PS Plus members can try the Overwatch-like Concord this weekend https://o.aolcdn.com/images/dims?image_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fs.yimg.com%2Fos%2Fcreatr-uploaded-images%2F2024-07%2F85b70d00-3fa3-11ef-bf77-98ee9c22dfba&resize=1400%2C787&client=19f2b5e49a271b2bde77&signature=1d66f8ec87fe648805c0c093c5db0c98fc71b1fa Firewalk Studios’ upcoming debut game, the 5v5 team shooter Concord, is opening up to all PlayStation Plus members this weekend. Pre-order customers and PS Plus subscribers can try the multiplayer FPS beginning on Friday, July 12, at noon ET. The beta window for the PS5 and PC game was initially only meant for pre-order customers. (If you already reserved the game, you’ll still get beta access and codes for friends, whether you subscribe to PS Plus or not.) Opening it up to PlayStation Plus members gives developer Firewalk Studios and publisher PlayStation Studios the bonuses of extra player feedback, server stress tests and the chance to catch bugs and work on balancing. And, of course, it lets them build extra hype for the new IP. All 16 characters (“Freegunners” with somewhat nontraditional roles) will be unlocked and available during the Early Access weekend, which ends on July 14. PS5 players can pre-download the Concord Beta starting Thursday at noon ET. Meanwhile, an Open Beta will invite anyone to try the FPS next weekend (July 18 at noon ET through July 21). Firewalk Studios / PlayStation Studios Three game modes will be available during the Early Access this weekend. These include Clash Point (round-based, no-respawn matches where you try to capture a zone), Trophy Hunt (a respawn-based bounty-collecting mode) and Cargo Run (no-respawn mode where you retrieve a package, plant it in a zone and defend it). You can try four maps in the preview: Freewater, Star Chamber, Water Hazard and Shock Risk. Next week’s Concord Open Beta will add a new mode, Area Control (teams compete to control zones with respawns enabled), and another map, the ominous-sounding Bone Mines. The developers say your rewards will carry over from this weekend’s Early Access to next weekend’s Open Beta, but none will transfer to the game’s launch on August 23. Firewalk Studios listed the beta’s supported PC specs in its announcement blog post, although it cautions those could change before the final version. Firewalk Studios is a Sony-owned team founded by (among others) three Bungie veterans who worked on the Destiny franchise. Others at the studio hail from Respawn, Activision and BioWare, fleshing out the team’s multiplayer shooter credentials. With Concord, the developers appear to borrow elements from Overwatch, Destiny and Halo while adding nontraditional player classes and narrative and character elements similar to Guardians of the Galaxy. Concord arrives on August 23 for PS5 and PC. You can check out the gameplay trailer below. This article originally appeared on Engadget at
Engadget
PS Plus members can try the Overwatch-like Concord this weekend
Firewalk Studios’ upcoming debut game, Concord, will be open to all PlayStation Plus members this weekend. Pre-order customers and PS Plus subscr...
Engadget
PS Plus members can try the Overwatch-like Concord this weekend
Firewalk Studios’ upcoming debut game, Concord, will be open to all PlayStation Plus members this weekend. Pre-order customers and PS Plus subscr...
Apple blog TUAW returns as an AI content farm https://o.aolcdn.com/images/dims?image_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fs.yimg.com%2Fos%2Fcreatr-uploaded-images%2F2024-07%2F4d98b880-3e43-11ef-bd75-12b73ff91407&resize=1400%2C889&client=19f2b5e49a271b2bde77&signature=91248aa469a961a94067ad11d31a88626468891c The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) has come back online nearly a decade after shutting down. But the once venerable source of Apple news appears to have been transformed by its new owners into an AI-generated content farm. The site, which ceased operations in 2015, began publishing “new” articles, many of which appear to be nearly identical to content published by MacRumors and other publications, over the past week. But those posts bear the bylines of writers who last worked for TUAW more than a decade ago. The site also has an author page featuring the names of former writers along with photos that appear to be AI-generated. Christina Warren, who last wrote for TUAW in 2009, flagged the sketchy tactic in a post on Threads. “Someone bought the TUAW domain, populated it with AI-generated slop, and then reused my name from a job I had when I was 21 years old to try to pull some SEO scam that won’t even work in 2024 because Google changed its algo,” she wrote. Originally started in 2004, TUAW was shut down by AOL in 2015. Much of the site’s original archive can still be found on Engadget. Yahoo, which owns Engadget, sold the TUAW domain in 2024 to an entity called “Web Orange Limited” in 2024, according to a statement on TUAW’s website. The sale, notably, did not include the TUAW archive. But, it seems that Web Orange Limited found a convenient (if legally dubious) way around that. “With a commitment to revitalize its legacy, the new team at Web Orange Limited meticulously rewrote the content from archived versions available on archive.org, ensuring the preservation of TUAW’s rich history while updating it to meet modern standards and relevance,” the site’s about page states. TUAW doesn’t say if AI was used in those “rewrites,” but a comparison between the original archive on Engadget and the “rewritten” content on TUAW suggests that Web Orange Limited put little effort into the task. “The article ‘rewrites’ aren’t even assigned to the correct names,” Warren tells Engadget, “It has stuff for me going back to 2004. I didn’t start writing for the site until 2007.” TUAW didn’t immediately respond to emailed questions about its use of AI or why it was using the bylines of former writers with AI-generated profile photos. Yahoo didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.  This article originally appeared on Engadget at
Engadget
Apple blog TUAW returns as an AI content farm
The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) has come back online nearly a decade after shutting down ... as an apparent AI-generated content farm.
Engadget
Apple blog TUAW returns as an AI content farm
The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) has come back online nearly a decade after shutting down ... as an apparent AI-generated content farm.
Amazon unearths the Echo Spot from the dustbin of its product line https://o.aolcdn.com/images/dims?image_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fs.yimg.com%2Fos%2Fcreatr-uploaded-images%2F2024-07%2Fe2db8890-3980-11ef-a7fd-7a535b4bd9f7&resize=1400%2C787&client=19f2b5e49a271b2bde77&signature=2a46022517509846d5deaac9a5cc3dfc4dda25a4 Amazon has revealed an all-new Echo Spot ahead of Prime Day. It’s very much like the original Echo Spot that came out in 2017 and was discontinued two years later except the front face is now split between a hemispherical display and speaker. Amazon says the new model comes with better sound and a sharper display. Time will tell if the reboot suffers from the same screen flicker issues as its predecessor. Otherwise, the conceit is more or less identical: it's a bare-bones smart alarm clock that, via Alexa integration, can manage a few simple tasks like providing the weather forecast or showing song titles when playing music from your streaming app of choice. Arguably, the best part about the new Echo Spot is that it doesn’t have a camera. The original model had one baked in, which was useful for video chats, but not everyone was enthused about having a camera sitting on their bedside. The Echo Spot's outer shell comes in Black, Glacier White and Ocean Blue, and the display can be customized with six hues: magenta, violet, orange, lime, teal or blue, which can be mixed- and-matched with various clock faces. The Echo Spot will be available for $80, which is $50 cheaper than the original model. If you’re a Prime member, you can get it for $45 through Prime Day. This article originally appeared on Engadget at
Engadget
Amazon revives the Echo Spot smart alarm clock and swiftly discounts it by 44 percent
After an unceremonious discontinuation, the Echo Spot has returned.
Engadget
Amazon revives the Echo Spot smart alarm clock and swiftly discounts it by 44 percent
After an unceremonious discontinuation, the Echo Spot has returned.