The Ga[M]er.

Games set within countries plagued by totalitarian regimes generally cast you as either the chosen hero who must rise up against their oppressors, or as a cog-in-the-machine type whose primary concern is survival. Beholder is the latter sort of game, casting you as Carl, the landlord of a small apartment complex in a war-torn region. Carl must alternate between spying on and assisting his tenants to earn cash and avoid reprisal, all while observing an increasingly ridiculous list of state-imposed laws and completing quests handed out by various characters of competing interests. You’re presented with a cross-section of the building, which consists of six apartments and the basement where Carl lives with his family. You click your way around the tenement, talk to the people who live there, sneak into their apartments while they’re out to search for contraband and install hidden cameras, and maintain the building’s upkeep. The game is set entirely within this single complex; other characters can come and go, but Carl is drugged up on pills that prevent him from sleeping and forced to focus all of his attentions on the six apartments under his control. The game makes you feel simultaneously powerful and weak: as landlord you can save or ruin lives with your interventions, but you’re still ultimately beholden to the laws and regulations of the state. Beholder has a dark sense of humour, but its attempts at levity never really land. It strikes an odd tone, and it’s hard to know how you’re meant to respond to the game’s bleakness. The nature of this game’s totalitarian state is well established, and you learn a lot about how its people are treated and how arbitrary its oppression is, but there’s little sense of what you’re meant to take away from it. Self-preservation is an important part of the game, but Carl and his wife come across as fairly unpleasant people (in my second playthrough Carl’s wife left him because he didn’t buy her a radio), and while there’s an imperative to protect your children their missions mostly boil down to accruing and then spending large sums of money. Missions and objectives (often with time limits) pop up as you play, and you need to please the powers-that-be as they monitor your performance while also keeping your family happy and healthy. Completing the tasks handed out by the omnipotent ‘Ministry’, while also fulfilling requests from both your building’s residents and the political dissidents who will occasionally contact you, means making choices about your priorities, right down to which missions you follow and ignore.

In a period when so many games vie for our attention with bombastic action scenes and deeply involving stories, finding a game like Linelight feels like a blessing. There's no excess, nothing to distract you from the mechanics and obstacles at play. As intended, its presentation is minimalistic, bordering on stark, with merely a few lines and colorful highlights against a lightly blushed backdrop. And as you ponder and test possible solutions to Linelight's puzzles, featherlight musical accents dance in your head. Come to it with a troubled mind and Linelight will sort you out in no time. While its atmosphere is no doubt tranquil, Linelight's puzzles vacillate between straightforward and perplexing. The goal is simple: guide a beam of light on a path from one end of a puzzle to the other. At the start, you may only need to guide your light down a branching path to activate a gate that triggers another piece of the path to reconfigure itself. This becomes far more difficult over time, however, when other beams of light--enemies--patrol paths and trap you into inescapable corners. This is to say nothing of puzzles that incorporate multiple moving paths, treadmills, and magnet-like controls over enemies, to name a few of the challenges that await. Despite how complex its puzzles become, Linelight's simple controls should allow the average player to dive right in. The game also does a great job of teaching you how to play and manage the ever-expanding ruleset through measured escalation. For each new world and mechanic that's introduced, a series of simple puzzles show you, step by step, what to watch out for and how to manage your options moving forward. You never feel like you're thrust into a tutorial, and yet your options are always clear. Prodigies aside, you’ll likely tread water at times to monitor all of the elements at play before cracking your knuckles and getting down to business on a particular puzzle. Red herrings in sprawling sections can occasionally trip you up, but the puzzles that inspire true consternation are those that look deceptively simple, but have no tolerance for mistaken movements or nervous hesitations. Of course, you can always charge ahead and try to brute-force your way into a solution--when you execute the correct series of actions, puzzles are resolved in a few seconds--but this rarely works in practice. Thankfully, should you fail, you’re only one button press away from restarting the puzzle. Within Linelight's six worlds of interconnected puzzles are collectible gems, some that you find organically as you move from one puzzle to the next and others that live along hidden paths. You can find these secret trails by pushing past perceived boundaries, which can sometimes occur due to blind luck as you rush to move your light around a given puzzle. Rather than coming to a stop at the end of a line, you'll unexpectedly continue onward and meet a new, far more challenging test. Successfully complete these trials, and you’ll gain a different-colored gem and maybe even a newfound level of pride.

Ford announced today a $1 billion investment in machine-learning startup Argo AI. Through the agreement, Argo AI will work exclusively for Ford on the software brains to enable self-driving. Ford previously announced it will offer a self-driving car by 2021, although it would likely be limited to urban environments and be used by ride-hailing services as a kind of robo-taxi. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Argo AI is a new company dedicated to developing a software system to guide self-driving cars. CEO Bryan Salesky said of the investment that it would allow Argo AI to recruit the kind of talent needed to develop these systems. Ford CEO Mark Fields said, "For accounting purposes, Argo AI will be a subsidiary of Ford, but have a lot of independence. Its sole focus over the next five years will be developing self-driving software for Ford vehicles." Self-driving, or autonomous, cars use sensors, GPS and onboard computing power to recognize their environments and take passengers to destinations. Almost every major automaker is developing this technology, while the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has been supporting it as a means of reducing the 32,500 fatalities that occur on US roads every year. Ford Chief Technical Officer Raj Nair pointed out that Ford will concentrate on building the hardware platform, the physical car, and use its expertise to develop toward large-scale manufacturing. Argo AI will focus on the software side. Fields also said that Argo AI will look into licensing its technology to other automakers at a later date.

What do you get for the US president who has everything? According to one report, the perfect present might be a wanted man who's living in Russia to avoid being tried on charges of espionage and theft. Russia is considering sending Edward Snowden back to the US as a gift for President Donald Trump, NBC reported Friday. The report cites an unnamed senior US official who's reviewed US intelligence about the matter. In 2013, Snowden, a former NSA contractor, gave journalists a cache of classified documents about surveillance programs run by the US and its allies. Snowden has lived in Russia since then and says he would face a "show trial" if he returned to the US. In September, Snowden and his legal team launched a campaign to get him pardoned. For his part, Trump has called Snowden a spy and a traitor. As early as 2013, Trump claimed that if he were president, he would have already gotten Snowden back in the US. Snowden's lawyer, the Russian Embassy in the US and the White House didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. On Friday, Snowden wrote on Twitter that the NBC report proved he never gave US secrets to Russia, as Trump and others have claimed. "No country trades away spies, as the rest would fear they're next," Snowden wrote.

If you have one of the Android Wear watches set to receive Android Wear 2.0 (full list in link) over the next few weeks, you're in for a treat. For those who pick up the new LG Watch Sport or LG Watch Style, well, you're in for a treat as well. Google redesigned the interface and added new features that are aimed directly at competing with the Apple Watch, and giving Android fans a more capable wearable. Below are 9 tips and tricks to help you get the most out of Android Wear 2.0. 1. Your watch no longer needs your phone Your watch is now a stand-alone Android device, complete with access to the Play Store. In order to download, update, or use Google services and apps on your watch you'll need to add a Google account to it. The first time you power on a device running Android Wear 2.0 you will see a prompt asking you to add your Google account to the watch. Adding your account is easy, just follow the prompts in the Android Wear app on your phone. 2. Basic navigation Android Wear 2.0 still relies heavily on gestures and taps for navigation. However, the functionality of button(s) on the watch will be different for each model of watch. It's a good idea to go through the tutorial after updating your watch. The tutorial will show you which button does what, assuming your device has more than one. If there is only one button, then view it as a home button. Some basic navigation tips I found useful are: Swipe from the left-edge of the display to go back one screen. Swipe down from the tap of the screen to view an app's menu. The main button on your watch should function as a home button with a quick press, and bring up Assistant with a long-press. 3. Install apps Since your watch no longer relies on your phone, you now have access to a dedicated Android Wear Play Store on your wrist. First, launch the Play Store and agree to the terms and services. A list of apps with pending updates will show up, followed by a list of apps you have installed on your phone that also offer an Android Wear version. You can search, browse by category, and discover apps built specifically for your watch. 4. Manage complications Android Wear watch faces now include complications, giving you an app shortcut or glanceable information without having to actually launch an app. For example, a complication for the Calendar app puts your next appointment on your watch face at all times. Or you can set Google Fit to constantly show your step total for the day. Customize complications with a long press on the watchface, then tapping on the icon for each respective complication. Select the app or info you want the complication to represent, then press the home button to save your settings. 5. Google Assistant Google Assistant, which lets you make voice-based commands is now on Android smartwatches. That means you can get a lot of things done through your watch, without ever touching it. Long-press the power button on your watch to activate Assistant, and then ask questions or give commands. Swipe up from the bottom of the Assistant screen for suggestions of what you can ask and do with Assistant. Tailor how Google Assistant functions on your Android Wear watch by opening the Wear app on your phone and tap on the Settings icon. Under the Assistant section, tap on Settings 6. Quickly change your look With a quick swipe to the right or left across your watch face you can switch between faces with ease. It's a quick gesture to switch between, say, a watchface for work, complete with complications that you can use while on the job and another watchface for workouts, encouraging you to run faster. A swipe up or down on a saved watchface will delete it. 7. New app layout When viewing your watchface, press the power button to view your app list. On the LG Watch Style and Watch Sport, the digital crown scrolls through the list of installed apps. On other watches, you'll need to use gestures to scroll up or down to view your apps. Naturally, tapping on an app will launch it. More importantly, you can now pin apps to the top of the list with a long-press on its icon. 8. Two keyboards You now have two new options tools to help you respond to messages from the watch. There's a teeny-tiny keyboard that's nearly impossible to type on (at least in my experience), and then there's a handwriting recognition tool that lets you scribble words on the display. The next time you compose a message or reply, tap on the keyboard icon. The default setting is the small keyboard, but you can quickly switch between the two keyboards with a long-press on the keyboard icon. 9. Android Pay Android Pay is currently only available on the LG Watch Sport due to NFC requirements. You can install Android Pay from the Play Store on the watch if it's not already installed. After opening it, you'll need to set up a passcode for your watch. Any time you take the watch off, you will need to enter the code to use it. Not only does this mean a would-be thief won't find much use of your watch, but it stops them from using your Android Pay card.

In Arc System Works’ revival of the classic Double Dragon series, we have evidence that some video game throwbacks can be too authentic for their own good. Double Dragon IV is a direct sequel to the NES version of Double Dragon II (oddly not Double Dragon III)--and when we say "direct," we mean it. This is an odd game that, quite literally, could’ve appeared on the 30-year-old system and felt right at home. While this might sound great in theory if you have nostalgia for the 8-bit era, reality tells a different story. The original Double Dragon games still hold a special place in many an older gamer’s heart, but they are products of their time. Later side-scrolling brawlers would vastly surpass the primitive action of the series' Lee brothers. Capcom’s Final Fight and especially Sega’s Streets of Rage would go on to take the mantle of top brawlers in the 1990s, so seeing a sequel to the NES version in 2017 is a bit strange. Double Dragon IV staunchly replicates the NES games' graphics and mechanics, complete with incredibly annoying screen tearing and flickering. Characters are crudely drawn, hit detection is sketchy, and the gameplay itself wavers between mindless and unfair. Some enemies stand around senselessly or rush blindly at you, and others start attacking with projectiles before they even appear onscreen. Compared to a modern brawler, the moveset--though slightly enhanced since the early ’90s--is limited. You have a punch, kick, jump kick, and a couple of minor “special” moves like an uppercut. Regardless, you can get through most levels by spamming basic attacks. Repetition has always been a problem with brawlers, but Double Dragon IV really doesn’t overstay its welcome. Like the originals, it takes around 35 to 45 minutes to complete. Levels are short, transition story panels are slight, and while the scenery changes, there’s not a lot of variety in the level design.

v2 shape

As you all know that 2017 is going to bring the blast of many awesome games yet, to enchant us, to scare us, thrill us, excite us and make us feel powerful beyond our imagination. So we are going to mention some of the games that are going to release in February of 2017 along with the brief description, so let’s check out the list. 1. Nioh Nioh is an upcoming action role-playing game set in Japan in the 1600s during a fictionalized version of the Sengoku period and players taking the role of a Western samurai named William. The player controls William on missions through enclosed environments fighting both human enemies and Yokai: missions are self-contained and selected from a menu rather than reached by navigating an open world. Shrines in the levels act as checkpoints for players to save progress, replenish health, Skill points acquired in combat and increase experience level through accrued experience points. 2. For Honor For Honor is an upcoming online action hack and slash video. The game features a hand-to-hand combat system described as "The Art of Battle" which allows players to play the roles of historical soldiers like medieval knights, samurai and Vikings within a Medieval fantasy setting. Players can play from three different factions, The Legion, The Chosen and The Warborn. Each faction has four classes such as Vanguard, Assassins, Heavies, and Hybrids. All heroes consist their own weapons, skills, and fighting styles. 3. Sniper Elite Sniper Elite 4 is an upcoming third-person tactical shooter stealth video game, played from a third-person perspective. The game is set in the breathtaking landscapes of Italy in 1943. It combines genre-defining ballistics, breathless emergent stealth and gripping third-person action in the most diverse environments. The player controls Karl Fairburne, an Office of Strategic Services agent that assists the Italian resistance force to fight against the Fascists in World War II. When a player uses the sniper rifle to kill the enemy, X-Ray cam system allows the player to watch the body parts being broken by the bullet. It also includes shrapnel kills, melee kills and stealth kills. 4. Halo Wars 2 Halo Wars 2 is an upcoming real-time strategy video game, set in the science fiction universe of the Halo series in the year 2559. The game features two playable factions, humanity's main military arm, the United Nations Space Command, who return from the first game and a new alien faction known as the Banished, who serve as the replacement for the Covenant. Players command armies from a bird's-eye view of the battlefield. Each faction has different leader units and the campaign mode is composed of thirteen missions which will support cooperative gameplay. Combat is balanced by a "rock–paper–scissors" counter-attack system where ground vehicles are effective against infantry, infantry is effective against aircraft and aircraft are effective against vehicles in combat. 5. Horizon Zero Dawn Horizon Zero Dawn is an action role-playing game played from a third-person Perspective. The game is about an Aloy, a hunter and archer who fights to survive in a world overrun by robots. She starts her journey to explore post-apocalyptic land ruled by robotic creatures known as "Machines". Player can use ranged, melee weapons and stealth tactics to fight the mechanised creatures and loots for resources for Crafting.

Nioh is a PS4 exclusive massive Japanese themed game held in war raging era shattered by demons and creatures by Team Ninja. It starts with a journey of a Western Samurai who is on a mission to acquire what is missing. The game does not perplex players with too many twist and turns, instead of progress quest in a straight line aided by an uncomplicated map to refer. There are no out of sight things to swallow a huge chunk of time, which according to me is sufficient to stay occupied. Nioh demands learning skills with persistence and employs them in tactical mode against the bosses. Striking cinematic, magical powers, true ninja dexterity, etc. all is well compiled into a nice-looking game. After playing it for few hours, I gradually feel getting trained with my moves and proficiency that become better with time. This is the crux of this game. Character stats are an important element tied up with a choice of right weapon. On the other side, observing enemy’s style of action occasionally escorts a trouble-free win. From my views, Nioh is a challenging and a fine option after RE7, only if you are not in rush to reach the ending soon. The easy going plot contributes a lot to the gameplay in which a western samurai William Adam’s visits various regions of Japan and fights with demons to free the place followed by a boss fight, is enough to summarize Nioh. The game gave us a big list of bosses who appears after a dramatic cinematic mostly at the end of almost all Main missions and a few one in Sub-Missions. Each of them is poles apart and holds some uniqueness in the way they fight. That is the energizing point I see. The weapon choices and abilities are unlocked after spending the in-game currency can slow you down a bit, but once you know very well what can help you, in the matter of time you can upgrade the character with higher strength. There are checkpoints in the form of shrines, always available when you need them. All mission and submission hold rewards. These can be magic unlocks, weapons, armors, skills, etc. After completing almost two regions of the game, I felt to play more, but a standard gameplay where I hunt the demons repetitively of different forms and strength turns tedious. Thanks to the end bosses whose challenges keeps the interest intact. My expectations were very high when I started, but as I said that after getting deeper, I found that yes I can do this easily and that kills the fun. The mission and submission hold a similar game mechanics, you need to fight demons clean them out, find a path to wrestling boss and over. I don’t see this as a low point of the game, well you get expert after every level. Still, certain twist can justify the interest of keep on playing. Location compass is annoying in Nioh because it does not clearly show the exact path and the map are limited just to select a mission. So many times I felt myself wandering round and round in a maze. This could be less time consuming if the compass can guide well or the map can tell me my exact place with a marker to a final location. The character customization part plays a vital role in reducing impact against attack vulnerability of protagonist. Bosses and demons drop weapons after they die, you can gather them and use it via a menu.

NPD Group's data have finally come in and we can have a look about what happened in January, in terms of sales, in the United States. PlayStation 4 was once again the most sold console last month, confirming what's happening in that specific market where it's been at the #1 spot for a couple months now. The only interesting data coming from Microsoft and Xbox One, which doesn't manage to return at the top spot, is that the console "had a strong start in 2017 with the number of hours played on the console up 21% YoY," and that "unit sales also up YoY in January," as reported by analyst Daniel Ahmad on his Twitter profile. Fun enough, the Wii U had one (1) unit sold in January in the United States, but that unit, according to Ahmad, was bought just for the consumer to return it and have a Nintendo Switch pre-order at a cheaper price. That's something lots of people has done, is doing and will do in the future, but... poor Wii U. Does this console deserve it? https://twitter.com/ZhugeEX/status/829830139718533120/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc^tfw

A sad news for all Windows 7 users across the globe, AMD has officially announced that they will not release Ryzen drivers for Windows 7. So if you are among one of those consumers who was looking forward to upgrading to the new Ryzen processors then make sure that you also make the jump in Operating system from Windows 7 to Windows 10. There were a lot of speculation and rumors on the internet a few days ago about Ryzen drivers for Windows 7 PC but AMD has clarified once and for all that Windows 7 won't get any official driver support for Ryzen. In a statement issued to our friend at PCWorld, an AMD representative said: "To achieve the highest confidence in the performance of our AMD Ryzen desktop processors (formerly code-named 'Summit Ridge'), AMD validated them across two different OS generations, Windows 7 and 10. However, only support and drivers for Windows 10 will be provided in AMD Ryzen desktop processor production parts." This decision of AMD shouldn't come as a surprise to PC users. Intel and Microsoft have followed the similar route. Intel completely dropped support for news CPUs on older generation windows with the release of Kaby Lake, whereas Microsoft themselves clarified that they want their consumers to upgrade to the newer Operating system and hence support for new CPUs on older gen-OS have been dropped. "As new silicon generations are introduced, they will require the latest Windows platform at that time for support," Microsoft said in August 2016. "This enables us to focus on deep integration between Windows and the silicon while maintaining maximum reliability and compatibility with previous generations of platform and silicon."

Police cars are as old as cars themselves, but they're always relying on new technology to improve. Dodge's latest update should give police officers an additional sense of safety. Effective immediately, all 2017 Dodge Charger Pursuit sedans will come equipped with the Officer Protection Package. It uses the car's backup camera and sensors to determine if someone is sneaking around the back of the car. It can prevent an ambush or just let an officer know someone is approaching the vehicle. It's an excellent use of civilian technology for an alternate purpose. Backup cameras and rear parking sensors are both important systems in modern cars, and if Dodge can take a car already equipped with these systems and use them for something new, it provides benefits without the drawback of extra development costs. All a department needs to do is add a separate module, which plugs into the OBDII diagnostics port under the dashboard. From there, hitting a single button activates the system. Whenever the system is activated, the backup sensors will be on, and whenever something crosses behind the car, a chime will sound inside the car as the doors lock and the windows roll up.

Mark Zuckerberg is still trying to get to the future "a lot sooner." The Facebook CEO took to the social network on Thursday to post a note about his recent visit to the Redmond, Washington-based research lab of Facebook-owned Oculus. Zuckerberg has been on a mission to make virtual reality headsets as small as a pair of glasses. "The goal is to make VR and AR what we all want it to be: glasses small enough to take anywhere, software that lets you experience anything, and technology that lets you interact with the virtual world just like you do with the physical one," he wrote. Oh, and he also touted gloves for finger tracking in virtual reality. Zuckerberg posted a photo of himself wearing the gloves and acting like a favorite web-crawling superhero.

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Prevailing auto industry wisdom would have you believe that small car sales have absolutely cratered, having been mortally wounded by a glut of new small SUVs. By and large, that's accurate, but there are exceptions. The Hyundai Accent, a model you barely hear about anymore, is one of those special cases. Last year, Hyundai Motor America managed to shift 79,766 examples of the subcompact, a massive increase over the 61,486 units it cleared in 2015. Even if fleet sales were a factor in its improvement, that's still a particularly impressive development for a model that bowed way back in 2011. Perhaps hoping to capitalize on that momentum, Hyundai has just announced it will reveal its new fifth-generation Accent at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto on February 16. Inexpensive, fuel-sipping cars still sell particularly well in Canada, so the model's reveal location should come as no surprise (in fact, its predecessor bowed at the 2011 Montreal Auto Show). Even so, it does feel a bit odd that the official confirmation comes on the very same day the automaker is showing off a new big brother for the Accent, the 2018 Elantra GT, at the Chicago Auto Show.

Google says it's now time to marry two computing realms: the web and virtual reality. Its latest version of the Chrome browser includes a technology called WebVR, which lets programmers create websites that present the computer-generated 3D worlds of virtual reality. If you're into VR, you might appreciate the promise WebVR holds for expanding what you can do with a device like a Google Daydream View or a Facebook Oculus Rift VR headset. That's because, in principle at least, WebVR makes it easier for developers to create a single VR experience that'll work across many VR headsets instead of having to create a separate version for each device. It's an extension of how a single website can span your laptop, Android phone or iPad tablet. WebVR makes it "as easy to step inside Air Force One as it is to access your favorite web page," Megan Lindsay, a product manager on Google's Chrome team, said in a blog post. WebVR without anything to look at isn't any fun, so here are some sites Google promoted for the technology: Bear 71, an interactive nature documentary; Matterport, a library of more than 300,000 celebrity homes and other sites; Within, a collection of VR movies; WebVR Lab, a collection of interactive VR worlds, and Sketchfab, an assortment of VR scenes. Google developed WebVR along with Firefox maker Mozilla, Facebook's Oculus team, and other partners. It's early days though. Microsoft is working on WebVR support for its new Edge browser and HoloLens eyewear, but support is still spotty among makers of VR headsets like HTC's Vive and Samsung's Gear VR. So far, Mozilla has enabled WebVR only in its nightly and developer versions of Firefox aimed at web programmers and the adventurous. But it plans to add WebVR in the mainstream version of its browser this summer, including support for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. Chrome supports Google's Daydream View headset, which like Gear VR uses a phone to track head motion and display imagery for each eye. But it'll be months before WebVR and Chrome work with the company's cruder Google Cardboard cousin.

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The Chicago Auto Show is po[CENSORED]r for light vehicle refreshes and special editions, and Mitsubishi has played right into that with its Second City debut. Mitsubishi unveiled the 2017 Outlander Sport Limited Edition ahead of its reveal in Chicago later this week. It rests just above the ES base model, but it adds a number of styling and technological updates that make it feel far from cheap. Exterior updates include a mix of tech and aesthetics. There's an alloy fuel door, black door mirrors and 18-inch alloy wheels, fog lamps, a backup camera and HID headlights. There's also a Limited Edition badge, because every special edition deserves its own little badge, or at least that's what automakers would like you to think. The interior comes in one style -- black fabric with red accents. There's red contrast stitching on the steering wheel, shift knob and parking brake boot. Other doodads include aluminum sport pedals and heated front seats. On the tech front, a touchscreen infotainment system includes both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. That's a fair few updates, but even with all those goodies, the price remains sensible. The Limited Edition starts at $21,995. It goes on sale later this month, and because it's got "limited" in the name, it'll only be available until the end of the 2017 model year. 2018s usually arrive in the fall, so it's safe to assume that's when this trim will disappear into the ether.

It's once bitten, twice shy for Google and Facebook. Together they're taking a stand against the fake news that helped skew the narrative of the 2016 US presidential election. The two companies on Monday launched an initiative in Paris to tackle fake news stories that could arise around the upcoming French presidential election. The project, called CrossCheck, was announced at the News Impact Summit and will serve to help verify news stories being shared among the French electorate. With polling day less than three months away, social media sites are teaming up with news organizations including Agence France-Presse, Buzzfeed France, L'Express and Le Monde to ensure they're ready to crack down on the spread of false information. The aim of CrossCheck is to help the public "make sense of what and who to trust in their social media feeds, web searches and general online news consumption in the coming months," said Google in a blog post. CrossCheck is in large part a response to the criticism of news providers and social media outlets confronted with a wave of hoaxes, rumors and false claims, commonly dubbed "fake news." Facebook, in particular, was criticized during the US presidential election last year for allowing false information that was presented as news to be widely disseminated across its platform. Facebook has already taken steps to make it easier in future for users to flag fake news stories in the US, by working with Snopes, ABC News and the Associated Press. Last month, it also set up a project in Germany to prevent the circulation of fake news and hate speech that could impact that country's presidential election, set to take place in September.

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More often than not, my glances down at the speedometer of the 2017 BMW M760i xDrive proved startling. On straight roads outside of Palm Springs, California, I found myself doubling the posted speed limits without even realizing it. I partially blame the luxury cocoon that is the M760i's Nappa leather-lined cabin, which stays well isolated from unwanted road and wind noises. Then throw in an adaptive suspension system delivering road compliance fitting of a flagship luxury sedan when set to Comfort mode, but is also forgiving in the Sport setting. What's most at fault? That would be the 6.6-liter twin-turbocharged V12 monster sitting under the hood, the centerpiece of the new range-topping 7 Series model. Sharing a block with Rolls-Royce powerplants, the M760i's 12-pot engine is subtle and smooth, while yielding 601 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. Peak torque is available from just 1,550 rpm and remains until 5,000 rpm helping to explain how the big sedan effortlessly builds speeds even without a heavy right foot. Bolting to the V12, a slick ZF eight-speed automatic transmission responsible cracks off quick, imperceptible shifts, and offers a responsive manual shift function for drivers looking for a bit more involvement. The other downside to the fire breathing drivetrain is it's thirst for petrol, resulting in a 13 mpg city rating from the EPA. However, on the highway it returns 20 mpg, which isn't bad, all things considered. A typical consumer in the market for a V12 luxury cruiser likely won't care about fuel figures, but simply want the bragging rights and capabilities that come with it. Dropping the hammer will get the all-wheel-drive M760i to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds with launch control. Triple digit speeds are a cinch to achieve with the M sports exhaust system providing a fantastic growling soundtrack, and zero complaints about turbo lag. To go along with its meaner performance, the M760i gets more visual attitude with larger front bumper air intakes for better cooling, 20-inch split-spoke M alloy wheels and special M and V12 badging. BMW jazzes up the interior with an M leather steering wheel, pedals, driver's footrest and speedometer to go along with the soft leathers and piano black trim. The M760i accompanies its big power with a big helping of luxury and technology, which is to be expected from any 7 Series. From the supremely comfortable front seats, the optional 14,000-watt Bowers and Wilkins audio system sounds concert hall good, and controlling infotainment functions like navigation and BMW Connected Apps is easily done through the intuitive iDrive 5.0 controller. Loading up Apple CarPlay to handle infotainment duties is also an option, but Android Auto is currently not supported. BMW says they are evaluating Android Auto integration into its cars, but didn't confirm if or when it was coming.

There's a new sheriff in town at the Federal Communications Commission and he just gave AT&T and Verizon a big pass. The FCC said Friday it would end its inquiry into the companies' so-called zero-rating offers that allow customers to watch video from certain applications from their mobile devices without it counting against their monthly data caps. AT&T lets its wireless customers stream its $35 a month DirecTV video service over the AT&T wireless network without counting that data against their monthly data caps. Verizon lets customers stream its Go90 video service and doesn't charge for data usage. The news comes as the new chairman, Ajit Pai, who was appointed last week by President Donald Trump, begins taking measures to dismantle policies adopted by the Democrats under the previous administration. The controversial 2015 net neutrality rules, which now treats broadband service like a public utility, are expected to be on the chopping block, among other controversial policies, such as expansion for the Lifeline program, which provides subsidies for broadband and phone service to low-income families. In a statement, Pai said the zero-rated plans offered by these companies have been po[CENSORED]r with consumers. "Going forward, the Federal Communications Commission will not focus on denying Americans free data," he said. "Instead, we will concentrate on expanding broadband deployment and encouraging innovative service offerings." While the practice offers some benefits to customers, critics say it violates the agency's net neutrality rules, which requires all services on the Internet be treated the same. They claim it puts smaller competitors at a disadvantage and highlights the fact that data caps are unnecessary. The FCC also sent letters to Comcast and T-Mobile notifying them that it has also closed inquiries into their practices. The FCC initially launched its informal investigation into these four companies more than a year ago, but in December the agency, then under Democrat Tom Wheeler's leadership, issued a preliminary report accusing AT&T and Verizon of violating the FCC's net neutrality rules by favoring their own video services over services of competitors. The FCC didn't impose a penalty when it issued its report in December, and now that the inquiry is closed, AT&T and Verizon are free to continue offering their services without charging for data usage. In a statement, AT&T called the move "a win for millions of consumers." Verizon said it always believed its free data programs benefited consumers, and it is "very encouraged that the FCC agrees." Consumer advocates, who fought for more than a decade to get the FCC to adopt net neutrality rules and who have opposed the zero-rating offers, were not so optimistic. The Washington, D.C.-based consumer watchdog group Public Knowledge called the FCC's move "deeply troubling." "The FCC is saying that AT&T and Verizon are allowed to zero rate their own video services, and effectively charge customers more to access competing services," Ryan Clough, general counsel for Public Knowledge said in a statement. "The 2015 net neutrality rules are still the law, but that doesn't mean very much if the FCC refuses to enforce them." Also on Friday, Pai reversed several other consumer-protection orders, reports, and proceedings that were adopted in the final weeks of Wheeler's FCC. This included telling nine companies they won't be allowed to participate in the federal Lifeline program. Lifeline is meant to provide low-cost broadband access to low-income consumers. Pai said he was reversing these orders and reports because they were done at the last minute by an administration that was leaving. "These last-minute actions, which did not enjoy the support of the majority of commissioners at the time they were taken, should not bind us going forward," he said. Matt Wood, policy director for Free Press, said Pai was following the lead of Trump, who has been signing controversial executive orders to dismantle policies set by his predecessor. He called Pai's sweeping reversals "strong-arm tactics" that showed Pai's "true stripes." "The public wants an FCC that helps people," he said. "Instead, it got one that does favors for the powerful corporations its chairman used to work for."