This week, EA actually listens to gamers, DJI doesn't respect bug bounty reports and Amazon brings more to the Lord of the Rings universe.
Scott is a developer who has worked on projects of varying sizes, including all of the PLUGHITZ Corporation properties. He is also known in the gaming world for his time supporting the rhythm game community, through DDRLover and hosting tournaments throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Currently, when he is not working on software projects or hosting F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Scott can often be found returning to his high school days working with the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), mentoring teams and helping with ROBOTICON Tampa Bay. He has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors, currently housed at AMRoC Fab Lab.
Avram's been in love with PCs since he played original Castle Wolfenstein on an Apple II+. Before joining Tom's Hardware, for 10 years, he served as Online Editorial Director for sister sites Tom's Guide and Laptop Mag, where he programmed the CMS and many of the benchmarks. When he's not editing, writing or stumbling around trade show halls, you'll find him building Arduino robots with his son and watching every single superhero show on the CW.
The market for kids' wearables is growing and myriad. Every year at CES we encounter at least one company showing off a wearable device that is designed to make kids safer and parents more at ease. Usually they are shaped like a watch, but not all of them offer screens. Most allow a parent to track the child via GPS, some allow parents to communicate with their kids, and some allow parents to listen in on their kids.
Based on the popularity of Star Wars: Battlefront, there was a lot of excitement from the gaming community for the follow-up. That is, right up until details about how the mechanics of the game would work became public. Following the latest trend in gaming, EA introduced micro-transactions into their flagship AAA title, something that is usually reserved for casual mobile games.
Over the past few years, the idea of a "bug bounty program" has grown quickly. Microsoft, Apple and Google all offer money for finding issues in their software, but smaller companies have taken to introducing similar programs. Unfortunately, most companies have not managed them in a detailed or responsible manner. Case in point, DJI, manufacturer of the Phantom quadcopter drone line. The company released their program in August, but never really explained what might be included. Some companies look for firmware issues, while others encourage server research.
Over the last 15 years, one of the most successful movie franchises has been The Lord of the Rings. In that time, Peter Jackson has created 6 films - 3 from the original trilogy and 3 from The Hobbit. Between these film series, however, there is a veritable treasure trove of additional content. In particular, The Silmarillion.