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No Malarkey Station appears in the Biden-Harris campaign’s new Fortnite map | Biden campaign With just a few days to go before the November 3rd presidential election, former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign has launched a new custom map in Fortnite . First reported by Mashable , the “Build Back Better with Biden” map is located in “Reboot City,” and is aimed at promoting the campaign’s message that the environment and economy are connected. The solo-player, adventure-type map takes about 20 to 30 minutes to play, and made its debut Friday night. “Our digital program is built around how people spend time, and the most effective ways reach them in those places,” Christian Tom, the Biden campaign’s director of digital partnerships said in a statement to The Verge . “We see interactive, digital-first experiences like gaming as an... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3oLEyiM

Once again Riot has turned the opening ceremonies of the League of Legends World Championship final into a technological showcase. This year at Pudong Football Stadium in Shanghai, the ceremony was split into a few different parts: it opened with virtual K-pop group K/DA performed via augmented reality, which was followed by a melody of anthems from past Worlds events. At the end, as the players were introduced, a virtual, towering version of League character Galio — known as the stone colossus — appeared on stage. While the event wasn’t as visually impressive as last year’s holographic showcase , it was still an impressive feat considering the restraints created by the ongoing pandemic. The main cast of performers were virtual, but they... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3mIJkvR

The Acer Swift 3X is one of the first laptops to include Intel’s new GPU. | Photo by Monica Chin / The Verge Earlier this month , the public got its first glimpse of Iris Xe Max, Intel’s new discrete GPU for thin-and-light laptops, at an Acer press event. Today, Intel revealed the full first wave of laptops that will include this GPU, some of which are available for purchase now in certain countries. The laptops include the Acer Swift 3X, the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 2-in-1, and the Asus VivoBook Flip TP470. The Inspiron 15 is available in the US at Best Buy ; Acer has previously said to expect the 3X in the US in December. Both the Swift 3X and the Inspiron 15 are also available in China through JD.com . Intel says the Asus VivoBook is coming “shortly” to both the US and China. Photo by Monica Chin / The Verge Intel... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3mRXiM3

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge A jury in Texas has ruled that Apple has to pay VirnetX $502.8 million in royalties for VPN on Demand, a feature that lets iOS users access a VPN connection, Bloomberg reported . The two companies have been involved in a legal battle for ten years, with VirnetX— sometimes referred to as a patent troll — arguing that Apple’s VPN on Demand and FaceTime use its technology. Apple said in a statement it plans to appeal the decision: “This case has been going on for over a decade, with patents that are unrelated to the core operations of our products and have been found to be invalid by the patent office. Cases like this only serve to stifle innovation and harm consumers.” Earlier this year, a US appeals court rejected Apple’s request to... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/31XXtNA

Intel launched their Iris Xe MAX discrete graphics chip for thin and light notebooks and they already have a few SKUs on the market with Acer (uses Intel 11th Gen Tiger Lake Core processors along with Intel Xe Iris MAX Graphics) and more partners are expected to launch their Intel Iris Xe MAX powered notebooks in the weeks to come. Unveiled at the Intel Architecture Day 2020, the Xe-LP microarchitecture was designed for low-power applications with focus on media decode, casual gaming and accelerating AI features in compatible applications. Intel’s Iris MAX Xe will compete with the likes of NVIDIA’s MX-class Discrete GPUs (ex. MX350) and AMD’s RX Vega 8 Integrated GPUs. Key features of the Intel Iris Xe MAX discrete graphics chip include PCIe Gen 4.0 support and Intel Deep Link. The latter allows dynamic power sharing between the Intel CPU and Intel GPU, and can leverage the media encoders in both silicon to work in tandem to accelerate certain workloads. “We set out to redefine the r

Photo credit should read CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images Lately, I’ve been thinking about pandemic safety and Swiss cheese. It’s an uninspiring cheese, but it’s a good visual metaphor for a layered approach to infection control. This ‘Swiss Cheese Model’ has been around since at least the 1990’ s, when it was proposed as a way of thinking about how accidents happen. During the pandemic, it’s been pressed into a different kind of service, used to visualize disease prevention instead of accidents. In a pandemic as widespread as this one, no single action can keep a person from getting sick. There will always be flaws (holes) in any approach. Washing your hands won’t keep you from breathing in the virus — and wearing a cloth mask won’t completely protect you if you’re stuck in a stuffy room with... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/34HaLzY

One of the countless impacts of the coronavirus pandemic is that it halted the NYC Department of Sanitation’s recycling program that picks up your e-waste by appointment. The program is still paused, and it isn’t set to resume its normal cadence of accepting e-waste at drop-off sites until at least June 2021. Thankfully, you have a few short-term options if you need to get rid of some tech in the coming weeks. Earlier in the pandemic, the Lower East Side (LES) Ecology Center drop-off site near the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn permanently shut its doors. It was one of the few drop-off sites in New York City that accepted and recycled e-waste, diverting 1 million pounds of e-waste from landfills in 2018, according to Christine Datz-Romero,... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/2HTrU05

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google is introducing custom backgrounds for its Meet videoconferencing platform, the company announced in a blog post . If you use Meet in Google’s Chrome browser you should be able to access the feature in Chrome OS as well as on Windows and Mac laptops and desktops. The feature is “coming soon” to mobile, Google says. There’s no browser extension needed to activate custom backgrounds; you should be able to add a background image from your own photo collection or from a library of images provided by Google that includes landscapes, abstract art and (for some reason) offices. Google Google Meet custom backgrounds It may take up to a week before all Google Meet users can access the new custom background... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3jLKnJx

Sean Connery, the Scottish actor who brought James Bond to the silver screen as part of a four-decade career, has died at 90, the BBC reported . Connery played Ian Fleming’s 007 spy in seven films, starting with Dr. No in 1962, a role he got without taking a screen test, according to Variety . He reprised the role in From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds are Forever, and Never Say Never Again. Connery died in his sleep in the Bahamas, according to the BBC, and had been in poor health for some time. Over the course of his prolific career, Connery won an Oscar— Best Supporting Actor for the 1987 film The Untouchables — and three Golden Globe awards. His filmography also includes star turns in The Man... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3oMmx3M

Ruined King: A League of Legends Story , the upcoming single-player League of Legends spinoff that will see the franchise debut on consoles for the first time, has released its first (albeit, vague) bits of information. It’ll launch sometime in “early 2021” on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Steam, and the Epic Games Store at launch, with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X / S versions set to follow shortly after. (PS4 and Xbox One players will be able to upgrade for free.) Along with news of a release window, Riot Forge also announced some additional details on what Ruined King will actually be: a single-player, turn-based RPG set in the Bilgewater and Shadow Isles regions of Runeterra (the planet on which League of Legends is... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3ef3yu2

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Saturday is your last chance to get in on Best Buy’s multi-day sale , but don’t worry if you miss out. Black Friday is a few weeks away, and this year, retailers are offering very good sale prices almost every day. Wherever those deals come from, we’ll be putting them in deal posts for you to check out. What follows are the best deals that have made the rounds on The Verge earlier this week, as well as some new inclusions we think you’ll enjoy. Sony’s WH-1000XM4 wireless noise-canceling headphones come recommended if you want a comfy over-ear model with excellent sound quality and long-lasting battery life. Normally $350, they’re down to $278. This matches the lowest price yet. There are some big discounts happening on LG and Vizio OLED... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/321u8ln

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Woot is selling a batch of refurbished Pixelbook Go laptops starting at $530 for the base model with an Intel Core m3 processor, 64GB of storage and an FHD touchscreen display (usually $650 new), going up to $790 for the Core i7 model with 256GB of storage and 16GB of RAM. These have a 90-day warranty through Woot with the option available to extend coverage by a year with a SquareTrade protection plan. And despite not being retail units, the seller says they will receive software updates through Google through June 2026. Woot doesn’t make claims about their physical condition, which it usually does for refurbished products. As far as discounts go, the prices are good, though that isn’t the most interesting thing about these Chromebooks.... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/320FW7p

Custom backgrounds on Zoom is how most people working from home is going places in 2020, and the feature is finally coming to Google Meet. Desktop users on Windows, Mac and Chrome OS can apply a custom background to their video feed on Google Meet. There’s no need for an additional extension or software to apply the feature. It’s now built-in to the desktop version of Google Meet. You can choose from a library of images or use your own. There’s photos of landscapes, office spaces to get over your FOMO. The feature will only be available to desktop users, for now. Google said mobile support is coming soon. Google also said it would take around seven days for most users to start seeing the feature on their Google Meet desktop app. The feature is rolling out on a staged manner. Custom backgrounds is a widely used feature on Zoom, and was bound to make its way to other video conferencing apps. It’s also available on Microsoft Teams. Confused about how to use Google Meet? Check out our

Qualcomm has confirmed it will hosting the annual Snapdragon Summit from December 1, but this time in a virtual avatar due to the COVID-19 pandemic where the company is highly anticipated to launch the successor to the Snapdragon 865, likely called the Snapdragon 875.  And before its official launch, we may already have an idea of how powerful the next-gen flagship really is. The AnTuTu score of the Snapdragon 875 has leaked out online, showing a 25% jump in performance, than the previous generation. According to the leak, the Snapdragon 875 (codenamed Lahaina) has scored a whopping 847868, which is claimed to be around 25% more than the AnTuTu score of the Snapdragon 865+. However, the leak comes from an unverified Twitter leakster, and we suggest taking this information with a pinch of salt. While it’s not clear yet how small or densely packed, the scores indicate the Snapdragon 875 would mark a big leap in raw performance. Both Apple and Huawei embraced 5nm architecture in the ch

Activision has confirmed that Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will require up to 250GB of storage space at launch on PC. This is for the gamers who will be running the game in 4K with ray-tracing enabled. For the standard non ray-tracing, the game will require 175GB for the offline story mode and 50GB only for the multiplayer mode. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will feature 4K visuals, uncapped frame rates, Ray Tracing Shadows, NVIDIA DLSS, and Reflex Technology. It is possible that Black Ops Cold War could be a lot closer to its PC size on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, as the consoles will be able to harness the power of new ray-tracing enabled GPUs with resolution up to 4k. Sony has said PlayStation 5 will offer players more flexibility on how they manage their storage on the console, enabling users able to configure installations and choose to install just a game’s multiplayer or delete the single-player campaign once completed. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will be re

If you are a OnePlus 7T or 7T Pro user and like testing out new features on your smartphone, then there is good news for you. The Oxygen OS Open Beta 9 is now live for OnePlus 7T and OnePlus 7T Pro users. So, what’s new in this Beta? It brings with it improved system stability and fixed general issues, updated Android Security Patch to 2020.10. The update also fixes the flashback issue when switched to the front camera in particular cases.  On its official blog, OnePlus says, “Please keep in mind that this is beta software. These builds are sometimes not as stable as our official OTAs generally are. By installing this update, you accept the potential risks. For those who were on previous versions for OnePlus 7T and OnePlus 7T Pro, we appreciate your active feedback and for reaching out to us. With your help, we have been able to better optimize and improve several key areas. Thank you for your patience and as always, we look forward to getting your continued feedback via the Community

Animation: Andre Zimmermann Everyone focuses on what’s blowing up on TikTok, but here’s something that’s been getting a bit of attention over on Byte: some playful little skeletons. Over the past month, designer Andre Zimmermann has been posting short looping clips of meddlesome skeletons getting into low-stakes hijinks, like running off with food from a table or knocking a plant off a ledge . “They sort of became these jerks,” Zimmermann said. “Like a cat.” They’re the furthest thing from spooky, but their mischievous antics feel a bit more comforting during what’s already a high-stress Halloween. Your browser does not support HTML5 video. My favorite of Zimmermann’s not-quite-spooky animations shows a humanoid collection of skulls dancing to a looping disco track .... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/31W8izW

The iPhones are quite expensive in India and if something goes wrong with the device outside of the warranty, one usually resorted to getting their devices fixed by third-party repair shops. It looks like this may be difficult for iPhone 12 users. iFixit has discovered that replacing the camera module of the iPhone 12 causes some issues. It's not just a simple error screen that one gets. However, it looks like the same problem does not affect the iPhone 12 Pro.  As reported by GSMarena, “iFixit explains that Apple has changed its training manuals. Starting with the iPhone 12 series, changing the display and camera requires the use of the System Configuration tool, which will connect to Apple’s servers before reprogramming the new component to work properly.”  During the era of the iPhone 5s, one could only fix the fingerprint sensor on the iPhone via an authorised Apple repair. This made sense as the fingerprint sensor is vital for security. You can check out the iPhone 12 camera

You’ll have to wait a bit longer for Panic’s odd little handheld: In an update published today , the company announced that Playdate will slip from its original 2020 window and now ship in early 2021. The device is the software developer’s first piece of physical hardware, a handheld with a unique crank alongside traditional buttons for controlling the device. Teenage Engineering co-designed the Playdate and it bears many of the company’s minimalistic touches in a bright, playful yellow. Image: Panic Playdate with final packaging. Panic announced in March that its staff was moving to work from home and that the Malaysian factory producing the Playdate had temporarily shut down. The company says adapting to... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/34HYn2q

Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid The New York Post is back on Twitter, after Twitter updated its policy on policy changes. This story is going to be confusing, but not as confusing as Twitter’s attempts at moderation. To recap: On October 14th, The New York Post published a ( contested and possibly part of a disinformation campaign , though this is absolutely not the point I am here to tell you about) story about Hunter Biden , the son of presidential candidate Joe Biden. Very little of the contents of the Post story are pertinent to the discussion we are about to have, except this: some of the materials in it, Twitter alleges, seem to be the result of hacking. Got all that so far? Great, there’s more Twitter suspended The New York Post’s account... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/35SAc0P

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Today, exactly one year after Apple first launched the AirPods Pro — and thus the same day the very first AirPods Pro owners will see their one-year warranties expire — Apple has launched a repair program that offers free repairs or replacements for another whole year if your AirPods Pro experience issues with noise cancellation or static. Specifically, Apple will fix: Crackling or static sounds that increase in loud environments, with exercise or while talking on the phone Active Noise Cancellation not working as expected, such as a loss of bass sound, or an increase in background sounds, such as street or airplane noise Apple says only a “small percentage of AirPods Pro” are affected by the issues, but it apparently wasn’t just an... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3kLoFq7

Crunchyroll has 70 million free members and some 3 million paying subscribers. | Image: Crunchyroll Sony is close to finalizing a deal to buy US-based anime streaming service Crunchyroll for nearly $1 billion, according to a report from Nikkei Asia . Nikkei says Sony negotiated exclusive rights to bid for the streaming service and its 3 million paying subscribers earlier this year, and the two companies have now “entered into final negotiations.” Although an asking price is unclear, Nikkei notes that Sony could end up spending “more than 100 billion yen” on the company — around $957 million. Crunchyroll is owned by US telecoms giant AT&T, which has reportedly been looking to offload the streaming service for a while. AT&T is keen to minimize its significant debt load, which totals more than $150 billion . According to a report from The... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/35O4Isz

It’s time to fix a fragile, vital system Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/31RUFld

Laci Mosley’s podcast celebrates the art of the grift Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3oFc0Yj

A good set of headphones is key for boosting immersion in a VR game. I didn’t realize that a nice pair of shoes could amplify it even further. Not just any shoes, mind you. I’ve been testing out DropLabs’ $300 EP-01 , a pair of Yeezy-inspired shoes with bass-rattling speakers embedded in their soles. When they’re really bumping, it feels like what I imagine it’d be like to stand on a concert PA while it pushes out sound. You can tune the intensity of the bass via an iOS or Android app, which you’ll need to use anyway to initialize the shoes. Have you ever initialized shoes? DropLabs intends for the EP-01 to be worn in everyday life, wirelessly providing the beat to whatever music you’re listening to in your headphones. They’re certainly... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3jOiG2Q

Photo by Francois Duhamel / Lucasfilm Ltd. If you haven’t opened your Disney Plus app since The Mandalorian ended in December 2019, you’re not alone. It wasn’t long after The Mandalorian ’s first season ended that op-eds and tweetstorms started to appear decrying Disney Plus as an empty wasteland . Sure, The Simpsons was available to stream, but when it came to opening the app daily trying to find something new to watch, many people (without kids begging to watch Frozen 2 over and over again) weren’t impressed. Data from third-party firms, including Reelgood and 7Park Data, shows that while The Mandalorian was a guaranteed hit, Disney Plus has dwindled in interest since January. The streamer has also failed to continuously crack Nielsen’s Top 10 weekly streaming rankings in the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3e8HH7s

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Apple AirPods are among the most popular headphones on the market. They’re compact, easy to pair with your devices, and they offer reliable connectivity, which can sometimes be a problem with truly wireless earphones. So there’s a chance that you might be looking for a deal on them. Surprisingly, they’re no stranger to the occasional price cut. There are commonly discounts on even the more expensive AirPods Pro, which offer noise cancellation and better sound than the standard second-generation model. We’ll run through all three of the current models below, including the second-generation AirPods, the more expensive second-generation AirPods that include a wireless charging case, and finally, the AirPods Pro. AirPods deals You can... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3dQLg0t

Activision has revealed the full PC specifications for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War , and the storage requirements are hefty. If you’re planning to play the game in 4K with ultra settings enabled and ray tracing, you’ll need to free up 250GB of space. That’s the top end of the specs, but anything else still requires 175GB of space. That’s a lot of storage, and for some, it could take up an entire 250GB SSD or get very close to it. Thankfully, if you’re only planning to play the multiplayer mode, then the space requirement drops to just 50GB. Aside from storage requirements, Activision is also recommending Nvidia’s latest RTX 3080 graphics card for 4K ultra settings and ray tracing or the RTX 3070 for ray tracing in... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/35OkXpr

Your iPhone got a new button last month, and you may not have even noticed. No, Apple didn’t sneak into your house and secretly superglue a button onto your smartphone. But it did release iOS 14, the latest version of its iPhone software, which includes a feature called Back Tap. Back Tap adds a fascinating new “button” to your phone that blurs the line between hardware and software. Back Tap turns the entire back of your iPhone into a giant touch-sensitive button that you can double or triple tap to trigger specific functions on your phone. There’s a good chance that you haven’t noticed it yet. Apple slipped the settings for Back Tap into its Accessibility menu. Its intended purpose is to give users more options for... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/34Hexte

Vivo V20 SE could launch on November 2 in India, according to the latest report. The V20 SE has been teased online alongside the V20 Pro and the phones are slated to launch in India soon. The Vivo V20 was announced in India on October 13 after which the company started teasing the V20 SE and V20 Pro. Both the phones have already made their global debut in September. According to a report by 91Mobiles that cites “industry sources”, the Vivo V20 SE could launch on November 2 in India and is already up for pre-booking in the offline market. Earlier this week, the price of the V20 SE was leaked through retail listings on Reliance Digital and Croma. While Vivo has not revealed the exact launch date yet, the company website has gone live with a dedicated page for the launch of the V20 SE that teases some of its features. Moreover, Nipun Marya, Director, Brand Strategy at Vivo has also teased the launch of the phone soon. Adding one more feather to our innovation cap. #ComingSoon #vivoV20SE

LG’s K92 5G is one of the cheapest ways to get 5G access in the US. | Image: LG Smartphones with 5G access are getting cheaper and cheaper, and the latest mid-range handset from LG is one of the most affordable yet : the new K92 5G is priced from just $359, and offers 5G access for three US carriers: AT&T, Cricket Wireless, and UScellular. Apart from this, it looks like a pretty average device, with a 6.7-inch 1080p display, 4,000 mAh battery, 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of internal storage — all powered by Qualcomm’s mid-range (but 5G capable) Snapdragon 690 chipset. That’s the same 690 used in OnePlus’ recently-announced Nord N10 5G , which costs around $400 in European markets and is also 5G capable. (OnePlus hasn’t said when the Nord N10 5G will be coming to the US though, but notes it’ll be available “at a later... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/2TC8dg5

OnePlus 8T Cyberpunk 2077 special edition is confirmed to launch on November 2 in China. OnePlus has been teasing this special edition of its latest flagship smartphone from quite some time now and earlier today revealed the official launch date of the phone. OnePlus has collaborated with CD Projekt Red for the Cyberpunk 2077 that has been now delayed by 21 days and will now release on December 10. According to a post shared by OnePlus on Weibo, the OnePlus 8T Cyberpunk 2077 special edition is expected to feature a redesigned camera module along with red accents along the frame. The camera module seems to have increased in size and has “2077” imprinted on it. The phone could also have a revamped back panel to match with the game’s theme but apart from we don’t expect any major hardware changes.  As of now, the OnePlus 8T Cyberpunk 2077 special edition is set to make its debut in China on November 2 at 2 PM, but there’s no word of the phone making it to other regions anytime soon. Ha

A new e-bike company wants to bring bicycle manufacturing back to Europe Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/2JkRhc9

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” option, which currently enables Autopilot features like changing lanes on highways and automatic car parking, now costs $10,000, or $2,000 more than before. The price rise only covers the US for now, where the company’s Full Self-Driving functionality has just launched in limited beta , allowing Autopilot’s advanced driver-assist features to be used on local roads as well. Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the price increase in a tweet last week in response to the launch of the Full Self-Driving beta to a select group of customers. At the time, he said similar price increases would come to other markets with the beta. Musk has said he expects Full Self-Driving to see a “wide release” before the end of the year. ... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3jEHji3

SmartThings Find uses maps and augmented reality features to help people track down their missing gear. | Image: Samsung Samsung is rolling out a service to help Galaxy gadget owners find their gear when it goes missing. Called SmartThings Find , the feature extends the capabilities of Samsung’s Find My Mobile app by letting users locate not only their Samsung smartphones, but also any Galaxy brand tablets, smartwatches, and earbuds they also own. SmartThings Find previously launched as a trial in the US, UK, and South Korea last month , but Samsung says the feature is now “ready for a global launch” (while also noting that access “may vary by market and carrier”). Those uncertainties aside, we know SmartThings Find uses a combination Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and ultra-wideband (UWB) services to locate devices, and is available on hardware running... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3mC3nfq

Since its launch back on April 2, Aarogya Setu, India’s contact tracing app for COVID-19 has been marred in controversy over its data collecting methods. There have been several concerns raised in the past over the kind of access the government has over citizen’s data collected by the app. As India’s Data Protection Bill is still being analysed by a government committee, there’s no law to safeguard that data. However, shortly after launching the Aarogya Setu app for Android and iOS smartphones, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) issued the Aarogya Setu Data Access and Knowledge Sharing Protocol 2020 on May 11. These are essentially set of rules and security measures that the app must follow to safeguard user’s data from potential misuse. RTI responses reveal government’s lacklustre approach to Aarogya Setu data Now, as per an exclusive report by Saurav Das, an independent journalist and activist, the Indian government has failed to deploy the said security

If you thought “techtober” was over, then we say think again. The madness for the world of tech may be slowing down, but it is just getting started for the world of gaming. Microsoft is launching the Xbox Series S/X globally on November 10, including India, and you can learn about the India price and availability here. Sony is launching the PS5 in the US on November 12 and globally on the 19th but there is no information on an India launch. You can check out the India price of the PS5 here.  In addition to the launch of the consoles, there are also the games that will release. November is filled with games launching on all the consoles, be it the current-gen or the next-gen. While Cyberpunk 2077 has been delayed, there are still a lot of games worth considering. Some games are also offering a free upgrade to their next-gen version. Here is a look at 10 games we think you deserve to spend your hard-earned money on.   Dirt 5 Release Date: 6 November 2020 Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X

The Oculus Quest 2 (right) next to the original model. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The new Oculus Quest 2 VR headset was preordered more than five times as much as last year’s original model , Mark Zuckerberg confirmed on Facebook’s earnings call. Zuckerberg characterized the launch of the Quest 2 as the company taking “major steps forward in building the next computing platform.” “I’ve been very impressed and excited by the progress that our teams have made on this,” Zuckerberg said on the call. “I think that the new Quest 2 product is extraordinary. I love using it. And I’m really proud of the work that we’ve done there.” It’s not really surprising that there’d be pent-up demand for the Quest 2. The improved standalone headset is shipping with a starting price of $299 — that’s $100 less than the previous model, which... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/2HDWsUc

Indian users will have to bid a tearful farewell to PUBG Mobile from October 30 onwards. In a post on its official Indian Facebook account, it was announced that Tencent Games will terminate all services and access for users in India to PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite. On top of this, the rights to publish the game in India will be returned to “the owner of the PUBG intellectual property,” namely, PUBG Corp.  The post also emphasizes that protecting user data has always been a “top priority” for the game. It also notes that the developers always complied with applicable data protection laws and regulations in India. It further noted that all users’ gameplay information was processed transparently and the same was disclosed in its privacy policy. It ends the post by saying that it deeply regrets the outcome, but thanks the love and support it got for the game in India.  The point about returning the rights to publish PUBG Mobile in India to PUBG Corp is in line with an earlier state

The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro are going on sale in India starting today, with the iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max going on sale later in November. The smartphones announced earlier in October, can be purchased from the online Apple Store, and from authorised retailers across the country. Interestingly, the new iPhones are yet to be made available on both Flipkart and Amazon. iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro price in India The pricing, like always, is a little higher in India as compared to the prices in other regions. But launch offers on the new smartphones does help sweeten the deal. The iPhone 12 with 64GB storage is priced at Rs 79,900 while the 128GB variant costs Rs 84,900. Similarly, the 256GB iPhone 12 costs Rs 94,900. As for the iPhone 12 Pro, the smartphone now starts with 128GB base storage, and is priced at Rs 1,19,900 while the 256GB variant is priced at Rs 1,29,900 and the 512GB variant will retail at Rs 1,49,900. The iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max will go on sale

If you were moaning about having to shell out Rs 799 for a premium Netflix plan, there could be some bad news on the horizon for all you pocket pinchers. Netflix is now raising the prices of both the standard and premium plans in the US and since Netflix doesn’t really follow differential pricing for other markets, we’re assuming that prices in India could rise as well. Remember, this is all speculation at this point as Netflix has not made an official announcement regarding raising prices in other markets.  The Netflix Standard plan has been raised from $13 a month to $14 a month. The Premium plan is going from $16 a month up to $18 a month. The Basic plan stays the same at $9 a month. In India, the Standard plan costs Rs 649 a month while the Premium plan costs Rs 799 a month. With this increase in the US pricing of these plans, the assumption is that we could see a Rs 100 rise in the both Standard and Premium plans, which would put them at about Rs 749 for the standard plan and Rs

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Samsung is back on top as the world’s biggest smartphone vendor one quarter after losing its spot to Huawei, according to reports from IDC , Counterpoint , and Canalys . The news comes just as Samsung posted its highest quarterly revenue figures ever , which the company said was helped by a boost in demand for smartphones. Huawei became the number one vendor for the first time three months ago , benefiting from strong sales in China while much of the rest of the world was operating under constrained retail conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But Huawei’s shipments fell 7 percent quarter-on-quarter and 24 percent year-on-year, according to Counterpoint, while Samsung’s shipments increased by 47 percent over the last quarter. Xiaomi was... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3e7c12t