Media Convergence Initiative

Hulk Hogan wins $115 Million Lawsuit against Gawker media for stolen sex tape.

Posted on March 20, 2016 by theblacklink

In a bout that read like a headline straight from the WWE, Hulk Hogan has veritably leg dropped the media conglomerate, Gawker, in a $115 million lawsuit over the posting of a hidden camera sex tape of the former wrestler posted on the media companies many websites. The sex tape was made about 10 years ago, during a period in which Hogan (Terry Bollea) testified that he was going through a difficult phase with his then-wife. Todd Clem, the Florida radio personality better known as Bubba the Love Sponge, encouraged Hogan to sleep with his wife Heather. However, in 2012, Hogan wound up suing Clem, stating that he didn’t know he was secretly being filmed and did not consent to Gawker receiving the tape.

Gawker was then issued with a court order to take down the video, they immediately refused, posted a blog style response refusing to obey the order, and left the video up. This prompted the lawsuit from Hogan that has now ended in a $115 million verdict that may very well end up bankrupting Gawker. The trial itself has been a wild ride, giving a deeper look into Gawker’s cultural ecosystem and displaying some truly confusing motives during cross-examination. At one point during the trial, former Gawker editor-in-chief A.J. Daulerio was questioned about the newsworthiness of celebrity sex tapes, sarcastically responded that a sex tape involving a 4-year old would be the age limit. Overall the jury felt more than compelled to award Hogan the verdict off $115 million in damages plus punitive charges, ultimately stating that the posting of the sex tape was not only not newsworthy, it was also done with malicious intent and had clearly harmed Hogan’s well being. The case was essentially considered a slam dunk for the former wrestler and may serve as the killing stroke to a media company that is well reviled across the internet.

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Quantum Break and it’s Inability to Run at 1080p

Posted on March 20, 2016 by kayleighladerman

Quantum Break is an upcoming action-adventure third-person-shooter created by Remedy Entertainment, creators of such titles as Alan Wake and Max Payne, set to be released exclusively on Xbox One in April, 2016. The game has recently been sent out in demo version to a number of content creators and gaming news websites, and one in particular, “Digital Foundry”, analyzed the game’s pixel count per screen and found that despite Remedy’s claims that the game will run natively at 1080p, the game actually has only been seen performing in 720p.

For many people, the difference between 720p and 1080p is not something that they often notice or point out. However, when it comes to the PC gaming crowd and hardcore movie buffs, they will always notice the tiny discrepancies in screen “crispness” in the same way an audiophile will always know if a music file is in MP3 or OGG format. However, these changes are quite small – some games and movies even use other methods to achieve a 1080p look while technically only running at 720p, like MSAA or Anti-aliasing to smooth out the picture.

Some gamers are in an uproar, using this moment to attack Microsoft for not delivering on their “4K resolution games” promise they made when the Xbox One was first announced. Others are using the event to point out and laugh at console gaming in general, claiming this generation of consoles is barely a step up over the last generation. These people often will value games more for how graphically intensive they are than for what the actual gameplay consists of. For instance, the popular first-person-shooter Crysis was touted, on release, to be the best looking, most difficult to run game ever. People flocked to buy the game, to test their PC’s strengths, and many most likely used this as an excuse to upgrade their computer. In reality, despite the graphics, the game was ultimately mediocre, not having much to differentiate it in terms of gameplay compared to other modern and even slightly dates shooters. One of the top-rated first-person-shooters of all time, Half-Life 2, was almost never hailed for how amazing the game looked, and more for how fluidly it played and the story it presented.

Overall, Remedy has been a studio that has consistently released games of a high quality, and I doubt Quantum Break will break that mold. When the game releases, I’m sure many of these people using it as an excuse to launch an attack will still purchase the game, or they never were even going to buy it in the first place. Remedy’s last game, Alan Wake, also had a resolution lower than 720p and used scaling tricks to make the game look better, and that game sold very well and got high praise from critics. Never judge a game by it’s screenshots, as that’s how you end up purchasing beautifully detailed, but ultimately painfully boring or mediocre games.

Posted in Audio/Video, Entertainment | Comments Off

Speaker Paul Ryan responds to Donald Trump’s remarks about riots

Posted on March 20, 2016 by steven_bardsley

On an interview with CNN, Donald Trump responded to the idea of whether the GOP convention this upcoming summer would choose someone other than him.

“I think you’d have riots. I think you’d have riots. I’m representing a tremendous many, many millions of people.” His interview was with CNN’s “New Day.

The theoretical conversation came to light after the delegate counts began to come in after the Super Tuesday results this recent week. While Trump lost Ohio’s 66 delegates, he remains the party front-runner and still needs to reach the 1,237 delegates needed to obtain the presentational nomination from the GOP convention in the summer.

However, despite what Trump may or may not want, Republican House Speaker was not fond of the front-runners comments about the GOP convention and the response that voters might have if Trump were to not be selected as the Republican presidential candidate.

“Nobody should say such things,” he noted. “In my option, because to even address or hint at violence is unacceptable.”

Speaker Ryan has spoken out against Trump’s remarks on Muslims and his failure to denounce the KKK, whom had a notable member endorse Trump’s candidacy.

Despite attempts to settle the air, tensions still continue to rise as the GOP convention draws closer. Rumors are floating about that a third-party candidate might be in the works to run against whomever is chosen as the two main party candidates. Former candidate Marco Rubio, has noted that “a Trump nomination would fracture the party and be damaging to the conservative movement.”

Speaker Ryan has noted that while it could be a more open convention, however he believes in the democratic process. Speaker Ryan also noted he believes the best nominee will be voted by the people, through their respective primary process.

Paul Ryan has not actively endorsed any of the GOP candidates due to his position in the convention. He’s also denied rumors of himself being selected to run for the presidency.

Posted in Economy, General, Politics, World News | Tagged 2016 Election, Donald Trump, GOP Convention | Comments Off

Food Safety Group Deems Splenda Unsafe After Research Proves it Causes Illnesses

Posted on March 20, 2016 by brookeadams91

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a nonprofit food safety and consumer watchdog group, is warning consumers about the active ingredient in Splenda. Sucralose, the active ingredient, can be harmful to human health and can cause leukemia as well as other blood cancers. Splenda is a well known sugar substitute that is widely used in the United States and is found in many products such as diet sodas.

The CSPI altered its safety rating for Splenda as well as for sucralose. Once rated as “caution,” the two items are now rated “avoid.” The food safety group cites a recent study conducted by an independent laboratory, the Ramazzini Institute, as their source for this new information on the artificial sweetener.

The Ramazzini Institute’s study, which was published in the peer-reviewed international Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health on January 29th, tested the effects of Splenda on male mice. Researchers formed five groups of male mice and gave each group different amounts of sucralose. The amounts of sucralose given to the groups were 0, 500, 2,000, 8,000, and 16,000 parts per million (ppm).

The study found that the mice, who were fed these doses from 12 days of gestation until their death, had 10 percent increased incidences of malignant cancer if they ate higher concentrations. The mice who were fed 2,000 ppm as well as the mice who were fed 16,000 ppm had an increased incidence of leukemia in addition to related blood cancers when compared to the group of mice who were not fed sucralose. These findings have led the CSPI to ask consumers to pause before using any of the 4,500 products that contain Splenda.

Posted in General, Health | Tagged health concern, splenda | Comments Off

The Internet of Things Puts Humanity on the Shore of New Age

Posted on March 20, 2016 by dsarden17

Throughout human history, new developments and uses for technology have begun new ages for innovation and growth. These developments often change the way industries are run and even the world. A perfect example is the assembly line. This innovation to how things were made soon became the norm. The assembly line changed all of manufacturing from that moment on.

Now the development of internet technology finds us at a point where the world around us will be obsolete compared to everything that comes after. The Internet of Things is a term used to describe taking inanimate objects and connecting them to the internet. This capability comes with great advancements in other forms of technology as well including: semi-conductors, wireless technology, and the availability of reliable internet connections.

The Internet of Things can be applied to anything: appliances, buildings, cities. Manufacturers will be able to improve efficiency. Driverless car technology will be able to advance. Entire cities will be connected. All of humanity will see a line of demarcation in history.

Before the Internet of Things, most things operated independently with one another, unless someone made those things work together. Your alarm clock at home was separated from your pocket watch and cell phone. However, as we move forward there will be a time that all of our devices will have the capability of being able to communicate with one another.

While this could send all of us hurtling closer to obsolescence, we have to accept that our world is going to change, and our children’s children will live in a world entirely different than we had ever experienced. They will live in a world where they will have greater freedom than we’ve ever experienced.

http://www.govtech.com/fs/internet/How-Will-the-Internet-of-Everything-Impact-Everything.html

Posted in General | Comments Off

America, World Bankers, and Suddam Hussein what do they all have in Common and the Irony behind all of it.

Posted on March 20, 2016 by ashley riordan

By Shawn Presley

So being the YouTube junkie that I am, I randomly came across an interesting video, it was the trial of Suddam Hussein. Now before you go all American Patriot on me, I must admitt there were some pretty interesting things that were stated.

Throughout the trial Suddam mentioned how he was beaten and even robbed for some personal items such as jewelry and cash by American troops. Not to mention his constant rhetoric all this all was some lie cooked up by the Americans. That got me thinking, maybe America is not some righteous out to ride the world of evil like we all like to believe country; so with my abundance of free time, I though it wouldn’t be robbery to do a little light research.

I actually discovered that Suddam Hussein’s crime against the mighty United States was the fact he began to sell his countries oil to other nations for Gold. Now if you’ve been under a rock for the past half century you may know the Federal Reserve prints the nations money and loans it to us with an interests of course. The reason this is detrimental to the US is because the selling of goods for gold was done away with around 1970 under president Nixon, when we went off the gold standard system. This ultimately costs Suddam his life because he was bypassing the powers that be and ultimately robbing them. So we created the Weapons of Mass Destruction accusation and, well, you know the rest.

I thought this newsworthy because as much of an American I am and how I Love this country and the freedoms we enjoy, I’m ultimately a victim to the self serving propaganda to the states and how it is used to push forth their agenda. It made me wonder that other nations we pity such as south Korea, we are actually not so different.

Posted in War and Conflicts, World News | Comments Off

After being open for 39 years Wet N Wild will be closing down this year but something new will be replacing it…

Posted on March 20, 2016 by maxlolbutzlol

There has been a lot of talk about if they will really close down this water park and sadly it is true. Wet N Wild has been open since 1977 in Orlando Florida and many people across the world have traveled to experience the theme park. I myself have been to Wet N Wild and I have truly enjoyed it. Even though I cannot swim I had a very fun and safe time while i was there. With 30 acres of water and more then 17 water slides and more then enough lifeguards on the clock to keep us safe why would the park be closing down? The reason is because of the sales, for the past few years Wet N Wild has seen a lose of ticket sales compared to what they use to be. Could it be because people are getting tired of the old theme park? When you compare Wet N Wild to Islands of Adventure you see that Island of Adventure always has a new attraction every now and then. People love to see and enjoy new things. Customers get tired of paying the same high price for the same exact thing every year. Something has to change!

The people have spoken and the owners have listen. They are creating a brand new water theme park around the same location and they are calling it Volcano Bay, what they are doing with the original Wet N Wild location is still a mystery but this new water park will bring a lot of old and new customers back, including myself. Hopefully this new water park will meet or exceed everyone expectation and also this new theme park stay consistent and learn from previous mistakes.

Posted in Business, Economy, General | Comments Off

March Madness is Madness! 2016 NCAA Tournament

Posted on March 20, 2016 by shane sackett

It’s the month of upsets, March Madness is the most exciting and chaotic month for college basketball, with 64 teams entering the NCAA tournament only one can come out victorious. Favorites like Duke, UNC, Kansas, Miami, and Villanova are all contending for the title this year.

Miami being the first team to make the Sweet 16 this year, beating Wichita State 65-57, led by senior and Miami native Angel Rodriguez. Miami looks to make a strong push in this year’s tournament.

Unfortunately it cant be a cinderella story for all the competitor’s, teams like Michigan State who were heavily favored win it all fell short to say the least, losing in the first round to Middle Tennessee. Spartans player Denzel Valentine wrote: “Definitely not what I had in mind the way my college career ended.” Although saddened Valentine thanked Spartan nation for his 4 years at Michigan State.

Another team with promise that left the dance early this year was Baylor who got out rebounded, out scored, and out played by underdogs Yale. Baylor senior Taurean Prince was asked after the game how Yale out rebounded Baylor? Prince gives a very accurate answer “You go up and grab the ball off the rim when it comes off,” he said, “and then you grab it with two hands, and you come down with it, and that’s considered a rebound. So they got more of those than we did.”

It still remains to be seen who will win it all. The only thing that is certain is no one knows what is going to happen.

Posted in Sports | Comments Off

The NY Times fights Against Ad Blockers

Posted on March 20, 2016 by jsantana0410

Ad blockers have gained more popularity recently for the smoother browsing experience, reduced time loading pages and less data usage they offer. Now it is easier than ever to get them, partly granted by Apple’s iOS 9, which now allows ad blocking apps as well as Google Play Store and Samsung.

The technology is a threat for online publishers who depend heavily on the revenue from ads to stay in business.

The NY Times has recently started testing new ways to beat ad blockers by presenting messages to its readers with the intention of keeping them from using the technology.

One of the messages users can expect to see reads: “The best things in life aren’t free. You currently have an ad blocker installed. Advertising helps fund our journalism. To continue to enjoy The Times, please support us in one of the following ways.”

Readers are then given two options- to subscribe to the publication or “whitelist” it to automatically stop the ad blocker on the Times’ website. There is always the choice of deleting the ad blocker itself as well, but subscribing or whitelisting is good enough for The Times.

It is still unclear what happens to the users who do not choose one of the two options offered, but a spokesperson for The Times said that they’re testing various options and the publisher’s main goal is to inform the public of the harm of ad blocking and encourage whitelisting since digital advertising is what funds The Times’ ability to create quality content.

Posted in Entertainment, Science and Technology | Comments Off

Lauren B. Wins The Bachelor

Posted on March 18, 2016 by dgantea

For some people, Monday nights are usually just another ordinary night. You come home from work, eat dinner, and go to sleep just waiting for the week to be over. For me, I wait all day for 8pm to come around so I can feed my Bachelor addiction. Aka, drool over Ben Higgins and rant about how I should be his fiance. A lot of people don’t really understand the show, and some find it absolutely ludicrous, but I am utterly obsessed with watching these women go out of their way to make Ben fall in love with them.

I have not always been a fan of The Bachelor. Before this season, I had never watched a single episode. However, one of my sorority sisters was chosen as one of the 28 women who were given the opportunity to compete for the love of Ben Higgins. So I obviously had to start watching. She went home on the first episode, but I stuck around each week to see what the show was really all about…and I became addicted.

On the season finale, two women were left for Ben to choose. Lauren B. was Ben’s favorite from the beginning, after he said that she took his breath away from the first moment she stepped out of the limo. And JoJo also had Ben swooned, however he was hesitant about starting a relationship with her after finding out that he did not have her entire family’s approval. He did in fact tell both women that he was in love with them, something that is apparently not common in the history of the show. In the end, he chose Lauren B., which was inevitable but everyone really was rooting for JoJo because Lauren B. was always kind of annoying. I still cannot pin point what I actually didn’t like about her, but JoJo was like the underdog that was beautiful and never cause any serious drama (unlike Lauren B.) so everyone wanted her to win.

Although JoJo did not get the giant ring and sweet proposal from Mr. Higgins, she did not walk away from the show empty handed. She is going to be the new Bachelorette! Starting next season, she will be on the other side of the rose ceremony handing them out rather than praying to receive one. Watching The Bachelorette will be another first for me, but I can’t wait to see who she ends up with!