Epic made quite a few ripples when it opened its digital game store back in December. Tantalising developers with a generous 88% profit share (as opposed to Steam’s 70%), the Fortnite publisher nabbed exclusivity deals for some notable new games. Meanwhile, it’s reeling in droves of gamers by offering a free game every, ahem, fortnight to those who use the store.But recently those ripples amassed into a full-on tidal wave when Epic announced that big-name shooter Metro Exodus would be exclusive to the Epic Game Store until 2020. Some called it a dirty trick, others called it good business. Either way it made using the Epic Store that less bit avoidable.So with the Epic Store brute-forcing its way into our taskbars, we decided to compare it with Steam - the de facto platform of PC gaming. What works, what doesn’t, and what Epic needs to do to have a chance of competing.Epic Games Store vs Steam: the storefrontsThe Steam Store is a bit like a vast warehouse that just so … [Read more...] about Epic Games Store vs Steam: battle of the online stores
Publishing rights vs copyright
The National Enquirer vs. Jeff Bezos: Legal experts break down what’s at stake in battle between the world’s wealthiest man and a supermarket tabloid
source Getty Federal prosecutors are reviewing claims made by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos in a post published on Medium last week that accused the National Enquirer and its publisher, American Media Inc., (AMI) of “extortion and blackmail,” sources told The New York Times. Bezos published several emails from the National Enquirer’s chief content officer Dylan Howard and from Jon Fine, an attorney representing AMI – one of which lists compromising photographs of Bezos that the supermarket tabloid says it has. Another message lists the terms the company is demanding in order to keep the material out of the public sphere. There outstanding legal questions about the Bezos/AMI ordeal, including whether or not AMI has committed a crime by allegedly holding compromising information about Bezos as leverage to get what it wants from him. Legal experts say it’s complicated. Federal … [Read more...] about The National Enquirer vs. Jeff Bezos: Legal experts break down what’s at stake in battle between the world’s wealthiest man and a supermarket tabloid
How Facebook is changing employee bonuses to focus on social progress
Hey, do you read The Interface regularly? We’re doing a short survey and would love to get your thoughts on how we could make the newsletter even better. It would mean a lot to me if you took a few minutes to share your thoughts. And to the 300 of you who took it on the first day, you are now my best friends, and nothing will ever tear us apart. On Tuesday evening, Fortune’s Michal Lev-Ram reported that Facebook employees were about to be “judged on a whole new metric.” Going forward, she said, employees would be evaluated based partly on how well they helped Facebook respond to major social issues: The change to the bonus structure was announced by Zuckerberg at an all-hands meeting at Facebook’s Menlo Park, Calif. headquarters Tuesday morning, one day after the company celebrated its 15th anniversary. According to the company, none of the new, individual factors are “assigned any specific weighting or dollar amount of the target bonus,” … [Read more...] about How Facebook is changing employee bonuses to focus on social progress
The fake video era of US politics has arrived on Twitter
On Wednesday, CNN reporter Jim Acosta had a pointed exchange with the president over immigration during a press conference, resulting in the Trump Administration banning him from the White House. During the exchange, a Trump aide attempted to wrestle his microphone away from him. Today a partisan war broke out over what a video of that incident really showed — and in so doing, seemed to herald the arrival of an era in which manipulated videos further erode the boundaries between truth and fiction. Aaron Rupar sets the stage at Vox.com: When Trump insulted Acosta at the press conference, a White House intern approached him and tried to physically remove a microphone from his hands. Their arms touched as the woman reached across Acosta’s body to grab the microphone he was holding in his hand. Looking back at the video, it does not in fact show Acosta “placing his hands” on the woman. But about 90 minutes after she posted her string of tweets, Infowars editor Paul … [Read more...] about The fake video era of US politics has arrived on Twitter
City Council Speaker Calls for BOE Executive Director’s Resignation Amid Widespread Voting Problems
Are you having a problem at the polls? We want to hear about it. Election Day got off to a rocky start for some across the tri-state area, with a number of voters reporting widespread issues at the polls — from broken scanners and missing names to locked doors, huge lines and mass confusion. Election Day Arrives: Voters Render Judgment on Trump Era The widespread problems in New York City prompted City Council Speaker Corey Johnson to call for Board of Elections Executive Director Michael Ryan's resignation. "Bad weather and high turnout are no excuse when we have forecasts for both," Johnson wrote in a tweet. "Michael Ryan needs to resign and we need a full top to bottom review of what went wrong today." 'Absolute Zoo': Voter Chaos at Tri-State Polling Booths In Brooklyn, voters at a number of polling sites reported long lines and broken scanners that led some to abandon their ballots. Voters at P.S. 22 in Crown Heights described a scene of … [Read more...] about City Council Speaker Calls for BOE Executive Director’s Resignation Amid Widespread Voting Problems