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Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. (credit: re:publica)

Netflix has periodically opposed zero-rating schemes in which ISPs exempt certain online services from data caps. But the US' biggest online video streaming company was a launch partner for T-Mobile's Binge On video zero-rating program, and this week it explained why it thinks T-Mobile's zero-rating is good for customers and video providers.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings was asked in an earnings call this week why Binge On is different from Comcast's implementations of zero-rating.

"It's voluntary on the customer. Any customer of T-Mobile's can decide to turn it on or turn it off—that would be a big difference," Hastings answered. "They're not charging any of the providers; it's an open program. Many of our competitors such as Hulu and HBO are in the program also."

Shown here: Owners of the PC version of Mortal Kombat X

While versions of many Mortal Kombat games have come to the PC over the years, the series has always seemed console-focused. Mortal Kombat publisher Warner Bros. has shown just how extreme that console focus is this week, confirming that PC players will not be able to buy future DLC for last year's Mortal Kombat X.

PC players began to suspect the worst earlier this week when sign-ups for an "Enhanced Online Beta" version of the game didn't list the PC as a platform option. Then, yesterday, WB announced that Mortal Kombat XL—an expanded edition of the game that includes all current DLC and the upcoming "Kombat Pack 2"—would only be coming to the Xbox One and PS4.

NetherRealm Community Manager Tyler Lansdown confirmed later in the day that PC players wouldn't even be able to buy that DLC à la carte. "Mortal Kombat XL and 'Kombat Pack 2' will [be] available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One only," he wrote on the TestYourMight forums.

Lux, another xenon-based dark matter detector. (credit: Lawrence Berkeley Lab)

Every year, the Dutch physics community gets together to celebrate the year in physics. These are some highlights from the meeting. Since it is a meeting, it is not possible to link to published work (a talk could cover multiple papers, or just parts of papers). Where possible, We've linked to the research group that presented the work.

This year, the search for dark matter seems to be dominating the minds of a lot of physicists. It is quite an intriguing issue. We have lots of gravitational evidence for dark matter at length scales from single galaxies to galaxy clusters—and even the cosmic microwave background. The variety of evidence is such that it is difficult to imagine a suitable modification to the laws of gravitation that would satisfy all these constraints.

Yet, actual dark matter remains elusive. I’ll discuss some details in a moment, but my take home from the dark matter talks is that, if it can be detected at all, then we should see it relatively soon.

(credit: Scott K. Johnson/Suzanna Soileau-USGS/Hanna-Barbera)

“In June, NOAA employees altered temperature data to get politically correct results.”

At least, that's what Congressman Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) alleged in a Washington Post letter to the editor last November. The op-ed was part of Smith's months-long campaign against NOAA climate scientists. Specifically, Smith was unhappy after an update to NOAA’s global surface temperature dataset slightly increased the short-term warming trend since 1998. And being a man of action, Smith proceeded to give an anti-climate change stump speech at the Heartland Institute conference, request access to NOAA's data (which was already publicly available), and subpoena NOAA scientists for their e-mails.

Smith isn't the only politician who questions NOAA's results and integrity. During a recent hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) leveled similar accusations against the entire scientific endeavor of tracking Earth’s temperature.