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Payday dev collaborating with Valve on Left 4 Dead ‘co-operative initiative’

Payday dev collaborating with Valve on Left 4 Dead ‘co-operative initiative’

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Payday: The Heist studio Overkill Software and Valve Software are working on … something together. What that something is remains to be seen, as Overkill game director Ulf Andersson only described the collaboration as a “co-operative initiative” between the two companies. We do know that it’ll involve both Overkill’s Payday: The Heist and Valve’s Left 4 Dead – two team-focused four-player co-operative romps (enough hyphens for you?).

“We are working on a very cool blend of Payday and Left 4 Dead,” Andersson wrote on his company’s official site. “I am sure it is so exciting that it will have some players check into the hospital before we are done.” Oh, hospital, you say? We see what you’re doing there, you crazy Swedes you!

Andersson apparently couldn’t help himself, and added one more zombie-themed quip. “Keep an eye out for more on this infectious and developing story.” We know at least one guy we won’t be letting into the safe house.

JoystiqPayday dev collaborating with Valve on Left 4 Dead ‘co-operative initiative’ originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 21 May 2012 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Joystiq

May 21, 2012 0 comments Read More
Some HTC phones released from Customs after Apple patent ploy stalls shipments

Some HTC phones released from Customs after Apple patent ploy stalls shipments


HTC Smartphones Customs

HTC on Sunday announced that some of its smartphones have already been inspected by United States Customs and have been released to carriers. The Taiwan-based vendor hit a roadblock last week when its devices were held up in Customs due to an ongoing legal dispute with Apple. “Each imported HTC model must be reviewed by Customs and will be released once Customs officials have completed the inspection,” the company wrote on its website. “Some models have gone through inspection and been released to our carriers customers. We don’t have the status of each specific device model at this time, but we are working closely with Customs. We remain confident that this issue will be resolved soon.” Earlier reports suggested that HTC is using a custom Android build in the U.S. to dodge the Apple patents in question, which revolve around a “data tapping” functionality.

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May 21, 2012 0 comments Read More
AMC theater chain to become largest-ever Chinese acquisition of a US company

AMC theater chain to become largest-ever Chinese acquisition of a US company

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AMC Entertainment Holdings, North America’s second-largest movie theater chain, will soon be acquired by a Chinese real estate and entertainment conglomerate. The Dalian Wanda Group Co., which owns hotels, department stores, and theaters, announced that it would buy AMC (not to be confused with the separate Mad Men network) for $ 2.6 billion, making it the biggest-ever Chinese purchase of an American company. For comparison, Lenovo was able to buy IBM’s PC business for $ 1.75 billion in 2004.

For AMC, the buyout is a windfall. The company has been losing money for three years, although its CEO says strong ticket sales made it profitable this year, and Wanda’s payment will let it pay off debts and renovate its theaters with IMAX and 3D…

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The Verge – All Posts

May 21, 2012 0 comments Read More
Max Payne 3 shoots past Diablo 3 on UK Charts

Max Payne 3 shoots past Diablo 3 on UK Charts

Max has beaten a lot of personal demons, but last week he took on the Diablo at retail and won. According to Chart-Track, Max Payne 3 outperformed the previous sequel (from 2003) nearly 10 to 1.

Chart-Track also noted the third installment in the Payne series bested Diablo 3 by only about 8,000 sales. With Max Payne 3 only available through disc-based sales and Diablo 3 available through digital distribution, it would be fair to guess Diablo actually sold more. That is, if you believe Diablo 3 sold over 8,000 units online in the UK last week.

The rest of the top ten are the usual suspects. So, pop some pain killers and shoot past the break for the UK top ten.

Continue reading Max Payne 3 shoots past Diablo 3 on UK Charts

JoystiqMax Payne 3 shoots past Diablo 3 on UK Charts originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 21 May 2012 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 21, 2012 0 comments Read More
China approves Google’s Motorola buy, demands Android remain open

China approves Google’s Motorola buy, demands Android remain open


Google Motorola Acquisition Approved

The United States Department of Justice approved Google’s $ 12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility this past February, but the massive deal awaited the blessing of one more major regulatory body before it could go through. This past weekend, China’s Ministry of Commerce followed the DOJ’s lead and granted Google permission to acquire the struggling vendor. China’s MOC did have a condition Google must honor if it moves forward with the deal, however: Android must remain open-source and freely available. Google announced last August that it intended to acquire Motorola Mobility for $ 12.5 billion, and the deal is expected to close in the coming months.

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May 21, 2012 0 comments Read More
EU finds four potential antitrust offenses in Google search, prefers to resolve them amicably

EU finds four potential antitrust offenses in Google search, prefers to resolve them amicably

eu origami_640

After 18 months of investigation into Google’s search practices, the European Commission has found four particular areas of concern where the search engine giant may be exploiting its market dominance to the detriment of competition. Those have been set out by Joaquín Almunia, EC Vice President responsible for Competition Policy, who has also stressed the Commission’s desire to get them settled “without having to engage in adversarial proceedings.” Citing Google’s continued willingness to work through any issues identified by the European regulator, Almunia expresses hope that remedies to the problematic aspects of Google’s business practices can be negotiated swiftly and amicably.

The investigation was started in November 2010,…

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The Verge – All Posts

May 21, 2012 0 comments Read More
Unofficial concept video demonstrates some cool new ideas for Google Calendar, Contacts, and Maps

Unofficial concept video demonstrates some cool new ideas for Google Calendar, Contacts, and Maps

Russian Google unofficial concept video

Last year’s rollout of a refreshed UI across Google’s essential suite of web apps proved that the company isn’t afraid to experiment with design. Now, a group of Russian designers have offered up a video containing some additional changes they’d like to see at some point in the future. Titled “Google New Features,” at first glance the YouTube clip almost looks like it came directly from the folks in Mountain View, focusing on usability upgrades to Calendar, Maps, and Contacts. Sadly, the maligned Google Reader layout doesn’t seem to be on the design firm’s radar.

The concept video teases some intriguing updates to Calendar, including the ability to create events spanning multiple days from the default view, and a feature that auto…

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The Verge – All Posts

May 21, 2012 0 comments Read More
Wiki-History shows the chronology and conversation around Wikipedia edits

Wiki-History shows the chronology and conversation around Wikipedia edits

wiki-history

Wikipedia lives and dies by its edits, and the process of adding information to the site is not without controversy. With debates flaring up around most pages dedicated to contentious subject matter, the edit history of the page itself can be a valuable source for points of view that don’t make it into the article for long. That’s the thinking behind NYU Tisch student Kate Tibbets’ Wiki-History interface, which presents every edit to a page along a chronological slider.

It’s based on the idea that an article’s edit history contains a conversation which is vital to understanding the article’s topic. The result is a teaching and research tool that resists the tendency to narrow history into an overly-simplified narrative, while remaining…

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The Verge – All Posts

May 21, 2012 0 comments Read More
UK bookstore chain Waterstones signs deal with Amazon to sell Kindle alongside its own services

UK bookstore chain Waterstones signs deal with Amazon to sell Kindle alongside its own services

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Waterstones, one of the UK’s largest booksellers, has signed a deal with Amazon to sell Kindle devices together with “new e-reading services.” Details of the partnership are very thin at present, with more announcements said to be coming this fall. James Daunt, Managing Director of Waterstones, said that the store won’t simply be reselling the Kindle, but rather offering its own services on top:

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The Verge – All Posts

May 21, 2012 0 comments Read More
UK bookstore chain Waterstones signs deal with Amazon to sell Kindle alongside its own services

UK bookstore chain Waterstones signs deal with Amazon to sell Kindle alongside its own services

Photo

Waterstones, one of the UK’s largest booksellers, has signed a deal with Amazon to sell Kindle devices together with “new e-reading services.” Details of the partnership are very thin at present, with more announcements said to be coming this fall. James Daunt, Managing Director of Waterstones, said that the store won’t simply be reselling the Kindle, but rather offering its own services on top:

Continue reading…

The Verge – All Posts

May 21, 2012 0 comments Read More