theverge--2020-07-15--Paper Mario: The Origami King is a laugh-out-loud funny RPG on the Switch

Super Mario ’ s roleplaying adventures have always been playful twists on the genre .
RPGs can be uptight , all melodrama and end-of-the-world theatrics .
But games like Super Mario RPG and the Mario & Luigi series took what made RPGs great — the strategic battles , lengthy adventures , and vast stories — and infused them with humor and charm .
Paper Mario : The Origami King continues this tradition but updates it in lots of clever ways .
It ’ s the rare game where being funny is its biggest strength .
As with most Mario adventures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Princess Peach , but not in the typical damsel in distress way .
At the outset , Mario and his brother arrive at Toad Town for an origami festival , only to discover the city is mostly deserted .
Inside the castle , they find a disturbing — and origami-fied — version of the princess .
“ Why haven ’ t you joined me in folding glory ?
” she asks .
As it turns out , the princess , and much of the Mushroom Kingdom , are under the control of an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world in his image .
It ’ s an admittedly silly premise , but it works ; the villains and their intentions feel appropriately evil , and it ’ s a great excuse to venture across the world .
As part of his scheme , the origami king uses five gigantic pieces of ribbon to rip Peach ’ s castle out of the ground and transport it to a remote mountaintop .
The goal is simple : destroy the ribbons to get into the castle .
Your destination is almost always in view @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world , you can see the ribbons stretching across the landscape until you finally manage to remove them .
The Origami King plays out sort of like an open-world RPG .
You play as a flat rendition of Mario venturing across the world — to ancient deserts , underwater dungeons , and abandoned theme parks — all while solving often arcane brain teasers to open up new areas , eliminate the origami menace , and dispose of the ribbons .
There are RPG-like mechanics like equippable weapons and additional party members , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ archaeologist .
Battles are clever turn-based affairs that are essentially puzzles : you have to spin enemies around on a wheel to line them up so you can get the right attack in before a timer runs out .
In most RPGs , I mash the attack button through random battles , but here , I had to actually pay attention .
Many of the elements streamline what can often be a tedious and fiddly genre .
The battles , outside of bosses , are snappy and fun , and you only have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ skills to succeed .
If you get stuck , a helpful origami friend named Olivia is available at any time to give you helpful hints , sort of like a less annoying version of Navi from Ocarina of Time .
The Origami King strikes a nice balance between being approachable but still having depth .
It ’ s also wonderfully tactile .
While Mario can jump , he also has a hammer to smash everything and anything around him , which he does to open up secret areas , solve puzzles , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look .
The game looks and plays wonderfully , but really , the star is its sense of humor .
It ’ s downright silly .
There are copious puns and visual jokes and all kinds of things that don ’ t make sense but are delightful regardless .
For instance , since you ’ re made of paper , you can travel around the world via fax machine ; the game calls this “ fax travel.
” At one point , after wandering through a forest of talking trees , I came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” and “ we must burn !
” Everything is goofy : the most difficult bosses are sentient office supplies , and there are multiple surprise musical numbers and performances , including a multipart stage play that ends in a Shy Guy ballet .
Much like the most recent Luigi ’ s Mansion , a lot of the silliness comes from slapstick comedy , as you take your hammer and smash things to see what happens .
It could be an unusual toad unfolding after previously being disguised as an origami frog or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of grumbling Bowser minions .
At the very least , you ’ ll see colorful confetti rain down from the tree you just bonked .
The story even has rare moments of poignant drama to round out the experience ; Paper Mario is not a game where I expected to be shocked by a character ’ s death , but the team at Nintendo pulled it off masterfully .
The fact that The Origami King is a great game almost feels like a bonus .
It could ’ ve simply been a vehicle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I would ’ ve enjoyed it , such is the rarity of truly funny comedy games .
But it also happens to be a fantastic example of how to freshen up the classic RPG formula with a few new ideas and clever simplification .
In virtually every regard , the latest Paper Mario is anything but flat .
launches on July 17th on the Nintendo Switch .

Super Mario’s roleplaying adventures have always been playful twists on the genre. RPGs can be uptight, all melodrama and end-of-the-world theatrics. But games like Super Mario RPG and the Mario & Luigi series took what made RPGs great — the strategic battles, lengthy adventures, and vast stories — and infused them with humor and charm. Paper Mario: The Origami King continues this tradition but updates it in lots of clever ways. It’s the rare game where being funny is its biggest strength.
As with most Mario adventures, The Origami King involves trouble with Princess Peach, but not in the typical damsel in distress way. At the outset, Mario and his brother arrive at Toad Town for an origami festival, only to discover the city is mostly deserted. Inside the castle, they find a disturbing — and origami-fied — version of the princess. “Why haven’t you joined me in folding glory?” she asks. As it turns out, the princess, and much of the Mushroom Kingdom, are under the control of an evil origami wizard bent on reshaping the world in his image.
It’s an admittedly silly premise, but it works; the villains and their intentions feel appropriately evil, and it’s a great excuse to venture across the world. As part of his scheme, the origami king uses five gigantic pieces of ribbon to rip Peach’s castle out of the ground and transport it to a remote mountaintop. The goal is simple: destroy the ribbons to get into the castle. Your destination is almost always in view; when you’re out in the world, you can see the ribbons stretching across the landscape until you finally manage to remove them.
The Origami King plays out sort of like an open-world RPG. You play as a flat rendition of Mario venturing across the world — to ancient deserts, underwater dungeons, and abandoned theme parks — all while solving often arcane brain teasers to open up new areas, eliminate the origami menace, and dispose of the ribbons. There are RPG-like mechanics like equippable weapons and additional party members, including an amnesiac Bob-omb and a Toad archaeologist. Battles are clever turn-based affairs that are essentially puzzles: you have to spin enemies around on a wheel to line them up so you can get the right attack in before a timer runs out. In most RPGs, I mash the attack button through random battles, but here, I had to actually pay attention.
Many of the elements streamline what can often be a tedious and fiddly genre. The battles, outside of bosses, are snappy and fun, and you only have to worry about a few items and skills to succeed. If you get stuck, a helpful origami friend named Olivia is available at any time to give you helpful hints, sort of like a less annoying version of Navi from Ocarina of Time. The Origami King strikes a nice balance between being approachable but still having depth. It’s also wonderfully tactile. While Mario can jump, he also has a hammer to smash everything and anything around him, which he does to open up secret areas, solve puzzles, and rescue flattened toads hidden almost anywhere you look.
The game looks and plays wonderfully, but really, the star is its sense of humor. It’s downright silly. There are copious puns and visual jokes and all kinds of things that don’t make sense but are delightful regardless. For instance, since you’re made of paper, you can travel around the world via fax machine; the game calls this “fax travel.” At one point, after wandering through a forest of talking trees, I came across firewood chanting “light me!” and “we must burn!”
Everything is goofy: the most difficult bosses are sentient office supplies, and there are multiple surprise musical numbers and performances, including a multipart stage play that ends in a Shy Guy ballet. Much like the most recent Luigi’s Mansion, a lot of the silliness comes from slapstick comedy, as you take your hammer and smash things to see what happens. It could be an unusual toad unfolding after previously being disguised as an origami frog or butterfly, or a secret cafe full of grumbling Bowser minions. At the very least, you’ll see colorful confetti rain down from the tree you just bonked. The story even has rare moments of poignant drama to round out the experience; Paper Mario is not a game where I expected to be shocked by a character’s death, but the team at Nintendo pulled it off masterfully.
The fact that The Origami King is a great game almost feels like a bonus. It could’ve simply been a vehicle for Nintendo’s goofs, and I would’ve enjoyed it, such is the rarity of truly funny comedy games. But it also happens to be a fantastic example of how to freshen up the classic RPG formula with a few new ideas and clever simplification. In virtually every regard, the latest Paper Mario is anything but flat.


theverge--2020-07-15--TuSimple finds a partner to help it build a fleet of robot semi trucks

US truck maker Navistar is joining forces with TuSimple , a leading autonomous vehicle startup , to build a self-driving semi truck that can operate without a human driver on highways and local roads .
As part of the deal , Navistar is taking a minority stake in TuSimple — though neither company would disclose the size of Navistar ’ s investment .
TuSimple recently unveiled its plans to build out a coast-to-coast freight-hauling business using a fleet of camera-and-LIDAR equipped autonomous class 8 tractor trailers .
Now the company has a manufacturing partner to help it realize its dream @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nation .
“ This is a major key component , of course , of being able to bring autonomy to the market , ” TuSimple president Cheng Lu told The Verge .
“ This is a major key component , of course , of being able to bring autonomy to the market ” Founded in 2015 , TuSimple currently uses Navistar trucks outfitted with the startup ’ s own self-driving tech , which sees the world largely through 20 cameras and two LIDAR laser sensors .
But rather than continue to retrofit existing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to build a driverless truck from the ground up so it can ensure its sensors and self-driving software can withstand the heavy conditions associated with long-haul trucking .
“ It ’ s going through a lot of wear and tear , ” Lu said .
“ The roads are bumpy .
It ’ s working 24 hours a day .
And that means every component on the truck needs to last as long as you can.
” TuSimple is already backed by UPS , Nvidia , and Chinese technology company Sina , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Beijing .
But expansions and vehicle manufacturing take money — lots of money .
Last month , TechCrunch reported that TuSimple hired investment bank Morgan Stanley to help it raise an additional $ 250 million from investors .
Since its inception , the company has raised $ 298 million with a valuation of more than $ 1 billion .
TuSimple is aiming for a fully driverless system , but currently its trucks include two human operators to monitor the driving and take over when needed .
Lu said the company is aiming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which point he anticipates being able to remove those backup drivers .
The trucks will be able to driver autonomously on highways and local roads , in most weather conditions , but only along “ predefined routes , ” Lu added .
Lu said the company is aiming to begin production in 2024 “ So you can imagine that limits where these trucks can go , ” he said .
“ It ’ s not suitable for distribution center-to-storefront , or storefront-to-home.
” Lu feels this fact should blunt criticism that autonomous trucks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ The on-demand economy is actually going to increase the need for these last-mile , first-mile regional delivery jobs , ” he said .
( Previously , TuSimple ’ s CTO and co-founder Xiaodi Hou described long-haul trucking jobs as ones that “ tarnish on the glory of humanity.
” ) Autonomous vehicle startups these days tend to focus on two commercial prospects : ride-hailing and delivery .
Indeed , most major autonomous vehicle outfits , including Waymo , Cruise , Argo , Nuro , Zoox , and others , see ride-hailing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spear for self-driving technology , and the best way to recoup expenses .
Lu said the “ road to commercialization ” for autonomous trucking will be much faster than it will be for those startups working on robotaxis , even though its much more expensive to equip a self-driving truck than a self-driving minivan .
That said , TuSimple ’ s sensor equipment leans more heavily on cameras , which are cheap to make , as opposed to LIDAR , which is incredibly expensive .
And Lu says trucks will have a higher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ haul freight at all hours earning revenue for the company .
Lu said the “ road to commercialization ” for autonomous trucking will be much faster For its part , Navistar gets a toehold in the autonomous vehicle space , which can help as the company looks to possibly build out its own fleet of autonomous vehicles .
The company hasn ’ t always been on stable financial footing .
Navistar was on the brink of bankruptcy in 2016 , having squandered billions of dollars on a diesel engine that failed to win @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
After US regulators announced new rules to reduce carbon emissions from big trucks , putting pressure on Navistar to find a technology partner , Volkswagen swooped in to buy a minority stake in the company .
Navistar doesn ’ t only make trucks — the Lisle , Illinois-based company also owns International Trucks , which encompasses a variety of medium-duty trucks , and IC Bus , which makes buses and commercial vehicles .
Navistar and TuSimple have been working under a “ technical partnership ” for the last two years .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” said Persio Lisboa , president and CEO of Navistar , in a statement , “ and will have a profound impact on our customers ’ businesses.
” Autonomous trucking is starting to emerge from the shadow of the much larger robotaxi industry , especially as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cast doubt on the efficacy of shared ride-hailing .
Alphabet ’ s Waymo has been testing its self-driving tractor trailers in Arizona and California , and it soon will be testing in New Mexico and Texas .
The company is also working @ @ @ @ @ @ @ established players like Daimler to newcomers like Ike , Embark , and Plus.ai — are also working toward a fully driverless truck .
But it hasn ’ t been smooth hauling for everyone .
Uber abandoned its self-driving truck plans after one of its self-driving cars killed a pedestrian in Arizona , and Starsky Robotics recently went out of business after a failed round of funding .

US truck maker Navistar is joining forces with TuSimple, a leading autonomous vehicle startup, to build a self-driving semi truck that can operate without a human driver on highways and local roads. As part of the deal, Navistar is taking a minority stake in TuSimple — though neither company would disclose the size of Navistar’s investment.
TuSimple recently unveiled its plans to build out a coast-to-coast freight-hauling business using a fleet of camera-and-LIDAR equipped autonomous class 8 tractor trailers. Now the company has a manufacturing partner to help it realize its dream of robot semi trucks criss-crossing across the nation.
“This is a major key component, of course, of being able to bring autonomy to the market,” TuSimple president Cheng Lu told The Verge.
“This is a major key component, of course, of being able to bring autonomy to the market”
Founded in 2015, TuSimple currently uses Navistar trucks outfitted with the startup’s own self-driving tech, which sees the world largely through 20 cameras and two LIDAR laser sensors. But rather than continue to retrofit existing Navistar trucks, Lu said TuSimple wants to build a driverless truck from the ground up so it can ensure its sensors and self-driving software can withstand the heavy conditions associated with long-haul trucking.
“It’s going through a lot of wear and tear,” Lu said. “The roads are bumpy. It’s working 24 hours a day. And that means every component on the truck needs to last as long as you can.”
TuSimple is already backed by UPS, Nvidia, and Chinese technology company Sina, and it has a headquarters in San Diego and Beijing. But expansions and vehicle manufacturing take money — lots of money. Last month, TechCrunch reported that TuSimple hired investment bank Morgan Stanley to help it raise an additional $250 million from investors. Since its inception, the company has raised $298 million with a valuation of more than $1 billion.
TuSimple is aiming for a fully driverless system, but currently its trucks include two human operators to monitor the driving and take over when needed. Lu said the company is aiming to begin production in 2024, at which point he anticipates being able to remove those backup drivers. The trucks will be able to driver autonomously on highways and local roads, in most weather conditions, but only along “predefined routes,” Lu added.
Lu said the company is aiming to begin production in 2024
“So you can imagine that limits where these trucks can go,” he said. “It’s not suitable for distribution center-to-storefront, or storefront-to-home.”
Lu feels this fact should blunt criticism that autonomous trucks will take jobs away from truck drivers. “The on-demand economy is actually going to increase the need for these last-mile, first-mile regional delivery jobs,” he said. (Previously, TuSimple’s CTO and co-founder Xiaodi Hou described long-haul trucking jobs as ones that “tarnish on the glory of humanity.”)
Autonomous vehicle startups these days tend to focus on two commercial prospects: ride-hailing and delivery. Indeed, most major autonomous vehicle outfits, including Waymo, Cruise, Argo, Nuro, Zoox, and others, see ride-hailing and delivery as the tip of the spear for self-driving technology, and the best way to recoup expenses.
Lu said the “road to commercialization” for autonomous trucking will be much faster than it will be for those startups working on robotaxis, even though its much more expensive to equip a self-driving truck than a self-driving minivan. That said, TuSimple’s sensor equipment leans more heavily on cameras, which are cheap to make, as opposed to LIDAR, which is incredibly expensive. And Lu says trucks will have a higher utilization than taxis, meaning they can haul freight at all hours earning revenue for the company.
Lu said the “road to commercialization” for autonomous trucking will be much faster
For its part, Navistar gets a toehold in the autonomous vehicle space, which can help as the company looks to possibly build out its own fleet of autonomous vehicles. The company hasn’t always been on stable financial footing. Navistar was on the brink of bankruptcy in 2016, having squandered billions of dollars on a diesel engine that failed to win the approval of the Environmental Protections Agency. After US regulators announced new rules to reduce carbon emissions from big trucks, putting pressure on Navistar to find a technology partner, Volkswagen swooped in to buy a minority stake in the company.
Navistar doesn’t only make trucks — the Lisle, Illinois-based company also owns International Trucks, which encompasses a variety of medium-duty trucks, and IC Bus, which makes buses and commercial vehicles. Navistar and TuSimple have been working under a “technical partnership” for the last two years.
“Autonomous technology is entering our industry,” said Persio Lisboa, president and CEO of Navistar, in a statement, “and will have a profound impact on our customers’ businesses.”
Autonomous trucking is starting to emerge from the shadow of the much larger robotaxi industry, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cast doubt on the efficacy of shared ride-hailing. Alphabet’s Waymo has been testing its self-driving tractor trailers in Arizona and California, and it soon will be testing in New Mexico and Texas. The company is also working with UPS. Other companies — from established players like Daimler to newcomers like Ike, Embark, and Plus.ai — are also working toward a fully driverless truck.


theverge--2020-07-15--Google invests in Indian internet giant Jio and plans new ‘affordable’ smartphone

Google is investing $ 4.5 billion for a 7.73 percent stake in Jio Platforms , an Indian internet giant that offers broadband , mobile services , and online commerce platforms , the company announced today .
The investment , which is pending regulatory review , is part of Google ’ s commitment to invest around $ 10 billion in India over the next five to seven years .
It follows a similar move from Facebook to invest $ 5.7 billion for a 9.9 percent stake in the company earlier this year .
Jio Platforms is the tech subsidiary of Reliance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s announcement , Google says that it is working with Jio on an “ entry-level affordable smartphone.
” Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani said this work will involve creating a customized version of Android designed for low-cost , entry-level smartphones , TechCrunch reports .
It ’ s unclear how this project relates to Google ’ s existing version of Android designed for low-powered devices , Android Go .
“ We are excited to rethink , from the ground up , how millions of users in India can become owners of smartphones ” Google @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Jio to bring smartphones to more users in India .
It notes that the majority of people in the country don ’ t have access to the internet , and that fewer still own smartphones .
A partnership with Jio , which reportedly has around 400 million subscribers , could help accelerate Google ’ s efforts .
“ Together we are excited to rethink , from the ground up , how millions of users in India can become owners of smartphones , ” Google said in its announcement .
The investment in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is attempting to reduce its reliance on Chinese firms .
Last month , the country banned 59 Chinese-based apps and services from the country , including TikTok and WeChat .

As part of today’s announcement, Google says that it is working with Jio on an “entry-level affordable smartphone.” Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani said this work will involve creating a customized version of Android designed for low-cost, entry-level smartphones, TechCrunch reports . It’s unclear how this project relates to Google’s existing version of Android designed for low-powered devices, Android Go .
Google says it hopes to use its investment in Jio to bring smartphones to more users in India. It notes that the majority of people in the country don’t have access to the internet, and that fewer still own smartphones. A partnership with Jio, which reportedly has around 400 million subscribers, could help accelerate Google’s efforts. “Together we are excited to rethink, from the ground up, how millions of users in India can become owners of smartphones,” Google said in its announcement.


theverge--2020-07-15--The antitrust case against Google is gathering steam

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Let ’ s spend a few minutes today catching up on the antitrust inquiries into Google .
There are investigations related to competition underway against most of the biggest tech giants – Apple , Facebook , and Amazon face similar inquiries , and their CEOS are scheduled to join Sundar Pichai for a virtual hearing with the House of Representatives later this month .
But there ’ s reason to believe the case against Google will land the soonest of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the New York Times reported that charges could come “ as early as this summer.
” Scrutiny into the company ’ s business practices has since accelerated .
Politico reported last week that California , which sat out an investigation led by 48 attorneys general , is preparing to mount its own inquiry into Google ’ s competition practices .
As Leah Nylen noted in that report : “ Alabama is now the only state that is not investigating the company.
” At the same time , reporters are mounting their own investigations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look , they find Google giving preference to its own products over those of its competitors .
In Bloomberg this week , Gerrit De Vynck looked at the company ’ s decision to ad a fourth ad to the top of search results in 2015 .
The effect of all those extra paid links has been to reduce organic traffic to many businesses and publishers , making life more difficult for them .
These days , when people visit Google , the majority of them get the information they sought from Google itself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at all .
That has strengthened the case of those who argue that the company ’ s moves , whatever they have brought users in terms of convenience , have harmed competition .
De Vynck notes that Google , like any other company , has to manage the needs and wants of its customers and its businesses .
“ Users want the best answers , ” he writes .
“ Web developers need eyeballs .
Shareholders demand growth.
” At the same time , some businesses are now arguing that the mix of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Google is eroding the fabric of the web .
Google says consumers are simply no longer satisfied with the 10 blue links of days past , and that despite changes it continues to send a firehose of traffic to the open web .
A large portion of searches are for commoditized information like weather and sports that hardly differ in their presentation on any one web page ; why not just put it all in search results ?
On the other hand , the idea that Google search has gradually worsened is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ query I find it persuasive .
( Search for “ shoes ” or “ furniture ” on Google , and then on Pinterest , and tell me which is more useful . )
Elsewhere , the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday reported that Google searches for videos ranked YouTube clips higher than rivals , even when the same clips posted to Facebook , Dailymotion , and other outlets were first posted on those sites , and have many more views .
( Google says it does not take into account the number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in search , which is ... weird ? )
Why YouTube showed so strongly in this study is a matter of some debate .
For example , if you go to your second-favorite search engine ( Bing.com , duh ) and query the Tasty videos that BuzzFeed made famous on Facebook , the top links are all from YouTube .
Presumably this is not the result of Google interference .
On the other hand , Google can and does promote YouTube in many other ways throughout the product ; click “ Google apps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inbox and you ’ ll see it right there , for example .
Over time , Google helped YouTube become synonymous with video , and so now it may not even seem suspicious that most searches for videos lead you directly to it .
“ I ’ d click the YouTube [ link ] whether it was listed first or seventh on the screen b/c I trust YouTube more than those other sites , ” writes one of the commenters on the Journal story .
He meant it as an indictment of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of time and resources , ” he called it — but I wonder if on some level he isn ’ t making the reporters ’ point for them .
“ Our systems use a number of signals from the web to understand what results people find most relevant and helpful for a given query , ” Google told me when I asked about the Journal ’ s report .
“ To ensure that these signals are used equally and fairly for all sites , we use signals that are not specific to any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the number of views , likes or comments a video has received on a given platform is not a factor in our ranking systems .
Our video ranking systems use signals from all video sources in the same way— there is no preference given to YouTube or any other video provider.
” And yet , despite all those signals , YouTube still turns up the winner more often than not .
Google often talks about search results as if they are naturally occurring phenomena , like gravity , rather than the result of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s hard to believe that had the Journal reached the opposite conclusion — that Google searches rarely , if ever , turned up YouTube links — that some Google product manager wouldn ’ t be tasked with fixing it .
The underlying question here is to what extent Google should be given the freedom to present search results as it sees fit , no matter the cost to other businesses .
The European Union has fined the company three times over the years for acting in ways it said had harmed competition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this year .
So far the US government has not formally stated its case .
But it ’ s hard to look at Google search in 2020 and conclude that it has proved conclusively helpful to competition .
Whatever signals the company ’ s algorithms might be taking into account as it ranks search results , it ’ s somehow always Google that comes out on top .
In Monday ’ s email edition , I said that the United Kingdom has an advertising blackout in the days leading up to the election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as many of you wrote in to point out .
One reader put it this way : “ Our blackout is on radio and TV only .
That means while the polling stations are open on the day of the election , they ’ re not allowed to broadcast discussions and analysis of election issues .
Other campaigning , including online , is still allowed to happen though .
Often , parties hold back a significant chunk of their digital ad spending for the last few days and hours — i.e.
, you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way of getting around the broadcast ban.
” A better example for what Facebook is considering might be Australia , which bans broadcasters from running ads from midnight on the Wednesday before polling day to the close of the poll on polling day .
Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms .
Trending up : YouTube is finally letting creators know exactly how they ’ re making money on the platform .
The company has a new metric called RPM ( revenue per mille ) which shows @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both from ads and other monetization areas ) after YouTube takes the cut .
( Julia Alexander / The Verge ) ⭐ Ben Thompson makes the case that the United States should take strong action now against TikTok — but also WeChat , Zoom , and other apps .
It ’ s a step necessary to confronting an ideological war that has been under way for 20 years now , he argues : TikTok ’ s algorithm , unmoored from the constraints of your social network or professional content creators , is free @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without anyone knowing the difference .
TikTok could promote a particular candidate or a particular issue in a particular geography , without anyone — except perhaps the candidate , now indebted to a Chinese company — knowing .
You may be skeptical this might happen , but again , China has already demonstrated a willingness to censor speech on a platform banned in China ; how much of a leap is it to think that a Party committed to ideological dominance will forever leave a route directly into the hearts and minds of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this is where it is worth taking China seriously : the Party has shown through its actions , particularly building and maintaining the Great Firewall at tremendous expense , that it believes in the power of information and ideas .
Countless speeches , from Chairman Xi and others , have stated that the Party believes it is in an ideological war with liberalism generally and the U.S. specifically .
If we are to give China ’ s leaders the respect of believing what they say , instead of projecting our own beliefs for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , how can we take that chance ?
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Department of Homeland Security have rescinded a policy that would require international students to take in-person classes in order to remain in the US .
The agencies reached an agreement with Harvard and MIT , who filed a lawsuit on July 8th over the policy .
Tech companies had spoken out against the negative effects of the draconian policy .
( Monica Chin / The Verge ) COVID-19 contact tracing apps have only about a 9.3 percent adoption @ @ @ @ @ @ @ populous countries .
The analysis , by Sensor Tower , focused on government-endorsed apps in countries including Australia , France , Germany , and India .
( Sensor Tower ) Google is negotiating to invest $ 4 billion in India ’ s Reliance Jio .
Facebook and other Silicon Valley companies have recently announced a collective $ 16 billion in the fast-growing telecom .
( Baiju Kalesh , Anto Antony , Manuel Baigorri , and Saritha Rai / Bloomberg ) Trump ’ s reelection campaign is complaining that Facebook ’ s goal of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ November ’ s election is an attempt to swing the election in favor of former Vice President Joe Biden .
The official position of the Republican party is now that voter registration is a partisan issue .
( Eric Newcomer / Bloomberg ) President Trump is using Facebook to microtarget voters , while Joe Biden is using it increasingly to ask for donations .
About 68 percent of the president ’ s ads are seen fewer than 1,000 times — compared to 34 percent for Biden .
( Bill Allison and Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a New York warehouse that they won ’ t be punished for taking extra time to wash their hands .
The company also said workers wouldn ’ t be disciplined for falling short of quotas based on how many tasks they complete each hour .
It ’ s basically a dream job now .
( Josh Eidelson / Bloomberg ) Here ’ s a map of more than 400 hyperpartisan sites masquerading as local news .
Many are funded and operated by government officials , political candidates , PACs , and political party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Napoli / Neiman Lab ) ⭐Black influencers are underpaid , at times making 10 times less than their white counterparts .
An Instagram account called Influencer Pay Gap is exposing the pay disparities and pushing for change in the industry .
Here ’ s Ashley Carman at The Verge : Snapchat is testing a new navigation experience that allows users to move through public content with a vertical swiping motion — a gesture that ’ s been popularized by TikTok .
The test is focused on content that ’ s published publicly to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ private Stories .
( Sarah Perez / TechCrunch ) WhatsApp went down for an hour on Tuesday .
The cause has not yet been reported .
( Tom Warren / The Verge ) Facebook developed a robot to install fiber cables on medium-voltage power lines around the globe .
The aim is to make it cheaper for internet service providers to build out their networks using super-fast and reliable fiber connections .
( Shara Tibken and Queenie Wong / CNET ) Amazon is testing out a new smart shopping cart that lets you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dash Cart automatically detects the items you ’ ve picked up .
It ’ s coming first to Amazon ’ s grocery store in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles .
( Nick Statt / The Verge ) Taylor Lorenz explains the cake meme that took over Twitter this week .
“ Watching a sharp knife slice cleanly through what appears to be an everyday object is surprising and somehow deeply gratifying , ” she writes .
( Taylor Lorenz / The New York Times ) Here ’ s a profile on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ head of research from Trinidad and Tobago .
( Narissa Fraser / Newsday ) The growing partisan divide between people who oppose shelter-in-place orders and those who think the restrictions are a public health necessity is playing out on two North Carolina Facebook groups .
( Kaitlyn Tiffany / The Atlantic ) Apple told employees that a full return to US offices won ’ t happen before the end of the year .
Retail staff will work remotely as the company shuts down some of its stores again , due to the rising @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also shipping Covid-19 test kits to employees ’ homes .
( Mark Gurman / Bloomberg ) Startups that never planned on going fully remote are changing their plans amid the coronavirus pandemic .
Some are letting leases expire or looking for ways to get out of longer contracts .
( Ari Levy / CNBC ) Babysitters and camp counselors are trying to provide childcare on video calls due to the ongoing pandemic .
Kids aren ’ t that into it , though .
( Julie Jargon / The Wall Street Journal ) Some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s r/relationships are fabricated .
This article features stories of people who made up some of the recent viral myths .
( Amelia Tait / Vice ) Stuff to occupy you online during the quarantine .
Browse the Atlas of Surveillance .
Compiled by students and volunteers , the atlas is a database of surveillance technologies used by law enforcement authorities across the United States — including drones , body cameras , facial recognition , and more .
Check out a new demo of mmhmm .
The virtual camera , which I profiled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you to control your Zoom presence with a PlayStation controller .
Download all your old TikToks — while you still can !
.
A new site called FYP.rip does the trick .
Send us tips , comments , questions , and suspicious Google search results : casey @ theverge.com and zoe @ theverge.com .

Let’s spend a few minutes today catching up on the antitrust inquiries into Google. There are investigations related to competition underway against most of the biggest tech giants – Apple, Facebook, and Amazon face similar inquiries, and their CEOS are scheduled to join Sundar Pichai for a virtual hearing with the House of Representatives later this month. But there’s reason to believe the case against Google will land the soonest of any of them — in May, the New York Times reported that charges could come “as early as this summer.”
Scrutiny into the company’s business practices has since accelerated. Politico reported last week that California, which sat out an investigation led by 48 attorneys general, is preparing to mount its own inquiry into Google’s competition practices. As Leah Nylen noted in that report: “Alabama is now the only state that is not investigating the company.”
At the same time, reporters are mounting their own investigations of their own, and everywhere they look, they find Google giving preference to its own products over those of its competitors.
In Bloomberg this week, Gerrit De Vynck looked at the company’s decision to ad a fourth ad to the top of search results in 2015. The effect of all those extra paid links has been to reduce organic traffic to many businesses and publishers, making life more difficult for them. These days, when people visit Google, the majority of them get the information they sought from Google itself, and never touch the open web at all. That has strengthened the case of those who argue that the company’s moves, whatever they have brought users in terms of convenience, have harmed competition.
De Vynck notes that Google, like any other company, has to manage the needs and wants of its customers and its businesses. “Users want the best answers,” he writes. “Web developers need eyeballs. Shareholders demand growth.” At the same time, some businesses are now arguing that the mix of extra ads and answers provided directly within Google is eroding the fabric of the web.
De Vynck writes:
Kevin Hickey, chief executive officer of Online Stores Inc., said these changes have forced him to spend more on Google search ads to keep traffic flowing to his e-commerce businesses. More than a decade ago, about two-thirds of Hickey’s Google traffic came from free, or organic, listings. But as Google increased ad slots to the top of results, that mix flipped. Organic results account for about 20% of visitors to his sites now, and he spends about 10% to 15% of his revenue on Google ads. He has raised prices, but his profit margins have shriveled. “The prices that consumers are paying are now higher because of Google’s business model,” Hickey said.
Google says consumers are simply no longer satisfied with the 10 blue links of days past, and that despite changes it continues to send a firehose of traffic to the open web. A large portion of searches are for commoditized information like weather and sports that hardly differ in their presentation on any one web page; why not just put it all in search results? On the other hand, the idea that Google search has gradually worsened is not new, and for many types of query I find it persuasive. (Search for “shoes” or “furniture” on Google, and then on Pinterest, and tell me which is more useful.)
Elsewhere, the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday reported that Google searches for videos ranked YouTube clips higher than rivals, even when the same clips posted to Facebook, Dailymotion, and other outlets were first posted on those sites, and have many more views. (Google says it does not take into account the number of views a video receives when ranking them in search, which is ... weird?)
Engineers at Google have made changes that effectively preference YouTube over other video sources, according to people familiar with the matter. Google executives in recent years made decisions to prioritize YouTube on the first page of search results, in part to drive traffic to YouTube rather than to competitors, and also to give YouTube more leverage in business deals with content providers seeking traffic for their videos, one of those people said. [...] A Google spokeswoman, Lara Levin, said there is no preference given to YouTube or any other video provider in Google search. “Our systems use a number of signals from the web to understand what results people find most relevant and helpful for a given query,” Ms. Levin said. She declined to comment on the specific examples cited in this article.
Why YouTube showed so strongly in this study is a matter of some debate. For example, if you go to your second-favorite search engine (Bing.com, duh) and query the Tasty videos that BuzzFeed made famous on Facebook, the top links are all from YouTube. Presumably this is not the result of Google interference.
On the other hand, Google can and does promote YouTube in many other ways throughout the product; click “Google apps” at the top of your Gmail inbox and you’ll see it right there, for example. Over time, Google helped YouTube become synonymous with video, and so now it may not even seem suspicious that most searches for videos lead you directly to it. “I’d click the YouTube [link] whether it was listed first or seventh on the screen b/c I trust YouTube more than those other sites,” writes one of the commenters on the Journal story. He meant it as an indictment of the Journal’s reporting — “waste of time and resources,” he called it — but I wonder if on some level he isn’t making the reporters’ point for them.
“Our systems use a number of signals from the web to understand what results people find most relevant and helpful for a given query,” Google told me when I asked about the Journal’s report. “To ensure that these signals are used equally and fairly for all sites, we use signals that are not specific to any one site or platform. Therefore, the number of views, likes or comments a video has received on a given platform is not a factor in our ranking systems. Our video ranking systems use signals from all video sources in the same way— there is no preference given to YouTube or any other video provider.”
And yet, despite all those signals, YouTube still turns up the winner more often than not. Google often talks about search results as if they are naturally occurring phenomena, like gravity, rather than the result of editorial decision making. And yet it’s hard to believe that had the Journal reached the opposite conclusion — that Google searches rarely, if ever, turned up YouTube links — that some Google product manager wouldn’t be tasked with fixing it.
The underlying question here is to what extent Google should be given the freedom to present search results as it sees fit, no matter the cost to other businesses. The European Union has fined the company three times over the years for acting in ways it said had harmed competition, most recently for $1.7 billion this year. So far the US government has not formally stated its case. But it’s hard to look at Google search in 2020 and conclude that it has proved conclusively helpful to competition. Whatever signals the company’s algorithms might be taking into account as it ranks search results, it’s somehow always Google that comes out on top.
Pushback
In Monday’s email edition, I said that the United Kingdom has an advertising blackout in the days leading up to the election. That’s not right, as many of you wrote in to point out. One reader put it this way: “Our blackout is on radio and TV only. That means while the polling stations are open on the day of the election, they’re not allowed to broadcast discussions and analysis of election issues.
Other campaigning, including online, is still allowed to happen though. Often, parties hold back a significant chunk of their digital ad spending for the last few days and hours — i.e., you could argue it’s been a way of getting around the broadcast ban.”
A better example for what Facebook is considering might be Australia, which bans broadcasters from running ads from midnight on the Wednesday before polling day to the close of the poll on polling day.
The Ratio
Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms.
🔼 Trending up: YouTube is finally letting creators know exactly how they’re making money on the platform. The company has a new metric called RPM (revenue per mille) which shows a creator’s total revenue (both from ads and other monetization areas) after YouTube takes the cut. (Julia Alexander / The Verge)
Governing
⭐ Ben Thompson makes the case that the United States should take strong action now against TikTok — but also WeChat, Zoom, and other apps. It’s a step necessary to confronting an ideological war that has been under way for 20 years now, he argues:
TikTok’s algorithm, unmoored from the constraints of your social network or professional content creators, is free to promote whatever videos it likes, without anyone knowing the difference. TikTok could promote a particular candidate or a particular issue in a particular geography, without anyone — except perhaps the candidate, now indebted to a Chinese company — knowing. You may be skeptical this might happen, but again, China has already demonstrated a willingness to censor speech on a platform banned in China; how much of a leap is it to think that a Party committed to ideological dominance will forever leave a route directly into the hearts and minds of millions of Americans untouched? Again, this is where it is worth taking China seriously: the Party has shown through its actions, particularly building and maintaining the Great Firewall at tremendous expense, that it believes in the power of information and ideas. Countless speeches, from Chairman Xi and others, have stated that the Party believes it is in an ideological war with liberalism generally and the U.S. specifically. If we are to give China’s leaders the respect of believing what they say, instead of projecting our own beliefs for no reason other than our own solipsism, how can we take that chance?
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Department of Homeland Security have rescinded a policy that would require international students to take in-person classes in order to remain in the US. The agencies reached an agreement with Harvard and MIT, who filed a lawsuit on July 8th over the policy. Tech companies had spoken out against the negative effects of the draconian policy. (Monica Chin / The Verge)
COVID-19 contact tracing apps have only about a 9.3 percent adoption rate in the world’s most populous countries. The analysis, by Sensor Tower, focused on government-endorsed apps in countries including Australia, France, Germany, and India. (Sensor Tower)
Google is negotiating to invest $4 billion in India’s Reliance Jio. Facebook and other Silicon Valley companies have recently announced a collective $16 billion in the fast-growing telecom. (Baiju Kalesh, Anto Antony, Manuel Baigorri, and Saritha Rai / Bloomberg)
Trump’s reelection campaign is complaining that Facebook’s goal of registering 4 million voters in time for November’s election is an attempt to swing the election in favor of former Vice President Joe Biden. The official position of the Republican party is now that voter registration is a partisan issue. (Eric Newcomer / Bloomberg)
President Trump is using Facebook to microtarget voters, while Joe Biden is using it increasingly to ask for donations. About 68 percent of the president’s ads are seen fewer than 1,000 times — compared to 34 percent for Biden. (Bill Allison and Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou / Bloomberg)
Amazon told employees at a New York warehouse that they won’t be punished for taking extra time to wash their hands. The company also said workers wouldn’t be disciplined for falling short of quotas based on how many tasks they complete each hour. It’s basically a dream job now. (Josh Eidelson / Bloomberg)
Here’s a map of more than 400 hyperpartisan sites masquerading as local news. Many are funded and operated by government officials, political candidates, PACs, and political party operatives. (Jessica Mahone and Philip Napoli / Neiman Lab)
Industry
⭐Black influencers are underpaid, at times making 10 times less than their white counterparts. An Instagram account called Influencer Pay Gap is exposing the pay disparities and pushing for change in the industry. Here’s Ashley Carman at The Verge:
Influencer Pay Gap was created by Adesuwa Ajayi, a Black woman who works at the talent agency AGM and manages influencers. Through the account, Ajayi asks influencers to anonymously detail their past brand campaigns, sharing their engagement rate (what percentage of people interact with their content), how much they were paid, what they had to do, their race, and where they’re based. Ajayi started the account about a month ago, and more than 30,000 people already follow it. She says she receives at least 100 DMs a day, which has led to multiple “sleepless nights.” “I think sometimes we forget that the influencer space is still in its infancy in comparison to different forms of maybe marketing or whatever it might be,” she says. “So it’s very much unregulated to a large degree, and what has definitely become apparent from the page is just seeing how many influencers need help.”
Snapchat is testing a new navigation experience that allows users to move through public content with a vertical swiping motion — a gesture that’s been popularized by TikTok. The test is focused on content that’s published publicly to Snapchat Discover, not your friends’ private Stories. (Sarah Perez / TechCrunch)
WhatsApp went down for an hour on Tuesday. The cause has not yet been reported. (Tom Warren / The Verge)
Facebook developed a robot to install fiber cables on medium-voltage power lines around the globe. The aim is to make it cheaper for internet service providers to build out their networks using super-fast and reliable fiber connections. (Shara Tibken and Queenie Wong / CNET)
Amazon is testing out a new smart shopping cart that lets you check out without a cashier. The Dash Cart automatically detects the items you’ve picked up. It’s coming first to Amazon’s grocery store in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. (Nick Statt / The Verge)
Taylor Lorenz explains the cake meme that took over Twitter this week. “Watching a sharp knife slice cleanly through what appears to be an everyday object is surprising and somehow deeply gratifying,” she writes. (Taylor Lorenz / The New York Times)
The growing partisan divide between people who oppose shelter-in-place orders and those who think the restrictions are a public health necessity is playing out on two North Carolina Facebook groups. (Kaitlyn Tiffany / The Atlantic)
Apple told employees that a full return to US offices won’t happen before the end of the year. Retail staff will work remotely as the company shuts down some of its stores again, due to the rising number of coronavirus cases. Apple is also shipping Covid-19 test kits to employees’ homes. (Mark Gurman / Bloomberg)
Startups that never planned on going fully remote are changing their plans amid the coronavirus pandemic. Some are letting leases expire or looking for ways to get out of longer contracts. (Ari Levy / CNBC)
Babysitters and camp counselors are trying to provide childcare on video calls due to the ongoing pandemic. Kids aren’t that into it, though. (Julie Jargon / The Wall Street Journal)
Some of the wild stories on Reddit’s r/relationships are fabricated. This article features stories of people who made up some of the recent viral myths. (Amelia Tait / Vice)
Things to do
Stuff to occupy you online during the quarantine.
Browse the Atlas of Surveillance. Compiled by students and volunteers, the atlas is a database of surveillance technologies used by law enforcement authorities across the United States — including drones, body cameras, facial recognition, and more.
Check out a new demo of mmhmm. The virtual camera, which I profiled earlier this month, will soon allow you to control your Zoom presence with a PlayStation controller.
Download all your old TikToks — while you still can!. A new site called FYP.rip does the trick.
Those good tweets
Talk to us


theverge--2020-07-15--Apple wins appeal against EU’s $14.9 billion tax bill

The EU ’ s second-highest court has overturned a ruling that ordered Apple to pay a record €13 billion ( $ 14.9 billion ) in back taxes to the Irish government .
The ruling was originally made by the European Commission in 2016 and was seen as a significant win for Margrethe Vestager , the EU ’ s antitrust chief .
Vestager concluded that a “ sweetheart deal ” from the Irish government meant the iPhone-maker paid an effective tax rate of less than 1 percent , a uniquely preferential deal that counted as “ illegal state aid.
” Tim @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political crap ’ “ Member States can not give tax benefits to selected companies — this is illegal under EU state aid rules , ” said Vestager in 2016 .
“ The Commission ’ s investigation concluded that Ireland granted illegal tax benefits to Apple , which enabled it to pay substantially less tax than other businesses over many years.
” Both Apple and the Irish government refuted this , with Apple CEO Tim Cook calling the ruling “ total political crap.
” Ireland ’ s government moved to appeal the decision , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country was essentially a tax haven for the EU bloc .
Today , though , the 2016 decision was overturned by judges of the General Court of the European Union , who said in a statement that “ the Commission did not succeed in showing to the requisite legal standard that there was an advantage ” for Apple .
“ The General Court considers that the commission did not prove , in its alternative line of reasoning , that the contested tax rulings were the result of discretion exercised by the Irish tax @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Today ’ s decision might yet be overturned once more The Irish Department of Finance welcomed the ruling , saying in a statement : “ Ireland has always been clear that there was no special treatment provided to [ Apple ] .
The correct amount of Irish tax was charged , taxation in line with normal Irish taxation rules.
” Apple also welcomed the decision , saying the case “ was not about how much tax we pay , but where we are required to pay , ” reports Bloomberg .
Margrethe Vestager @ @ @ @ @ @ @ European Commission , said the Commission would “ carefully study the judgment and reflect on possible next steps.
” “ The Commission stands fully behind the objective that all companies should pay their fair share of tax , ” said Vestager in a statement .
“ If Member States give certain multinational companies tax advantages not available to their rivals , this harms fair competition in the EU.
” The Commission now has two months and ten days to appeal the decision with the European Court of Justice , the supreme court of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ final .
Update , July 15 , 06:50AM ET : Story has been updated with comment from Margrethe Vestager .

The EU’s second-highest court has overturned a ruling that ordered Apple to pay a record €13 billion ($14.9 billion) in back taxes to the Irish government.
The ruling was originally made by the European Commission in 2016 and was seen as a significant win for Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s antitrust chief. Vestager concluded that a “sweetheart deal” from the Irish government meant the iPhone-maker paid an effective tax rate of less than 1 percent, a uniquely preferential deal that counted as “illegal state aid.”
Tim Cook said the 2016 ruling was ‘political crap’
“Member States cannot give tax benefits to selected companies — this is illegal under EU state aid rules,” said Vestager in 2016. “The Commission’s investigation concluded that Ireland granted illegal tax benefits to Apple, which enabled it to pay substantially less tax than other businesses over many years.”
Both Apple and the Irish government refuted this, with Apple CEO Tim Cook calling the ruling “total political crap.” Ireland’s government moved to appeal the decision, hoping to also refute allegations that the country was essentially a tax haven for the EU bloc.
Today, though, the 2016 decision was overturned by judges of the General Court of the European Union, who said in a statement that “the Commission did not succeed in showing to the requisite legal standard that there was an advantage” for Apple.
“The General Court considers that the commission did not prove, in its alternative line of reasoning, that the contested tax rulings were the result of discretion exercised by the Irish tax authorities,” said the court.
Today’s decision might yet be overturned once more
The Irish Department of Finance welcomed the ruling, saying in a statement: “Ireland has always been clear that there was no special treatment provided to [Apple]. The correct amount of Irish tax was charged, taxation in line with normal Irish taxation rules.”
Apple also welcomed the decision, saying the case “was not about how much tax we pay, but where we are required to pay,” reports Bloomberg.
Margrethe Vestager, now the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, said the Commission would “carefully study the judgment and reflect on possible next steps.”
“The Commission stands fully behind the objective that all companies should pay their fair share of tax,” said Vestager in a statement. “If Member States give certain multinational companies tax advantages not available to their rivals, this harms fair competition in the EU.”
The Commission now has two months and ten days to appeal the decision with the European Court of Justice, the supreme court of the EU. That decision will be final.


theverge--2020-07-15--Oppo announces 125W tech that charges phones in 20 minutes

Oppo has long been a leader in engineering fast-charging solutions — it developed the tech behind the Dash Charge system used in OnePlus phones , for example , and has achieved even faster results in many of its own devices .
Today , the company is taking a further step forward with the announcement of a 125W system that it claims is the most advanced in the industry .
The headline figures of the system are that it can charge a 4,000mAh phone battery in 20 minutes and up to 41 percent in 5 minutes .
If accurate , this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for fast-charging a battery of that size by around 10 minutes .
This isn ’ t simply a matter of building a big power adapter and plugging it into a regular phone — the charger , cable , and battery itself need to be designed together for safety and efficiency .
Oppo says the phone , which isn ’ t yet a commercial product , uses double-6C cells with “ breakthrough battery ratio , ” while the charger benefits from improved power density properties so as not to grow too large .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cable , unlike Oppo ’ s previous USB-A VOOC chargers .
Oppo hasn ’ t announced a phone that will ship with this technology yet , but it often announces features like this before commercial products .
The current fastest-charging phone in the world is the Oppo Reno Ace , which has a 4,000mAh battery that in my testing I could fully charge in 31 minutes with its 65W charger .
Vivo , which shares ownership and technology with Oppo , announced 120W tech last year that can supposedly charge a 4,000mAh battery @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s yet to ship on any phone .
Oppo has been extremely slow to adopt wireless charging , only announcing its first phone to use the technology earlier this year , but the company is now claiming to have the fastest wireless system too .
Its new 65W AirVOOC tech can wirelessly charge a 4,000mAh battery in 30 minutes , Oppo claims , which would even make it faster than any currently available wired solution .
Oppo has designed a 65W AirVOOC charger , but there ’ s no word on when it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will support it .
The lack of wireless charging was really my only major complaint with this year ’ s otherwise-excellent Find X2 Pro flagship , so hopefully Oppo will take the feature seriously .
Finally , Oppo is rounding out its day of charging tech news by announcing a couple of compact adapters that use GaN technology to reduce their size .
There ’ s a 50W mini SuperVOOC charger that Oppo compares to the size of a business card holder , along with a 110W mini flash charger that ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adapter .

Oppo has long been a leader in engineering fast-charging solutions — it developed the tech behind the Dash Charge system used in OnePlus phones, for example, and has achieved even faster results in many of its own devices. Today, the company is taking a further step forward with the announcement of a 125W system that it claims is the most advanced in the industry.
The headline figures of the system are that it can charge a 4,000mAh phone battery in 20 minutes and up to 41 percent in 5 minutes. If accurate, this would beat Oppo’s own record for fast-charging a battery of that size by around 10 minutes.
This isn’t simply a matter of building a big power adapter and plugging it into a regular phone — the charger, cable, and battery itself need to be designed together for safety and efficiency. Oppo says the phone, which isn’t yet a commercial product, uses double-6C cells with “breakthrough battery ratio,” while the charger benefits from improved power density properties so as not to grow too large. It uses USB-C at both ends of the cable, unlike Oppo’s previous USB-A VOOC chargers.
Oppo hasn’t announced a phone that will ship with this technology yet, but it often announces features like this before commercial products. The current fastest-charging phone in the world is the Oppo Reno Ace, which has a 4,000mAh battery that in my testing I could fully charge in 31 minutes with its 65W charger. Vivo, which shares ownership and technology with Oppo, announced 120W tech last year that can supposedly charge a 4,000mAh battery in 13 minutes, but it’s yet to ship on any phone.
Oppo 65W AirVOOC charger.
Oppo has been extremely slow to adopt wireless charging, only announcing its first phone to use the technology earlier this year, but the company is now claiming to have the fastest wireless system too. Its new 65W AirVOOC tech can wirelessly charge a 4,000mAh battery in 30 minutes, Oppo claims, which would even make it faster than any currently available wired solution.
Oppo has designed a 65W AirVOOC charger, but there’s no word on when it’ll be available or when phones will support it. The lack of wireless charging was really my only major complaint with this year’s otherwise-excellent Find X2 Pro flagship, so hopefully Oppo will take the feature seriously.


theverge--2020-07-15--British chip designer Graphcore unveils new AI processor more complex than Nvidia’s

Graphcore , a well-funded and ambitious British chip designer that focuses solely on AI applications , has unveiled what it says is the world ’ s most complex chip : the Colossus MK2 or GC200 IPU .
The processor has 59.4 billion transistors and offers an eight times performance increase from the company ’ s Colossus MK1 , says Graphcore .
It boasts more than the 54 billion transistors found in Nvidia ’ s A100 , which previously held the title as the world ’ s largest processor , and which the American firm announced earlier this year .
Each @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and 8,832 separate parallel threads , all supported by 900MB of in-processor RAM .
Graphcore will be making the GC200 available via its new IPU Machine , the M2000 , which contains four GC200 chips in a package the size of a pizza box and which delivers 1 petaflop of total compute .
The firm says its new hardware is “ completely plug-and-play ” and that customers will be able to connect up to 64,000 IPUs together for a total of 16 exaflops of computing power .
The announcement comes at a time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shaken up by the advent of artificial intelligence .
Training AI models requires highly parallel processors , a demand which has drawn new players to the market ( like Graphcore ) and even encouraged some existing tech giants ( like Google ) to make their own specialized chips .
So far , though , Nvidia has dominated the market , as its GPUs , originally designed to accelerate graphics rendering in video games , have proved a perfect fit for AI processing .
Graphcore is trying to challenge that dominance and has already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ backers in the tech industry like Microsoft and Dell .
Earlier this year , Graphcore announced it had attracted $ 150 million in funding for R & D in its latest funding round , giving it a total valuation of $ 1.95 billion .
The company , which was founded in 2012 , around the time the trend for deep learning really took off , claims its biggest advantage is that its chips have been designed from the ground up with AI in mind .
Karl Freund , an analyst at Moor Insights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was impressed by Graphcore ’ s latest offering , particularly the upgrades to its software , which is key to properly harnessing the huge parallel processing power needed for AI .
“ What Graphcore is focused on is not just the chip , but the system.
” “ What Graphcore is focused on is not just the chip , but the system , ” says Freund .
“ Training meaningful neural networks can ’ t be done on a single chip , it has to be done on hundreds , thousands , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and that scalability factor is really what , in my mind , makes Graphcore stand out.
” He notes , for example , that Graphcore ’ s support software is “ very complete for a startup , ” able to interface with a wide range of AI frameworks and offering the sort of workload monitoring tools that allow researchers to get the most of their hardware .
It seems even in a hardware market , where firms compete over the number of transistors they can fit onto a chip , it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a company ’ s fortunes .

Graphcore, a well-funded and ambitious British chip designer that focuses solely on AI applications, has unveiled what it says is the world’s most complex chip: the Colossus MK2 or GC200 IPU.
The processor has 59.4 billion transistors and offers an eight times performance increase from the company’s Colossus MK1, says Graphcore. It boasts more than the 54 billion transistors found in Nvidia’s A100, which previously held the title as the world’s largest processor, and which the American firm announced earlier this year.
The 7nm GC200 boasts 59.4 billion transistors
Each GC200 chip has 1,472 independent processor cores and 8,832 separate parallel threads, all supported by 900MB of in-processor RAM. Graphcore will be making the GC200 available via its new IPU Machine, the M2000, which contains four GC200 chips in a package the size of a pizza box and which delivers 1 petaflop of total compute. The firm says its new hardware is “completely plug-and-play” and that customers will be able to connect up to 64,000 IPUs together for a total of 16 exaflops of computing power.
Previous Next
1 / 5 Graphcore’s new M2000 IPU Machine contains four GC200 chips. Image: Graphcore Previous Next
1 / 5 Graphcore’s new M2000 IPU Machine contains four GC200 chips. Image: Graphcore
The announcement comes at a time when the chip world is still being shaken up by the advent of artificial intelligence. Training AI models requires highly parallel processors, a demand which has drawn new players to the market (like Graphcore) and even encouraged some existing tech giants (like Google) to make their own specialized chips.
So far, though, Nvidia has dominated the market, as its GPUs, originally designed to accelerate graphics rendering in video games, have proved a perfect fit for AI processing. Graphcore is trying to challenge that dominance and has already attracted significant amounts of funding and veteran backers in the tech industry like Microsoft and Dell.
Earlier this year, Graphcore announced it had attracted $150 million in funding for R&D in its latest funding round, giving it a total valuation of $1.95 billion. The company, which was founded in 2012, around the time the trend for deep learning really took off, claims its biggest advantage is that its chips have been designed from the ground up with AI in mind.
Graphcore says its IPU chips (it stands for Intelligence Processing Unit) have been designed from the ground up with AI in mind. Image: Graphcore
Karl Freund, an analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, told The Verge that he was impressed by Graphcore’s latest offering, particularly the upgrades to its software, which is key to properly harnessing the huge parallel processing power needed for AI.
“What Graphcore is focused on is not just the chip, but the system.”
“What Graphcore is focused on is not just the chip, but the system,” says Freund. “Training meaningful neural networks can’t be done on a single chip, it has to be done on hundreds, thousands, maybe tens of thousands of them, and that scalability factor is really what, in my mind, makes Graphcore stand out.”
He notes, for example, that Graphcore’s support software is “very complete for a startup,” able to interface with a wide range of AI frameworks and offering the sort of workload monitoring tools that allow researchers to get the most of their hardware.


theverge--2020-07-15--Sony reportedly boosts PS5 production by 50 percent

Sony is ordering at least 50 percent more PlayStation 5 consoles than it had originally planned to ship this year , according to reports in the Japanese press .
While the company was expecting to produce around six million consoles in 2020 , Nikkei says that the figure is now at about nine million , while Bloomberg says it could reach 10 million .
Both publications put the raised expectations down to increased demand for at-home entertainment in the age of the coronavirus .
If Sony could sell anywhere near that total number of PS5 consoles through the end of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ major increase on its predecessor ; the PS4 launched in November 2013 and had sold through 4.2 million units by the end of the following month .
Facebook is also ramping up production of Oculus VR headsets , according to Nikkei , with a similar goal of pushing growth up to 2 million units in the second half of 2020 — this would reportedly be up 50 percent on its output for the whole of 2019 .
The company is said to be starting mass production for a new headset this month , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s a standalone system like the Quest or a tethered headset like the Rift S. Gaming hardware has often been difficult to buy during the pandemic .
Oculus has experienced severe supply constraints , with its Quest headset frequently selling out as soon as it ’ s restocked .
Nintendo , meanwhile , has experienced difficulty meeting demand for the Switch and its home fitness game Ring Fit Adventure .
With several major launches happening in the second half of the year , it ’ s no surprise that platform owners @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enough stock to go around .

Sony is ordering at least 50 percent more PlayStation 5 consoles than it had originally planned to ship this year, according to reports in the Japanese press. While the company was expecting to produce around six million consoles in 2020, Nikkei says that the figure is now at about nine million, while Bloomberg says it could reach 10 million.
Both publications put the raised expectations down to increased demand for at-home entertainment in the age of the coronavirus. If Sony could sell anywhere near that total number of PS5 consoles through the end of the year, it would mark a major increase on its predecessor; the PS4 launched in November 2013 and had sold through 4.2 million units by the end of the following month.
New Oculus headset entering production this month: Nikkei
Facebook is also ramping up production of Oculus VR headsets, according to Nikkei, with a similar goal of pushing growth up to 2 million units in the second half of 2020 — this would reportedly be up 50 percent on its output for the whole of 2019. The company is said to be starting mass production for a new headset this month, though Nikkei doesn’t say whether it’s a standalone system like the Quest or a tethered headset like the Rift S.


theverge--2020-07-16--Brave New World has nothing to prove

Brave New World has nothing to prove

At a time where you can show just about anything on TV , Brave New World , the biggest new drama premiering on the brand-new Peacock streaming service , still manages to surprise .
It ’ s all the orgies — the show just has so many of them .
The volume and length of the orgy scenes in Brave New World is completely unexpected for any show — let alone one based on a novel from 1932 , before they invented sex — but Brave New World , like Aldous Huxley ’ s novel , is set in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as long as you keep popping pills .
You might need a few for yourself if you ’ re going to make it to the end .
First , the biggest problem : you ’ ve seen all this before .
Brave New World is one of the foundational texts of dystopian sci-fi , and as such has been echoed in homage countless times .
Its minimal vision of the future where much of our social ills are solved at the cost of free will and expression is stale on arrival .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vision texture — in lavish set design , interesting costumes , and yes , the orgies — is paper-thin and good for grabbing your attention but not holding it .
Brave New World is largely set in New London , a city where everyone is happy all the time .
That they ’ re only happy because everyone is genetically bred into a strict caste system and drugged out of their minds is beside the point .
They ’ re trained and conditioned to take a drug called soma to keep their “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mostly chill with it , clicking their pen-like dispensers at regular intervals as they interact with each other .
Like any dystopia , there is rot here , small cracks that are beginning to grow into fissures and bring about tectonic shifts .
The first is Lenina Crowne ( Jessica Brown Findlay ) , who is in a sexual relationship that ’ s threatening to turn monogamous .
That ’ s verboten in New London — monogamy is a selfish act that deprives the citizenry of your body ( all sex in New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of virginity or saving yourself for one person is scoffed at ) .
Then there ’ s Bernard Marx ( Harry Lloyd ) , a middle-management type who makes sure New London is running smoothly .
Despite being very down with the New London lifestyle , he doesn ’ t quite fit in .
Together , the two make a journey to America , which has been reduced to a theme-park-style world where well-heeled New Londoners can see how “ Savages ” ( language lifted right from the book and barely considered in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s like a zoo , except the animals are carnival-style exaggerations of how poor working-class white people lived .
On Lenina and Bernard ’ s trip , things go awry and the pair return to New London with John ( Alden Ehrenreich ) , who worked at the park and has nowhere else to go .
John ’ s arrival in New London turns it upside down .
He ’ s the individual personified , the person who is absolutely into everything New London has eschewed : raw emotions , disdain for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the city abides by , and yes , monogamy if the right person comes along .
Summing up more of the plot feels rote ; you know where this is heading .
Brave New World is another story of the individual vs. the collective , and the only real surprise is where the show ’ s sympathies might ultimately lie .
There are some things that are unexpected as the show accelerates toward its conclusion , but as most of its characters fall flat , there ’ s very little reason to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ implications delivered in the series ’ back half .
This is the most damning thing about Brave New World .
It never makes a terribly compelling argument for why Huxley ’ s vision of a populace in the thrall of its own optimization is relevant today , long after most of Huxley ’ s ideas seem to be borne out .
It ’ s a story concerned with the corrupting influence of capitalism , at how its scale and greed would lead us to homogeneity that would not stop at the products we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and how we feel .
The Peacock show emphasizes sex in a way that seems to muddy its metaphor — it ’ s both another form of gamified stimuli used to keep people docile and the avenue by which the “ social body ” is corrupted and lost to individual desire .
Brave New World rings false in the same simple way its novel does now : capitalism just got bigger and more inhumane .
Misery is what we ’ ve optimized and produced at scale .
Outrage drives us , and if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can ’ t afford it .

At a time where you can show just about anything on TV, Brave New World, the biggest new drama premiering on the brand-new Peacock streaming service, still manages to surprise. It’s all the orgies — the show just has so many of them. The volume and length of the orgy scenes in Brave New World is completely unexpected for any show — let alone one based on a novel from 1932, before they invented sex — but Brave New World, like Aldous Huxley’s novel, is set in a world where absolutely everything is chill, as long as you keep popping pills. You might need a few for yourself if you’re going to make it to the end.
First, the biggest problem: you’ve seen all this before. Brave New World is one of the foundational texts of dystopian sci-fi, and as such has been echoed in homage countless times. Its minimal vision of the future where much of our social ills are solved at the cost of free will and expression is stale on arrival. The ways Brave New World gives this familiar vision texture — in lavish set design, interesting costumes, and yes, the orgies — is paper-thin and good for grabbing your attention but not holding it.
Brave New World is largely set in New London, a city where everyone is happy all the time. That they’re only happy because everyone is genetically bred into a strict caste system and drugged out of their minds is beside the point. They’re trained and conditioned to take a drug called soma to keep their “levels” steady, and everyone seems mostly chill with it, clicking their pen-like dispensers at regular intervals as they interact with each other.
Like any dystopia, there is rot here, small cracks that are beginning to grow into fissures and bring about tectonic shifts. The first is Lenina Crowne (Jessica Brown Findlay), who is in a sexual relationship that’s threatening to turn monogamous. That’s verboten in New London — monogamy is a selfish act that deprives the citizenry of your body (all sex in New London is casual sex, the notion of virginity or saving yourself for one person is scoffed at). Then there’s Bernard Marx (Harry Lloyd), a middle-management type who makes sure New London is running smoothly. Despite being very down with the New London lifestyle, he doesn’t quite fit in.
Together, the two make a journey to America, which has been reduced to a theme-park-style world where well-heeled New Londoners can see how “Savages” (language lifted right from the book and barely considered in its new context) live. It’s like a zoo, except the animals are carnival-style exaggerations of how poor working-class white people lived. On Lenina and Bernard’s trip, things go awry and the pair return to New London with John (Alden Ehrenreich), who worked at the park and has nowhere else to go.
capitalism just got bigger
John’s arrival in New London turns it upside down. He’s the individual personified, the person who is absolutely into everything New London has eschewed: raw emotions, disdain for the soma and the rigid social categories the city abides by, and yes, monogamy if the right person comes along.
Summing up more of the plot feels rote; you know where this is heading. Brave New World is another story of the individual vs. the collective, and the only real surprise is where the show’s sympathies might ultimately lie. There are some things that are unexpected as the show accelerates toward its conclusion, but as most of its characters fall flat, there’s very little reason to get invested in some of the more out-there implications delivered in the series’ back half.
This is the most damning thing about Brave New World. It never makes a terribly compelling argument for why Huxley’s vision of a populace in the thrall of its own optimization is relevant today, long after most of Huxley’s ideas seem to be borne out. It’s a story concerned with the corrupting influence of capitalism, at how its scale and greed would lead us to homogeneity that would not stop at the products we buy but to how we are governed and how we feel. The Peacock show emphasizes sex in a way that seems to muddy its metaphor — it’s both another form of gamified stimuli used to keep people docile and the avenue by which the “social body” is corrupted and lost to individual desire.


theverge--2020-07-16--WindowSwap lets you cycle through picturesque views from all over the world

Some of us are fortunate enough to have a window with a view to help us cope with being inside so much .
For those who aren ’ t so lucky , a new site called WindowSwap can help by letting you cycle through other people ’ s picturesque views from all over the world .
WindowSwap is a quarantine project by Sonali Ranjit and Vaishnav Balasubramaniam that lets you use your browser to watch a video of a window and its unique view from different locations across the globe .
There are scenes from all over : there ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a small field with a gentle breeze on a sunny day in Austria , a mountain view from Switzerland , a busy street in London , a view over a boardwalk and the ocean in Japan , a cat watching birds in Qatar , a view of the city skyline in Singapore , and my personal favorite so far : an almost panoramic view of of the ocean from Oahu .
The videos are prerecorded , which you might notice if you happen to land on the same window a day apart , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ asks for 10-minute HD videos of “ your window and frame , ” along with the creator ’ s name and location .
“ Horizontal , vertical , square , round or decorative , all kinds of windows are welcome !
” the site reads .
Going the prerecorded route , instead of using live webcams , is probably smart to prevent the site from turning into something similar to Omegle .
There ’ s something very positive about the experience .
Strangers are taking their time to share their favorite watching spot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one ( or are just tired of their own ) .
It is a small gesture of kindness and reminder of the positive ways the internet can make the world feel smaller .
I enjoy not just the view but also imagining what the person sharing is like based on the few clues that can be gathered on their space and the choice of scenery to record .
That doesn ’ t mean all of the windows look out at beautiful landscapes , though .
There ’ s one from Shanghai , China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a narrow street as a man hangs laundry .
Oddly , the camera is handheld and moves around following the person .
There ’ s another from London where we see a row of cacti on a window sill that is in focus , while the trees viewed through the window in the distance are out of focus .
Not to say these are bad , but they ’ re interesting choices .
The good news is that there are lots of windows and lots of views .
So if one isn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ moment , you can just move on to the next .
Now if only we could save our favorites to come back to quickly in the future… In the meantime , here are a few of my favorites :

Some of us are fortunate enough to have a window with a view to help us cope with being inside so much. For those who aren’t so lucky, a new site called WindowSwap can help by letting you cycle through other people’s picturesque views from all over the world.
WindowSwap is a quarantine project by Sonali Ranjit and Vaishnav Balasubramaniam that lets you use your browser to watch a video of a window and its unique view from different locations across the globe. There are scenes from all over: there’s a rainy street in Thailand, a small field with a gentle breeze on a sunny day in Austria, a mountain view from Switzerland, a busy street in London, a view over a boardwalk and the ocean in Japan, a cat watching birds in Qatar, a view of the city skyline in Singapore, and my personal favorite so far: an almost panoramic view of of the ocean from Oahu.
The videos are prerecorded, which you might notice if you happen to land on the same window a day apart, and submitted by users. The site asks for 10-minute HD videos of “your window and frame,” along with the creator’s name and location. “Horizontal, vertical, square, round or decorative, all kinds of windows are welcome!” the site reads. Going the prerecorded route, instead of using live webcams, is probably smart to prevent the site from turning into something similar to Omegle.
There’s something very positive about the experience. Strangers are taking their time to share their favorite watching spot to help those who might not have one (or are just tired of their own). It is a small gesture of kindness and reminder of the positive ways the internet can make the world feel smaller. I enjoy not just the view but also imagining what the person sharing is like based on the few clues that can be gathered on their space and the choice of scenery to record.
That doesn’t mean all of the windows look out at beautiful landscapes, though. There’s one from Shanghai, China, where we are angled down looking at a narrow street as a man hangs laundry. Oddly, the camera is handheld and moves around following the person. There’s another from London where we see a row of cacti on a window sill that is in focus, while the trees viewed through the window in the distance are out of focus. Not to say these are bad, but they’re interesting choices.
The good news is that there are lots of windows and lots of views. So if one isn’t what you need at that moment, you can just move on to the next. Now if only we could save our favorites to come back to quickly in the future…


theverge--2020-07-16--Bungie delays its next big Destiny 2 expansion to November 10th, citing the pandemic

Bungie has announced that it ’ s delaying its next major Destiny 2 expansion , Beyond Light , to November 10th due to the difficulties of development during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic .
The expansion was originally set to release on September 22nd .
“ As always , our goal is to make the coolest , most entertaining expansion we can possibly make for our fans .
To that end , we are doing what ’ s best for the game and moving the launch date , ” commented David “ DeeJ ” Dague , Bungie ’ s community manager @ @ @ @ @ @ @ past few months have been a challenge and will continue to be during this pandemic .
We ’ ve learned to create together in a new way , by having to work apart from one another .
Despite these hurdles , we ’ re still committed to the same level of quality that our fans expect.
” Beyond Light was announced earlier this year as the major fall expansion for the series ( which has recently begun offering smaller seasonal updates during the year and a more substantial content expansion in the fall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a new trilogy of expansions.
” Bungie has already set high expectations for the future of Destiny , outlining the next few years of the franchise : Beyond Light is set to be followed by The Witch Queen in 2021 and a third expansion , Lightfall , in 2022 .
Destiny 2 : Beyond Light will be available on PC , Xbox One , and PlayStation 4 on November 10th .
Bungie has also announced that Destiny 2 will be available on the next-gen Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 this holiday season @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — including Beyond Light — set to be available on those consoles , too .

Bungie has announced that it’s delaying its next major Destiny 2 expansion, Beyond Light, to November 10th due to the difficulties of development during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The expansion was originally set to release on September 22nd.
“As always, our goal is to make the coolest, most entertaining expansion we can possibly make for our fans. To that end, we are doing what’s best for the game and moving the launch date,” reads a statement from the Destiny Dev Team. “The past few months have been a challenge and will continue to be during this pandemic. We’ve learned to create together in a new way, by having to work apart from one another. Despite these hurdles, we’re still committed to the same level of quality that our fans expect.”
Beyond Light was announced earlier this year as the major fall expansion for the series (which has recently begun offering smaller seasonal updates during the year and a more substantial content expansion in the fall) as the “first chapter in a new trilogy of expansions.” Bungie has already set high expectations for the future of Destiny, outlining the next few years of the franchise: Beyond Light is set to be followed by The Witch Queen in 2021 and a third expansion, Lightfall, in 2022.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light will be available on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on November 10th. Bungie has also announced that Destiny 2 will be available on the next-gen Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 this holiday season, with all current-gen Destiny 2 content — including Beyond Light — set to be available on those consoles, too.


theverge--2020-07-16--Because you definitely want to watch Henry Cavill build a gaming PC

Henry Cavill knows exactly how you imagine him : bulging muscles , epic chin , movie star grin , sitting alone in his man-cave playing PC games all day because that ’ s what he told GQ he likes to do best .
Yes , your Witcher ( and Superman ) is an avid PC gamer , and today he ’ s taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to prove it to fans by fulfilling last year ’ s promise to build his own custom gaming PC in the most seductive way a chiseled man without a proper cinematographer can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is self-aware he ’ s a heartthrob ; even his caption on the video playfully says , “ this kind of material isn ’ t for everyone ... .viewer direction is advised.
” Importantly , when Cavill flubs a few things during the build , he explicitly lets the viewer know that he flubbed them and goes back to fix them later .
Also importantly , he ’ s Henry Cavill .
Henry , if you ’ re reading this , let us know if you might like to collaborate on another epic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you ’ re still not convinced that Cavill ’ s love for our fandom is true , you might want to additionally watch the videos below , including the one where he disses game consoles in favor of the obviously superior PC platform ( 2:30 ) , or the one where he nearly missed the opportunity to play Superman because he was too busy playing WoW ( 1:40 ) .
Or just watch him in The Witcher on Netflix , where he thoroughly and convincingly throws himself into the role .
You can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Apparently , he ’ s played Total War : Warhammer 2 six times over : “ I ’ ve not quite ventured into building my own myself , ” Cavill explained to NME last December .
“ I definitely have had custom PCs over the years .
That ’ ll be the next project , as soon as I find enough time — and the bravery — I might put my own PC together.
” He certainly has the time now , and the video leaves us with a message : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just the beginning.
” Might we suggest you start a Twitch channel and stream , Henry ?

Henry Cavill knows exactly how you imagine him: bulging muscles, epic chin, movie star grin, sitting alone in his man-cave playing PC games all day because that’s what he told GQ he likes to do best.
Yes, your Witcher (and Superman) is an avid PC gamer, and today he’s taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to prove it to fans by fulfilling last year’s promise to build his own custom gaming PC in the most seductive way a chiseled man without a proper cinematographer can.
OH GOD, THE MUSIC:
It’s quite clear Cavill is self-aware he’s a heartthrob; even his caption on the video playfully says, “this kind of material isn’t for everyone....viewer direction is advised.”
Importantly, when Cavill flubs a few things during the build, he explicitly lets the viewer know that he flubbed them and goes back to fix them later.
Also importantly, he’s Henry Cavill. Henry, if you’re reading this, let us know if you might like to collaborate on another epic build in the future?
You can also watch him paint some Warhammer miniatures. Apparently, he’s played Total War: Warhammer 2 six times over:
“I’ve not quite ventured into building my own myself,” Cavill explained to NME last December. “I definitely have had custom PCs over the years. That’ll be the next project, as soon as I find enough time — and the bravery — I might put my own PC together.”


theverge--2020-07-16--EU probe asks if Apple, Amazon, and other giants are stifling the Internet of Things

The European Union ’ s antitrust watchdog is investigating whether Apple , Google , Amazon , or other companies are building monopolies with their digital assistants and smart home products .
EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager announced a probe into the Internet of Things sector , aimed at making sure users aren ’ t locked into a single ecosystem .
“ When big companies abuse their power , they can very quickly push markets beyond the tipping point , where competition turns to monopoly , ” said Vestager in a statement .
A preliminary report is planned for next year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Alexa assistant , which ties together the company ’ s vast retail , hardware , and data collection operations .
“ Voice assistants and smart devices can collect a vast amount of data about our habits .
And there ’ s a risk that big companies could misuse the data collected through such devices , ” she said .
While the biggest targets appear to be Silicon Valley tech companies , Vestager also mentioned Deutsche Telekom ’ s Magenta voice assistant .
Powerful companies can favor preferred services and limit interoperability @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a competitor ’ s product .
“ Right now , the appliances in our homes do not need to be connected to each other .
We feel free to buy the best smart speaker we can find on the market , without worrying about whether it will work with our smart lighting system .
And we want to keep it that way.
” In the United States , audio company Sonos sued Google after alleged disputes over building products that integrated both Google and Amazon voice assistants .
The EU has conducted several @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into Google ’ s acquisition of wearables company Fitbit and Amazon ’ s use of third-party seller data .
This probe is apparently in its early stages .
The European Commission is sending 400 questionnaires to smart home , wearable tech , and voice assistant businesses gathering details about data collection and interoperability .
It plans to produce a preliminary report by the spring of 2021 , with the possibility of enforcement action after that .

The European Union’s antitrust watchdog is investigating whether Apple, Google, Amazon, or other companies are building monopolies with their digital assistants and smart home products. EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager announced a probe into the Internet of Things sector, aimed at making sure users aren’t locked into a single ecosystem. “When big companies abuse their power, they can very quickly push markets beyond the tipping point, where competition turns to monopoly,” said Vestager in a statement.
A preliminary report is planned for next year
Vestager raised concerns about products like Amazon’s Alexa assistant, which ties together the company’s vast retail, hardware, and data collection operations. “Voice assistants and smart devices can collect a vast amount of data about our habits. And there’s a risk that big companies could misuse the data collected through such devices,” she said. While the biggest targets appear to be Silicon Valley tech companies, Vestager also mentioned Deutsche Telekom’s Magenta voice assistant.
Powerful companies can favor preferred services and limit interoperability, making it more difficult to buy a competitor’s product. “Right now, the appliances in our homes do not need to be connected to each other. We feel free to buy the best smart speaker we can find on the market, without worrying about whether it will work with our smart lighting system. And we want to keep it that way.” In the United States, audio company Sonos sued Google after alleged disputes over building products that integrated both Google and Amazon voice assistants.
The EU has conducted several previous tech antitrust investigations, including investigations into Google’s acquisition of wearables company Fitbit and Amazon’s use of third-party seller data.