Day: March 12, 2022

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How to Block Spam Calls and Text Messages

https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-block-calls-and-spam-messages/


Life is busy enough without wasting time on spammers, scammers, and telemarketers. Whether you are suffering insistent injury lawyers, fraudulent IT specialists, or a drunk-dialing ex, there is a way to stop the calls and messages. The major carriers and phone manufacturers have upped their game against unwanted calls and messages in recent years, so let’s look at how you can effectively block them.

We also have guides on how to avoid spam with disposable contact info, guard against smishing attacks, and avoid phishing scams.

What to Keep in Mind

Before we dive into blocking options, there are a few things to know:

  • If possible, don’t answer any calls from numbers you don’t recognize. Callers with anything important to say will likely leave a message anyway. Sadly, this won’t work for people with businesses or interests that involve a lot of calls from unknown numbers.
  • Never click on a link or attachment in a spam text message because it could trigger malware. If possible, avoid opening them altogether.
  • Never respond to a spam text message, as it will confirm that your number is valid.
  • If you are concerned that the call or message might be from a legitimate company, try typing the number into your preferred search engine. While it can be tricky to confirm a scammer’s number, it is easy to verify a legitimate one. If you can’t find anything on the number, be cautious and ignore it. We will explain how to block numbers, but it’s also important to report unwanted calls and messages. If it’s telemarketing, scam, or spam, you can report it to the FTC here. You can also add your number to the Do Not Call Registry, though it only works for sales calls from reputable companies. Sadly many organizations and scammers ignore it. We will go into how to report numbers to manufacturers, carriers, and third parties below. The more people do this, the easier it is to identify and preemptively block or label nuisance numbers.

How to Block Calls and Texts on an iPhone

Apple via Simon Hill

It’s easy to block individual numbers on your iPhone. Here’s how:

  • In the Phone app, tap Recents, then tap the Information icon next to the number or contact you want to block. Scroll down and tap Block This Caller.
  • In the FaceTime app, tap the Info icon next to the number, contact, or email address you want to block, then scroll down to tap Block This Caller.
  • In the Messages app, open the conversation with the contact you want to block, then tap the contact at the top, then tap the Info button, scroll down, and tap Block This Caller.

via Wired Top Stories https://ift.tt/xyrbwcQ

March 12, 2022 at 09:09AM

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NFTs Don’t Work the Way You Might Think They Do

https://www.wired.com/story/nfts-dont-work-the-way-you-think-they-do/


It’s been impossible to avoid hearing about NFTs in recent months. Hype for the tokens—pitched as proof of ownership of a digital item—has reached a fever pitch, while billions of dollars have poured into the market for them. To some, these non-fungible tokens are the hottest new collectible hobby, to others a powerful investment tool, and still more, they’re the future of the internet.

The reality is, as always, more complex. In their current state, NFTs aren’t actually capable of doing much of what they’re often claimed to do. The extremely technical nature of how NFTs, blockchains, and cryptocurrencies work means that it’s easy to simplify the explanation of the tech to the point of being misleading.

Explaining the problems with NFTs is complicated, but we’re going to try to break down the issues as succinctly as we can. We have to tackle this with the understanding that no explanation, no matter how in-depth, can ever be totally comprehensive. With that in mind, there are some misconceptions about NFTs that are worth clearing up.

NFTs Aren’t Authoritative Tokens of Ownership

The most persistent misleading claim about NFTs is also the one that’s closest to being true. Enthusiasts frequently claim that since NFTs are fundamentally unique and live on a trustless blockchain, this constitutes proof that you “own” a digital asset. There’s only one token like this one, and you have it in your crypto wallet, so the thing it signifies must be yours.

This framing is misleading for a number of reasons. For starters, NFTs can only convey ownership (or rather, possession, but we’ll come back to that) of the token itself. As software engineer Molly White explained to WIRED, “With NFTs, the thing you’ve bought does not tend to give you ownership of the underlying item (image, game asset, etc.) in any way you would normally transfer physical or digital art.”

Instead, NFTs typically contain links to an asset hosted elsewhere. The NFT doesn’t convey ownership of the copyright, storage, or usage rights to the asset itself. As White explained, when someone buys an NFT, “They’ve paid to have their wallet address etched into a database alongside a pointer to something. I wouldn’t say they really ‘own’ anything at all.”

Additionally, as mentioned above, the Ethereum blockchain (currently the most common blockchain for minting NFTs) doesn’t have a mechanism for distinguishing between possessing a token and owning it. If someone steals your bicycle, it’s generally understood that the bike is still yours. With an NFT, the “owner” is whoever has the token in their wallet. So, if someone’s ape NFT gets stolen via a phishing scam, the blockchain treats the thief as the new owner.

Centralized marketplaces like OpenSea have occasionally stepped in to freeze sales of stolen assets (on their own platform, anyway), but this puts the power to determine “real” ownership not in the NFT itself but in the hands of the marketplaces that trade them.

via Wired Top Stories https://ift.tt/xyrbwcQ

March 12, 2022 at 07:09AM

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This Roller Coaster Simulator Lets Users Draw Their Own Track Layout and Instantly Ride It

https://gizmodo.com/roco-roller-coaster-simulator-lets-users-draw-their-own-1848637614


Part of the appeal of riding a roller coaster simulator over the real thing is that you can experience track designs that are physically impossible in the real world. ROCO, a new coaster simulator, takes that idea one step further by letting riders draw their own track designs and then ride them, complete with motions that match the on-screen action.

Designing and building a roller coaster in real life that provides lots of thrills is easy, but designing a roller coaster in real life that’s also safe for human riders and doesn’t subject them to unbearable g-forces is where things get a lot harder. It’s why games like RollerCoaster Tycoon are so popular, as they let players design their own tracks and then ride them through a first-person in-game experience. The only thing that’s missing is actually feeling what it’s like to ride a wacky coaster layout, but that’s what ROCO promises.

Created by a Swiss company called INNTQ which specializes in motion platforms, the ROCO simulator is small enough to install in a modern arcade setting or amusement park (it weighs over 1,600 pounds but is designed to be easily moved around using a standard pallet jack tool) and offers the chance for two riders to experience some of the thrills of riding a real roller coaster through a pair of motion-controlled seats that can each support passengers up to 265 pounds—seatbelts are required.

Once strapped in, users face a 75-inch 4K flatscreen TV a few feet away as well as a smaller touchscreen interface located on the seats’ handlebars. Users select the environment where they want their virtual coaster to be built—like a lush green valley full of lakes and bears—and then use their fingers to draw the actual track layout. Each ride is limited to two minutes in length, and the simulator’s computer automatically determines the hills and elevations of the track sections before virtually rendering the whole experience in real-time with matching sound effects and synced seat movements.

INNTQ doesn’t plan to sell the ROCO simulators but instead intends to partner with businesses that would receive the machines for free and then share the revenues with the company. With a price per ride expected to be around $4, it probably won’t take long for that approach to become extremely profitable.

via Gizmodo https://gizmodo.com

March 10, 2022 at 04:00PM

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Tech Exec Claims He’s Funding Volunteer Army to Fight on Behalf of Ukraine

https://gizmodo.com/tech-exec-claims-hes-funding-volunteer-army-to-fight-in-1848635998


Screenshot: Lucas Ropek/LinkedIn

If you want to fly to Ukraine to join the war effort against Russia, a tech executive says that he will front the cash to make it happen.

The Verge originally reported that Anthony Capone, the President of mobile medical services provider DocGo, is the new founder of an LLC solely devoted to sending volunteer militants and medical personnel over to the war zone to defend Ukraine from Russia’s assault. The company, dubbed Ukrainian Democracy LLC, says on its website that it was “formed with the sole purpose of supporting the defense of Ukraine and its people,” and that its founders will provide travel and other expenses for anyone willing to join the effort.

“Ukrainian Democracy LLC’s mission is to support financially, logistically, and by providing the necessary equipment to volunteers from around the world who desire to defend Ukraine but lack the resources to join the International Legion of Defense of Ukraine,” the company alleges.

The Verge spoke with one of the company’s volunteers, a U.S. military veteran and former Army Combat Medic, who confirmed that he was taking a Thursday flight to Warsaw to join the action.

In a recent LinkedIn post, Capone said that the organization had already made contact with over “over 400 volunteers that will be going over to support the defense of Ukraine this week. All have prior military and/or medical trauma experience.” The company’s website further claims at least 21 people have already been deployed to the region.

Capone’s volunteers aren’t alone, either. The horrific humanitarian crisis spawned by Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine has inspired a variety of Westerners to express interest in joining the fight, and, actually, Ukraine is encouraging them: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently announced the formation of the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine—an organization meant to facilitate the mobilization of volunteer militants from foreign countries who may want to travel to Ukraine to join the war. Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, recently claimed that some 22,000 people from 52 different countries had already volunteered as part of this effort. Relevantly, Capone’s organization plans on sending its volunteers into Ukraine via Zelensky’s International Legion, though he clarified to The Verge that a majority of the 400 volunteers are still awaiting approval from the organization.

But while the desire to defend a besieged nation is admirable, it might not ultimately be that great of an idea. The White House and State Department have explicitly warned against civilians traveling to Ukraine to join the war. In fact, they’ve actually been urging Americans in Ukraine to do the contrary: i.e., to get out of dodge.

“Ukrainians have shown their courage and they are calling on every resource and lever they have to defend themselves. We applaud their bravery,” the State Department recently told NBC News. “However, our Travel Advisory remains: U.S. citizens should not travel to Ukraine, and those in Ukraine should depart immediately if it is safe to do so using commercial or other privately available options for ground transportation.”

Aside from the fact that it’s incredibly dangerous, it seems that such volunteering could, in fact, add to the chaos, not help it. Indeed, the prospect of an ever-growing number of Americans and Westerners fighting Russians inside Ukraine clearly has overt geopolitical ramifications—the likes of which aren’t particularly good.

via Gizmodo https://gizmodo.com

March 10, 2022 at 04:30PM

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The 25 Best Nintendo DS Games Of All Time

https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/the-25-best-nintendo-ds-games-of-all-time/2900-3965/

Considering how ubiquitous and iconic the Game Boy had become over its roughly 15-year reign over the handheld gaming scene, the pressure was on Nintendo when it came time to launch a successor. How did Nintendo respond to that pressure? By following up the Game Boy with a family of handhelds that was even more successful, naturally. The Nintendo DS, with its novel dual-screen design, touchscreen controls, and N64-quality 3D visuals, burst onto the scene in 2004. It didn’t take too long for the unique new clamshell handheld to garner a legion of fans, in large part due to a seriously impressive library. We’ve rounded up the best Nintendo DS games of all time–a list of 25 titles in alphabetical order.

Longtime Game Boy fans were perhaps a bit skeptical of the Nintendo DS at first, and we’re sure that the handheld’s backward-compatibility with GBA games helped to convert hesitant buyers. But thanks to a steady stream of great games and multiple clever revisions to the hardware–DS Lite, DSi, and DSi XL–the Nintendo DS had a remarkable six-plus-year run. Games that took advantage of its touchscreen and microphone were capable of creating unique gaming experiences, the first-party line-up was a showcase of imagination, and later models of the console streamlined the design to make the DS a pocket-friendly entertainment device to carry around town in your pocket.

More Nintendo best lists

It’s worth noting that the Nintendo DS family became the bestselling line of handhelds of all time, and it accomplished this while fighting off an impressive attempt by Sony’s PSP to burst the the bubble that was Nintendo handheld dominance. Thousands of games were published on the DS, but out of all of them, we’ve rounded up 25 of the best that deserve to be in any Nintendo hall of fame thanks to the imaginative design and gripping gameplay that they brought to the table.

999: Nine Hours, Nine Person’s, Nine Doors

One of the greatest strengths of the DS was the flexibility of the handheld console, especially when it came to telling stories. Games like Hotel Dusk: Room 215–which can be found on this list, fret not–were a terrific example of visual novels finding a home here, but Chunsoft’s 999 was a masterclass in intensity and gripping suspense. SAW meets Death on the Nile, 999’s focus on escaping a dangerous cruise liner, interacting with other victims, and more plot twists than an Alfred Hitchock Blu-ray collection would keep you on edge until you got to one of its multiple endings.

Read our 999: Nine Hours, Person’s, Nine Doors review.

Advance Wars: Dual Strike

Nintendo and developer Intelligent Systems had already proven that the strategy genre could work on handheld with tweo Advance Wars titles for Game Boy Advance, but the series hit a high point when it made a splash on the Nintendo DS. The bottom touch screen of that handheld was perfect for this new take on mobile strategy, while the ability to dual-wield commanding officers on the battlefield, an expanded number of unit types to command, and the return of fan-favorite modes made this chapter in the Advance Wars series a tactical treat.

Read our Advance Wars: Dual Strike review.

Animal Crossing: Wild World

Animal Crossing may have gotten its start on the GameCube (in North America), but the first handheld entry in the series was a highlight reel of everything that made the original work and improved on it. Running your own village and customizing your character were still the primary driver here, but the introduction of online components that made the visit to neighboring villages proved that Animal Crossing was the perfect game for a market of simulation fans that enjoyed mobile gaming. Wild World was the type of game that compelled you to turn on your DS at least once per day.

Read our Animal Crossing: Wild World review.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

You can’t go wrong with any of the Castlevania games on DS, but Dawn of Sorrow is easily the series at its very best on that handheld. It masterfully nailed the balance of what made a Metroidvania great, the return of the Tactical Soul System gave players an arsenal of strategic options, and the use of the touchscreen to finish off bosses with arcane seals was a great idea that was only possible on the DS. Mechanically brilliant, Dawn of Sorrow also looked fantastic and held nothing back with it gruesome boss fights, while the soundtrack was a collection of certified bangers that helped make the game a legendary chapter in the vampire-hunting series.

Read our Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow review.

Chrono Trigger

One of the best RPGs of the SNES era was reborn on the DS, revitalizing its stunning story, gripping gameplay, and catchy audio on the handheld. Not just a straight port either, Chrono Trigger contained a staggering amount of extras such as new dungeons to explore, an extra ending, and a treasure chest of bonus material to discover. Combined with the added horsepower of the DS, touchscreen controls, and a revamped user interface that made reading the game so much better, Chrono Trigger on DS was easily the definitive version of one of the greatest RPGs of all time.

Read our Chrono Trigger review.

Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride

Dragon Quest is one of the best RPG series ever, but it struggled to find an audience in the west. The DS certainly helped in this regard, and any newcomers to Dragon Quest who picked up this DS remake of a classic fantasy adventure quickly discovered that they had been missing out on some excellent gaming over the years. Not just an RPG that boasted exquisite design, innovative ideas, and an adventure with epic stakes, Dragon Quest V was an old-school epic that deserved to reach a wider audience.

Read our Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride review.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift

There’s something undeniably charming about Final Fantasy Tactics A2 on the DS, even if it was a bit of a rough diamond. Some elements may not have been executed perfectly, but when everything else worked,it worked. The tactical gameplay was rich and nuanced, the numerous diversions, characters, and jobs added layers of strategy to the game, and the revamped law system created a game that was paradoxically relaxing and challenging.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Another example of the DS being one of the most inventive handhelds for games, Ghost Trick put you in the spectral boots of Sissel, a ghostly gumshoe. Moving around a supernatural realm by manipulating the objects around him, the real hook here was Sissel’s ability to possess a corpse so that he could learn about how they’d become a member of the recently deceased club. The kicker here? Armed with that knowledge, Sissel had only a handful of minutes to reverse those deaths, traveling to the world of the living and altering key events that would rewrite history.

Read our Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective review.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

If you ever needed an example of how a Nintendo console could shake its perception as being a toy solely for kids, then Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars was the game to have. Fueled by some impressive visuals on the handheld, Chinatown Wars was a tale of revenge, mayhem, and drug deals gone wrong on the family-friendly handheld, capped off by some great level design and use of the more innovative features of the DS. That added immersion, Rockstar polish, and solid gameplay made for one heck of a game to play, and an underrated gem in the GTA series.

Read our Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars review.

Elite Beat Agents

If you never played Elite Beat Agents, can you truly say that you’ve lived? Developer iNiS’s masterpiece of pop-tune powered crisis management is both stylish and captivating, utilizing drag and tap mechanics that were synchronized to the beat of music. Faced with mammoth problems such as unruly children or alien invasions, there was no problem that a trio of government agents couldn’t solve with their rhythmic skills, making each event a foot-tapping blast of fun. Elite Beat Agents remains one of the best rhythm games of all time.

Read our Elite Beat Agents review.

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure

Pure class, sophistication, and a tasty cup of tea, Henry’s Hatsworth’s old school adventure felt like a quirky blend of ideas at the time. A combination of Mega Man influences and the tight platforming of Super Mario, this dressed-to-impress gentleman was first-class entertainment with its fast and frantic puzzle and platforming gameplay. If you could survive some of its more challenging levels, that is. Henry Hatsworth may not have the name recognition of some of the other games on this list, but it was a standout gem that still holds up remarkably well today.

Read our Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure review.

Hotel Dusk: Room 215

Taking the idea of a visual novel quite literally, Hotel Dusk: Room 215 required you to switch the DS to a vertical position so that you could play it properly. With that virtual book-like experience in hand, a stylus in your other appendage, and all eyes focused on the screens in front of you, what unfolded was a tense mystery that was held together by superb writing, intriguing characters, and an art style that amplified the brilliant pacing of this story. Developer Cing would also produce a similar game called Another Code: Two Memories, with both innovative titles becoming essential titles on the DS. Hotel Dusk didn’t find as big of an audience as it deserved, as its sequel Last Window: The Secret of Cape West only launched in Japan and Europe.

Read our Hotel Dusk: Room 215 review.

Kirby: Canvas Curse

Nintendo’s lovable pink puff bounced onto the DS with an adventure that used the handheld’s hardware to weave a fascinating gameplay experience. Instead of directly controlling Kirby and his insatiable appetite, it’d be up to you to chart a path forward with the stylus, guiding Kirby with a finite amount of ink and walloping enemies along the way. Those elements combined to create a more mechanically inventive approach to the usual Kirby adventure, juggling both economical momentum with action-packed stylus-bashing on the touchscreen.

Read our Kirby: Canvas Curse review.

The Legend Of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass

Building on the vibrant cel-shaded style of The Wind Waker on GameCube, Zelda’s time on the DS consisted of two feature-rich titles and a trio of games starring that horrible merchant Tingle. Phantom Hourglass trumps Spirit Tracks on this list, thanks to more interesting touchscreen gameplay, better dungeons to explore, and an overworld that was breathtakingly vivid. While Phantom Hourglass isn’t really regarded as one of the best handheld entries in the iconic series, it was still a compelling adventure that stood out on the DS hardware.

Read our The Legend Of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass review.

Mario Kart DS

While its online mode may have been defined by circuits which emphasized using power slide boosts to weave your way through the grid, Mario Kart DS is still a thunderously good time featuring Nintendo heavyweights in adorable go-karts. It’s a game which arguably helped build a foundation for later and better releases, but back in 2005 this game was a tour de force of intense racing, strategic use of speed, and dreading your progress being derailed by a menacing Spiny Shell.

Read our Mario Kart DS review.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story

The Mario franchise on the DS is easily the series at its most experimental, especially with games like Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story paving the way for some truly outrageous ideas. Delving deep into the belly of the beast–quite literally!–the game’s colorful art direction, excellent audio design, and approachable gameplay made it an instant-hit. Check out the 3DS version if you can, for an even better version of an already great game.

Read our Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story review.

Meteos

A unique and mesmerizing twist on the puzzle game formula, Meteos was simply out of this world when it arrived in 2005. Tasking you with defending dozens of alien planets from extinction-level meteors that were on a collision course, the challenge of juggling varied block styles and gravitational laws made for some scintillating gameplay. The peril wasn’t insurmountable though, and with a killer soundtrack powering the race against time, each level was pure fun on the run.

Read our Meteos review.

New Super Mario Bros.

It had been an absurd amount of time since Nintendo’s favorite plumbers had starred in a traditional 2D-esque platforming game, and New Super Mario Bros. proved that the classic formula was still well worth exploring. A love letter to the NES past of Super Mario Bros., this incarnation featured terrific level design, excellent pacing, and one of the best power-ups in the history of the series. After all, what’s better than chomping down on a mega mushroom, growing to kaiju size, and bulldozing your way through a stage as a titanic version of Mario?

Read our New Super Mario Bros. review.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations

The DS console was a superb device for telling stories, but few people expected a packed courtroom to be the perfect vehicle for some of the most shocking and thrilling gameplay around when Phoenix Wright made his debut. With two games in the series already, the ace attorney was back for a third set of trials that blended the world of the supernatural with gritty legal action. The best game in the original trilogy–and one that you should really check out on Switch–Trials and Tribulations is both a fascinating story and a head-scratching collection of court cases that forces you to analyze every detail, no matter how small.

Read our Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations review.

Pokemon Heartgold and Soulsilver

Remakes of the best Pokemon games, Gold and Silver, were always going to be a smash-hit, but Nintendo went the extra mile when it gave the classic pair of Johto-region games a DS makeover. Adding multiple quality-of-life features to a familiar journey, the adventure also saw a few innovative gameplay mechanics thrown into the mix, creating a comfortable blend of nostalgia, time-honored gameplay, and vibrant visuals. If you were lucky enough to grab this game when it released, you’d even get to play around with an adorable Pokewalker accessory that allowed you to take your favorite Pokemon outside with you.

Read our Pokemon Heartgold and Soulsilver review.

Professor Layton and the Unwound Future

Solving mysteries, wearing fancy hats, and having to deal with villages full of people pretending to be the Riddler made for a great formula in the Professor Layton series of games, with the third entry easily being the franchise at its very best. It may not have been as innovative as its predecessors, but The Unwound Future offered a riveting story, genuinely fun mini-games, and some stellar brain teasers. If you’ve never played the Professor Layton games, we’d recommend starting from the beginning, though.

Read our Professor Layton and the Unwound Future review.

Radiant Historia

Crawling into bed with a DS so that you could crawl into some dungeons was an underrated selling point of that console, especially with the number of high-quality RPGs on offer. Just look at Radiant Historia, an Atlus and Headlock-developed fantasy game from the shores of Japan that wove time travel, puzzle-influenced gameplay, and a strong roster of characters into an enchanting adventure. As beautiful as it is intelligent, Radiant Historia was clearly ahead of the RPG curve when it first launched in 2011, and it wasn’t long before it established a cult following on both DS and the incoming 3DS. To see the game at its updated best, check out the 2018 updated 3DS port Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology.

Read our Radiant Historia review.

Rhythm Heaven

A game that would have you tapping both your stylus and foot to the beat of the music being piped out from the DS speakers, Rhythm heaven was pure melodic joy. Packed with content, a bizarre sense of humor, and a less-is-more approach, it’s the kind of game that you’re happy to pick up for a few beats and can easily return to whenever the mood strikes. Even better, the Megamix edition on the 3DS is a highlight reel of percussive perfection, and is still well worth picking up for anyone who feels like strumming along to some of the catchiest tunes ever committed to a handheld console.

Read our Rhythm Heaven review.

Tetris DS

Tetris is to gaming what fresh oxygen is to human lungs, an essential experience that makes life more interesting. And survivable. On the DS, the classic formula of dropping blocks and clearing lines was as strong as ever, but it was bolstered by some experimental modes and Nintendo-themed charm that made the puzzle game that much more captivating. Clearing challenges and taking part in a fantastic multiplayer mode all helped to introduce Tetris to a new generation of fans back in 2006.

Read our Tetris DS review.

The World Ends With You

Even though it was released in 2008, The World Ends With You is still easily one of the most stylish games that you can play today. That slick presentation, groundbreaking gameplay ideas, and a battle system that was truly ahead of its time may have felt too ambitious for the DS back then, but with the benefit of hindsight, it’s clear to see that developer Jupiter Corporation was way ahead of the curve. An RPG dripping with style and attitude, this groundbreaking adventure is well worth playing today. Thankfully, you don’t have to hunt down the original. The World Ends with You: Final Remix is available on Nintendo Switch. After that, make sure to check out the 2021 follow-up NEO: The World Ends with You.

Read our The World Ends With You review.

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March 11, 2022 at 12:15PM

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U.S. eliminates human controls requirement for fully automated vehicles

https://www.autoblog.com/2022/03/12/autonomous-vehicle-regulations/


WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. regulators on Thursday issued final rules eliminating the need for automated vehicle manufacturers to equip fully autonomous vehicles with manual driving controls to meet crash standards. No fully autonomous vehicles are currently for sale. 

Automakers and tech companies have faced significant hurdles to deploying automated driving system (ADS) vehicles without human controls because of safety standards written decades ago that assume people are in control.

Last month, General Motors Co and its self-driving technology unit Cruise petitioned the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for permission to build and deploy a self-driving vehicle without human controls like steering wheels or brake pedals.

The rules revise regulations that assume vehicles “will always have a driver’s seat, a steering wheel and accompanying steering column, or just one front outboard passenger seating position.”

“For vehicles designed to be solely operated by an ADS, manually operated driving controls are logically unnecessary,” the agency said.

The new rules, which were first proposed in March 2020, emphasize automated vehicles must provide the same levels of occupant protection as human-driven vehicles.

“As the driver changes from a person to a machine in ADS-equipped vehicles, the need to keep the humans safe remains the same and must be integrated from the beginning,” said NHTSA Deputy Administrator Steven Cliff.

NHTSA’s rule says children should not occupy what is traditionally known as the “driver’s” position, given that the driver’s seating position has not been designed to protect children in a crash, but if a child is in that seat, the car will not immediately be required to cease motion.

NHTSA said existing regulations do not currently bar deploying automated vehicles as long as they have manual driving controls, and as it continues to consider changing other safety standards, manufacturers may still need to petition NHTSA for an exemption to sell their ADS-equipped vehicles.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Karishma Singh)

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March 12, 2022 at 08:47AM