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Lamballs, as these sheep are called, use heavy machine guns reminiscent of Browning's M2.

Developed by the previously unknown Japanese studio Pocket Pair, Palworld is a video game that achieves sales figures worthy of the largest productions: its developers claim that six million copies were sold in four days on Steam, the sales leader for dematerialized games on PC its release on January 19th. And that's just the tip of the iceberg: the game is also available in the Windows and Xbox Stores and is even accessible for free for subscribers to Microsoft's Game Pass program.

However, the team promises that development is only at an early stage and the game will be further developed based on feedback from Internet users. In return, players who benefit from an attractive price must expect an even simpler experience and bugs of all kinds – Palworld presented a certain number of them in the games played by Le Monde.

Palworld arouses great curiosity due to its concept, which has earned it the nickname “Pokémon with weapons”. It begins with a character in a loincloth waking up on an island. It's up to him to extract resources from his environment (wood, stone, ores, etc.) to expand his base, explore the environment and combat threats.

The taste of transgression

However, one thing sets it apart from the dozens of survival and building games that burst into the breach that Minecraft opened almost fifteen years ago: this one is set in a colorful universe populated by rotund creatures with elemental powers, whose design evokes strong memories of Nintendo's -Games whose mascot has become Pikachu.

But Palworld's promotional videos undermine Pokémon's typically good-natured atmosphere, with cartoon monsters holding realistically designed machine guns. We see the player ridding these adorable creatures with bullets, arrows or explosives and arming the animals they capture. Palworld is also about slavery and animal cruelty – without us knowing exactly whether it is satire or not.

Disturbing and surprising elements in a game that, when released, presented itself as “PEGI 7”, that is, according to the rating system set up by European publishers, recommended for an audience of 7 years and over. It is now reserved for an audience of players over 12 years old.

This subversion doesn't seem to have angered the huge community of Pokémon fans, and may have even attracted them. The performance of its release is also comparable to that of a real Pokémon game. In fact, at the start of 2022 6.5 million boxes of Pokémon Legends: Arceus were sold in one week. Then, in November 2022, ten million copies of Pokémon Purple and Pokémon Scarlet were sold in three days.

Pokémon fans' appetite for Palworld may be exacerbated by what is often perceived as a lack of boldness in a series that has barely evolved since its first episode, released on the Game Boy in 1996. The last titles in the series even suffered from technical problems and graphics that fell well short of current standards.

Read the review: We tested Pokémon: Scarlet and Violet, the most enchanting technical disaster

But for many observers, Palworld is not only reminiscent of Pokémon: it is a copy, at least in certain aspects. Over the past few days, players have been having fun searching for the Pokémon that inspire each of the game's 111 “Pals.”

The world

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Adding to these visual similarities is a monster capture system very similar to that of the Nintendo game; We are therefore invited to collect them in a “Paldex”, which inevitably reminds us of the Pokémon “Pokédex”.

The connections are fueling online debates and causing some to worry about possible legal action by Nintendo over plagiarism. Asked about this issue, the company did not respond to requests from Le Monde.

A leader with a nebulous profile

The CEO of Pocket Pair, Takuro Mizobe, assured in an exchange with the specialized Japanese website Automaton that he had taken the necessary legal precautions, quoted in an article published on January 19th. Since the game's announcement, the studio's line of defense has been to fend off any attempt at comparison. “Honestly, I didn’t understand why people on the internet said they were Pokemon with weapons,” Mr. Mizobe previously defended himself in an article published in June 2021 on the American site The Gamer.

Pocket Pair's official announcement emphasizes that Palworld is a survival and building game, similar to the very popular Valheim, V-Rising or Sons of the Forest, surprise hits from 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Mr. Mizobe tirelessly reiterates that the main inspiration for Palworld was not Pokémon but Ark: Survival Evolved (2015), a survival game featuring dinosaurs. In fact, aside from the design of its monsters, it differs greatly from Pokémon in most of its gameplay mechanics, which more closely resembles the cannon of role-playing games.

The controversies surrounding Palworld are also fueled by Pocket Pair's meager liabilities (previously primarily responsible for one game, Craftopia, whose similarities to Zelda, another Nintendo series, are now highlighted) and, in particular, by the surprising profile of its CEO. Takuro Mizobe does not come from the world of video games – his only experience in the field before developing Pocket Pair seems to be his participation in a seminar organized by the brand on developing games for the Nintendo DS console in the early 2010s. The US Patent Office also maintains traces of applications from the same period filed in Nintendo's name and in which the Nintendo name appears.

Takuro Mizobe describes himself: to his account, as one of the founders of Coincheck, a cryptocurrency company where he actually held an executive position, according to an internal company document. Founded in 2014, this crypto exchange platform was presented at the time as a symbol of the sector's growth in Japan. In 2018, Coincheck suffered a major computer attack that resulted in the theft of the equivalent of 430 million euros – an amount that Coincheck has since refunded to its customers.

However, on his company's official website, Mr. Mizobe ignores other activities. His bio does not mention his role as chief engineer of the Spindle project, a cryptocurrency investment company, a role he held according to a Japanese influencer's presentation of the project in 2018. This project presented itself as “the largest ICO” at the time [levée de fonds en cryptoactifs] of Japanese History,” but had attracted the attention of investigators from the country’s financial brigade, who believed the company was violating investment laws. She then hastily moved to London. The project has now been completed and around 16 million euros in capitalization went up in smoke.

Read the story: Article reserved for our subscribers The “Pokémon” series ends: between “moral panic” and epileptic seizures, a look back at 25 years of stories

Pierre Trouvé, Damien Leloup and Florian Reynaud

On January 24, 1984, Apple introduced a new personal computer: the Macintosh. Its appearance triggers a revolution in the field of microinformatics.

Revolutionary ease of use

Apple's new computer, the Macintosh, was just unveiled with pomp in Los Angeles.

Report by journalist Gilles Sirois introducing the Macintosh. Marie-Claude Lavallée moderates the first edition.

On February 7, 1984, journalist Gilles Sirois presented a report on the show Première édition about a new personal computer that represented a revolution in the computer world.

On January 24th, Apple introduced the Macintosh with great fanfare.

It is a tool that offers revolutionary ease of use.

Apple claims that this computer is the lightest, most complete and, above all, most user-friendly on the market, recalls Gilles Sirois.

Apple's operating system is also heralding a small revolution.

The commands are executed using a mouse that moves on a surface and moves a cursor to the screen, where a series of menus appear to operate the device.

“We no longer have to touch the keyboard,” explains an Apple representative.

Apple is therefore focusing on ease of use and ease of use to convince its target customers, small businesses and graduate students, to buy a Macintosh.

a Lovestory

For many in the microcomputer field, the Macintosh is the greatest computer ever developed.

Report by journalist Jean-Hugues Roy, who remembers the history of the MacIntosh computer.

On January 24, 1999, exactly 15 years after the Macintosh computer went on sale, computer journalist Jean-Hugues Roy presented a report on the Branché program that described its history.

The journalist recalls that Apple introduced the Macintosh during the broadcast of the Super Bowl in the United States with an advertisement that captured the audience's imagination.

In 1999, this commercial was considered by many to be the best ever shown on television.

Jean-Hugues Roy's report also takes us to the monthly meeting of the Quebec Computer Club.

He interviews several Macintosh users who admit that they are in love with this device.

For these users, it's the mouse, the icons, and the user-friendly interface that represent great innovations in the Macintosh.

Macintosh also includes an additional innovation that is very popular with French-speaking Quebecers.

This revolution is linguistic in nature.

In fact, Macintosh is capable of expressing itself in French.

While the report highlights the phenomenal success of the Macintosh, it also mentions some of the device's inherent weaknesses.

An example?

Apple develops technologies that are incompatible with other microcomputer technologies.

This feature somewhat dampened the Macintosh's sales momentum.

In 1995, IBM, Apple's big rival, launched Windows 95.

This program gives the impression that IBM personal computers now have the same ease of use as Macintosh.

For two and a half years, Apple struggled to respond to IBM and then found itself on the verge of bankruptcy.

An answer finally came in August 1998.

It is the iMac that has enjoyed great success since its release.

Report by journalist Jean-Hugues Roy, who introduces us to the Apple iMac.

On September 6, 1998, in a report proposed by Branché, the journalist Jean-Hugues Roy introduced us to the new computer offered by Apple.

The design with its translucent casing and curves is an eye-catcher.

The iMac attracted as much attention in 1998 as the Macintosh did in 1984.

However, the report at the time pointed out that the iMac had three potential weaknesses.

We are talking here about the lack of a floppy drive, its frequent incompatibility with other microcomputer technologies and its high cost.

Despite these disadvantages, Apple sold 800,000 iMac devices in the first five months of its existence and up to 5 million by April 2001.

According to Apple's annual report, the company will have made a profit of $96.9 billion by 2023.

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The Modern Data Company, known for its expertise in developing and managing advanced data products, is pleased to announce that it has received an honorable mention in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Data Integration Tools thanks to its flagship product DataOS.

This award rewards our commitment to productively making data and revolutionizing data management technologies. Our goal goes beyond traditional data management as we accompany companies on the path to effective use of their data, a tangible ROI on their data investments and the use of advanced technologies such as AI, machine learning (ML) and large language models (LLM). This recognition demonstrates Modern Data's alignment with the latest industry trends and our commitment to setting new standards in data integration and use. ? Srujan Akula, CEO of The Modern Data Company

This inclusion in the Gartner report highlights The Modern Data Company's pivotal role in shaping the future of data integration. Our innovative approach, embodied by DataOS, enables companies to tackle the complexities of data management and transform their data into a strategic asset. By simplifying data access and integration, we enable companies to realize the full potential of their data, driving understanding and innovation – all without disruption.

Modern Data's honorable mention in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Data Integration Tools is a testament to the transformative impact Modern Data's solutions have on organizations like ours. DataOS has played a critical role in enabling us to integrate multiple data sources and giving our teams access to the data they need to make data-driven decisions. ? Emma Spight, SVP of Technology at MIND 24-7

Modern Data Company simplifies the way companies manage, access and interact with data with its Data Operating System (DataOS) tool that unifies data silos at scale. The tool provides ontological support and supports graphical modeling and a virtual data layer (e.g. a 360 client model). From a technical perspective, it bridges the gap between the conceptual data model and the physical data model. Users can conceptually define what they want, and the software iterates and integrates the data. DataOS provides a structured, repeatable approach to data integration that improves agility and ensures high-quality results. This shift from traditional pipeline management to data products enables more efficient use of data because each product is designed for a specific purpose and has standardized interfaces, ensuring consistency across different uses and applications. With DataOS, organizations can expect a transformative impact on their data strategies, featuring greater efficiency and a robust framework for managing complex data ecosystems, enabling more and faster iterations of conceptual models.

About The Modern Data Company

With its flagship product DataOS, The Modern Data Company is revolutionizing the creation of data products. DataOS is designed to build and manage comprehensive data products to drive data network adoption and propel businesses into a data-driven future. DataOS directly addresses the key challenges of AI/ML and LLM: ensuring data quality, increasing computing resources, and ensuring seamless integration into business processes. As part of our commitment to delivering open systems, we have created a specification for an open data platform for developers that has broad industry support. (https://datadeveloperplatform.org/)

Disclaimer

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, including the Magic Quadrant for Data Integration Tools, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties of any kind, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

The text of the press release resulting from a translation should in no way be considered official. The only authentic version of the Communiqué is the Communiqué in its original language. The translation must always be compared with the source text, which establishes the case law.

Press release sent on January 23, 2024 2:25 p.m. and distributed by:

Video on demand (VOD) platforms have seen revenue increase (+244%) in Canada since 2018, making them more popular than cable in Quebec.

• Also read: What can we expect from streaming platforms in 2024?

According to data collected by HelloSafe, in 2021 we found that the number of subscribers to pay TV in Quebec (66%) was lower than that of subscribers to VOD platforms (79%).

“This is a complete reversal since four years earlier, in 2018, 79% of Quebecers subscribed to pay television, compared to just 51% for streaming platforms,” the study said.

Netflix remains the most popular platform in La Belle province, with almost half of internet users (51%) subscribed to it. Among the most popular websites among Quebecers are Prime Video (34%), Disney + (24%) and Club Illico (14%), followed by Crave and ICI Tou TV Extra (8%).

In Canada, the video-on-demand industry experienced a meteoric rise, with revenue increasing 244% between 2018 ($0.9 billion) and 2023 ($3.11 billion). “These revenues are expected to nearly double again by 2027, with estimated revenue by then reaching $5.21 billion,” HelloSafe added.

The study was conducted using sources such as JustWatch, Statista and Laval University.

Stephen Hawking, James Hartle and Alexei Starobinski are no longer with us, nor is John Wheeler, but other great pioneers of black hole theory are! Like Roger Penrose and Kip Thorne. It is often said that it was the work of Robert Oppenheimer that laid the foundation for the theory of black holes, but we can draw on the work of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, who was the first to realize that a star is exhausted above a certain mass Its thermonuclear fuel is forced to collapse by gravity, resulting in what we now call a black hole.

Today, the fascination with these compact stars that distort time and space, which still hold many secrets and perhaps sometimes represent gateways to parallel universes, is fueled in particular by Interstellar and the image of the all-black star M87* revealed through the collaboration with the event Horizon Telescope. Many people therefore undoubtedly want to take part in one of the greatest adventures of the noosphere of the geochemist Vladimir Vernadsky and the geologist and paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the collective mind of Homo sapiens, so to speak, and help discover the secrets of black holes. But they probably also think that this is a possibility reserved for astrophysicists.

But as Arthur Clarke predicted in a BBC broadcast in the 1960s, advances in telecommunications and computing have not only helped this noosphere develop a planetary consciousness and culture, but the rise of the Internet for more than 30 years It also allows anyone with a computer to help the scientific community make discoveries without having any scientific training. It has already been possible to help astrophysicists discover supermassive black holes in the hearts of large galaxies by connecting online with Radio Galaxy Zoo as part of the famous Zooniverse. This well-known citizen science portal is an extension of the original Galaxy Zoo project, which asked internet users to classify galaxies.

For some time now, anyone has been able to hunt stellar black holes in the Milky Way with another Zooniverse avatar: Black Hole Hunters.

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and black holes. To get a reasonably accurate French translation, click on the white rectangle at the bottom right. English subtitles should then appear. Then click on the nut to the right of the rectangle, then click on “Subtitles” and finally “Auto-translate”. Select “French”. © OpenLearn by The Open University

Wandering or isolated stellar black holes

What is it about ?

We know that most stars in the Milky Way are binary stars, often with at least one massive star ending its short life in a supernova. If one of these stars is particularly massive, it is more likely to leave behind a black hole as a stellar corpse rather than a neutron star.

It could be that the resulting explosion disrupts the binary star system and results in a wandering stellar black hole. It is also possible that the orbits are altered or that the black hole, although still gravitationally connected to the other star on the famous main sequence, is too far away to rip off material from the companion star.

In this case, an accretion disk does not form around the black hole, in which coils of matter heat up to radiation in the X range, so to speak, because these coils rub against each other. on the other (we speak of viscous friction for the gas streams involved) by causing the matter to fall towards the event horizon of the black hole, that fictitious membrane under which, according to the general theory of relativity, any fallen matter is hopelessly trapped because of its speed of light would have to exceed in order to escape the bubble defined by the horizon.

A wandering black hole, or one without an accretion disk, seems destined to forever escape the eyes of the noosphere and all black hole hunters.

This animation illustrates the concept of gravitational microlensing with a black hole. When the black hole appears to pass almost in front of a background star, the light rays from the source star are diffracted due to the distorted space-time around the foreground black hole. This becomes a virtual magnifying glass, amplifying the brightness of the distant star in the background. Unlike a star or planet as a lensing object, black holes distort space-time so much that the apparent position of the distant star in the sky changes noticeably. © NASA

Passing black holes with gravitational microlensing

But that is not true.

Although the event is rarely surprising and the largest possible region of the sky must be monitored over a long period of time, it is quite possible for an observer to see a black hole of this type pass in front of a star. The black hole's strong gravitational field deflects the light rays like a lens.

The star undergoing a transit therefore temporarily becomes brighter, its light intensity curve then contains a peak and this peak is created by a so-called gravitational microlensing effect, which researchers Matt Middleton and Adam McMaster from the University of Southampton and their colleague Dr. Hugh Dickinson of the Open University (a public and open university in the United Kingdom founded in 1969) offers Internet users the ability to search in the light curves recorded in research campaigns originally intended to detect planetary transits.

Therefore, for a time, the Black Hole Hunters website offered to study the data from SuperWASP (Wide Angle Search for Planets), an exoplanet search project carried out from 2004 to 2016 using ground-based telescopes at the sites of two observatories: the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory and the South African Astronomical Observatory.

But today, data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (Tess), now a famous exoplanet hunter, can be used.

Despite advances in AI, it is still Homo Sapiens who can most effectively hunt microlensing effects in light curves. Even if this is still the case, do not hesitate to transform yourself into a black hole hunter by following the instructions that are easy to put into practice!

The actual principle of geothermal energy, but in a new location.

Geothermal energy is, in fact, the energy that we obtain thanks to the heat of our planet. Typically, a fluid is circulated to a certain depth – for example, water injected into a crack. The liquid heats up and rises, charged with thermal energy that can be converted into electricity.

Because Iceland has no shortage of volcanoes to warm the underground, geothermal energy provides 90% of the heating and more than 25% of the electricity. But so far, drilling has only aimed to penetrate to a sufficient depth to extract this heat, and the proximity of the volcanoes' magma did the rest. In the Krafla Magma project, which is scheduled to officially begin in 2026, we have decided against drawing magma directly from a “pocket” or “chamber”: that wholly or partially molten rock that, when it reaches the surface, ” emptied.” Form of lava – sometimes spectacular.

In theory, it is possible to benefit from a heat source that reaches 900°C – compared to 250°C for the best geothermal energy sources. This would result in power plants producing more energy for less money.

But isn't there a risk of an eruption where the magma decides to rise to the surface as soon as the tunnel gives it the chance? This question has been asked for a long time in the geothermal energy industry, and this is the reason for choosing the Krafla volcano: the pocket of this volcano was accidentally drilled back in 2009 without anything happening. The team at the Icelandic Deep Drilling Project, a public-private partnership, assumed that the magma would be more than 4 km deep and only wanted to drill close: they encountered the magma after just 2 km.

Still, the difficulty will be at the equipment level. The magma chamber is only 2 km away, but heat, earthquakes and corrosion will make things difficult. The Krafla Magma project was launched in 2014, but only now does the team feel almost ready to start drilling, according to a recent report in New Scientist. And again the work will begin with scientific observations – for example, nothing less than throwing instruments into partially molten rock in the hope that they survive long enough to collect as much data as possible about the temperature and transition phases between a solid rock and a rock that “melts” and the apparently special composition of this magma.

Plus the old dream of wanting to predict an outbreak in advance. If all goes well, researchers will have their first “magma observatory,” so to speak.

And at the same time, other countries that are home to volcanoes are looking with interest at the prospect of a more efficient and cheaper energy source.

Florence Durand-Fernandes didn't think she had an entrepreneurial streak. But two years ago, at the age of 23, she became the owner of the second-hand store La Belle Saison in downtown Trois-Rivières.

This opportunity came to him on a silver platter.

“Before, it was the PURR VNTG here. I worked there for three years. Then, in 2022, it closed. The owners offered to buy the store. I was really excited about it, so I took part and took the opportunity to design the store in my colors,” says Florence Durand-Fernandes.

As a teenager, she was primarily inspired by theater until she studied at a professional theater school. She returned to Trois-Rivières shortly before the pandemic. At this point she started working at PURR VNTG and studying fashion design.

“I was given more and more responsibility, so I ran the store a lot. I was also asked to look for stock elsewhere. By staying straight to the source, I saw what customers were asking for and what they liked to see, she adds. Studying fashion design allowed me to develop a little entrepreneurial streak that I didn't know I had. I imagined opening my own boutique offering styling services, but let's just say it happened sooner than I thought. But I couldn't pass up this offer. It was apparently fate. »

And then it must be said that Florence Durand-Fernandes cares about the values ​​of circular fashion – or slow fashion.

“Fashion trends are cyclical. I also studied the fashion industry's impact on the environment. It is one of the most polluting industries in the world. As much as I love fashion, I also see how harmful it can be, notes the now 25-year-old entrepreneur. However, we have so much clothing on Earth that we have enough to clothe the next six generations without producing new clothing. With my store I want to encourage people to realize that there are really beautiful second-hand clothes out there. In addition, it is often of better quality than today's clothing, which is made in the spirit of fast fashion. My goal is to sell so that it lasts a long time. »

“I like to go searching for treasures everywhere and bring back beautiful pieces that people can reuse and are happy to give back,” she continues. I picked up most of what was in the store. I pay particular attention to warm, bright colors and fabrics. I also pay attention to the seams to ensure they are in good condition.

In addition to clothes, she likes to bring small vintage objects that are offered for sale in the store: cassettes with cult films, tableware, accessories, etc. The boutique on Rue Notre-Dame Center also sells the products of about ten Quebec artists offered.

(Photo Marie-Eve Alarie)

Thrift store styling services

Since taking over thrift store La Belle Saison, Florence Durand-Fernandes has launched a personalized styling service in-store.

“People like to get a little advice on how to arrange their finds. By opening my shop, I can offer more customer services because I feel freer. I know what I can offer. The offering of styling services in thrift stores is still quite marginal in Quebec. We often associate styling with something rich or something far from ourselves. I recently had the opportunity to offer it to a client. She explained to me what she was looking for, what her style is and her lifestyle. Then she gave me carte blanche. I was able to suggest arrangements to him. »

“Personally, fashion helped me a lot during my studies. When I started working here I was able to develop myself and my identity and feel more like myself and more comfortable in what I wear. I wanted to be able to offer this to others, to try things out differently, to get out of their comfort zone and see what suits them. »

He also sometimes rents clothing to theater groups for certain productions.

A great season to develop

Florence Durand-Fernandes has no shortage of ideas for the further development of the second-hand store in 2024. In addition to continuing her in-store styling service, she wants to improve the online store La Belle Saison and do small sewing projects with fabrics she has made herself that can be recovered to transform them into bags or headbands, for example.

“I also have some items with the image of La Belle Saison in the store and I would like to use used clothing that I could print myself to spread the image of La Belle Saison. I also want to push the styling department further and show more. I really want to develop customer service further. »

“Buying La Belle Saison took me out of my comfort zone, but I work for the job that I love and I can put as much time and energy into it as I want,” she concludes.

Video on demand (VOD) platforms have seen revenue increase (+244%) in Canada since 2018, making them more popular than cable in Quebec.

• Also read: What can we expect from streaming platforms in 2024?

According to data collected by HelloSafe, in 2021 we found that the number of subscribers to pay TV in Quebec (66%) was lower than that of subscribers to VOD platforms (79%).

“This is a complete reversal since four years earlier, in 2018, 79% of Quebecers subscribed to pay television, compared to just 51% for streaming platforms,” the study said.

Netflix remains the most popular platform in La Belle province, with almost half of internet users (51%) subscribed to it. Among the most popular websites among Quebecers are Prime Video (34%), Disney + (24%) and Club Illico (14%), followed by Crave and ICI Tou TV Extra (8%).

In Canada, the video-on-demand industry experienced a meteoric rise, with revenue increasing 244% between 2018 ($0.9 billion) and 2023 ($3.11 billion). “These revenues are expected to nearly double again by 2027, with estimated revenue by then reaching $5.21 billion,” HelloSafe added.

The study was conducted using sources such as JustWatch, Statista and Laval University.