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19.07.2024 22:50 Mario and Donkey Kong have been rivals, frenemies, go-kart competitors and tennis partners. The Italian plumber once kidnapped Donkey Kong’s son. DK once, uh, took over Mario’s toy company and stole a bunch of little figurines for some reason. They have history. What they haven’t done, however, is appear as playable characters in one another’s platforming adventures. Thanks to a nifty bit of hacking, that just changed. Mario is a playable character in a hacked version of the SNES classic Donkey Kong Country, due to a ROM programmer called RainbowSprinklez. It’s appropriately named DKC X Mario and this is not a simple sprite swap. We wouldn’t waste your time with that. Mario had to be completely engineered into the game, as his moveset doesn’t exist in the original code. Donkey Kong is a lumbering beast. He doesn’t spin around, double jump and carry items. Check out the video and prepare to be impressed. This is a Mario that has been pulled from Super Mario World, with regard to both sprites and controls. There are mushrooms to make him grow, fire flowers and, of course, everyone’s favorite dino-thingie Yoshi. Otherwise, this is Donkey Kong Country. The levels are the same. The enemies, consisting primarily of King K. Rool and his army of Kremlings, are the same. If you're really familiar with the layout of the original DKC, this could be a way to breathe some new life into the ancient platformer. The music also looks to be altered, replacing the original tracks with songs from Mario, Zelda and Mega Man games. RainbowSprinklez wrote that the hack was "made for no other reason than I like Mario" in a document released alongside the ROM. You can download the whole thing right here to give it a go, and this should probably be done sooner than later. Nintendo isn’t shy about sicking lawyers on projects like this.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-nifty-hack-made-mario-a-playable-character-in-1994s-donkey-kong-country-164036806.html?src=rss

19.07.2024 18:10 NASA and the European Space Agency have released an image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope of a dwarf irregular galaxy that they admit looked "unexciting" at first glance. However, there's more going on than might initially meet the eye. The agencies say that a great deal of research is going into the "complicated structure" of NGC 5238, which is 14.5 million light-years away in the Canes Venatici constellation. In fact, astronomers believe the distribution of stars in NGC 5238 may have been distorted after it swallowed up another galaxy. They reckon that due to NGC 5238's star population , it had a "close encounter" with another galaxy perhaps as recently as a billion years ago. But since there isn't a galaxy close enough to have distorted the star distribution in this fashion, it's more likely that NGC 5238 merged with a smaller galaxy. Along with hosting many stars, the galaxy is home to globular clusters, which NASA describes as "glowing, bright spots both inside and around the galaxy swarmed by even more stars." Astronomers plan to dig deep into the data to learn about NGC 5238's past. If they find groups of stars that have different properties from most of the galaxy's other stars, that's a clear indication that a merger has occurred. They'll also try to determine whether there was a "burst of star formation" that suddenly took place after the galaxies would have come together. NASA notes that a dwarf irregular galaxy merging with a smaller satellite galaxy is just the kind of thing that could have spurred galaxy assembly in the early era of our universe. As such, the agency says that the data Hubble captured from NGC 5238 may help researchers to test fundamental ideas about the evolution of the universe.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/why-an-unexciting-galaxy-could-provide-clues-about-the-universes-evolution-144754342.html?src=rss

19.07.2024 18:10 No one has been making foldable phones longer than Samsung. And for the first few years, the sheer number of improvements we got on the Galaxy Z Fold line meant it didn’t really have any competition. But more recently, the pace of innovation has slowed while new challengers like the OnePlus Open and Pixel Fold have arrived. Now for 2024, Samsung has reinforced the Galaxy Z Fold 6 with a stronger but significantly lighter frame, a new ultra-wide-angle camera and a bunch of AI-powered tools. Unfortunately, not much else has changed, leaving us with a very iterative upgrade. So while the Galaxy Z Fold 6 remains the best all-around big foldable on the market, it feels like complacency is eroding Samsung’s lead among flagship flexible phones. Design and displays: Tweaked dimensions with even brighter screens After eliminating the gap between the screen on last year’s phone, Samsung has adjusted the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s dimensions again for 2024. But the changes are so small you have to measure them in millimeters. When closed, the phone is just over one millimeter thinner and when you open it up , the main screen is 2.7mm wider but one millimeter shorter. It’s not a ton, but you do get a little more room for activities. And of course this also affects the exterior Cover Display, which is about 1mm wider as well — just enough to make using its on-screen keyboard more forgiving. Elsewhere, the entire phone is sharper, from its boxier edges to the more squared-off corners on both screens. Samsung also says the Enhanced Armor Aluminium used in the Z Fold 6’s chassis is about 10 percent stronger than before, but I hope you’ll forgive me for not dropping it on purpose just to find out. Holding everything together is a new dual-rail hinge. And this time, I think Samsung has nailed the perfect balance between something that’s easy to open but also holds its position when you want it to. But the biggest design upgrade is a 14-gram weight reduction compared to the previous model. Granted, that might not sound like much, but now the Z Fold 6 only weighs around 4 grams more than its non-foldable cousin, the S24 Ultra. And on an already heavy phone, this change makes a big difference. As for the displays, as someone who’s been using the Pixel Fold a lot recently — which has a solid screen in its own right — can I just say, Samsung’s panels are so choice. Not only has peak brightness improved to 2,600 nits for both displays just like on the standard S24 family, Samsung has subtly shrunk and flattened the bezels, so the phone looks even more like a magazine come to life. And until I see something better, this is simply the best screen on a big foldable right now. Performance: Expectedly speedy Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget The Z Fold line has never been slow and this year we got the same upgrade to a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip as we saw on the S24, while base RAM is staying pat at 12GB. And as you’d expect, the Z Fold 6’s performance is fast and responsive. There’s no lag when doing pretty much anything and thanks to the addition of a larger vapor chamber on the inside, the phone stays cooler during longer sessions, which is a nice bonus to all the gamers out there who like playing on a truly big-screen device. Cameras: Mostly unchanged When it comes to photography, I’m a bit disappointed with the Z Fold 6, not because it can’t take a decent pic, but because I know Samsung can do better. For this go around, Samsung has stuck with a trio of rear cameras, opting for a new 12-MP sensor for the ultra-wide lens — and it’s pretty good. But at the same time, the ultra-wide lens is the one I use the least in daily use, and it's not close. Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget The other two cameras – the 50-MP main and 12-MP telephoto with a 3x optical zoom — are solid, but they’re the same ones Samsung used on at least the previous two generations. In a photo of some strawberries, the Z Fold 6 produced a delicious pic with deep saturated hues and great details. At the same time, though, you can also see the slightly exaggerated warm tones you often get from Samsung cameras. And at night, the Z Fold produced a beautiful pic of a flower in a very tricky backlit environment. The issue is that after Google released the Pixel Fold, Samsung doesn’t really have an excuse for saddling the Z Fold 6 with downgraded photography when compared to the S24 Ultra. The Pixel Fold has a longer 5x optical zoom and an edge in overall photo quality. Just take a look at two zoom shots taken by the Z Fold 6 and the Pixel Fold. In a vacuum, Samsung’s photo doesn’t look bad. But then take a look at the Pixel’s image. It's noticeably sharper and more detailed. And it's the same thing in really low-light situations, like the one I took of some Bluey figurines, where the Pixel Fold captured a less grainy, sharper and more well-exposed pic. And after being pleasantly surprised with the cameras on the S24 Ultra, it’s a shame Samsung’s most expensive phone sits in second place when it comes to photography. AI features: Fun and occasionally handy, but not essential As we saw back at the beginning of the year, Samsung has brought the Galaxy AI suite it launched on the S24 to the Z Fold 6. And by and large, a lot of the features are the same including things like Chat Assist which you can use to generate social posts or emails while selecting a variety of tones. There’s also support for Google’s Circle to Search along with translation and summarization tools. A couple new tweaks for the Fold is that now the phone can translate text in place instead of spitting it out into a big unformatted blob, which is nice but kind of situational. And I should mention, Google Lens already offers similar functionality. Perhaps the more important one is the ability to do dual-screen translations, so each person can see text in their language in real-time, depending on what side of the phone they’re looking at. Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget Some new additions are the Portrait Studio tool that can create an AI-generated drawing of someone based on a photo and a range of styles like comic or watercolor. It’s fun and it’s good for a laugh or two, but I’m not sure how useful it will be on a regular basis. There’s also the Sketch to Image feature that allows you to add a simple drawing to an existing photo and then have the phone generate a more realistic rendition of it in your final image. I still think Samsung’s basic AI photo editing tools are the most useful of the bunch, as they make it easy to delete distracting objects or do simple touch ups. But once again, all of this feels more like bonus content rather than core essentials. Battery life: Great longevity but could use some faster charging tech While Samsung didn’t increase the size of the 4,400 mAh cell in the Z Fold 6, the phone does have slightly better battery life due to improved energy efficiency from its new chip. On our video rundown test, it lasted 20 hours and seven minutes when using its large main screen and 25 hours and 19 minutes when using its exterior cover display. That first number is even better than we saw from the Pixel Fold and OnePlus Open , so if you need a big-screen phone with ample longevity, the Z Fold 6 is the easy pick. Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget Unfortunately, its charging hasn’t changed much. You still get 25-watt wired charging and 15-watt wireless charging, which are both pretty mediocre figures in 2024. And while I wasn’t expecting to see support for Qi2 magnetic charging on the Z Fold 6 after Samsung opted not to add it to the main S24 line, I’m still a bit miffed that a phone this expensive is cutting important features off the spec sheet. Wrap-up It wasn’t long ago when practically every component on the Z Fold line was unmatched by its competitors. But now phones like the Pixel Fold exist, which offers better overall photography. Then there’s the OnePlus Open, which weighs the same as the Z Fold 6 even after its recent diet. And let’s not forget, both of those rivals are 2023 models. Plus there are Chinese competitors like the Honor Magic V3 and the upcoming Xiaomi Mix Fold 4, which are both thinner and lighter than Samsung’s champion. Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget Don’t get me wrong, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is still a good foldable, a great one even. It’s got excellent performance, strong battery life and handy features like native stylus support. But it feels like after all this time sitting fat and happy on its throne, Samsung has a diminished hunger for total domination. Instead of long-awaited features like a built-in S Pen or an improved under-display camera, we got a bunch of AI-powered tools and tricks, which are fun but not true highlight attractions. And at $1,900 — which is $100 more than last year — the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is the most expensive it's been since the Z Fold 3. But I guess that's the price you pay Samsung for having such a long reign on top.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-galaxy-z-fold-6-review-the-king-but-for-how-much-longer-140129812.html?src=rss

19.07.2024 18:10 Starting on August 23 this year, when someone clicks on a goo.gl link, it could first take them to a page with a warning that says the link "will no longer work in the near future" before taking them to the website they want to visit. Google shut down its goo.gl URL shortening service way back in 2018 and stopped users from being able to create new links. Now, the company has announced that it will stop supporting all existing goo.gl links altogether: The URLs will return a "404 page not found" result by August 25, 2025. Google is giving developers ample time to move to other shorteners by displaying the aforementioned warning page to visitors over the next year. It will only show up for a percentage of existing links at first, but that percentage will keep growing until it appears for most, if not all, goo.gl links by their shutdown date. The company warns that the interstitial warning pages could cause disruptions and prevent users from getting to the URL they actually want to go to, so it's advising developers to change their shortened links as soon as possible. The goo.gl link shortener service joins quite a large number of old features and services in Google's ever-growing product graveyard. They include the Hangouts chat app, the Stadia cloud gaming service and Google+, which once tried to take on Facebook. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-is-turning-off-its-googl-shortener-links-next-year-130030435.html?src=rss

19.07.2024 18:10 When you’re living the college life, every penny counts. Thankfully, there’s a plethora of free software, services and tools you can use to get through your day-to-day on campus, whether you’re doing coursework, trying to better manage your time or just finding some entertainment. Our job at Engadget is to figure out which of these things are actually good, so below we’ve recommended a few of our favorite apps and services that are totally free. Each should help you save cash for extracurricular fun, and all of them are significantly better than the main thing you get for free when attending college in America: debt. Google Docs Engadget You’re probably going to need a productivity suite at school. Thankfully, the days of having to buy an expensive software bundle are long gone. Google Docs can handle the document creation you’ll need over a semester, whether it’s writing term papers, crunching data in spreadsheets or whipping up group presentations. Automatic cloud saves can spare you the heartache of losing progress. You may want to subscribe to a Google One plan if the free 15GB of Drive storage proves too limiting. And as capable as Docs may be, there may be some classes where professors insist on paid services like Microsoft 365. If you’re free to choose your work tools, however, Docs is an easy choice — particularly if you already rely on Calendar, Meet and other parts of the Google ecosystem. — Jon Fingas, Former Reporter Todoist Engadget Student life is defined by time management. You’ll likely have to juggle multiple assignments, study sessions and a personal life without missing a beat. Todoist is our pick for keeping yourself on track. You can not only create the usual to-do lists, but set up task boards, set priorities and even delegate items to others — helpful if it’s a roommate’s turn to buy dinner. The free Todoist plan will likely be enough for school with support for five active projects, five collaborators and 5MB file uploads. You’ll only want to shell out $48 per year for a Pro account if you have many on-the-go projects , need to upload large files or want to set reminder alerts. Whatever you need, this might be key to getting it all done on time. — Jeff Dunn, Senior Reporter, Buying Advice Photopea Photopea It used to be that free image editors were underpowered or ungainly, and you could generally forget about web versions. That’s not the case with Photopea, which is more or less an unofficial, online Photoshop clone. Can it fully replace that ultra-popular app? No, it’s slower to process many tasks and it’s missing some of Adobe’s more advanced features. But just about all of the essentials are here, and its web-based interface should immediately feel familiar to anyone who’s used Photoshop before. For spot heals, crops, light and color touch-ups, background removals, adding text and graphics, layering or most other common edits you might need for a presentation or photography class, it should be enough. It’s compatible with a host of file formats, too, including Photoshop’s PSD, PDF, AI and various RAW camera files. The whole thing is ad-supported by default, with a $5-per-month Premium tier available to remove those and increase online storage from 0.5GB to 5GB. You can also connect to cloud storage services like Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and Dropbox. — J.D. Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve Blackmagic You might not have to pay for a costly video editing package to make it through film school. Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve provides an in-depth bundle of editing, color correction, audio and effects tools at no cost. You could make a short film for class using the same core tools used to produce Hollywood blockbusters, complete with multi-user collaboration. In fact, you’ll likely have little need for paid editing products unless your coursework has very specific requirements. You’ll only want to think about spending $295 for DaVinci Resolve Studio if you want to edit footage beyond 4K at 60 frames per second, work with more video formats or rely on advanced 3D, AI and HDR tools. Unless your professors demand that you use a rival tool like Final Cut Pro or Premiere Pro, this should be enough to learn the fundamentals. — J.F. Blender Engadget If you’re creating 3D artwork for games or videos at school, you’ll want a strong modeling suite — and one of the more capable packages happens to be free. Blender provides a wide range of modeling, animation and sculpting tools for 3D content, while budding movie producers can take advantage of built-in compositing, motion tracking, story art drawing and simple video editing. You might have everything you need to create a CG short film. You’ll want to be sure that Blender can fulfill your class requirements, and you might want more focused software like Natron to supplement your work. With that said, Blender’s open source code and extensible design work in its favor. It’s easy to find a bevy of free or low-cost add-ons that can meet your needs, and you can even write your own extensions if you’re comfortable with scripting. — J.F. Audacity Engadget Some courses may need an audio editor, whether it’s to create a podcast, tweak game sound effects or finesse a song. If you’re in that boat, Audacity can sometimes do the trick. The free, open source editor gives you the essentials for capturing and editing multi-track recordings, including support for effects and plugins. Audacity won’t replace heavy-duty digital audio workstations like Audition, Logic Pro, Pro Tools or Reason. Those offer non-destructive editing, and often include a slew of effects generators and other tools aimed at music and video production. This is a good place to learn some basics, though, and may well be all you need if a class isn’t particularly demanding. — J.F. Evernote Scannable Engadget Paper is still a reality in the classroom, whether it comes in the form of a handout, a sketched diagram or a friend’s handwritten notes. But you won’t have to worry about how you’ll digitize them. There are a number of free document scanning apps available, and Evernote Scannable is one of the best. You just have to point your camera at documents to produce easily readable PDF and JPEG files you can share with the rest of the class. While you can sync content with Evernote , it’s not required. That said, Scannable is limited to iPads and iPhones as of this writing, so you’ll want to look to alternatives like Microsoft Lens or Adobe Scan if you prefer Android or use devices across platforms. Microsoft’s app is a particularly nice pick if you want to export scans in Office formats or convert handwritten text. Either way, you might not have to worry about lugging a binder around campus. — J.D. Spotify Engadget Let’s be frank: you’re going to need some study music, and Spotify still provides the best free soundtrack for those lengthy learning sessions. The no-charge tier will periodically interrupt your listening with ads, but you can create playlists, follow podcasts and enjoy much of the core Spotify experience. You can stream songs on mobile and smart speakers, too, so the music won’t stop when you leave your desk. You may still want to pay for service, as Spotify’s mobile app makes you listen to all but a handful of playlists in shuffle mode and gives you a limited number of skips per hour unless you use the desktop app. For paid users, Apple Music is the top pick in our guide to the best music streaming services: It offers higher-quality audio , a generally cleaner interface and a greater emphasis on curation, with a handful of live radio stations hosted by actual people. It’s reportedly better about paying artists, too, though it’ll work best if you own an iPhone. Mercifully, Apple sells a student plan for $6 per month, the same as Spotify, so you’ll still get a nifty discount. — J.D. PDF Candy Engadget There’s a distinct possibility you’ll encounter PDF documents at school, whether it’s a research paper or the class syllabus. You won’t have to pay for apps like Adobe Acrobat to edit those files, at least. PDF Candy offers a free web-based editor. You can modify PDFs, convert to and from common formats , extract images and otherwise take control. This might do the job if you need to flesh out scanned class notes or extract a quote from a scientific study. There are time and size limits for the free version , and you should also consider the $48 yearly or $99 lifetime plans if you want faster web processing or the Windows app’s offline editing. Alternatives like Acrobat are also better if you need commenting, mobile editing and other advanced features. Still, the free web tool is difficult to beat for basic utilities. — J.F. Amazon Freevee Amazon There’s no real way around it: If you want to keep up with the films and shows in the current zeitgeist, you need to pay for a streaming service or two. Given that new apps and price hikes seem to pop up every other week, that sucks. Still, there are a number of free services you can use to cobble together some decent entertainment on the cheap, including Amazon Freevee, Tubi, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, Crackle, and Sling Freestream, among others. All of these force you to sit through ads, most have pretty sloppy UIs and each is absolutely loaded with trash content. But think of them like the old Blockbuster bargain bin — you may have to do some digging, but every now and then you’ll find a gem. If we had to pick one, Freevee is probably the standout: Shows like Schitt’s Creek, The Good Wife and The Twilight Zone are still great, while the original mockumentary Jury Duty is one of the funniest things in recent memory. You can catch up on older seasons of The Boys — but not the latest one, natch — and the more people we can get to appreciate Columbo, the better. But it’s worth digging through the others noted above if you’re really strapped for cash and can’t hawk a login. We’ll direct you to our guide to the best live TV streaming services for more details. — J.D. Libby Libby Not enough people, college students or otherwise, take full advantage of their local library. Libby is an easy way to change that. So long as you have a library card, this clean little app lets you check out ebooks, audiobooks and magazines to your phone, tablet, computer or ereader at no cost. It works across iOS, Android and web browsers, and you can sync your progress between multiple devices. You’re still at the mercy of the selection your library actually has available, and you’ll still have to finish your rentals within a set period. But if you like to read for pleasure between classes, Libby will ensure you never run out of material. — J.D.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/free-stuff-for-college-students-143051840.html?src=rss

19.07.2024 18:10 Microsoft has made changes to its Xbox Game Pass service that are "exactly the sort of consumer harm" from its Activision acquisition that the Federal Trade Commission was worried about, the agency wrote in a letter addressed to the US Appeals Court. The FTC's letter focused on a recent price hike for the Xbox Game Pass and pointed out that the Game Pass Ultimate now costs $20 a month, which is $3 more per month than before and represents a 17 percent year-over-year increase. In addition, the agency called attention to Microsoft's decision to discontinue the $11 Console Game Pass plan. The agency added a new Game Pass Standard tier, but it costs more at $15 a month. While it's a step up from the barebones Core plan, it doesn't include access to day-one releases, leading the FTC to call it a "degraded product." Microsoft will fully discontinue the Console tier just before the launch of the next Call of Duty game, the FTC said. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be playable via Game Pass from its release date on October 25, which means subscribers who want to access it on day one will have to pay for the $20-a-month tier. The company promised that the "acquisition would benefit consumers by making available on Microsoft’s Game Pass on the day it is released on console ," the FTC wrote. But Microsoft's actions show a firm that's "exercising market power post-merger," it noted. The FTC repeatedly challenged Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard, but a judge rejected its request for an injunction. At the time, the judge ruled that the FTC failed to demonstrate how the merger would lessen competition and even said that there was "record evidence" pointing to "more consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content." Microsoft, which officially closed the $69 billion deal in October 2023 after that ruling and after the blessing of regulators in the EU and the UK, now officially owns Activision Blizzard. But the FTC still isn't done opposing the merger and filed an appeal in an attempt to the block the already-closed deal, telling the court that it can prove its case by showing that Microsoft has the ability and incentive to withhold Activision's games. Back in February, the agency also accused Microsoft of going against its pledge to allow Activision Blizzard to operate independently post-acquisition after the company laid off nearly 2,000 employees in its gaming division. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-ftc-is-as-mad-about-the-xbox-game-pass-price-increase-as-you-are-120031248.html?src=rss

19.07.2024 18:10 The mining of technology nostalgia is unrelenting. Earlier this week, we had an unofficial return of the iPod, not to mention Tamagotchis and now Discman. Well, not an actual Discman, which is a Sony brand, but the portable CD player is back. Audiophile brand FiiO has launched the DM13, a portable CD player with modern touches, like high-fidelity wireless and a built-in battery. No more AAs! The CD Player will go on sale in September for $179 . It begins shipping only in a silver finish, but FiiO says red, blue, titanium and black variants will arrive later in the year – enough time to find my folder of NOW compilation CDs. — Mat Smith The biggest stories you might have missed Bangladesh is experiencing a ‘near-total’ internet shutdown amid student protests Netflix will drop a new multiplayer game when Squid Game season 2 premieres this year How to install the iOS 18 public beta ​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here! Microsoft suffers Azure outage and faulty cybersecurity update takes out companies worldwide It’s a massive Microsoft Windows BSOD outage. Unable to get into Outlook this morning? You’re not the only one. Microsoft has also suffered an outage with its Azure services and Microsoft 365 app suite. Then, a faulty update from security giant CrowdStrike forced PCs and servers into an unrecoverable boot loop. The issue forced Delta, Frontier and other airlines to ground flights and impacted the UK’s London Stock Exchange and Sky broadcaster. “We have widespread reports of BSODs on Windows hosts, occurring on multiple sensor versions,” CrowdStrike wrote in a pinned Reddit post. “ identified a content deployment related to this issue and reverted those changes.” It’s a great Friday morning for all involved. Continue reading. Previewing iOS 18 Waiting on Apple Intelligence for the true upgrade. Apple launched public betas across all its platforms, and while you’ll have to wait for the official release in fall, lots of features are stable enough for most folks to play with. While I got to grips with everything out there on iOS 18, there was a big missing piece: Apple Intelligence. Arguably the most interesting things Apple showed off at WWDC hinged on AI, but none of those features are available for testing yet. Read on for what we like so far. Continue reading. That huge camera bump on the Pixel 9 Pro is very real Google just confirmed it. Google It’s not a Pixel leak without Google following up with fewer images and less information. Following a couple of leaks on four Pixel 9 phones apparently coming up, Google revealed the camera unit on the Pixel 9 Pro, and it is chonky. Continue reading. Halo, the TV show, has been canceled Not everything is Fallout. Back in 2013, Microsoft decided to create a live-action Halo television series — back when Halo was one of the biggest gaming properties in the world. It took about ten years to happen, but only two years — and series — for Paramount+ to cancel it. According to an unnamed Variety source, the show creators plan to shop the project around and search for a new home for Master Chief. Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-the-age-of-the-retro-cd-player-is-here-111606809.html?src=rss

19.07.2024 12:40 A massive Microsoft Windows BSOD outage has impacted multiple companies worldwide including airlines, broadcasters and others. The problem was a caused by a faulty update from security giant CrowdStrike that forced PCs and servers into an unrecoverable boot loop. The change has since been rolled back, but many machines are still affected. "We have widespread reports of BSODs on windows hosts, occurring on multiple sensor versions," CrowdStrike wrote in a pinned Reddit post. " identified a content deployment related to this issue and reverted those changes." The company went on to describe a workaround, which involves booting Windows into Safe Mode and deleting a specific driver. The issue forced Delta, Frontier and other airlines to ground flights, and impacted UK broadcaster Sky and the London Stock Exchange. On a Reddit thread, dozens of commenters stated that their companies were effectively offline due to the problem. "Even if fixed the issue causing the BSOD, I'm thinking how are we going to restore the thousands of devices that are not booting up," one user noted. "Let me explain to someone who is not tech savvy and is working from home how to boot their machine into safe mode," another wrote. Reddit users including many IT managers from Australia, Malaysia, Japan, India, the Czech Republic and elsewhere have said they're fighting through the issue. "Here in the Philippines, specifically in my employer, it is like Thanos snapped his fingers. Half of the entire organization down due to BSOD loop. Started at 2pm and is still ongoing. What a Friday," said one. CrowdStrike is a US-based security firm that provides real-time protection against security threats to corporations. One of its key products is Falcon, described by the company as "providing real-time indicators of attack, hyper-accurate detection and automated protection" from threats. A CrowdStrike spokesperson said it was likely an issue with Falcon that caused the incident. To add to the pain, Microsoft appears to have also suffered a separate outage with its Azure services and Microsoft 365 app suite. "Users may be unable to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services," it wrote. It's not clear which, if any, of the outages are related to this instead of the CrowdStrike problem. Update July 19, 2024 6:12 AM ET: CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz has acknowledged the problem on X, saying it was caused by a defect in a content update for Windows hosts, and not a "security incident or cyberattack," He added that "the issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed." There's no mention on whether the fix will be usable on machines currently stuck in a boot loop. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted, he added. An identical statement has been posted on CrowdStrike's blog. So far, there's no apology from the company over the incident.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/faulty-cybersecurity-update-takes-out-banks-airlines-and-other-major-companies-worldwide-085142264.html?src=rss

19.07.2024 07:40 Google has confirmed in a teaser video that its upcoming line of smartphones includes a new foldable model. The company called the Pixel 9 Pro Fold a "foldable phone built for the Gemini era" in its promo tweet, and it even focused on its gen AI chatbot in the video. Similar to the non-foldable Pixel 9 Pro, this model also has a prominent camera bump. Its lenses are arranged vertically near one side of the phone, so the camera bump is mostly there and doesn't take up the whole width of the folded device. A foldable phone built for the Gemini era. Out with the old. In with the Fold. Learn more and sign up for #MadeByGoogle updates: https://t.co/7zTWktAvWk pic.twitter.com/UZDudLiUWB— Made by Google July 18, 2024 While Google has yet to formally unveil the model, a previous leak, courtesy of Android Authority, has already revealed a lot of details about the upcoming Pixel 9 models. Taiwan's National Communications Commission uploaded galleries of each phone — Pixel 9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL and 9 Pro Fold — to its archives. Some of those photos feature an unfolded 9 Pro Fold, showing how Google moved its selfie camera to the inside screen for a wider field of view. They also show that the model has a reduced fold crease on the display, which measures 250mm or just under 10 inches. The NCC's leak revealed that the upcoming devices need bigger chargers, as well. Their charging rates are generally faster than previous models based on the agency's tests, though the Pixel 9 Pro Fold was the slowest of them all. We'll be able to confirm those details when Google launches its new smartphones at the next Made by Google event that's happening on August 13. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-confirms-the-pixel-9-pro-fold-with-a-teaser-video-030440420.html?src=rss

19.07.2024 02:32 Bangladesh is experiencing a complete internet shutdown as its government attempts to clamp down on widespread student protests that have resulted in the deaths of at least 32 people, according to AFP. The unrest is centered around the country’s quota system that requires a third of government jobs to be reserved for relatives of veterans who had fought for Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971. On Thursday, several thousand protestors in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, had reportedly stormed state broadcaster BTV, smashed windows and furniture and set offices on fire, trapping “many” people inside, according to a post on BTV’s official Facebook page. 17 people died on Thursday amid clashes with police, reported Al Jazeera. To control the situation, Bangladeshi authorities shut down internet and phone access throughout the country, a common practice in South Asia to prevent the spread of rumors and misinformation and exercise state control. NetBlocks, a global internet monitor that works on digital rights analyzed live network data that showed that Bangladesh was in the middle of a “near-total national internet shutdown.” ⚠️ Confirmed: Live network data show #Bangladesh is now in the midst of a near-total national internet shutdown; the new measure follows earlier efforts to throttle social media and restrict mobile data services, and comes amid reports of rising deaths at student protests

19.07.2024 02:32 Many moons ago, back in 2013, we learned that Hollywood royalty Steven Spielberg had teamed up with Microsoft to create a live-action Halo television series. It took about ten years for the vision to finally come to fruition, but the show has now been canceled by the Paramount+ streaming service after a mere seventeen episodes. The first season aired in 2022 and the second earlier this year. We had mixed feelings about the show's debut, but it's still a sad conclusion for the big-budget project. According to an unnamed Variety source, the show creators plan to shop the project around and search for a new home for the chronicles of Master Chief and Cortana. "We deeply appreciate the millions of fans who propelled the Halo series to be a global success and we remain committed to broadening the Halo universe in different ways in the future," 343 Industries said. "We are grateful to Amblin and Paramount for their partnership in bringing our expansive sci-fi universe to viewers around the world." This is the latest hurdle for fans of the UNSC to get more Halo action. Not only is the TV show gone, but last year's rounds of layoffs at Microsoft didn't leave 343 Industries unscathed. The studio reportedly had to restart its development of the series' next chapter, and we haven't heard much about the games since.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-live-action-halo-show-has-been-canceled-at-paramount-230612472.html?src=rss

19.07.2024 02:32 Netflix is expanding its games roster with an intriguing new tie-in. During the company's quarterly earnings announcement, Netflix shared that it plans to launch a multiplayer game inspired by Squid Game. Its release date will be timed to coincide with the second season of the South Korean TV sensation. We have no other information about what style of game it will be, but we can guess that it will echo the children's games contestants play for survival on the series. The program has already spawned several spinoffs for the streaming service. After season 1 became an international sensation in 2021, Netflix created a virtual reality version as well as an in-person pop-up experience in Los Angeles based on the fictional reality show. The company also teamed with a British production company to create Squid Game: The Challenge, an actual reality TV show that is fortunately a lot less lethal than its source material. Another insight from the quarterly report is how much advertisements have grown in importance for Netflix. The ad-supported tier is responsible for 45 percent of new sign-ups in markets where the subscription option is available. The plan has only been available for about 18 months, and its audience has already grown 34 percent sequentially in the second quarter of 2024. Part of that shift is happening because the basic plan option is being phased out; it left Canada and the UK already, and the US and France are next up.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflix-will-drop-a-new-multiplayer-game-when-squid-game-season-2-premieres-this-year-220338938.html?src=rss

19.07.2024 02:32 One of the founders of the movie ticketing service Fandango has died following an apparent suicide in New York City. J. Michael Cline, the co-founder of the movie ticket website and service Fandango, died Tuesday after falling from the balcony of a Manhattan hotel in what the medical examiner’s office ruled as a suicide, according to The New York Times. Cline co-founded Fandango in 2000 with former chief operating officer Art Levitt during the dot-com boom and became one of the biggest online retailers. Fandango launched with seven movie theater chains, according to Variety. Fandango found success by completely changing the way people went to the movies. Moviegoers didn’t have to wait in long ticket lines only to find out that the 6 PM showing of Battlefield Earth was already sold out. They could purchase their tickets before they even left home and still have time to buy an overpriced box of Milk Duds and a watered down Shasta. The company’s flashy orange “F” logo also made it one of the most recognizable online brands in the industry. Cline described his company's whimsical sounding name to Variety as “fast and fun” and a “perfect match to a service designed to make going to the movies easier and more enjoyable than ever before.” Five years after its launch, online movie ticket sites like Fandango and its competitor Movietickets.com sold tickets worth over $30 million in one year. Comcast bought the Fandango brand in 2007 for an undisclosed sum. Fandango also bought some of the Internet’s hottest movie properties such as the aggregated movie review website Rotten Tomatoes in 2017. The movie ticket brand went through subsequent parent sales until it landed with its current owners NBCUniveral and Warner Bros., which expanded the Fandango brand to a streaming service called Fandango at Home as a replacement for Vudu. Fandango continues to thrive as an online ticket retailer even at a time when movie theaters are seeing a huge slump in sales. During the Barbenheimer craze last summer, Fandango sold 3.5 million tickets alone just to the Oscar nominated and winning films Barbie and Oppenheimer. Cline left Fandango in 2011 and went on to become the executive chairman of the tech investment firm Juxtapose that helped launch health and wellness companies like Care/of and Corduroy, according to the firm’s website. Levitt described his former business partner to the New York Times as a formidable entrepreneur who was “a bit of an adventurer” and someone who “saw an opportunity in the market” with Fandango. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255 or you can simply dial 988. Crisis Text Line can be reached by texting HOME to 741741 , 686868 , or 85258 . Wikipedia maintains a list of crisis lines for people outside of those countries. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/fandango-co-founder-j-michael-cline-dead-at-64-214725046.html?src=rss

19.07.2024 02:32 After a teaser at last year's BlizzCon, Blizzard today revealed more details about the new character class that will be coming to Diablo IV this fall. The Spiritborn looks like a fun, powerful mix of several characters from past Diablo entries. Imagine the martial arts combat of the Diablo 3 Monk paired with the animal abilities of the same game’s Witch Doctor plus the aesthetics of the Amazon in Diablo 2. This sounds like a pretty darn tasty recipe to me. The Spiritborn is a dexterity-driven class with four Spirit Guardians whose powers you can draw on in combat. The jaguar grants fire damage and the eagle offers lightning damage abilities. With the gorilla, players get defensive power and survivability. And the centipede provides poison and fear skills for damage over time and crowd control. During the livestream, Class Designer Bjorn Mikkelson said the Spiritborn is "probably our fastest, most aggressive class." Think leaping into groups of enemies to deliver big burst damage with glaives, quarterstaffs, and polearms. A typical rotation will see players using those short cooldown skills infused with an element of a spirit's power. But the real payoff with Spiritborn is the ultimate ability, which brings one of the Spirit Guardians to fight by the player's side. "Summoning the god into battle is the power fantasy for this class," said Diablo IV's Game Designer Brent Gibson. Part of what has always made Diablo games compelling is the ability to personalize and specialize your playstyle within the broad character concept. And some of the other Diablo 4 class designs encourage players to specialize in a single ability tree, such as picking one elemental power to use for a Sorcerer. With the Spiritborn, players will have the flexibility to specialize in a single Spirit Guardian's skill tree if they want, or to mix and match at will without any loss of stats. Things will get even more personalized with the Spirit Hall class mechanic and a whole new set of legendary and ancient gear for the Spiritborn to further fine-tune your preferred playstyle for demon-smashing. Today’s livestream also had some good nuggets for the lore nerds, and hardcore fans will likely find it worth rewatching the video to see all the details about the worldbuilding that the Blizzard teams put into developing this character. Diablo IV's Vessel of Hatred expansion, aka 'Neyrelle and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day,' will launch on October 8 and the standard edition will cost $40.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/blizzard-reveals-gameplay-for-the-new-diablo-iv-class-spiritborn-205945475.html?src=rss

19.07.2024 02:32 CD players are back, baby. As Gen Z absorbs the ‘90s it never experienced through retro nostalgia like Nirvana, Tamagotchi and wired headphones, audiophile brand FiiO is here to capitalize. The company’s new portable CD player, the DM13, builds on the blueprint of icons like the Discman. But it adds modern touches like high-fidelity wireless and a built-in battery, so Gen Zers are spared the pain of lugging around a small arsenal of AA cells to change at the top of every hour. The FiiO DM13 follows the company’s retro reboots of the vinyl turntable and the cassette player. The upcoming CD player has a sleek design with a digital display across its front, making for a much sharper-looking modern aesthetic than the trash we Gen X old farts used when jamming out to timeless musical legends like Candlebox, Right Said Fred and the Squirrel Nut Zippers. FiiO / Starscream Communications The DM13 supports 3.5mm single-ended 4.4mm balanced outputs for analog line-out listening. For those who prefer wireless, it supports high-quality aptX HD and is compatible with many Android phones and portable media players. FiiO says the DM13 supports eight hours of playback per charge. It also has a USB output and a dedicated desktop mode that bypasses the battery and uses its main power at home. The bad news for ‘90s retrophiles is the DM13 isn’t available just yet. After its official unveiling at this weekend’s CanJam event in London, the CD Player will go on sale in September for $179 . It begins shipping only in a silver finish, but FiiO says red, blue, titanium and black variants will arrive later in the year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/fiio-reboots-the-old-school-portable-cd-player-minus-the-aa-batteries-202334462.html?src=rss