• Tech Solution

    GamesBeat Decides the game of the year

    Nothing exemplifies the power of the human spirit through a tumultuous time like arguing about video games. And thankfully, GamesBeat is comprised of four heroes who are willing and ready to do just that. During a more than two hour online video conference, which you can watch in the video above, GamesBeat editors Mike Minotti, Jason Wilson, Jeff Grubb, and Dean Takahashi chose and ranked the top 10 best games of the year. You can follow along with the full discussion yourself, or you can scroll down to the final results. Here are the best games of 2020: 10. Yakuza: … Read More

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  • News

    Samsung vice chairman Jay Y. Lee faces nine-year sentence in bribery case – TechCrunch

    Samsung Electronics vice chairman Jay Y. Lee faces a nine-year prison term in the bribery case that contributed to the downfall of former president Park Guen-hye. Prosecutors argued that the length of the sentence is warranted because of Samsung’s power as the largest chaebol, or family-owned conglomerate, in South Korea. “Samsung is a group with such overwhelming power that it is said Korean companies are divided into Samsung and non-Samsung,” they said during a final hearing on Wednesday, reports the Korea Herald. The final ruling is scheduled for January 18. The bribery case is separate from another trial Lee is … Read More

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  • Tech Solution

    Why 2020 was a pivotal, contradictory year for facial recognition

    “The Clearview story really freaked a lot of people out—as it should,” says Jameson Spivack, a policy associate at Georgetown University’s Center on Privacy and Technology. Many of the concerns focus on how fragmented the field is. While major companies like IBM and Microsoft are significant forces, there are also lots of smaller private companies, like ClearviewAI and NtechLab, that operate with little public oversight. The reporting also exposed how little the public knew about the widespread government use of the technology. The catalyst: Race protests These stories raised awareness of the problems, but Spivack says the Black Lives Matter … Read More

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    New York licenses GMO Internet to issue the first JPY-pegged stablecoin – TechCrunch

    The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has approved Tokyo-based GMO Internet to launch GYEN, the first stablecoin pegged to the Japanese yen. GMO Internet, an internet conglomerate that offers a large array of services, including domain hosting, online advertising and what it claims is the world’s largest foreign exchange trading platform, will set up GMO-Z.com Trust Company (GMO Trust) to issue GYEN and ZUSD, a USD-pegged stablecoin. Both will start selling outside of Japan next month. In a press announcement, GMO Trust said it had also made strategic partnerships with global digital asset exchanges to ensure the liquidity … Read More

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    Blue-collar games were great in 2020 because they’re about perseverance

    Before writing about games, I had a lot of different jobs. I sorted packages at a FedEx facility, I built delivery pallets at a Kroger distribution center, and I worked as a courier. Now that I spend all day at a desk thinking about video games, I definitely harbor a slight longing for something more physical. But games are actually fantastic at emulating the world of blue-collar jobs, and I found myself turning to that more this year than ever before. And I also realized that it’s because these games are so good at replicating a certain kind of real-world … Read More

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    Tencent backs Chinese healthcare portal DXY in $500M round – TechCrunch

    DXY, a 20-year-old online healthcare community for Chinese consumers and healthcare organizations like Pfizer, announced this week that it has raised $500 million in a new round led by private equity firm Trustbridge Partners. Existing backer Tencent and Hillhouse Capital also participated in the round, which lifted the firm’s total funding to over $660 million to date. DXY’s earlier investors include Xiaomi founder Lei Jun’s Shunwei Capital, Legend Capital and DCM. The company started out as a knowledge-sharing platform for doctors and has over time added a consumer-facing aspect by bringing wellness advice and medical consultation services to the … Read More

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