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Sony and Facebook withdraw from GDC due to coronavirus concerns
Mobile World Congress 2020 isn't the only trade show affected by COVID-19, otherwise known as the new coronavirus disease. Facebook has just announced that it will withdraw its presence from the annual Game Developer's Conference this year. In doing so, it will pull both Facebook Gaming and Oculus booths and have advised all employees to not attend the show. A Facebook spokesperson sent in this statement: "Out of concern for the health and safety of our employees, our dev partners, and the GDC community, Facebook will not be attending this year's Game Developer Conference due to the evolving public health risks related to COVID-19. We still plan to share the exciting announcements we had planned for the show through videos, online Q&As, and more, and will plan to host GDC partner meetings remotely in the coming weeks." COVID-19 has had a big effect on the tech industry so far. Due to coronavirus concerns, MWC 2020 was cancelled, Apple has warned of iPhone supply shortages and Sony has pulled out of PAX East. Update 4:15pm ET: Sony has announced that it too will be pulling out from GDC. Here's the company's statement: We have made the difficult decision to cancel our participation in Game Developers Conference due to increasing concerns related to COVID-19 (also known as coronavirus). We felt this was the best option as the situation related to the virus and global travel restrictions are changing daily. We are disappointed to cancel our participation, but the health and safety of our global workforce is our highest concern. We look forward to participating in GDC in the future.
Google is disappointing the Stadia community
"This is fine." Andrey Doronichev is in charge of gamer experience at Stadia, Google's fledgling cloud-gaming service. In a conversation with him about the company's confidence in Stadia three months post-launch, Doronichev was unflappable. Though players have been complaining about a lack of updates, technical issues, missing features and a dearth of new games, Doronichev argued the service was still new and Google had actually grown it significantly since launch. Besides, he said, it's not about the daily experience in the early days. It's about the end goal -- the 8K, lag-free, game-streaming utopia that Google promised when it debuted Stadia.
Apple may be open to letting users set their own default apps
Apple's insistence on gatekeeping certain actions of rival apps on iPhones and iPads has long been a source of contention among users. Clicking on web links or email addresses, for example, automatically takes you to Safari or Apple Mail, even if you've got other alternatives installed. But this may be about to change. According to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, the company is considering letting users switch from Apple's default apps to those of its rivals.
If you bought Flywheel's home bike, you can trade it in for a free Peloton
One of Peloton's biggest competitors, Flywheel Sports, announced today that it is shutting down its online classes. The company sent an email informing its users that it would stop its Flywheel At Home service effective March 27th 2020. The bikes can still be used of course, but without the live and on-demand coaching, which makes them not much better than ordinary stationary bikes. Peloton, however, is offering a deal where Flywheel customers can turn in their bikes in exchange for a "like-new" Peloton bike at no cost to them, though they'd still have to pay Peloton's monthly subscription fee.
'No Man's Sky' update adds living ships to its universe
No Man's Sky has been making dramatic strides in quality and originality in recent years, and its latest revision appears to be a textbook example of that. Hello Games has released a Living Ship Update that, as the name states, asks you to grow an organic spaceship. Rather than slap on upgrades like you would with a metal vessel, you 'hatch' a ship with unique organs that dictate its abilities. If you want to improve its traits, you have to nurture your ship. Not surprisingly, there's a multi-mission campaign to go with these ships -- you'll explore the Korvax experiments that led to the creation of biological spacecraft.
Intel outlines chip that will make quantum computers smaller and faster
Intel is determined to play an important role in quantum computing, and it just outlined a component that will play a key part in that strategy. Intel and QuTech have provided some technical details for Horse Ridge, a previously-teased cryogenic control chip that should make quantum computers, smaller, faster and with less aggressive cooling. It won't lead to the dream of a true quantum computer, but it should get Intel considerably closer to that goal.
Adobe brings more desktop-quality Photoshop tools to the iPad
Photoshop turns 30 today, and Adobe is celebrating with some worthwhile updates to the photo-editing app on both the desktop and iPad. The company has been focused on improving that tablet app as quickly as possible since it launched in November. After over a year of hyping Photoshop on iPad, the software had very limited features when it reached the masses a few months ago. Adobe was quick to address concerns with a detailed roadmap, but it was clear adding new items would take time. The company brought the AI-powered Select Subject tool from the desktop to iPad in December, and today it's adding a couple more notable features.
CCP cancels one 'Eve Online' shooter, announces another
CCP Games has given up on its EVE Online-inspired shooter Project Nova, but don't worry, it's now working on... another Eve Online-inspired shooter. In a statement on Reddit, CCP's George Kellion said that the long-awaited Project Nova was getting the chop because its "gameplay experience as presented at EVE Vegas '18 would not have achieved our ambitious goals for this concept."
Mozilla’s latest Android app takes its VPN service beyond Firefox
Mozilla has been investigating the VPN sphere for a while. Last year it launched a VPN-like browser extension, while back in 2018 it rolled out an experimental subscription-based VPN service. Now it's launched an Android app for the full device Firefox VPN it currently has in closed beta.
Match.com’s Date Check-In sends an SOS to friends in case of creeps
Going on a date with someone you met online can be scary -- not just because of the pressure to be charming, but also because of the horror stories of creepers and criminals that use dating apps to target their victims. Match.com's latest security feature -- Date Check-In -- allows you to designate three emergency contacts who will receive your date's name, as well as the time and location of the date itself. During the date, Match.com will send you an automated text message. If you respond "yes" to the text, your contacts will get an alert.
EA's game servers went down this morning (updated)
If you've been unable to play Star Wars Battlefront II or log into your Origin account, you're not alone. EA's servers are down, impacting thousands of users. EA and DICE community leader, Ben Wilke, confirmed the issue on Twitter, saying that teams are working on rectifying the problem. EA's help services are slammed due to the outage, and the company's customer support Twitter account warned that representatives may not be reachable at the moment.
Google is bringing Stadia to 18 new phones, including the Galaxy S20
Google's cloud gaming service, Stadia, has been exclusive to Pixel phones since its launch three months ago, but that's changing this week. On February 20th, Stadia will hit 14 Samsung models, plus the Asus ROG Phone, ROG Phone II, Razer Phone and Razer Phone II. The supported Samsung devices are (deep breath) as follows: S8, S8+, S8 Active, Note 8, S9, S9+, Note 9, S10, S10+, Note 10, Note 10+, S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra.
Dell’s top-of-the-line XPS 13 from 2019 is $400 off at Amazon
One of Engadget's favorite laptops, the Dell XPS 13, is currently on sale. Amazon has discounted the top-of-the-line 2019 model by $400, making it $1,400 instead of $1,800. This variant features a 10th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, 1TB of internal storage and a 4K touchscreen display. According to price tracker Camelcamelcamel, $1,400 is Amazon's lowest price for the 2019 model to date. To put things in perspective, the lower spec models currently cost more than the top-end one.
Nintendo unveils a coral-colored Switch Lite
Nintendo has unveiled a new color for the Switch Lite, and it's just fine. You'd be mistaken for calling it pink, but it's actually considered coral -- "Living Coral" was Pantone's color of 2019, so that may well be the inspiration behind it. Like the rose gold craze a while back, this hue is proving pretty popular on electronics at the moment -- we've already seen this shade on the Pixel 4, for example. In any case, it's the first new color for the Switch Lite since it was released in September last year, and joins a line-up of turquoise, gray and yellow models. The pink coral version will be available in Japan on March 20th and the US on April 3rd.
'Assassin's Creed: Syndicate' will be free on Epic's game store this week
The Epic Games Store's freebies can be hit or miss, but this is one you might want to consider if you're a stealth action fan. Epic is making Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed: Syndicate available for free between February 20th and February 27th. It's a 2015-era game (the last before Ubisoft's 'reinvented' Origins), but you're still getting a modern, generally well-received take on AC's mix of sneaking, parkour and one-against-many combat -- it's just set in Victorian London instead of ancient Egypt or Greece.
'State of Decay 2' is getting a major free update
State of Decay 2 is getting a major update -- and it's no standard content patch either. The total overhaul -- appropriately titled "the Juggernaut Edition" -- will see the game's graphics and audio get a far-reaching remaster, as well as several other significant changes.
Overwatch League moves matches to South Korea after coronavirus outbreak
The current coronavirus outbreak (aka COVID-19) is affecting the esports world as much as other industries. The Overwatch League is moving cancelled homestand matches at Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Shanghai to Seoul, South Korea during weeks 6 and 7 of the competition, with some possibly being attached to Seoul Dynasty's home event in week 5. The league had scrubbed its February and March matches in China to "protect the health and safety" of fans, competitors and organizers.
The latest 'Fortnite' emote lets you Rickroll your foes
It's not uncommon to troll your Fortnite enemies with a victory dance, but the latest one might be particularly insidious. Epic Games has added a purchasable "Never Gonna" emote to the battle royale brawler that, as the name implies, Rickrolls your opponents -- complete with the real Rick Astley song (and, clearly, Astley's permission). The developers has even pranked some potential buyers with a promo page touting a "new OP outfit" before taking them to the emote, guaranteeing that they'll be Rickrolled before spending 500 V-Bucks to share the surprise with others.
It doesn’t matter if China hacked Equifax
On Monday the FBI and AG Barr announced "an indictment last week charging four members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) with hacking into the computer systems of the credit reporting agency Equifax and stealing Americans' personal data and Equifax's valuable trade secrets." China's military refutes the charges.
NVIDIA cuts its outlook by $100 million due to 2019 coronavirus
NVIDIA has published its earnings report for fiscal year 2020, and in it the chipmaker has revealed how much it thinks the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) would affect its business. The company has reduced its revenue outlook for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021 by $100 million to account for the disease's impact.