It’s nice when there’s balance in the blockchain force. Following the recent boom in NFT success stories (and millions being made), we have the other side of the coin. Ubisoft’s attempts to sell NFTs tied to its Ghost Recon gaming series haven’t gone well. The games company launched its own Quartz NFT platform to monetize game properties.
Alas, it seems Quartz has sold just 15 NFTs of a Ghost Recon Breakpoint gun skin as of yesterday, according to Eurogamer. As of yesterday, it appears to have sold two more M4A1 tactical weapons and one Wolf Enhance Pants #76 for a total of 18. According to their prices, that works out to about $1,755.30 in revenue. But Ubisoft appears to have minted about somewhere north of 3,000 NFTs, total. As many have noted, Breakpoint doesn’t have the most alluring visual aesthetic — nor is it the biggest Ubisoft property — making it an odd choice to kick off Ubisoft’s NFT attempts.
In other news, CES is facing the Omicron threat, and many companies are withdrawing from exhibiting early January. Amazon, Meta and several other big tech players will no longer have a presence at the show, citing the spread of the latest COVID-19 variant. The Engadget team will also no longer be attending the show in person, but our remote coverage will still ensure you hear about everything notable from the Las Vegas tech show.
— Mat Smith
Gaze in confusion at LG’s DualUp Monitor
Barely vertical, somehow desirable?
LG
I think the pandemic has really helped LG’s creative juices flow. Alongside its unusual new TVs, the company has revealed a new monitor that has “Square Double QHD”, two screens stacked atop each other.
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Billionaire Twitter founder Jack Dorsey rants about Web3 on Twitter
Those darn VCs.
CEO Jack Dorsey took to Twitter to warn blockchain enthusiasts how Web3 has already been co-opted by investors. “You don’t own ‘web3,’” he said, “The VCs and their LPs do. It will never escape their incentives. It’s ultimately a centralized entity with a different label. Know what you’re getting into…” Now no longer the CEO of Twitter, Dorsey still runs a company heavily involved in blockchain technologies.
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‘The Matrix Resurrections’ is brilliant, but not for everyone
Another divisive Matrix sequel?
Warner Bros.
There are minor spoilers within, so I haven’t read Senior Editor Devindra Hardawar’s thoughts on The Matrix Resurrections. I’m sure, however, that many of you are intrigued by how the movie turned out. US readers subscribed to HBO Max: You’ll be able to watch it indoors without having to venture to a movie theater.
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Researcher hacked an at-home COVID-19 test to give bogus results
The flaw has been fixed, but it still shows the potential for fraud.
F-Secure researcher Ken Gannon discovered a security flaw in Ellume’s Bluetooth-connected nasal swab test that let him change the reported results. The vulnerability was elaborate, but still disconcerting. It has now been patched.
Gannon used a rooted Android device to inspect the Bluetooth traffic Ellume’s lateral flow tester was sending to the company’s mobile app. The researcher pinpointed the traffic used to indicate test results and wrote scripts to change the outcome. F-Secure Marketing Manager Alexandra Rinehimer even managed to fool Azova, a company issuing certificates for US entry tests.
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The biggest news stories you might have missed
Tascam is making brand new cassettes for its ancient four-track recorders
2021 was the year that streaming pushed our cultural buttons
Three and EE will offer 4G and 5G access across London Underground
Nikola will pay $125 million to settle SEC fraud charges
Arturia is giving away a free lo-fi tape plug-in for the holidays
