Aussie Zone

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/22154762

Brett Wilkins
Nov 04, 2024

Context:

https://t.me/skarlatop/4020

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/22154941

Jake Johnson
Nov 04, 2024

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21644105

At 78 years, 4 months and 22 days of age, Donald Trump is the oldest major-party presidential nominee in history, after President Joe Biden withdrew from contention prior to becoming the nominee of his own party in the 2024 United States presidential election. If elected, by the end of his term he would become the oldest person ever to hold the office, sparking renewed discussion of his fitness to assume the presidency. Since the early days of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, his physical and mental health have been a subject of public debate. Trump was 70 years old when he first took office, surpassing Ronald Reagan as the oldest person to assume the presidency to that date. During Trump's presidency, comments on his age, weight, lifestyle, and history of heart disease raised questions about his physical health. In addition, numerous public figures, media sources, and mental health professionals have speculated that Trump may have mental health impairments, ranging from narcissistic personality disorder to some form of dementia, which runs in his family.

Tecno launched the #ToneProud campaign to end skin tone bias in imaging technology. The company sent out a press release explaining the campaign's goal of raising awareness about skin tone diversity while introducing its 268 skin tone database to consumers.

The campaign lays on the backbones of the Universal Skin Tone technology, introduced by Tecno last year.

Tecno said in today's world, technology and AI shape perceptions and raised the question of whether smartphones truly capture “the full spectrum and beauty of human diversity, especially in often-overlooked emerging markets.”

According to a study in 2018 from MIT and Stanford University, there is skin-tone bias in some commercial artificial intelligence systems. One way to combat this is through scientific data collection and innovative measurement to provide a better understanding of those systems.

The campaign includes assigning specific color codes to different skin tones; everyone can add their input. Tecno got on board some major celebrities in its key markets, such as Indonesian-born singer-songwriter Anggun, Saudi Arabian filmmaker and actress Fatima Al-Banawi, Nigerian singer-songwriter Johnny Drille and Polish actress Ewa Kepys.

Popular people might be the face of the campaign, but the real color of the campaign is ordinary people. Everyone can find their skin tone on 268toneproud.com and with the smartphone's front-facing camera to find their skin tone in hex triplet number.

It is important to note that all images taken and submitted through the 268toneproud website will go into Tecno's database to further develop the AI skin tone software.

I've recently seen a lot of videos from Hearthstone creators about the game The Bazaar created by an ex-hearthstone creator. They are selling closed beta access for around $30 for the basic pack, which gives you and a friend access to the game, as well as enough premium currency to unlock the three currently available heroes.

The value proposition isn't terrible in the gaming industry right now. Open beta is supposed to start in December (and totally check the game out. It looks pretty fun!) I'm just so tired of competent QA people being replaced with pay for early access to a "free" game.

The monetization of the game is very odd, but let's discuss how the monetization of a game affects what the developers are incentivised to put effort into. A free to play game is often monetized, similar to League of Legends, mostly through cosmetic overrides for in-game models. This is why most LoL patch notes are new champions that come out with a few skins, new skins for Lux and Ezreal, I mean existing champions. The incentive for the developers is to only make new skins, and on top of that, only new skins for very popular champions.

The Bazaar has a casual mode where if you get ten wins (like Hearthstone Arena), you get a ticket to play a game of ranked mode. You also get one free ranked ticket every day that is use-it-or-lose-it. And if you get enough wins in a ranked run, you are rewarded with treasure chests, which will contain a cosmetic.

The plan is for these cosmetic items to be tradable to other players. For a free to play game, this sounds like a paradise for botting. But also having a "ranked" mode just be the normal mode, but with the possibility of rewards is very silly to me in general. But having a ranked queue that costs money seems terrible. The incentive is for the developers to funnel as many people into paying for ranked runs as possible, but the rewards will decrease in value the more people receive them.

I don't have access to the game due to not wanting to spend on beta testing the game so close to Brighter Shores coming out and Oldschool Runescape Leagues later this month. But I'm not sure I would continue to play this game, considering I don't expect the game to succeed.

What other free to play games have monetization models that incentivise the devs to create the best possible gaming experience for the users? Or is that not sustainable in our current market?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/32313404

Jake Johnson
Nov 04, 2024

In short:

A series of strikes in Gaza has killed at least 31 people, according to Palestinian medics, as part of an Israeli offensive.

Gaza's health ministry says one of the strikes was on a polio vaccination centre, where children were among those injured.

Meanwhile, an Iranian-American journalist has reportedly been detained in Iran, according to the Associated Press.

Meta is one of several tech companies vying for a nuclear boost.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21643919

Tom Hanks says moviegoers are no longer interested in VFX spectacles and are returning to good storytelling.

“The $1 million recipients are not chosen by chance,” Gober said Monday. “We know exactly who will be announced as the $1 million recipient today and tomorrow.”

Chris Young, the director and treasurer of America PAC, testified that the recipients are vetted ahead of time, to “feel out their personality, (and) make sure they were someone whose values aligned” with the group.

“This was all a political marketing masquerading as a lottery,” Krasner testified Monday. “That’s what it is. A grift.”

I do not have much sympathy for guys like this one, but I doubt that he would have gotten as far along in this plot without the FBI's undercover help.

With the advent of the Webb Space Telescope, the problem has pushed up against theoretical limits. The matter falling into a black hole generates radiation, with faster feeding meaning more radiation. And that radiation can drive off nearby matter, choking off the black hole's food supply. That sets a limit on how fast black holes can grow unless matter is somehow fed directly into them. The Webb was used to identify early supermassive black holes that needed to have been pushing against the limit for their entire existence.

Brett Wilkins
Nov 04, 2024