Besides making one of the most influential VR games to date, Valve also made sure Half-Life: Alyx was just as moddable as its other iconic titles. And thankfully there’s no shortage of talented modders out there who have built extended campaigns and new levels for the PC VR shooter.
One such HLA modder is Nate ‘Polygrove’ Grove, an Environment Artist and Designer at game publisher Annapurna Interactive, which is known for titles such as Outer Wilds, Stray, and What Remains of Edith Finch.
Last Friday Grove released their first solo HLA mod project, called ‘Re-Education’, something the environment artist calls a “medium-length campaign (30 minutes to an hour) featuring standard Half-Life Alyx style gameplay with a focus on slower pacing and environmental storytelling.”
You can check out the trailer below:
In Re-Education, the idea is to scavenge, explore, and make the dangerous journey while en route to a safehouse on the outskirts of City 17. There, Alyx finds her commandeered train has been halted by a Combine barricade.
“She must make her way through a long-abandoned school to access the switch that unblocks the tracks, but the task may prove more difficult than expected,” the DLC’s description reads.
The free DLC can be downloaded though Steam Workshops, which of course means you’ll need the base game to play.
This isn’t Grove’s first HLA mod either. You may also recognize the developer’s ‘Polygrove’ handle from the credits in the Half-Life: Incursion mod as well, which included the talents of Maarten Frooninckx (Hammer scripting), Ross Joseph Gardner (script writing), and Joey Bracken (voice over).
There’s a host of great content to explore outside of Re-Education and Incursion too, with one of our top picks being the Half-Life: Alyx ‘Levitation’ mod, which brings around 3-4 hours of Combine-ganking fun in an unofficial chapter that you’d swear is direct from Valve.
The UK has finally unveiled plans for its GDPR replacement: the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (DPDIB). Introduced in Parliament last week, the bill aims to boost economic growth while protecting privacy.
The proposed rules promise to reduce paperwork, slash costs, foster trade, and (please, Lord) cut down on cookie pop-ups. They also controversially claim to produce savings of more than £4 billion over 10 years (more on that later).
The shadow of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU looms large over the plans. In its pitch for the bill, the government pledges to unleash an elusive Brexit dividend.
“Our system will be easier to understand, easier to comply with, and take advantage of the many opportunities of post-Brexit Britain,” said Technology Minister Michelle Donelan in a statement. “No longer will our businesses and citizens have to tangle themselves around the barrier-based European GDPR.”
That’s the plan, at least — but it’s already proved divisive.
Cutting red tape
Data-driven trade makes a massive contribution to the UK’s coffers. In 2021, it generated an estimated £259 billion and 85% of British service exports.
The DPDIB envisions further rewards from simplified legal requirements.
“Our new laws release British businesses from unnecessary red tape to unlock new discoveries, drive forward next-generation technologies, create jobs, and boost our economy,” said Donelan.
All data regulations have to balance protecting people and promoting innovation. Under the GDPR, many companies became frustrated with the bureaucratic burdens. The DPDIB aims to tip the scales back towards business benefits.
“It was essential to clarify confusion and simplify administrative burdens.
Chris Combemale, CEO of the Data and Marketing Association (DMA), collaborated with the government on the new rules. He expects the bill to provide “a catalyst for innovation,” while maintaining the privacy protections needed for consumer trust.
“It was essential for the bill to safeguard the key ethical principles of existing laws, while clarifying areas of confusion and simplifying onerous administrative burdens on small businesses,” Combemale tells TNW via email.
The lighter regulatory load is proving popular. Businesses have welcomed the simplified requirements for recordkeeping, processing personal data, and automated decision-making, as well as the ability to reject data access requests that are “vexatious or excessive.” Praise has also been heaped on the new framework for digital IDs, extra resources for the UK’s data watchdog, andincreased fines for nuisance calls and texts.
Chris Vaughan of Tanium, an endpoint security company, says the new rules are more straightforward than the GDPR.
“One major benefit brought by the new law is the reduction in business costs that GDPR creates — made even more welcome as organisations continue to struggle in the current economic landscape,” Vaughan tells TNW.
Relaxing rules, however, can also increase risks.
Privacy dangers
Critics warn that the new laws will endanger citizens.Upwards of 30 civil society groups have called for the bill to be dropped over concerns it will weaken data protection and harm marginalised groups.
Colin Hayhurst from Mojeek, a privacy-based search engine, is particularly troubled by the reduced accountability for “low-risk” data processing. He also worries that the bill is legislating too many complex issues at once.
“My concern is that critical issues around innovations like AI will simply not get enough scrutiny or thought,” says Hayhurst. “It’s worth noting that the EU considers AI regulation such a complicated and important subject that it has an entirely separate bill dedicated to the matter.”
Hayhurst is particularly struck by the implications for AI in research. The new bill gives commercial organisations the same freedoms as academics for any data processing for research “that can reasonably be described as scientific.”
This could create big opportunities for businesses building AI with data collection. But it could provide even more power to large companies with research arms, such as Google’s DeepMind and Meta’s FAIR.
“Big tech companies with research groups can continue to harvest and use all the personal data they have, to train AI in their research activities,” says Hayhurst. “All of this comes with risk; and unfortunately, this risk is overwhelmingly going to be shouldered by those whose data is fed into the machine, rather than the companies themselves.”
Google’s acquisition of DeepMind sparked fears that NHS patient data would be accessible to US healthcare companies. Credit: Maurizio Pesce
To mitigate the risk, rules on responses to data access requests could be tightened — particularly when the data creates profit. A one-month deadline for replies may be appropriate for small companies, but not for global corporations with warehouses full of supercomputers.
“There is an irony that companies are able to make it incredibly easy for themselves to collect data on a person and then very difficult for the person who owns the data to find out what data a company holds on them!” says Hayhurst. “This is one area where a ‘one size fits all’ approach doesn’t deliver for consumers.”
The digital economy
Despite his misgivings, Hayhurst acknowledges that the government has responded to feedback. Notably, a proposal to drop the balancing test for a “limited, generic, but exhaustive list of activities” has not made it into the final text. However, concerns remain that businesses will be held to lower ethical standards.
Critics are particularly wary of the reduced requirements for oversight, recording, and user control of data processing. There is also extra room for data processing without an individual’s consent. These changes could leave the public both more at risk and less confident in the digital economy.
“The government is selling out personal privacy for business benefits.
“If businesses aren’t aware of how much data is being collected, what for, and the implications of its use, how can they expect consumers to trust them with such information?” asks Angel Maldonado, CEO of e-commerce firmEmpathy.
Michael Queenan, CEO and co-founder of Nephos Technologies, takes the criticisms a step further.
“The government has decided to sell out personal data privacy for business benefit and innovation,” Queenan tells TNW. “Why else would it remove important, already adopted, global data protection steps?”
One motivation may be the potential savings. As previously mentioned, the reforms are predicted to unlock £4.7 billion for the UK economy. But evidence for this claim is hard to find.
The government references the figure with a link, which has been broken since we first saw the announcement. The source can be found via the Wayback Machine, but the estimate it links was published back in July 2022 — when a different version of the bill was introduced. Critics suspect that the £4.7 billion estimate has little basis in reality.
“Contrary to saving businesses billions, the bill could result in higher compliance costs and administrative burdens for businesses that operate in multiple jurisdictions,” says Shaun Hurst, Principal Regulatory Advisor at regtech firm Smarsh.
GDPR arrangements
Divergences from the GDPR are a recurring theme in pitches for the DPDIB. The government has emphasised the benefits of these deviations, but they also threaten data transfers with the EU.
The UK currently has EU data adequacy status, which protects the flow of data between both jurisdictions. MEPs, however, have taken issue with Britain’s planned reforms. If they decide that the new bill doesn’t meet the requisite standards, the adequacy agreement could be lost.
As a result, companies selling in both the UK and EU would have to comply with two sets of laws. Tech giants may be reluctant to develop product and policy variations for a new regime, while domestic firms could consider relocating to the union.
“Being released from red tape will only be a benefit if business continues to be able to work with European citizens and their data across borders by taking advantage of the adequacy ruling that has applied to the UK since Brexit,” says Amanda Brock, CEO at OpenUK, a non-profit that represents open technology.
As the first secretary of state for the newly-created Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT), Michelle Donelan is responsible for British tech regulation.
The government has, however, publicly stressed the importance of maintaining data adequacy. Some privacy experts are also confident that the new measures will fulfil the EU’s requirements. Yet even if the UK retains data adequacy, firms that trade in the EU must meet the GDPR standards. Consequently, the main beneficiaries of the new regime may be companies that only operate in the UK market.
“I think these so-called ‘savings’ will never materialise for most businesses,” says Farhad Divecha, founder of AccuraCast, a London-based digital marketing agency. “If you have visitors from Europe or do business with Europe, you still have to comply with GDPR. So if anything, we’ll end up having more complicated requirements that differ for your customer base in the UK versus in Europe.”
Nonetheless, the departure from the GDPR could have positive global outcomes. Ilia Kolochenko, the founder of security firm ImmuniWeb and a member of Europol’s Data Protection Experts Network, hopes the bill can influence the EU’s rules.
He fears that businesses are struggling with GDPR fatigue, inconsistent enforcement across member states, and the growing costs of formalistic compliance.
“European companies would gain a significant competitive advantage on the global market if European GDPR goes through a similar set of improvements and simplifications,” says Kolochenko.
“If the trend of overregulation persists, we will probably see massive and deliberate non-compliance, as costs and penalties for non-major infringements will likely be much less important than costs of a holistic implementation of the mushrooming EU cybersecurity regulations and directives.”
It’s a valiant call for balance, but one that’s unlikely to gain consensus approval — just like every other argument on data protection. Despite these deep divisions, there’s surely at least one thing on which we all can agree: “DPDIB” is a hideous acronym.
On Christmas morning last year, dozens of households in the Republic of Ireland woke up to a hot water tank that had been heated overnight – for free.
These households were part of a pilot run by the pioneering social enterprise EnergyCloud, which has found a way of using surplus wind energy on blustery nights to help people who are experiencing fuel poverty.
All it takes is the installation of a special switch that allows EnergyCloud to activate water heating when there is bountiful energy on the grid. People can still heat their hot water tank via a manual switch whenever they choose and they can also switch the whole system off if they are away from their home for a time.
“We can remotely send a message that clicks on your hot water and heats up your immersion at night-time,” explains Derek Roddy, co-founder of EnergyCloud. He adds that free water heating was delivered multiple times last year, not just on Christmas morning.
Energy prices in Europe have soared in the last couple of years, due to shifts in demand during the pandemic and, more recently, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This has triggered a worrying rise in fuel poverty but efforts to help are afoot. Renewables, in particular, could be coming to the rescue.
EnergyCloud is a non-profit social enterprise with a voluntary board of 11 people. Funds and technologies are donated by EnergyCloud partners, including Roddy’s firm Climote, energy provider SSE Airtricity and Amazon Web Services.
People who receive free hot water get text message alerts so that they know when it is available. “It is making a difference in people’s lives,” adds Roddy.
Hot water tanks, he says, can be reimagined as batteries: “A typical hot water tank would store 6 kWh of energy in hot water, which is a staggering amount of energy.” If you added up all the hot water tanks in Ireland, you would get a total of around 6 GWh.
Costing the surplus
Surplus energy from wind farms is an increasingly expensive problem. In 2022, the UK’s National Grid paid £215 million to shut off wind generation when the electricity wasn’t needed – a cost that gets passed on to consumers, further raising prices. EnergyCloud has found a way of using surplus energy while also helping people who might be struggling to pay their energy bills.
Everyone, in theory, benefits from this – not least because a lack of heating and hot water can cause or aggravate health problems. The UK’s Building Research Establishment estimates that cold homes, in England alone, cost the National Health Service more than half a billion pounds each year.
Other initiatives to help households experiencing fuel poverty in the past have included a programme in Scotland that installed Tesla Powerwall batteries in more than 100 homes, though Roddy notes that the costs are minimal when you are able to divert energy to existing hot water tanks instead.
EnergyCloud says it aims to install its remote-controlled hot water tank switches in at least 10,000 homes by the end of the year and the enterprise is already planning to expand into Northern Ireland and Scotland.
“It’s a really interesting concept,” says Marilyn Smith at the non-profit EnAct, which researches social issues around energy consumption. However, she notes that some people might hesitate to allow the installation of remotely controlled equipment in their homes. So far, that hasn’t been a barrier for EnergyCloud. All participants have been voluntary and Roddy says 65,000 additional homes have already expressed an interest in joining.
A ‘public good’
Smith argues that emerging energy companies are increasingly presenting renewables (and surplus electricity) as a potential “public good”. Other European ventures have sought to help low-income households around the world access renewable energy directly. Take Trine, a 16 person-strong firm based in Sweden that allows people to invest in solar energy projects in Africa, Asia and Central America. More than €80 million have been raised via the platform so far.
“There’s plenty of technology out there – batteries, panels, converters,” says Trine founder Christoffer Falsen. “It’s really about being able to accelerate that with the injection of capital.”
He explains that Trine-funded schemes can, for example, allow a household in Kenya to purchase a solar panel in instalments, enabling them to access cheaper electricity and move away from fossil fuel generators, which are extremely common in much of Africa. To date, nearly 3 million people worldwide have accessed electricity from renewables funded by Trine’s investors.
Although it was “unthinkable” before, Falsen says Trine may soon allow investors to support renewables projects in Europe as well: the rise of energy prices on the continent means increased profitability from energy projects, so the potential returns have risen, too. Previously, European ventures were not attractive enough in this regard.
“I think there will be a bigger push for energy independence and that, I think, will be very good for this entire sector,” says Falsen. He notes, however, that there are questions over whether high energy tariffs in Europe will continue, adding to uncertainty for investors.
Electricity at cost
Europe’s growing cadre of “energy communities” – groups of households that buy into generation projects such as small-scale wind farms – already understand that energy independence can shield people from the highest bills.
A long-running example is the community in Eeklo, Belgium that benefits from wind energy harnessed by EcoPower. It provides electricity to customers more or less at cost.
“We have a lot of wind in our region,” says Jan de Pauw, project engineer at EcoPower. There are 65,000 EcoPower members in Flanders, of which a few thousand live in Eeklo. The company has a headcount of around 50 people, operates a total of 20 windfarms in Flanders, and has raised €60 million of citizen-invested capital to date.
“People become members of EcoPower not because they want to earn a lot of money and have a high dividend but they want to have access to locally produced energy at a fair price,” says de Pauw.
The advantages have become clear during the last 12 months, as energy bills rocketed in Europe. EcoPower estimates that its members saved around €700 on their total bill for 2022. To become a member, households must buy a single share for €250 but people experiencing fuel poverty can pay this off in tiny instalments of just €3.50 a month for six years.
With more and more renewable generation on the continent, expect to see increasing opportunities for sharing or cheaply distributing energy in the forms described above.
There could be other impacts of all this, too, as well as helping people in low income or fuel-poor households. Roddy says that, once participants in the EnergyCloud pilot heard that their free hot water would come from local wind farms, they expressed glowing acceptance of renewables. (TNW asked to speak to a participant but were told none was forthcoming.)
Big, white and pointy onshore turbines have occasionally been described as eyesores by some. But schemes such as EnergyCloud, which make clear the potential financial benefits of renewables, could change attitudes, argues Roddy.
“People got this straight away. This was not a hard sell,” he says. “I think we’ll have people literally approaching their elected representatives insisting that there’s wind farms and solar farms built in their area.”
The reasons you’ll want to stay connected while traveling are pretty obvious: unless you’re planning an Into the Wild style off the grid experience, you’ll probably want to be able to use your data to find your way around, buy tickets, upload photos onto social media, fire up that local dating app, or whatever you like to do while abroad.
But, international data and calling rates can place a hefty burden on your travel budget, not to mention roaming fees which vary with every border you cross. That’s why buying physical SIM cards has been the option of choice for many travellers, until now.
Today, we’re finally entering the age of electronic SIM cards, better known as eSIMs, that store your phone’s data in the cloud and can be installed and switched virtually. Basically an eSIM is a SIM card that’s embedded directly into your device and can connect to any operator offering eSIM services. For travellers, this is good news because it means you can also buy prepaid cards for any country or region you plan to visit online before your trip. And there are now a number of options available such as Holafly eSIM.
We’ve compiled this handy guide with everything travellersneed to know about eSIMs in 2023:
The pros of eSIMs vs physical SIM cards
1. Convenience
First and foremost, the biggest benefit to eSIMs is that you don’t have to go to a physical store or even be in the country to purchase your data. Instead, you can shop online, choose a provider, and install it directly onto your phone (more on that later). This means that the moment you hit the ground you’ll be connected, making it easier to order an Uber, find your way through a complex tube system, or just find the nearest bar with a happy hour.
Then, once you’re back home, you can just switch back to your local eSIM in a few clicks (don’t worry, we’ll share tips on that too).
2. You can use multiple eSIMs
This is also a convenient option if you travel between countries often. iPhones that support eSIM allow you to have multiple cards and even use Dual SIMs, meaning you can have two activated at the same time.
For example, if you’re crossing borders back and forth on a regular basis, having Dual SIMs activated would allow you to automatically use whichever SIM is locally connected, without having to change your settings. You can also buy an eSIM for an entire region, for example, buying an eSIM for Europe will cover a number of different countries.
3. A future without SIM trays?
iPhone 14 is planning to axe its SIM tray in the US, meaning iPhones now and in the future won’t be able to carry physical SIMs.
Although, of course, Apple isn’t the only brand for devices, it won’t be surprising if others follow suit and slim down future smartphone models even more. So, cutting SIM trays could become a wider market trend.
4. Don’t lose your data
With an eSIM, there is no physical SIM card that can be lost or damaged. So if your phone does get stolen, lost, or broken while on vacation, you can still access your data via the cloud and transfer it to your new phone.
5. Sustainability
Finally, if you’re looking to cut down on plastics as much as possible, why bother with physical SIM cards?
And yes, SIM cards are super tiny, but it’s like quitting the use of plastic straws: every bit counts.
The cons of eSIMs vs physical SIM cards
Of course it’s not all sunshine and daisies in eSIM land. There are some drawbacks to consider before going for this option:
1. Compatibility
Although eSIMs are a growing trend, not all devices or cellular carriers are up to speed yet. While most carriers have adopted eSIM, some still haven’t or don’t support all devices yet.
For example, if you’re headed to Spain, keep in mind that Yoigo doesn’t support eSIMs for Apple Watch. However, as mentioned before, it seems the general trend is moving towards eSIMs so we’ll see more carriers introduce plans to adopt this technology in the near future.
2. Location tracking
As eSIMs are installed virtually onto your phone, you can’t remove them from your device like a physical SIM. This means you also can’t avoid the possibility of being tracked by mobile carriers/governments. If this is a concern for you in the country you’re traveling to, then you might want to avoid this option.
How to check your phone’s compatibility with eSIM
Before making any decisions, you first need to check if your phone is compatible with eSIM. Follow these steps:
Check the phone’s specifications or manual to see if it supports eSIM.
Check if your phone has an eSIM tray or if it has an embedded eSIM chip.
Check if your phone’s operating system supports eSIM technology. For example, iPhones running iOS 12.1 or later support eSIM.
Confirm with your carrier if they offer eSIM service and if your phone is compatible.
Or simply check out this eSIM supported phones list which is regularly updated with all eSIM compatible phones and devices.
One thing you need to keep in mind is that, just like with physical SIM cards, your phone also has to be unlocked to use an eSIM. If you’ve bought your device directly from the producer, it’s likely it’ll be unlocked. But, if you bought it from a carrier, it might not be.
If you have an iOS 14 or later, here’s how you can check if its unlocked:
1. Going to Settings
2. Click “General”
3. Go to the “About” section
4. Scroll to “Carrier Lock” or “Network Provider Lock.” If you see “No SIM restrictions,” your iPhone is unlocked. If not, then it most likely means your phone is tied to a specific carrier.
If you don’t have an iPhone, try putting a SIM card in and seeing if it works. This will tell you if your phone is locked. Last but not least, give your provider a ring and they can tell you whether your phone is locked.
Ok, if you’re still reading, it seems you’re sold on getting an eSIM. The question now is, just how easy is it to set it up on your phone?
The first thing you’ll need to do is add the new data plan by going to:
Settings > Mobile Data > Add data plan (steps may be different depending on your device)
Most eSIM providers will send you a QR code which will guide you through a number of steps. Here are some guides to setting up an eSIM on the most popular devices:
Note: If you buy a temporary eSIM plan for your travels, it’s best to set it up just before you leave as your plan will start on the day you activate it.
Want an even easier option for your upcoming trips? The European provider Holafly eSIM recently launched an eSIM app that allows you to install, activate, and verify data consumption in more than 130 countries around the world. Unfortunately, the installation app is only available for iOS at the moment, but non-Apple users can still use Holafly’s eSIM services.
The company offers regular data plans in over 130 countries and unlimited data plans in over 45 destinations for less than $1,50 per day including region-wide plans for Europe. They also have 24/7 support in more than 5 languages.
How to switch between eSIMs and share data
Remember, if you’re traveling around the world, you can use multiple eSIMs but you can only have one or two (for iOS) activated at a time. To switch between eSIMs when entering a new country, use the following steps:
1. Go to: Settings > Cellular/Mobile Data
2. Select the eSIM you want to use (under “Cellular Plans”)
3. Click “Turn on this line”
Wanna share data between different devices or with your travel companions? Just go to:
Settings > Mobile data/Cellular
Then select: Personal Hotspot
Selecting local providers and unlimited data options
Most of the major carriers now offer eSIMs, so you’ll likely have plenty of options to choose from, however, local carriers often charge high roaming fees while you’re abroad. To avoid that, another option is to choose a prepaid international eSIM which may offer more affordable prices.
If you take that route, you’ll need to consider how many GB you’ll need to last you the length of your stay. Of course, this totally depends on how much you’ll be using your data. If you just plan to use it for Google Maps and the occasional search for local restaurants, you may not need as much as a newbie travel influencer looking to upload videos and stream content everyday.
Here’s a handy table by Holafly with some calculations on average data usage to help you out:
The good news is, there are also some unlimited data options, particularly if you’re traveling to the US. Just keep in mind that you won’t be able to share or transfer data with others on this type of plan.
So if you’re ready to take off on your next trip, getting an eSIM can be a hassle-free option to keep you connected, whether you’re going on a multi-country adventure or a simple business trip abroad.
It is no secret that music makes exercise routines fun, but it actually does more than that. In fact, music has been scientifically proven to improve the quality of workouts. One research shows that music is particularly helpful during endurance and high-intensity exercises. It also shows that a faster tempo increases energy demand during exercise. Aside from promoting metabolic efficiency, upbeat music has also been found to be effective in increasing endurance as it distracts people from discomfort.
The VR fitness app FitXR understands the key role music plays in fitness. So the team continues to expand and diversify music content on its platform to cater to individual preferences. FitXR workout classes across five distinct studios are constantly updated with new music collections to give users more motivation to achieve their fitness goals.
New Pop Music Collection Amps Up FitXR Workout Classes
Recently, FitXR launched a new pop music collection that gives users more music options in all workout classes across its five studios—Box, Dance, HIIT, Sculpt, and Combat. It features hits from the best pop, hip-hop, and rock artists. Whether you’re in the mood for a high-intensity boxing class or a beginner HIIT session, you can definitely find the right workout for you.
There’s a whole collection of workout classes with smash hits from Dua Lipa, Lil Nas X, Megan Thee Stallion, and other popular artists. Let Pink and Lady Gaga set the mood and inspire you to finish the 11-minute “Get This Party Started” HIIT class for beginners. Groove to the beat as you do a quick 4-minute workout in the intermediate boxing class “Green Day Blitz.” You can choose from a variety of classes based on your fitness level and time availability.
“FitXR is all about making fitness fun, and music is so often what fuels a workout, and makes it an enjoyable experience,” said Kelly Cosentino, Director of Fitness at FitXR, in a press release shared with ARPost. “This is just another way we’re showing our commitment to creating experiences unique to each member’s personal preference and motivators!”
The new pop music collection is just another addition to FitXR’s already extensive music offerings, which include top billboard artists, independent artists, and international artists. With the app’s wide range of classes and music options, there are no excuses for skipping a workout.
Committed to Elevating Immersive VR Workout Classes
FitXR’s new pop music collection is a testament to the app’s dedication to creating unique and engaging fitness experiences for its users. Continuously adding new music and themed studios to its already robust offerings shows its commitment to making fitness more fun and accessible for everyone.
Leading the way to the future of fitness, we can expect to see more additions and innovations on the platform. These will allow beginners and seasoned fitness enthusiasts alike to personalize their fitness journey and enhance their overall workout experiences.
IRIS VR, the studio behind TECHNOLUST (2016), announced that its long-awaited open world cyberpunk adventure LOW-FI is slated to launch sometime this year on PlayStation 5, PSVR 2, and PC VR headsets via Steam and the Meta PC platform.
Update (March 10th, 2023): It’s been nearly two years since IRIS VR announced a PS5 version was coming, which initially was set to arrive sometime in 2021. Now studio head Blair Renaud says in a tweet that LOW-FI is officially coming to PS5 and PSVR 2 this year. You can wishlist it on the PlayStation Store here.
The still in-development game has been available for purchase on PC and PC VR headsets for some time via the game’s itch.io, however Renaud also says we should expect to see it on Steam and the Meta PC platform in 2023 as well. You can wishlist it on Steam here.
If you haven’t followed along with the project, here’s a description courtesy of IRIS VR:
As the player, you are “low-fi”, the street name given to those who cannot merge with the platform, a ubiquitous virtual reality simulation where most of the population now live their lives. You are a police officer and have been transferred to a particularly crime ridden section of city-block 303. The only inhabitants of note in your jurisdiction are other low-fi, and the human intelligence (or lower) artificial life forms who have remained among the citizens after the AI singularity.
The original article announcing LOW-FI’s PS5 availability follows below. We’ve also included the latest trailer below this update:
Original Article (June 12th, 2020): A successful Kickstarter campaign late last year helped get LOW-FI off the ground, having garnered IRIS VR over $80,000 USD. At the time, it was pitched as a VR-native game intentionally built from the ground-up for PC VR headsets and “next-gen PSVR.”
The game’s developer, Blair Renaud, says that anyone can pre-order the PC version now, which gives you early access on SteamVR headsets. At the time of this writing the pre-release PC VR version costs $35 USD.
And it’s certainly an ambitious undertaking, boasting a massive, non-linear open world, “hundreds” of crimes and stories to solve and explore, branching narratives, and dialogue from what the studio says will be “photo-realistic NPCs.”
While the game’s creator seems fairly certain of LOW-FI’s 2021 launch window (see update), Sony hasn’t actually released word on when a next-gen follow-up to the PSVR is set to arrive.
We do however know that the current PSVR will be compatible with PS5 when the console launches holiday 2020, so upcoming VR releases for PS5 don’t necessarily indicate any implied time frame for a prospective PSVR 2.
AR smart glasses company Rokid just announced the release date for their next consumer product, “Rokid Max.” Shipping isn’t scheduled to start until the end of April, but here’s everything that we know about the glasses so far from a shared press release and user manual.
The Specs
Like most consumer AR glasses on the market today, Rokid Max is presented exclusively as a virtual screen for mirroring a smartphone. That can mean online content, downloaded movies, games, or any productivity apps. Users can also switch to a “3D mode” for viewing 3D content in an app or WebXR experience.
As viewers, they have some solid specs. The lenses themselves offer a 1080p micro-OLED display for content running at a 120Hz refresh rate. They clock in at a 50-degree field of view (which lands solidly between the two main competitors – Nreal’s Airr and Light models). The resulting virtual screen is comparable to a “215-inch boundaryless display from [19 feet] away.”
The glasses also offer manual diopter adjustment via a dial over each lens. According to the release, this can be used by non-glasses-wearing users to sharpen the image, or by those users who normally need prescription lenses. Users can also adjust audio settings which include noise cancellation for maintaining privacy and sound quality.
The total hardware itself is no wider than a pair of glasses and just under three-quarters of an inch thick, though it’s unclear whether that includes an optional nose pad and a “blackout cover” for over the lenses. They weigh in at less than a fifth of a pound. The glasses do fold, and come with a carrying case.
As the glasses do not have their own onboard battery, they do require a hard connection to the streaming device, similar to other consumer AR glasses. Rokid Max will be available for preorder from the manufacturer starting March 21, for $399.
How Does Rokid Max Square Up?
Rokid Max is an interesting product. The glasses have their biggest competitor in Nreal Air, so we can hold them up to each other to understand Rokid’s position in the market.
Nreal Light has a few things going for it. First, it’s slightly cheaper. Second, it can connect to gaming consoles and laptops as well as mobile phones. Nreal Air also has a limited but promising 3DoF AR input system. Something like that might be true of Rokid as well, but none of the materials shared with ARPost mention it.
Rokid Max hits back in a couple of key areas. It has a slightly larger field of view, which is a pretty big deal when comparing what are essentially media viewers. Further, Rokid has a lot of cool modular components.
Manual diopter controls are a big deal, particularly for people that need glasses. Nreal offers corrective lenses for their glasses, but it’s a paid accessory so if you need glasses, Nreal’s lead in the price category disappears immediately. The removable nose pad is also a cool option.
Finally, the blackout cover is a really cool play, particularly for productivity. AR glasses tend to be “sunnies” because blocking light from the outside improves immersion and viewing comfort and quality. In entertainment applications, there aren’t really any drawbacks to that, but in productivity settings, it can make it harder for you to see your environment as well as the display.
There’s one potential concern I have about this. Darkening the environment also means that the display doesn’t have to run as bright, which saves battery and reduces heat. If the light blocker is optional, that may mean that the display is working harder than it has to, which could have negative effects on the battery life and some other elements.
We’ve Got Our Eyes On You
We wish Rokid Max the best. We have to. We’re still so early on in the field of consumer AR glasses that every new entry is a winner. But, more than that, while there are some things that we could ask of Rokid, the glasses introduce a lot of killer innovations that certainly set it apart.
Rec Room, the popular social VR platform, is putting on its first in-game music festival this weekend, suitably dubbed ‘Rec Rocks’.
The immersive concert experience is set to take place this weekend, March 11th & 12th, and feature headliners Tokyo Machine (EDM) and pianist/singer/songwriter Ethan Bortnick.
Check out the full list of artists below:
Tokyo Machine – EDM
Ethan Bortnick – Alt-Pop
Haven – Pop
Charlie Curtis Beard -Rap
Suzy Shinn – Rock
The Royal Foundry – Alt
Akintoye – Rap
Clinton Kane – Pop
Rec Room says its free two-day music festival will let you explore virtual stages set in the environment of an open canyon, with Tokyo Machine kicking things off on the mainstage on March 11th with his electrifying beat, which will also include some new tracks too.
Image courtesy Rec Room
“The first time I played Rec Room 6 years ago I was blown away by how immersive the games like laser tag and ping-pong could be”, said Tokyo Machine. “I’m super pumped to be a part of Rec Rocks and will be premiering a whole set of unreleased songs with a performance that will be unlike what my fans have seen before!”
Ethan Bortnick will take the main stage on March 12th where he will perform fan-favorite tracks. Bortnick previously hosted an in-game prom for the Rec Room community last spring after he missed out on his in-real-life prom due to COVID-19.
“Rec Room will be the first stop on my 2023 tour,” said Bortnick. “As the technology in Rec Room continues to advance, that allows for even more elaborate lighting, staging and the entire set is crazier and showcases everything I can’t do in a real live setting”, Bortnick said.
The Royal Foundry | Image courtesy Rec Room
The free music festival is set to include exclusive artist merch, and Community Creator Booths where festival-goers can buy in-game inventions and merch from the creator community.
Check out the full schedule of the music festival here to see when performances are set to kick off. To attend Rec Rocks, make sure to download and setup your Rec Room account across your chosen device, which includes iOS, Android, Steam (flstacreen), SteamVR headsets, Meta Quest, Meta PC VR, PlayStation 4/5, PSVR, and Xbox.
Generative AI is entering the media — and hacks are getting worried. Except for your loyal correspondents at TNW, of course, as automated output can’t compare with our flair and reporting. (At least, that’s what I’m telling my overlords.)
Other journalists, however, aren’t as blessed. Last week, the owner of Britain’s Daily Mirror and the Express became the latest media magnate to add bots to the newsroom.
The publisher, Reach, has posted several AI-written articles on the local news site In Your Area. According to Reach CEO Jim Mullen, they include a listicle on “7 things to do with visitors to show off Newport.”
“That is responsible use of AI.
Unsurprisingly, Mullen told human journalists they have no need to worry. He said his own reporters had suggested using the AI system — called Scribe — and that the tool would allow them “to focus on stuff that they want to do.”
“It was based off of content from our journalists, and the decision to run it was made by the editor: that is responsible use of AI,” Mullen added.
His words, however, are unlikely to allay the concerns of his employees. Reach, which owns hundreds of national, local, and online publications,was already planning extensive job cuts.
The company is far from the only media brand to bring AI to the pressroom. Here’s how other outlets are experimenting with automation.
The Associated Press
One of the earliest exponents of AI in reporting was the Associated Press (AP). In 2014, the company began automatically generating summaries of earnings reports.
A year later, AP said the system was producing around 3,000 of these stories every quarter — a tenfold increase over what AP reporters and editors created previously.
MSN
In 2020, Microsoft announced that it was replacing pesky humans in its news division with shiny AI. The workers had been curating and editing stories for the homepages of MSN and the Edge browser. The Cupertino company sacked the journalists despite warnings that substituting them for software was risky.
The warnings proved prescient: MSN went on to run a range of bogus stories. Highlights included Bigfoot sightings, Mermaid captures, and Grimes suing Elon Musk.
CNET
Tech site CNET was recently caught posting machine-written stories. The company never publicly announced the move, but came clean after an outcry from critics.
CNET described the initiative as a mere experiment. And like many experiments, the results were unpredictable.
The text generators were making “very dumb errors,” according to Futurism. CNET was forced to add lengthy corrections to some of the articles.
BuzzFeed
In January, the Wall Street Journal revealed that BuzzFeed will use AI to enhance its quizzes and personalise some content. The move came after another round of redundancies at the struggling publisher.
The initiative is a collaboration with ChatGPT creator OpenAI. In what will surely reassure BuzzFeed staff, ChatGPT recently claimed that AI “will never entirely replace human journalists.”
The Next Web
Much to my chagrin, even your favourite tech site has dabbled in AI-generated content. Most famously, our erstwhile colleague Satoshi Nakaboto produced automated reports on cryptocurrencies. Mercifully, the loathsome Nakaboto was laid off years ago.
More recently, AI has been producing images for the superlative TNW newsletter. Undoubtedly, this is a far more fitting role for automated media — but then, I would say that.
Call it an “old boys’ club” or “brogrammer culture,” there’s no denying the tech world is still dominated by men. Much has been written about the industry’s lack of diversity, of course. Most tech companies are run by men, and female role models are few and far between.
According to a report by The World Bank, women make up less than a third of the world’s workforce in technology-related fields. In the European Union, they make up just 17% of the ICT (information and communication technology) sector.
This gap grows further at the executive level, where women hold a mere 11% of leadership positions. To add insult to injury, Atomico’s State of European Tech report revealed the proportion of funding raised by women-only teams has dropped from 3% to a paltry 1% since 2018. And, those who do receive funding, get less than male-led teams and mixed men and women-led teams. Sigh.
Grim statistics
The statistics remain grim, even though countless studies show the most diverse tech companies consistently outperform homogenous ones. In a global analysis of 2,400 companies conducted by Credit Suisse, organisations with at least one female board member yielded higher return on equity and higher net income growth than those that did not have any women on the board.
And when VCs invest in women-led companies, they also make more money. Research shows that female leadership impacts business performance and overall growth. A survey conducted by BCG and Mass Challenge found women-run businesses deliver higher revenues—more than twice as much per dollar invested.
The following three women—Anne Boden, founder of Starling Bank; Victoria van Lennep, co-founder of lending platform, Lendable; and Dr Loubna Bouarfa, founder and CEO of OKRA Technologies—are living proof that women-led companies are ready to disrupt, innovate, and elevate the tech world. Better yet, all three are currently hiring.
1. Starling Bank
Anne Boden is quite the glass ceiling breaker. When Starling Bank gained its banking licence in 2016, she became the first woman in history to start a British bank. Since then, she has led her team to launch the UK’s first mobile current accounts, entered a partnership with the Post Office, raised over £300 million in funding, and opened three offices. Now, Starling employs more than 2,000 people and has over three million accounts.
“The vast majority of people in this industry are men in their early thirties, with beards. People don’t expect a fintech entrepreneur to be me,” said Boden, in The Times. “I think it’s harder when you stand out, but I’d much rather stand out by being the only woman who’s started a bank in the UK.”
Sound like the kind of leader you’d like to work for? Starling is looking for an Infrastructure Engineer to join its bank in London. Open-minded when it comes to hiring, Starling cares more about aptitude and attitude than specific experience or qualifications. It’s very open about how it delivers software. It believes in clean coding, simple solutions, automated testing and continuous deployment. If you care enough to find elegant solutions to difficult technical problems, Starling would love to hear from you. Find out all you need to know about this exciting role here.
2. Lendable
Just as Starling Bank won plaudits when it announced in 2020 that it was profitable after just three years, leading AI-powered consumer finance platform, Lendable, was quietly generating money with earnings well-ahead of most European unicorns.
Launched in 2014, and co-founded by Victoria van Lennep, its mission was to undercut traditional banks by offering competitive rates and fast-tracking applications. Now, it approves a new loan every 30 seconds, employs over 200 people, and has appeared in The Sunday Times Top 10 in Tech, ranking by fastest-growing sales.
Lendable is hiring a new Senior Data Scientist for its team. This role sits at the heart of the brand’s USP, developing the credit risk models to underwrite loan and credit card products. If successful, you will have access to the latest machine learning techniques, combined with a rich data repository to deliver the best in market risk models. Is your interest piqued? Read all about the role here.
3. OKRA Technologies
OKRA Technologies is a leading provider of AI-driven analytics for global life sciences. The company was founded by Dr. Loubna Bouarfa in 2015, with the vision of moving the healthcare industry towards a future of personalised medicine powered by explainable AI.
Dr. Bouarfa’s goal has always been to ensure that AI makes us more intelligent as humans, and empowers us to make better decisions. She has been instrumental in building the OKRA Explainability Engine which empowers users by providing explanations behind the outputs of AI systems.
Last year, OKRA made the 2022 Deloitte Tech Fast 50 list for the fastest-growing technology companies in the UK, and it also beat 70 startups from 20 different European countries to claim the prize for Best Female-Led Startup at the StartUp Europe Awards.
The company is currently looking for a Junior/Senior NLP Data Scientist to join its Leiden team in the Netherlands. As an NLP Data Scientist at OKRA, you’ll play a critical role in designing and building solutions using the leading AI engine for healthcare and life sciences.
You will build new capabilities that can be leveraged to capture insights in unstructured free-text data to drive appropriate actions and desired outcomes. In this role, you’ll be working closely with the executive team, who have experience implementing machine learning tech in real-world applications for over 15 years, turning research into commercial reality. Sound like your kind of role? You can apply here.
Cyber attacks on critical infrastructure have become a growing concern since war broke out in Ukraine.
After the 2014 annexation of Crimea, a sustained barrage by Russian-linked groups pummelled infrastructure in Ukraine. The next year, the country endured the first confirmed hack to take down a power grid.
The attacks have continued since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. According to a recent report from Google’s Threat Analysis Group, Russia’s military intelligence agency has repeatedly used destructive malware to degrade Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.
Analysts are now increasingly worried about the threats spreading across the globe. In November, a general who commanded US Army forces in Europe from 2014 until 2017, said cyber protection had become as important as missile defence systems in the defence of German ports.
The EU is also expressing growing alarm. Last month, a watchdog for the bloc warned members to improve their defences due to heightened risks of hacks by foreign states.
To mitigate the threats, cybersecurity firms are experimenting with various defensive methods. Darktrace, one of the UK’s biggest tech companies, has elected to apply AI to a natural mindset: thinking like an attacker.
This approach is embedded in Prevent/OT, a new product that identifies routes adversaries take to target critical infrastructure.
The software visualises potential pathways to the assets. Defenders can then harden their environments to prevent attacks before they can happen.
“A lot of industry folks lose sight of what they need to do on a day-to-day basis.
A crucial component of the product is Darktrace’s self-learning AI, which detects deviations in assets that point to cyber-threats. The company says the software allows overstretched staff to prioritise the needs of their unique environments.
“It’s really maximising the value of their time and implementing controls,” Jeffrey Macre, Industrial Security Solutions Architect at Darktrace, told TNW.
“A lot of folks in the industry are so focused on what the next major attack will be that they lose sight of what they need to do on a day-to-day basis to implement really good cybersecurity.”
The new capability is part of Darktrace’s operational technology (OT) product family. According to the firm, the solutions are already used by hundreds of critical infrastructure companies.
Those numbers were recently bolstered by several new deals. Darktrace said these include the business’ largest contract to date with a critical infrastructure organisation.
There are signs, however, that the new product is already improving Darktrace’s business. Analysts at investment bank Jefferies said the firm is now making progress despite the short-seller’s attack — and that the launch of Prevent/OT has helped attract new business.
The third Annual Polys WebXR Awards took place this weekend. The show was bigger than ever thanks to the first-ever in-person awards and a special event saying farewell to AltspaceVR. However, despite some new categories, the overall category list was shorter this year as a number of previous awards were combined.
A Very Special Polys
The Polys launched during the height of the pandemic. Fortunately, not being in person has a way of not greatly hindering an event that’s already dedicated to WebXR.
The event took place in a bespoke AltspaceVR world, with watch parties on YouTube as well as other remote platforms. However, this time, people were able to get together in person but they did it in a very “metaverse” way.
In-person hosts, producers, presenters, and an audience gathered at ZeroSpace, an XR stage and motion capture studio in Brooklyn. Their actions on the stage were volumetrically captured and displayed in The Polys’ AltspaceVR environment, similar to the launch of Microsoft Mesh. Polys Director Ginna Lambert said that this was the first award show to use the technology.
Further, while winners and honorees had previously received their Polys Awards as NFTs, the team worked with Looking Glass Factory so that this year’s Polys can be presented in a physical frame. This is as physical as The Polys can get, seeing as Linda Ricci designed the award to defy physics.
A Funeral for AltspaceVR
In lieu of a half-time show, Big Rock Creative CEO, co-founder, and producer Athena Demos held a eulogy for AltspaceVR. Virtual attendees lined the aisle to a pulpit adorned with flowers and candles in a ceremony that was heartfelt and a little macabre. Following mourners down the aisle was a coffin containing one of the iconic robot avatars that AltspaceVR used at launch.
“AltspaceVR will always hold a special place in our hearts,” said Demos. “While we say goodbye to the platform that brought us together, we will always remember the connections that we made here.”
While the WebXR team has used AltspaceVR to host The Polys Awards and numerous other town hall events and summits over the last three years, Demos and her team have been using it to bring Burning Man into virtual spaces. There is also a farewell party scheduled by Big Rock Creative to last until the moment that AltspaceVR servers shut down later this week.
The Polys Awards
Where last year’s Polys saw 15 awards categories (not counting personal honors of Lifetime Achievement, Ombudsperson of the Year, and the Community Award), this year’s show had eight categories. That includes some new categories reflecting the advancement of immersive technology even over the last few months.
“We in this community are ahead of a massive shift that we call the fourth industrial revolution,” said host Julie Smithson. “We’re here to celebrate the progress made in WebXR in the year of 2022.”
Entertainment Experience of the Year
When popular culture looks at “the metaverse” they typically equate it with irresponsible escapism – something that people use to avoid the challenges of life. XR producer and director Kiira Benzing pointed out that positive escapism – using XR to take a break from life rather than to neglect it – is one of the medium’s greatest strengths.
“With the immersive medium, you get the opportunity to step into an experience,” Benzing said in presenting the award for Entertainment Experience of the year.
The award went to Project Flowerbed, an immersive gardening experience by the Meta WebXR team. The same project was nominated for Experience of the Year.
Innovator of the Year
Futurewei Technologies Senior Director for VR, Metaverse, Mobile, Apps, and Services Daniel Ljunggren presented the award for Innovator of the Year – previously “Innovation of the Year.” The award went to Sean Mann, CEO and co-founder of RP1, a “persistent, seamless, real-time platform with limitless scalability.”
“To be amongst this many pioneers and innovators in one space is amazing. I think we’re all winners,” said Mann. “I’m super excited to be a part of this.”
Developer of the Year
“Being on the frontier of the immersive web is a pioneering effort,” Yinch Yeap said in presenting this award. “It still feels like the Wild West.”
And, like in the Wild West, many of the biggest names are pseudonyms. This is certainly the case for this year’s winner, known only as “Jin.” Jin appeared as a similarly anonymized avatar to accept the award.
“I am a huge believer in WebXR,” said Jin. “I stand on the shoulders of giants. I am very humbled and I owe this to everyone building the immersive web.”
Game of the Year Award
“Game of the Year” is a broad category as most WebXR experiences are arguably “games” – and that’s what makes the award so important according to presenter Rik Cabanier, a software engineer at Meta. The award went to the mini golf game Above Par-Adowski by Paradowski Creative.
Accepting the award was Paradowski Creative Director of Emerging Technology James Kane, who called WebXR “the best expression of the metaverse there is.” Kane was also a nominee for Innovator of the Year.
“I want to thank our team,” said Kane. “And thanks to the Meta team for creating an amazing WebXR platform as well as for directly supporting us.”
AR Passthrough Experience of the Year
“Where, for the past years AR experiences were mainly relegated to phones, now passthrough devices are everywhere,” said presenter Lucas Rizzotto. This allows more passthrough experiences on devices available today, but it also allows more impactful development of experiences for future AR devices.
The award went to Spatial Fusion by PHORIA and Meta, an experience which sees players repairing a damaged spaceship. Ben Ferns, a consulting developer, was one of those accepting the award.
“Huge thanks to the entire team – it was a huge team effort,” said Ferns. “It’s just exciting to see the promise of WebXR and passthrough.”
WebXR Platform of the Year
In presenting the award for WebXR Platform of the Year, Prestidge Group founder and CEO Briar Prestidge pointed out that every WebXR platform has strengths and weaknesses – something that she learned a lot about while famously spending “48 hours in the metaverse” for a documentary.
The award went to Croquet, “the operating system of the metaverse,” which also took home the Startup Pitch Competition Auggie Award last year. The award was accepted by The Polys on behalf of the organization.
Education Experience of the Year
The “digital divide” describes accessibility differences exacerbated by the benefit of technology only being available to those who can afford the required hardware or programs. WebXR is vital to the future of education because it lowers the cost of access for immersive experiences, according to Silicon Harlem founder Clayton Banks in presenting this award.
Banks presented the award to Prehistoric Domain, an immersive tour that brings learners up close and personal with virtual representations of dinosaurs and other extinct species. Accepting the award was creator Benjamin Dupuy. Prehistoric Domain was also nominated for Experience of the Year.
“WebXR opens so many possibilities – it’s very exciting,” said Dupuy in accepting the award. “We are all pioneers of the immersive web here and I think we’re at the beginning of an era where the line between illusion and reality is very thin.”
Experience of the Year
Demos returned to the stage – this time in volumetric capture instead of in her AltspaceVR avatar – to present the award for Experience of the Year to Spatial Fusion.
This was the experience’s second win of the night. The experience was also a nominee for Entertainment Experience of the Year. Ferns returned to accept the award and pointed out that the code has been open-sourced.
“I’m really excited to see what other people do with this now that it’s freely accessible,” said Ferns. “It’s an exciting time for trying out all of these new UX opportunities.”
This Year’s Honorees
In addition to the nominated awards categories, there are three honors categories. The honoree in each category is named by the previous year’s recipient rather than by a panel of judges.
“Whether it’s exploring AR, exploring 3D objects and NERFs, exploring interoperability of avatars and [email protected] specifically, being a part of these experiences with [Sophia Moshasha], with Ben [Irwin], with Julie [Smithson], with everyone – it’s meant so much to me,” Heyning said in accepting the honor.
Ombudsperson of the Year
The Ombudsperson of the Year Honor is specifically set up to recognize people working on the social and human aspects of WebXR. Last year’s honoree, Avi Bar-Zeev said that he was “honored to hand off the title” to Brittan Heller, a lawyer who introduced the term “biometric psychography” to describe mental and emotional profiling through an XR user’s personal data.
“I’d like to thank Avi, Kent [Bye], and everyone at the XR Guild and the Virtual World Society, and everyone in the XR community,” said Heller. “I appreciate how everyone here is so involved in making the community so welcoming to everyone.”
Bye, referenced by Heller in her acceptance speech, is a leading XR ethicist, a strong speaker in the nascent field of biometric psychography, and the first-ever recipient of this award.
Lifetime Achievement Honor
Last year’s Lifetime Achievement Honoree Brandon Jones selected Patric Cozzi for this year’s honor. Cozzi is the CEO of Cesium, but he was selected for this award because of his work co-creating glTF as a contributor to the Khronos Group.
“I’m really honored for glTF and the community,” said Cozzi. “It was a grassroots effort for years.”
Looking Forward to the Future
This was the last year that The Polys WebXR awards will be hosted in AltspaceVR, but the team is still looking forward to next year’s event. While they haven’t yet said what platform (or platforms) it will take place on, there’s a full year to figure that out. And a year is a long time in this industry. If you missed this year’s ceremony, you can find the recording here.
