Edge Tekk
Edge Tekk
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Life on Mars – ‘Good Night Oppy’
We as humans have a tendency to project our own emotions and experiences onto those around us. And that’s not just our fellow people – we’ll anthropomorphize just about anything. Pets, wild animals, even inanimate objects; we have an inherent desire to create those connections.
And yet … sometimes, it’s the right thing to do.
“Good Night Oppy,” the new documentary from Amazon Studios, is a thoughtful exploration of that tendency by way of the Mars rover, of all things. This engaging and surprisingly heartfelt film from director Ryan White takes the viewer along as the rovers Spirit and Opportunity are conceived, constructed and catapulted into the cosmos.
Interviews with some of the major players in the rover program – the engineers who designed them, the scientists who directed them – are interspersed with archival footage from varying points along the two-decade timeline and some recreations intended to give more of a first-person understanding of the rovers’ experience.
It’s the sort of story that would have been compelling enough had the rovers simply fulfilled their three-month mission. Instead, these robots would spend the next decade-plus moving across the surface of the red planet, going above and beyond their original mission again and again. And as the years passed and the rovers kept going, the scientists and engineers on the ground began to view them as not just tools or equipment or machinery.
They were family.
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Robotic buoys developed to keep Atlantic right whales safe
A Cape Cod science center and one of the world’s largest shipping businesses are collaborating on a project to use robotic buoys to protect a vanishing whale from lethal collisions with ships.
A lab at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution developed the technology, which uses buoys and underwater gliders to record whale sounds in near real time. The robotic recorders give scientists, mariners and the public an idea of the location of rare North Atlantic right whales, said Mark Baumgartner, a marine ecologist with Woods Hole whose lab also operates the buoys.
The whales number less than 340 in the world and ship strikes are one of the biggest threats to their existence, as they travel through some of the busiest stretches of ocean on the planet. Now, French shipping giant CMA CGM is working with Woods Hole to deploy two of the robotic buoys off of Norfolk, Virginia, and Savannah, Georgia.
CMA CGM is funding the deployment of the buoys, which will add to the data collected by six others off the East Coast, Baumgartner said. The two new buoys could be deployed for testing soon, he said.
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Weekly Time Waster - ‘Batman: The Telltale Series – Episode 1’
The Batman is one of the most iconic characters that DC has in its utility belt; his comic book adventures have spawned many movies and – of course – video games. One such game from the last few years – a game with a fantastic story – was a classic created by Telltale Games (“Telltale – The Walking Dead” series). It is, simply enough, “Batman: The Telltale Series.”
In “Batman: The Telltale Series,” you play as Bruce Wayne/Batman donning the cape and cowl and defending Gotham city from an assortment of villains who deserve their own little place in Arkham Asylum. In a typical Telltale fashion, the game plays in a very cinematic way with playable cut scenes where you must hit the correct buttons in QuickTime events and make large decisions that your choice will ripple into later sections of the game affecting the story in a massive way. Do you save a certain character over another? Do you show up to a scene as Bruce, or Batman? Do you take information from a certain character to owe them later, or solve a situation yourself? The choices are up to you, and with so many, there of course are multiple endings to the story.
The main gist of “Batman: The Telltale Series” is that allegations against the Wayne family have surfaced from an unknown source, threatening Bruce Wayne’s life and reputation. While Bruce deals with his normal life, he also does battle against a group called the Children of Arkham led by Lady Arkham and Oswald Copplepot. In “Batman”, you will see many familiar faces, from the likes of Catwoman, Lucius Fox, The Penguin, Alfred, Commissioner Gordon and many more that I won’t spoil.
“Batman: The Telltale Series” is a phenomenal game, withe five total chapters to play in a wild ride of a story. The only caveat is the first chapter is the only one that is free to play – the rest are paid. The first chapter is a great time waster however, and playing it gives you a great taste of the story and the game and leaves you teeming with the desire to find out what happens next.
“Batman: The Telltale Series” is free to download and play the first episode on the Android, and IOS stores.
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FIFA takes on EA Sports video game in soccer’s new rivalry
LONDON (AP) — The name “FIFA” can bring to mind images of the World Cup and soccer’s greatest players, like Pele, Zinedine Zidane or Lionel Messi. The acronym for the sport’s governing body may also remind some of shameless bribery and corruption.
For many, though, it’s the video game that is synonymous with FIFA.
For three decades, the Switzerland-based soccer body has enjoyed a flourishing, mutually beneficial relationship with EA Sports. The annual edition of the video game, alongside related products, has raked in billions of dollars and has proven to be so lucrative that FIFA thinks it can be making even more on its own.
FIFA severed the licensing deal partnership with Electronic Arts Inc. on Tuesday, making FIFA23 the last new EA game with the involvement of both sides.
They are now becoming opponents.
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Weekly Time Waster - ‘Hell Let Loose’ – Console update
Back in October, I touched upon a World War II shooter called “Hell Let Loose.” When I wrote about it last fall, the new console release was very much behind the PC version in terms of both content and development. That all changed May 16 with a massive content update.
For a quick refresher, “HLL” is a realistic World War II first-person shooter featuring 100 players on massive, meticulously recreated maps from WWII. Infantry, tanks, artillery and more battle in all-out warfare. Each team either attacks or defends, which leads to a constantly-shifting frontline.
Initially, the console version of the game only featured the European Front of WWII, with American and German factions fighting on maps in France, but with this new update, the Eastern Front arrives, along with new maps, tanks, weapons and factions.
In this new update to “HLL,” you will be able to fight in Stalingrad, one of the primary battles in the Eastern Front, as well as in Kursk, another major battle with a large emphasis on armored warfare. The update also features a few revisions to maps already in the game – a nice addition. Lots of new weapons – including the PPSh-41, SVT-40 and M97 Trench Gun – join the armory, as well as iconic tanks such as the T34 and IS-1.
“HLL” is an incredible WW2 simulation and if you haven’t tried it out yet, it’s absolutely worth the purchase. I know, I know – I usually focus on free, but this game goes on sale all the time. The developers have worked extremely hard to give everything a historically accurate treatment; it’s great fun to play and you might even meet some incredible people from all around the world and do battle with or against them.
Sure, this space is for a “Weekly Time Waster,” but if this kind of game is your thing, it might wind up becoming become a daily time waster.
“Hell Let Loose” is available to purchase on the PlayStation, Xbox and Steam stores.
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