Stories by Zach Miners

Eerie streets of abandoned Fukushima town revealed in Google Maps

The earthquake and tsunami that demolished northeastern Japan in 2011 left many thousands of its survivors cut off from their homes. But displaced residents of Namie-machi, a small town on the eastern coast of the Pacific that's still in an exclusion zone, can now at least get a present-day glimpse of their neighborhood, thanks to Google.

Written by Zach Miners28 March 13 01:08

Game developers employ AI for more adaptive play

Instead of charging directly at the player in the craggy martian landscape, as they might do normally, the aliens zigzag to take cover behind boulders and outcrops of rock, adjusting their approach as the hero opts for a less conspicuous route to his destination.

Written by Zach Miners27 March 13 00:58

Facebook woos serious gamers

If 2012 was the year of arcade, casino and hidden object games on Facebook, such as "Diamond Dash," "Bubble Witch Saga" and "Bubble Safari," the social network hopes 2013 will be the year of more immersive, strategy-oriented games.

Written by Zach Miners26 March 13 22:17

AI programmers struggle to makes games 'imitate life'

Artificial intelligence, a field of programming employed by video game developers to make characters smarter and improve their decisions, still has a ways to go before it actually yields intelligent characters.

Written by Zach Miners26 March 13 03:31

'Android' watchmaker Oko sues Google for trademark infringement

Just as rumors begin to surface that Google is getting into the smartwatch game, Oko International, the maker of a wide range of watches and timepieces sold under the brand name 'Android,' is suing the company for trademark infringement.

Written by Zach Miners22 March 13 19:49

Zynga to let users play games without Facebook

Zynga's network of users has historically been tightly linked to Facebook's social graph, but now the gaming giant is looking to branch out.

Written by Zach Miners22 March 13 01:24

Would a 3D-printed gun really be legal?

Defense Distributed, the pro-gun nonprofit working to make 3D-printable gun designs freely available to everyone on the Internet, recently inched one step closer toward achieving that goal. The Austin, Texas-based group last week was granted a federal firearms license from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Written by Zach Miners21 March 13 12:07

Google launches Keep for personal notes

Google is looking to replace physical sticky notes with Keep, a new product designed for storing notes and other pieces of information.

Written by Zach Miners21 March 13 00:23

Google revives RSS extension for Chrome browser

Tech enthusiasts upset over Google's recent decision to scrap Google Reader and other products may have one reason to be happy again: They can still subscribe to RSS feeds through an extension within the Chrome browser.

Written by Zach Miners20 March 13 00:49

Chirpify opens up Facebook's News Feed for business

Facebook's News Feed is a popular landing page for photos and updates from friends, but now it can also function as a digital storefront of sorts, through a partnership with e-commerce startup Chirpify.

Written by Zach Miners19 March 13 22:33

Former Tribune staffer accused of conspiring in Anonymous hack

A former Tribune Company employee could face as much as 10 years of jail time over federal charges accusing him of conspiring with members of the hacker group Anonymous to hack into a Tribune website.

Written by Zach Miners14 March 13 23:38

Facebook, Twitter called out for deleting photo metadata

Photographers turning to social networks like Facebook and Twitter to promote their work may be losing the legal rights to their photos because the sites are deleting the images' metadata.

Written by Zach Miners13 March 13 20:44
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