PayPal withdraws from North Carolina because of new LGBT discrimination law

That’s the biggest economic backlash to hit state following signing of HB2.

(credit: Getty Images)

On Tuesday, payment processor PayPal said it was abandoning plans to open a new global operations center in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the wake of the state's new legislation that discriminates against the LGBT community. The news comes just two weeks after PayPal, based in San Jose, California, announced plans to bring 400 skilled jobs to the state. But on March 23, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed legislation making his state the nation's first to require transgender people to use bathrooms that comport with the sex listed on their birth certificates.

"The new law perpetuates discrimination and it violates the values and principles that are at the core of PayPal’s mission and culture. As a result, PayPal will not move forward with our planned expansion into Charlotte," Dan Schulman, the PayPal president and CEO, said in a statement. "This decision reflects PayPal’s deepest values and our strong belief that every person has the right to be treated equally, and with dignity and respect. These principles of fairness, inclusion, and equality are at the heart of everything we seek to achieve and stand for as a company. And they compel us to take action to oppose discrimination."

The move is the biggest economic backlash to North Carolina because of the recent legislation. Braeburn Pharmaceuticals of New Jersey announced last week it was reconsidering its plans to build a $20 million research and manufacturing plant in the state, which would include 50 new positions paying an average $76,000 annual salary. Lionsgate and the A + E network announced last week that they won't film in North Carolina either.

Read 1 remaining paragraphs | Comments

HTC Vive launches to mixed reviews

HTC Vive launches to mixed reviews

Just days after the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset began shipping, rival HTC has begun shipping its Vive headset and VR system to customers. And the early reviews are in. Priced at $799, the HTC Vive is about $200 more expensive than an Oculus Rift… and that price doesn’t include the cost of the powerful computer […]

HTC Vive launches to mixed reviews is a post from: Liliputing

HTC Vive launches to mixed reviews

Just days after the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset began shipping, rival HTC has begun shipping its Vive headset and VR system to customers. And the early reviews are in. Priced at $799, the HTC Vive is about $200 more expensive than an Oculus Rift… and that price doesn’t include the cost of the powerful computer […]

HTC Vive launches to mixed reviews is a post from: Liliputing

Dark Souls 3 review: Marching towards masochism

New entry is fresh and satisfying in the most enjoyably painful ways possible.

The world of Dark Souls 3 retains much of the series' bizarre desperation.

About 50 hours into Dark Souls 3, I learned how to let go. Not to let go of my experience points, which in these games are dropped then obliterated after every other death. I learned how to get over that a third of the way through the first game, years ago.

No, what I learned to put behind me in Dark Souls 3 was my undying, almost slavish admiration for the original Dark Souls.

Superficially, Dark Souls 3 couldn't seem more similar to its forebears. But Dark Souls 3 isn't really that much like the previous games in the series, at least not when you dig down into the deep, esoteric mantle found in every Souls game.

The most distinct, most immediate, difference is in the way Dark Souls 3 looks. I was instantly struck by how fluidly my newly spawned character's cape swayed in the mountain breeze. The opening hours are spent with the familiar humanoid Hollows—undead whose apathy turned to directionless bloodlust—but now, they just look so much better. I was just as impressed when the first boss exploded into snakes made of writhing black oil. Here was Dark Souls living up to its paradoxical promise of delivering unexpected dangers and looking damn good while doing it.

Read 19 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Valve: HTC Vive feiert Start in der virtuellen Einbauküche

HTC Vive ist offiziell erhältlich – und neben Spielen und der Hardware selbst gibt es zum Auftakt auf Steam ein Kuriosum von Ikea: eine Anwendung zum Austoben in Einbauküchen. Erste Tests des VR-Headsets wurden mit viel Lob zubereitet und nur mit einer Prise Kritik gewürzt. (Vive, Steam)

HTC Vive ist offiziell erhältlich - und neben Spielen und der Hardware selbst gibt es zum Auftakt auf Steam ein Kuriosum von Ikea: eine Anwendung zum Austoben in Einbauküchen. Erste Tests des VR-Headsets wurden mit viel Lob zubereitet und nur mit einer Prise Kritik gewürzt. (Vive, Steam)

Deals of the Day (4-05-2016)

Deals of the Day (4-05-2016)

HTC is set to unveil its next-gen flagship smartphone next week. The HTC 10 is expected to feature a new design, a 5.2 inch high-resolution display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, and 4GB of RAM. But with a new phone on the way, today might be a good time to pick up HTC’s 2015 flagship: […]

Deals of the Day (4-05-2016) is a post from: Liliputing

Deals of the Day (4-05-2016)

HTC is set to unveil its next-gen flagship smartphone next week. The HTC 10 is expected to feature a new design, a 5.2 inch high-resolution display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, and 4GB of RAM. But with a new phone on the way, today might be a good time to pick up HTC’s 2015 flagship: […]

Deals of the Day (4-05-2016) is a post from: Liliputing

Terrorbekämpfung: Die EU probt schon mal den Tausch von Fluggastdaten

Das EU-Parlament hat die Richtlinie zur Speicherung von Passagierdaten noch gar nicht beschlossen. Pilotprojekte aber laufen bereits, unter anderem beim BKA. (EU, Vorratsdatenspeicherung)

Das EU-Parlament hat die Richtlinie zur Speicherung von Passagierdaten noch gar nicht beschlossen. Pilotprojekte aber laufen bereits, unter anderem beim BKA. (EU, Vorratsdatenspeicherung)

Learning how to VR with Tilt Brush, HTC Vive’s killer app

Games are fun, but Google’s art tool is a system seller—in spite of learning curve.

This E3 2015 video includes footage of Sam's attempts to build a VR bicycle on his second demo with Tilt Brush. Video shot/edited by Jennifer Hahn. (video link)


History shows that if you want to impress the world with a brand-new way of computing, you better pack in some painting software. MacPaint made us believe in the Macintosh's GUI and mouse. Educational, art-driven software like Hypercard, Hyperstudio, and Kid Pix dominated school computer labs for years. Even the pre-installed sensation that is Microsoft Paint gets mileage to this day, if mostly for comical effect.

These applications weren't just fun to mess with, they also made it fun to learn how to use a mouse—that thing you use pretty much every day. That, above all else, is why Tilt Brush can safely be called the HTC Vive's killer app. It serves the same educational role for motion-tracked controllers.

Read 31 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Astronaut Prime: Here’s how Jeff Bezos plans to remake spaceflight

Some are not impressed with Blue Origin’s small beginning, but it’s just a first step.

The New Shepard rocket made its third flight on Saturday from West Texas. (credit: Blue Origin)

After Blue Origin completed the third flight of its New Shepard launch system on Saturday, the spaceflight community applauded the effort. And on Sunday, after video emerged showing the dramatic firing of its engines just before the rocket would have struck the ground, the response was again approbation. This third test in a little more than four months demonstrated that Blue Origin has continued to progress toward its goal of launch, land, and repeat—the holy grail of low-cost spaceflight.

But among the cheers were also a few mutterings. What does it matter if all Jeff Bezos is going to do is take rich people on joy rides, some said. Or, if researchers want to do suborbital experiments, can't they get those done in conventional aircraft flying parabolas? Others have complained that New Shepard's propulsion module is relatively small and has only a single engine, and flying to suborbital space requires a fraction of the energy that getting into orbit does. In short, some critics say Bezos is just dabbling at the edges of space, not doing the hard stuff of going all the way.

This may all be true, but it misses the point. Much like Mercury represented America's first tentative steps into outer space, so does New Shepard represent only a beginning for the company. New Shepard, after all, is named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space who rode inside a Mercury capsule. It may or may not succeed, but Blue Origin aspires to be much more. It's trying to build a scalable, reusable architecture from the ground up, and that takes time.

Read 15 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Twitter buys NFL streaming rights for 10 Thursday Night Football games

Twitter outbid Amazon and Verizon, and the service will show the games for free.

(credit: Jonathan Moreau)

The National Football League announced today that Twitter will stream 10 Thursday Night Football games, free for all users, during the 2016 regular season.

"The NFL and Twitter will provide free, live streaming video of Thursday Night Football without authentication to the over 800 million registered and non-registered users worldwide on the Twitter platform on mobile phones, tablets, PCs, and connected TVs," the league said.

Periscope broadcasts from players and teams are also planned. There is already "a massive amount of NFL-related conversation happening on Twitter during our games," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell noted.

Read 6 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Starz expands internet-only streaming service for $8.99 per month

Starz expands internet-only streaming service for $8.99 per month

Pretty soon it’s going to be bigger news when a premium cable TV channel doesn’t offer an internet-only service than when one does. Following the footsteps of HBO and Showtime, Starz has launched a subscription service that lets you stream its content over the internet even if you don’t subscribe to the channel through your TV […]

Starz expands internet-only streaming service for $8.99 per month is a post from: Liliputing

Starz expands internet-only streaming service for $8.99 per month

Pretty soon it’s going to be bigger news when a premium cable TV channel doesn’t offer an internet-only service than when one does. Following the footsteps of HBO and Showtime, Starz has launched a subscription service that lets you stream its content over the internet even if you don’t subscribe to the channel through your TV […]

Starz expands internet-only streaming service for $8.99 per month is a post from: Liliputing