Google seems to have no problem doling out cash to ensure it remains the search engine of choice. Documents have shown the company offers financial incentives to smartphone manufacturers to keep its app store front and center, and it pays developers to offer their games in Google Play. The company also pays Apple a…
Source: Gizmodo – Google Will Continue to Pay Apple Billions to Keep You From Using… Bing?
Frustrated by the global shortage of silicon that is causing cutting edge electronics to almost always be out of stock? You know, things like the latest game consoles (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S) and discrete graphics cards for gaming. Well, not only could the chip shortage linger through all of next year, but now there’s a rumor TSMC
Source: Hot Hardware – TSMC Is Allegedly Raising Chip Prices Which Could Mean Bad News For PCs And Smartphones
Back in 2018, a Colorado man had roughly $1 million worth of bitcoin plundered from his digital wallet. After three years of working with investigators, he says he’s traced the crime back to two Brits named Benedict and Oliver (really)—and now, their parents are being taken to court right alongside the accused chaps.
Source: Gizmodo – Man Sues Parents of British Boys (Benedict and Oliver) Over Million Bitcoin Heist
The YouTube Music app, finally on Wear OS, but only version 3. [credit:
Google ]
After almost a year of not providing a music service to its smartwatch users, Google will once again give its smartwatch OS users access to the company’s music service, although that move comes with a lot of caveats. YouTube Music is launching an app for Wear OS.
Google killed Google Music last year in favor of YouTube Music, even though the latter wasn’t nearly ready. While Google released an Apple Watch YouTube Music app before Google Music was shut down, one of the many regressions from the service switch was that Google Music supported Wear OS and YouTube Music did not. Now, after 10 months of Google smartwatch downtime, Google’s music service is coming back to Wear OS.
The really bad news is that the app is exclusive to Wear OS 3, which is currently exclusive to Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch 4. (The app is “out now” only because it is shipping preinstalled on the Galaxy Watch 4.) Almost no Wear OS 2 watches will be upgraded to Wear OS 3, so unless you have a Mobvoi Snapdragon Wear 4100 watch, you’ll need to go shopping at Samsung.com for some new hardware.
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Source: Ars Technica – YouTube Music comes to Wear OS, but only for the Galaxy Watch 4
Netflix is testing out its first stab at mobile gaming within its own app at no extra cost, bringing two pre-existing Stranger Things games to its Android app — but only in Poland. From a report: The two games available in Poland — Stranger Things: 1984 and Stranger Things 3 — have been available for years off Netflix’s app, having been released through a licensing partnership in 2017 and 2019 to coincide with the second and third seasons of the hit retro-supernatural show. Last month, Netflix confirmed it plans to expand into video games, starting with ad-free games for mobile devices like phones and tablets available on its existing service at no added cost to subscribers. With broad ambitions to ultimately widen even to console games for Xbox and PlayStation, it represents its biggest expansion into a new kind of entertainment since Netflix started streaming in 2007 and released its first original show in 2012.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Netflix Takes First Stab at Mobile Gaming in its Android App, But Only in Poland
More than six months in development, OpenShot 2.6 is here with lots of goodies for users of this video editor, with new computer vision and AI effects like motion tracking, object detection, and stabilization; new audio effects like compressor, distortion, delay, echo, parametric EQ, expander, noise, Robotization, and whisperization; as well as a new Zoom Slider widget for easier navigation of the timeline.
Also new in this release is the Caption video effect that can be used for rasterizing/rendering text captions on top of a video stream, parentable keyframes, new effect icons, almost 1000 new emojis, and support for the latest FFmpeg, Blender, WebEngine, and WebKit technologies. These new features put OpenShot on par with professional video editors, while providing users with better compatibility and interoperability with most video file formats.
The post OpenShot 2.6 Video Editor Released with New Computer Vision and AI Effects, More appeared first on Linux Today.
Source: Linux Today – OpenShot 2.6 Video Editor Released with New Computer Vision and AI Effects, More
Previously a Nintendo Switch exclusive, Bravely Default II is coming to PC via Steam on September 2, Square Enix announced today. This marks the first time the classic JRPG-inspired series has come to a non-Nintendo, non-smartphone platform.
Source: Kotaku – Bravely Default II Gets PC Port In September
A few weeks ago, Amazon gave us a beautiful first look at its new Lord of the Rings TV series, a prequel set thousands of years before the seminal fantasy saga. But in doing so, it gave us a glimpse of a time even further before that—teasing a depiction of some of J.R.R. Tolkien’s earliest Middle-Earth theology in the…
Source: Gizmodo – Why the Glowing Trees in Amazon’s Lord of the Rings Are So Important
There is always some new trend cropping up on Instagram or TikTok that, upon further investigation, isn’t very new at all. Angel numbers are one such “trend.” Have you being seeing digits like 333 and 777 all over your explore page or hearing people mention angel numbers like they’re some serious thing everyone just…
Source: LifeHacker – What in the Hell Are Angel Numbers (and Why Is Everyone Talking About Them)?
It’s been a long time coming, but if you depend on the Electrify America mobile app to find nearby charging stations, you can soon access the software through your vehicle’s Android Auto or CarPlay infotainment system. Electrify America announced today it’s rolling out support for both systems this week.
The software allows you to find the location of all the approximately 650 charging stations the company operates across the US. You can also see details about each station, including the availability of individual chargers and their capacity. Once you’re at a station, you can then use the software to remotely start and stop a charging session.
While it’s something of a head-scratcher it took Electrify America until 2021 to offer Android Auto and CarPlay support, that functionality is at least now in place as the company works toward nearly tripling its network by the end of 2025. Critically, it’s also another way Electrify America needed to catch up to Tesla. The automaker’s Trip Planner, which you can access through your car’s touchscreen display, will route you to Supercharger locations that are on the way to your next destination.
Source: Engadget – Electrify America’s charging station app finally supports Android Auto and CarPlay
On Wednesday, a group of citizens claiming they’re worried about the safety of an endangered whale filed a lawsuit against the Vineyard Wind project, an offshore wind farm that’s slated to become the first large-scale offshore project in the U.S. The suit highlights some of the challenges that could continue to face…
Source: Gizmodo – NIMBYs and a Trump Advisor Unite to Try and Kill the Nation’s Largest Offshore Wind Project
The global semiconductor industry suffered a potentially significant setback this week when Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), a preeminent chip manufacturer that counts the likes of Apple, Toyota, and other global firms among its client list, announced a price hike for its suite of products. Nikkei Asia reports
Source: Kotaku – Chips In Consoles Get Pricier, Could Make Them Even Harder To Score
My grandfather knew what he was doing when he told me to “always carry a pocket knife.” Spending the last few weeks of summer at the beach? You should take a knife. Traipsing off to a cabin the mountains? Take a knife. Spending some time in a luxurious hotel in the middle of a bustling city? Take. A. Knife.
Source: LifeHacker – Always Take a Knife on Vacation
If you like shooting, driving, and creating overall mayhem in an open-world environment – in a game that isn’t Grand Theft Auto V – we have some excellent news for you. The Epic Games Store has Saints Row: The Third Remastered available free to download for a limited time.
Saints Row games have always been a somewhat outlandish, comical,
Source: Hot Hardware – Saints Row: The Third Remastered Is The Latest Epic Games Store Freebie
Airbnb announced earlier this week that it’s offering free, temporary housing to 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan. Now, it says anyone with available space who’s willing to house refugees can sign up to do so — not only Airbnb hosts.
The company is funding the stays through Airbnb.org, its nonprofit that aims to provide people with a place to stay during times of crisis. The company and its co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky have donated to the efforts. Donations to the Airbnb.org Refugee Fund will also help fund the program, and perhaps help cover the cost of more stays. Airbnb is waiving its fees on all refugee stays too.
Airbnb.org is working with partners including the International Rescue Committee, HIAS and Church World Service to help refugees find a place to stay. The nonprofit and Airbnb are also offering support to the federal government, as well as cities and states that have expressed openness to welcoming refugees.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says there are currently around 2.5 million registered Afghan refugees, as TechCrunch notes. Given the number of people who have attempted to flee Afghanistan since the Taliban swept the country and assumed power, there may be many more refugees who need support. Providing at least 20,000 refugees with temporary housing is a positive step to help them transition into their new lives, but Airbnb’s efforts, while welcome, may prove a drop in the ocean when it comes to this humanitarian crisis.
Source: Engadget – Airbnb says you don’t need to be a host to help it house Afghan refugees
Most nerds know Russell T. Davies as the architect of modern Doctor Who, the man who resurrected the beloved but very much abandoned sci-fi franchise for the 21st century, with help from stars Chris Eccleston and Billie Piper. But this wasn’t Davies’ first work on Doctor Who, which was a script titled “Mind of the…
Source: Gizmodo – Doctor Who Heads to the Past to Rescue Russell T. Davies’ First Who Script
HBO Max is the new kid on the block among the big streamers, but, as an extension of the cable network, it’s produced some quality original programming right out of the gate. Shows like The White Lotus and Hacks (Jean Smart in everything, please) are already generating buzz and winning awards. Given the number of…
Source: LifeHacker – 15 HBO Max Originals You Probably Aren’t Watching but Definitely Should Be
An anonymous reader shares a report: Google is infamous for spinning up products and killing them off, often in very short order. It’s an annoying enough habit when it’s stuff like messaging apps and games. But the tech giant’s ambitions stretch into many domains that touch human lives these days. Including, most directly, healthcare. And — it turns out — so does Google’s tendency to kill off products that its PR has previously touted as “life saving.” To wit: Following a recent reconfiguration of Google’s health efforts — reported earlier by Business Insider — the tech giant confirmed to TechCrunch that it is decommissioning its clinician support app, Streams. The app, which Google Health PR bills as a “mobile medical device,” was developed back in 2015 by DeepMind, an AI division of Google — and has been used by the U.K.’s National Health Service in the years since, with a number of NHS Trusts inking deals with DeepMind Health to roll out Streams to their clinicians.
At the time of writing, one NHS Trust — London’s Royal Free — is still using the app in its hospitals. But, presumably, not for too much longer, since Google is in the process of taking Streams out back to be shot and tossed into its deadpool — alongside the likes of its ill-fated social network, Google+, and Internet balloon company Loon, to name just two of a frankly endless list of now defunct Alphabet/Google products. Other NHS Trusts we contacted which had previously rolled out Streams told us they have already stopped using the app.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Google Confirms It’s Pulling the Plug on Streams, Its UK Clinician Support App
Whether on a plate or on the Cerritos bridge, Robert Duncan McNeill’s return as Voyager pilot and holodeck aficionado Tom Paris was the big draw for Star Trek: Lower Deck’s latest episode. But as ever with this show, the Trek cameos are never really the big deal—it’s how they’re used to say things about Lower Decks’…
Source: Gizmodo – Lower Decks’ Tom Paris Love-In Wasn’t Really About Tom Paris at All
Brackets code editor is an open-source program that assists web developers and designers in developing websites. This tutorial shows you how to install Brackets Editor on Ubuntu 20.04.
Source: LXer – How to Install the Brackets Code Editor on Ubuntu 20.04