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Microsoft, Xbox and Halo Studios are celebrating Halo 2's 20th anniversary by releasing recreations of some of the game's most memorable maps on Halo Infinite, as well as its E3 demo that's probably one of the most important moments of the franchise's history. The demo Bungie presented at E3 way back in 2003 showed the future of Halo and demonstrated what the Xbox, as a console, was capable of. It even featured gameplay that never made its way to the finished game. "The response to the demo at E3 was electric," Halo community director Brian Jarrard said. That demo went public more than a year before the game's actual release date, and it was built on an engine that no longer exists. It only became possible to make it available for fans to play because community modders and the game's community as a whole pitched in to restore it. The "wider Halo community" helped recover its original files and assets, while a team of community modders developed the tools needed to recreate the demo and to improve upon the original. "Steven Garcia (known to the community as General_101) was vital in getting this scenario stood up and even improved over the original. He was a one-man army and did a significant chunk of the work in developing tools, updating scripts, and even arting the levels. Digsite team members Ludus, Neo Te Aika, Sean T, xScruffyDaSasquatchx, and Killzone then provided finishing touches to replicate the original demo experience and test for bugs. Without them, we would probably have only had a rather unceremonious drop of raw assets and that was it," said Halo Senior Franchise writer Kenneth Peters. The Halo 2 E3 2003 demo will be available as a free mod on Steam Workshop for the Halo: The Master Chief Collection starting on November 9. In addition, Halo Studios is adding new maps to Halo Infinite's Delta Playlist that will be a blast to the past for long-time fans of the franchise. They're modern recreations of Halo 2 multiplayer maps that were rebuilt in Forge, Halo's suite of in-game tools, by community "Forgers." Xbox adjusted the gameplay in the Delta Arena, as well, disabling sprint and clamber, enabling friendly collision and higher jumps to recreate the original feel of Halo 2. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/youll-soon-be-able-to-play-halo-2s-iconic-e3-demo-in-honor-of-its-20th-anniversary-120020668.html?src=rss
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Proton's latest VPN app will be among the first to work natively on Windows ARM PCs, the company announced. The new app was built in collaboration with Microsoft by the same team that developed the encrypted Proton Mail service and promises "best in class security and privacy" on Windows ARM devices, according to Proton. The ARM app offers the same functionality as the x86 version and natively supports Proton VPNs core security and privacy features. Normally, native support means it should also load and run a bit quicker than x86 apps running on Windows 11's emulator, but improved security is the main selling point. As for its claim to be among the first native Windows ARM VPN apps, rival Surfshark launched such an app in August and NordVPN recently said that it's planning to release an ARM-native app "this autumn." Proton also revealed its upcoming winter 2024 roadmap, promising new apps for iOS and iPadOS. Those will include commonly requested features like sorting servers by load, selecting a server based on its city, hiding free servers and more. Proton also promised IPv6 support in more apps, port forwarding on macOS and Linux plus guest modes for iOS and iPadOS. Proton's app topped our best VPN services list for 2024, thanks to its overall security, usability and privacy features. It also offers a no-logs policy, an open-source framework and an official vulnerability disclosure program. There's a free version (with access limited to servers in three countries) or a paid version starting at 4.99 euros ($5.44) per month. Proton recently released an Apple TV app that allow customers with a paid plan to stream their media content from any location on Apple's set-top box. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/protons-vpn-app-now-works-natively-on-windows-arm-devices-110054749.html?src=rss
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The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has filed a complaint against Grindr. According to Bloomberg, the agency alleges that a return-to-office (RTO) mandate that limited remote work and effectively meant a relocation requirement for many workers was an attempt to fend off a unionization drive. Around 80 of Grindr's 178 employees quit as a result of last year's RTO demand, according to the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The NLRB's general counsel office has accused Grindr of violating labor law by retaliating against workers who were attempting to organize. Per Bloomberg, the agency additionally claims the company refused to recognize the union or to negotiate with it in good faith, which would also be a violation of labor law. A Grindr spokesperson told the publication that the claims were "meritless." They added that some employees started signing union cards "only after it was known that the transition back to in-office work was underway." According to the CWA, the company announced on August 4 last year that workers would have to attend its offices at least two days a week. A supermajority of workers announced their unionization in July. The union claims that, by the end of August, around half of the staff had been forced to resign. This, in part, was said to a result of relocation requirements. Among other issues, having to relocate would have required some of Grindr's trans employees to find alternate healthcare providers, the union has said. "The RTO mandate gave workers two weeks to choose between ending their tenure at Grindr or relocating to their respective teams newly assigned 'hub' city to work in-person twice a week," the CWA said when it filed an Unfair Labor Practice against Grindr in September 2023. As CNN noted, many of the workers who had been hired remotely were suddenly required to report to a Grindr office in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco or Washington DC. This is hardly the first time Grindr has been in hot water lately. Earlier this year, the company was sued for allegedly sharing personal information including HIV statuses and test dates, ethnicity and sexual orientation with advertising companies without users' consent.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/nlrb-accuses-grindr-of-using-a-return-to-office-mandate-to-upend-a-unionization-drive-211507122.html?src=rss
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