplace and current home of the Pokemon Company, but the launch has been delayed there for “seemingly no reason”

• This is a similar business model to that used by Niantic in the game Ingress (pairing with convenience stores in that game)

• Niantic, Google, and McDonald’s have all declined to comment

 

This Man’s Pokemon GO Chat App so Successful It’s Bankrupting Him

Source 1: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/624799-mans-pokemon-chat-ap OP: Stryder721

Source 2: http://www.theverge.com/2016/7/11/12153370/gochat-pokemon-go-chat-app-jona

• Jonathan Zarra was a beta tester this summer for Pokemon GO

  • He could see that it offered users no way to chat with one another

• “This is a feature that really should be there,” Zarra says

  • “Especially in a location-based game - this just makes sense”

• Within five days, Zarra’s free app is approaching 1 million users and hitting servers with 600 requests per second

• May drive him bankrupt

• App is called GoChat, available for iOS and Android

  • Installed 10,000 times on its first day

• App analytics firm Sensor Tower estimates that 7.5 million people have downloaded Pokemon GO as of Monday

  • Suggesting 10% of all users downloaded a third-party chat app to go along with it

• Zarra declined to say how much he has spent on GoChat to date

  • “I don’t want people to know how stupid I am,” he says

• Would implement ads, but hates them and doesn’t want to draw attention from the Pokemon Company

  • Looking into other options

 

CSGO Gambling Debacle

Valve’s Statement

Source 1: store.steampowered.com/news…

• “In-game item trading update”

• Acknowledged that a “number of gambling sites started leveraging the Steam trading system”

• Claim there have been “some false assumptions about our involvement with these sites.”

• Want to clarify that they “have no business relationships with any of these sites. [They] have never [directly] received any revenue from them. And Steam does not have a system for turning in-game items into real world currency.”

• Claim that the sites have been using the OpenID API in a way that is “not allowed by [their] user agreements.”

• “[They] are going to start sending notices to these sites requesting they cease operations through Steam, and further pursue the matter as necessary. Users should probably consider this information as they manage their in-game item inventory and trade activity.”

• Written by Erik Johnson, who is listed as “one of Valve’s business development authorities”

• Following the announcement, some gaming sites either confirmed that they would be going offline, or went dark and allegedly stopped allowing withdrawals immediately through their bots

  • Tough to say what the final outcome there was as the post appears to have been removed…

• Others claim that they will be updating their sites to abide by Valve’s clarified rules, though it’s unclear how they will do so

• The bottom line is that Valve FINALLY seems to be taking a stand against unregulated gambling using their in-game items

• Very much an emerging story, so as new information becomes available some of this may become outdated

Group of trial attorneys taking on class-action requests in CSGO gambling lawsuit

Source 1: http://www.jonesward.com/our-cases/class-action/csgo-gambling-lawsuit/

Source 2:

• Stated they are pursuing “multiple class action lawsuits in the US against Valve and various skins gambling websites connected to the game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive”

• “Working diligently to recover funds from U.S. residents who have lost money or skins through these illegal gambling contracts”

 

NERD SPORTS SHOUT OUT, LINK WILL BE IN THE VIDEO DESCRIPTION

Volleyball, Lacrosse, Dodgeball, Hockey & Curling are all available now - go check them out!

 

Rapid Fire

Edward Snowden says it’s a ‘dark day’ in Russia after Vladimir Putin introduces laws requiring cell providers to store and give over customer data opn request

Source 1: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/edward-snowden-vlad

• “Putin has signed a repressive new law that violates not only human rights, but common sense”

• New anti-terror legislation forces telephone carriers and internet providers to store private communications of their customers

  • Turn them over to the gov’t on request

• Russian comm providers may have to spend more than $30 billion to implement the new laws

• Screenshot of Edward Snowden’s first tweet about the matter

• Messaging services like Whatsapp, Viber and Telegram, could face fines of thousands of pounds if they continue to operate in Russia without handing over their encryption key to the gov’t

• Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Kremlin, told reporters:

  • “The law has been passed along with a list of recommendations to the gov’t designed to minimize potential financial risks”

 

NVIDIA GeForce Experience Beta Gets Significant UI Overhaul, Now Requires Login

Source 1: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/geforce-experience-beta-ui-update,32196.html

• Big overhaul, making navigating the software a little easier

  • More of a visual UI, as opposed to text-based

• Home pane features box art images of all gmaes that you have installed on your computer

  • You can hover over the image to see launch/setting details

• Will also find drivers tab next to the home tab

  • Drivers page setup similar to the Geforce.com webpage

• New update requires users to actually login to the application

  • Can use your google credentials, or you can create a GeForce Experience account

• Account creation process happens first time you launch the app after the update

  • Doesn’t appear to be a way around it

 

NVIDIA GTX 1080, 1070 Displayport Incompatible with Vive HMD (Update: Solution Identified)

Source 1: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-vive-displayport-incompatible,32204.html

• Problem has been ongoing for nearly a month

• Multiple threads on the issue

• RESPONSE ON JULY 5TH, 2016

• “We are aware of user reports of an incompatibility when plugging HTC Vive into GeForce GTX 1080 using the DisplayPort connector.” said Bryan Del Rizzo

  • “HTC and NVIDIA are investigating the issue”

  • “We recommend users connect HTC Vive to the HDMI port on GeForce GTX 1080/1070

• Solution coming in the next driver update

 

NVIDIA Funhouse Releases on Steam

Source 1: https://techcrunch.com/2016/07/14/nvidia-funhouse/

Source 2: https://www.engadget.com/2016/07/14/nvidias-vr-funhouse-carnival-game-just-lau

Release Video (1:01 Long)

• Free, VR carnival with collision-based haptic feedback

  • Takes advantage of advanced VRWorks graphics features to improve performance and maximize image quality

  • Uses PhysX Destruction to let you see your impact on the game environment

  • Uses FleX Fluids demonstrates realistic liquid

  • Uses Flow to simulate volumetric fire simulation

  • Uses HairWorks to simulate and render realistic hair and fur

• Need an HTC Vive to play

  • And a powerful gaming PC

• NVIDIA’s Suggested Graphics Cards

 

PCs Shipments in the US Are Growing for the First Time in Ages

Source 1: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/625373-pcs-shipm OP: AluminumTech

Source 2: http://www.theverge.com/2016/7/12/12158344/pc-shipments-idc-gartner-us-gro

• This only factors in pre-built PC sales, including laptops

• Estimated that shipments have risen by between 1.4 and 4.9%

  • Variance is due to one research firm factoring Chromebook sales in, while the other does not

• PC shipments worldwide are still in decline (estimated between 4.5 and 5.2% drop this year)

 

Nintendo Releasing a Miniature NES With 30 Built-in Games

Source 1: http://www.theverge.com/2016/7/14/12187296/nintendo-nes-classic-edition-an

Source 2: http://www.techradar.com/us/news/gaming/consoles/before-the-nx-nintendo-

• Nintendo calling it the “Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition”

  • Looks like a NES, but a lot smaller

• Comes with 30 games built in:

  • Balloon Fight, Bubble Bobble, Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Double Dragon II: The Revenge, Dr. Mario, Excitebike, Final Fantasy, Galaga, Ghosts’N Goblins, Gradius, Ice Climber, Kid Icarus, Kirby’s Adventure, Mario Bros., Mega Man 2, Metroid, Ninja Gaiden, Pac-Man, Punch-Out!, StarTropics, Super C, Super Mario Bros 1, 2 and 3, Tecmo Bowl, The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

• Can connect via HDMI to your TV

• Includes controller designed to work like the NES gamepad

  • Controller will connect to a Wii remote, so you can play virtual console games on a Wii or Wii U

• Will be available on November 11th for $59.99 (USD)

 

Netflix Now Lets You Make Your Own Movie Playlists to Share With Friends

Source 1: http://www.theverge.com/2016/7/15/12201082/netflix-flixtape-movie-playlists-mixtapes

• Called Netflix “Flixtape”

  • Let’s you create your own “flixtapes”

  • You can also use themed ones that were created by Netflix

• You can name the flixtape

• Add up to six (minimum of three) TV shows or movies to it and send it out

  • Send by sharing a specific link with a person, or posting the tape to Twitter or Facebook

  • They can then watch it in Netflix (As long as they have an active account)

• When you start making a new flixtape, Netflix will automatically recommend three shows or movies to start with

  • From there you can remove and start with your own

 

Exploring Facebook’s Massive, Picture-Painting AI Brain

Source 1: http://www.theverge.com/2016/7/13/12172904/facebook-ai-big-sur-machine-learni

• Checking out “Big Sur” at Facebook’s Prineville data center

  • Hardware system for training software to improve itself over time

• Facebook announced last year that Big Sur would be open source project

  • They have since submitted designs of Big Sur to the Open Compute Project

• Picture of the Open Rack V2 8-GPU Server

• Ian Buck - NVIDIA shows off a Big Sur-trained neural network that creates art based on more than 12,000 paintings

  • Says they gave the system about 12,000 pieces of art

  • Within 30 minutes it began outputting original works

• There is granular ways to train the AI

  • Telling it to focus more on of its paintings, and a specific aspect of that painting

• Facebook plans to improve Big Sur with more powerful parts

  • System is modular so it can support newer GPUs and different server and rack designs

• Today, Facebook data scientists and AI researchers are able to log onto servers in Prineville to access Big Sur

  • Can train offline algorithms before they’re put into live use

• Through Open Compute, companies and individuals can join the community and contribute to and use open-source hardware and software

 

Terry Crews posts take over r/pcmasterrace/ on Reddit after building custom PC on Facebook

Source 1: https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/

Source 2: http://www.theverge.com/2016/7/15/12197206/terry-crews-positive-pc-gamer

• “Glorious Terry Crews” memes

• Created a Facebook video outlining the parts in his PC which now has over 1.2 million views

• Was very humble, asking community for advice when doing his build and checking what the community thought of his parts choices - overall feedback was positive, seems to have done his research

• Chose to go with a Core i7-6800K, 2TB SSD, 32GB of Corsair Dominator Platinum RAM, a GTX 1080, etc.

• Crews says he is building the rig to spend more time with his son, who is a “big PC gamer,” but admits that he has a “fast-growing interest in the hobby”

• “I went on this thing with Snoop Dogg and Jamie Foxx, and we were playing Battlefield 1, and man, I was hooked. It was really, really fun.” - Terry Crews talking about an EA pre-E3 event

• Crews added “There’s nothing wrong with gaming! I make sure I stay physical also, but it’s a fun world.”

 

Google Could Release Smartphones and Smartwatches by Late 2016

Source 1: http://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/google-could-release-smartphones-and-sm

Source 2:

• Google is reportedly working toward releasing their own smartphones and smartwatches rather than working with third-party manufacturers

• The Telegraph reported that Google could be gearing up to release its own smartphone by the end of 2016

• Two new Nexus devices built by HTC are scheduled to land in Autumn 2016, which are still expected

• The smartphone “could come” with six modules - extra screen, camera, memory, spearker, etc.

• Also may be working on two watches, according to Android Police - one relatively basic, low-cost, and one hightech with features like 4G, GPS, boosted battery life, and heart-rate monitor

 

Ontario Teen Invents Tongue-Controlled Mouse for Physically Disabled

Source 1: http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/ontario-teen-invents-tongue-controlled-mouse-for-phy

Source 2: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/tongue-controlled-computer-mouse-1.3677813

• Emma Mogus, 17, build the TiC, or Tongue-Interface-Communication

• There are five buttons inside a mouthguard-type device, connected to a computer

  • Each button controls a different mouse direction

• Can use your tongue to press the center button, to left click enter

• “You can think of it as a mouse inside your mouth”

• Invention won Mogus the 2016 Weston Youth Innovation Award from the Ontario Science Centre

  • Mogus’ friend Tim, a husband and father with ALS, inspired her to create the device

• “Your tongue is connected almost directly to your brain, so it nearly bypasses your entire spinal cord, so in these injuries your tongue is left unaffected,” she said

 

Warner Brothers paid YouTubers for Positive Game Reviews [clickbait]

Source 1: https://www.engadget.com/2016/07/12/warner-bros-ftc-settlement-p

Source 2:

• Settled an FTC complaint accusing the company of paying YouTubers “hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars” to make “positive review videos for Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor”

• FTC filed the complaint back in 2014

  • Important to note that the FTC did not release their OFFICIAL guidelines for disclosure on YouTube until 2015 - still very much a “wild west” for paid promotions at that point

• Warner Bros required the online influencers to make a video that “promote positive sentiment about” the game, does “not show bugs or glitches that may exist,” and should “not communicate negative sentiment” about the company or the game

• FTC did not fully list the YouTubers involved, but did name Pewdiepie as one of them

  • Pewdiepie has since made a response video, stating that while he did not disclose it directly in the video verbally or through text, he DID disclose it in the description (under the fold due to Warner Bros requirements for links above the fold)

  • Also clarified that his video is not intended as a review - it is a let’s play, which is a significantly different category of video

• Many critics are questioning the motivation here as Shadow of Mordor was, for the most part, quite a good game that received a lot of unpaid positive press upon release

• From what we know publicly, it seems that Warner Bros only received a slap on the wrist, with the FTC simply telling them that future paid influencer deals must be clearly and conspicuously disclosed in the future, and must review future videos for compliance.

• They have been instructed to withhold payment if videos do not abide by FTC guidelines for future campaigns.

 

Twitch’s Shift to HTML5 Begins

Source 1:  https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/626394-twitch%E2% OP: jos

Source 2: http://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2016/7/14/12179066/twitch-htm

• Twitch launching a closed beta that will expand throughout the summer

  • Working to ditch Flash

• Twitch says will result in “a smoother streaming experience with faster load times and more consistent delivery of high frame rate broadcasts”

• Announced that they were making the switch last year

• According to Twitch, updated video player is among the most-requested features from its users

 

HP’s Elite X3

Source 1: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/624013-hp-is-making-the-ultim OP: AluminumTech

Source 2: http://www.gsmarena.com/hp_elite_x3-7954.php

Source 3: http://liliputing.com/2016/07/hp-elite-x3-price-at-799-windows-phone-for-enterprise.html

• First unveiled in February

• Specifications

  • Windows 10 OS

  • 4GB LPDDR4 RAM

  • Dual sim

  • IP67 certified

  • Snapdragon 820

  • 5.96” 2560x1440 Display

  • 4150 mAh Lithium Ion Battery

  • 16MP rear camera

  • 64GB Internal Storage

    • microSD expandable storage

• Designed to work with an optional mobile extender to let you use the phone like a notebook

  • Can connect to a desk dock and use it to power a desktop experience

• Will cost $699 Euros ($770 USD)

• (RUMOR) expected to be announced during month of September

 

Blizzard to Introduce a SIlence Penalty to World of Warcraft

Source 1: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/625317-blizzard-to-introduce-a- OP: Johners

Source 2: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/20177160/new-silence-penalty-coming-to-world-of-war

• Depending on the type of report, players who are found to be abusive or inappropriate may be silenced from engaging in certain ways with the game

• Following the Legion pre-expansion

  • Any player who is reported multiple times under the Span or Abusive Chat categories will receive an account-wide silence penalty

• Unable To:

  • Talk in instance chat

  • Talk in global channels that are auto joined

  • Create calendar invites/events

  • Send in-game mail

  • Send party invitations

  • Send war game invitations

  • Send invitations to duel

  • Update a premade group listing

  • Create a new list for a premade group

• Able To:

  • Whisper to friends

  • Reply to whispers from non-friends

  • Party-raid chat with invited players

  • Create parties and raids

  • Talk in global channels that have a moderator

  • Share quests

  • Sign up for a pre-made group

• First time a user is silenced, chat will be restricted for 24 hours

• Duration will be double for each penalty received after the first

  • There will be no maximum to this rule

• Silenced players will receive a notification when attempting to send a message where they have been restricted

 

An 11 Year Old Linksys Router Still Makes Millions of USD Each Year

Source 1: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/624121-an-11-year-old-linksys- OP: AluminumTech

Source 2: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/07/the-wrt54gl-a-54m

• The WRT54GL still makes millions for Linksys

  • 54Mbps router from 2005

  • Picture

• Open source firmware, reliability make an old product attractive to new buyers

• Uses 802.11g WiFi standard

• You can buy a new router for less money, and get the benefit of modern standards, expansion into the 5GHz band, and data rates more than 20 times higher

  • The WRT54GL costs around $42.95 USD on Amazon

  • Despite this, people still buy the WRT54GL in large enough numbers that Linksys continues to earn millions of dollars per year with it

• “To be honest, it somewhat baffles my mind,” Linksys Global Product Manager Vince La Duca told Ars

• “We’ll keep building it because people keep buying it”

 

Seagate to Lay Off 14% of its workforce to Lower Costs

Source 1: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/625151-seagate-to OP: HarmFull

Source 2: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-11/seagate-expands-job-cuts-

Source 3: http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/07/158437/over-3000-job-cuts-likely-seagate-w

• Expanded plans to cut jobs to 14% of the workforce

  • In an effort to lower costs

• Company will eliminate about 6,500 positions by the end of fiscal 2017

  • According to a statement

• Shares rose as high as $27.2 in extended trading following the statement

• Separately, company said preliminary sales for the quarter ended July 1 were $2.65 billion, exceeding predictions of $2.3 billion

 

Razer trying to turn Apple iPad Pro into a Razer Blade

Source 1: razerzone.com/gaming-keyboards-keypads…

• lol

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pcshme33]

first

[ColinW]

2nd 

[neoxid501]

Wow that's long lol

[Mr.Meerkat]

6 minutes ago, EnemySp0tt3d said:

first

 

6 minutes ago, ColinW said:

2nd 

Fack oof

[mikat]

wan show :DDDDD

now i must find a hotspot to download it because my data bundle isn't big enough to download it

in 360p it's only 160 MB so that's fine i guess

[ColinW]

6 minutes ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

 

Fack oof

Nah fam 

[Mr.Meerkat]

11 minutes ago, ColinW said:

Nah fam 

I 2nd your mother then  

 

[Master Disaster]

@LinusTech @nicklmg

 

More build guides please. 

[hiyayhi]

Came here to say, I love the NES thing. Going to buy one and take it with me when I travel the world next year. The fact that it's just a tiny piece of hardware that I can plug into any shitty hotel TV is amazing.

 

Nintendo. You're winning the internet right now imo.

[ClownFace1511]

http://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/pokemon-go-residents-call-police-as-rhodes-swamped-20160712-gq4hb3.html

Pokemon is crazy af in sydney, I went into the city and it was packed even till 2am in the morning. Although it was pretty mad I have to admit, everyone was all happy and talking and having a great time, not to mention the mad amounts of lures and pokemon. In 5C weather and probably a solid 5k+ people there at around 11pm it was a really good atmosphere. It will die down in about a month dw.

 

Heres a pic of the map close to Sydney Opera House.

[HorstDer2te]

i would love a "super over the top streming PC" buildgiude even if i will never actually use the guidence.

at least make it as an inside joke for loyal subs since the WAN show PC has problems for a long time
 

[xnamkcor]

Linus confirmed for being a #perfectdicks ?

 

Edit: That Mini NES? It's a gimped Wii or Wii U running VC versions of those games. The only good thing coming from this is the 10 USD NES controller that will be usable on the Wii and Wii U. And all VC titles are emulation anyway.

[ahuckphin]

whats up with the tape on the laptop nick was using?

[SansVarnic]

Lynda.com - take a course on how to walk and watch where you are going ......