Month: June 2021

All the major players spent time in the Denisovan cave

Even the sediment in the floor of Denisova Cave has a story to tell.

Neanderthals and Denisovans probably enjoyed the view from Denisova cave, too.

Enlarge / Neanderthals and Denisovans probably enjoyed the view from Denisova cave, too. (credit: flickr user: loronet)

At various points in the last 300,000 years, Denisova Cave has sheltered three different species of hominins. But with fossils from only eight individuals—four Denisovans, three Neanderthals, and the daughter of a Neanderthal/Denisovan pairing—it’s hard to tell a detailed story about when each species lived in the cave. According to a recent genetic study, however, the Denisovans were the first, arriving around 250,000 years ago. And they may still have been there when the first members of our species arrived around 45,000 years ago.

That timeline is the result of a recent study of mitochondrial DNA (genetic material passed directly from mother to child) mixed into the deep layers of sediment covering the cave floor. The fragments of ancient DNA probably came from a mixture of feces, decomposing remains, and shed skin and hair that ended up mixed with the dirt of the cave floor, according to archaeologist Elena Zavala of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, lead author of the study.

"We know that DNA can bind to the minerals found in the sediments and we have also seen microfossils when examining the sediments under a microscope," she told Ars in an email. "Future studies linking specific elements of the sediment to DNA preservation will help increase our understanding of this process."

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Battlefield 2042: Neue Initiativen gegen PC-Spielecheater

Epic Games verschenkt Easy Anti-Cheat und Battlefield 2042 sagt den Schummlern schon Monate vor der Veröffentlichung den Kampf an. (EpicGames, Battlefield2042, Cheat, Antic, Electronic Arts)

Epic Games verschenkt Easy Anti-Cheat und Battlefield 2042 sagt den Schummlern schon Monate vor der Veröffentlichung den Kampf an. (EpicGames, Battlefield2042, Cheat, Antic, Electronic Arts)

Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray sales stats for the week ending June 5, 2021

The results and analysis for DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray sales for the week ending June 5, 2021, are in. A Cold War era thriller is this week’s top selling new release. Find out what movies it was in our weekly DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray sales stats and analysis feature.



The results and analysis for DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray sales for the week ending June 5, 2021, are in. A Cold War era thriller is this week's top selling new release. Find out what movies it was in our weekly DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray sales stats and analysis feature.

Circling—or cycling—the track at F1’s famous Circuit of the Americas

Be warned: Calves needed to climb all 133 feet of Turn 1 if you’re using a road bike.

  • Texas has its perks (at dusk, at least). [credit: Nathan Mattise (on a Pixel 3A) ]

AUSTIN, Texas—As we rolled our road bikes toward the entryway, the friend who convinced me to do this shared a conversation he had earlier in the day: "When I said we were biking at Circuit of the Americas tonight, the first thing Mike asked was if that first turn is as steep as it looks on TV. Time to find out."

I don't follow Formula 1. I don't follow NASCAR. But I do live in Austin, Texas, and I regularly ride a bike. So the concept of Bike Night at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA)—an event series where this famed US racetrack invites local cyclists out on Tuesday nights to try two wheels where four usually roam—seemed cool enough. A June evening in Central Texas easily exceeds 90° F, even before you consider humidity or proximity to asphalt. But what harm could some casual riding on a fancy car circuit do? I could taste the postgame Kölsch before l took my bike off the rack.

Then, of course, came Turn 1. Whoa. Quickly, I learned why COTA's starting stunner lives in racing infamy. It doesn't look that bad when you're peering down from the Observation Deck, but on the ground, this 133-foot climb at the start of the 3.4-mile track really sets a tone for every lap. That tone: COTA will kick your butt. 

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Sony Thinks Cloud Gaming Can Eliminate Piracy (and Consoles)

Sony believes that cloud gaming is in many ways superior to the way most people play games today. In a recent patent application the company argues that, when people no longer store games on local devices, piracy will become irrelevant. At the same time, this means that ‘expensive’ consoles are no longer needed either.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

sony logoWith the release of the first Playstation in December 1994, Sony solidified a key position in the gaming industry.

Over the past decades, many new consoles followed, earning the company billions of dollars per year.

Today, console and PC gaming are larger than ever before, and the gaming audience is only expected to grow further. However, with technology advancing, the way people play games will eventually evolve. The cloud, in particular, is expected to become increasingly important.

This isn’t news to Sony. The company bought the game streaming service OnLive in 2015 and launched the Playstation Now platform soon after. Even earlier, Sony’s first references to “remote gaming” had already appeared in patent applications.

In today’s gaming ecosystem, the Japanese gaming giant certainly isn’t the leader in “cloud gaming.” However, the company takes the technology very seriously, which also shows in a recent patent application.

The application, titled “System and method for streaming game video” builds on earlier patents. Along the way the term “remote gaming” has changed to “cloud gaming” but the idea remains the same.

sony cloud gaming patent

Patents are notoriously unappealing to read and are stuffed with technicalities, which we won’t repeat here. However, a few general themes are worth repeating, as it shows why Sony believes cloud gaming is important.

According to Sony, cloud gaming can be a game-changer when it comes to online piracy. In fact, it has the potential to eliminate the piracy problem altogether.

“Piracy is a major problem for the video game industry. The security mechanisms utilized on virtually every major video gaming system have been ‘cracked’ over the years, resulting in unauthorized copying of video games,” Sony writes.

The patent application sums up a long list of piracy challenges and notes that stopping unauthorized copying is notoriously difficult. With cloud gaming, however, piracy could simply become irrelevant.

“[Games] can no longer be pirated as they are today. Because each game is stored and executed at the hosting service, users are not provided with access to the underlying program code, so there is nothing to pirate.

“Even if a user were to copy the source code, the user would not be able to execute the code on a standard game console or home computer,” Sony adds.

Sony literally refers to the “elimination of piracy”. This is a bold statement, as history shows that pirates can sometimes find clever ways around digital obstacles. But it will certainly be a lot harder than it is today.

sony stream

Cloud gaming has more direct consequences as well. In the patent Sony writes that new game consoles are very expensive, adding that some people simply can’t afford to pay for these devices.

“[I]n many parts of the world the cost of a game console is such a high percentage of income that even if piracy were controlled, few people could afford a state-of-the-art gaming system,” Sony writes.

This would be fixed by cloud gaming too, as people no longer need expensive consoles. This is good news for consumers, but of course if also means that Sony is missing a revenue stream.

That said, Sony highlights some other cloud gaming advantages for copyright holders as well. For example, the re-sale of used games will be a thing of the past. At the same time, game manufacturers can more easily work with royalty models, where their games are sold on competing platforms.

The options discussed here are really just the tip of the iceberg. The full patent, which is available here, lays out a variety of cloud-gaming platforms and possibilities.

At this point, there’s little doubt that cloud gaming is here to stay. Sony’s own Playstation Now platform recently passed the milestone of a million subscribers and the competition is fierce. Whether it will ever replace PC and console gaming is another question altogether.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.