theverge--2020-12-13--Hackers backed by Russian government reportedly breached US government agencies

The same Russian government hacking group responsible for a security breach at FireEye compromised the Treasury and Commerce departments and other US government agencies , The Washington Post reported .
The group , known as APT29 , or Cozy Bear , was responsible for hacking the US State Department and the White House during the Obama administration , according to the Post , and is the group that officials believe targeted COVID-19 vaccine research over the summer .
Reuters reported that in addition to hacking Treasury and the Commerce Department ’ s National Telecommunications and Information Administration ( NTIA ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US government entities .
Government officials considered the hack dire enough that the National Security Council held an emergency meeting at the White House on Saturday .
An NSC spokesman told Reuters that the government was “ aware ” of the reports , adding “ we are taking all necessary steps ” to remedy the situation .
It ’ s not yet clear exactly what information may have been stolen or which foreign government was involved .
But the “ highly sophisticated ” hackers were able to break into NTIA ’ s Microsoft @ @ @ @ @ @ @ order to monitor staff emails for months , according to Reuters .
Several federal law enforcement agencies , including the FBI , are investigating the breach .

The same Russian government hacking group responsible for a security breach at FireEye compromised the Treasury and Commerce departments and other US government agencies, The Washington Post reported. The group, known as APT29, or Cozy Bear, was responsible for hacking the US State Department and the White House during the Obama administration, according to the Post, and is the group that officials believe targeted COVID-19 vaccine research over the summer.
Reuters reported that in addition to hacking Treasury and the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the hackers may have breached other US government entities.
Government officials considered the hack dire enough that the National Security Council held an emergency meeting at the White House on Saturday.
An NSC spokesman told Reuters that the government was “aware” of the reports, adding “we are taking all necessary steps” to remedy the situation. It’s not yet clear exactly what information may have been stolen or which foreign government was involved. But the “highly sophisticated” hackers were able to break into NTIA’s Microsoft Office software, tricking authentication controls in order to monitor staff emails for months, according to Reuters.
Microsoft released details on the methods used in the hack, late Sunday night. Microsoft says the hackers operating on behalf of an external nation state compromised SolarWinds’ Orion monitoring and management software giving attackers a foothold in target networks. Intruders were then able to “impersonate any of the organization’s existing users and accounts, including highly privileged accounts.”
Both Microsoft and SolarWinds are making countermeasures available to customers to help detect, protect, and respond to the threat.
Several federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, are investigating the breach.


theverge--2020-12-13--New video of Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus shows thin bezels around a flat display

Plenty of details about the Samsung Galaxy S21 have already leaked ahead of its expected January release date .
But a new video gives a glimpse of the Galaxy S21 Plus model , showing a flat display with thin bezels around it , and a punch hole selfie camera .
The quality of the video from user Random Stuff 2 isn ’ t the greatest , and it has some sort of distracting music playing under the user ’ s commentary .
It also doesn ’ t provide a lot of detail about the back of the phone .
Three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ standard , a Plus and an Ultra .
A series of leaked teaser trailers , showed off redesigned camera bumps , showing what appears to be five cameras on the S21 Ultra and three each on the S21 and S21 Plus .
Android Police reported last month that the S21 will have a 6.2-inch display , the Plus will be 6.7 inches and the Ultra will have a 6.8-inch display .
The phones will all have batteries ranging in size from 4,000 mAh to 5,000 mAh , and all three are expected to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2100 processor .
The phones are all expected to have 5G , with the S21 and Plus both with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 , and Wi-Fi 6E in the Ultra .
The S21 Ultra is also expected to be compatible with Samsung ’ s S-Pen , but rumor has it the S-Pen won ’ t be sold with the device .

Plenty of details about the Samsung Galaxy S21 have already leaked ahead of its expected January release date. But a new video gives a glimpse of the Galaxy S21 Plus model, showing a flat display with thin bezels around it, and a punch hole selfie camera.
The quality of the video from user Random Stuff 2 isn’t the greatest, and it has some sort of distracting music playing under the user’s commentary. It also doesn’t provide a lot of detail about the back of the phone.
Three Galaxy S21 models are expected: a standard, a Plus and an Ultra. A series of leaked teaser trailers, showed off redesigned camera bumps, showing what appears to be five cameras on the S21 Ultra and three each on the S21 and S21 Plus.
Android Police reported last month that the S21 will have a 6.2-inch display, the Plus will be 6.7 inches and the Ultra will have a 6.8-inch display. The phones will all have batteries ranging in size from 4,000 mAh to 5,000 mAh, and all three are expected to have either a Snapdragon 875 or Exynos 2100 processor.


theverge--2020-12-13--Oracle moves its HQ from California to Texas

Software giant Oracle moved the company headquarters from Redwood City , California to Austin , Texas , Bloomberg reported , the latest tech firm to depart Silicon Valley for the Lone Star State .
Oracle did not immediately reply to a request for comment Sunday , but told CNBC that it was putting into place “ a more flexible employee work location policy , ” and that the move to Austin would “ best position Oracle for growth and provide our personnel with more flexibility about where and how they work.
” Oracle , founded in 1977 , is one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and is a staple of the area ; the San Francisco Giants play at Oracle Park , and the company ’ s Redwood City campus features its well-known cylindrical buildings .
It already has a campus in Austin , which it opened in 2018 .
Texas Gov .
Greg Abbott heralded the news in a tweet , saying “ Texas is truly the land of business , jobs , and opportunity.
” Several other firms have announced plans to leave California in recent months , with some company leaders blaming the state ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Tesla is building a new plant near Austin and CEO Elon Musk has threatened to move the company out of California altogether after tussling with local officials over coronavirus lockdowns , but Tesla still has a plant in Fremont .
Musk said he moved his personal residence to Texas , as well .
And another Silicon Valley company , Hewlett Packard Enterprise , announced plans earlier this month to build a 440,000-square-foot campus in a Houston suburb for its new headquarters .
HPE already has Texas locations in Austin and Plano , @ @ @

Software giant Oracle moved the company headquarters from Redwood City, California to Austin, Texas, Bloomberg reported, the latest tech firm to depart Silicon Valley for the Lone Star State.
Oracle did not immediately reply to a request for comment Sunday, but told CNBC that it was putting into place “a more flexible employee work location policy,” and that the move to Austin would “best position Oracle for growth and provide our personnel with more flexibility about where and how they work.”
Oracle, founded in 1977, is one of the older Valley tech firms, and is a staple of the area; the San Francisco Giants play at Oracle Park, and the company’s Redwood City campus features its well-known cylindrical buildings. It already has a campus in Austin, which it opened in 2018. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott heralded the news in a tweet, saying “Texas is truly the land of business, jobs, and opportunity.”
Several other firms have announced plans to leave California in recent months, with some company leaders blaming the state’s political climate as unfriendly to business. Tesla is building a new plant near Austin and CEO Elon Musk has threatened to move the company out of California altogether after tussling with local officials over coronavirus lockdowns, but Tesla still has a plant in Fremont. Musk said he moved his personal residence to Texas, as well.


theverge--2020-12-13--Workers reportedly protest at Wistron iPhone plant in India over pay issues

Workers at an iPhone production plant in India reportedly smashed windows and set fire to vehicles to protest reductions in pay , the Times of India reported .
The incidents began Saturday at a facility run by Taiwan manufacturing company Wistron Corporation , where the iPhone SE is assembled .
According to the The Indian Express , during a shift change workers who said they had seen their pay reduced damaged the offices , some furniture , and factory equipment before things escalated outside .
A local official told the Express that police were investigating the incident .
About 2,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Apple began assembling iPhones in India in 2017 , where it tops the premium smartphone market .
However , it only has about a 1 percent share of the total smartphone market in the country , since the iPhone ’ s price tag puts it out of reach for many Indian consumers .
India was the second-biggest smartphone market in the world in 2019 , ahead of the US and second only to China .
Wistron opened the plant near Bengaluru earlier this year , part of a multimillion dollar investment by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did not immediately reply to requests for comment Sunday .

Workers at an iPhone production plant in India reportedly smashed windows and set fire to vehicles to protest reductions in pay, the Times of India reported. The incidents began Saturday at a facility run by Taiwan manufacturing company Wistron Corporation, where the iPhone SE is assembled.
According to the The Indian Express, during a shift change workers who said they had seen their pay reduced damaged the offices, some furniture, and factory equipment before things escalated outside. A local official told the Express that police were investigating the incident. About 2,000 workers were involved in the protest.
Wistron opened the plant near Bengaluru earlier this year, part of a multimillion dollar investment by the company in India.


theverge--2020-12-13--Tesla will reportedly suspend production of its Model S and Model X for 18 days

Tesla will shut down production for its Model S and Model X for 18 days beginning December 24th according to an internal memo , CNBC reported .
Why and what the company will do with the two lines during the shutdown wasn ’ t immediately clear , but workers on those production lines will apparently get a week ’ s pay , some paid holidays , and will have opportunities to work on other teams within the company .
The memo also says the workers can volunteer to help with delivery of vehicles to customers while production is on hold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Tesla asked California for tax exemptions in 2015 for equipment it needed to build 195,000 Model S and Model X vehicles by 2021 .
The company told the state of California at the time it would expand its production capabilities in anticipation of producing “ approximately 118,000 additional Model S and X vehicles per year , ” in addition to its projected annual rate of approximately 77,000 Model S and X vehicles .
In the third quarter of 2020 , Tesla produced 145,000 vehicles and delivered 139,300 .
Of that number , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and X vehicles , delivering 15,200 of them .
Tesla is building its next factory in Austin , Texas , and CEO Elon Musk has threatened to move all Tesla production out of California .
He confirmed he has relocated his personal residence from California to Texas , a move predicted to save him millions in taxes .
In a separate email to employees Friday , Musk said demand for Tesla vehicles has been “ quite a bit higher than production this quarter , ” and urged employees to increase production as much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Please send me a note directly if you see ways to improve output , but feel that your voice is not being heard , ” he wrote in the email .
During Tesla ’ s October battery day event , the company said it expected to deliver 500,000 vehicles in 2020 .
But by that point , the company had sent 318,350 cars to customers , so it will need to deliver more than 181,000 vehicles before the end of the year to hit its target .
Tesla did not respond to a @ @ @ @ @

Tesla will shut down production for its Model S and Model X for 18 days beginning December 24th according to an internal memo, CNBC reported. Why and what the company will do with the two lines during the shutdown wasn’t immediately clear, but workers on those production lines will apparently get a week’s pay, some paid holidays, and will have opportunities to work on other teams within the company.
The memo also says the workers can volunteer to help with delivery of vehicles to customers while production is on hold.
Auto industry analyst Edward Niedermeyer noted that Tesla asked California for tax exemptions in 2015 for equipment it needed to build 195,000 Model S and Model X vehicles by 2021. The company told the state of California at the time it would expand its production capabilities in anticipation of producing “approximately 118,000 additional Model S and X vehicles per year,” in addition to its projected annual rate of approximately 77,000 Model S and X vehicles.
In the third quarter of 2020, Tesla produced 145,000 vehicles and delivered 139,300. Of that number, Tesla produced just under 17,000 Model S and X vehicles, delivering 15,200 of them.
Tesla is building its next factory in Austin, Texas, and CEO Elon Musk has threatened to move all Tesla production out of California. He confirmed he has relocated his personal residence from California to Texas, a move predicted to save him millions in taxes.
In a separate email to employees Friday, Musk said demand for Tesla vehicles has been “quite a bit higher than production this quarter,” and urged employees to increase production as much as possible, Bloomberg reported. “Please send me a note directly if you see ways to improve output, but feel that your voice is not being heard,” he wrote in the email.
During Tesla’s October battery day event, the company said it expected to deliver 500,000 vehicles in 2020. But by that point, the company had sent 318,350 cars to customers, so it will need to deliver more than 181,000 vehicles before the end of the year to hit its target.


theverge--2020-12-14--The webcam is the gadget of the year

The webcam is the gadget of the year

When Time selects its annual Person of the Year , it ’ s not necessarily an endorsement of the recipient ’ s actions or beliefs .
Instead , it ’ s more of an acknowledgement of the person ’ s outsized impact on the world in that calendar year .
The Verge doesn ’ t normally give out a “ gadget of the year ” award , but it ’ s pretty obvious what 2020 ’ s would be if we went by Time ’ s criteria .
Yes , the humble webcam , which was only mentioned twice in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year ago : once to dunk on the bad one on the Dell XPS 15 laptop , and again to note the rise of the little plastic covers that stop them working altogether .
But 2020 was a year in which bedrooms turned into boardrooms , with millions of people learning to work from home for the first time .
And it turns out there ’ s nothing like a pandemic to throw the limits of technology into sharp relief .
What people learned about webcams this year is that by and large @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hard enough to adapt to online meetings and compensate for the lack of in-person interaction without having to peer at a tiny video feed that makes your phone ’ s selfie camera look like a DSLR .
There are things you can do to limit the blown-out exposure , but it only goes so far — built-in laptop webcams are pretty universally bad .
Take the new MacBook Air , for example , which we came very close to scoring 10/10 but decided against largely because it still has a terrible 720p webcam @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to improve the image quality slightly , claiming you ’ ll get “ clearer , sharper images ” with “ more detail in shadows and highlights , ” but the hardware is just too limited for the results to make much difference .
Why don ’ t webcams have better hardware , then ?
Well , particularly with laptops , it ’ s complicated .
Laptops have such thin lids that it ’ s hard to fit in anything other than the smallest image sensors , which has a direct impact on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t really the issue — you can watch a 720p Blu-ray movie and it ’ ll look great on a laptop-sized screen .
It ’ s the small physical size of the sensor that causes the lack of dynamic range and general light-gathering capability .
And increasing the surface area of the sensor would generally also require increasing the overall depth of the camera module in order to include a lens with the right field of view .
That ’ s why tablet computers like the iPad tend to have much better @ @ @ @ @ @ @ iPad Pro ’ s case , the camera is located at a very unflattering angle ) .
There ’ s more space to fit larger camera modules because the tablet chassis has to be thick enough to accommodate the entire computer as well ; the keyboard attachments are basically just a keyboard .
Laptops are the other way around , with a much thinner lid for the screen while the main computer components and battery are housed in the bottom half .
( It ’ s worth noting that Apple did also manage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this year that we described as “ no longer vaguely embarrassing.
” ) I ’ m not saying that there is no possible way for laptops to get better webcams .
Everything is a tradeoff , and maybe some laptop manufacturers will soon decide to make a different one in order to improve image quality .
Perhaps there will be laptops with conspicuous camera bumps in our lives next year .
Until that happens , though , people have had to find alternative solutions to looking better on video calls .
The first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ run on external webcams , where they became impossible to find online without jacked-up prices at a time when most brick-and-mortar retailers were closed .
Logitech told The Verge it was ramping up production to meet demand and reporting gray market resellers who ’ d been selling products on for profit .
The situation settled down as the year went on , and it ’ s easier to get hold of one today , but my guess is you might see a bunch more videoconferencing products announced at CES next month than normal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ necessarily known for stunning image quality , though .
They ’ re a big step up from a laptop ’ s built-in camera , but they ’ re still webcams .
That ’ s why it was gratifying to see dedicated camera companies jump at the opportunity to enable a whole new use case for their DSLRs and mirrorless cameras .
Sony , Fujifilm , Canon , Olympus , Panasonic , and Nikon all released apps that could turn their cameras into webcams , bringing tack-sharp focus and creamy bokeh to the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and sparking an arms race among tech reporters to achieve the most cinematic video stream .
Before that , there ’ d been a spike in demand for HDMI capture cards , which allow you to jury-rig your own camera setups .
Webcams have been around forever , but for many people unexpectedly thrown into the reality of working from home , it took the events of 2020 to highlight how inadequate and inert their recent development has been .
I think you ’ ll see companies invest more in this space in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ undoubtedly altered work dynamics forever .
But when people look back to 2020 and how they spent their days in lockdown , they ’ re going to think about how they connected with others .
A lot of the time , they ’ ll be thinking about a grainy image captured on a terrible webcam .

When Time selects its annual Person of the Year, it’s not necessarily an endorsement of the recipient’s actions or beliefs. Instead, it’s more of an acknowledgement of the person’s outsized impact on the world in that calendar year. The Verge doesn’t normally give out a “gadget of the year” award, but it’s pretty obvious what 2020’s would be if we went by Time’s criteria.
It’s the webcam.
Yes, the humble webcam, which was only mentioned twice in our Gadgets of the Decade list a year ago: once to dunk on the bad one on the Dell XPS 15 laptop, and again to note the rise of the little plastic covers that stop them working altogether. But 2020 was a year in which bedrooms turned into boardrooms, with millions of people learning to work from home for the first time. And it turns out there’s nothing like a pandemic to throw the limits of technology into sharp relief.
What people learned about webcams this year is that by and large, they suck. It’s hard enough to adapt to online meetings and compensate for the lack of in-person interaction without having to peer at a tiny video feed that makes your phone’s selfie camera look like a DSLR. There are things you can do to limit the blown-out exposure, but it only goes so far — built-in laptop webcams are pretty universally bad.
The “clearer, sharper” MacBook Air webcam.
Take the new MacBook Air, for example, which we came very close to scoring 10/10 but decided against largely because it still has a terrible 720p webcam. Apple used some software processing tricks to improve the image quality slightly, claiming you’ll get “clearer, sharper images” with “more detail in shadows and highlights,” but the hardware is just too limited for the results to make much difference.
Why don’t webcams have better hardware, then? Well, particularly with laptops, it’s complicated. Laptops have such thin lids that it’s hard to fit in anything other than the smallest image sensors, which has a direct impact on the image quality. The 720p resolution isn’t really the issue — you can watch a 720p Blu-ray movie and it’ll look great on a laptop-sized screen. It’s the small physical size of the sensor that causes the lack of dynamic range and general light-gathering capability. And increasing the surface area of the sensor would generally also require increasing the overall depth of the camera module in order to include a lens with the right field of view.
That’s why tablet computers like the iPad tend to have much better webcams than laptops (although in the iPad Pro’s case, the camera is located at a very unflattering angle). There’s more space to fit larger camera modules because the tablet chassis has to be thick enough to accommodate the entire computer as well; the keyboard attachments are basically just a keyboard. Laptops are the other way around, with a much thinner lid for the screen while the main computer components and battery are housed in the bottom half. (It’s worth noting that Apple did also manage to give the iMac a webcam upgrade this year that we described as “no longer vaguely embarrassing.”)
The 2020 iMac, which did actually have a better webcam.
I’m not saying that there is no possible way for laptops to get better webcams. Everything is a tradeoff, and maybe some laptop manufacturers will soon decide to make a different one in order to improve image quality. Perhaps there will be laptops with conspicuous camera bumps in our lives next year. Until that happens, though, people have had to find alternative solutions to looking better on video calls.
The first sign something was up was the March-April run on external webcams, where they became impossible to find online without jacked-up prices at a time when most brick-and-mortar retailers were closed. Logitech told The Verge it was ramping up production to meet demand and reporting gray market resellers who’d been selling products on for profit. The situation settled down as the year went on, and it’s easier to get hold of one today, but my guess is you might see a bunch more videoconferencing products announced at CES next month than normal.
Related All the ways to turn your phone or camera into a webcam
Even dedicated webcams aren’t necessarily known for stunning image quality, though. They’re a big step up from a laptop’s built-in camera, but they’re still webcams. That’s why it was gratifying to see dedicated camera companies jump at the opportunity to enable a whole new use case for their DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. Sony, Fujifilm, Canon, Olympus, Panasonic, and Nikon all released apps that could turn their cameras into webcams, bringing tack-sharp focus and creamy bokeh to the world of Zoom meetings to the first time and sparking an arms race among tech reporters to achieve the most cinematic video stream. Before that, there’d been a spike in demand for HDMI capture cards, which allow you to jury-rig your own camera setups.


theverge--2020-12-14--Why Demon’s Souls is my game of the year

I nearly gave up on Demon ’ s Souls .
I should have known what I was getting into .
I bought the Demon ’ s Souls remake for the PlayStation 5 as my opportunity to finally play a “ Soulsborne ” game .
After hearing about the genre for more than a decade , I knew that the game would be extremely hard , that I ’ d die multiple times , and that the challenge was all part of the process of learning about and enjoying the game .
But I wasn ’ t too worried — I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ early hours of Hollow Knight .
Beating Celeste ’ s grueling DLC chapter was a thrill .
I figured that since I had gotten through those , and because I knew Demon ’ s Souls would be a challenge going in , I would be able to stick with it no matter what .
That resolve was tested immediately .
I died about a dozen times in the first level by brazenly swinging my sword as a knight .
Following a fit of frustrated Googling , I switched to the royalty class so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spell that made taking on enemies easier .
While that helped , I was still in over my head and dying repeatedly .
An early level , the Prison of Hope , nearly broke me with its punishingly narrow pathways inhabited by magic-slinging tentacle-headed monsters .
After yet another death ( I believe it was the one where I fell down a hole after 30 minutes of barely surviving the level ’ s harrowing halls ) , I put the game down and considered the $ 70 I paid for it a sunk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on .
But two days later , I allowed myself just one more attempt at the game .
Instead of yet another hellish trip through the Prison of Hope , though , I went to the fourth world , hoping that a change of scenery might do me some good .
Right away , I was faced with a new monstrosity : a blue-eyed skeleton wielding a giant sword that began rapidly somersaulting toward me .
I thought it was all over .
But using the skills I had learned taking on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I pulled off a few well-timed dodges and blasts of magic , and before I knew it , the skeleton was defeated .
And then I took down the next one , and the next one , and the next one .
It was that moment that turned Demon ’ s Souls around for me .
Looking back on it , I realized that the game had been constantly teaching me how to get better , even if I didn ’ t know it , and that I could use the skills @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The challenge was indeed part of the process .
From then on , I was completely obsessed with the game .
The rest of the game wasn ’ t easy That ’ s not to say the rest of the game was easy .
At one point , that first skeleton was joined by a menacingly red demon that could defeat me in one stroke of its sword .
One difficult boss stymied me when an exact clone joined the fight partway through .
A later swamp-themed level was so filled with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way through , fearing that any crucial mistake could cost me nearly an hour of progress .
But thanks to that first lesson with the skeletons , I learned that every challenge in Demon ’ s Souls , no matter how hard it might seem , could eventually be overcome .
I kept at it .
And as sappy as it sounds , it ’ s kind of a beautiful lesson for real life , too .
I plan to try later games like Bloodborne or the Dark Souls trilogy , but for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ victory of having seen the credits roll in Demon ’ s Souls .
I ’ m glad I didn ’ t give up , because I got to experience my favorite game of the year .

I nearly gave up on Demon’s Souls.
I should have known what I was getting into. I bought the Demon’s Souls remake for the PlayStation 5 as my opportunity to finally play a “Soulsborne” game. After hearing about the genre for more than a decade, I knew that the game would be extremely hard, that I’d die multiple times, and that the challenge was all part of the process of learning about and enjoying the game.
But I wasn’t too worried — I like hard games. I loved the early hours of Hollow Knight. Beating Celeste’s grueling DLC chapter was a thrill. I figured that since I had gotten through those, and because I knew Demon’s Souls would be a challenge going in, I would be able to stick with it no matter what.
My resolve was tested immediately
That resolve was tested immediately. I died about a dozen times in the first level by brazenly swinging my sword as a knight. Following a fit of frustrated Googling, I switched to the royalty class so that I could use a long-range magic spell that made taking on enemies easier. While that helped, I was still in over my head and dying repeatedly.
An early level, the Prison of Hope, nearly broke me with its punishingly narrow pathways inhabited by magic-slinging tentacle-headed monsters. After yet another death (I believe it was the one where I fell down a hole after 30 minutes of barely surviving the level’s harrowing halls), I put the game down and considered the $70 I paid for it a sunk cost. I was ready to move on.
These tentacle-headed monsters haunted me. Image: Sony
But two days later, I allowed myself just one more attempt at the game. Instead of yet another hellish trip through the Prison of Hope, though, I went to the fourth world, hoping that a change of scenery might do me some good.
Right away, I was faced with a new monstrosity: a blue-eyed skeleton wielding a giant sword that began rapidly somersaulting toward me. I thought it was all over. But using the skills I had learned taking on the tentacle-headed beasts in the Prison of Hope, I pulled off a few well-timed dodges and blasts of magic, and before I knew it, the skeleton was defeated. And then I took down the next one, and the next one, and the next one.
It was that moment that turned Demon’s Souls around for me. Looking back on it, I realized that the game had been constantly teaching me how to get better, even if I didn’t know it, and that I could use the skills I was subconsciously learning to play better. The challenge was indeed part of the process. From then on, I was completely obsessed with the game.
The rest of the game wasn’t easy
That’s not to say the rest of the game was easy. At one point, that first skeleton was joined by a menacingly red demon that could defeat me in one stroke of its sword. One difficult boss stymied me when an exact clone joined the fight partway through. A later swamp-themed level was so filled with danger that I had to inch my way through, fearing that any crucial mistake could cost me nearly an hour of progress.
But thanks to that first lesson with the skeletons, I learned that every challenge in Demon’s Souls, no matter how hard it might seem, could eventually be overcome. I kept at it. And as sappy as it sounds, it’s kind of a beautiful lesson for real life, too.


theverge--2020-12-14--Pornhub just removed most of its videos

Pornhub just removed most of its videos

Pornhub is removing all videos uploaded to its site by unverified users , millions of videos in total , as part of a crackdown on user-uploaded content after two major payment processors suspended service .
The decision , first reported by Motherboard , stems from a New York Times report that found the site was hosting videos of people who are underage and videos showing children being assaulted .
The site announced last Tuesday that it would begin limiting uploads to verified users only .
Uploads now have to come from official content partners or members of Pornhub ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ age verification to sign up .
Motherboard reports that all previously uploaded videos are now being pulled “ pending verification and review ” beginning in 2021 .
More than 8 million videos have been wiped out “ This means every piece of Pornhub content is from verified uploaders , a requirement that platforms like Facebook , Instagram , TikTok , YouTube , Snapchat and Twitter have yet to institute , ” Pornhub wrote in a blog post this morning .
Pornhub appears to have wiped out more than 8.8 million videos as of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ boasted 13.5 million videos on Sunday night ; it has 4.7 million as of Monday morning .
While the site hosts professional videos , its main function operates much like YouTube — allowing users to upload videos of their own and make money off of ad revenue .
These videos represented the bulk of Pornhub ’ s content .
Following the Times ’ report last week , Visa and Mastercard said they would investigate whether the site was hosting illegal content .
On Thursday , both companies cut off service , preventing customers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the most popular payment methods available .
The suspension of service could pose a significant problem for Pornhub , which also sells videos , and for the sex workers who use the platform ’ s sales as a source of income .

Pornhub is removing all videos uploaded to its site by unverified users, millions of videos in total, as part of a crackdown on user-uploaded content after two major payment processors suspended service. The decision, first reported by Motherboard, stems from a New York Times report that found the site was hosting videos of people who are underage and videos showing children being assaulted.
The site announced last Tuesday that it would begin limiting uploads to verified users only. Uploads now have to come from official content partners or members of Pornhub’s “Model Program,” which requires age verification to sign up. Motherboard reports that all previously uploaded videos are now being pulled “pending verification and review” beginning in 2021.
More than 10 million videos have been wiped out
“This means every piece of Pornhub content is from verified uploaders, a requirement that platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and Twitter have yet to institute,” Pornhub wrote in a blog post this morning. A spokesperson said the verification policy would apply to all sites owned by MindGeek, Pornhub’s parent company. The spokesperson didn’t respond to a follow-up about whether those other sites, which include YouPorn and Redtube, would also remove videos from unverified users.
Pornhub appears to have wiped out more than 10 million videos as of this writing. Motherboard said the site boasted 13.5 million videos on Sunday night; it has 2.9 million as of Monday morning. While the site hosts professional videos, its main function operates much like YouTube — allowing users to upload videos of their own and make money off of ad revenue. These videos represented the bulk of Pornhub’s content.
Following the Times’ report last week, Visa and Mastercard said they would investigate whether the site was hosting illegal content. On Thursday, both companies cut off service, preventing customers from making purchases on Pornhub through two of the most popular payment methods available. The suspension of service could pose a significant problem for Pornhub, which also sells videos, and for the sex workers who use the platform’s sales as a source of income.


theverge--2020-12-14--Gmail, YouTube, Google Docs, and other Google services hit by massive outage

Multiple Google services and websites including YouTube , Gmail , Google Assistant , and Google Docs were down for around an hour on Monday morning after being hit with a widespread outage .
Google acknowledged the issues with Gmail , affecting both its business and personal services , at 6:55AM ET , and said the problem was fixed for the “ vast majority ” of users at 7:52AM ET .
Identical notices were posted across the status pages for the rest of Google ’ s services .
Reports quickly mounted on Twitter after users couldn ’ t access Google ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ # YouTubeDOWN ” to trend .
At its peak , the status page for Google ’ s services was a sea of red , to indicate they were all suffering an outage .
All services are now green indicating that they ’ re fully operational .
The world ’ s dependence on Google services led to a truly staggering number of reports on DownDetector , with the number of reported YouTube problems peaking at over 100,000 .
Some users found YouTube was still functional if they visited it in an incognito browser @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like Docs and Meet were also down .
Users also reported that smart home gadgets integrated with Google Assistant were experiencing issues .
We verified that a Nest Hub smart display was unable to control a connected smart heater , for example .
Third-party apps and services that rely on Google ’ s back end services , like Pokémon Go , were also hit by problems .
However , despite the outage affecting numerous Google services , its core search product continued to function , and third-party ads were still showing in results @ @ @ @ @ @ @ verified that services experienced issues in the US , UK , Netherlands , and Japan , and DownDetector ’ s outage reports spanned the globe .
Update December 14th , 8:13AM ET : Updated to indicate that services appear to be back online .

Multiple Google services and websites including YouTube, Gmail, Google Assistant, and Google Docs were down for around an hour on Monday morning after being hit with a widespread outage. Google acknowledged the issues with Gmail, affecting both its business and personal services, at 6:55AM ET, and said the problem was fixed for the “vast majority” of users at 7:52AM ET. Identical notices were posted across the status pages for the rest of Google’s services.
Google’s preliminary assessment blames a glitch in identity management for the outage. “The root cause was an issue in our automated quota management system which reduced capacity for Google’s central identity management system, causing it to return errors globally,” the company wrote on its cloud support page. “As a result, we couldn’t verify that user requests were authenticated and served errors to our users.” The outage also affected Google’s internal systems.
Reports quickly mounted on Twitter after users couldn’t access Google’s basic services, causing the hashtag “#YouTubeDOWN” to trend. At its peak, the status page for Google’s services was a sea of red, to indicate they were all suffering an outage. All services are now green indicating that they’re fully operational.
All of Google’s services reported an outage at one point. Screenshot: Google
The world’s dependence on Google services led to a truly staggering number of reports on DownDetector, with the number of reported YouTube problems peaking at over 100,000. Some users found YouTube was still functional if they visited it in an incognito browser without signing in. Google Workspace apps like Docs and Meet were also down.
Users also reported that smart home gadgets integrated with Google Assistant were experiencing issues. We verified that a Nest Hub smart display was unable to control a connected smart heater, for example.
Third-party apps and services that rely on Google’s back end services, like Pokémon Go, were also hit by problems.
However, despite the outage affecting numerous Google services, its core search product continued to function, and third-party ads were still showing in results.
The outage was worldwide. We verified that services experienced issues in the US, UK, Netherlands, and Japan, and DownDetector’s outage reports spanned the globe.


theverge--2020-12-14--Snapchat is releasing Bitmoji Paint, a massively multiplayer online painting game

Today , Snapchat is getting a new original game called Bitmoji Paint .
As the name suggests , the game involves Bitmoji — those cutely grotesque customizable avatars — and painting .
It ’ s Snap Inc. ’ s second title from its internal games studio , which began putting out games last year .
“ Our goal with Bitmoji has always been to be the world ’ s avatar , to give people a digital version of themselves that represents them and lets them be themselves online , ” says Ba Blackstock , co-founder of Bitmoji .
“ And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s also letting people play together in a really new and fun and exciting way.
” Bitmoji Paint places players on a gigantic , pixelated grid , and lets them paint those squares as a shared canvas .
Zoom out , and you get pixel art .
You get there by pressing the rocket icon or through search ; the first thing you ’ ll see are floating islands in space , which are different servers you can join with hundreds of other players .
There are three modes — move , paint @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also interact with other players around the world using stock emotes .
There ’ s also a voice chat function in Snap ’ s game menu so you can talk to your friends while you ’ re scribbling .
Creations persist , so you can keep working on the things you ’ ve started .
“ A lot of the playability in the game is things like simple scribbles , ” says John Imah , head of games and entertainment partnerships at Snap .
“ You can send fun messages , and also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all these things are all possible in Bitmoji Paint.
” He ’ s been playing the game for a while now and says he ’ s excited for the world to see it , and then to see how people have fun with it .
( As far as moderation goes , players can ’ t see each other ’ s Snap IDs unless they ’ re already friends , and the company emphasized that it ’ ll provide easy access to reporting tools . )
Snap has used games and unique filters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stand apart from competitors like TikTok and Instagram .
Its recent anime lens went viral outside the app and was used 3 billion times in its first week .
That said , to hear Imah tell it , the games program has already been a big success .
“ To date , we ’ ve had more than 100 million Snapchatters play our games , which we ’ re incredibly proud of , ” he says .
“ An average of 20 minutes are played per player every day , when they ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says .
Sounds like Bitmoji Paint has some large shoes to fill .

Today, Snapchat is getting a new original game called Bitmoji Paint. As the name suggests, the game involves Bitmoji — those cutely grotesque customizable avatars — and painting. It’s Snap Inc.’s fourth title from its internal games studio, which began putting out games last year. “Our goal with Bitmoji has always been to be the world’s avatar, to give people a digital version of themselves that represents them and lets them be themselves online,” says Ba Blackstock, co-founder of Bitmoji. “And so now with games, it’s also letting people play together in a really new and fun and exciting way.”
Bitmoji Paint places players on a gigantic, pixelated grid, and lets them paint those squares as a shared canvas. Zoom out, and you get pixel art. You get there by pressing the rocket icon or through search; the first thing you’ll see are floating islands in space, which are different servers you can join with hundreds of other players. There are three modes — move, paint, and map — and users can also interact with other players around the world using stock emotes. There’s also a voice chat function in Snap’s game menu so you can talk to your friends while you’re scribbling. Creations persist, so you can keep working on the things you’ve started.
“A lot of the playability in the game is things like simple scribbles,” says John Imah, head of games and entertainment partnerships at Snap. “You can send fun messages, and also even [make] giant landscapes, all these things are all possible in Bitmoji Paint.” He’s been playing the game for a while now and says he’s excited for the world to see it, and then to see how people have fun with it. (As far as moderation goes, players can’t see each other’s Snap IDs unless they’re already friends, and the company emphasized that it’ll provide easy access to reporting tools.)
Snap has used games and unique filters to pull people into its app and stand apart from competitors like TikTok and Instagram. Its recent anime lens went viral outside the app and was used 3 billion times in its first week. That said, to hear Imah tell it, the games program has already been a big success. “To date, we’ve had more than 100 million Snapchatters play our games, which we’re incredibly proud of,” he says. “An average of 20 minutes are played per player every day, when they’re playing Bitmoji Party,” Imah says. Sounds like Bitmoji Paint has some large shoes to fill.


theverge--2020-12-14--Reddit buys TikTok rival Dubsmash

Reddit buys TikTok rival Dubsmash

Reddit has acquired “ short-form video social platform ” Dubsmash , the company announced today .
Under the terms of the deal , the TikTok rival will continue to exist as a separate platform and brand , but its “ innovative video creation tools ” will be integrated into Reddit .
Although Reddit has supported native video uploads since 2017 , its video-editing tools are limited , and much of the video content posted on the platform is hosted elsewhere .
In a post announcing the acquisition , Reddit said it is looking forward “ to bringing our teams together @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dubsmash with the community growth engine of Reddit.
” The sum paid for the New York-based company was not disclosed as part of the announcement .
“ Dubsmash provides a welcoming platform for creators and users who are under-represented in social media ” According to data from App Annie reported by TechCrunch earlier this year , Dubsmash ’ s share of the USA ’ s short-form video market is second only to TikTok .
Although its co-founder and president , Suchit Dash , declined to share the service ’ s total number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Street Journal , its videos are reportedly viewed over a billion times per month , and 30 percent of its users log on daily to create videos .
Reddit , meanwhile , recently disclosed that 52 million users are active on its platform daily .
Reddit specifically cites Dubsmash ’ s diverse user base as one of the reasons for its acquisition .
According to Reddit around 25 percent of Black teenagers in the US use the service , and that 70 percent of its users are female .
“ Dubsmash provides a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are under-represented in social media , ” Reddit ’ s announcement notes .
Earlier this year , Reddit said it would be making efforts to address hate speech on its platform following protests and the resignation of one of its co-founders .
When Alexis Ohanian resigned , he asked for his position to be filled by a Black candidate .
He was subsequently replaced by Y Combinator CEO Michael Seibel .

Reddit has acquired “short-form video social platform” Dubsmash, the company announced today. Under the terms of the deal, the TikTok rival will continue to exist as a separate platform and brand, but its “innovative video creation tools” will be integrated into Reddit. Although Reddit has supported native video uploads since 2017, its video-editing tools are limited, and much of the video content posted on the platform is hosted elsewhere.
In a post announcing the acquisition, Reddit said it is looking forward “to bringing our teams together to combine the unique creator experience of Dubsmash with the community growth engine of Reddit.” The sum paid for the New York-based company was not disclosed as part of the announcement.
“Dubsmash provides a welcoming platform for creators and users who are under-represented in social media”
According to data from App Annie reported by TechCrunch earlier this year, Dubsmash’s share of the USA’s short-form video market is second only to TikTok. Although its co-founder and president, Suchit Dash, declined to share the service’s total number of users in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, its videos are reportedly viewed over a billion times per month, and 30 percent of its users log on daily to create videos. Reddit, meanwhile, recently disclosed that 52 million users are active on its platform daily.


theverge--2020-12-14--Cyberpunk 2077 developer says disappointed players can ask for refunds

Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red has acknowledged the performance issues plaguing the game on base last-gen consoles , and has apologized for not showing the game running on the original PS4 and Xbox One prior to its release .
“ We should have paid more attention to making it play better on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One , ” it said in a notice published on Twitter .
The developer said it is hoping to fix the “ most prominent problems ” with a series of patches to be released over the coming months , but added that anyone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be able to return their copy of the game .
The statement follows numerous ports about how poorly the game runs on the older machines .
Players have reported choppy frame rates , weird physics , texture pop-in , and screen tearing .
Its performance has quickly become an online meme , Polygon reports , and videos and screenshots of the issues have been going viral on Twitter .
CD Projekt Red gave the PC version of the game to most reviewers , and seemingly did not provide console versions of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only received widespread attention after the game ’ s release .
In an investor call last month , CD Projekt Red joint-CEO Adam Kaciński even said the game runs “ surprisingly well ” on last-gen ’ s base hardware .
We reviewed the game on PC , and although we found it was buggy , we didn ’ t see any of the more serious issues that players are reporting on the base PS4 and Xbox One .
CD Projekt Red apologized for not showing the game on base last-gen consoles before its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not allowing you to make a more informed decision about your purchase.
” The developer promises that a host of fixes are coming to fix the performance problems , starting with another round of updates that ’ ll be released in the next seven days .
In January and February , CD Projekt Red plans on releasing a pair of large patches that it says “ should fix the most prominent problems gamers are facing on last-gen consoles.
” However it cautions that “ they won ’ t make the game on last-gen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a high-spec PC or next-gen console , but it will be closer to that experience than it is now.
” It says the PC version of the game will also be receiving regular updates and fixes .
There ’ s also an upgraded next-gen console version of the game on the way , though there ’ s no word on when exactly that ’ s arriving .
Although fixes are on the way , the developer says that players are free to request refunds if they don ’ t want to wait .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Microsoft ’ s respective refund systems ( IGN notes many buyers have already reported successfully claiming refunds via these methods , which isn ’ t usually possible in cases like this ) , and it says players should attempt to return boxed versions of the game to wherever they bought it .
It has set up a dedicated email address for players to contact over the next week if they have trouble returning their copies .

Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red has acknowledged the performance issues plaguing the game on base last-gen consoles, and has apologized for not showing the game running on the original PS4 and Xbox One prior to its release. “We should have paid more attention to making it play better on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One,” it said in a notice published on Twitter. The developer said it is hoping to fix the “most prominent problems” with a series of patches to be released over the coming months, but added that anyone who doesn’t want to wait will be able to return their copy of the game.
The statement follows numerous posts about how poorly the game runs on the older machines. Players have reported choppy frame rates, weird physics, texture pop-in, and screen tearing. Its performance has quickly become an online meme, Polygon reports, and videos and screenshots of the issues have been going viral on Twitter.
CD Projekt Red gave the PC version of the game to most reviewers, and seemingly did not provide console versions of the game, meaning these performance issues have only received widespread attention after the game’s release. In an investor call last month, CD Projekt Red joint-CEO Adam Kaciński even said the game runs “surprisingly well” on last-gen’s base hardware. We reviewed the game on PC, and although we found it was buggy, we didn’t see any of the more serious issues that players are reporting on the base PS4 and Xbox One. CD Projekt Red apologized for not showing the game on base last-gen consoles before its release “and, in consequence, not allowing you to make a more informed decision about your purchase.”
The developer promises that a host of fixes are coming to fix the performance problems, starting with another round of updates that’ll be released in the next seven days. In January and February, CD Projekt Red plans on releasing a pair of large patches that it says “should fix the most prominent problems gamers are facing on last-gen consoles.” However it cautions that “they won’t make the game on last-gen look like it’s running on a high-spec PC or next-gen console, but it will be closer to that experience than it is now.”
It says the PC version of the game will also be receiving regular updates and fixes. There’s also an upgraded next-gen console version of the game on the way, though there’s no word on when exactly that’s arriving.


theverge--2020-12-14--EA is buying Codemasters for $1.2 billion to take lead in racing game market

Electronic Arts has agreed to buy out UK developer Codemasters in a move that could see the US publishing giant wrest control of the racing video game genre .
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of next year for £6.04 ( ~ $ 7.98 ) a share , valuing Codemasters at around $ 1.2 billion .
Sky News first reported EA ’ s interest in Codemasters over the weekend , saying that the British company had previously agreed a $ 970 million deal with Rockstar Games and 2K Sports owner Take-Two Interactive .
EA confirmed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of the oldest British game developers , having been founded in the ‘ 80s and producing early hits like Dizzy for systems that were popular in the UK like the ZX Spectrum and the Commodore 64 .
In recent decades it ’ s been best known for creating racing games like the Dirt , Grid , and Formula 1 series , and last year acquired the developer behind Project Cars .
EA , of course , owns the Need for Speed franchise , so the Codemasters addition would give it further control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ game market .
The main competitors would be Sony ’ s Gran Turismo and Microsoft ’ s Forza series , both of which are exclusive to their publishers ’ respective platforms .
“ We believe there is a deeply compelling opportunity in bringing together Codemasters and Electronic Arts to create amazing and innovative new racing games for fans , ” EA CEO Andrew Wilson says in a statement .
“ Our industry is growing , the racing category is growing , and together we will be positioned to lead in a new era @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Codemasters have a shared ambition to lead the video game racing category , ” says Codemasters chairman Gerhard Florin .
“ The Board of Codemasters firmly believes the company would benefit from EA ’ s knowledge , resources and extensive global scale — both overall and specifically within the racing sector .
We feel this union would provide an exciting and prosperous future for Codemasters , allowing our teams to create , launch and service bigger and better games to an extremely passionate audience .
”

Electronic Arts has agreed to buy out UK developer Codemasters in a move that could see the US publishing giant wrest control of the racing video game genre. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of next year for £6.04 (~$7.98) a share, valuing Codemasters at around $1.2 billion.
Sky News first reported EA’s interest in Codemasters over the weekend, saying that the British company had previously agreed a $970 million deal with Rockstar Games and 2K Sports owner Take-Two Interactive. EA confirmed the agreement early Monday morning.
Codemasters is one of the oldest British game developers, having been founded in the ‘80s and producing early hits like Dizzy for systems that were popular in the UK like the ZX Spectrum and the Commodore 64. In recent decades it’s been best known for creating racing games like the Dirt, Grid, and Formula 1 series, and last year acquired the developer behind Project Cars.
Related Dirt 5 reminded me how much I needed MotorStorm back in my life
EA, of course, owns the Need for Speed franchise, so the Codemasters addition would give it further control over a huge chunk of the racing game market. The main competitors would be Sony’s Gran Turismo and Microsoft’s Forza series, both of which are exclusive to their publishers’ respective platforms.
“We believe there is a deeply compelling opportunity in bringing together Codemasters and Electronic Arts to create amazing and innovative new racing games for fans,” EA CEO Andrew Wilson says in a statement. “Our industry is growing, the racing category is growing, and together we will be positioned to lead in a new era of racing entertainment.”


theverge--2020-12-14--A show about Gawker proved too hot for Apple to handle

Apple has killed an upcoming Apple TV Plus show about Gawker , a now-defunct news organization , according to a report by the New York Times .
The show , called Scraper , is one to add to the list of stories about Apple killing projects that touch things that are too sensitive or edgy for the company .
When Tim Cook found out that Apple was working on the show , he reportedly sent an email saying that he was surprised to hear about it .
He also mentioned he disliked Gawker .
Although Apple has decided to kill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the market , where another distributor could buy and finance it .
This isn ’ t the first time Apple executives have stepped in to steer their TV service away from controversy This isn ’ t the first time Apple executives have stepped in to steer their TV service away from controversy .
In 2018 Apple reportedly killed a movie about Dr. Dre for having gratuitous violence and sex , and Apple executive Eddy Cue has reportedly said that the service will never do two things : “ hardcore nudity and China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ portraying China in a negative light , Buzzfeed has reported .
The executive who bought the show , Layne Eskridge , is leaving the company .
Gawker was inherently controversial — as Tim Cook personally knew .
Gawker outed him as gay in 2008 .
The Gawker Media Group included several blogs ; in 2010 , one of them , Gizmodo , found and leaked the iPhone 4 before it was launched .
( Later , the reporter ’ s home was raided by police . )
Gawker is appealing as a show @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mixed legacy .
It was one of the media outlets that revived interest in Bill Cosby , who was later convicted of aggravated indecent assault .
It also reported on rumored misconduct by Louis CK and Harvey Weinstein .
Gawker alums Max Read and Cord Jefferson are attached to the show .
Jefferson has also written for Watchmen , The Good Place , and Master of None .
Gawker , it seems , was born to bring controversy to everything it touched — even four years after its death .

Apple has killed an upcoming Apple TV Plus show about Gawker, a now-defunct news organization, according to a report by the New York Times. The show, called Scraper, is one to add to the list of stories about Apple killing projects that touch things that are too sensitive or edgy for the company.
When Tim Cook found out that Apple was working on the show, he reportedly sent an email saying that he was surprised to hear about it. He also mentioned he disliked Gawker. Although Apple has decided to kill the project, the show is back on the market, where another distributor could buy and finance it.
This isn’t the first time Apple executives have stepped in to steer their TV service away from controversy
This isn’t the first time Apple executives have stepped in to steer their TV service away from controversy. In 2018 Apple reportedly killed a movie about Dr. Dre for having gratuitous violence and sex, and Apple executive Eddy Cue has reportedly said that the service will never do two things: “hardcore nudity and China”. Apple directed show-runners to avoid portraying China in a negative light, Buzzfeed has reported.
The executive who bought the show, Layne Eskridge, is leaving the company.
Gawker was inherently controversial — as Tim Cook personally knew. Gawker outed him as gay in 2008. The Gawker Media Group included several blogs; in 2010, one of them, Gizmodo, found and leaked the iPhone 4 before it was launched. (Later, the reporter’s home was raided by police.)
Gawker is appealing as a show precisely because the blog has such a mixed legacy. It was one of the media outlets that revived interest in Bill Cosby, who was later convicted of aggravated indecent assault. It also reported on rumored misconduct by Louis CK and Harvey Weinstein.
Gawker alums Max Read and Cord Jefferson are attached to the show. Jefferson has also written for Watchmen, The Good Place, and Master of None.


theverge--2020-12-14--FDA approves genetically engineered pigs

The Food and Drug Administration has approved genetically engineered pigs for use in food and medical products .
The pigs , developed by medical company Revivicor , could be used in the production of drugs , to provide organs and tissues for transplants , and to produce meat that ’ s safe to eat for people with meat allergies .
“ Today ’ s first-ever approval of an animal biotechnology product for both food and as a potential source for biomedical use represents a tremendous milestone for scientific innovation , ” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn in a press @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pigs because they lack a molecule called alpha-gal sugar , which can trigger allergic reactions .
Alpha-gal sugar is found in many mammals , but not usually in humans .
Alpha-gal syndrome ( AGS ) , which causes a serious meat allergy , can happen after a bite from a lone star or deer tick .
Though it hasn ’ t been tested specifically for people with AGS yet , the FDA has determined GalSafe pork products are safe for the general population to eat .
In addition to their potential for safer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ uses for GalSafe pigs .
They could be used to make drugs like heparin , a common blood-thinner derived from animal tissue , safer for people with AGS .
GalSafe pigs could also be useful in organ transplants , as alpha-gal sugar can be a cause of organ rejection .
The pigs haven ’ t been tested for transplantation potential yet , so further research is required .
This isn ’ t the first time the FDA has approved genetically modified animals .
In 2009 , the FDA approved genetically altered goats that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ preventing blood clots .
Chickens that can make a drug in their eggs were approved in 2015 , the same year salmon became the first genetically modified animal to be approved for eating .
But the GalSafe pigs mark the first time the FDA has granted approval of a genetically altered animal for both human consumption and medical use .
These pigs are not superpigs à la Okja or Atwood ’ s pigoons .
The only difference between them and their unaltered peers is a lack of a specific sugar molecule .
Any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will have to seek further FDA approval before using new drugs , transplants , or implants in humans .

The Food and Drug Administration has approved genetically engineered pigs for use in food and medical products. The pigs, developed by medical company Revivicor, could be used in the production of drugs, to provide organs and tissues for transplants, and to produce meat that’s safe to eat for people with meat allergies.
“Today’s first-ever approval of an animal biotechnology product for both food and as a potential source for biomedical use represents a tremendous milestone for scientific innovation,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn in a press release.
The pigs are called GalSafe pigs because they lack a molecule called alpha-gal sugar, which can trigger allergic reactions. Alpha-gal sugar is found in many mammals, but not usually in humans. Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), which causes a serious meat allergy, can happen after a bite from a lone star or deer tick. Though it hasn’t been tested specifically for people with AGS yet, the FDA has determined GalSafe pork products are safe for the general population to eat.
In addition to their potential for safer consumption, there are several potential medical uses for GalSafe pigs. They could be used to make drugs like heparin, a common blood-thinner derived from animal tissue, safer for people with AGS. GalSafe pigs could also be useful in organ transplants, as alpha-gal sugar can be a cause of organ rejection. The pigs haven’t been tested for transplantation potential yet, so further research is required.
This isn’t the first time the FDA has approved genetically modified animals. In 2009, the FDA approved genetically altered goats that produce a drug in their milk for preventing blood clots. Chickens that can make a drug in their eggs were approved in 2015, the same year salmon became the first genetically modified animal to be approved for eating. But the GalSafe pigs mark the first time the FDA has granted approval of a genetically altered animal for both human consumption and medical use.


theverge--2020-12-14--Google discontinues the Google Home Max

Google discontinues the Google Home Max

Google is no longer manufacturing the Google Home Max , its smart speaker designed with high-quality sound in mind , and it has sold out of the product on the Google Store , the company tells The Verge .
And indeed , if you check the Google Home Max page on the Google Store , you ’ ll see that the white and black models are listed as out of stock .
Even though Google is discontinuing the Google Home Max , the company still plans to support it with software updates and security fixes .
“ Existing Google Home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they won ’ t see any change in their service , ” a Google spokesperson said in a statement .
“ We ’ ll continue to offer software updates and security fixes to Google Home Max devices .
We ’ re committed to delivering great sound and whole home audio features across all of our Assistant-enabled products.
” The Google Home Max launched in December 2017 for $ 399 .
In his review , Dan Seifert found that the Google Home Max sounded good on its own , but wasn ’ t quite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Google ’ s newest smart speaker is the Nest Audio , which it launched in October .
The Nest Audio costs $ 99.99 .

Google is no longer manufacturing the Google Home Max, its smart speaker designed with high-quality sound in mind, and it has sold out of the product on the Google Store, the company tells The Verge. And indeed, if you check the Google Home Max page on the Google Store, you’ll see that the white and black models are listed as out of stock.
Even though Google is discontinuing the Google Home Max, the company still plans to support it with software updates and security fixes. “Existing Google Home Max users shouldn’t worry as they won’t see any change in their service,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement. “We’ll continue to offer software updates and security fixes to Google Home Max devices. We’re committed to delivering great sound and whole home audio features across all of our Assistant-enabled products.”


theverge--2020-12-14--Pinterest settles gender discrimination lawsuit brought by former COO

Pinterest is settling a gender discrimination lawsuit brought by former COO Françoise Brougher for $ 22.5 million .
Pinterest and Brougher will also jointly contribute $ 2.5 million to philanthropies supporting women and underrepresented minorities in the tech industry .
The remaining amount will be paid to Brougher and her attorneys .
News of the agreement was first reported by The New York Times .
The settlement is one of the largest in a publicly announced , individual gender discrimination lawsuit .
Brougher ’ s lawyer told the Times that while private agreements can be bigger , they don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way .
The settlement is one of the largest in a publicly announced , individual gender discrimination lawsuit .
In her complaint , which was filed in August , Brougher said she was paid less than her male colleagues , repeatedly left out of important meetings , and given gendered feedback by Pinterest CFO Todd Morgenfeld .
When she spoke up about this mistreatment , she says she was fired .
Morgenfeld still works at the company .
The complaint followed public statements from Ifeoma Ozoma and Aerica Shimizu Banks , two Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ’ d faced racism and sexism at the company .
Both said they were underpaid despite leading major initiatives at Pinterest , including banning anti-vax posts and putting an end to the promotion of plantation weddings .
Ozoma and Banks got less than a year ’ s severance when they left the company .
Pinterest announced an outside lawyer was conducting an independent investigation into its culture in the wake of these allegations .
Yet more stories continued to pour out .
In September , The Verge published an article detailing new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ particularly for women and people of color on the finance team .
In a joint statement emailed to The Verge , Brougher and Pinterest said : “ Pinterest recognizes the importance of fostering a workplace environment that is diverse , equitable and inclusive and will continue its actions to improve its culture .
Francoise welcomes the meaningful steps Pinterest has taken to improve its workplace environment and is encouraged that Pinterest is committed to building a culture that allows all employees to feel included and supported .
”

Pinterest is settling a gender discrimination lawsuit brought by former COO Françoise Brougher for $22.5 million. Pinterest and Brougher will also jointly contribute $2.5 million to philanthropies supporting women and underrepresented minorities in the tech industry. The remaining amount will be paid to Brougher and her attorneys. News of the agreement was first reported by The New York Times.
The settlement is one of the largest in a publicly announced, individual gender discrimination lawsuit. Brougher’s lawyer told the Times that while private agreements can be bigger, they don’t hold companies accountable in the same way.
The settlement is one of the largest in a publicly announced, individual gender discrimination lawsuit.
In her complaint, which was filed in August, Brougher said she was paid less than her male colleagues, repeatedly left out of important meetings, and given gendered feedback by Pinterest CFO Todd Morgenfeld. When she spoke up about this mistreatment, she says she was fired. Morgenfeld still works at the company.
The complaint followed public statements from Ifeoma Ozoma and Aerica Shimizu Banks, two Black women on the policy team who said they’d faced racism and sexism at the company. Both said they were underpaid despite leading major initiatives at Pinterest, including banning anti-vax posts and putting an end to the promotion of plantation weddings.
Ozoma and Banks got less than a year’s severance when they left the company.
Pinterest announced an outside lawyer was conducting an independent investigation into its culture in the wake of these allegations. Yet more stories continued to pour out. In September, The Verge published an article detailing new allegations of workplace discrimination and retaliation — particularly for women and people of color on the finance team.


theverge--2020-12-14--Google pushes return to office to September and will test flexible work week

Google has pushed back its return to the office until September , and will experiment with a hybrid model allowing some employees to work from home part of the week , the company said .
First reported by The New York Times , Google CEO Sundar Pichai emailed employees Sunday about plans to test a flexible work week once conditions are safe for people to return .
Google employees would work three days in the office and the rest of the week at home under the new plan .
Pichai said the company is testing whether such a model would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ No company at our scale has ever created a fully hybrid work force model — though a few are starting to test it — so it will be interesting to try , ” Pichai wrote .
According to CNBC , however , Google ’ s hybrid work model would require employees to live within commuting distance to their offices , and a fully-remote option wasn ’ t offered .
And some employees may not be eligible for a flexible work week , such as those who need access to specialized equipment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are among the companies to announce they would permanently extend their current fully-remote work policies .
Google was one of the earliest tech companies to go fully remote as a result of the coronavirus pandemic , telling employees in March to work from home to support social distancing .
It previously said it would keep its 200,000 full-time and contract employees working remotely until July 2021 , but has now pushed that date back again .

Google has pushed back its return to the office until September, and will experiment with a hybrid model allowing some employees to work from home part of the week, the company said. First reported by The New York Times, Google CEO Sundar Pichai emailed employees Sunday about plans to test a flexible work week once conditions are safe for people to return. Google employees would work three days in the office and the rest of the week at home under the new plan.
Pichai said the company is testing whether such a model would lead to greater productivity and employee well-being. “No company at our scale has ever created a fully hybrid work force model — though a few are starting to test it — so it will be interesting to try,” Pichai wrote.
According to CNBC, however, Google’s hybrid work model would require employees to live within commuting distance to their offices, and a fully-remote option wasn’t offered. And some employees may not be eligible for a flexible work week, such as those who need access to specialized equipment.
Facebook, Twitter, and Square are among the companies to announce they would permanently extend their current fully-remote work policies.


theverge--2020-12-14--Uber fined $59 million for dodging questions about sexual assaults

Uber has 30 days to pay a $ 59 million fine to California ’ s Public Utilities Commission ( CPUC ) for failing to answer the regulator ’ s questions about a damning safety report released by the company in December 2019 .
If Uber doesn ’ t pay up and answer the outstanding questions , CPUC could suspend the company ’ s license to operate in the state , an administrative law judge ruled on Monday .
It ’ s the latest development in Uber ’ s long history of trouble with violence and assault between its drivers and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , too .
News of the fine was first reported by The San Francisco Chronicle .
Regulators want to know more about Uber ’ s own damning safety report , released in 2019 The report , which Uber itself called “ jarring ” at the time , detailed thousands of sexual assaults in the US that happened in 2017 and 2018 during trips taken with the company ’ s ride-hailing platform .
While the 84-page report included a fair amount of data in aggregate , CPUC wanted to know more shortly after it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the fine print that the report did not “ assess or take any position on whether any of the reported incidents actually occurred.
” The CPUC has regulatory authority over transportation companies in the state and regularly investigates complaints against them .
So it asked Uber a handful of questions about who authored the report , and also asked Uber for specific details on each incident of assault .
Uber never answered the questions , claiming that further disclosure would present a privacy risk for both the assault survivors as well as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a judge denied the company ’ s request to avoid answering , saying Uber could file the answers under seal in order to protect confidentiality .
Uber continued to fight answering the CPUC ’ s questions throughout the year until up Monday ’ s ruling , though .
In the ruling , the judge described those efforts as little more than “ specious legal roadblocks ” meant to “ frustrate the Commission ’ s ability to gather information ” about whether Uber is operating safely .
They did , however , say that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some other signifier rather than a victim ’ s name ” when it eventually answers the CPUC ’ s questions .
The judge arrived at the $ 59 million figure by levying a $ 7,500 fine for every specific time that Uber refused to answer each question during the process .
“ Uber is a billion-dollar business that can easily afford to pay ... [ e ] ven during a pandemic where ridership has undoubtedly declined , ” the judge wrote .
The CPUC has been “ insistent in its demands that we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of sexual assault survivors without their consent , ” Uber said in a statement to The Verge .
“ We opposed this shocking violation of privacy , alongside many victims ’ rights advocates .
Now , a year later , the CPUC has changed its tune : we can provide anonymized information—yet we are also subject to a $ 59 million fine for not complying with the very order the CPUC has fundamentally altered.
” Uber further said these “ punitive and confusing actions will do nothing to improve public safety and will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ companies consider releasing their own reports .
Transparency should be encouraged , not punished .
”

Uber has 30 days to pay a $59 million fine to California’s Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for failing to answer the regulator’s questions about a damning safety report released by the company in December 2019. If Uber doesn’t pay up and answer the outstanding questions, CPUC could suspend the company’s license to operate in the state, an administrative law judge ruled on Monday.
It’s the latest development in Uber’s long history of trouble with violence and assault between its drivers and passengers — trouble that competitor Lyft shares, too. News of the fine was first reported by The San Francisco Chronicle.
Regulators want to know more about Uber’s own damning safety report, released in 2019
The report, which Uber itself called “jarring” at the time, detailed thousands of sexual assaults in the US that happened in 2017 and 2018 during trips taken with the company’s ride-hailing platform. While the 84-page report included a fair amount of data in aggregate, CPUC wanted to know more shortly after it was released — especially because Uber admitted in the fine print that the report did not “assess or take any position on whether any of the reported incidents actually occurred.”
The CPUC has regulatory authority over transportation companies in the state and regularly investigates complaints against them. So it asked Uber a handful of questions about who authored the report, and also asked Uber for specific details on each incident of assault.
Uber never answered the questions, claiming that further disclosure would present a privacy risk for both the assault survivors as well as its employees. In January 2020, a judge denied the company’s request to avoid answering, saying Uber could file the answers under seal in order to protect confidentiality. Uber continued to fight answering the CPUC’s questions throughout the year until up Monday’s ruling, though.
In the ruling, the judge described those efforts as little more than “specious legal roadblocks” meant to “frustrate the Commission’s ability to gather information” about whether Uber is operating safely. They did, however, say that Uber can use “a code or some other signifier rather than a victim’s name” when it eventually answers the CPUC’s questions. The judge arrived at the $59 million figure by levying a $7,500 fine for every specific time that Uber refused to answer each question during the process.
“Uber is a billion-dollar business that can easily afford to pay ... [e]ven during a pandemic where ridership has undoubtedly declined,” the judge wrote.
The CPUC has been “insistent in its demands that we release the full names and contact information of sexual assault survivors without their consent,” Uber said in a statement to The Verge. “We opposed this shocking violation of privacy, alongside many victims’ rights advocates. Now, a year later, the CPUC has changed its tune: we can provide anonymized information—yet we are also subject to a $59 million fine for not complying with the very order the CPUC has fundamentally altered.”
Uber further said these “punitive and confusing actions will do nothing to improve public safety and will only create a chilling effect as other companies consider releasing their own reports. Transparency should be encouraged, not punished.”


theverge--2020-12-14--Here’s where you can buy a Nintendo Switch

The Nintendo Switch , like everything else that can lighten the mood during this incredibly tough time , is in short supply .
And as soon as retailers like Best Buy , Amazon , and Walmart get it in stock , it quickly sells out .
It can be disheartening to miss out on the opportunity to buy a Switch — but fear not !
The purpose of this article is to help you do just that without paying more than it would usually cost at retail .
We ’ re keeping a lookout across the web to find where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ buy a Nintendo Switch ( the one you can dock to your TV or remove for portable use ) or a Switch Lite ( the portable-only version of the console ) as well as any bundles that seem like good deals .
Keep in mind that stock — even Switch consoles that are preowned or refurbished — will likely continue to sell out quickly during the pandemic .
But we ’ ll do our best to keep this article up to date with the latest in-stock offers , and we ’ ll tell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When something gets sold out , we ’ ll try to let you know .
Where can I buy a Nintendo Switch or Switch Lite right now ?
• Amazon and GameStop have the Animal Crossing-themed Nintendo Switch consoles .
Unlike the regular Switch , this model has a few standout features that make it one of the best-looking Switch models to date .
It includes pastel green and blue Joy-Con , a white dock adorned with images of the Nook family , and the back of the Switch has an embossed design @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
• At Target , you can get an updated Nintendo Switch bundle , which includes a digital copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and three months of Nintendo Switch Online for $ 300 .
• Over at Amazon , you can buy an updated Nintendo Switch model with neon and blue Joy-Cons , plus a 128GB SanDisk MicroSD card for $ 324 .
• Amazon also has the Nintendo Switch with gray Joy-Cons for $ 300 .
• You can buy the updated Nintendo Switch model with red and blue Joy-Cons for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Walmart .
• GameStop currently has stock for the Nintendo Switch Lite in different colors .
• GameStop and Best Buy receive new supplies of the Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite consoles fairly regularly , and it ’ s a good strategy to keep these pages open so you can quickly add one to your cart when they come back in stock .
If you ’ re not against buying a preowned or refurbished console , you ’ ll want to check out GameStop .
Another good place to look is Nintendo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sells refurbished Switch consoles .
Those have been sold out recently , but there ’ s no telling when it will restock the page with some repaired , refreshed consoles .
Oddly enough , Nintendo has its own official seller page on eBay , which usually hosts refurbished Switch consoles , though it has been closed “ until further notice ” due to the pandemic .
Still , that ’ s worth keeping an eye on , too .
What accessories do I need to buy for the Nintendo Switch ?
Frankly , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need to get started and have fun .
However , a few extra purchases can help you get a little more out of your console , and in some cases , help it weather the wear and tear that it ’ ll undoubtedly endure .
First off , a microSD card will help you extend your Switch ’ s default 32GB of storage .
Amazon , Best Buy , and other retailers regularly sell cards with up to 512GB of storage for around $ 70 .
A 400GB microSD card will cost you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ game ranging in download size from 1GB to tens of gigabytes , the card has enough space to store several of them .
Let ’ s talk quickly about controllers .
The Switch Joy-Cons have a somewhat unconventional look .
Nevertheless , the Pro Controller is a great alternative to play most Switch games , though some Super Mario Party titles require the Joy-Cons to play .
If you are looking for a Switch Pro controller , Walmart also has the normal Switch Pro controller for $ 59 , knockings $ 11 off @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , get a tempered glass screen cover .
The display on the Switch and Switch Lite is covered in plastic , and it ’ s just asking to get scratched as soon as you take it out of the box .
Save the heartbreak by getting an affordable , easy-to-apply glass cover at Amazon .
• A two-pack of amFilm tempered glass protectors for the Nintendo Switch is $ 8 • A three-pack of amFilm tempered glass protectors for the Switch Lite is $ 7 If you want to play online with friends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up in the cloud , and get access to a slate of on-demand games from the original Nintendo console and SNES console era , you ’ ll want to get a Nintendo Switch Online subscription .
It ’ s $ 20 per year for a single user on a console or $ 35 a year for up to eight users on different consoles .

The Nintendo Switch was, like most consoles during the pandemic, once in short supply. Thankfully, retailers like Best Buy, Amazon, and Walmart now routinely stock the Nintendo Switch, Switch Lite, and upgraded Switch OLED model in multiple color configurations, giving those who have continually struck out ample opportunity to purchase Nintendo’s incredibly popular handheld console.
If you’re not sure where you can pick up a Switch as of right now, we’ve vetted stock and rounded up where you can purchase the Nintendo Switch, the Nintendo Switch Lite, and the Nintendo Switch OLED model both online and in-store. We’ve also scoured the web for any bundle that seems like a good deal, as well as discounts that might be applicable.
Where can I buy a Nintendo Switch right now?
If you’re looking to pick up the standalone console with red and blue Joy-Cons, you can currently do so for $299.99 at Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Adorama, and Nintendo. The model with the gray Joy-Cons is not as widely available, but can still be purchased for the same price at Best Buy, Walmart, and Nintendo.
The Animal Crossing: New Horizons Edition of the Nintendo Switch is also available for purchase at Amazon, GameStop, Best Buy, and Nintendo for around $299, its usual retail price. Keep in mind this is a special colorway for the system and Joy-Cons, but it does not include a copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
If you’re not against buying a preowned or refurbished console, you’ll want to check out GameStop and Nintendo’s online store, where you can often find deals on refurbished Switch consoles. Right now, for instance, GameStop is selling refurbished models of the standard Switch and Switch OLED starting at $259.99 and $339.99, respectively.
Where can I buy a Nintendo Switch Lite right now?
The Nintendo Switch Lite has a lot in common with the standard Switch, aside from a few key differences. The Lite only functions as a handheld console — meaning you can’t hook it up to your TV — and it’s smaller, lighter, and sturdier than its dockable counterpart. Its screen clocks in at 5.5-inches, it features a proper D-pad, and can play all the same games as the regular Switch, except those that require detachable Joy-Con controllers (which are very few). Regardless, it's a great handheld for those who prefer to game on the go.
Many retailers carry the Nintendo Switch Lite as a standalone console, though, the available color selection varies by retailer. Best Buy, and Nintendo currently have the best selection, with each offering the Switch Lite in coral, turquoise, and blue for around $199. Other retailers — including Adorama, Target, and Walmart — also have the Switch Lite in stock, but with a more limited color selection. The gray model is a bit harder to come by, but you can currently find the yellow colorway at Nintendo.
Nintendo
Where can I buy a Nintendo Switch OLED model right now?
The Nintendo Switch OLED officially went on sale in October for $349.99, and offers a slew of improvements, most notably a vibrant 7-inch OLED display, 64GB of internal storage, and an improved kickstand that offers greater stability. The speakers get a bit louder and offer a touch more clarity, too, and there’s now a wired ethernet port built directly into the dock.
While the supply has mostly caught up to demand, the Switch OLED model can still go out of stock. Luckily, both color configurations are available at several retailers at the moment.
What accessories do I need to buy for the Nintendo Switch?
Frankly, the Switch comes with everything that you need to get started and have fun. However, a few extra purchases can help you get a little more out of your console, and in some cases, help it weather the wear and tear that it’ll undoubtedly endure.
SanDisk microSD card (200GB) $ 27 $ 35 23 % off $ 27 $ 27 $ 35 23 % off The standard Nintendo Switch ships with 32GB of internal storage, which won’t get you very far when it comes to downloading games. Adding a 200GB microSD card is a smart, relatively affordable way to give your storage a boost. $27 at Amazon
First off, a microSD card will help you extend your Switch’s default storage capacity, especially given each game ranges in download size from 1GB to tens of gigabytes. At Amazon, a 400GB microSD card will currently set you back $43.85, which is 37 percent off the typical price retail price. SanDisk’s microSD cards are also on sale in other size configurations, including a 200GB model for $26.99 ($8 off), which is still large enough that you should have little trouble storing several titles.
Let’s talk quickly about controllers. The Switch Joy-Cons have a somewhat unconventional look. Nevertheless, the Pro Controller is a great alternative for playing most Switch games, though some Mario Party titles require the Joy-Cons to play. If you are looking for a Switch Pro Controller, Amazon has discounted the controller to $54.99. If you prefer a different retailer, Best Buy and Target are both selling the controller at the MSRP ($69.99).
The Switch doesn’t include a screen protector, so make that one of the first things you buy. Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Next up, get a tempered glass screen cover. The display on the Switch and Switch Lite is covered in plastic, and it’s just asking to get scratched as soon as you take it out of the box. Fortunately, you can save the heartbreak by getting an affordable, easy-to-apply glass cover at Amazon. Right now, for example, you can pick up two SuperShieldz screen protectors for $7.99, which is far cheaper than replacing a broken display.
If you want to play online with friends, ensure your data is backed up to the cloud, and get access to a slate of on-demand games from the original Nintendo console and SNES console era, you’ll want to get a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. It’s $19.99 a year for a single user on a console or $34.99 a year for up to eight users on different consoles.


theverge--2020-12-14--Disney World is going to stop photoshopping masks onto people

Today in stories that make you go “ Wait , what ?
” , Disney World is going to stop digitally adding masks to people who don ’ t have them in their on-ride pictures , according to a report from WDW News Today .
Even if you ’ ve never been to a theme park , you ’ ve probably seen these kinds of photos : people on a roller coaster screaming or reacting in some funny way to whatever ’ s happening , captured by a camera built into the ride and sold at some crazy price .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Disney has had to adapt to how it handles these pictures .
For example , previously , if someone wasn ’ t wearing a mask on the ride , neither they nor anybody else in the picture would be able to download it in the Disney app or get it printed .
It ’ s understandable how this could cause some annoyance — if you were wearing your mask on the ride , why shouldn ’ t you be able to get the picture just because someone else wasn ’ t ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ apparently , was to start digitally adding masks to non-wearers ( rather poorly , as you can see in the tweet below ) .
It ’ s unclear when exactly Disney started doing this , but it announced over the weekend that it was going to stop , saying in a statement that it had “ tested modifying some ride photos ” , but that it will “ no longer doing this and continue to expect guests to wear face coverings except when actively eating or drinking while stationary.
” What ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go back to its stricter photo policy , where it won ’ t allow anyone in the photo to purchase a copy if someone isn ’ t wearing a mask in it .
Either way , it ’ s a good idea to wear a mask even regardless of whether your vacation pictures depend on it .

Today in stories that make you go “Wait, what?”, Disney World is going to stop digitally adding masks to people who don’t have them in their on-ride pictures, according to a report from WDW News Today.
Even if you’ve never been to a theme park, you’ve probably seen these kinds of photos: people on a roller coaster screaming or reacting in some funny way to whatever’s happening, captured by a camera built into the ride and sold at some crazy price. In the age of COVID-19, however, Disney has had to adapt to how it handles these pictures. For example, previously, if someone wasn’t wearing a mask on the ride, neither they nor anybody else in the picture would be able to download it in the Disney app or get it printed.
It’s understandable how this could cause some annoyance — if you were wearing your mask on the ride, why shouldn’t you be able to get the picture just because someone else wasn’t? Disney’s solution to this, apparently, was to start digitally adding masks to non-wearers (rather poorly, as you can see in the tweet below).
It’s unclear when exactly Disney started doing this, but it announced over the weekend that it was going to stop, saying in a statement that it had “tested modifying some ride photos”, but that it will “no longer doing this and continue to expect guests to wear face coverings except when actively eating or drinking while stationary.”


theverge--2020-12-14--Facebook launches its Collab music app to the public

Facebook has publicly launched Collab , an experimental music-making app that first launched as an invite-only beta back in May , TechCrunch reports .
The app allows users to create short-form music videos by combining up to three independent videos .
So , for example , three musicians could each play a different part of a song and combine them into one video .
But each video that ’ s created is also posted to a public “ Collab ” feed , where people can view and play along with it if they choose .
So you could also record @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two other parts you find on the Collab feed that other people have recorded .
Or you can just mix other people ’ s videos together — you don ’ t need to be a musician yourself .
( Every user is properly credited for their contributions , according to Facebook . )
You won ’ t have to worry about lining all the videos up — Collab includes in-app tools to sync the parts together .
Per its App Store page , “ We make sure that as you swipe , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be in sync.
” The app isn ’ t directly integrated with Facebook ( yet , at least ) , but you can export the finished products to your Instagram story ( as well as other platforms , including TikTok ) via iOS share sheet .
Collab is free on the App Store , and you can download it today .

Facebook has publicly launched Collab, an experimental music-making app that first launched as an invite-only beta back in May, TechCrunch reports.
The app allows users to create short-form music videos by combining up to three independent videos. So, for example, three musicians could each play a different part of a song and combine them into one video. But each video that’s created is also posted to a public “Collab” feed, where people can view and play along with it if they choose.
So you could also record one part, then mix it with two other parts you find on the Collab feed that other people have recorded. Or you can just mix other people’s videos together — you don’t need to be a musician yourself. (Every user is properly credited for their contributions, according to Facebook.)
You won’t have to worry about lining all the videos up — Collab includes in-app tools to sync the parts together. Per its App Store page, “We make sure that as you swipe, the videos play at exactly the right moment to be in sync.”
The app isn’t directly integrated with Facebook (yet, at least), but you can export the finished products to your Instagram story (as well as other platforms, including TikTok) via iOS share sheet.