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- The Morning After: Locast's local TV streaming service loses legal protections
- Samsung has made a 200-megapixel smartphone sensor
- FAA opens probe into anomaly on Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic spaceflight
- Tesla ordered to share Autopilot data with the US traffic safety agency
- This week’s ‘Lower Decks’ engages in old-school Trek tropes
- Apple will allow some media apps to link outside the App Store for payments
- McFlurry machines keep breaking and the FTC wants answers
- Reddit offers a non-response to uproar over COVID-19 misinformation
- Elon Musk warns the Tesla Roadster might not ship until at least 2023
- RED's latest 8K pro camera has a new sensor that shoots 120FPS RAW video
- SpaceX says Amazon is trying to delay Starlink because it can't compete
- HBO Max app lands on Vizio SmartCast TVs
- Apple reportedly asks US employees to share their vaccination status
- 'PUBG' creator Brendan Greene leaves Krafton to form independent studio
- DJI's next gimbal might be able to extend like a selfie stick
- Twitter opens Super Follow subscriptions for some creators
- Marvel’s 'What If?' expands beyond its anthology beginnings
- CDPR still plans to release 'Cyberpunk 2077' and 'The Witcher 3' console upgrades in 2021
- TimTheTatman is the latest major Twitch streamer to defect to YouTube
- Twitter tests new harassment prevention feature with ‘Safety Mode’
- Hints about the arthouse horror game created by a NIN guitarist and AAA veteran
- Qualcomm aptX Lossless delivers CD quality sound over Bluetooth
- Samsung's Neo QLED 4K TVs now come in very large (and very small) sizes
- Microsoft will hold a Surface event on September 22nd
- 'Seinfeld' will stream on Netflix starting October 1st
| The Morning After: Locast's local TV streaming service loses legal protections Posted: 02 Sep 2021 04:15 AM PDT Locast, a company that claimed to improve access to local TV stations for people who can't get the signal via traditional means, has been dealt a blow by a New York Court. It lost a courtroom battle with CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox, which said the company was violating copyright. Deadline reports the group's request for summary judgment was granted, and it couldn't use its non-profit status as a defense against further action. The nonprofit streaming service is funded in part by AT&T Inc and Dish Network Corp, and the lawsuit said the service helped AT&T and Dish avoid paying to carry broadcast content. It all echoes 2014 when broadcasters accused Aereo of copyright infringement. Aereo rented physical antennas that offered local channels and a cloud DVR service that streamed to smartphones, tablets and PCs. Broadcasters and the federal government claimed it was a violation of copyright law, as it technically rebroadcast content from the airwaves. Aereo was forced to pay broadcasters $950,000. Oh, and it's worth noting, as the lawsuit continues, that Locast's founder, David Goodfriend, conceived the service after Aereo was forced to close. — Mat Smith SpaceX says Amazon is trying to delay Starlink because it can't competeFights in space!PABLO COZZAGLIO via Getty Images Yesterday, SpaceX told the FCC that Amazon is purposefully trying to delay proposals for its Starlink satellite internet service because Amazon still can't compete with its own satellite solution, Kuiper Systems. A similar complaint led NASA to put SpaceX's lunar lander contract on hold. SpaceX says Amazon is neglecting "to resolve the Commission's concerns about [its] own non-geostationary orbit ("NGSO") satellite system." Amazon last week urged the FCC to reject SpaceX's proposal for Starlink, claiming it broke the agency's rules by offering two separate configurations for its satellite internet. Google is reportedly making its own ARM-based Chromebook processorsAnd they could be released in 2023.According to a report from Nikkei Asia, the company is developing processors for Chrome OS-powered laptops and tablets in-house. The tech giant has hired chip engineers from around the world, including talent from its suppliers like Intel and Qualcomm. It also recently announced its own mobile chip, Tensor, would debut on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Samsung's Neo QLED 4K TVs now come in very large (and very small) sizesYou can also get an 85-inch version of The Frame.Samsung Samsung has introduced multiple new sizes for some of its premium sets. The Neo QLED 4K QN90A series is now available in a huge 98-inch version (85 inches was the previous peak) alongside relatively tiny 43- and 50-inch models. In short, more options at both ends of the TV size spectrum. Must-have gear to make traveling with kids easierHanding over your iPad isn't your only option.Traveling with little ones can be stressful because they rely so much on their established routines; anything that deviates from that is going to be hard for them and you. But there are a few tricks and gadgets to help. Amber Bouman walks us through some ideas for kids and parents. 'No Man's Sky' gets alien settlements you can take charge ofYou can resolve disputes between residents and see what they're thinking about.Hello Games After a rocky start, No Man's Sky is rolling into its fifth anniversary with its 17th major update. The space exploration game's Frontiers update adds alien settlements you can take charge of and rule however you like. You'll be able to see the population's overall happiness level, earn income from the town and gain insight into the intentions and thoughts of residents. The big news you might have missedAnother major Twitch streamer to defect to YouTube Engadget Deals: Samsung's Premiere 4K projector is $1,000 off right now Qualcomm aptX Lossless delivers CD-quality sound over Bluetooth |
| Samsung has made a 200-megapixel smartphone sensor Posted: 02 Sep 2021 03:05 AM PDT Samsung has just thrown down a gauntlet and insisted that its newest imaging sensor may be the thing that knocks Sony off its perch. The Korean giant has today announced the ISOCELL HP1, which it says is the first 200-megapixel image sensor (with 0.64μm pixels) for mobile devices. It added that the silicon is already small enough to fit in mobile hardware and that the promise of all of those extra pixels is to retain fidelity when pictures are cropped or resized. Of course, these eye-catching figures don't really mean a huge amount given that the HP1 will use pixel-binning just like every other overpowered image sensor. But arguably, the biggest innovation here is ChameleonCell, which can adjust the extent of the binning depending on the environment. For instance, in very low light, the camera bins down (by 16) to a 12.5-megapixel sensor, but promises images that are far brighter and clearer compared to its rivals. Samsung When shooting video in clear light, meanwhile, the system will divide by four, offering a 50-megapixel lens capable of shooting 8K videos at 30 frames per second. All of this averaging, Samsung says, will produce pictures and video that hold "an astonishing amount of detail that helps the image stay sharp even when cropped or resized." Samples of the new silicon are available right now, and we would expect to see them popping up in mobile devices in the far-flung future. It's worth noting that Samsung's Exynos 2100 already supports image sensors up to 200-megapixels, so while we wouldn't want to speculate that we'll see this in a future Galaxy flagship, we're also not not saying that. |
| FAA opens probe into anomaly on Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic spaceflight Posted: 02 Sep 2021 02:21 AM PDT The Federal Aviation Administration is looking into an anomaly on the Virgin Galactic flight that carried Richard Branson to space. In a piece discussing not just that particular flight but the company's various safety issues throughout the years, The New Yorker explained that Virgin's spacecraft went off-course during descent, triggering an "entry glide-cone warning." The spacecraft uses the glide cone method, which mimics water circling down the drain, for landing. Apparently, the pilots for the mission didn't fly as steeply as they should have, causing the system to raise the alarm. An FAA spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that the vehicle "deviated from its Air Traffic Control clearance as it returned to Spaceport America" and it's investigating the incident. The agency gives missions to space a designated airspace they can fly in to prevent collisions with commercial planes and to minimize civilian casualties in the event of an accident. Virgin's Unity 22 mission flew out of that designated airspace for a minute and forty-one seconds before the pilots were able to correct course. Nicholas Schmidle, author of The New Yorker piece, said he attended a meeting a few years ago, wherein the same pilots on the Unity 22 flight said a red light entry glide-cone warning should "scare the shit out of you." Apparently, that means it's too late, and that the safest course of action is to abort. In a statement it published after the article went out, though, Virgin Galactic said it "disputes the misleading characterizations and conclusions" in the piece and that the people on the flight weren't in any danger as a result of the flight deviation. The company said:
It also said that the spacecraft did not fly outside of the lateral confines of the mission's protected airspace, though it did drop below the altitude of the airspace it was provided. The company added that it's "working in partnership with the FAA to address the airspace for future flights." |
| Tesla ordered to share Autopilot data with the US traffic safety agency Posted: 02 Sep 2021 12:35 AM PDT The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has ordered Tesla to hand over detailed Autopilot data by October 22nd or else face fines of up to $115 million, according to The New York Times. Back in August, NHTSA announced that it's investigating incidents wherein Tesla vehicles with Autopilot activated crashed into parked first responder vehicles with flashing lights. The agency originally cited 11 such crashes, which resulted in 17 injuries and one death since 2018, but a 12th incident occurred just this Saturday. In a letter it sent the automaker, the NHTSA told Tesla to produce detailed information on how the driver assistance system works. It wants to know how it ensures that human drivers will keep their eyes on the road while Autopilot is engaged and whether there are limits on where it can be used. Feds have long criticized Tesla for not having the safeguards to make sure human drivers are keeping their hands on the wheel. A few months ago, the company finally activated the camera mounted above the rear view mirror in Model 3 and Model Y vehicles to "detect and alert driver inattentiveness while Autopilot is engaged." In addition, Autopilot is only meant for use on highways, but there's nothing keeping drivers from using it on local roads. In addition to detailed Autopilot data, the NHTSA is also asking for information on how many cars Tesla has sold in the US. It wants to know every Autopilot-related arbitration proceeding or lawsuit the company has been involved in, along with all the complaints Tesla has received about the driver assistance technology from customers. |
| This week’s ‘Lower Decks’ engages in old-school Trek tropes Posted: 02 Sep 2021 12:01 AM PDT This post contains minor spoilers for season two, episode four of 'Star Trek: Lower Decks.' If you were a Star Trek newbie, today's episode of Lower Decks, "Mugato, Gumato," is not a good place to start. It's packed full of references across the franchise, including Beckett Mariner, Sam Rutherford and Brad Boimler engaging in a not-so-friendly match of anbo-jyutsu, the appearance of not-so-enlightened Ferengi and even the episode name, which references how no one can seem to agree on how to pronounce the creature whose name is spelled "mugato." CBS However, after a season and a half, the show has already settled into a groove, and as a streaming program there's no reason why "Mugato, Gumato" would be anyone's first episode. Paramount+ would only pull up this one if last week's "We'll Always Have Tom Paris" had recently been watched. With less need to be accessible, that leaves a show like Lower Decks free to dabble in continuity and in-jokes for the long-time fans. Fan service is often derided for being gratuitous at best, and an act of gatekeeping at worst. After nearly 55 years and over 800 episodes aired, Star Trek has a lot of baggage that can be intimidating to a newcomer. The Abrams reboot in 2009 tried to wipe the slate clean but was still bogged down by decades of cultural knowledge, with even Trek casuals expecting to hear phrases like "beam me up" and "I'm a doctor!" It found itself trying to appease multiple groups of fans and ultimately thrilling few. And yet, despite its deep dives into Star Trek lore, Lower Decks can still be a great entryway for new fans in how it chooses to subvert so many long-time franchise tropes. Both newcomers and hardcore Trekkies get to be on the same page when it comes to the all-important question: What comes next? In that vein, "Mugato, Gumato" is a fun ride. The main plot revolves around the re-discovery of a rare species only previously seen in a rather forgettable TOS episode, with the USS Cerritos charged with finding out how the animals got so far from their home planet. It's not the most thrilling adventure on the surface, which makes it a perfect assignment for the crew of the lower-tier ship. Boimler and Rutherford are assigned to the away team, which would normally spell doom for a pair of chronically unlucky ensigns. CBS Instead, the rest of the group is captured by a group of Ferengi poachers, leaving Brad and Sam in the unlikely and awkward position of saviors. But rather than have them step into the role of "action-oriented leading men," they instead embrace their unique skills as "nerdy supporting characters." Meanwhile, it's the captain and bridge crew who get stuck with the b-plot of helping out a stranded trader whose ship they accidentally destroyed. After Boimler and Rutherford save the day with a well-thought-out PowerPoint (yes, really) it ends up being the senior staff who isn't fully informed of what happened on the planet. This is in direct contrast to a previous episode where Boimler has pointed out that it's not their place to know what's going on. Captain Freeman just shrugs the whole incident off as some "environmentally conscious Ferengi," apparently unaware of the two ensigns' key role in getting the ultra-capitalist Ferengi to change their ways in favor of a more profitable path without resorting to violence. CBS It also ends up being good for continuity, in how it reconciles the two versions of Ferengi we've seen throughout the franchise. Here, it argues, they really are the same species in the end, just that the offensive, retrograde Ferengi from "The Last Outpost" hadn't found a less overtly evil way to make money. "Mugato, Gumato" may have trafficked in old tropes, but it also twisted them in a way to teach the characters and audience something new about themselves and the franchise. Or, as Boimler and Rutherford would say, "If we're both unhappy, it means we've reached… a compromise!" |
| Apple will allow some media apps to link outside the App Store for payments Posted: 01 Sep 2021 09:22 PM PDT Apple has been taking a lot of flak lately over the 30 percent cut it takes from app developers. Starting next year, though, certain developers will be able to avoid paying the tech giant a commission. The company has announced that it will update the App Store in early 2022 to allow developers of "reader" apps to add in-app links to their websites, allowing users to set up their accounts and make payments. Apple defines reader apps as those that "provide previously purchased content or content subscriptions for digital magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music and video." As Bloomberg notes, that means the new rule would apply to services like Netflix and Spotify.
The tech giant announced the update following the conclusion of an investigation by the Japan Fair Trade Commission. Apple agreed with the commission to let reader app developers add a single link to their website, because those developers "do not offer in-app digital goods and services for purchase." The change will cover all reader apps around the world, but Apple will update its guidelines and review process first before it takes effect. Phil Schiller, the executive in charge of overseeing the App Store, said: "We have great respect for the Japan Fair Trade Commission and appreciate the work we've done together, which will help developers of reader apps make it easier for users to set up and manage their apps and services, while protecting their privacy and maintaining their trust." Netflix and Spotify have long criticized Apple for taking a 30 percent of their earnings. Spotify filed a complaint against Apple with the European Commission in 2019 over what it says are anti-competitive practices by the tech giant. Unwilling to pay a 30 percent commission, it pulled users' ability to pay for premium upgrades from the iOS app. Netflix also removed users' ability to pay for a subscription within its iOS app in 2018. Since the upcoming update doesn't cover games, it won't be able to put an end to Apple's courtroom battle with Epic. The gaming developer has been leading the charge against the tech giant over the past year ever since it decided to offer discounts on Fortnite's V-bucks currency and other cash purchases outside the App Store. Apple removedFortnite from the App Store in response, and the lawsuit that resulted from that brought to light some very interesting information. Tim Cook's court testimony revealed that a lot of developers are unhappy with Apple, while court documents showed that Epic pays millions of dollars to publishers to give away their games for free on its store. |
| McFlurry machines keep breaking and the FTC wants answers Posted: 01 Sep 2021 03:13 PM PDT McDonald's McFlurry machine and its tendency to break down has been the inspiration for countless jokes and Twitter feuds, and now it could become the subject of a Federal Trade Commission investigation. According to The Wall Street Journal, the agency recently reached out to McDonald's restaurant owners to collect more information on their experiences with the machines. Why is the FTC looking into McFlurry machines, you ask? The answer may have something to do with the right to repair movement. At the start of July, President Biden ordered the agency to draft new rules to empower consumers and businesses to repair their devices on their own. Later that same month, the FTC made good on that order, voting unanimously to tackle unlawful repair restrictions. By all accounts, McFlurry machines are a nightmare to repair. Moreover, Taylor, the firm that makes them, is at the center of a legal battle over measures it uses to prevent restaurants from repairing the machines on their own. When a McFlurry machine breaks down, only a certified technician from Taylor is allowed to fix it, leading to long wait times. Those wait times have increased during the pandemic. A federal judge recently sided with a company that produces a diagnostic tool that threatens Taylor's monopoly on repairs. The FTC hasn't opened a formal probe yet. "The existence of a preliminary investigation does not indicate the FTC or its staff have found any wrongdoing," the agency said in the letter it sent out this summer, according to The Journal. However, it reportedly wants to know how often restaurant owners are allowed to work on the McFlurry machines on their own. |
| Reddit offers a non-response to uproar over COVID-19 misinformation Posted: 01 Sep 2021 02:11 PM PDT Reddit has finally cracked down on COVID-19 misinformation following growing calls to act, although it probably won't satisfy many of its critics. The social site has banned r/NoNewNormal and quarantined 54 other COVID-19 denial subreddits, but not over the false claims themselves. Instead, it's for abuse — NoNewNormal was caught brigading en masse (that is, flooding other subreddits) despite warnings, while the other communities violated a rule forbidding harassment and bullying. The company didn't, however, relent on its approach to tackling the misinformation itself. Reddit said it clamps down on posts that encourage a "significant risk of physical harm" or are manipulations intended to mislead others, but made no mention of purging posts or subreddits merely for making demonstrably false claims about COVID-19 or vaccines. Reddit previously defended its position by arguing its platform was meant to foster "open and authentic" conversations, even if they disagree with a widely established consensus. However, that stance hasn't satisfied many of Reddit's users. Business Insidernoted 135 subreddits went "dark" (that is, went private) in protest over Reddit's seeming tolerance of COVID-19 misinformation, including major communities like r/TIFU. Critics among those groups contended that Reddit let these groups blossom through "inaction and malice," and that Reddit wasn't consistent in enforcing its own policies on misinformation and abuse. As one redditor pointed out, Reddit's claims about allowing dissenting ideas don't carry much weight — the COVID-19 denial groups are presenting false statements, not just contrary opinions. The situation is a familiar one. Reddit was accused of dragging its heels on hate speech, responding only when the outcry became too loud to ignore. The misinformation response suggests Reddit is repeating that behavior. Not that this would be shocking. The site often finds itself trying to balance its need to please advertisers with a desire to foster free expression, and this is just the latest instance of that balancing act creating an uproar. |
| Elon Musk warns the Tesla Roadster might not ship until at least 2023 Posted: 01 Sep 2021 01:20 PM PDT Add the Roadster to the list of delayed Tesla vehicles. On Wednesday, CEO Elon Musk said the performance EV wouldn't make its previously announced 2022 shipment date. "2021 has been the year of super crazy supply chain shortages, so it wouldn't matter if we had 17 new products, as none would ship," he said in a tweet spotted by Roadshow. The executive added the Roadster should ship in 2023, "assuming 2022 is not mega drama."
Tesla first announced its next-generation Roadster in 2017. Back then, the company expected to debut the car sometime last year. 2020 came and went without Tesla sharing much information on the supercar. Then, at the start of the year, Musk said production on the Roadster would start in 2022. Whether the car will make its new date is a big if. The global chip shortage that delayed the Tesla Semi is expected to continue until 2023, and Musk's tweet hints at the possibility of further delays. |
| RED's latest 8K pro camera has a new sensor that shoots 120FPS RAW video Posted: 01 Sep 2021 01:05 PM PDT RED is determined to stay at the forefront of 8K video recording, and its latest pro camera might just be proof. DPReviewnotes that RED has unveiled the V-Raptor ST, its first camera in the DSMC3 lineup. The body is only slightly bigger than the Komodo, but it touts a brand new, 35.4-megapixel VV full-frame sensor that offers a large 17 stops of dynamic range and "cinema-quality" scan times twice as fast as any other RED camera. You might not have to sacrifice quality for speed, either. The V-Raptor ST can shoot 16-bit REDCODE RAW video at 8K and 120 frames per second, and you can ramp it up to 600 frames per second at 2K if you're capturing slow-motion shots. While RED may be stretching things by claiming you can "always deliver" at greater than 4K (you clearly need to step down in some situations), you might feel a twinge of regret if your production team spent close to $60,000 on a Monstro 8K that 'only' manages 60FPS at full resolution. The new camera includes other creature comforts. A dedicated user display on the side helps assistants tweak settings and save presets, and improved cooling (including a quiet 60mm fan) helps you work in tougher conditions. You'll have access to a wide range of ports, including two 12G-SDI outputs, nine-pin EXT (for breakout boxes), USB-C and the obligatory pogo pin connector for a monitor. ODU output on the side can break out to XLR or 3.5mm audio. Not surprisingly, you'll want fast storage — RED supports compatible CFexpress 2.0 Type B cards that can record R3D and ProRes at up to 800MB/s. The price is squarely in pro filmmaker territory. The body alone sells for $24,500, and you'll likely want to spend $29,580 on a "Starter Pack" with useful add-ons like a 7-inch touchscreen, a RED 660GB CFexpress card (plus the matching card reader) and a pair of batteries. That's not including the RF-mount lenses and adapters you might need if you're new to the RED ecosystem. If you're the sort who regularly shoots 8K video for a living, though, this might represent a bargain if you're looking for high-end video equipment. |
| SpaceX says Amazon is trying to delay Starlink because it can't compete Posted: 01 Sep 2021 12:52 PM PDT SpaceX isn't pulling any punches in its response to Amazon's latest stalling tactics. Yesterday, SpaceX told the FCC that Amazon is purposefully trying to delay proposals for its Starlink satellite internet service. The reason? Amazon still can't compete with its own satellite solution, Kuiper Systems, Ars Technica reports. This wouldn't be a first for Amazon, of course: a similar complaint led NASA to put SpaceX's lunar lander contract on hold. "Amazon's recent missive is unfortunately only the latest in its continuing efforts to slow down competition, while neglecting to resolve the Commission's concerns about Amazon's own nongeostationary orbit ("NGSO") satellite system," SpaceX said in its filing to the FCC. "The Commission should see through these efforts and quickly put SpaceX's application out for public comment where any issues can be fully vetted." Amazon last week urged the FCC to reject SpaceX's proposal for Starlink, claiming that it broke the agency's rules by offering two separate configurations for its satellite internet. Starlink shot back, claiming that Amazon still hasn't told the FCC how it would avoid interfering with other services, or how it would follow rules around orbital debris. "But while Amazon has filed nothing with the Commission to address these conditions on its own license for nearly 400 days, it took only 4 days to object to SpaceX's next-generation NGSO system," SpaceX wrote. The company noted that Amazon hasn't had a single meeting this year with the FCC to address its complaints, and it still hasn't fleshed out details for its satellite system. |
| HBO Max app lands on Vizio SmartCast TVs Posted: 01 Sep 2021 12:11 PM PDT Watching HBO Max shows and movies on a TV is getting a little easier for Vizio owners. SmartCast TVs now have a native HBO Max app, so you won't need to cast content from another device. Along with accessing HBO Max the old-fashioned way by pressing buttons on your remote, you can use voice navigation via the SmartCast Mobile app or Voice Remote with Vizio Voice. To mark the app's debut, Vizio is using its SmartCast home screen to showcase some of the free episodes HBO Max offers to entice viewers to sign up. You can get a taste of shows including HBO heavyweights like Game of Thrones and Euphoria, as well as a few Max Originals. The titles will be on rotation, so there'll be other shows to sample later. HBO Max has been steadily expanding its app to more platforms. Along with YouTube, it landed on Spectrum TV this week. They joined Netflix as Spectrum Guide's first streaming apps. The reception to HBO Max's smart TV apps hasn't been great though. WarnerMedia reportedly plans to overhaul them in the coming months. |
| Apple reportedly asks US employees to share their vaccination status Posted: 01 Sep 2021 11:54 AM PDT Apple has asked all of its US employees to share their vaccination status voluntarily. According to Bloomberg, the company recently sent out a memo requesting workers, whether they currently work out of an office or not, to share that information by September 17th. Apple reportedly plans to use the data it collects to inform its ongoing COVID-19 response. Bloomberg reports the company told employees it would keep their vaccine status "confidential and secure" by aggregating the information but said that could change in the future. "It is possible your vaccination status may be used in an identifiable manner, along with other information about your general work environment such as your building location, if we determine or, if it is required that, this information is necessary in order to ensure a healthy and safe work environment," Apple said in the memo, according to the outlet. It's not clear what repercussions if any an employee will face if they do not provide their vaccination status by the deadline. We've reached out to the company for comment. Unlike Google, Apple currently does not require employees to be vaccinated before they can come to the office. Still, the company has started to nudge its workers in that direction more forcefully. For example, it recently began a campaign encouraging workers to get their shot. The company's request, and the admission that the information employees share with it may be used in an identifiable manner, come as Apple faces increasing scrutiny over how it handles the privacy of its workers. A recent report from The Verge detailed some of the company's policies on that front. For instance, one such rule prohibits employees from wiping their work devices before returning them to the company. This latest policy may further fuel those concerns. |
| 'PUBG' creator Brendan Greene leaves Krafton to form independent studio Posted: 01 Sep 2021 11:30 AM PDT Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene, best known as creator of PUBG: Battlegrounds (previously known as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds), is going independent. His PlayerUnknown Productions studio has spun out from PUBG owner Krafton, which will hold a minority stake in the company. "I'm so very grateful to everyone at PUBG and Krafton for taking a chance on me and for the opportunities they afforded me over the past four years," Greene said in a statement. "Today, I'm excited to take the next step on my journey to create the kind of experience I've envisaged for years. Again, I'm thankful for everyone at Krafton for supporting my plans, and I'll have more to reveal more about our project at a later date." Greene left the core PUBG team in 2019 and moved from Seoul (where Krafton is based) to Amsterdam to lead the PUBG Special Projects division. PlayerUnknown Productions is "exploring the systems needed to enable massive scale within open-world games," according to a press release. The only game listed on the studio's website is Prologue, for which Greene released an atmospheric teaser in late 2019, so it seems he's taken that game with him. Greene's departure from Krafton is notable, given that he's effectively the father of the battle royale genre that's dominated the gaming landscape over the last few years. Before PUBG, Greene came to prominence as a developer of battle royale mods for ARMA 2 and H1Z1. |
| DJI's next gimbal might be able to extend like a selfie stick Posted: 01 Sep 2021 11:20 AM PDT It looks like DJI is preparing to release a new smartphone gimbal. A leak shared by WinFuture and subsequently spotted by The Verge shows the Osmo Mobile 5. New to this model is a telescoping mechanism that will allow you to extend the gimbal. That's something that should give those who buy the OM 5 more ways to compose their photos and videos. According to the outlet, the device will cost €159 (about $188) and stand approximately 6.7 inches tall when you collapse down the telescoping mechanism. WinFuture Judging by the images WinFuture shared, it doesn't look like the Osmo Mobile 5 extends quite as long as a more affordable selfie stick, but that's probably for the best since the weight of your smartphone and the included magnetic mounting system would make the gimbal unwieldy at best and prone to breaking at worst. Unfortunately, it appears that added flexibility will come at the cost of battery life. The new model can reportedly go six hours and 20 minutes on a single charge. By contrast, you can get up to 15 hours of use from the Osmo Mobile 4's 2,450mAh battery.
If a high-tech selfie stick isn't your thing, DJI released a more affordable version of its existing Osmo Mobile 4 gimbal called the Osmo Mobile 4 SE in some regions, including Hong Kong and Australia. It costs around US$99, though it's unclear if it will be released in the US. The company plans to host a "Hi Five" event on September 8th, so we won't have to wait long to find out if it will be available stateside, as well. Update 9/02/21 12:50AM ET: We corrected the post to state that the Osmo Mobile 4 SE is already available in some regions. |
| Twitter opens Super Follow subscriptions for some creators Posted: 01 Sep 2021 11:00 AM PDT Twitter is finally flipping the switch on "Super Follows," its new subscription feature that allows creators to charge their followers for exclusive content. Starting today, the company is making the feature available to a "small group" of creators, with plans to expand the lineup in the coming weeks (Twitter has been taking applications for Super Follows since June). For now, creators can set monthly rates of $2.99, $4.99 or $9.99 in order to access "subscriber-only" tweets. Twitter says it will eventually incorporate other features, such as Spaces and newsletters. But until then the feature essentially amounts to.. paying for tweets, which might explain why the company is trying it out with just a few people to start. The initial lineup includes:
Of course, if you're especially interested in one of these topics or just a dedicated fan, there is an upside to buying a subscription. You'll be able to interact with creators in a smaller, and slightly more private, forum. That could be useful if, for example, you're hoping to get some personalized skincare advice. On the other hand, asking fans to pay for the kind of content they're used to getting for free might be a tough sell. Super Follows is one piece of Twitter's strategy to reshape its platform as a destination for creators. Outside of subscriptions, the company is also experimenting with letting creators sell tickets to audio chats in Spaces. Twitter is also working on a newsletter platform — it acquired Revue earlier this year — and has opened up tipping features in its app. |
| Marvel’s 'What If?' expands beyond its anthology beginnings Posted: 01 Sep 2021 10:30 AM PDT The following contains spoilers for episodes three and four of 'What If...?' There's a Twilight Zone episode I'm particularly fond of called "A World of His Own," where a writer discovers that everything he speaks into his dictaphone comes true, and he can undo it by simply burning the tape. By the end, even narrator Rod Serling is shown to be a creation of this character's imagination, making this one of the few TZ episodes where the fourth wall is firmly broken. It took an entire season for that classic program to feel comfortable enough to play around with its format and premise like that. However, we're only on the fourth installment of What If…? and it's employing similar tactics, though with a less comedic tone. The first two episodes of What If…? revolved around a simple switch, trading one character for another and seeing how things play out as a result. Last week's hinged on a minor change — Hope Pym joining SHIELD — that spiraled out with huge consequences. This week shows us a simple substitution again, putting Dr. Christine Palmer in the car with Stephen Strange and killing her off in the accident that in another timeline, destroyed the gifted surgeon's hands instead. Her death ends up being the catalyst for Strange studying the mystic arts, and the events shown here pretty much follow the same lines as they did in the film. It's kind of unlikely, given that a motive to fix one's injured hands is small peanuts compared to an attempt to undo death. But we still see Stephen training in Kamar-Taj, learning about the Eye of Agamotto and eventually fighting Dormammu. As far as the timeline is concerned, everything is pretty much the same. Marvel Studios Except Stephen, who can't get Christine's death out of his head. He ends up going back to the moment of the crash and trying to save his girlfriend's life, only to fail again and again. Since her death was the catalyst for him to learn magic, he can't use his powers to save her. She is a fixed point, an unchangeable event (something Doctor Who fans will be well acquainted with). For the viewer, this raises a big question: If Christine's death is really such a concrete event in the time stream, how did we end up with "our" Stephen Strange back over in the regular MCU timeline? Here, the episode inspired an intriguing possibility: that perhaps this Doctor Strange will succeed in changing the timeline so that Christine isn't in the car and he destroys his hands, in fact making this episode a prequel to the 2016 film. That would have been a rather mind bending twist that certainly would have made this series more important, though still not essential, to the MCU. Alas, it was not to be, with Strange descending further and further into his obsession to the point where even our narrator is concerned. And for the first time, a character becomes aware that they are being observed and actually calls the Watcher out. Like in the Twilight Zone episode, the sequence is intended as a demonstration of power, showing that Strange has reached the level of awareness to notice the fourth wall. But still his powers are limited; he's not cognizant of the audience (though Uatu the Watcher is, having addressed us directly earlier in the episode) and his pleas for assistance ultimately go unheeded. Marvel Studios Compared with the first three episodes, this one ends on a dark note. That's actually truer to the original comic series the show is based on where, freed from the constraints of long-term continuity, the writers could take the story in whatever direction they wanted. If they wanted to kill everyone they could and would, since the main timeline was to go unaffected and future issues of What If…? would just hit the reset button. Whether the animated version will go the same way remains to be seen, but with the fourth episode an underlying sense of continuity has started to develop: The tentacled creature from "What If... Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?" makes a reappearance, and Uatu acknowledges to the audience the stories he's already told, which at the bare minimum hints that these episodes are meant to be viewed in a specific order. What If…? may be a diversion, but there seems to be a destination on the horizon. |
| CDPR still plans to release 'Cyberpunk 2077' and 'The Witcher 3' console upgrades in 2021 Posted: 01 Sep 2021 10:20 AM PDT CD Projekt Red hasn't revealed exactly when it will roll out the long-promised PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S upgrades for Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. However, it says it's still on track to release them by the end of the year. The studio listed "late 2021" as the timeframe for those upgrades in its financial report for the first half of the year. The timeline still fits with the Cyberpunk 2077 roadmap that CDPR published in January. At the time, it said the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S upgrades would arrive in the second half of the year. The studio also said at WitcherCon in July that a free current-gen upgrade for those who own The Witcher 3 on PS4 and Xbox One will arrive this year too, along with free DLC — perhaps in time for season two of the Netflix's The Witcher series in December. After the abysmal launch of Cyberpunk 2077, which by all accounts ran poorly on the base PS4 and Xbox One, CDPR has released several patches and hotfixes to improve stability and performance. The game was in such a bad state at the outset that Sony swiftly yoinked Cyberpunk 2077 from the PlayStation Store, and didn't allow the game back until six months later (albeit with a warning about performance on the base PS4). The most recent Cyberpunk 2077 patch included the first batch of promised free downloadable content. However, this only amounted to cosmetic items and a new look for Johnny Silverhand, Keanu Reeves' character. There are still expansions to the game on the way, though. Still, given the widespread spate of game delays we've seen over the last year or so, including a couple of delays to Cyberpunk 2077 itself, its encouraging that CDPR is still confident about releasing the current-gen upgrades for both games in the next few months. Between around a third and 40 percent of CDPR's developers are currently working on Cyberpunk 2077 support and the current-gen upgrade, according to a chart in the financial report. It's hard to tell, since the chart doesn't include actual percentages. In any case, that's down from over half of the team as of the end of 2020 as the studio gradually shifts employees to other projects. One of those is the first expansion for Cyberpunk 2077, which doesn't currently have a release window. CD Projekt Red |
| TimTheTatman is the latest major Twitch streamer to defect to YouTube Posted: 01 Sep 2021 10:07 AM PDT DrLupo isn't the only big-name Twitch streamer leaving for YouTube. TimTheTatman (aka Tim Betar) has announced he will stream "exclusively" on YouTube Gaming as of September 2nd. He didn't explain the reasons behind the leap, but it comes less than two years after he (plus DrLupo and Saqib "Lirik" Zahid) signed a multi-year deal with Twitch. Twitch didn't issue a formal response. It wished TimTheTatman well on Twitter, though, saying the streamer would "always be a King" to the service he left. It's not yet certain this represents a second wave of defections from Twitch. Microsoft spurred the first round, paying Ninja, Shroud and other top streamers to jump ship for Mixer. We wouldn't expect a similar outcome, though. Mixer struggled to compete against its livestreaming rivals, leading Microsoft to shut the service down. Creators had to quickly find alternatives, and some of them returned to Twitch with exclusivity deals. YouTube is in a considerably stronger position, even if it's not the dominant home for live game streaming. Even so, the moves represent gambles for TimTheTatman, DrLupo and others who might follow suit. While many larger creators have an established YouTube presence for their on-demand videos, that doesn't guarantee they'll watch live shows on Google's service. Even so, this could be a coup for YouTube — and a blow to Twitch if it can't hold on to its best-known stars.
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| Twitter tests new harassment prevention feature with ‘Safety Mode’ Posted: 01 Sep 2021 09:46 AM PDT Twitter is experimenting with its most aggressive anti-harassment features to date. The company will start testing "Safety Mode" a new account setting that automatically blocks accounts using "potentially harmful language." Twitter first previewed the feature back in February during its Analyst Day presentation, but is now starting to make it available to "a small feedback group." It's not clear when it might be available more widely. When enabled, Safety Mode will proactively block accounts that are likely to be the source of harassment for a period of seven days. Twitter says the system is designed so that accounts of people you know or frequently interact with won't be blocked, but trolls will. "Safety Mode is a feature that temporarily blocks accounts for seven days for using potentially harmful language — such as insults or hateful remarks — or sending repetitive and uninvited replies or mentions," Twitter writes in a blog post. "When the feature is turned on in your Settings, our systems will assess the likelihood of a negative engagement by considering both the Tweet's content and the relationship between the Tweet author and replier."
While Twitter has taken several steps in the past to address its long-running harassment problem, Safety Mode is notable because it takes more of the burden off of the person being harassed. Instead of manually blocking, muting and reporting problematic accounts, the feature should be able to catch the offending tweets before they are seen. Because it's still in a relatively early stage, Twitter says it's likely to make at least some mistakes. And users are able to manually review the tweets and accounts flagged by Safety Mode, and reverse faulty autoblocks. When the seven-day period ends, users will get a notification "recapping" the actions Safety Mode took. |
| Hints about the arthouse horror game created by a NIN guitarist and AAA veteran Posted: 01 Sep 2021 09:45 AM PDT There are secrets buried in the first video from Eyes Out. It's just two minutes long and filled with overlapping shots of drums, mics, guitars and snakelike cables packed into a lonely desert hideaway, all while an unsettling, ambient score gathers layers of sound. Over time, the scenes are flooded with red and the film is overcome by a horrendous groaning scream. Thin white text flashes across the screen, telling a disjointed story about burying bones and walking with the bloom of a burgeoning universe. Among this vibrating chaos, there are hints about the kind of studio Eyes Out will be and even what the team's first game might look like. Or, more aptly, what it might sound like. Eyes Out is the new video game studio founded by Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck and veteran AAA director Cory Davis, and the team is already hard at work on its first title, a mysterious horror game with an emphasis on experimental audio. "We want to create mind-bending experiences that cause you to question reality," Davis said. "That's what we're really excited about. We're all fans of horror, but specifically this kind of — it's a new and emerging space that doesn't just sit within the extremely violent and dark and terrifying, but also reaches into the vibrant and even surprises you with moments of bliss or self-reflection. Horror really has a lot of room to grow." Finck added on to that thought, saying, "We're playing in this field that provides an emotional and psychological response, which really, I feel, is heightened as a singular experience. And we're really fortunate to be attracting developers who are so genuinely passionate about these types of conversations." Davis has built a successful career as a video game designer, directing and crafting high-profile titles including Spec Ops: The Line and Here They Lie, but he's also a composer. In fact, the first word of his Twitter bio reads, "musician." Meanwhile, Finck's Twitter bio has just two tags, both of which speak for themselves: @eyesoutofficial and @nineinchnails. Note which one comes first. Eyes Out Finck got involved in the video game industry about six years ago, after striking up a friendship with Devolver Digital co-founder Mike Wilson at Burning Man. Finck ended up handling the soundtrack for Noct, a top-down horror game published by Devolver in 2015, and his interest in development was piqued. He dove further into the video game industry, attending conventions and connecting with creators. "I was just really inspired by people and their enthusiasm, the forward tech of it all, and the collision of art and music, design, agency, narrative, and also the experience of really becoming immersed in all of this," Finck said. "It really feels like the most focused and the most highly attuned experience to imbibe this sort of storytelling. And that continues to turn me on. And this led me, fortunately enough for me, to meet Cory as he and his team were completing Here They Lie." Eventually, Finck found himself at Sony Santa Monica, playing an early version of Davis' VR horror title, Here They Lie. He was floored by it. Finck and Davis got to talking, and they haven't stopped since. "We immediately were talking about sound and music and the weight of that and the experience," Finck said. "And we kept on in the coming days and weeks and months. And then eventually were working together on music for projects that Cory was heralding. We have a simpatico workflow and creatively sync in a lot of ways." Davis remembered feeling a spark at that first meeting, too. "We started to go down the rabbit hole of distortion pedals and different synthesizers and stuff like that," he said. "But that led us to this other type of discussion where I really felt this connection in terms of an understanding of the power of games as a medium and the impact and the possibility of what the medium holds for the future." Davis and Finck were both interested in building a single-player experience around music and tone, rather than starting with a narrative or visual style and applying sound later on in the process. "From the first conversation with Robin, I could feel that he's this other type of creator that wants to be driven by his passion and his soul, rather than maybe what's trendy or what's even necessarily gratifying," Davis said. "I just felt this kind of depth of possibility of what we could do together. I had other prototypes going on at the time at my old studio, but every time I got back together with Robin, our conversations would go deeper. And they'd go beyond the music and they'd go to places where I'd been hoping to go my whole journey as a game developer." Eyes Out is the result of this creative magnetism between Davis and Finck. They've attracted other developers, too, and have hired 15 collaborators from the industries of visual art, film and games to work on their first project. "That's really what I've been looking for since way back in the Spec Ops: The Line days, was to build a team that has a diverse enough approach to both things like the difficulties in game development, as well as their acceptance and embrace of people that are from different parts of the world, from different backgrounds, that are of any kind of personality, and especially people that have been downtrodden and haven't had opportunities in the past," Davis said. "We see those opportunities allowing us to have so much more depth in the types of stories that we're able to tell." There's no name or release window for the studio's first game, but Davis and Finck are dropping hints about how it'll play and what they want players to feel. It's not a VR game, it's designed with complete immersion in mind, and it features creatures that behave strangely in response to generative audio cues. The team is playing around with rhythm mechanics and figuring out how to build creeping tension through sound. "The type of horror that we're building has a lot to do with the horrors of the universe and the horrors that you kind of go to sleep with at night, the ones that are just around the corner and outside of our purview, but exist," Davis said. "And the technology for building those types of soundscapes, the localized audio and reverb and the realism behind that, coming from VR before, I had a lot of opportunity to work with that stuff." The debut game from Eyes Out will be a focused, single-player horror experience built around sound — and silence. "I'm really excited about the nuance and the subtlety of coming from silence, like a really impactful silence, and beginning to emerge from that silence towards an impactful embellishment of some sort, however great or greater," Finck said. "And that play between the diegetic soundscape of the world within the tangible, physical space inside the game, and where it blurs with the score, the music of the game, can be really challenging and inspiring." Eyes Out's first project is poised to be otherworldly, introspective and experimental, just like the studio itself. |
| Qualcomm aptX Lossless delivers CD quality sound over Bluetooth Posted: 01 Sep 2021 09:18 AM PDT About a year ago, if you wanted to stream lossless audio tracks to your phone, you essentially had one option: Tidal. A lot has changed since then, with Apple recently rolling out support for lossless streaming in June, and Spotify promising to do the same later this year. But unless you're willing to connect a USB DAC to your phone, more streaming services jumping on the Hi-Res bandwagon does you little good since Bluetooth headphones can only stream lossy audio. Thankfully, that's about to change. Chipmaker Qualcomm is adding a new flavor to its aptX Bluetooth codec, and it's a lossless one that, in ideal conditions, the company claims delivers CD-quality 16-bit 44.1kHz audio streaming over a wireless connection. Qualcomm says it made improvements to its Bluetooth High Speed Link technology to deliver the required data throughput required to stream a lossless track wirelessly, but the codec can also compress a signal down to 24-bit 96kHz quality to ensure you don't experience any interruptions. You can also manually switch between 16-bit 44.1kHz and 24-bit 96kHz streaming modes, though the codec will automatically default to the former when it detects a lossless source. Qualcomm's Snapdragon chipsets come with support for its aptX codecs built-in. That means almost any Android phone you buy in North America or Europe will support the standard. As with all Bluetooth codecs, it's not enough for only your phone, tablet or computer to support the technology. You also need a pair of compatible headphones or earbuds. Qualcomm says the first ones to support aptX Lossless will arrive later this year. Before today, the closest you could get to a lossless connection over Bluetooth were Sony's LDAC and DSEE technologies. Those work well, but again you need a pair of Sony headphones to take advantage. |
| Samsung's Neo QLED 4K TVs now come in very large (and very small) sizes Posted: 01 Sep 2021 09:06 AM PDT Samsung is eager to court home theater enthusiasts who want high-end TVs at less-than-common sizes. The tech giant has introduced multiple new sizes for some of its premium sets. Most notably, the Neo QLED 4K QN90A series is now available in a huge 98-inch version (85 inches was the previous peak) alongside relatively tiny 43- and 50-inch models. This is ostensibly to allow for more flexible home theater installations, although we could see those smaller sizes proving useful for bedrooms, connected home gyms and dorm rooms. There are additional size options for Lifestyle sets, too. The Frame is now available in an 85-inch size for fans of extra-large artwork, while The Terrace Full Sun can be had in a 65-inch edition for backyard viewing in bright sunlight. The company didn't initially provide pricing for all of the new sets (we've asked for details). However, you can order the 50-inch QN90A today for $1,400 (normally $1,500), while the 65-inch The Terrace Full Sun is available for $10,000. None of these new sets is likely to be a trivial purchase, then, but they could be welcome moves if you don't want to sacrifice quality just to get a TV that fits your living space. |
| Microsoft will hold a Surface event on September 22nd Posted: 01 Sep 2021 08:44 AM PDT Microsoft will hold its next event on September 22nd, where it will show off the latest Surface hardware. The event starts at 11AM ET. The company didn't explicitly say this is about Surface, but the signs are clear. A teaser image shows a side-on look at what appears to be a Surface Pro. Microsoft usually holds a hardware-centric event in the fall. On top of that, the event takes place two weeks before Microsoft releases Windows 11, and what better way to showcase the latest OS than on shiny new hardware?
As for what to expect, we might see a refreshed Surface Duo. Recent leaks suggest the Surface Duo 2 will have an upgraded camera system and it may be available in black. The Surface Book lineup is due for an upgrade, and, given the teaser image, it won't be surprising if we learn what's next on the Surface Pro front. In any case, Engadget will cover all the big news out of the event. |
| 'Seinfeld' will stream on Netflix starting October 1st Posted: 01 Sep 2021 08:22 AM PDT It took two years, but Netflix is finally ready to stream Seinfeld. Varietyreports that Netflix will make the show about nothing available on October 1st. All nine seasons and 180 episodes will be available, so you can start from the beginning or jump to memorable moments like Elaine's questionable dancing or Jerry's quest to remember a woman's name. Netflix bought the rights to stream Seinfeld (albeit only for five years) in 2019, wresting the show away from Hulu with promises of access sometime in 2021. However, the eventual timing wasn't great — the series vanished from Hulu this June, leaving Festivus fans in limbo for all of the summer. It's still not clear what prompted that gap, although contract terms might have played a role. Either way, the deal could be important for Netflix. The service has lost multiple "comfort food" shows to rivals in recent years, including Friends and The Office. Seinfeld might not drive many new subscriptions, but it could keep people from jumping ship as they look for a show to stream in the background while they wash dishes or finish their homework. |
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