Month: February 2021

Enlarge / What... what are you doing with that hammer? (credit: Epic Games)

Epic is set to settle a class-action lawsuit over its use of randomized loot boxes in Fortnite's "Save the World" mode by paying affected players with in-game currency. Rocket League players who previously purchased loot boxes in that game will also receive an in-game payment.

While Epic never offered loot boxes in Fortnite's mega-popular battle royale mode, it let "Save the World" players purchase "loot llamas" full of random items until early 2019 (amid international outcry about the randomized loot-box business and its similarity to gambling). Shortly after ending the practice, Epic was faced with a class-action lawsuit alleging, among other things, that it had "psychologically manipulate[d] its young players into thinking they will 'get lucky.'"

Under a proposed settlement for that suit, which Epic says has achieved preliminary approval, all players who purchased a loot llama at any time will be rewarded with 1,000 V-Bucks (worth roughly $8). Even though it's settling a US lawsuit, Epic says this same deal will apply to all Fortnite players globally.

Panoramic image of Mars taken by Perseverance on February 20, 2021. (credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Never before, in all of our millions of years, have humans directly observed a spacecraft landing on another planet. Until now.

On Monday, NASA released a video (embedded below) that included several viewpoints from the descent of Mars Perseverance to the surface of the red planet last week. A camera on the back shell captured a view of the parachute deploying, and cameras on the descent stage and rover itself captured the final seconds of the landing.

"I can, and have, watched those videos for hours," said NASA's Al Chen, the lead for the entry, descent, and landing for Perseverance. "I find new stuff every time. I invite you to do so as well."

(credit: Robert Scoble / Flickr)

Microsoft is throwing its weight behind a European effort to force Big Tech companies to pay for the right to link to news articles. Google and Facebook have strongly opposed such proposals in both Europe and Australia, describing them as an attack on the open Web. Microsoft disagrees.

"Access to fresh, broad, and deep press coverage is critical to the success of our democracies," said Microsoft Vice President Casper Klynge in a press statement.

Specifically, Microsoft is supporting calls for Europe to adopt a mandatory arbitration rule like the one now under consideration in Australia. Such a rule would increase the leverage of news publishers by giving them a way to force technology giants to the bargaining table.