Sony hanging onto Spider-Man rights, animated feature coming in 2018

Ben Gourlay | Celebrities & Entertainment | Apr 22, 2015 11:45 PM CDT

Earlier this year, Sony Pictures surprised fans by shelving plans for the Andrew Garfield 'Amazing Spider-Man' series and allowing Marvel to jointly share the rights to the character, allowing the classic Stan Lee creation to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

But with the intrinsic value of the property, they haven't ceded all rights to the Disney owned company and so today Sony Pictures have announced an upcoming animated 'Spider-Man' feature to be helmed by 'The Lego Movie' and '22 Jump Street' directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, for release in 2018, according to a report via ComingSoon.

The first film from the freshly rebooted live action 'Spider-Man' series will be released a year earlier on July 28, 2017 and will be co-produced by Marvel head Kevin Feige.

Continue reading: Sony hanging onto Spider-Man rights, animated feature coming in 2018 (full post)

Captain America says Superman would 'bulldoze' all of The Avengers

Anthony Garreffa | Celebrities & Entertainment | Apr 22, 2015 11:33 PM CDT

This last week has been pretty damn awesome for comic book and movie lovers, with the release of The Avengers: Age of Ultron starting today in some parts of the world, our first trailer to the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and our first look at Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

During the press junket to Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America himself (Chris Evans) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) were asked if they had seen the trailer to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Evans replied with a question: "how does anyone fight Superman?" Renner then added: "I know, that's what I don't get. What are you going to do with a Bat-belt?" Evans finishes with: "I feel like [Superman] would bulldoze our whole squad, they really wrote him unfairly. It's not fair, he's got too much".

Joss Whedon, the director on both of The Avengers movies had seen the trailer and was quite enthusiastic about seeing Batman and Superman on-screen together. Whedon said: "I found [the trailer for 'Batman v Superman'] interesting. Because they're bringing up a lot of issues that we bring up in 'Age of Ultron' and I think it's inevitable". Whedon added: "People with power, who are good, do not always agree and it makes perfect sense for me that [Batman and Superman] would fight. And besides... Batman and Superman are gonna fight! I'm so excited! I'm so excited!".

Continue reading: Captain America says Superman would 'bulldoze' all of The Avengers (full post)

AMD's Radeon R9 490X will reportedly arrive in 2016 with HBM2 and 14nm

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Apr 22, 2015 10:28 PM CDT

With the launch of the AMD Radeon R9 390X imminent, the Radeon R9 490X is over the horizon, with it reportedly set for launch in 2016. The new card will be based on the Arctic Islands architecture, manufactured on the 14nm process, and using the second generation HBM2.

The Arctic Islands flagship GPU will be based on the Greenland architecture, which will replace the Fiji architecture that will find its way into the Radeon R9 390X. The Greenland-based Radeon R9 490X will be built on the 14nm process thanks to Globalfoundries, a change from previous rumors that TSMC would be leading the GPU charge for AMD going into 2016.

TSMC has had trouble with the 16nm node, which I'm sure has been causing both AMD and NVIDIA headaches behind the scenes. More so with AMD, as they haven't had a flagship GPU released since the Radeon R9 290X in late 2013 (if we don't count the dual-GPU Radeon R9 295X2 in early 2014). Whereas NVIDIA has enjoyed its Maxwell architecture on the 28nm process beautifully, keeping power consumption and heat down without having to shrink its process, like it normally would.

Continue reading: AMD's Radeon R9 490X will reportedly arrive in 2016 with HBM2 and 14nm (full post)

AVADirect announces the new AVA Sixense VR Desktop PC

AVADirect has been on top of custom PCs for a while, but with the Omni VR desktop announced last month, the custom PC maker is adding to that with the new Sixense VR desktop.

The new Sixense VR desktop is a custom PC that has seen the company partner up with Sixense, so that their PC is ready for the STEM system when it launches. We had a play with Sixense's STEM system back at CES 2015 and thought it was revolutionary, but now AVADirect has taken it a step further with a custom PC ready for the STEM.

AVADirect has deployed an EVGA GeForce GTX 980 SuperClocked VGA card, with the option to upgrade to the GeForce GTX Titan X to handle everything you throw at it. This has ensured gamers that they can run games at 1080p at 75FPS minimum. The stock system rocks a Core i5-4460, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB mechanical HDD, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. The AVA Sixense VR Ultimate Desktop cranks it up to the Core i7-4790 processor, 16GB of RAM, a 500GB 850 EVO SSD from Samsung, and Windows 7 Professional. Both systems are housed in EVGA's Hadron Air Black Mini Tower, with a Sixense etched side panel.

Continue reading: AVADirect announces the new AVA Sixense VR Desktop PC (full post)

Microsoft uses 60FPS footage of The Witcher 3 on PC as Xbox One promo

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Apr 22, 2015 8:19 PM CDT

In something that isn't too surprising, but is a dirty trick: Microsoft has used footage from the PC version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt running at 60FPS to advertise the Xbox One version of the game, which runs at just 30FPS.

The new footage is called "Precious Cargo" and is another step in the marketing for The Witcher 3 before its May 19 release on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. But, with the PC version of the game the only version capable of 60FPS, with developer CD Projekt Red stating that both the Xbox One and PS4 versions of the game locked at 30FPS, this is some tricky marketing from Microsoft.

Microsoft are advertising it on the official Xbox channel of YouTube, with a single line that explains it's running on the PC version of the game: "In game footage provided by CD Projekt Red, captured on a PC". As you can see from the screenshot above, the video is even being pushed at 1080p and 60FPS, which the Xbox One is clearly not capable of with The Witcher 3.

Continue reading: Microsoft uses 60FPS footage of The Witcher 3 on PC as Xbox One promo (full post)

Most of AMD's next-gen Radeon cards rumored to be rebrands

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Apr 22, 2015 7:39 PM CDT

We've had an industry insider whisper sweet nothings into our ear regarding the forthcoming release of AMD's Radeon 300 series, which will include the flagship "Fiji XT" Radeon R9 390X, which will reportedly arrive in two flavors, with very short supplies at launch thanks to HBM's low yields.

Our tipster has said that most of AMD's Radeon 300 series lineup will be filled with rebrands, with the Radeon 380X being a rebranded Radeon R9 290X. This isn't new information as we've previously reported that AMD's Radeon 300 series would be filled with rebrands, but this information is much newer and closer to the actual release than the previous rumors.

There will be a few VGA cards released with the new Fiji architecture, which should arrive as the Radeon R9 390X and R9 395X2. We could see the R9 390 being the Fiji, while the Fiji XT core will power the R9 390X.

Continue reading: Most of AMD's next-gen Radeon cards rumored to be rebrands (full post)

The Media Trust shows off SaaS-based tool to identify malvertising

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Apr 22, 2015 5:09 PM CDT

The Media Trust, a cybersecurity firm focused on monitoring and protecting the advertising ecosystem, has unveiled a new software as a service (SaaS) offering able to provide real-time data about malicious ads.

Resolution Services is designed for use by ad networks, publishers, ad exchanges, paid-content engines and demand platforms, and scans for malware detection - providing faster remediation time if something is detected.

"Every day the ad-network-and-exchange model proves its worth as evidenced by the millions of ads successfully served in just one 24-hour cycle, but the constant threat of malvertising requires continuous improvement and greater collaboration across the industry," said Chris Olson, co-founder and CEO of The Media Trust.

Continue reading: The Media Trust shows off SaaS-based tool to identify malvertising (full post)

Webroot: Cybercrime complexity increasing, making things even harder

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Apr 22, 2015 3:54 PM CDT

There are 85,000 new malicious IPs launched daily, while technology companies and financial institutions endure the highest number of phishing attacks, according to the Webroot 2015 Threat Brief. The United States has the most malicious IP addresses with 31 percent, ahead of China (23 percent), and Russia (10 percent) - with half of all malicious IP addresses tracing back to Asia.

The United States hosts the most amount of phishing sites, accounting for three out of every four - even though experts believe foreign operators could be utilizing US-based sites for their operations.

"Webroot has seen a continued rise in the number of malicious URLs, IP addresses, malware, and mobile applications used to enable cybercriminals to steal data, disrupt services, or cause other harm," said Hal Lonas, CTO at Webroot.

Continue reading: Webroot: Cybercrime complexity increasing, making things even harder (full post)

Cybersecurity researchers say Israeli military networks breached

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Apr 22, 2015 3:09 PM CDT

Unknown Arabic-speaking hackers have successfully breached Israeli military computer networks, in an ongoing cyberespionage campaign, according to enterprise cybersecurity firm Blue Coat Systems. The hackers pieced together an effective attack vector by using existing malware that was launched via social engineering attacks to compromise victims.

The use of social engineering and code that wasn't customized allowed the hackers to operate with low overhead, while still being able to complete their mission. The phishing emails were sent to publicly listed military addresses, promising a breaking military news update, or a video clip of the "Girls of the Israel Defense Forces."

Israel has a strong private sector focused on cybersecurity, but faces a growing number of enemies improving their cyberattack abilities. Groups such as Hezbollah, for example, are able to launch surprisingly sophisticated cyber missions aimed at stealing information and interrupting military operations.

Continue reading: Cybersecurity researchers say Israeli military networks breached (full post)

Report: Need better breach crisis? IT manager may not be best bet

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Apr 22, 2015 2:57 PM CDT

Companies must have a strategy in place when a data breach occurs, and it looks like IT managers may not be best to handle a breach crisis, according to a new report by Booz Allen Hamilton. Instead, a business savvy leader at the company is better prepared to handle the problem, as they will be prepared to address crisis communications, legal issues, disaster recovery, and other strategic decisions that must be made.

A skilled executive that has a high-level view of the company's complete operation will be able to react more efficiently instead of an IT or security manager.

"They may have to shut the systems down, reconfigure things, and do other things that will affect the business," said Bill Stewart, executive vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton, in a statement published by CSO Online. "And they might not be in a situation where they understand the broader business objectives. Having someone who understands the broader business, helps them make better decisions."

Continue reading: Report: Need better breach crisis? IT manager may not be best bet (full post)

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