Computing
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The Morning After: 'Westworld' remembers that TV can be fun
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Now that Movies Anywhere has supplanted Ultraviolet as the digital video locker of choice, it's apparently time to start adding some features. The formerly Disney branded setup is much smoother to operate than the old locker system, and it now has announced a closed beta for Screen Pass. That's a feature that enables you to share up to three films per month with other users. It's a nice thing to have among friends and encourages more people to sign up for the service just to get tossed a few free movies from people they know. The only thing that bothers me is that, at least right now, its implementation falls short of what Ultraviolet was doing a decade ago. An overlooked part of the old service worked like this: "Ultraviolet also allows consumers to share their entire Ultraviolet digital library with other members on their account, and they can even watch the same title simultaneously from different locations." Vudu even launched its own variation with Share My Movies, which let others stream or download movies for viewing on almost any screen. So far, the Movies Anywhere version works on much less than an entire library -- and with more restrictions. There's no downloading, and according to the FAQ, you can only send movies if you've redeemed a code or bought something via a participating retailer in the past six months. If it's easier for people to use then that's good, but on its face, it appears less functional than what it replaces. That's not the kind of progress I was hoping for. -- Richard
Every HTC Vive Cosmos Elite will come with a copy of 'Half-Life: Alyx'
If you're waiting to take delivery of the new VIVE Cosmos Elite which ships today, you're in for a heck of a surprise. HTC has announced that the new headset will come with a free copy of Valve's hotly-anticipated VR exclusive Half-Life: Alyx. You'll receive a redemption code in-box that will unlock the game when it launches on March 23rd.
Hello Games' 'The Last Campfire' arrives this summer
We haven't heard much about the adorable adventure short The Last Campfire since Hello Games first revealed it in 2018. Now, the No Man's Sky developer has announced that it will arrive on multiple platforms sometime this summer. As we saw during a Switch preview of the game, it's a much more intimate title than No Man's Sky, with handcrafted artwork, a cute main character and a story with a lot of feels.
Overwatch League sets its new online-only schedule for spring
After three sets of Overwatch League cancellations due to the coronavirus outbreak, Blizzard is trying to make the best of a bad situation. The company has released the updated Overwatch League March and April schedule. And as you can imagine, it eliminates the need for teams to travel.
'Call of Duty: Warzone' adds a solo mode
You didn't have to wait long to get some added variety in Call of Duty: Warzone. Infinity Ward and Raven have introduced a Solos mode that (surprise!) asks you to survive the battle royale shooter without help. You still have a chance to come back to the fight through the gulag duel system and self-revive kits, but there'll be no one around to buy a revival if either of those methods fails. You could technically play by yourself before by turning off team autofill, but you obviously couldn't hold other players to that standard.
Timbaland created a music pack for 'Beat Saber'
Beat Saber has its share of popular music, but her'e something new: a big-name artist making music with the VR rhythm game in mind. Rap star and producer Timbaland has created a five-song music pack for Beat Saber with collaborations tat include Common Strangers, Karra, Kaydence, Bruno Martini, Nash Overstreet, Sid Tipton and Wavezswavesz. The pack will be available for $8 ($2 per song) on March 26th, and they'll be available through Apple Music, iTunes and Spotify if you'd rather not play just to listen to them.
Apple accidentally listed four new iPad Pro models on its website
An iPad Pro refresh could be imminent if what appears to be an accidental leak on Apple's part is any indication. Over on its Chinese website, the company temporarily listed four new iPad Pro models in a support document. Canadian Apple blog iPhone in Canada was the first website to spot and screenshot the manual before Apple updated it to remove any references to the new tablets.
Health experts explain how we should be cleaning our gadgets
The coronavirus has disrupted our lives in ways both large and small. Multiple organizations have cancelled conferences and events, and various municipalities have instructed residents to practice social distancing and to stay home whenever possible. If there was any kind of upside it's that we're all suddenly a lot more conscious of personal hygiene. Health authorities have advised the public to practice good sanitation practices, such as washing hands with soap, refraining from touching our face and coughing into our elbows. Another way to maintain good hygiene? Keeping our gadgets clean.
Helicopters come to 'Fortnite'
Helipads have been mysteriously popping up all over the Fortnite map since the start of the season, so today's new vehicle announcement doesn't come as too much of a surprise. In keeping with this season's spy theme, Fortnite has added helicopters. Or to give them their correct name, Choppas.
The Morning After: What's inside the Xbox Series X?
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Monday morning brought a flood of new information about the Xbox Series X. No, Microsoft's reps did not reveal a price or any details on why we should still expect new consoles to launch as planned later this year, but they did toss around a lot of technical terms for us to bury ourselves in as an alternative to dealing with other problems. Whether you're a gamer or not, Xbox Velocity Architecture could represent a significant shift in computing, with SSDs ready to deliver massive amounts of data faster than ever before. For game consoles, that means multiple titles on standby and ready to launch in an instant even after a reboot or system update, but it also reduces the load on the CPU. Microsoft says the DirectStorage tech that underlies the technology and all of its compression/decompression magic is coming to Windows, too, and I can't wait to see it. The Seagate-only-at-launch expansion slot, however, is a bit concerning. Microsoft also explained its use of new HDMI 2.1 features and how the system lowers latency between your controller inputs and every frame that displays on the screen. Using the One S and One X, it worked with the TV industry for several years to promote variable refresh rate (VRR) and automatic low latency mode (ALLM). Now, a healthy ecosystem of capable Ultra HD screens should be ready and waiting whenever the Series X boxes arrive. -- Richard
Samsung shuts down its PC-to-mobile game streaming on March 27th
We hope you weren't counting on Samsung's PlayGalaxy Link to play your PC games on your phone. Samsung has quietly announced (so quietly that most didn't notice the news in late February) that it's shutting down the game streaming service on March 27th. The Korean tech giant didn't explain why besides "internal policy changes," but it hoped the closure would let it "more effectively focus its resources" toward new products.
AMD's efficient Ryzen 9 CPUs target Intel's gaming laptop crown
While AMD is winning over the workstation market, Intel still dominates laptop gaming. However, AMD aims to change that in a hurry with the Ryzen 9 4900HS and 4900H Zen 2 mobile processors, launching soon on laptops like the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14. They pack eight cores and 16 threads, along with up to 8 cores of integrated Vega graphics, and run at overclocked speeds up to 4.4 GHz. Best of all, the 7-nanometer 4900HS chip consumes just 35 watts of power, boosting battery life for gaming and entertainment apps.
There are now 1 billion Windows 10 devices in the wild
Windows 10 is now being used on one billion devices around the world -- that's one in every seven people on the planet. Since 2015, the operating system has made its way onto consoles, laptops and PCs across 200 countries, as exec Yusuf Mehdi notes that the entirety of the Fortune 500 is using Windows 10 devices. According to Microsoft, more businesses are in the process of transitioning to the system, too, so this number is set to increase in the coming months and years.
Apple hit with record-breaking $1.2 billion antitrust fine in France
Apple has been hit with a record-breaking fine for antitrust practices. French competition authority Autorité de la Concurrence has found Apple and its wholesale distribution partners Ingram Micro and Tech Data guilty of running a cartel for Apple products, and has fined the companies €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion), €62.9 million ($70.2 million) and €76.1 million ($85 million) respectively.
'Minecraft' library helps you dodge news media censorship
There are numerous ways to evade censorship of the press, but it's getting increasingly difficult when countries like China and Russia are cracking down on VPNs and similar tools. Reporters Without Borders thinks it has the answer to those mounting obstacles: make the news available in a game that's rarely blocked. The team has worked with BlockWorks and MediaMonks on the Uncensored Library, a Minecraft map that includes articles from journalists and sites whose work is frequently censored for its unflattering truths. You'll find articles from murdered Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi (whose fiancée Hatice Cengiz supports the project), the activist-friendly Russian site Grani.ru and the Egyptian anti-corruption outlet Mada Masr, among others.
Google details what you need to play Stadia games in 4K on the web
Now that you can play Google Stadia games in 4K on the web, you're probably wondering just what you need to see the game streaming service reach its visual potential. The company is happy to help -- although it might be disappointing for some would-be players. It recently posted requirements, and the main demand is a Chromebook or Windows PC that can decode video in Google's preferred VP9 format, a 4K display to match and enough bandwidth to handle the "best visual quality" option. Stadia won't be too picky about the overall power of your computer, then.
Windows 10's built-in Linux kernel will be available to everyone soon
You won't have to be a tester to try Windows 10's new, built-in Linux kernel in the near future. Microsoft has confirmed that Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 will be widely available when Windows 10 version 2004 arrives. You'll have to install it manually for a "few months" until an update adds automatic installs and updates, but that's a small price to pay if you want Linux and Windows to coexist in peace and harmony. It'll be easier to set up, at least -- the kernel will now be delivered through Windows Update instead of forcing you to install an entire Windows image.
'Call of Duty: Warzone' gets 15 million players in four days
Call of Duty: Warzone's take on battle royale is continuing to grow quickly in its honeymoon phase. The developers have revealed that over 15 million people had tried the free-to-play mode as of March 13th. That's more than double the 6 million who'd started playing in the first 24 hours, and no small feat when gamers had just four days of play up to that point. For context, Apex Legends was up to 10 million players in its first three days.
The Morning After: Disney released 'The Rise of Skywalker' early
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. As if this week didn't have enough happening (check below for a few highlights) Friday tossed in enough groundbreaking events for an entire week. At a White House press conference, the president announced Google would make a screening site for people in the US with COVID-19 symptoms to determine if they need testing, find a drive-thru test and later, receive their results. Shortly after, it became apparent this website won't do all of that, won't work for everyone in the US when it launches and is the work of a small Alphabet subsidiary named Verily, not 1,700 Google engineers. According to a report by Wired, Google execs didn't even know the announcement was part of the plan. Meanwhile, other companies responded to the growing pandemic in their own ways. Comcast decided to back off of bandwidth caps for two months and open up its WiFi hotspots for free use by all, mobile carriers banded together with a pledge to suspend cancellations and even Disney got into the act. It's promising to release Frozen 2 on Disney+ early this weekend (you'll have to wait until Tuesday to watch in 4K) to give families stuck at home something to enjoy, and it already released Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on video-on-demand several days earlier than expected. I haven't mentioned the two most surprising stories from Friday afternoon and evening yet -- look below. -- Richard
An improved MacBook Air could debut as early as next week
Apple hasn't really touched the current MacBook Air design since its 2018 debut unless you count the addition of True Tone, but it might be close to a substantial update. A MacRumors source with a largely positive track record has claimed that a refreshed MacBook Air will launch sometime the week of March 16th. It's not certain what that tweak would entail, but it's safe to presume Apple would use the more reliable, better-feeling scissor switch keyboard it introduced with the 16-inch MacBook Pro.