The Morning After: Friday, January 27 2017
Welcome to Friday! In the last 24 hours you might have missed Pokemon cheaters getting punished, even more Facebook security if you need it, and for some reason, the first ever viable human-pig embryo.
PlayStation is still getting away with ‘minimum funding’ charges
After Microsoft and even Nintendo have done away with consumer-hostile payment strategies, PlayStation Network is clinging to its wallet. To buy even a relatively cheap piece of DLC or a discounted game, there’s still a minimum $5 charge to face, which grinds Sean Buckley’s gears.
Trump signs executive order stripping non-citizens of privacy rights
Since taking office, Donald Trump has kept the executive orders flowing, but at least one of them has a teeny-tiny issue. Titled “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States,” it excludes non-US citizens from the protections of the Privacy Act. That’s in opposition to a recently implemented US-EU Data Shield agreement that means European customer data remains under EU rules, even if it’s on a server in the US. Invalidating that with the Executive Order could open the US up to sanctions, or cause the Europeans to suspend the agreement entirely, placing US companies that serve foreign customers in a tricky position.
Square Enix is making an ‘Avengers’ game for Marvel
The two companies have revealed a multi-game partnership that will kick off with The Avengers Project. A teaser trailer shows a pair of cracked glasses, Thor’s hammer and an Iron Man gauntlet lying in the dirt, discarded. A somber voiceover explains that “the world will always need heroes.” The gaming company’s western studios, Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal, will work on the title, but no word yet on when we’ll eventually see it.
Samsung’s Galaxy S8 will likely appear on March 29th
Samsung won’t be attending the world’s biggest smartphone show with its Galaxy S8, but it’ll apparently have it ready for the following month. Reports suggest the big reveal will be on March 29. You can wait, right?
Now Facebook lets you use a physical key to log in
Setting up unique passwords for each account you have and using two-factor authentication is good, but managing the codes can be a pain. One way around that is by using a U2F (Universal 2nd Factor) compatible key that plugs into your USB port and logs into accounts with the press of a button. Google, Dropbox and others already support the encrypted keys, and now Facebook does too.
The Pokémon Company caught almost 6,000 ‘Sun’ and ‘Moon’ cheaters
Cheating in online games is pretty shitty, creating an uneven playing field against those who do play by the rules and those who do not. The Pokémon Company is putting its foot down, pointing out 5,954 folks that are using modified save files, according to a translated post from the Company. As a result, their entries into online tournaments, rating battles and game sync in the Global Link multiplayer portion have been “limited.”
Is Verizon going to try to buy a cable company?
A couple of weeks ago, the NY Post reported Verizon is eyeing an acquisition of Charter or Comcast, and now the Wall Street Journal reports Charter is the potential target. CNBC threw some water on the rumor by saying there are “no significant talks” under way, but the possibility of a megadeal combining all those wireless and cable customers is too big to ignore.
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