New mod successfully brings 'Doom 3' to Virtual Reality The Doom series is known for its busy modding scene, so it's appropriate that a Doom mod may have just shown us the way to get big budget first-person shooters to work on virtual reality headsets. Using the graphically enhanced "BFG" version of 2004's Doom 3, the mod from "Codes4Fun" skillfully ports to game to the HTC Vive, generally making it look as though it was designed for the platform all along. Vice (also, Virtual reality is pushing gaming into another 'golden age': Xbox co-founder)
A phone that charges in seconds? UCF scientists bring it closer to reality A team of UCF scientists has developed a new process for creating flexible supercapacitors that can store more energy and be recharged more than 30,000 times without degrading. The novel method from the University of Central Florida's NanoScience Technology Center could eventually revolutionize technology as varied as mobile phones and electric vehicles. University of Central Florida
Samsung in talks with Lenovo to sell off PC business: Report Samsung Electronics is in talks with Chinese PC giant Lenovo to sell off its struggling PC business division as part of its efforts to divest less profitable businesses, The Bell, a local news outlet, reported on Nov. 24. The report said Samsung is carrying out the talks without a financial advisor, adding that the Korean tech giant has hired Paul Hastings as a legal advisor, while Lenovo is represented by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. The Investor (also, Samsung confirms acquisition of QD Vision, a US-based Quantum Dot display company)
Censorship in social media leaves users in frustration User reports of censorship of social media posts show a deep frustration with companies' content moderation policies, according to an analysis by Onlinecensorship.org, a project of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Visualizing Impact. In "Censorship in Context: Insights from Crowdsourced Data on Social Media Censorship," researchers analyzed reports of content takedowns received from users of Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube from April to November of 2016. EFF.org
A new perovskite could lead the next generation of data storage EPFL scientists have developed a new perovskite material with unique properties that can be used to build next-generation hard drives. As we generate more and more data, we need storage systems, e.g. hard drives, with higher density and efficiency. But this also requires materials whose magnetic properties can be quickly and easily manipulated in order to write and access data on them. Phys.org
Nylon fibers made to flex like muscles Artificial muscles – materials that contract and expand somewhat like muscle fibers do – can have many applications, from robotics to components in the automobile and aviation industries. Now, MIT researchers have come up with one of the simplest and lowest-cost systems yet for developing such "muscles," in which a material reproduces some of the bending motions that natural muscle tissues perform. MIT
$1bn Getty Images public domain photograph dispute is over Earlier this year, photographer Carol Highsmith received a $120 settlement demand from Getty Images after she used one of her own public domain images on her website. Highsmith responded with a $1bn lawsuit but after a few short months the case is all over, with neither side a clear winner. Seattle-based Getty Images is an agency with control over an archive of millions of stock images. It also has a reputation for strongly protecting its copyrights and chasing down companies... TorrentFreak
Best gaming mouse pad When dreaming up the perfect gaming battle station, most users spend the majority of their time thinking about their favorite keyboards, high-DPI gaming mice, comfy headsets and high refresh-rate displays. Often overlooked in a PC gamer's peripheral budget, mouse pads are actually an essential part of the PC gaming experience. A fancy gaming mouse without a reliable surface is like a knight without his loyal steed. A high quality mouse pad goes a long way for any type of competitive PC gaming. PC Gamer
I came in 35th in a professional (e-)race and you can, too Regular readers will know that racing games and motorsports are two of my favorite things. With the exception of some time in Elite: Dangerous, all of my gaming these days is done with pedals and a steering wheel. While I haven't been able to do the real thing as often as I'd like, my team and I had a relatively good showing during a snowy weekend at Mid Ohio with the World Racing League earlier this year. Ars Technica
360-degree video playback coming to VLC, VR headset support planned for 2017 Popular open source video playback app VLC has added support for 360-degree video to its desktop versions, and is planning to bring 360-degree support to its mobile apps in the near future as well. Dedicated VLC versions for virtual reality (VR) headsets like Oculus Rift and Google Daydream will likely be added next year as well. Variety
How to make a home flight simulator This is the most recent photo of the project. Below you will see how this Project Began, and its progression. It has been almost two years in the making. Follow the progress of my home built Flight Simulator Project, Flight Simulation content (X-Plane-10/11) / real aviation, Airplane Scale Models, and other interesting hobbies that my wife and friends say I am crazy as hell... Reddit/Imgur
Japan plans supercomputer to leap into technology future Japan plans to build the world's fastest-known supercomputer in a bid to arm the country's manufacturers with a platform for research that could help them develop and improve driverless cars, robotics and medical diagnostics. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will spend 19.5 billion yen ($173 million) on the previously unreported project, a budget breakdown shows, as part of a government policy to get back Japan's mojo in the world of technology. Reuters
Bacteria taught to bond carbon and silicon for the first time Proteins solve problems. By guiding evolution along, scientists have created a protein that can bond carbon to silicon. This innovation could transform how we make a broad array of products, from drugs to LED lights, semiconductors and computer screens. Silicon is the second most abundant element in Earth's crust, but it doesn't naturally bond to carbon. The New Scientist
Iron tips: Soldering headphones and enamel wire We've all had that treasured pair of headphones fail us. One moment we're jamming out to our favorite song, then, betrayal. The right ear goes out. No wait. It's back. No, damn, it's gone. It works for a while and then no jiggling of the wire will bring it back. So we think to ourselves, we've soldered before. This is nothing. We'll just splice the wire together. Hackaday
Inside the ambitious 'Sleeping Dogs' sequel we'll never get to play Canadian-based game developer United Front Games went out of business last month. The studio wasn't widely known over its nine-year history, but it was responsible for Sleeping Dogs, one of the most underrated open world games of the past decade. In a just world, we'd be playing Sleeping Dogs 2. We almost lived in that world, too. Sleeping Dogs 2 was in development, according to two sources I spoke with, and I have the documents to prove it. Vice
System76 Oryx Pro review: Linux in a laptop has never been better Laptops preloaded with Linux aren't as rare as they used to be. In fact, big name hardware companies like Dell have whole lines of laptops that ship with Ubuntu installed, and if you want to stretch things a bit you could argue that a Chromebook is a kind of Linux machine (though it takes a bit of tinkering to get actual Linux installed). Ars Technica
A practical guide to securing macOS This is a collection of thoughts on securing a modern Apple Mac computer using macOS (formerly "OS X") 10.12 "Sierra", as well as steps to improving online privacy. This guide is targeted to "power users" who wish to adopt enterprise-standard security, but is also suitable for novice users with an interest in improving their privacy and security on a Mac. GitHub
Interactive: Record-breaking PV cells There's often a lot of hype when solar companies claim to set new records. But to see how different PV technologies really stack up, it's important to compare standardized and independent efficiency tests. Here, we present the records that have been independently verified by the world's three leading independent labs. IEEE Spectrum