Battle.net offers details on Tracer, the Overwatch character that will also be the next hero added to Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard's MOBA. They discuss the character a bit and offer this trailer showing the cocky little cockney in action. They say she will launch on April 19th for everyone who preorders a digital copy of Overwatch: Origins Edition, and will be put on sale for everyone else a week after that. Those who buy a traditional boxed edition of Overwatch will still receive Tracer in HotS for free, they just have to wait a bit longer. Here are the details:

The first Overwatch character to appear in Heroes of the Storm, Tracer will be available starting April 19 exclusively to those who pre-purchase a digital copy of Overwatch: Origins Edition for Windows PC. Starting on April 26, she’ll become available for sale to everyone in the Nexus.

If you pre-purchased the PC version of Overwatch: Origins Edition through the Battle.net Shop, Tracer will be waiting for you in Heroes the moment she goes live. Those who plan to purchase Origins Edition on other platforms will receive Tracer when they pick up their copy of the game starting on May 24. Learn more about Overwatch—and the other bonuses that come with Origins Edition—at PlayOverwatch.com, and in our support articles.

Continue here to read the full story.

Now that at least one Oculus Rift has been delivered, details about the terms of service that come with the VR headsets are coming to light. This post hashes through some fine points (thanks Slashdot via Ant), raising concerns about the unit's software phoning home. Gizmodo also notes an issue with content created using a Rift, as Oculus stakes a claim to use (but not own) any for free into perpetuity. Back to privacy concerns, the Rift installs an always on service that helps gather information on user activities. Here's more from the Oculus Privacy Policy on information that Facebook is permitted to collect and share with their third-party partners:

• Information Automatically Collected About You When You Use Our Services. We also collect information automatically when you use our Services. Depending on how you access and use our Services, we may collect information such as:
  • Information about your interactions with our Services, like information about the games, content, apps or other experiences you interact with, and information collected in or through cookies, local storage, pixels, and similar technologies (additional information about these technologies is available at https://www.oculus.com/en-us/cookies-pixels-and-other-technologies/);
  • Information about how you access our Services, including information about the type of device you're using (such as a headset, PC, or mobile device), your browser or operating system, your Internet Protocol ("IP") address, and certain device identifiers that may be unique to your device;
  • Information about the games, content, or other apps installed on your device or provided through our Services, including from third parties;
  • Location information, which can be derived from information such as your device's IP address. If you're using a mobile device, we may collect information about the device's precise location, which is derived from sources such as the device's GPS signal and information about nearby WiFi networks and cell towers; and
  • Information about your physical movements and dimensions when you use a virtual reality headset.
  • Third parties may also collect information about you through the Services, as described below.
• Related companies. We may receive information about you from other companies that are within the family of related companies that are legally part of the same group of companies that Oculus is part of, or that become part of that group, such as Facebook, and may combine that information with other information we collect about you. View a complete list of related companies at https://www.oculus.com/en-us/related-companies/.
• Information from other sources. We may also receive additional information about you from third parties, including partners that provide us information that is publicly or commercially available, and may combine that information with the other information we collect about you.

Here's Valve's report of the 10 (seven?) bestselling games on Steam for last week:

1. Tom Clancy’s The Division
2. Grand Theft Auto V
3. Stardew Valley
4. Fallout 4
5. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
6. DARK SOULS III Deluxe Edition
7. DARK SOULS III
8. Factorio
9. Tom Clancy’s The Division
10. Fallout 4 Season Pass

• CS-GO team pulls off ludicrous double comeback at MLG Columbus.

• 10 'ARGH!' moments every computer user experiences. Thanks Ant.
• I Ditched My Glasses For Virtual Reality.

• Senator: let’s fix “third-party doctrine” that enabled NSA mass snooping.
• FBI offers crypto assistance to local cops- “We are in this together.”

• The Walking Dead: Michonne, Episode Two: Give No Shelter on Just Adventure, LLC.

• Corsair Gaming Sabre RGB 10k DPI Optical Mouse on eTeknix.
• Overclockers UK Titan Dark Zone Gaming PC on eTeknix.

Thanks Ant.

• Game Giveaway of the Day – The Flying Dutchman…
• Don't Starve: Creating Community Around an Antisocial Game…
• Metal Gear Solid 2 - Did You Know Gaming? Feat. Super Bunnyhop…
• StarCrafts Season 5 Ep 1 Game of Drones…

Well, there's close to an inch of snow outside right now, and the forecast says we may get more today and tomorrow along with some rain. Mother Nature has been working on a wonky calendar all year, and this is no exception. Though she may be actually closing in on being more accurate... maybe she just thinks today is April Fools' Day, and is just a couple of days off at this point.

Snowy Links:	Thanks Ant and Acleacius.
Play:	Alula Falling 4.
Science:	Why Blue Origin’s latest launch is a huge deal for cheap space access.
Media:	Batman slept with Superman’s Mom. Affleck v Affleck (Batman v Superman w/ more Ben Affleck). Rey's Jedi Training Directed By Quentin Tarantino. People aren't awesome.
The Funnies:	Force Outs - FoxTrot. Virtual Reality Reality « EXTRALIFE.