After a lot of rumours and speculation, the word is finally out. Fortnite for Androidwill be exclusive to Samsung devices for just three days. Instead of using the Google Play Store to distribute the game to the masses, Epic has taken a different route. The game will be available on Epic’s own website as a downloadable APK. The game is launching first as a beta. On Samsung smartphones, Fortnite will be available through the Galaxy Apps Store for download. If you own a Samsung device, then Fortnite will be compatible with the following phones – Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S9, S9+, S8, S8+, S7, S7 Edge along…
Author: Loknath Das
Creating a game in the hope of making the world a better place — as opposed to making a buck — looks like a noble endeavor. But if you decide to dedicate yourself to such a generous project, be warned: major obstacles await. The most significant problem? Big game companies. Platform holders like Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo and Valve currently do not allow not-for-profit games on their platforms. It’s not that these titans of capitalism have any philosophical problem with not-for-profits, they just don’t have the systems in place to deal with such philanthropy. Not-for-profits qualify for tax-exemption benefits that are…
Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin is notorious for killing off all his characters. But he’s adamant about keeping a love of reading alive in America. He and other celebrities are contributing to the PBS series The Great American Read, which is asking everyone to cast their vote to determine the most beloved book in the country. And if you ask Martin, the award should go to the series that inspired his own work: Lord of the Rings. In a preview for the series’ upcoming return on Sept. 11, Martin discusses how books helped him experience the world as a…
Germany bans symbols belonging to unconstitutional groups, which has caused problems in games where the Nazis are a frequent adversary. In games like the Wolfenstein series, German editions would change Hitler’s name, remove his moustache, and replace swastikas with another shape. The change means Nazi symbols used in an artistic way will be allowed. Until now, using banned symbols would prevent a video game from being considered for a compulsory age rating – essentially banning it from being sold in stores. The ban on extremist symbols is still in place, but rating body USK said the rules will now be…
Facebook apologised on Wednesday after users posting about a deadly earthquake in Indonesia on the social media platform saw their messages decorated with images of balloons and confetti. A 6.9 magnitude quake struck the tourist island of Lombok on Sunday, killing at least 347 people and leaving thousands homeless, according to the government-run Antara news agency. Many Indonesian speakers wrote messages on Facebook using the word ‘selamat’ – which can mean ‘safe’ but also ‘congratulations’ – triggering celebratory animations. “The feature (automatic animations for ‘congratulations’ in posts) is widely available on Facebook globally,” a spokeswoman for the world’s largest social network…
A day before Facebook announced that it had discovered and disabled a propaganda campaign designed to sow dissension among US voters, it exclusively shared some of the suspicious pages with an online forensics team so busy it hasn’t put a nameplate on the door. The Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab is based in a 12-foot-by-12-foot office in the Washington, DC, headquarters of the nearly 60-year-old Council, a think tank devoted to studying serious and at times obscure international issues. Facebook is using the group to enhance its investigations of foreign interference. Last week, the company said it took down 32 suspicious pages…
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey defended his company’s decision not to ban right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his Infowars show, saying he did not break any rules. Dorsey’s remarks, in a series of tweets late Tuesday, came after other major tech companies removed Jones’ content for violating hate speech policies. “We didn’t suspend Alex Jones or Infowars yesterday,” Dorsey said. “We know that’s hard for many but the reason is simple: he hasn’t violated our rules. We’ll enforce if he does.” Dorsey was responding after Facebook, Apple, YouTube, and Spotify took down material over the past week published by Jones, reflecting more aggressive enforcement of their hate speech policies and raising pressure…
Authorities have shut off Internet access in eastern Ethiopia amid an outbreak of violence there, residents said on Wednesday, a sign of the challenges facing reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in containing ethnic tensions in parts of the country. The residents, one speaking from Oromia region and the other from the city of Harar, said the connection had been down for three days — the first time access has been cut off since parliament lifted a state of emergency in June. Ethiopian government spokesman Ahmed Shide did not immediately respond to a phone call and a text message seeking comment…
Early childhood education in the United States is tangle of options—varying in quality, price, structure, and a range of other dimensions. In part as a result, children start kindergarten having had very different experiences in care and very different opportunities to develop the skills and dispositions that will serve them well during school. Systematic differences across groups by income, race, ethnicity, home language, and geographic location are particularly troubling because inequalities that appear early are often sustained through school and affect prospects throughout life. Convincing research has demonstrated that high-quality early childhood programs can reduce these differences across groups.[1] A few…
Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) easily beat earnings and revenue estimates in its first report since selling off Grand Canyon University, which has reverted to nonprofit status. Estimates: Wall Street expects EPS to tick up 4% to 86 cents, according to Zacks Investment Research. Revenue is seen tumbling 35% to $141 million. Results: EPS of 95 cents on revenue of $236.8 million. End-of-period enrollment increased 9.6% from a year ago, as online enrollment rose 10.1% and ground enrollment grew 3.9% over the prior year. Piper Jaffray was looking for total enrollment growth of at least 8.6%. Outlook: The company sees Q3 EPS of 98 cents,…