Author: matthewephotography@yahoo.com
Following beta testing earlier this year, Steam Family has launched with new ways to connect with relatives on the gaming portal. Up to five family members can be invited to join the group, giving them access to a shared Family Library. Each member can create their own save files and collect their own gaming achievements in the Family Library.The highlight of the new Family feature is that multiple people in a group can play games from a shared library at the same time. Also, if you own multiple copies of a game, multiple people can play that title at the…
Xbox is changing the process of making connections on its gaming platform, and the new method is much the same as on other social platforms: you send a friend request, which is either accepted or rejected.While this seems like an obvious way for this feature to work, Xbox has taken a more passive approach to friends in recent console generations. The current system allows anyone to add another Xbox account to their follow list, and once the two accounts follow each other, they are upgraded to friends. MicrosoftThis change shouldn’t cause any major changes to players’ social tabs. If you’re…
Nevada has a new helper in processing its backlog of unemployment claims: Google AI. As reported by Gizmodo, the effort will have one of the company’s cloud-based AI models analyze appeals court records and recommend whether cases should be approved. A robot could decide whether or not you should receive the government money you applied for.The Nevada Independent reported in June that an AI model trained on the state’s unemployment laws and policies would analyze transcripts from virtual appeals hearings, then issue a decision that state officials would review for errors and decide whether to honor.It replaces the Nevada Department…
“The world needs a champion. A champion of the lost, the forgotten. Can you protect the Earth from evildoers and keep their tools of evil trapped in rock forever? If so, say the word.”In Shazam! #15, Philadelphia sinks and monsters emerge from beneath the streets. Meanwhile, Billy Batson tries to rediscover his purpose and Freddy Freeman desperately tries to escape a new artistic foe. Mary Marvel and Uncle Dudley team up with Tawkey Tawney and the rest of their siblings to hold off hordes of invading Sub-Men. This may be the final installment of “Where’s Billy Batson?”, but there’s enough…
For those tired of Elon Musk’s completely ordinary X platform, it’s easy to forget that there are other social networks besides Threads. Bluesky is a good alternative because it’s “like” Twitter. However, it lacks some of the features that once made Twitter an Internet hotspot. Now, the big one has come: the company has announced that users can now upload video content.There are a few caveats. First, videos must be under a minute long, which is a pretty big hurdle for pretty much any content other than TikTok-style short videos. By comparison, Meta’s Threads allows videos that are five minutes…
AHOY Comics will soon be publishing a new satire comic about gods and monsters, “ARCHAIC.” Written in her comics debut by Melissa F. Olson, illustrated by Sally Cantilino and colored by Gab Contreras, the comic is another classic satire for AHOY, as a single mother confronts legends, gods, monsters and forgotten beings in this action-adventure parody. ARCHAIC Comics also features variations by Liana Kangas and Emma Vieceli. What is ARCHAIC? After Tess Halliday’s unscrupulous ex-husband steals from the wrong people, she lives alone in snowy Chicago with her teenage stepson Theo, and 10-year-old twins Audrey and Liam. Then life-changing news…
On Wednesday, Adobe announced its Firefly AI video generation tool, due for beta release later this year. As with many things AI-related, Adobe is gradually integrating tools built to automate much of the creative work that its prized user base currently pays for, and the examples are as frightening as they are fascinating. Echoing the AI salesmanship seen elsewhere in the tech industry, Adobe is positioning all of this as ancillary technologies that “take the drudgery out of post-production.”Adobe describes its new Firefly-powered text-to-video, Generative Extend (available in Premiere Pro), and image-to-video AI tools as helping editors do tasks like…
Early impressions of the Apple Watch Series 10 have been mostly pretty positive. Not only does it have the largest display of any Apple Watch to date (despite the case size being smaller than the 49mm Ultra 2), it’s also lighter and thinner than before. The display isn’t just larger, it’s also brighter when viewed at an angle, and the always-on screen now updates every second when stationary (instead of once every minute as before).Aside from the updated display and some nifty new case options (the new polished titanium and jet black aluminum look pretty amazing), the Apple Watch also…
The creative minds of Matt Borth and Ben Clarkson are back with the latest installment of the Justice Warriors series. The upcoming graphic novel, “Vote Harder,” finds mutant police best friends Swamp and Shit at odds during an election. Borth and Clarkson co-wrote the story, with Clarkson providing illustrations and Borth providing backup illustrations. Felipe Sobreiro provided colors and Borth provided lettering. The first book, Justice Warriors, was first published as a trade paperback in 2023 and has been in print three times. Justice Warriors has been praised for its humor and witty reviews. The Beat called the book a…
Image courtesy of IDW The first issue of the relaunched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles serialized series kicks off a new status quo with Raphael in prison, telling a darkly fascinating tale of the most hot-headed of the prison Turtles. The focus of this second issue is Michelangelo, but his current situation is exactly the same as Raphael’s. Mikey is the star of a kind of special effects show, but instead of a costumed superhero protagonist, he’s a living special effect at the center of the action. He’s a big star, but there’s a void in Mikey’s life, and despite his…