Crytek employees say they're not being paid, again Crytek is once again facing complaints that it isn't paying its workers, with some alleging they have not seen a paycheck in more than a month. The complaints have appeared on social media and have spread through Reddit, all alleging delays and irregularities in meeting payroll over the past six months. In some cases, workers say they currently have not been paid in more than a month. Polygon 

The 3D printing revolution that wasn't It was October 2009 when Bre Pettis  – his unmistakable sideburns and dark-rimmed rectangular glasses framing his face  – took the stage at Ignite NYC, threw his hand in the air, and shouted "Hooray!" two times. A PowerPoint slide lit up behind him, revealing a photo of a hollow wood box crisscrossed with wiring. Bouncing up and down, his profuse mop of graying hair flopping about, Pettis began: "I'm going to talk about MakerBot and the future and an industrial revolution that we're beginning  –  that's begun." Backchannel

Bitcoin hits highest levels in almost three years Web-based digital currency bitcoin hit its highest levels in almost three years on Friday, extending gains since India sparked a cash shortage by removing high-denomination bank notes from circulation a month ago. Bitcoin was trading as high as $774 on the New York-based itBit exchange, up almost 1 percent on the day and the highest since February 2014, having climbed almost 9 percent in the past month. Reuters

Michigan lets autonomous cars on roads without human driver Companies can now test self-driving cars on Michigan public roads without a driver or steering wheel under new laws that could push the state to the forefront of autonomous vehicle development. The package of bills signed into law Friday comes with few specific state regulations and leaves many decisions up to automakers and companies like Google and Uber. It also allows automakers and tech companies to run autonomous taxi services and permits test parades of self-driving tractor-trailers as long as humans are in each truck. ABC

PowerShell security threats greater than ever, researchers warn Microsoft's Windows PowerShell configuration management framework continues to be abused by cyber attackers, according to researchers, who have seen a surge in associated threats. In March 2016, security experts warned that PowerShell had been fully weaponised. In the following month, a report confirmed that PowerShell was used to launch 38% of cyber attacks seen by security firm Carbon Black and its partners in 2015. ComputerWeekly

Internet-connected toys are spying on kids, threatening their privacy and security The growing popularity of "smart" Internet-connected toys poses significant privacy, security, and other risks to children, according to a complaint filed today(link is external) by leading child advocacy, consumer, and privacy groups at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). My Friend Cayla and I-Que Intelligent Robot, dolls marketed to both young girls and boys, collect and use personal information from children in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and FTC rules prohibiting unfair and deceptive practices. CDD

Printable electronics The next time you place your coffee order, imagine slapping onto your to-go cup a sticker that acts as an electronic decal, letting you know the precise temperature of your triple-venti no-foam latte. Someday, the high-tech stamping that produces such a sticker might also bring us food packaging that displays a digital countdown to warn of spoiling produce, or even a window pane that shows the day's forecast, based on measurements of the weather conditions outside. MIT

Extending home networks - A Comparison of G.hn, HomePlug AV2 and Wi-Fi Mesh Over the last decade or so, we have seen a rapid increase in the number of devices connecting to the home network. The popularity of IoT has meant that even devices that are not mobile require communication over the Internet, but, their placement might be far away from the primary router in the house. Given this situation, it is essential to find a reliable way to extend the reach of the home network. AnandTech

Building the hard drive morse key What's the difference between a flower and a weed? Well, even if philosophy is not your strong suit, you've surely heard that one man's trash is another man's treasure. Ultimately it's all about perspective – seeing value in things that others do not. If you're the holder of an amateur radio license, you already know that there are few fraternities more adept at implementing this idea than the ham radio community. H. P. Friedrichs

Swiss unveil stratospheric solar plane Just months after two Swiss pilots completed a historic round-the-world trip in a Sun-powered plane, another Swiss adventurer on Wednesday unveiled a solar plane aimed at reaching the stratosphere. The SolarStratos, a sleek, white two-seater aircraft with long wings covered with 22 square metres (237 square feet) of solar panels, is set to become the first manned solar plane to make a stratospheric flight... Phys.org

Backdoor accounts found in 80 Sony IP security camera models Many network security cameras made by Sony could be taken over by hackers and infected with botnet malware if their firmware is not updated to the latest version. Researchers from SEC Consult have found two backdoor accounts that exist in 80 models of professional Sony security cameras, mainly used by companies and government agencies given their high price. PCWorld

Nintendo bug bounty programme rewards hackers for 3DS vulnerabilities Nintendo has launched a bug bounty programme on the vulnerability coordination website HackerOne, focused on the Nintendo 3DS handheld console. The company is looking to prevent activities such as piracy, cheating and the circulation of inappropriate content to children, through both system and hardware bugs. Silicon.co.uk

One-upping the NES Classic Edition with the Raspberry Pi 3 and RetroPie Against my better judgment, I've tried a couple of times to snag one of those adorable little $60 mini NES Classic Editions – once when Amazon put some of its limited stock online and crashed its own site, and once when Walmart was shipping out small quantities every day a couple of weeks ago. In both cases, I failed. But the dumb itch of nostalgia can't always be scratched by logical thoughts like "do you really need to pay money for Super Mario Bros. 3 again,"... Ars Technica

Court: 'Falsely' accused 'movie pirate' deserves $17k compensation For more than half a decade so-called "copyright trolling" cases have been keeping the U.S. judicial system busy. While new lawsuits are still being filed on a weekly basis, there are signs that some judges are growing tired of the practice and becoming increasingly skeptical of the claims made by copyright holders. TorrentFreak

Microsoft wants to enable cellular PCs, but will carriers bite? Trying to find Wi-Fi when traveling can be a frustrating exercise. So much work often requires an internet connection, and while it's possible to tether smartphones to PCs to help bridge the connectivity gap, it can be a clunky solution. Computerworld