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Hack Forums News // Edition 274



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The edition you are currently reading is the 274th edition of the HF News. To read any older editions of the HF News, please go here.



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Possible Suicide?
Although no records show on the Australian Obituaries, it seems one of our own members here on the forum has taken his own life. Incendiary., a 15 year old boy from Australia, is at the center of claims depression and stress got the better of him. If you are in a similar situation, consider talking to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. >>Source



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User News
Bans*
Vacations*
Closures
  • No closures were reported this week.

Rep Kills
Awards
* - As of the Friday prior to release.



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Announcement Threads

---Locking Username Edit - Omniscient
---Omniscient has started a discussion based on if a members profile has recent changes to it then the members username will be locked to prevent impersonation. Do you think this would be useful?

Informational Threads

---Summary of PHP 7 features - Sakuto
--- Sakuto has created a lovely summary of the PHP features.

Entertaining Threads

---Why being the "nice guy" is wrong. - Tomvnoh
---Tomvnoh creates a thread based on why nice guys are considered the "wrong" of society.

Member Feedback Threads

--- No feedback threads have been created that were due for this edition of the Hack Forums News.

Contests and Giveaways

---Gift Award From Miki - > [#4] - Miki
---Get involved and get the chance to win the gift award!

---[55 UPGRADES] 1 MEMBER UPGRADE EVERY WEEK UNTIL 31st DEC 2016 [55 UPGRADES] - Brahmā™
---Get involved and get the chance to win an upgrade! Winner(s) will be chosen every week!

Miscellaneous

---Any HF members own any fast cars? - F U Z I O N
--- Do you drive a fast car?

---If you won the $1,400,000,000 Powerball what would you do? - Asynical
--- If you won the Powerball, what would you do?



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Interview - True Demon (Click to View)

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The Non-lethal “Bee-Sting” Like Gun
Traditionally, non-lethal rounds used to stop protestors and rioters consist of rubber bullets, bean-bag bullets, and sponge grenades. These face a similar problem in that their effective range is very low. Not only are they primarily effective at short distances, but they can also be deadly. To combat this, an Ohio scientist named Jeffrey Widder has designed a pistol that will safely stop a target from up to 100 meters away. Nicknamed the Pogojet, the gun uses gases to push forward a projectile that gives the target the feeling of a bee-sting in a small area, but with an intense feeling. Unlike other non-lethal rounds, Widder says it can also be fired semi-automatically, giving those who need to fire multiple rounds the opportunity to. To prevent it being lethal, it uses a laser to calculate its range, so the Pogojet shoots at the right velocity.

Oculus Rift Will Ship Late March
After a long wait from Kickstarter backers and supporters, and shortly after the announcement of preorders, Oculus have announced the ship date of their highly anticipated Oculus Rift. The virtual reality helmet is set to begin shipping on March 28th, and will retail for $599. With the $599 that you pay, the Rift includes an Xbox One controller, the Oculus Remote, and a tracking camera. It will also come with a copy of games Lucky Tale, and EVE: Valkyrie. If you’re one of the early supporters who paid enough for the development kit, Oculus will ship you a consumer edition of the Rift, for free. Oculus has additionally said that certain retail stores will carry the Rift beginning in April.

G.M. Invests $500M in Ride-Sharing Company Lyft
Being the largest automotive maker investment in a ride-sharing company investment, automotive giant General Motors has invested a whopping $500 million into Lyft, an Uber competitor. Aside from monetary investment, G.M. also plans on working with Lyft to create a system self-driving cars, as well as quick car rentals for people who need to pick up groceries, or run errands. When asked about the investment, G.M.’s Dan Ammann stated, “We think there’s going to be more change in the world of mobility in the next five years than there has been in the last 50.” Before the investment, Lyft has been valued at $4.5 billion, while their competitor Uber’s net worth was valued to be $62.5 billion. Neither Lyft nor G.M. has given an official date for their system of self-driving cars to be ready.



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Music Legend David Bowie Passes Away
Music Icon David Bowie passed away this Sunday after an 18 month battle with cancer. A statement by his son Duncan Jones confirmed, saying "David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer". There have been rumors about Bowie's health for years, but his cancer was kept mostly a secret from the world. The last live performance Bowie played was in 2006 at a charity concert in New York, and his latest album Blackstar was just released Friday, on his birthday. Bowie captured the imagination of the masses for decades, creating many alter egos for himself in his music career such as the iconic Ziggy Stardust, as well as performing in several films. David Bowie was born David Robert Jones in Brixton, London, on 8 January 1947. He shares the same birthday as Elvis. He changed his name to Bowie in 1966. He will be missed by many.

Drug Lord 'El Chapo' Captured
Only one day after notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was arrested, the Mexican government intends to begin extraditing the cartel kingpin to the United States. In a statement, the Mexican attorney general's office said "With the recapture of Guzman Loera, the respective extradition proceedings should begin". Guzman was captured Friday after a six-month manhunt, and faces charges in many jurisdictions across the United States. Some of the charges are conspiracy to import and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, conspiracy association, money laundering, homicide and possession of firearms. Guzman started his cartel in 1980, and built an empire that supplied marijuana, cocaine and heroin to the United States. The house in Los Mochis, Sinaloa where Guzman was staying was raided by the Mexican navy, who encountered gunfire from within. Five suspects died in the raid, and one navy personnel was injured. The navy soldiers then chased Guzman through the sewer tunnels, but were unable to capture him until he was found later in a stolen car outside of the city.

Hundreds Assaulted in Cologne During New Years Eve Crime Spree
The "open door" immigration policy of German Chancellor Angela Merkel has come under fire after the massive crime spree in Cologne on New Years Eve. The majority of suspects were illegal migrants from North Africa and others seeking asylum in Germany. Just in 2015 over 1.1 million people flocked to Germany, fleeing other countries. Of the now estimated 516 criminal cases committed on New Years Eve, 40% are estimated to relate to sexual assault. Saturday, the streets of Cologne were flooded with anti-migrant protesters who disagree with the current policy that is allowing so many refugees into the country. Justice Minister Heiko Maas believes that the attacks were planned. He was quoted saying "If such a horde gathers in order to commit crimes, that appears in some form to be planned, nobody can tell me that this was not coordinated or prepared." Witnesses describe a scene where around 1,000 people, primarily men, flocked to the Cologne central train station, then leaving in small groups that assaulted women, robbing and molesting many. Many criticize the law enforcement handling of the attacks, saying that there was total chaos, with seemingly little response from authorities. Chancellor Merkel has proposed changes which would make it easier to deport migrants who are convicted of committing crimes.

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Ex-IBP CS:GO Team Remains Banned
After nearly one full year of debate and discussions, Valve announces the ex-IBP team is permanently banned from all tournaments Valve is associated with. On Jan. 26, 2015 six well-known CS:GO professionals from North America were banned from all Valve related major tournaments due to match-fixing. Valve said at that time they would further discuss the bans and announce their fate in early 2016. Sure enough, Valve released a statement earlier this week which said these players would unfortunately remain banned. This caused an uproar across the community with posts on Reddit bashing Valve with insults and rants. Many consider these players to be some of the best of all time and it seems one bad decision costed them their whole career.

Writer for Valve's Half-Life Marc Laidlaw Retires From Valve
Probably one of the most well-known series of games has had its lead writer step down this past week. Marc Laidlaw, writer for Valve's popular series Half-Life, announced his retirement this past week. Laidlaw has written the scripts and plots for all of the games in the Half-Life series over the years. So why is this a big deal at all? Well, the community over the years has many conspiracies about the release of Half-Life 3 and its release. However, it's unsure whether or not Laidlaw had finished writing the plots and scripts for Half-Life 3 or not, that seems to be a well kept secret within Valve. He stated in an email that he wishes to pursue independent writing projects and wants to take a break from game production.

'Getaway' DLC For Battlefield Hardline Now Has a Set Release Date
Hardline is coming up on its first full year since release and it is hard to believe two expansion packs have already been released. The third one, 'Getaway', is now set to release on Jan. 12, 2016 for people who bought Battlefield Premium. Now, if you do not have premium, you will be able to purchase it on Jan. 26. The expansion will feature four new multiplayer maps, along with a new mode named Capture the Bag. Essentially, it is just Capture the Flag but with a twist. Along with the game mode, you will now be allowed to carry a fireman's axe with you to bash other player's heads open. The four maps consist of, Train Dodge, Diversion, Pacific Highway, and Double Cross. All of which are projected to support the new mode as well.



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Group Changes
  • AnimeFAN! was sold to Raptor. and was rebranded into Fusion.
Leadership Changes
  • Raptor. is now the owner of Fusion.
  • Euxine is now a leader of Fusion.
  • Divined is now a leader of Fusion.

Site Group Recruitment
Current Open Group Recruitments
Group Related Buy-ins & Informational Threads
Group and Crew General Discussions Spotlight Threads
Group Sales Threads


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HI
Another normal week. :)

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Battlestations is a quick section of the HF News featuring two battlestations, which is a picture of a computer/tech setup. Members of Hack Forums can take a high quality photo of their computer setup(please make sure it is a clear and quality photo) and send it to me in a PM by clicking here and including an IMGUR link of your battlestation. If there are no submissions for that week, I will grab two battlestations from /r/battlestations.

Pilot_H's Battlestation (reddit)

Zurqq's Battlestation (reddit)



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View Team (Click to View)
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Another great addition yet again, so great what you guys do and the effort you put in!
Damn I remember when Yin use to do it.
Funny thing, how I and iHydra get to read this before everyone else 🤫
(Jan 12, 2016 11:54 PM)wander is a multi dwc Wrote:  Funny thing, how I and iHydra get to read this before everyone else 🤫

man, hows that funny
This is really a good read, especially for those who can't be here 24/7.
Why am I still not in the wiki :-((
(Jan 13, 2016 12:09 AM)c x y k Wrote:  Why am I still not in the wiki :-((

because you aren't notable fgt!!
Good edition.
Shame about David Bowie passing away..

He is one of my idols.
Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night.
I can see paradise by the dashboard light.
Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night.
Paradise by the dashboard light.
(Jan 13, 2016 12:39 AM)Vitani's Mate Wrote:  Good edition.
Shame about David Bowie passing away..

He is one of my idols.

Same. 😭 I actually was writing and saw your post about it seconds after you made it, which was how I found out. Sad Time.
Inb4IRunOutOfComics 😭
RIP Incendiary. My condolences to family. You were cool guy.


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