Month: August 2022

Categories
Technology

iRobot’s pet poop-detecting Roomba j7+ vacuum is $200 off right now

iRobot's pet poop-detecting Roomba j7+ vacuum is $200 off right now

If you’ve been on the lookout for a robot vacuum to help you clean your home, a new sale at Wellbots gives you the chance to pick up some of iRobot’s most advanced devices for less. The Roomba j7 and j7+ robo-vacs are both $200 off when you use the code ENGAGET200 at checkout, bringing them down to $399 and $599, respectively. If you want to go all-out, you can also get $200 off the Roomba s9+ using the same code and get it for $799.

Buy Roomba j7 at Wellbots – $399 Buy Roomba j7+ at Wellbots – $599 Buy Roomba s9+ at Wellbots – $799

Both the j7 series and the s9+ earned spots in our best robot vacuums guide. The j7 models are better for most people because they’re cheaper and still have a ton of advanced features. iRobot came out with these models about one year ago and billed them as their first pet poop-detecting robo-vacs. AI-driven computer vision helps these machines navigate around obstacles more efficiently, which means they should be able to avoid any accidents your pets have on your floors. Plus, if they don’t avoid the mess, iRobot promises it’ll send you a new vacuum to replace your soiled one.

In use, the Roomba j7 cleans both carpeted and hard floors well and it navigates back to its charging base before it runs out of battery. If you go for the j7+, you’ll get a clean base as well, which is essentially a garbage can attached to the charging dock into which the robot empties its bin after each job. If you really don’t like vacuuming and want to interact with your machine as little as possible, the clean base will come in handy since it can hold up to 60 days worth of debris.

As for the Roomba s9+, it’s probably overkill for most people — but it’s one of the best robot vacuums available today. It has a sleek design and, since it has 40x the suction power of a standard Roomba, it cleans floors really well and does a good job picking up pet hair. It also returns to its clean base after each job and it’ll empty its dustbin automatically. Both it and the j7 series can connect to iRobot’s mobile app, allowing you to start cleaning jobs remotely and set schedules and check in on the machine if it gets stuck anywhere in your home. iRobot’s app is another major selling point for these devices — it’s pretty straight-forward and easy to use, so if it’s your first time using a robot vacuum, it won’t be too hard to set it up and customize it to your liking.

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Australia

education ministers promise national plan

education ministers promise national plan

Programs including Teach for Australia and La Trobe University’s Nexus program already enable professionals to obtain a teaching qualification in less than two years while working in a school.

Australian Education Union federal president Correna Haythorpe, who attended the roundtable meeting, said the union had reservations about giving career changers accelerated entry into the teaching profession.

“We believe that every child deserves a fully qualified teacher,” Haythorpe said. “We don’t think that training someone up for six to eight weeks then putting them in front of the classroom and letting them develop their skills on the job over two years is an appropriate way to go.”

Haythorpe said that to retain teachers, it was important to give them proper pay and better conditions and not pit teachers against each other with performance-based bonuses.

“It’s not the case that one teacher is solely responsible for changing a student’s life; that takes a community of teachers. So if we’re serious about retaining the workforce, we have to have proper pay and conditions for everybody.”

The NSW government said ahead of the meeting that it was looking to introduce new teaching jobs with salaries of up to $130,000 a year to stop an exodus of educators.

NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said the higher salaries were about “rewarding excellence and making sure that our best teachers don’t feel that they have to leave the classroom … to get a higher salary or to get career progression”.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare speaking in Canberra, after hosting a teacher workforce conference.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare speaking in Canberra, after hosting a teacher workforce conference.Credit:alex ellinghausen

Victorian Education Minister Natalie Hutchins said the Andrews government’s recent workplace agreement with public school teachers had focused more on easing workload than boosting salaries, with a commitment to give teachers 90 minutes less face-to-face teaching time each week from next year.

“That comes at a massive investment of around $700 million, which equates to an investment in 1900 more teachers,” Hutchins said.

Associate Professor Rachel Wilson, of Sydney University’s School of Education and Social Work, said Australia already effectively had a performance-based pay system for teachers – the private school system – in which teachers often attract higher salaries.

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“We are currently the only wealthy nation that sends its brightest and most experienced teachers to our most advantaged schools,” Wilson said.

Clare said the Albanese government was keen to prioritize visa applications for international teachers who want to work in Australia.

December’s national action plan will also seek to elevate the teaching profession in response to feedback that teachers feel undervalued.

Categories
Technology

Overwatch Loot Box Sales Will End After Anniversary Remix Vol. 3 Event

Overwatch Loot Box Purchases ending soon

the Overwatch Anniversary Remix Vol. 3 event is going on, and it’ll mark the last time players can purchase loot boxes in the game. Since this game was arguably the title that first implemented the mechanic in a way the general public found acceptable, it’s truly the end of an era.

Overwatch scraps loot box purchases after six years

Blizzard previously announced that Overwatch 2 would do away with loot boxes, but the cut-off date is coming a little earlier than anticipated. In the official blog for the Overwatch Anniversary Remix Vol. 3 event, the company dropped the news that loot box purchases would end at the event’s conclusion on August 30. After that, Overwatch players can earn loot boxes as usual. However, if you have any left when Overwatch 2 launches, they’ll be automatically opened and the contents added to your armory.

While plenty of titles have had loot boxes over the years, Overwatch was one of the first that implemented them in a way that most players found tolerable. However, the mechanic has recently begun to come under fire by politicians as a form of gambling, and paid cosmetic stores and battle passes are becoming the norm. As a result, Overwatch 2 will join the likes of Apex Legends, Fortnite, and Call of Duty by adopting a similar system.

Of course, some believe Overwatch’s success inspired rampant monetization throughout the traditional gaming space. They criticize the season pass system as being as toxic as loot boxes due to its manipulation of players with limited availability cosmetics. Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is a powerful psychological tool, and it’s argued that it’s as effective (if not more) than the gambling mechanic loot boxes present in generating negative spending habits.

In other news, Activision apologies for stolen Call of Duty dog ​​skin, and Forspoken’s latest trailer was meme-tastic.

Categories
Australia

Energy ministers from across the country meet to establish a new framework for transition away from coal

Energy ministers from across the country meet to establish a new framework for transition away from coal

State, territory and federal energy ministers have started the process for significant reforms to Australia’s energy future.

The ministers met on Friday in Canberra where they received a briefing from energy market operators and the consumer watchdog on expected gas and electricity shortfalls in 2023 and 2024.

On top of the agenda was the establishment of a new National Energy Transformation Partnership (NETP) to better collaborate on Australia’s transition to greater reliance on renewables in the electricity grid.

Federal Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced that as part of the new NETP, emissions reduction would be included in the national energy objectives for market operators.

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Mr Bowen said the decision would send a “very clear” message of certainty to investors and would ensure emissions reduction is at the forefront of every aspect of energy market operators’ functions.

“This might not sound much, this is the first change to the national energy objectives in 15 years this is important,” he said in Canberra on Friday.

“It sends a very clear direction to our energy market operators that they must include emissions reduction in the work that they do.

“And the message of certainty to investors in renewable energy and transition and storage around the world that Australia is open for business, Australia is determined to reduce emissions.

“And we welcome investment to achieve it and we will provide a stable and certain policy framework.”

The ministers also agreed to extend the powers of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to better manage east coast supply shortfall risks.

It will also provide AEMO with the option of direct market participation ahead of winter 2023.

In its interim gas report, the Australian consumer watchdog warned of a serious shortfall in natural gas in 2023.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commissions (ACCC) said LNG exporters needed to redirect excess supplies to the domestic market or Australia would risk its energy security heading into next year.

It comes after AEMO intervened in the Victorian gas market to redirect excess supply from Queensland producers to avoid mass shortages in the southern state – using its emergency mechanism for the second time in history.

The ministers joined the ACCC in calling for producers to redirect excess gas to the domestic consumers rather than the lucrative export market.

NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean said it was a “non-negotiable” for his state when it came to protecting households and businesses.

“What we don’t want to see is domestic gas producers prioritizing profits and exports ahead of local users, that is a non-negotiable for us in New South Wales,” he said.

“There is going to be a shortfall in gas in 2023 and 2024. That shortfall needs to be met.

“And what we need to do is prioritize Australian gas for Australian gas users ahead of companies making super profits and exporting that gas offshore.”

His Victorian counterpart Lily D’Ambrosio shared the concerns and said the country produced “more than sufficient gas” to meet domestic needs but “too much of it was sent overseas”.

“And that’s got to change and that’s really the task of all of us and we’re all up for it. And we’ve all agreed about how we can go about doing that,” she said.

On top of the gas market reforms, the ministers also discussed a future capacity mechanism to ensure firming power in the grid during the transition away from coal.

Senior federal and jurisdictional officials have now been charged to provide options for a framework which delivers “adequate capacity, ensures orderly transition, and incentivises new investment in firm renewable energy.”

“Ministers intend to take a more active role in delivering the firming capacity needed as the system transforms and consider the best means to manage the risks of a disorderly exit of coal generation,” the joint communique said.

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Categories
Technology

Why Final Fantasy VII Remake’s VR mod is a ‘bad idea’ for gamers with motion sickness

A recent Final Fantasy VII Remake mod has made the game VR capable, but is that a good idea? (Image via Square Enix)

Thanks to a modder, Final Fantasy VII Remake players now have access to a VR mod called the “ultimate VR legs test.” The creator of the mod, Luke Ross, previously worked on GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 VR mods, though Take-Two did not appreciate the gamer’s work and sent a DMCA notice.

While it can be an immersive way to experience Cloud Strife’s adventure, is this really such a good idea? VR motion sickness is incredibly discomforting, and even people who think they won’t be affected can wind up being miserable as a result of this particular mod.

This isn’t to say that the mod is terrible or that it’s a bad idea, not at all. It is, however, going to potentially be nausea-inducing for many gamers.

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Final Fantasy VII Remake’s VR mod is an interesting but potentially nauseating idea

The notion of action RPGs set in VR is an interesting one, at the very least. It’s a way to dive deep into a game like Final Fantasy VII Remake in a way that no other experience can match.

People experienced with VR may not have issues with this particular mod, but anyone who experiences remote motion sickness will want to be aware of what they could be getting into. Several videos are available on YouTube showing the Final Fantasy VII Remake in VR, filled with constant shaky camera motions.

The writer of this piece watched several but could not get through them. The constant motion, combined with the combat and cutscenes, was nearly unbearable. A word of caution came from Luke Ross, the creator of the VR mod.

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He warned that it would “hit you with the force of a speeding steel train.” Even experienced VR gamers might have some issues playing it, but that’s not guaranteed. It’s incredibly immersive to walk into the Reactor areas and be able to look up at the skyline and see the world.

Combat was already fast and furious in Final Fantasy VII Remake, but in VR, it’s going to be multiplied by a fairly serious amount. The creator of the VR mod even talked about it briefly in a post online.

“Sooo…Tifa! And cities in the sky! And combat where the camera moves so fast that it feels like you’re riding the Formula Rossa!! What’s not to like?

It’s not just combat that would be difficult to watch either. The various driving cutscenes and events would be potentially very nauseating to endure. There’s the motorcycle stage and any cutscene that involves flipping, jumping, or quick combat.

The cutscenes and fights involving Tifa and Barret while beneath Midgar could be a horrifying experience. All that jumping, leaping, and dodging while in VR, in addition to the shaky cam from the VR headset? The writer of this piece had to take breaks when watching video clips from other YouTubers.

The wild, savage way that Cloud swings the Buster Sword when combined with constant camera motions can be incredibly taxing to watch, and gamers with motion sickness in or outside of Virtual Reality should definitely be careful before considering this particular mod for their PC version of Final Fantasy VII Remake.

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Categories
Australia

Council scopes out new Brisbane underground with suburban stations

Council scopes out new Brisbane underground with suburban stations

“The business case speaks about a 160km/hr train at 24 trains per hour.”

Wines said the faster trains would not allow for stops at McDowall and Stafford, however there would be a 750-space park-and-ride at Bridgeman Downs and another 175 spaces at Everton Park.

There would be an underground rail station at Chermside if a proposed 9.5km rail corridor from Exhibition line to Carseldine was approved. The red dotted line is the proposed underground rail line. The red full line is a new rail line on the ground from Carseldine to Strathpine.

There would be an underground rail station at Chermside if a proposed 9.5km rail corridor from Exhibition line to Carseldine was approved. The red dotted line is the proposed underground rail line. The red full line is a new rail line on the ground from Carseldine to Strathpine.Credit:North West Transportation Corridor August 2022.

Rail: Back on Track spokesman Robert Dow on Friday said the latest proposal out of the business case covered the “missing link” in the network that would also build capacity elsewhere.

“It will allow fast rail and it will allow rail services to support the new rail line from Beerwah to Maroochydore,” Dow said.

“Without it, the [rail] network doesn’t have enough capacity. It provides a way of getting trains quickly from Brisbane and up to Strathpine and on to the Sunshine Coast.”

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The business case outlines the potential for “eight to 12 additional trains in the peak hour, in addition to the 24 trains per hour service pattern by 2041”.

While Transport Minister Mark Bailey initially dismissed the motorway proposal as “feeble,” Wines called on him to be more open to a rail upgrade.

However, Bailey instead repeated his criticism of the council for considering issues outside of its control, with limited consultation, and without a way to pay for any of the options.

He said by not working with the government on the business case the council had “skewed its outcomes”.

“Robert Dow has made a much more considered and balanced contribution on this matter than the Brisbane City Council who have ignored public feedback in their business case which overwhelmingly wanted better public transport not new tollways and motorways,” Bailey told BrisbaneTimes.

“And Mr Dow did so free of charge and didn’t waste $10 million of taxpayer’s funds as the LNP have done with this business case.”

Bailey said the state government was focussed on delivering the Cross River Rail project, and would also look at “further enhancement of rail services between the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane” as part of planning for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

Member for Aspley Bart Mellish welcomed the council’s decision not to develop the corridor.

“There has been a lot of local opposition to it understandably for the reasons they identified, with its environmental values, and it is now pretty well built-up,” the Labor MP said.

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“People have bought these big large blocks out there and don’t want a motorway coming through their suburbs.”

Mellish agreed there should be a debate about long-term solutions to traffic congestion on Brisbane’s north-side.

Categories
Technology

Spellslingers Is A New Card Game From Magic The Gathering Series Available Now

Spellslingers Is A New Card Game From Magic The Gathering Series Available Now

Featuring iconic characters from the Magic The Gathering universe, Spellslingers is a brand new game with unique gameplay that will offer a different yet familiar card battle experience.

Today, Wizards of the Coast officially unveiled the soft launch of Spellslingers, a new spin-off from the Magic The Gathering franchise on PC and mobile. This new Magic The Gathering entry is still a card-based PvP game, but with quite a different set of rules compared to what you have experienced in the Magic The Gathering Arena.

Spellslingers introduces a hero-based deck system, where unlocking every new character, known as Spellslingers, will result in access to 30 new cards based on the abilities of the unlocked Spellslinger.

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Currently, the game features 16 playable Spellslingers across all platforms, but it’s yet to be seen whether the roster will be expanded in the future. No announcement for extra heroes has been made bat this time.

The overall gameplay experience is similar to Blizzard’s Hearthstone, which makes it a familiar game for veteran Hearthstone fans, but with the aesthetics of a Magic The Gathering game. That being said, you are going to face many challenges to find the deck that will suit your playstyle best.

Aside from its PvP game mode which is the core of Spellslingers, the game also features a Team section, where players can either form or join a team to share resources and decks, or trade cards for getting the necessary materials to build new cards. This already sounds like the Clan feature in Clash Royale, but there won’t be any team-based battles in Spellslingers.

Bear in mind that Spellslingers has already been available for a limited amount of players, but today’s soft launch brings a polished version of the game with full content for players on all platforms. You can download the game for free from the iOS App Store, Google Play, or Steam.

You already have a long road ahead to grind for unlocking all the playable Spellslingers. So, if you feel like this is the game you are going to play for a long time, it’s better to start now!

Categories
Australia

Chief law officer warns coercive control ‘widespread problem’ in Australia

Chief law officer warns coercive control 'widespread problem' in Australia

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has warned the scourge of coercive control is a widespread problem throughout the nation as he begins work with his state and territory counterparts to establish a nationally consistent response to the psychological abuse.

The nation’s chief law officers met on Friday to agree to a draft statement of principles, which will now go out for consultation, on the best way to recognize the abusive pattern of behavior which is steadily gathering more attention.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has warned coercive control is a widespread problem.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has warned coercive control is a widespread problem.Credit:eddie jim

They also agreed to adopt more consistent measures to allow the criminal justice system to better respond to sexual assault in response to calls by former Australian of the Year Grace Tame.

Coercive control is generally recognized as an abusive pattern of behavior which includes controlling what someone wears, limiting access to money, tracking their location, controlling whom they see, and persistent texting. It can be a precursor to physical violence.

The awareness of coercive control has grown significantly since the murder of Hannah Clarke and her three young children by her estranged husband, Rowan Baxter, in Brisbane in 2020. While Baxter had not previously been physically violent, he had subjected Clarke to escalating forms of controlling and possessive behaviour.

Clarke’s father, Lloyd, and his wife, Sue, have spearheaded a campaign to criminalize coercive control in Queensland, this week saying it was “fantastic” that the issue was being discussed at a national level because it was poorly understood.

Dreyfus said on Saturday that the tragic death of Clarke and her children was “absolutely a catalyst” for action to be taken on the development of a nationally consistent approach.

“But sadly, no one should think that the tragedy that occurred with Hannah Clarke and her children was an isolated incident and that’s, of course, why we are taking this collective action,” he said.

“It’s not, sadly, an isolated incident. We know that coercive control is a widespread problem. We know that we need to do more to recognize this problem.”

Categories
Technology

GeForce Now brings thunder with Rumbleverse

GeForce Now brings thunder with Rumbleverse

GeForce Now is bringing a day-one release to the cloud service called Rumbleverse, a battle royale with a slight twist. On top of that, Worms Crazy Golf is finally available on Amazon Luna.

Bandwidth is 9to5Google’s weekly look at the cloud gaming market beyond Google’s own Stadia platform. Every Friday, we take a look at the biggest news regarding services such as Nvidia GeForce Now, Amazon Luna, PlayStation Now, and Xbox Game Pass, among others. Come back weekly, and don’t forget to check out Stadia Changelog, our weekly roundup of everything new on Stadia.

Rumbleverse on GeForce Now

GeForce Now has a very interesting lineup this week, including a new game from Epic Games Publishing that takes a lot of cues from Fortnite. The new game is called Rumbleverse, and it combines battle royale with melee combat in a very goofy way.

Rather than running around a huge playing field trying to find ranged weapons and stake out until you see someone running out in the open, Rumbleverse has you seeking others out to take them on, hand-to-hand. There are still weapons – stop signs, baseball bats, and the like – that you can ruin people’s day with, but you need to be ready to get down and dirty. Rumbleverse is a day-one release on GeForce Now, which means once you get it from Epic Games, you can play it in the cloud on GFN.

Besides Rumbleverse, there are a few other games worth mentioning from GeForce Now:

Worms Crazy Golf on Amazon Luna

A couple of weeks ago, Amazon Luna announced this month’s lineup with games like Dusk and Worms Crazy Golf, but without release dates. Well, Dusk came last week to Luna and this week brings Worms Crazy Golf.

In classic Worms style, Worms Crazy Golf has a very sinister twist – around every corner is violence, with explosions and setbacks to knock you off your game. Worms Crazy Golf is a fun addition to Amazon Luna’s Family Channel. The game is available now to play.

Boosteroid gets Northgard

Boosteroid is one of the lesser-known game streaming services out there, especially in the US. Of course, that doesn’t mean the service has nothing to offer. In fact, it houses some hard-to-find games for streaming.

Besides that, Boosteroid has a fun offering this week – Northgard. Northgard is a game set in the Viking-era north. The game is about making your claim to the land, sailing exploration ships, and defeating the threats that stop you from claiming and setting Northgard. Northgard is available now to play on Boosteroid.

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Categories
Australia

Why hundreds of people are tripping and falling near trains

Hundreds of melbourne commuters are tripping and falling near trains because they’re glued to their mobile phones.

CCTV on the rail network has captured near-misses and examples of inattention near oncoming trains.

In one shocking video, a distracted commuter stumbled over the yellow line before he fell off the platform and onto the track.

Hundreds of Melbourne commuters are tripping and falling near trains because they're glued to their mobile phones.
Hundreds of Melbourne commuters are tripping and falling near trains because they’re glued to their mobile phones. (9News)

While the train managed to stop in time, incidents such as this have prompted a warning from Metro Trains.

“Don’t take risks around the rail network, be safe,” CEO Raymond O’Flaherty said.

CCTV captured another incident at the Prahran Station level crossing where a pedestrian bypassed the boom games, waited for the train pass, and then walked to the other side.

According to new data, there were more than 380 slips, trips and falls across the city’s train network in the past year.

More than half of those resulted in injuries and trespassing was the most common safety risk.

Every mishap has the potential to cripple the entire network and potentially affect about 50,000 commuters.

Safety concerns also arise when commuters are rushing to get the train.

One woman had a misstep and fell in a rush to catch a city train.

She became wedged in the gap between the platform and the train but fortunately she was pulled to safety by safety workers

CCTV captured another incident at the Prahran Station level crossing where a pedestrian bypassed the boom games, waited for the train pass and walked to the other side.
CCTV captured another incident at the Prahran Station level crossing where a pedestrian bypassed the boom games, waited for the train pass and walked to the other side. (9News)

Station delivery manager Chloe Smith said railway workers “see a lot of injuries that are absolutely avoidable.”

“We have more services than we’ve ever had before – so if you don’t catch that train, please don’t run for it,” Smith said.

“There will be another one coming really soon.”

The vision has been released as part of Rail Safety Week, as a part of a range of measures to try and curb dangerous behaviour.

In addition to this, the government is building extra safety fencing to prevent trespassing.

Public transport, roads and road safety minister Ben Carroll urged commuters to be careful.

“Catch the trains safely, be mindful of others,” Carroll said.