Saturday, January 11, 2020

Apple : Vikings vs 49ers live stream: how to watch NFL Divisional Round 2020 playoffs football from anywhere

Apple : Vikings vs 49ers live stream: how to watch NFL Divisional Round 2020 playoffs football from anywhere

Vikings vs 49ers live stream: how to watch NFL Divisional Round 2020 playoffs football from anywhere

Posted: 11 Jan 2020 01:02 PM PST

The divisional round of the 2020 NFL Playoffs has arrived and today you’ll get to see the Minnesota Vikings go up against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. We’re here to make sure you catch every minute of today’s game - see how to get a Vikings vs 49ers live stream regardless of where in the world you are and it’s even free to watch in the US thanks to a simple stream.

This is a game you won’t want to miss as it will be the first time these two teams have played each other since their meeting in week 1 of the 2018 season.

Last Sunday, the Vikings surprised everyone when they defeated the Saints 26-20 during Wild Card weekend thanks to two field goals from place kicker Dan Bailey and two touchdowns from running back Dalvin Cook. However, it was an overtime touchdown from tight end Kyle Rudolph that led the team to victory. The Vikings are the underdog in today’s game against the 49ers and this is a much different team than they faced last season. Can the Vikings repeat last week’s success to win against the 49ers in the Divisional Round?

San Francisco is the No. 1 seed in the NFC and the team finished the regular season 13-3. The 49ers will be playing their first ever playoff game at Levi’s Stadium today as the team earned a first round bye in the playoffs after winning the NFC West. San Francisco will likely be looking to show Minnesota just how different of a team they have become since losing 16-24 to the Vikings during their only meeting last season. Will the 49ers be able to win their first playoff game at home and advance to the Conference Championships and possibly Super Bowl 2020?

Whether you’re a Vikings fan in Minnesota, a 49ers fan in San Francisco or just want to tune in to see who will win the Divisional Round in this year’s playoffs - we’ll show you how to get a Vikings vs 49ers live stream regardless of where in the world you are so you don’t miss a single touchdown.

Watch the Vikings vs 49ers game online from outside your country (or in a blackout)

Watching this game from the US, UK, Canada or Australia? We'll tell you how to catch the NFL game further down in the article.

But if you're somewhere else in the world - or if a coverage blackout is stopping you from watching in the US - then there's still a way you can live stream the Vikings vs 49ers online (and you don't even have to slum it with a grainy, illegal feed you've found on Reddit). Instead you could use a VPN - or Virtual Private Network - to change the IP address to one in a different state or country which does have a stream. And it's not even hard to do.

How to watch the Vikings vs 49ers in the US for free

Can I watch with the NFL Game Pass?

Well it's a no and a yes. The NFL Game Pass in the US will only let you watch a replay of the game, but not the live action.

Interestingly, it's a different story with an International NFL Game Pass where all post season games are being shown absolutely live...shame you can't officially get access to that if you and your laptop's IP address is in the US.

Other ways cord cutters can stream NFL live online

Sling TV $40 per month - Sling TV splits its live NFL options across its $30 a month Blue plan and $30 a month Orange plan. By combining the two, you get a $10 dollar discount and access to Fox, NBC, ESPN and the NFL Network.  

Hulu with Live TV $40 per month - Hulu with Live TV includes CBS, Fox, NBC and ESPN but does not come with NFL Network.

FuboTV $35 for the first month - FuboTV gives you the first month at a discounted rate but after that the price increases to $45 a month. The service includes CBS, Fox, NBC and the NFL Network but does not come with ESPN.

DirecTV Now $50 per month - DirecTV Now includes CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN and for $5 extra you can add the NFL Network. However, with this service you can only watch football on local TV stations live.

YouTubeTV $40 per month - YouTubeTV gives you access to CBS, Fox, NBC and ESPN but just like with Hulu with Live TV, there is no NFL Network.

How to stream 49ers vs Vikings live in the UK

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Get a NFL Divisional Round live stream in Canada for free

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Live stream Vikings vs 49ers in Australia for free

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The Witcher on Netflix now has an interactive map, and it's amazing

Posted: 11 Jan 2020 11:10 AM PST

First there was an official Witcher timeline, and now there's an impressive interactive map that breaks down the key events in the Netflix series' universe - including those that took place before the show even started. Just head here and you can check it out for yourself (thanks AV Club). 

The map details when the first witcher was created, and even when beasts and humans first came to the continent's setting as part of the Conjunction of the Spheres event. It's brought to life by various visual effects, like snow and rain. It's even got a search function so you can find parts of the lore you're curious about.

If you scroll right to the end, you get the message "Va'esse deireadh aep eigean, va'esse eigh faid'har." Fans of the games might recognize this, as it roughly translates to 'Something Ends, Something Begins' (thanks Reddit). 

Generally, if you enjoy browsing fantasy maps at the start of your favorite paperbacks or you're a fan of The Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski, you'll probably like this. 

What's next for The Witcher?

The Witcher has already been renewed for season 2, and it's not a surprise. This fantasy show is a treat, elevated significantly by Henry Cavill's star power as monster hunter Geralt of Rivia. In case you haven't seen it all yet, we won't spoil the ending, but we walked away with a very clear idea of what's going to happen next with Geralt and Ciri (Freya Allan). 

You can stream the first eight episodes of The Witcher on Netflix now.

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New Pokémon and Trade Evolution come to Pokémon Go

Posted: 11 Jan 2020 10:15 AM PST

Pokémon Go is getting off to a strong start in 2020 with a big update that introduces new Pokémon as well as a new mechanic: Trade Evolution. 

Although it’s just being introduced to Pokémon Go, Trade Evolution is already a fairly established mechanic in the mainline Pokémon games. Essentially, it means that trading eligible Pokémon will reduce the amount of Candy needed to evolve them. 

This is a pretty great mechanic to take advantage of if you still haven’t been able to collect the large amount of Candy required to evolve Pokémon like Machoke and Haunter. 

No candy required

The number of Pokémon that benefit from Trade Evolution in Go isn’t expansive but at the moment it includes Kadabra, Machoke, Graveler, and Haunter as well as some of the new Unova additions Boldore, Gurdurr, Karrablast, and Shelmet. If you’ve previously received any of the eligible Pokémon through a trade prior to this update don’t worry; they retroactively qualify. 

Speaking of new Unova Pokémon, there’s a large number of the Generation 5 locals coming to the game. Now players will have the chance to encounter and catch Unova favorites like Boldore, Roggenrola, Rumple, Karrablast, Dwebble, Joltik, Shelmet and Trubbish in the wild. Others, like Venipede, Temple, Tirtouga, Archen and Axew will hatch from eggs, while Timburr will be appearing in one star Raids. 

Some other new Pokémon in the game will be region exclusive. Players in North America, South America, and Africa will now be able to encounter the red fighting-type Pokémon Throh, as well as hatch it from 10 km eggs. Players in Europe, Asia, and Australia, on the other hand, will get Throh’s blue counterpart Sawk. 

In addition, those living in the Southern United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America will see grass-type Maractus begin to appear. Egypt and Greece, meanwhile, will see the Psychic Flying-type Sigilyph.

The final and least significant divide is between the Eastern and Western hemispheres, the former of which is getting the red-striped form of the water Pokémon Basculin, while the latter gets the blue-striped form. 

After a stellar 2019, according to Sensor Tower, Niantic and Pokémon Go show no signs of slowing down in 2020.

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What is AWS CloudFormation?

Posted: 11 Jan 2020 09:39 AM PST

The sinews and muscles that make cloud computing function are just as important as the web and mobile applications that run on top of it. While many companies are focused on the features available in the apps, increasing user adoption of an app, or focusing on revenue generated from a service that runs on the web, there is also the underlying infrastructure that makes those app work reliably and at a high-performance level. For the most part, a cloud computing service provider like Amazon (with AWS or Amazon Web Services) insulates developers, data scientists, and business owners from the complexity of the infrastructure.

Yet, there is also a great opportunity to tweak that cloud infrastructure in ways that help your company, the web and mobile apps you run, and your customers. The concept of “Infrastructure as Code” emerged a few years ago as a way to help companies manage all of the disparate services that run in the cloud. Previously, they may have used scripts or other tools to manage their IT infrastructure, but those tools were often hard to use and complex. It’s exacerbated further when your staff needs to manage provisioning, version control, and other variables.

While we like to think of cloud infrastructure as running independent of the apps and services we need to deploy, there are opportunities to provision services so that they all work together seamlessly, and to take advantage of new Amazon services. It means even more control over how the infrastructure runs and what you can do with your apps that run on top of it.

AWS CloudFormation, as the name implies, is a way to “form the cloud” -- meaning, it allows companies to manage and control the application stacks and resources needed for your web and mobile applications. It provides access to infrastructure components at your disposal and allows you to manage them all from one central command-line interface.

An example of what you can do: for those who are new to cloud computing, AWS CloudFormation uses templates to make the process easier (essentially, it’s a JSON or JavaScript Object Notation file you can use to track and manage resources). With templates, you can define and track all of the AWS resources you need. It takes the guesswork out of the infrastructure management part of cloud computing. Pre-defined templates make this even easier, providing access to the most used resources in a way that is ready to deploy.

Once you have selected a template (either as a JSON file or a pre-determined template) you then upload that configuration file to CloudFormation. The “infrastructure as code” concept comes into play here because you are using a piece of code (the JavaScript Object Notation file) to manage and control all of the resources, including the application stack, storage, servers, memory, and any other variables you need for your applications.

Benefits of AWS CloudFormation

As you can imagine, using AWS CloudFormation means there is one primary method of controlling the infrastructure rather than a disparate set of parameters and controls. Once you configure the template and upload it, running the infrastructure the way you want it to run is a simple matter of “running that code” in the cloud. The single template or a series of templates you create becomes the one way you manage the AWS infrastructure.

Because of this one command center approach, it is also easier to replicate and deploy another infrastructure for additional application stacks using the same template. This also makes it easier to deploy an infrastructure for testing and development purposes. This provides more flexibility in how you develop and test business apps, and how you stress test and add additional services for your infrastructure without the confusion of having multiple points of configuration.

Because of this flexibility in how you control and manage the infrastructure, the CloudFormation templates have exactly the same benefits as a normal piece of software code. This includes version control for those templates, the ability to author the templates in a programming language just as you would any other app, and also to work together as a team to analyze the application stack, AWS resources, and performance variables as needed.

Another benefit to managing your infrastructure in this way is that you automate the entire process. Once your templates are all configured and ready to deploy, and your team has worked together to tweak all of the settings, deploying the template is incredibly easy -- it is just a matter of uploading that template and deploying it within CloudFormation.

One additional benefit, as is usually the case with any cloud infrastructure process, is that you can scale up easily with increased demand or when you need to deploy more apps to a larger group of users. You can replicate the templates in CloudFormation and launch an entirely new infrastructure with new applications without reinventing the wheel.

 

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The dangers of IoT and AI

Posted: 11 Jan 2020 09:29 AM PST

The risks of cybersecurity are more complex than ever. Due to the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), by 2020 every person will generate 1.7 megabytes of information per second. As new technologies evolve, cyber criminals adapt and discover new hacking methods to apprehend sensitive data. AI and IoT have the potential to revolutionise society, but what happens when these new technologies are weaponized by cyber criminals? 

Unless hardware-based endpoint security solutions are implemented in IoT and AI devices, users leave themselves vulnerable to cyberattacks. Anyone in control of one or more of these devices can access a huge number of computers and networks. Banks, governments, the healthcare industry and even private homes are major risk fields, and cybercriminals are very much aware that the more devices that are interlinked, the more data there is that can be compromised.

AI was created to use machine learning (ML) to go beyond the capabilities of a human and see patterns that humans cannot perceive. It is also able to evolve to realize patterns that humans haven’t even programmed them to process. Looking at data in completely new ways opens up so many possibilities but consequently it also opens the door to numerous risks because the dangers of cybersecurity are not properly considered when manufacturing IoT and AI devices.

Financial institutions

Mobile devices, payment cards and payment information are all being made available to platforms (such as Google) and automated devices (like Amazon’s Alexa) that can be used to buy your groceries in the age of smart homes. The appeal of having this information stored on these platforms and devices is the convenience it brings to everyday life; however, the reality is that a lot of people do not really know what is happening to their data. How much can we really have faith in these devices? For manufacturers, the main focus with these devices is customer experience and usability, and as a result, it is not clear how much technology is being focused on securing these devices to protect the people that are using them and their data.

Furthermore, mobile banking apps that are provided by financial institutions learn people’s patterns such as when and where they purchase items. They also have the ability to detect patterns outside your standard weekly operations and use this to create data profiles of an individual person. Banking apps often have much more security than other IoT and AI devices and have built-in fraud alerts, but there is so much data available that there is an incentive for third parties to dedicate time and effort to attempt to gain access and manipulate this data and by extension, banking networks and financial institutions.

Healthcare

With technology in the healthcare industry, the risks are concentrated on a much more individual level. A lot of devices are embedded-type devices that can be found in or on the human body, such as pacemakers or transfusion devices. Despite the intelligent healthcare technology that these devices provide, they are at risk of malware as a result of the low-level cybersecurity that is installed on them. This means that the data stored is vulnerable to being read by a third party and being pulled from the devices. To prevent this, devices need to have a level of trust built into them so that people can prevent intrusion and unauthorized access, which ultimately could result in a life or death situation such as, where a hacker could access a pacemaker and deactivate it or deliberately cause it to malfunction.

Smart homes

Smart homes are bringing more technology to items that a few decades ago would have seemed impossible or absurd: fridges, kettles, lightbulbs, doorbells and so much more! As with online banking, the appeal is to make everyday life operate more smoothly and allow individuals to focus their attention elsewhere. The key to smart home devices is their ability to predict a person’s needs and their daily patterns, which they do by tracking the person’s interaction with the device and recording it. The recorded data is communicated to a server, but if this communication link is not secure then it becomes an easy route for hackers to get into your home. Similarly, if the data stored within the server or database is not encrypted, it is at risk of a breach.

Whilst the idea of your fridge being hacked seems almost amusing, the reality of the danger goes far beyond a hacker knowing how many eggs you eat. Access to your data and all of your other connected devices gives a hacker a way into your home that can cause serious security issues. A lot of these devices are so small that embedding a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is not a priority for a vendor due to it not being cost-effective, but this decision ultimately affects the consumer in the long term.

Automotive

There has been a huge increase in putting IoT devices in vehicles over recent years, which has brought with it an encouragement for people to subscribe to the idea of monitoring how they drive through a device. Significantly, these have been linked to insurance providers that allow customers to install devices that report data back and reduce insurance fees if driving within a certain set of parameters. However, the cybersecurity risks of devices such as these can have an effect at both a consumer and corporate level, whether the device is a hard-wired black box, a self-installed plug-in that fits into the vehicles onboard diagnostics port (OBD-II dongle) or a mobile app that collects data through the consumers smartphone.

Once a vehicle is connected to the internet, a connection between the insurance provider and vehicle is created, exposing vehicles to hackers. OBD-II dongles can provide remote access to vehicles that can cause serious personal damage, such as through de-activating a car’s brakes. On a larger scale, the insurance provider’s servers that receive the data can also be a target. Potentially, hackers can gain access to the back-end systems and launch remote attacks on entire vehicle fleets. Finally, if networks are not properly segmented, hackers can gain access to insurance provider’s networks that could breach huge amounts of personal data.

Vehicle manufacturers are also increasing the amount of smart systems that are installed in new models. These systems allow the vehicle access to an individual’s phone, contacts, cameras and all other data associated with ‘smart life’. This information is all fed back to the manufacturer and its servers. If a car is sold without the data being properly cleaned, it will stay stored in cloud storage. This opens up a whole range of security risks, such as previous owners having access to cars that are being used by different people, allowing remote access to the car’s functionality as well as the new user’s data. This similarly applies to smart homes: if you sell your home, have the datasets and user credentials been wiped? If these devices are not properly encrypted from the outset and then wiped after each user, it exposes individuals to a huge number of cybersecurity risks.

Cybersecurity in 2020

As we start 2020, there needs to be a significant increase in security on IoT and AI devices from the point of manufacturing, providing security all the way from purchasing and beyond. If a single device does not provide adequate security to prevent cyberattacks, the entire network of that device is immediately exposed. Fixing these weaknesses will provide protection on an individual, corporate and national scale.

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Tottenham vs Liverpool live stream: how to watch today's Premier League football online from anywhere

Posted: 11 Jan 2020 09:22 AM PST

With a comfortable-looking 13-point cushion at the top of the table, Liverpool's procession to their first Premier League title seems somewhat inevitable, even at this early stage of the season. But can Tottenham's revival under Jose claim its biggest result so far? Read on for our guide to getting a Tottenham vs Liverpool live stream - no matter where on Earth you are.

Liverpool are really on a roll right now, as illustrated perfectly by Jurgen Klopp resting the majority of his regular starters last week in their FA Cup clash against local rivals Everton, yet still managing to win in somewhat routine style.

Nevertheless, with fixtures against Man United and Wolves in the coming weeks, along with this potentially tricky encounter against a Mourinho-led Spurs, things may look a little different by the end of the month. 

That said, the honeymoon period is well and truly over for Mourinho, with some middling results in recent weeks. With the hammer blow this week of news that captain and goal machine Harry Kane is now on a mounting Spurs injury list until April, a good result against the league leaders will provide much needed cover from gathering clouds over north London.

Klopp is set to revert to his strongest side for this trip to Spurs, while Mourinho will need to draw upon fringe players from his depleted squad. It looks like a tough proposition for the home side, but the opportunity to undo Liverpool's incredible unbeaten one is a challenge that the artist formerly known as The Special One will relish.

It's shaping up to be a fascinating encounter - check out our guide below on how to obtain a Tottenham vs Liverpool live stream, regardless of where you are in the world. And to find out how to watch the rest of the season's games, check out our guide on how to live stream the 19/20 Premier League football season. 

Use a VPN to watch Premier League football from outside your country

If you're abroad this weekend but still want to watch your home coverage, you'll need a VPN to do so. That's because your normal coverage will be geo-blocked. It's really easy to do and stops you having to tune in to some dodgy stream you've heard about on Reddit.

How to stream Tottenham vs Liverpool live in the UK 

How to watch Tottenham vs Liverpool: US live stream 

How to watch a Premier League live stream in Canada

How to live stream Tottenham vs Liverpool in Australia

How to watch Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool: New Zealand live stream 

How to live stream Spurs vs Liverpoool in India

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What can the new Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite tell us about the upcoming Galaxy S11?

Posted: 11 Jan 2020 09:04 AM PST

The Samsung Galaxy S11 is expected to be unveiled in February, but just when we thought we were enjoying the calm before the storm, Samsung unexpectedly announced two affordable versions of its 2019 flagships: the Galaxy S10 Lite and Galaxy Note 10 Lite.

These two phones boil down the essentials of the respective flagships into devices that are likely to be significantly cheaper (Samsung hasn't revealed their prices yet). Here we’ll be taking a closer look at the S10 Lite, particularly the changes it brings from the Galaxy S10, to see if there's anything it can tell us in terms of what to expect from the Galaxy S11.

The Lite version of the phone introduces some spec upgrades over the base device, and these could point to changes Samsung is making with its upcoming handsets. Bear in mind that what follows is speculation, and nothing is confirmed, but we think we can divine a fair bit about Samsung's next flagship phone.

Big screens are in

The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G has a 6.7-inch screen

The Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite has a whopping 6.7-inch display, which is the same as the Galaxy S10 5G, but bigger than the 6.1 inches and 6.4 inches of the Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus respectively. It seems, then, that Samsung is looking to cater for those of us who like huge screens on our phones.

Now that its existing ‘Plus’ phones have been made to look small in comparison to the new ‘Lite’ device, Samsung may want to shift each of its devices up a step – so the S11 Plus could be around a palm-stretching 6.7 inches, with the S11 coming in at perhaps 6.4 inches.

The return of old screen tech

The Samsung Galaxy S2 with its Super AMOLED Plus display

While the Samsung Galaxy S10 has a Dynamic AMOLED screen, the S10 Lite comes with a Super AMOLED Plus display. Yes, most of the names Samsung uses for its screens are just marketing buzzwords, but the latter is actually tech the company used in its now-ancient Galaxy S2, and which came with some perks that we might see return.

In the Samsung Galaxy S2, the Super AMOLED Plus panel was impressively bright while also energy efficient. Since a bright screen is usually the main thing that drains the battery, perhaps Samsung is bringing back this older tech in order to extend the battery life somewhat.

If the tech proves popular in the Galaxy S10 Lite, it’s possible that Samsung will bring it to the S11 too, albeit with improvements to other aspects of the display, as long-lasting battery life is one of the most important features to many smartphone users.

Higher-resolution cameras

The Xiaomi Mi Note 10 is the first smartphone with a 108MP camera

While Samsung stuck to using an array of 12MP camera sensors on the Galaxy S10, despite higher-resolution options being available, the S10 Lite features the first 48MP snapper in the Galaxy S range. It seems, then, that Samsung is no longer sticking to its previous policy of using lower-res sensors, with powerful post-processing employed to optimize image quality, and instead will go with more megapixels.

That's in line with what we’ve heard on the S11 grapevine, with specs leaks pointing to a 108MP main camera as well as a 48MP sensor with a telephoto lens, and upgraded specs for the other two or three cameras.

Punch-holes are here to stay

The Samsung Galaxy S10 with its punch-hole camera

When the Samsung Galaxy S10 came out with its ‘punch-hole’ selfie camera, Samsung made sure to point out that it was already trying to drop the new design feature. With punch-holes present on the Galaxy Note 10, however – and now the S10 Lite – it seems that this design feature is here to stay, for while at least.

We don’t know if the cut-out will be in a corner, as is the case with the main Galaxy S10 range, or central as on the Note 10s and the S10 Lite, but we’d be very surprised if Samsung introduced a pop-up section or some other solution for its front-facing cameras.

Macro lenses are becoming popular

The Honor 20 Pro, one of the first phones of 2019 with a macro lens

Many current smartphones have a similar three-camera combo of main, telephoto and ultra-wide snappers, with most tending to forego a macro lens – the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 and Honor 20 Pro are two exceptions. Macro lenses are used for taking pictures of close-up objects in great detail, and many people find them more useful than telephoto lenses.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite is the first Galaxy S device to have a macro lens, so it seems that Samsung has finally decided that it's worth including this photography feature on its phones. 

And now that Samsung has embraced macro shooting on the S10 Lite, it’s very likely that the company will also include a macro lens on the S11, especially if that device has up to five rear cameras, as has been rumored.

A unified-chipset future

Samsung Galaxy S10 phones

The Samsung Galaxy S10 series, not including the new Lite model

The Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite seems to have the same chipset in all regions, which isn’t always the case for Galaxy S devices – typically, the phones have a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset in some regions and Samsung's own Exynos processor in others.

In our testing we’ve often found that the former chipset delivers slightly faster performance, so users of phones that have the Exynos chip arguably get a (marginally) less capable phone. 

However, if Samsung follows the precedent it's set with the Galaxy S10 Lite, all regions could get the Snapdragon processor in the Galaxy S11. That doesn’t mean Exynos chipsets would disappear completely, as there would still be scope for Samsung to use them in its various other phones ranges, including the A, Note, J and M devices.

No more budget devices?

The Samsung Galaxy S10e

The Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite competes quite a bit with the Galaxy S10e, which Samsung launched in 2019 as the ‘affordable’ variant of the S10. So is it likely that Samsung will release two ‘lite’ versions of the same device again? Well, it depends somewhat on eventual sales figures, but possibly not.

While the announcement of the S10 Lite has come much closer to the arrival of the S11 than to the launch of the S10, we don't expect Samsung to repeat this schedule with its next flagship range. Instead, Samsung could drop the affordable device from its launch lineup for the S11 range, and then release a Lite/e version six months after the original device's launch, as it's done with the Note 10 and Note 10 Lite, and as Google did with its Pixel 3 and Pixel 3a.

This would be a way to get more people invested in the affordable version of the Galaxy S11, although since the company's budget ranges are already so strong, we could see it just drop the ‘Lite’ or ‘e’ device entirely, instead directing customers to buy one of its competent Galaxy A phones instead.

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What is Amazon S3?

Posted: 11 Jan 2020 08:57 AM PST

Amazon S3 is the foundational product in the Amazon Web Services lineup. Well-known and well-regarded, it is the bedrock for most of the Amazon cloud computing services available. Without it, many web applications we use would not function, including Amazon.com itself.

To understand what S3 is and what it does, it’s important to start at the beginning and define the concept of object storage. Unlike the files stored on your own laptop, which use a hierarchical block storage system invented decades ago, Amazon Simple Storage Service (or S3) uses object storage which stores data as an independent object. An object can store related metadata and an object identifier. With object storage, there are not the same limitations in terms of reliability, speed, storage location, or flexibility as traditional file storage.

With S3, cloud storage is not only possible but provides a high level of functionality for Big Data analysis using a data lake, incredibly complex social media apps like Facebook, vast data warehousing initiatives at research institutions, data modeling at companies like Ford to develop materials used in cars, and mobile app development to run on a wide variety of devices for millions of users, and e-commerce platforms like Amazon.com.

Introduced in 2006, Amazon S3 made waves right away because of how flexible it is for a wide range of industries. The health care sector can trust that it is secure, reliable and meets compliance regulations for storing electronic health records. Big Data companies can rely on the fact that it is robust enough to handle massive quantities of data at Petabyte scale. Automakers can rely on S3 because it has the performance required in a highly competitive market to manage and track data of all forms. Universities and even government entities using S3 don’t have to worry about uptime or security issues. Large corporations know that S3 is capable of scaling to meet user demand, which can fluctuate widely based on user trends and market needs.

In short, S3 became one of the founding technologies for the Internet, e-commerce, web applications, social media, Big Data analytics, data discovery, mobile apps on your smartphone, Internet of Things devices in the connected home, business dashboards, and just about any other tech trend you can think of -- and a few you might not even know about.

S3 is also reliable. Amazon states that the service provides “the eleven 9s” of reliability (or 99.999999999% uptime), which meets the demands of any mission-critical application. It’s no wonder that Netflix, Airbnb, Pinterest, Dropbox, Reddit, and thousands of other services use S3 and would potentially not even exist if it wasn’t for the cloud storage product.

Benefits of Amazon S3

In some ways, Amazon S3 is such an important product for cloud computing that it can help you understand the benefits of the cloud itself, not just this Amazon product. It all starts with scalability. Any user can sign up for S3 for free and start using object storage for a simple in-house app you build over lunch. The console is not designed only for developers and computer scientists, and the service is not meant only for massive companies to process massive amounts of data. Even startups can sign-up and use Amazon S3, gaining access to a platform that provides 5GB of storage, 20,000 “get” requests for an app, and 2,000 “put” requests without having to build a data center. (The “put” and “get” terms have to do with how object storage works -- they refer to the data upload and download functions.)

In fact, while S3 can work with an existing data center, it doesn’t require that you have any IT infrastructure in place -- no servers, no memory, no storage allocations. Amazon S3 works within the Amazon ecosystem with services like Amazon Glacier (for long-term back-ups) or Amazon Cloudfront (for distributing content securely).

For that startup with one app using the base level S3 object storage allocation, it is possible to then scale up with S3 to handle massive growth -- even becoming the next Facebook or Instagram app. As with cloud computing in general, there are no limitations in terms of lacking the needed infrastructure, performance capability, or security requirements.

As your needs change, and as your data needs evolve, you don’t need to suddenly build a data center and learn about server configuration and storage arrays. Related to this are the benefits of usability, cost structures, security, networking, performance -- in short, S3 matches up with all of the typical cloud computing benefits to handle growth in users and your own needs.

As your business changes, S3 keeps pace without requiring that your staff build out a storage infrastructure, add more servers and storage, or even deal with any of the typical IT-related complexities that come with a complex, technology-enabled project.

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Biggest challenges in managing workloads

Posted: 11 Jan 2020 08:39 AM PST

The way we work is evolving, offering employees increased flexibility and more ways to communicate than ever before. But with more channels to coordinate and collaborate, information is becoming increasingly fragmented across different business apps and platforms. The result – responsibilities are unclear, work becomes siloed and employees are left grappling to keep pace with a never-ending barrage of notifications.

Adding to this is the challenge presented by antiquated systems, such as email, which leave critical information and documents stuck in threads or inaccessible to the wider team. This lack of transparency means employees are forced to spend hours a week hunting down information and are wasting valuable time in an attempt to get up to speed.

What is ‘work about work’ and how is this impacting job satisfaction and performance?

People at every size of company – in every industry – are spending hours in unnecessary meetings, responding to emails, replying to messaging pings, searching for documents and files, and duplicating efforts. Our Anatomy of Work Index revealed that global knowledge workers think they spend a third of their time on work about work but in reality, nearly double that is spent on low value, repetitive tasks including searching for information, meetings and communicating about work. 

The same survey showed that employee performance (39%) and retention (33%) has been affected most by organisations not managing workloads effectively. While all work can’t be high-value, there are ways to reduce the amount of unproductive or repetitive tasks completed on a daily basis, including minimising unnecessary meetings or automating repetitive tasks. Providing clarity around how to prioritise work based on what’s going to deliver the most business value is another great way to improve performance and drive efficiencies.

At Asana, we leverage a structure called the “Pyramid of Clarity” to align everyone on the high-level purpose and goals of the day to day work they are doing, and the concrete results an individual’s work should produce. These high-level goals should feed into a subset of shorter-term goals, creating a firm foundation which enables managers to provide a clear vision of what needs to happen and when.

How does technology shape the way we now work? What are the benefits and downfalls? 

In recent years, we’ve seen an explosion of apps and software programs aimed at helping workers improve communication and collaboration. This presents both a challenge and an opportunity for organisations and their employees.

While the adoption of new apps and tools can often be the perfect solution to boost employee productivity levels, they’re only as effective as the teams that use them. From an employee perspective, it’s important to take control of your notifications or they’ll end up controlling you. Partially muting notifications or leaving them on for specific projects can help to limit distractions whilst at work and allow you to switch off once you’ve left for the day. The companies who have created the software we use in work also want to ensure that users can ‘switch off’. In Asana, we’re enhancing notifications on mobile and web, giving customers more control over about how and when they’re alerted.

Businesses should also seek to outline how and when tools should be used, detailing whether these will integrate or replace existing processes, and what the desired outcome should be for every individual. Without factoring in these considerations, chaos will ensue, leaving teams grappling with varying processes and disjointed workflows.

How can organisations effectively manage individual and team processes to help reduce duplication of work?

Work duplication is typically a result of a lack of visibility, whether that be across individual teams or different departments. Over 10 per cent of an employee’s day - 4 hours and 38 minutes per week - is spent on tasks that have already been completed. This amounts to more than 200 hours of duplicated effort and wasted efficiency annually. This is an unsurprising outcome when so much information and important documents are tied up in emails or buried in threads.

To avoid this, organisations should seek to implement tools which offer greater transparency, such as file-sharing services, which make files and information more accessible to managers and employees across the organisation. Increasingly transparency can also act to drive greater employee accountability for the work they’re completing, which can allow teams to work more effortlessly together.

Why is automation is key to improving employee engagement and achieving better business outcomes?

We are living in an increasingly dynamic and globalised working environment and in order to keep pace and remain competitive, it will be increasingly critical for businesses and their employees to implement processes and technologies which will help them work smarter, not harder. 

To keep pace, businesses should set out to increase their adoption to automated tools in a bid to remove or minimise the amount of low-value or repetitive tasks from the working day and give employees time back to focus on the work they were hired to do. This will not only help to drive efficiencies, but it will also help employees become more invested in how the work they’re doing is working to help progress company objectives.

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What is Amazon Corretto?

Posted: 11 Jan 2020 08:24 AM PST

Limitations. That’s sometimes a word that comes into play when developers start building applications. They discover the limitations of the development engine or the IT infrastructure needed to support an app. They discover limitations in how they can distribute the app and who can use it on which devices. Or they find out that there are limitations related to costs or support available for the development environment you use. It can lead to frustration and, for many companies, a serious problem when it comes to scaling the app for more users.

Amazon Corretto is a production-ready distribution of OpenJDK, and it’s designed to provide everything you need to create and run Java applications without limits. Open Java Development Kit, or OpenJDK, is a popular distribution of Java used by developers to create rich applications, and Corretto is an Amazon implementation of OpenJDK. It’s compatible with Java SE, which is the standard for web applications released back in 2006.

The concept of Amazon Corretto was born out of an internal need at Amazon. The company runs thousands of apps, both internally and externally for customers, and they needed to create a reliable distribution for their own developers to use, one that is secure and has standards in terms of documentation and process, and one that is used for all of their apps.

Released to the public in 2016, the distribution is intended for companies with similar goals -- to create Java applications that can scale and run reliably, use the latest security features, and can be fixed in a uniform way within a well-known and commonly used distribution.

An example of this might be a new business app for tracking company expenses. Normally, this might require that a company look into open source distributions that are not officially supported as a way to cut down costs, and then figure out all of the necessary support variables such as patching, endpoint security, and bug fixes on their own. This becomes a two-pronged effort -- to create the actual app itself and then to figure out how to update and maintain the app.

One of the benefits of Java is that it is remarkably flexible in terms of the apps you can create. It can also run on Linux, Windows, and Mac platforms. This, however, could also be a downside if it leads to an open-source nightmare of support and disconnected, unreliable apps.

Without Corretto, development teams can descend into chaos -- not for a lack of internal process, but instead related to how apps are supported, documented, and distributed. In fact, the distribution allows companies to focus efforts on the actual development and not on the framework they are using and whether it works reliably and is well supported.

The distribution will run on Linux, Windows, or Mac and is available as a free download. The distribution can run using cloud services, on-premise, or on a local machine. That flexibility in how you run the distribution means teams can focus more on actually creating apps.

Benefits of Amazon Corretto

A key benefit to Amazon Corretto is that, while it is entirely free to use, it is still supported by Amazon in the sense that the company will continue to provide patches, security updates, and bug fixes for a predetermined time period. For example, with Corretto 8, Amazon has guaranteed they will provide support through 2023 for all OpenJDK apps. The latest version available for download, Amazon Corretto 11, is supported through 2024.

This support includes all of the security enhancements that will help you reduce the likelihood of a data breach, which is a concern given that web apps can be an attack vector for hackers. Amazon also provides all of the documentation you might expect from a commercial distribution, all of the patches related to performance and reliability, and all of the bug fixes.

This provides a major advantage in terms of performance. Often, with a web application that is not well-supported, there are issues with web apps breaking down due to code inconsistencies or a lack of patches or security fixes. Amazon makes sure the distribution runs at an optimal performance level (which is important not just for customers but for Amazon’s internal apps).

Underlying the flexibility in how you use the distribution, where you use it, and on which devices and platforms is the fact that Amazon Corretto has no related costs. Anyone can download the distribution from aws.amazon.com/corretto and get started creating apps right away.

The distribution is constantly being tested and updated, thanks to the fact that Amazon uses it for thousands of their own apps and therefore depends on the distribution. This includes apps they offer to external customers and to the internal apps they use for employees.

Unlike some open source distributions, Amazon Corretto provides a platform to create reliable apps with full support and documentation so you can focus on the app itself.

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The OnePlus 8 tipped to arrive with a 5G version

Posted: 11 Jan 2020 07:30 AM PST

This year could be the year that 5G arrives on OnePlus phones: a new report suggests that the OnePlus 8 will launch on Verizon in the US, with 5G connectivity on board.

Android Police has the scoop, based on a source "familiar" with the OnePlus roadmap. The 5G capabilities would allow the phone to support Verizon's super-fast mmWave network.

Not only will this be the first OnePlus phone packing 5G, it'll be the first time that a OnePlus phone has appeared on Verizon, increasing the profile of OnePlus in the US. It appears that this would be the standard OnePlus 8, not the Pro version.

It would make sense for OnePlus to add 5G support in 2020, with numerous phone makers adopting the technology in 2019, and Apple tipped to make the switch later this year.

OnePlus in 2020

We're expecting a busy year from OnePlus: the company is holding an event on Monday, showing off new display technology that could include a screen with a 120Hz refresh rate.

That screen may well make its way into the OnePlus 8 phones, which should appear sometime around April, if previous years are anything to go by. The handsets are tipped to have spacious screens and top-level specs.

Alongside the standard OnePlus 8 and the OnePlus 8 Pro, it looks as though there's going to be a cheaper OnePlus 8 Lite as well, though at the moment it's not fully clear exactly what the differences will be.

OnePlus was at CES 2020 as well, where it demonstrated a disappearing camera module that may or may not make its way into a OnePlus phone in the future.

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Save $100 with cheap robot vacuum cleaner deal at Walmart

Posted: 11 Jan 2020 07:26 AM PST

Gone are the days of expensive automation, we're living in the age of the smart home and this weekend that means excellent cheap robot vacuum cleaner deals. The Eufy RoboVac 25C is usually only available for $249.99, but you can pick it up with $100 off at Walmart this weekend for only $149. That's an awesome price for a robot vacuum deal, allowing you to put your feet up for less while the computers do the work. 

The Eufy RoboVac 25C is compatible with Alexa and Google Home, which means you don't even need to lift a finger to start the hoovering - simply tell Alexa to start your robot vacuum cleaner and you're good to go (though you can also use the Eufy app for more fine-tuned control). With 1500Pa suction power and BoostIQ mode, the RoboVac will content with carpets of a medium pile just fine and can sweep up every nook and cranny with 100 minutes of battery life. 

This cheap robot vacuum deal has been sticking around over the holiday shopping season and is still available this weekend if you haven't quite gotten round to the big January clean yet. 

Today's best cheap robot vacuum cleaner deals 

While your new robot vacuum cleaner does all the work, you might have some spare time to check out other smart home devices for your new automated life. We've got all the best Amazon Echo deals going right here, and we're also tracking top Apple HomePod prices and Google Home sales. 

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EVGA’s RTX 2060 KO launches at $279 – the same price as AMD’s RX 5600 XT

Posted: 11 Jan 2020 05:14 AM PST

EVGA revealed its new GeForce RTX 2060 KO Gaming graphics card at CES 2020 carrying a major price cut, but now the GPU is up for pre-order, and you can get it even cheaper than expected at a supremely tempting $279 (about £215).

This is the price on EVGA’s website in the US now that pre-orders are live for the new base model of the 2060, which should be priced at $299.99 (about £230) – as announced at CES – but is currently available with a $20 discount, so you’ll only pay $279.99.

There’s a limit of two graphics cards per household, and the shipping date for buyers is pegged at January 13, the start of next week.

Sadly the RTX 2060 KO Gaming – or indeed the overclocked KO Ultra variant (with a 1755MHz boost clock, as opposed to 1680MHz) which retails at $299.99, again after a $20 discount – aren’t yet available for UK buyers, but EVGA’s European website notes that the cards are ‘coming soon’. So hopefully we won’t have long to wait, and more to the point, we’ll see a similar launch discount.

The price of $279 represents a 20% drop from the current recommended price of the RTX 2060, which is $349 (about £270). It also means that this RX 2060 is pitched at exactly the same level as the recommended price for AMD’s new Radeon RX 5600 XT, which goes on sale January 21.

Different ballgame

Over at CES, AMD was pushing the RX 5600 XT’s gaming chops, showing it comfortably outdoing the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti – but comparing it to the RTX 2060, well, that’s obviously a different ballgame (and don’t forget the RTX range also brings ray tracing cores into the bargain, above and beyond the GTX range).

Whether this is just EVGA acting alone, or perhaps the start of a more general move for Nvidia and partners to look towards reducing RTX 2060 GPUs is something we’ve already debated. But whatever the case, rival 2060 cards may need to think about shifting to match this kind of pricing regardless – or risk looking shaky value propositions themselves.

Those who’ve been sitting on the fence in terms of committing to RTX may well feel the compulsion to take the leap into the ray-traced garden, as it were, given the pricing of this particular 2060 model.

One thing’s for sure – it’ll be interesting to watch AMD’s reaction on the pricing front, and indeed other third-party Nvidia GPU manufacturers.

Via Wccftech

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Beats Studio 3 sales offer cheap noise-canceling headphones across US and UK

Posted: 11 Jan 2020 05:10 AM PST

Beats Studio 3 noise-canceling headphones are no strangers to a good deal - we saw plenty of them over the holiday period. It seems they weren't quite done with us, however. Thanks to these Beats Studio 3 deals across the US and UK, you can pick up a pair of Dre's own noise-canceling cans for just $199 / £199. 

The wildly popular headphones were a touch cheaper over the aforementioned holiday sales, but prices soon returned to their normal $349 / £299 spots when the January sales ran dry. This new sale means that if you missed out on this cheap price tags over Black Friday and Christmas there's still time to pick up a noise-canceling headphone deal for less. 

Beats Studio 3 headphones offer a well recognised comfort fit, as well as 22-hours of battery life and adaptive noise canceling to shut out the world around you. Wireless performance is top notch so you won't be dropping out once your two steps away from your phone, and sound quality is great at this price point. 

You'll find the best Beats Studio 3 deals around the US and UK below, with Best Buy leading the charge in the US and Currys holding onto its excellent discounts in the UK.

Today's best Beats Studio 3 deals in the US

Today's best Beats Studio 3 deals in the UK

Check out more Beats headphone deals right here on TechRadar, or if you're up for a bit more shopping you might want to check out our top picks of the best noise-canceling headphone prices going. 

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Microsoft contractors had woeful security when reviewing Cortana and Skype recordings, report claims

Posted: 11 Jan 2020 04:08 AM PST

Not only did Microsoft outsource the reviewing of Cortana and Skype audio recordings to contractors, but a fresh report now claims that the company did so in China with pitiful security measures in place.

This follows on from the revelation last August that Microsoft employees and third-party contractors were listening to Cortana and Skype interactions, analyzing recordings with the goal of improving the services.

This raised predictably big question marks over privacy and security – particularly because the audio data sometimes involved quite personal details and information, by all accounts, being sent for processing outside of Microsoft.

But at the time, the report from Vice’s Motherboard noted that Microsoft insisted the audio data analyzed was only available to these external contractors via a secure online portal, but the new report in The Guardian claims otherwise, having spoken to a former contractor.

That contractor says that this program ran for years with literally “no security measures”, and over in China, he reviewed thousands of such Cortana and Skype audio recordings on his personal laptop in his home in Beijing – for two years. (Initially, he did work from an office, but apparently was soon allowed to work from home).

The worker claims that contractors could access the recordings simply using a web app in Google Chrome, and they all had a Microsoft account freshly set up using the same password, no less. Login details (just a simple username and password) were emailed to contractors in plain text.

Security nightmare

The contractor further claims that there was practically no vetting of the staff doing these recording evaluations, and the whole setup sounds like a security nightmare, frankly.

If all these details of the lax security are on the money, the fact that the operation was based in China also raises the prospect of the Chinese government having had access to these Cortana and Skype recordings. That’s particularly worrying in terms of Skype, of course, where full conversations were carried out.

At the time of the original report, Microsoft revised its privacy policy to clarify that such (anonymized) audio recording analysis is carried out not just on an automated basis, but also by humans.

Since then, The Guardian report notes, Microsoft has ceased such grading programs for Skype and Cortana for Xbox, and the rest of its human evaluation of recordings is now done in “secure facilities”. These are located in a small number of countries, and not China.

As we pointed out last year, Microsoft does also have a tool for deleting your voice recordings from its servers.

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The next Apple Pencil could come with more gestures, and even a camera

Posted: 11 Jan 2020 03:30 AM PST

We've seen two generations of the Apple Pencil so far – both of which are still in use on current devices – and a new patent has shed some light on what we can expect with the next version of Apple's stylus.

A new patent spotted by AppleInsider details how a future Apple Pencil could come with support for more gestures beyond the double-tap input that the 2nd-gen Apple Pencil offers.

This would work via a touch-sensitive panel on the side of the pencil where the user's fingertip naturally rests – you could swipe up and down to scroll through webpages, for example.

"[While] the user is holding a stylus or other touch-based input device, the user may be limited to the input options provided thereby," says the patent, so "additional input capabilities" on the stylus would come in very handy.

Writing to reach you

Another way of adding input to the Apple Pencil, as outlined by the patent, could be letting users roll the stylus in their fingers or on a surface to control something on screen.

The patent also makes mention of a camera embedded inside the Apple Pencil alongside the sensors, although this innovative has been mentioned in previous patents too – this could possibly make the stylus more intelligent in terms of knowing what it was writing on.

Support for other devices is mentioned too – including TVs and the Apple Watch – but again this has been mentioned in Apple Pencil patents in the past.

As always with patents from any tech company, there's no certainty about when we'll see this new features appear, if they ever make it to the Apple Pencil at all, but they do give us an idea of what Apple is experimenting with.

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Diablo 4 is official: everything you need to know about the next Diablo

Posted: 11 Jan 2020 02:57 AM PST

Looking for everything there is to know about Diablo 4? Then you've come to the right place. It’s been over seven years since the initial release of Diablo 3, so obviously we're champing at the bit to start another monstrous loot hunt in Diablo 4.

After months of rumors, Diablo 4 was officially confirmed by Blizzard at Blizzcon 2019 - and we now know that the next core Diablo game is an isometric action RPG which sees the return of Lilith, the daughter of Mephisto.

It will feature an open world map with five regions, day/night cycles and a non-linear campaign. You'll smash and loot your way through this world with one of five customizable classes, three of which are already announced. 

Finally, it's being designed in a brand-new engine for PS4, Xbox One and PC, with plans to simultaneously release it on all platforms (maybe even PS5 and Xbox Series X?).

Want to know more? Here’s everything to know so far about the long-awaited Diablo 4.

[Update: Blizzard has responded to some fan concerns with regards to Diablo 4.]

Cut to the chase

  • What is it? The next instalation in the veteran action-role playing dungeon crawling series, Diablo.
  • When can I play it? We're not entirely sure, but 'not soon' is what Blizzard says.
  • What can I play it on? Xbox One, PS4 and PC (maybe next-gen consoles).

Diablo 4 release date

Diablo 4

Bad news here: Diablo 4 probably won't be released anytime soon. At a Blizzcon 2019 deep dive on the game, the game's director said that he doesn't expect the game to be finished anytime soon, "even by Blizzard's standards of soon."

That said, the fact that the team is developing the game for PS4 and Xbox One heavily implies that the game will be released within the next two to three years - as the lifespan of those consoles will be coming to an abrupt end after the launch of new consoles in late 2020. 

Diablo 4 trailers

Post BlizzCon 2019, GameInformer brought us plenty of gameplay from Diablo 4 to pore over. Familiar in the best possible way, this footage showcases Diablo 4's return to an intensely Gothic game world and that addictive gameplay loop that's made it so famous. 

Given the game's release is some time away (maybe years) it's possible that everything in this footage could change. But it's exciting to get a glimpse of the direction in which the game's development is going. 

Below you can watch videos of the the game's three classes in action: Barbarian, Sorceress and then Druid. All in all it's about an hour of gameplay which is quite something. Given the game is still a while off yet, maybe ration it. 

Diablo 4 was officially announced at Blizzcon 2019 where we got the chance to see both the announcement story cinemati and the first gameplay trailer. 

Check both trailers out below:

Diablo 4 news, previous leaks and features

Responding to concerns

In 2019, Blizzard stated its intentions to release quarterly updates on the progress of Diablo 4 in 2020. After a post on Reddit called out a lack of updates from the developer, a community manager has responded to manage expectations. 

In a multi-pointed response, Community Manager Nevalistis stated that the game is in "very, very early in development" so there's not a lot to share at the moment and what is shareable has been shared already. Not only that, they pointed out that the Diablo team Blizzard is at work on more than one project and pacing is therefore necessary. 

Given the first quarter of 2020 runs up until March, we could see an update on the game any time between now and then. More likely to be closer to then than now. Part of the reason for any time taken will also be to ensure that what is shown is at the highest standard possible. According to Nevalistis "We want to put a lot of time, effort, and polish into these updates because they are so few and we care a lot about our work. However, ultimately, the content will be decided by (1) what's ready to show and (2) what conversations we're ready to have with the community."

The post finishes up by promising that while cool stuff is in the works, the team will be taking its time to create an excellent game for fans as "while we want to maintain transparency, we also don't want to risk over-promising and under delivering. This happens all too often by showing features too early."

No more Ancient Legendaries
Lead systems designer, David Kim, has written an update for fans with regards to Diablo 4's systems. The update reveals that the game won't have Ancient Legendaries and highlights there will be some new stats. 

In order to make Diablo 4's itemisation "deep and rewarding", Kim writes, Ancient Legendaries will be removed and replaced with a new consumable which will make it possible to apply a Legendary affix to a non-Legendary item. 

Affixes on items generally will increase which is expected to raise the importance of non-Legendary affixes with regards to overall power. However, three new stats—Angelic Power, Demonic Power and Ancestral Power—will also appear as new affixes.

As a result, according to Kim, "Legendary powers should no longer completely dwarf the strength of your affixes, and the affixes themselves provide more interesting choices because their strength depends on how much of the relevant Powers you’ve accumulated on the rest of your gear. You might find an amulet with the perfect stats for your build, but some of its Affixes may require Demonic Power when you’ve previously focused on Ancestral. Maybe your current amulet is the primary source of your Ancestral Power, so equipping a new amulet would mean potentially making sacrifices elsewhere.

With this system, it will be easy to identify items with good stats, but it will take some thought and planning to decide whether the item is good for your build."

The team is also streamlining Attack and Defense. Now, attack will only be found on weapons, defence will only be found on armor, and jewellery won't have an impact on either.

Big ambitions
In an interview with AusGamers Diablo 4's Game Director Luis Barriga and Art Director John Mueller have given an insight into the big ambitions the team has for Diablo 4 and its expansions. 

We already know that Lilith will be the main villain for the game, rather than Diablo, but Mueller has suggested that there will eventually more to tell than this, with more characters and stories that could be told in expansions: “Diablo IV is like the first chapter of a book. We want to tell a big story and we want to tell it, hopefully, for a very long time. Treating this like the first chapter of a book and Lilith as a key character in this story, it feels great knowing that there are still all these other characters that could come back in the future. Or, new characters that we haven’t seen before.”

The pair also touch on just how big the world of Sanctuary is going to be:

“There’s going to be five contiguous regions in the world and you can actually go from the North, the Northern most point of Scosglen, which is the area seen in the demo, all the way down through the Dry Steppes and into the deserts of Kejhistan. And you'll never see a loading screen. It's completely seamless. That's the level of detail we've added into creating the world.”

Diablo 4

Quarterly updates
In a blog post post-BlizzCon, Diablo 4's game director Luis Barriba has said that fans can expect a "cool update" on the game's progress come February 2020. This update will be the "first in a series of quarterly updates" which will come across the year. 

Baribba also addresses the discussions that have been happening around how Diablo 4 will approach items and stats in the community with a promise that it's being carefully considered and clarifications are coming. 

"We also know that one topic is burning hotter than the rest. We want you to know that we are having the same conversations about items and stats that you are having—whether on the official discussion threads or external sites, we read it all! Getting this right is at the top of our minds, and in the coming weeks our lead systems designer David Kim will provide a few clarifications, share some of his thoughts, and address some of your open questions."

Montetization
During a conversation at BlizzCon 2019, Twitch streamer Quin69 (via PCGamesN) had a conversation with Diablo 4's lead designer Joe Shely during which it was said that the game will likely have microtransactions but that they'll be cosmetic in nature (so no selling Power) and that there'll also be expansions on top of the base game:

“Diablo IV will be available as a base game, and […] we’re going to have expansions. You also will be able to acquire cosmetics in the game.”

Shely added that it's still early days for the game so naturally things could change as development progresses.

Blizzcon 2019 unveiling
Diablo 4 was officially confirmed at Blizzcon 2019 on November 1, where it was revealed the game would focus on Lilith - the daughter of Mephisto.

Like its predecessors, the game is an isometric, action RPG and will have PVP zones in the overworld - with the first three classes being barbarian, sorceress and druid. It's also being developed for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

Diablo 4

Story and setting
For those who haven't been following along in the in-game events, Diablo 4 will be set after Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls. At this point, the gates of heaven have been closed after Malthael, the Angel of Death, destroyed much of Sanctuary.

It's through Heaven's ignorance of the events transpiring in Sanctuary that Lilith, the daughter of Mephisto and canonical mother of humanity, is set lose from her prison. 

What we know about the overworld right now is that it's all open, with five unique regions and both a day/night cycle and ever-changing weather. Missions are non-linear and according to the game's director, you're free to take them on however you'd like.

Always online
Other players will appear in your game for shared events, meaning you will have to always be online to play. This isn't an feature you can turn off but you can choose not to group up with others. We don't know the exact details about how this will work.

Skill changes and talent trees
According to Eurogamer, the rune system is gone, instead replaced by a system that sees you spending points on skills to improve them - with some gainer new effects at higher levels.

In addition, each class has a talent tree that allows players to customize their build. You can also enhance equipment and weapons through a new Rune Word socketing system.

Dungeons and loot
Like previous entries, you're going to spend a lot of time in dungeons - all of which will be randomly generated in a similar way to Diablo 3. According to the game's director, there will be 'hundreds of dungeons' in the game to explore 'in which you'll find hundreds of legendary items to equip'.

Abilities
Each class has five abilities including Evade and an Ultimate attack.

Which classes are available?
At launch, Diablo 4 will feature five classes - three of which we already know about. The Barbarian, a series staple will return in Diablo 4 and will be available to wield both double- and single-handed weapons in a single build, and will have four weapon slots. 

The Sorceress, another returning favorite, will have AOE attacks that control the battlefield and will be able to turn into a ball of energy to incinerate enemies, while the Druid has both animal companion NPCs and the ability to shapeshift.   

Diablo 4

The Art of Diablo may have revealed Diablo 4 - confirmed
German magazine Game Star found a listing for a glossy new book called The Art of Diablo. Taking a behind-the-scenes look at the art of the franchise, it's set to contain “more than 500 artworks from Diablo 1, Diablo 2, Diablo 3 and Diablo 4.” Yep, Diablo 4, being mentioned in relation to a book officially associated with the developer Blizzard. Though the book is a little way off from release yet, the mention (likely unintentional) all but confirmed that Diablo 4 was on the way.

New hires - confirmed
Tongues started wagging after nine job listings for an "unannounced project" in the Diablo franchise were spotted on the Blizzard Entertainment careers page. The company was looking for key roles, including lead character and concept artists, software engineers, a lead narrative designer and an executive producer.

While it's not certain that the listings were for Diablo 4, the game has since been announced.

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Pokémon Go updates: all the news and rumors for what's coming next

Posted: 11 Jan 2020 02:45 AM PST

Pokémon Go: the world's first augmented reality app to become a household name. Niantic's mobile AR game is still going strong two years after it first released, with a constant drip of events and updates keeping budding trainers glued to their phones and pounding the streets.

And while it hasn't managed to top the peak of its popularity in 2016, it's still going strong and finding plenty of new ways to improve its player experience.

So what's the latest news for Pokémon Go? As you'd expect, brand new features are being added all the time and community events are still going strong. Plus we have some more themed events and brand new Gen 5 Pokémon to catch!

But without further ado, here's our guide to all the latest Pokémon Go news and updates.

Pokémon Go news and Pokémon Go updates

  • What's new? Trade Evolution and some brand new Pokémon are here.

Trade Evolution

Niantic is bringing a feature from the mainline Pokémon titles into Pokémon Go: Trade Evolution. Now, trading some Pokémon will see the Candy required to evolve them reduced. Pokémon that benefit from this include Kadabra, Machoke, Graveler, and Haunter as well as new Unova Pokémon Boldore, Gurdurr, Karrablast, and Shelmet. 

New Pokémon

Speaking of the Unova region, there are some new Pokémon coming into Pokémon Go. Aside from Boldore, Gurdurr, Karrablast, and Shelmet, players will also encounter other Unova creatures in the wild, in Raids and from eggs. 

Roggenrola, Tympole, Dwebble, Trubbish, Karrablast, Joltik and Shelmet are among those appearing in the wild. Venipede and Dwebble will hatch from 2 km eggs; Roggenrola, Tympole, Trubbish, Karrablast, Joltik, and Shelmet from 5 km eggs; and 10 km eggs will contain Timburr, Tirtouga, Archen, and Axew. Timburr will also be appearing in one star Raids. 

There will also be some region-exclusive additions. 

North America, South America, and Africa will see Throh in the wild and in 10km eggs while Europe, Asia, and Australia will see the same for Sawk. The Southern United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America will be able to encounter Maractus, while Egypt and Greece get the chance to catch Sigilyph. Finally, the Eastern hemisphere get the red-striped form of Basculin while the Western hemisphere gets blue-striped form instead. 

January 2020

Now that Pokémon Go's Holiday events have come and gone, Niantic is turning its attention to its 2020 plans. In a brand new blog post, the developer has gone into some more detail on what's coming up. 

Players can expect some more new Special Research around Team Rocket in January with more opportunities to defeat Giovanni and the chance to save the Legendary Shadow Moltres. 

There will also be some special Lapras encounters through the month. From now until February 1, Lapras that know the moves Ice Shard and Ice Beam will be available as Research Breakthrough encounters for the first time since 2018. 

From January 7 until February 4, Heatran will be available in five star Raids and there will be the possibility of encountering a Shiny Heatran. 

The blog post also suggests that brand new Unova Pokémon will appear in the world soon with more details to come.

What's the next Pokémon Go Event?

Adventure Sync Hatchathon

From January 2 until January 16, Pokémon Go players will be able to take part in another Adventure Sync Hatchathon. During this event, players will be able to get more Stardust, Rare Candies and a Unova Stone for walking a certain distance. Make sure you have plenty of eggs in incubators too because some Pokémon (Pichu and Wurmple) will be wearing party hats when they hatch!

You'll also find party hat-wearing Raticate and Wobbuffet in two star Raids and Pikachu in the wild. 

When's the next Pokémon Go Community Day?

  • What date is the next Community Day? January 19
  • Who's the starring Pokémon? It's a mystery at the moment

The first Community Day of 2020 has been confirmed to be taking place on January 19. The time period is different depending on your hemisphere, so those in the northern hemisphere will take part between 11am and 2pm local time, while those in the southern hemisphere can jump in from 3pm to 6pm local time. 

Piplup has been confirmed as the starring Pokémon for this Community day and players can expect double catch Stardust, double catch XP and half hatch distance for eggs. The special move for the event is yet to be revealed.

Pokémon Go update: what's next?

GO Battle League

Niantic has announced that a new feature called GO Battle League will be coming to the game in early 2020. It will build on the current trainer battles system and will encourage players to get out and explore. According to Niantic, players will walk to earn entry into the Battle League. Once they're in they'll be able to battle players from around the world through an online matching system. Win and lose, they'll rise and fall in the ranks of the worldwide league. We'll keep updating with more information on Battle League as it's announced. 

Pokémon Go Plus deals

Want to buy yourself a Pokémon Go Plus wearable? Check some of today's best deals down below.

(Image credits: Niantic/Pokémon Company)

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Apex Legends Season 3: latest update news, tips, patch notes and more

Posted: 11 Jan 2020 02:30 AM PST

EA surprised many with the sudden announcement of Apex Legends back in February 2019, a free-to-play battle royale shooter that sees the publisher going toe-to-toe with genre mammoths PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Fortnite Battle Royale.

Developed by Respawn Entertainment and set in the Titanfall universe, Apex Legends is a squad-based battle royale shooter where teams of three go up against 57 other players to try to gather loot and be the last person (or squad) standing.

However, unlike Fortnite and PUBG, Apex Legends sees players take on one of eight classes, each represented by a unique character (imagine Fortnite mixed with Overwatch and you’ll be on the right track.) 

 Apex Legends is now well into its third season, called Meltdown, which has introduced plenty of changes, big and small. From new weapons, to a new character to a brand spanking new map there's plenty to enjoy in Season 3 of Apex Legends for old and new players alike. 

Now that we're into 2020, we're starting to look forward to the launch of Season 4 of the game in February and all the changes it's likely to bring. 

If you're new to Apex Legends and looking to see what you're missing or you've dropped off the map for a while and you'd like to catch up on the latest, we're here to keep you up to date on what's fresh in Apex Legends. 


As we said in our full Apex Legends review:

"Truth be told, the Battle Royale movement has never quite grabbed me. I dabbled in PUBG and spent a dozen hours or so with Fortnite, yet nothing ever quite stuck the landing. Apex though, has got me hook, line and sinker. Featuring intuitive controls, an outstanding comms system and remarkable rogue’s gallery, Respawn has created what feels like the AAA outing for the genre." 

Apex Legends update news

  • What's new? Respawn is seeing out Season 3 with a Grand Soirée event

Grand Soirée Event

Apex Legends' third Season is almost at an end and to celebrate this it's throwing a Grand Soirée. The event will run from January 14 until January 28 and will feature seven limited time modes as well as some new skins. 

The seven limited time modes (some new and some old favorites will feature) are the real focus of this event and a new one will begin every two days with the schedule being as follows:

  • January 14 - 15: Gold Rush Duos
  • January 16 - 17: Live.Die.Live
  • January 18 - 19: Third Person Mode
  • January 20 - 21: Always Be Closing
  • January 22 - 23: Armed and Dangerous World's Edge
  • January 24 - 25: King's Canyon
  • January 26 - 28: Dummie's Big Day

As well as the modes, there's a new prize track. Each mode will have three challenges worth 1000 points and players will be able to unlock new weapons and skins as they collect points. Taking part in every mode won't be necessary to get all the points but those who do will also get a special badge. Those who are short of points can take part in a special bonus scoring weekend from January 17 to 20. 

To really get into the spirit of the party, players will be able to visit the Direct Purchase shop where they can pick up special Art Deco accessories and some special legendary skins which will rotate through the event. 

Changes to Player Level progression

As of December 3, some changes have been made to Player Level progression in Apex Legends. The biggest change is that the player level cap has increased from 100 to 500. To keep things on an even keel, the amount of XP required to reach level 100 has been reduced by 5%.

More levels also means more Apex Packs; players will now earn 199 Apex Packs by level 500. Players between Levels 2 and 20 will earn one pack for every level they rise; those between Levels 22 and 300 will receive one pack for every two levels and, finally, those between Levels 305 and 500 will earn one pack every five levels.

Packs will be retroactively awarded so players who should have earned packs under the new system will still be awarded their additional packs. 

For every hundred levels a player rises, they will earn a Gun Charm and for every ten levels between 110 and 500 they'll earn a badge. 

Speaking of Gun Charms, 36 new ones are going into Epic and Legendary tier Apex Packs and they'll appear in the Rotating Shop so that players can purchase them if they prefer. 

Apex Legends Meltdown

Season 2 of Apex Legends has now wrapped up and as of October 1 Season 3: Meltdown is underway.

So what's new? Well, the most important thing is that brand new map you've probably heard about. 

World's Edge

In Meltdown players are waving goodbye to the classic King's Canyon and saying hello to World's Edge. This new map is only the second ever introduced in the game but it's a dramatic departure from its predecessor, offering a massive, bright world that combines fire and ice. 

There's plenty to explore in World's Edge and we're sure it's keeping secrets that will be revealed later in the Season. Not only that, its diverse terrain that will see you dodging geysers, contending with lava fields and riding atop a moving train among other things offers a great opportunity to experiment with different combat styles. 

Battle Pass

Apex Legends isn't exactly known for having mind-blowing Battle Passes but Season 3 does offer an improvement on its predecessors in some ways. 

Like the others, this Battle Pass is brand new for the Season and it brings with it 110 levels to climb by completing daily and weekly challenges, with more than 100 exclusive items including Legendary Skins, Apex Packs, Loading Screens and Gun Charms to earn. 

New weapons and character

The new weapon for Season 3 is the Charge Rifle and it's making its debut alongside the new hacker and surveillance expert, Crypto. This new Legend can be purchased for 750 Apex coins and is great for those seeking some long-distance combat options as he uses his surveillance drone "to stay in the fight and out of the spotlight". He'll be a great addition to any team looking for some recon and of interest to any player looking for a more refreshing style of play.

Ranked League Series 2

Alongside Season 3, Ranked League Series 2 also launched on October 1. 

Like Series 1, Series 2 uses a score-based system with the developers feeling pleased with how it went the first time around. Tiers and Divisions also remain the same along with the level 10 entry requirement for ranked play and the fact that playing with friends will see matchmaking up to the highest ranked player. 

So what will players see that's a little different? Well, in Series 2 all ranked players will see their ranks be soft reset. That means all players will drop 1.5 Tiers. This is being done instead of a hard reset to 0, which would really stop any feeling of progress for those who were invested in the previous Ranked League.

After deactivating leaver penalties in Series 1, Series 2 has them enabled so players who abandon their teammates during a match are hit with a matchmaking penalty in regular and Ranked matches. Penalties mean players are stopped from entering new matches for escalating amounts of time based on how often they drop out of matches before they're finished. Penalties range from 5 minutes to an entire week. 

While the Series 1 score-based system remains it has been improved in some ways. For more "granularity in the points spread" all the points in the system have been multiplied by 10. Match entry RP costs have also been updated. Bronze matches remain free but Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond and Apex Predator matches now cost 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 RP respectively. 

Assists have also been added to Ranked play's kill count score. An assist in Apex Legends is defined as doing damage to a player within 5 seconds of them being knocked down by a teammate. If the player is revived the assist doesn't count. 

Completely new to Ranked League Series 2 is the Apex Predator Ladder Position which now allows Apex Predator ranked players to see their worldwide standing as well as their RP. The ladders positions are split by platform so three players on PlayStation, Xbox and PC are all able to claim a number 1 ranking. 

Cosmetic rewards for rankings have also been introduced. All players  receive badges indicating the highest level they've reached while players that reach Gold tier and higher receive a gun charm. Reach Diamond or higher and players receive a custom dive trail. 

Recently there have been rumors that players could soon see cross-play and cross-progression introduced to Apex Legends. We're taking these rumors with a pinch of salt since Respawn hasn't made any comment on them. But if there is anything to be announced it's likely we won't hear until Season 3 is underway or perhaps even past. 

Apex Legends tips and tricks

Apex Legends can be difficult to get to grips with. There are a lot of different characters each with their own abilities and skills, plus this battle royale arguably leans more heavily on strategy and teamwork than some of its competitors. 

Get ahead of the pack with our selection of Apex Legends guides, designed to help you become a champion.

Apex Legends

How to download Apex Legends

Apex Legends can be downloaded for free from the PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, Origin Store or Apex Legends website. Simply search for the title, download the game and enjoy! 

But do keep in mind that a good internet connect and subscription to either PS Plus, Xbox Live or Origin Access is required to play.

The good news is that Apex Legends is also coming to mobile in the future, following in the footsteps of Fortnite and PUBG.

Apex Legends


Apex Legends roadmap - what's next?

Respawn Entertainment has shared the season roadmap for Apex Legends. Apex Legends Battle Pass seasons run for approximately three months. Currently four seasons have officially been announced:

  • Season One: March 19, 2019 until June 18, 2019. 
  • Season Two: July 2, 2019
  • Season Three: September 2019
  • Season Four: December 2019

Apex Legends

Although Season 4 was supposed to launch in December 2019, the date has been pushed back to February 4 2020. So far, what's included in this new season is an extremely well-kept secret but, as with previous seasons, it's likely to include new weapons and items and a new character. 

Is Apex Legends coming to mobile?

Yes. In EA’s quarterly earnings report, the publisher announced that it’s looking at bringing the Respawn Entertainment-developed game to mobile platforms and to both South Korea and China. 

“We’re in advanced negotiations to China and mobile”, EA’s CFO Blake Jorgenson stated, before later mentioning South Korea as another expansion point. 

We shouldn't expect to see Apex Legends on mobile for at least a year, though. According to EA Chief Executive, Andrew Wilson, the game won't launch until the fiscal year 2021.

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