Nerds Amalgamated

Rusty is coming back to Doctor Who. No, not that one. It's Russell T Davies, back to regenerate the greatest show on TV with his old production team. It remains to be seen whether he can recapture the magic, but the BBC must be desperate. 

Gaming PCs are incredibly rare, and they're likely to get even rarer. This means people will pay a massive premium, and that entry level parts don't really exist anymore. This makes us sad. Everyone should have the opportunity to build a PC and learn about electronics. Maybe in the post apocalyptic future there will be enough supply to meet demand. 

An Aussie team has created a significantly cheaper and easier to make solar panel that outperforms traditional panels. The sunniest place on Earth could really use some of those. They still need to scale up, but it's great to see Aussie scientists making huge strides. 

Doctor Who: A New Hope?

- https://twitter.com/bbcdoctorwho/status/1441405833997217798

Affordable PCs are now a pipe dream

- https://www.pcgamer.com/rip-cheap-graphics-cards/

Tech Start Up makes new Solar Cell

- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-21/australian-start-up-creates-world-s-most-efficient-solar-cell/100476152

Other topics discussed

BBC - 5 things the Doctor does in any worrying situation | @Doctor Who - BBC

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0ED6CGmjm4

Russell T Davies (a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include Queer as Folk, The Second Coming, Casanova, the 2005 revival of the BBC One science fiction franchise Doctor Who, Cucumber, Years and Years and It's a Sin.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_T_Davies

Torchwood (a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of Doctor Who, it aired from 2006 to 2011.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchwood

Bad Wolf (production company) (a British television production company founded by Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter in 2015, with its headquarters in Cardiff, Wales.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Wolf_(production_company)

Olly Alexander set to be new Doctor Who as first gay actor to play Time Lord

- https://www.thesun.co.uk/tv/15405348/olly-alexander-doctor-who-actor-gay/

Ruth Clayton (a human identity assumed by the Fugitive Doctor, who hid on Earth using a Chameleon Arch.)

- https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Ruth_Clayton

Jo Martin (Jo Martin played Ruth Clayton/Fugitive Doctor in the Doctor Who television stories Fugitive of the Judoon and The Timeless Children, alongside Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor. She was the first non-white actor to be cast in the role of the Doctor in the DWU.)

- https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Jo_Martin

Doctor Who: actor Christopher Eccleston reveals he has anorexia

- https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/49719101

Christopher Eccleston is the Doctor!

- https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/christopher-eccleston-is-the-doctor

Murray Gold (an English composer for stage, film, and television and a dramatist for both theatre and radio. He is best known as the musical director and composer of the music for Doctor Who from 2005, until he stepped down in 2018 after the tenth series aired in 2017. He has been nominated for five BAFTAs.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murray_Gold

Daleks and Cybermen

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCsXO7r6-z4

Bob Baker (scriptwriter) (a British television and film writer. Baker and Martin devised for Doctor Who the robotic dog K-9 (created for The Invisible Enemy), the renegade Time Lord

A judgment has been handed down in the Apple Vs Epic lawsuit. Now Apple has to allow third party payment systems. This could be the foot in the door to breaking Apple's monopolistic tactics.

Concrete made from Astronaut blood is a potential solution to building on Mars. Let's hope it never gets to the point of keeping people locked up and farming them for building materials.

Denis Villeneuve has joined the battle against Marvel movies turning everybody into zombies. A bit dramatic, but he's really not a fan. And his Dune movie is getting great reviews, so maybe he knows a thing or two.

The Apple App Store Lawsuit : The Epic Conclusion & Star Grift Drama

- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-09-17-the-epic-vs-apple-judgement-leaves-much-undecided-opinion

- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-09-09-cloud-imperium-receives-asa-warning-over-marketing-concept-ships-in-star-citizen

From the makers of Soylent Green comes Bloodcrete.

- https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210913135713.htm?fbclid=IwAR1Z3_WegQ3pQPBq7EZuZCP3KSTTy9l4H5mDsZCAR5kwcrXIKluLTbPuQBM

Another Director Slams Marvel Movies

- https://thedirect.com/article/marvel-denis-villeneuve-movies-zombies

Other topics discussed

South Korea bans Apple, Google from blocking third-party payments

- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-08-31-south-korea-bans-apple-google-from-blocking-third-party-payments

Epic Games v. Google (The events and initial actions on Epic's lawsuit against Google were brought on the same day as Epic's suit against Apple, but Google stressed the legal situation around their case is far different.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_Games_v._Apple#Epic_Games_v._Google

Epic Games v. Apple (a lawsuit brought by Epic Games against Apple in August 2020 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, related to Apple's practices in the iOS App Store.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_Games_v._Apple

Fortnite - Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite - #FreeFortnite

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euiSHuaw6Q4

Duke Nukem Forever (a first-person shooter video game developed by 3D Realms and published by 2K Games for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Nukem_Forever

Silk Road (marketplace) (an online black market and the first modern darknet market, best known as a platform for selling illegal drugs.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road_(marketplace)

alyankovic - "Weird Al" Yankovic - White & Nerdy

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9qYF9DZPdw

Star Citizen on Kickstarter

- https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cig/star-citizen

Elite Dangerous (Braben had previously discussed crowdfunding as a possible solution in April 2012. Public fundraising commenced in November 2012 using the Kickstarter website, the campaign lasting 60 days, with the aim being to raise £1.25m and deliver a finished game by March 2014. Braben described the campaign as a way of "test-marketing the concept to verify there is broader interest in such a game", in addition to raising the funds.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite_Dangerous#Funding

List of most expensive video games to develop (The following is a list of the most expensive video games ever developed, with a minimum total cost of US$50 million and sorted by the total cost adjusted for inflation.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_video_games_to_develop

The Great British Bake Off (a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, attempting to impress a group of judges with their baking skills. One contestant is eliminated in each round, and the winner is selected from the contestants who reach the finals.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_British_Bake_Off

I Made Meringues Out of My Own Blood and Ate Them

- https://www.vice.com/en/article/7xgq4e/i-made-meringues-out-of-my-own-blood-and-ate-them

The Cask of Amontillado (a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the November 1846 issue of Godey's Lady's Book.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wi

Big Brother is finding ways into your home through your games. You'd be surprised just how much they can tell about you from the way you play.

China has decided to take effeminate men off TV, along with a whole bunch of new criteria. This echoes the Tik Tok ban on ugly and fat people. China, you have some issues with representation. Maybe take a look at that.

An asteroid is coming close to Earth. Prepare now, just in case. South Australians are also complaining about rocket launches. Finally, Australians can go somewhere that isn't overseas to see rockets, which is awesome.

Surveillance in Video Games

- https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3881279

China’s New Law : Sissy Man Ban

- https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2021/09/02/china-bans-sissy-men-tv-encourages-more-masculinity/5694333001/

Space News

- https://comicbook.com/irl/news/asteroid-close-encounter-2021-ny1-close-call-nasa-september/

- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-07/whalers-way-first-commercial-rocket-lift-off/100440154

Other topics discussed

What are the Security and Privacy Risks of VR and AR

- https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/threats/security-and-privacy-risks-of-ar-and-vr

‘Doomba’ turns your Roomba’s cleaning maps into Doom levels

- https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/12/26/18156600/doomba-roomba-cleaning-maps-doom-levels-rich-whitehouse

How Does the YouTube Algorithm Work in 2021? The Complete Guide

- https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-the-youtube-algorithm-works/

The cheapest Oculus Quest prices and Oculus Rift sales in September 2021

- https://www.techradar.com/au/news/gaming/oculus-rift-deals-1329262

It’s 2019 — which VR headsets can you actually buy?

- https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/16/18625238/vr-virtual-reality-headsets-oculus-quest-valve-index-htc-vive-nintendo-labo-vr-2019

General Data Protection Regulation (The General Data Protection Regulation (EU) (GDPR) is a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). It also addresses the transfer of personal data outside the EU and EEA areas.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Data_Protection_Regulation

Electronic Frontier Foundation (The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. The foundation was formed on 10 July 1990 by John Gilmore, John Perry Barlow and Mitch Kapor to promote Internet civil liberties.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Frontier_Foundation

Loot box (In video games, a loot box (also called a loot/prize crate) is a consumable virtual item which can be redeemed to receive a randomised selection of further virtual items, or loot, ranging from simple customization options for a player's avatar or character, to game-changing equipment such as weapons and armor.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loot_box

Regulation and legislation (Because of their use of random chance to gain items after committing real-world funds, games using loot boxes may be considered a form of gambling. While gambling laws vary from country to country, a common theme that tends to distinguish loot boxes from gambling is the inability to transform the contents from a loot box back into real-world money by legitimate means within the video game.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loot_box#Regulation_and_legislation

Wii Fit (an exergaming video game designed by Nintendo's Hiroshi Matsunaga for the Wii home video game console. It is an exercise game with several activities using the Wii Balance Board peripheral. As of March 2012 Wii Fit was the third best selling console game not packaged with a console, with 22.67 million copies sold.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_Fit

How ISIS Terrorists May Have Used PlayStation 4 To Discuss And Plan Attacks

- https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/11/14/why-the-paris-isis-terrorists-used-ps4-to-plan-attacks/?sh=23b8e4e70554

Man jailed 6 years for threats made in Runescape finally released

- https://www.pcgamer.com/au/man-jailed-6-years-for-threats-made-in-runescape-finally-released/

‘It’s a long bow’: Social media ID push dubbed ineffective, a privacy risk

- https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/it-s-a-long-bow-social-media-id-push-dubbed-a-privacy-risk-20210402-p57g7d.html

China steps up its war on underage online video gaming and not everyone is happy

- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-04/china-cracks-down-on-childr

Audio glitches again. They're less obvious on speakers. Hopefully we've actually fixed it this time.

The director of Wonder Woman 1984 has joined the crusade to stop movies being released on streaming. She thinks they look fake. It’s a good cause, but we’re not sure the world is ready for this.

Junk food lowers your life expectancy. Fruit is good for you. A new study has put numbers to just how good and bad some foods are for you.

It’s time to step into the Multiverse. Actually, not so fast, it’s not a thing yet. But it will be soon, and people are really into it. And hopefully this time it won’t involve insane developers killing player’s meat bodies, or using it to make society even more monetised.

Streaming Movies Are Fake

- https://comicbook.com/dc/news/wonder-woman-director-patty-jenkins-says-streaming-service-movie-look-fake/

- https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/newsletter/2021-08-31/how-wonder-woman-1984-director-patty-jenkins-really-feels-about-streaming-movies-the-wide-shot

Fact : Junk Food Lowers Your Life Expectancy

- https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/one-hot-dog-knocks-36-minutes-off-your-life-study-claims/

Screw The Multiverse..There Is The Metaverse

- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-08-20-what-is-the-metaverse-and-why-is-it-worth-so-much-money

Other topics discussed

Dune’s Theatrical Release Date Has Been Delayed in Australia

- https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2021/09/dune-release-date-delayed-australia/

Dune 2 is not a sure thing – but director Denis Villeneuve is optimistic

- https://www.gamesradar.com/amp/dune-2-is-not-a-sure-thing-but-director-denis-villeneuve-is-optimistic/

Writers Guild of America, East (a labor union representing film and television writers as well as employees of television and radio news. The Writers Guild of America, East is affiliated with the Writers Guild of America West.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writers_Guild_of_America,_East

Writers Guild of America West (a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. It was formed in 1954 from five organizations representing writers, including the Screen Writers Guild.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writers_Guild_of_America_West

New Farm Cinemas (a cinema at 701 Brunswick Street, New Farm, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Farm_Cinemas

2001: A Space Odyssey (a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. )

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001:_A_Space_Odyssey_(film)

Screen Actors Guild (The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screen_Actors_Guild

IMPACT World+: a globally regionalized life cycle impact assessment method

- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11367-019-01583-0

Frankfurter Würstchen (A Frankfurter (German for Frankfurt sausage) is a thin parboiled sausage made of pure pork in a casing of sheep's intestine.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurter_W%C3%BCrstchen

An Australian 'wellness guru' says staring directly into the sun is 'one of the best forms of free medicine'

- https://www.businessinsider.com/pete-evans-says-staring-into-the-sun-is-a-form-of-medicine-2018-12?r=AU&IR=T

Second Life (an online virtual world, developed and owned by the San Francisco-based firm Linden Lab and launched on June 23, 2003.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life

Mastodon (software) (free and open-source software for running self-hosted social networking services. It has microblogging features similar to the Twitter service, which are offered by a large number of independently run Mastodon nodes (known as "instances"), each with its own code of conduct, t

The audio quality can be a little wonky this week. We've identified the issue and resolved it. Sorry about that.

We’ve heard for years that gamers are violent. But what if gamers were more peaceful in game than the people around them in real life? A really interesting new study has identified that gamers behave differently in EVE Online depending on the type of community they live in.

The Nirvana Nevermind baby isn’t happy about his nudes being plastered all over record stores and the internet. Now he’s suing. We’re not legal beagles, but we’ve got opinions.

Roblox is bad. It isn’t the simple gameplay, the child targeted community, or the memes. Actually, it’s bad because it’s one of the worst deals for game devs out there. Roblox seem intent to make it hard to make money from developing on their platform. That’s a really nice way to treat the people who made your game popular. People are also trying to recreate mass killings in a game for children. It’s a mess.

The Link Between Videogames And Violence Is Not What You Think

- https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0240196#sec012

Smells Like A Lawsuit

- https://deadline.com/2021/08/baby-nirvana-nevermind-album-cover-sues-band-exploitation-1234821540/

Roblox Drama

- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-08-20-roblox-business-model-criticized-as-exploiting-children

- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-06-03-parent-watchdog-group-warning-about-roblox

Other topics discussed

Milk crate challenge has doctors warning it’s ‘worse than falling from a ladder’

- https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/aug/25/milk-crate-challenge-tiktok-doctors-warnings

What is the Milk Crate Challenge, how did it explode out of nowhere and why are people doing it?

- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-25/what-is-milk-crate-challenge-viral-videos-doctors/100404942

Ice Bucket Challenge (sometimes called the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, is an activity involving the pouring of a bucket of ice water over a person's head, either by another person or self-administered, to promote awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as motor neuron disease and in the United States as Lou Gehrig's disease) and encourage donations to research.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Bucket_Challenge

Jack Thompson (activist) (American activist and disbarred attorney, based in Coral Gables, Florida. He is known for his role as an anti-video-game activist, particularly against violence and sex in video games. During his time as an attorney, Thompson focused his legal efforts against what he perceives as obscenity in modern culture. This included rap music, broadcasts by shock jock Howard Stern, and the content of video games and their alleged effects on children.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Thompson_(activist)

Mothers Against Videogame Addiction and Violence (a parody and satire hoax organization created by sophomore Parsons The New School for Design student David Yoo as a final project in December 2002.)

- https://gyaanipedia.fandom.com/wiki/Mothers_Against_Videogame_Addiction_and_Violence

Eve Online ((stylised EVE Online) is a space-based, persistent world massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by CCP Games. Players of Eve Online can participate in a number of in-game professions and activities, including mining, piracy, manufacturing, trading, exploration, and combat (both player versus environment and player versus player). The game contains a total of 7,800 star systems that can be visited by players.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eve_Online

Eve Online’s ‘million dollar’ battle came up a little short last night

- https://www.polygon.com/2018/1/24/16927594/eve-online-million-dollar-battle-results

FIFA (video game series) ((also known as FIFA Soccer, FIFA Football or EA Sports FIFA) is a series of association football video games developed and released annually by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. As of 2011, the FIFA franchise has been localised into 18 languages and available in 51 countries. Listed in Guinness World Records as the best-selling sports video game franchise in the world, the FIFA series has sold over 325 million copies as of 2021. It is also one of the best-selling video game franchises.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_(video_game_series)

Australian Classification Boar

The UN has asked game developers to be more green. It would make a nice change from every brown military shooter of the early 2010s. Oh, wait. They want us to use less energy. The UKIE has written a Green paper on methods for developers to reduce their carbon footprint.

SMS is an awful, insecure method for 2FA, but we still use it because anything better is too hard. Maybe this latest string of hacks will help us move on.

Movies are still going straight to streaming even as vaccination rates increase. This used to be a sign of a bad movie. Now we’ll have to rely on Rotten Tomatoes, or, god forbid, talk to people about movies.

Game Development for Green Thumbs

- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-08-17-games-london-to-discuss-the-environment-at-best-places-to-work-awards-uk

- https://whitepapers.gamesindustry.biz/green

Phone hacking taken to a new level

- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-17/hackers-using-mirroring-apps-to-see-your-texts/100381366

Streaming Services Vs Cinemas : Who will win

- https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/sonys-hotel-transylvania-amazon-1234998312/

Other topics discussed

OnlyFans, a social media platform known for porn, is banning 'sexually explicit' content

- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-20/onlyfans-banning-seuxally-explicit-content/100395154

NSW breaks COVID-19 case records with 825 infections, three deaths

- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-21/nsw-records-825-covid-cases-three-deaths/100396208

Explicit content banned from OnlyFans but 'the show has to go on', say sex workers

- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-21/only-fans-explicit-content-changes/100394776

Jimmy Rees - Meanwhile in Australia

- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU0uDN_Bi_UoLnUkbeHFlZ9imdbI_AQDN

How Much Electricity Does My Game Console Use?

- https://www.redenergy.com.au/living-energy/appliances/how-much-electricity-does-my-game-console-use

How Much Electricity (Power) Does a PS5 Use?

- https://www.thehomehacksdiy.com/how-much-electricity-power-does-a-ps5-use/

Want to fight climate change? Have fewer children

- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/12/want-to-fight-climate-change-have-fewer-children

What is Embodied Carbon?

- https://www.carboncure.com/concrete-corner/what-is-embodied-carbon/

Halo: Combat Evolved (also known as Halo: CE, is a first-person shooter game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released as a launch game for Microsoft's Xbox video game console on November 15, 2001. Halo is set in the twenty-sixth century, with the player assuming the role of the Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced supersoldier. The Chief is accompanied by Cortana, an artificial intelligence. Players battle aliens as they attempt to uncover the secrets of the eponymous Halo, a ring-shaped artificial world.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo:_Combat_Evolved

Iron Sky, smartphone powered computer

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziVpqh9UXmI

Iron Sky, cell phone and computer

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv3fcwx2TUY

Iron Sky (a 2012 Finnish-German-Australian comic-science-fiction action film directed by Timo Vuorensola and written by Johanna Sinisalo and Michael Kalesniko. It tells the story of a group of Nazi Germans who, having been defeated in 1945, fled to the Moon, where they built a space fleet to return in 2018 and conquer Earth.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Sky

Skyrim 10th Anniversary Edition Announced for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S

- https://www.ign.com/articles/skyrim-10th-anniversary-remaster-ps5-xbox-series-x

Playing For The Planet (The Playing For The Planet Alliance was launched during the Climate Summit at UN Headquarters in New York. In total, the members of the Alliance have the ability to reach more than 1 billion video game players.)

- https://playing4theplanet.org/

Playing For The Planet Members & Commitments (The Playing for the Planet Alliance is a group of gaming-companies who have made voluntary, ambitious, specific, and time-based commitments for people and planet.)

- https://playing4theplanet.org/members/

Playing For The Planet Green Game Jam (Over 25 studios from around the world – with a collective player base of over one billion – have collaborated and committed to implementing green activations in and out-of-game such as new modes, maps, themed

We've got a very important issue to talk about this week. Apple wants to look at your private pictures. They've made such a big deal about privacy for years, so what's changed and why can't we trust them anymore? What have you done Tim Apple?

The Australian government really hasn't liked supporting the games industry, despite years of lobbying and studies into how great the industry is for the economy. Someone's finally got through to them and we'll be getting changes to tax and visas to help encourage AAA development.

Jason Mamoa thinks superheroes are like Greek mythology. Turns out the only reason he's joining the Scorsese comic genre battle is to remind everyone he wants to talk about climate change in his movies. Anyway, we all know his best role will be Duncan Idaho in Dune. It better not get delayed again

Apple’s controversial new child protection features

- https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/10/22613225/apple-csam-scanning-messages-child-safety-features-privacy-controversy-explained

- https://www.ask-solutions.org/blog/2021/08-11-01?fbclid=IwAR1M731S3OrleR84O6134H-ZWXb5EtBoTY9tyXlIs0TiUXBVFwgHpP8Qmvc

- https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-apples-child-protection-features-spark-concern-within-its-own-ranks-2021-08-12/

Australian Games Industry gets a Government Injection

- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-08-10-how-australia-is-creating-a-sustainable-video-game-development-ecosystem?

Jason Mamoa’s take on superhero movies

- https://boundingintocomics.com/2021/08/09/aquaman-star-jason-momoa-defends-superhero-movies-as-an-art-form-in-response-martin-scorseses-genre-criticisms/

Other topics discussed

Worst Cooks in America (an American reality television series that premiered on January 3, 2010, on Food Network. The show takes 12 to 16 contestants (referred to as "recruits") with very poor cooking skills through a culinary boot camp, to earn a cash prize of $25,000 and a Food Network cooking set.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worst_Cooks_in_America

FBI–Apple encryption dispute (The FBI–Apple encryption dispute concerns whether and to what extent courts in the United States can compel manufacturers to assist in unlocking cell phones whose data are cryptographically protected. There is much debate over public access to strong encryption. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) wanted Apple to create and electronically sign new software that would enable the FBI to unlock a work-issued iPhone 5C it recovered from one of the shooters who, in a December 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California, killed 14 people and injured 22.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBI%E2%80%93Apple_encryption_dispute

How Does the YouTube Algorithm Work in 2021? The Complete Guide

- https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-the-youtube-algorithm-works/

Perceptual hashing (the use of an algorithm that produces a snippet or fingerprint of various forms of multimedia. A perceptual hash is a type of locality-sensitive hash, which is analogous if features of the multimedia are similar.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perceptual_hashing

reCAPTCHA (a CAPTCHA system that enables web hosts to distinguish between human and automated access to websites. The original version asked users to decipher hard to read text or match images. Version 2 also asked users to decipher text or match images if the analysis of cookies and canvas rendering suggested the page was being downloaded automatically. reCAPTCHA is owned by Google.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReCAPTCHA

The Shadow Brokers (a hacker group who first appeared in the summer of 2016. They published several leaks containing hacking tools, including several zero-day exploits, from the "Equation Group" who are widely suspected to be a branch of the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shadow_Brokers

Electronic Frontier Foundation (The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. The foundation was formed on 10 July 1990 by John Gilmore, John Perry Barlow and Mitch Kapor to promote Internet civil liberties.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Frontier_Foundation

- https://www.eff.org/

WarGames (a 1983 American Cold War

The Steam Deck is not coming to Australia yet. WHY, GABEN, WHY? WHY HATH YOU FORSAKEN US? Professor was pretty annoyed that the Index had never released here, but realised researching for this episode that it's finally here. So at least that means maybe the Deck will get here eventually. It has very exciting hardware and has Professor gushing over Valve's push to save us from Microsoft and let us game on Linux.

Amazon's Lord of the Rings series has a release date. Hopefully Jeff Bezos won't make us regret letting him come back from space. The series covers events of the second age. We still have a lot to learn, but so far all the pieces look great.

There's a bit of a stereotype of autistic kids liking Minecraft. Turns out it can be used to help children learn social skills. Obviously it can't entirely replace real world experience, but the next generation of helping autistic children learn social skills at a more relaxed pace is exciting to see

Steam Deck

- https://www.techradar.com/au/news/steam-deck

Amazon’s Lord Of The Rings

- https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/lord-of-the-rings-amazon-series-premiere-date-1235032768/

Minecraft helping kids with autism

- https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23030713-100-how-is-helping-children-with-autism-make-new-friends/?fbclid=IwAR16Oec1CQchRkqxJd2Lk9U21Bvj9SbPzL0mIjW6xTZHPErXQGXaXZwkaQM

Other topics discussed

Linus Tech Tips - I tried Steam Deck early and it's AWESOME!

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SElZABp5M3U

Valve Index Finally Comes To Australia In August

- https://uploadvr.com/valve-index-australia/

How To Preorder A Steam Deck In Australia

- https://www.kotaku.com.au/2021/07/steam-deck-australia-how-to-preorder/

Steam Deck (an upcoming handheld gaming computer developed by Valve Corporation. It is expected to be released in December of 2021.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_Deck

PlayStation Portable (a handheld gameconsole developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the first handheld installment in the PlayStation line of consoles. As a

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We're back, tell your friends. Let us know what you think of our new format.

California isn't actually banning gaming PCs, despite what you might have heard. Yet again clickbait channels are using lies to drive clicks, which isn't really a surprise. But California IS requiring minimum power consumption for devices in idle state. So get back to gaming and have fun.

Dogs are better than children at knowing when someone is lying. Is this an evolutionary response to owners with laser pointers and hidden treats?

A live action Pokemon series is being produced by Netflix and Joe Henderson. We don't know much about it yet, but hopefully it's more Detective Pikachu and less live action Ghost in the Shell.

California vs Gaming PCs

- https://www.pcworld.com/article/3627491/why-california-isnt-banning-gaming-pcs-yet.html

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxs5YxY2xXI

Liar, Liar, Dogs on Fire

- https://www.newscientist.com/article/2284611-dogs-will-ignore-you-if-they-know-you-are-lying-unlike-young-children/

A Live Action Pokemon series in the works

- https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/pokemon-netflix-series-live-action-joe-henderson-1235026390/

Other topics discussed

The Olympic opening ceremony was full of video game music

- https://www.polygon.com/22590146/olympics-2020-games-athletes-parade-of-nations-video-game-music-dragon-quest-kingdom-hearts

Manga featured in opening ceremony for Tokyo Olympics

- https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/manga-featured-in-opening-ceremony-for-tokyo-olympics/2021/07/23/0c893c08-ebac-11eb-a2ba-3be31d349258_story.html

Dune Official Trailer

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g18jFHCLXk

Scarlett Johansson sues Disney over Black Widow streaming release

- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-30/scarlett-johansson-sues-disney-black-widow-streaming/100335880

Emma Stone Reportedly Considering Suing Disney Over Cruella Release

- https://screenrant.com/cruella-movie-emma-stone-disney-lawsuit-rumors-updates/

JayzTwoCents - Will California Ban Gaming Monitors? Explaining the New Monitor Law

-

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Despite the universe conspiring to prevent us releasing this week, we've finally got this episode done. Things will be a bit hectic for a few weeks while we sort out moving, but we'll be back to our usual schedule soon.

The Powerpuff Girls, created from sugar, spice and everything nice, were nearly rebooted into a weird dark alternative universe where the Powerpuff girls gain some additional bitterness and relationship issues. It's pretty bad, and the leaked script has gotten the entire concept dumped for a rewrite.

The Xbox Series (Dumb name) has joined the PS4 as another example of restrictive DRM that will inevitably lead to more ewaste and cultural loss. Yep. Professor's mad again. Console developers lock games to their specific hardware then make sure that you can only play it as long as they'll let you.

Invasive crazy ants are killing all the famous Christmas Island crabs. Scientists are fighting back with micro wasps. Kinda the opposite of what we all thought science would do in 50s B movies.

This week DJ watched the new DOTA anime (apparently it's really good) and Professor watched Edge of Tomorrow (also really good).

Live Action Powerpuff Girls...a Colossal Diaster

- https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/powerpuff-girls-pilot-reworked-the-100-prequel-1234981201/

DRM vs Xbox Series

- https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/xbox-one-series-x-drm-problem/

Crazy Ants vs Red Crabs

- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-25/scientists-work-to-curb-crazy-ants-on-christmas-island/100161132

Nerdful things

DJ

- Dota: Dragon's Blood - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dota:_Dragon%27s_Blood

Rating: :4/5

Professor

- Edge of Tomorrow - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edge_of_Tomorro

Rating: 4/5

Other topics discussed

Diablo Cody (American writer and producer. She gained recognition for her candid blog and subsequent memoir, Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper (2005). Cody received critical acclaim for her screenwriting debut film, Juno (2007), winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay, the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay, and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original...

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