Apple : How to watch the Breeders' Cup 2019: live stream the racing from anywhere |
- How to watch the Breeders' Cup 2019: live stream the racing from anywhere
- Xbox Project Scarlett release date, specs and games confirmed for the Xbox Two
- Diablo Immortal: everything there is to know about Blizzard's mobile RPG
- BlizzCon brings new Diablo Immortal details
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| How to watch the Breeders' Cup 2019: live stream the racing from anywhere Posted: 02 Nov 2019 11:59 AM PDT The 36th Breeders' Cup sees the event return to Santa Anita Park in California for the first time since 2016. You can tune in no matter where you are in the world, using our Breeders' Cup live stream guide below, With a bumper $30 million prize pot spread over the two-day meeting, it's one of the most eagerly anticipated weekends in the flat season. There are nine top-class contests set to take place on Breeders' Cup Saturday, with the grand finale being the $6 million Classic run as the final race of the day. A 1 and 1/4 miles long race on dirt with a field of up to 14 horses, while the the Kentucky Derby may be more widely known among casual racing fans, the Breeders' Cup Classic is considered by seasoned punters as the premier thoroughbred horse race of the year in the States. Trained by three-time winner Bob Baffert, this year's favorite is McKinzie, who enters this year's Classic as a far more experienced horse from the one which finished 12th in last year's race. Also heavily backed is Code of Honor, following the three-year-old's win over the much fancied Vino Rosso in the Jockey Club Gold Cup in September. Read on to find out how to live stream the Breeders' Cup from anywhere in the world from the comfort of your own TV, mobile phone or tablet.
How to watch the Breeders' Cup 2019: US live streamIf you're watching at home in the US, tune in to NBC for live coverage of the Breeders' Cup. The channel will be showing thebig races on Championship Saturday, November 2. Tune in to NBCSN from 3.30pm ET / 12.30pm PT for live coverage of Saturday's key races. The Breeders' Cup Classic Hour featuring a live broadcast of the 36th Breeders' Cup Classic will be telecast on NBC. If you prefer to watch the race on your computer or laptop, remember that the whole event will be streamed live online at nbcsports.com/live. For those on the go, NBC will also stream the race on mobile via the official NBC app. It's worth noting that with both of these options you will have to sign in using your cable provider’s information for full access. If you've got a cable subscription but happen to not be in the US when the Breeders' Cup takes place, the best way to get access to your feed is by using a VPN. Below you'll find all the information on how to download and use a VPN to watch the race. How to get a Breeders' Cup live stream from outside your countryWith your watching options covered for the US, Canada and UK in this article, you'd think that's all you need to know, right? Well sure...unless you're abroad this weekend. Try to tune in from overseas and you'll soon discover that your coverage is geo-blocked. Annoying, but your race is not yet run. How to watch in the US without cableIf you don't have a cable subscription, fear not, because there are other options that will allow you to watch NBC without having to subscribe to it. To make the entire process simple for you, we've listed three of our favorite options below:
Want to stream even more sport? Check out TechRadar's best sport streaming sites guide How to watch the Breeders' Cup 2019: Canada live streamIf you're wanting to tune in to this year's Breeders' Cup from Canada, you'll want to head over to TSN. Most of the card is on TSN 2 and 3, but for the main event on Saturday you have to tune in online at TSN.ca and through the official TSN app. Again, like your neighbors to the south, you'll need a subscription in order to watch this way. How to watch the Breeders' Cup 2019: UK live streamIf you're in the UK and fancy a flutter on this huge US race, then you can watch all the action from the Breeders Cup via the new Sky Sports Racing channel which is available to all Sky TV or Virgin Media customers on a basic subscription. The channel is also available via Sky Sports pass with Now TV, costing £9.99 per day, £14.99 a week, or £33.99 a month depending on how much Sky Sports you wish to take in outside of this race. If you don't have Sky or Virgin and just want to watch racing, you can still subscribe to the At The Races Player instead. It costs £9.99 per month, and let's you access racing action from around the world on your phone and tablet via its apps. Which ever method you use to watch the race, be prepared for a late night - this year's Breeder Cup Classic is set to start at 12.44am GMT in the early hours of Sunday morning. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Xbox Project Scarlett release date, specs and games confirmed for the Xbox Two Posted: 02 Nov 2019 10:51 AM PDT After years of speculation, Microsoft finally announced the Xbox Project Scarlett (affectionately dubbed the 'Xbox Two') during its big E3 2019 keynote conference in June of this year. The next-gen Xbox promises to deliver native 4K games at 60 frames-per-second, a large solid state drive to ensure almost no load times and ray tracing on consoles. UPDATE: Microsoft has announced it will be bringing its All Access Bundle back with an option to upgrade to Project Scarlett when it's released and Ubisoft has confirmed 3 titles it will be launching on the system. We only have a few details on Microsoft's next-generation hardware so far – even the moniker 'Project Scarlett' is a codename for now – but we do know it's coming, when it's coming, and a handful of the features and specs we can expect when it lands. Faster and more graphically advanced than its predecessors, Xbox Project Scarlett promises to be the most powerful games console (or consoles) in the world by the time it launches late in 2020 – with custom built components from AMD, and an SSD drive at its heart allowing for innovative game development techniques. It's unlikely to rival some of the top-end PCs when it launches next year (the PS5 certainly won't) but it should offer a good price-to-performance ratio. Microsoft ran a similar message when launching the Xbox One X a little over two years ago – which is still the most powerful console on the market – and it is now doubling down with its next-gen console. That said, Microsoft is claiming that Xbox Scarlett is up to four times as powerful as the Xbox One X and offer a number of performance upgrades. What does all this mean for lapsed Xbox One owners and former fanboys who went to Sony's console – well, it means that Microsoft is taking its next console seriously: “For us, the console is vital and central to our experience. A console should be designed, and built and optimized for one thing, and one thing only – gaming,” said Xbox boss Phil Spencer. “This decisive moment of discovery is etched in your gaming history. We on Team Xbox will always be dedicated to delivering the best new games for you to discover. This right now is the single most creative and energizing time in gaming history. Games and gamers can be a significant unifying force for the world.” Xbox Project Scarlett: key facts
Xbox Project Scarlett internal hardware. (Image credit: Microsoft) Xbox Project Scarlett release dateExpect to see the Xbox Project Scarlett console launch in the 'holiday' window of 2020. That's between October and December of 2020, and just in time for Christmas. It's exactly the same sort of launch period we're expecting Sony to have for its PS5, too. Santa's going to be a busy guy next year. Keep in mind that all the rumors pointed to there being two new Xbox consoles on the way, codenamed Anaconda and Lockhart, the former being high end (likely what we've seen here) and the latter being a cheaper, streaming-focused solution. Time will tell if that's still Microsoft's plan, but one thing's for certain – it's throwing down the gauntlet for Sony's PlayStation 5 to take on. Xbox Project Scarlett specsWith only a sizzle reel to go by, we don't yet know what the Xbox Project Scarlett will look like, let alone what it'll be named. But we do have a good idea of its internal hardware, and the Xbox Project Scarlett specs are already sounding quite special. Using custom-designed processor from AMD making use of Zen 2 and Navi architecture, Xbox Project Scarlett will be 4x more powerful than the Xbox One X. It'll be possible of running games at 120Hz frame rates, at potential 8K resolutions, while also showcasing fancy real-time ray-tracing tech. It's the works. An SSD will come as standard, as with the PS5, which will give it the option of using its storage system as virtual RAM, as well as lifting load time performance by a factor of 40x. That'll let developers stream in far more detailed worlds around a player. In terms of 'standard' RAM, the console will pack in a meaty GDDR6. Xbox Project Scarlett components. (Image credit: Microsoft) Though gamers are increasingly shifting their purchase preferences towards the convenience of digital downloads, Xbox Project Scarlett will also have a physical disk drive. It's also likely that the new Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 that is available for pre-order right now and launching November 4 of this year will be the controller for this upcoming console. That could just be wishful thinking, but with the hyperbolic language surrounding this announcement, we would expect nothing less. Indeed, Microsoft has confirmed that all your current Xbox One accessories will work with Xbox Project Scarlett, including existing controllers and headsets. But we'd doubt that also includes the ill-fated Kinect motion tracker. In addition, benchmark results have appeared online for an AMD ‘Flute’ system-on-a-chip (SoC), leading some to speculate that this could be the hardware that will power Xbox Project Scarlett. The benchmark results were spotted by a a Twitter user, and while we’re not sure what the purpose of the chip is, we know that Microsoft is working with AMD to produce a custom SoC that combines a processor and graphics card for the next Xbox – in the same way Sony is working with AMD on its custom Gonzalo SoC for the PlayStation 5. If these benchmark results are real, and the AMD Flute SoC is indeed going to power the Xbox Scarlett console, then it gives us an idea of the console's specifications and potential power level – something Microsoft has been rather cagey about so far. According to the benchmark results, the AMD Flute SoC will come with eight Zen 2 cores, 16 threads and SMT capability. Interestingly, the base clock speed of the Flute SoC is just 1.6GHz, which is pretty low these days, with a maximum boost of 3.2GHz. This suggests that the Flute SoC will be a low-power part for use in compact systems – such as a games console, and is similar to AMD’s Jaguar SoC which powered the Xbox One. While on paper the Flute SoC’s processor doesn’t sound too impressive – especially when compared to modern desktop PCs’ CPUs – it looks like the Flute CPU will be at least two times faster than previous-generation Jaguar SoCs, and will be a big upgrade over the dated 28nm Jaguar SoCs found in the original Xbox One and PS4. The Flute SoC is also expected to be 7nm, which will also bring power benefits. As a system-on-a-chip, the AMD Flute looks like it comes with a graphics processing unit (GPU) as well, though clues about the graphics capabilities are harder to find. Apparently, it will be based on ‘NAVI 10LITE’ – which has been mentioned before when unreleased AMD Navi GPUs showed up in a Linux driver. It’s possible that this is a ‘Lite’ version of the Navi 10 GPU, which will have reduced or limited specs compared to the full version, including lower CU (compute unit) counts. Having a lower CU count means the GPU will be less power-hungry, again suggesting that the AMD Flute SoC, if it does exist, is designed for a device where power efficiency is important – such as a games console. Finally, the benchmark results also suggest the engineering sample uses 16GB of memory – though the type of memory is not mentioned. It could mean that the Flute SoC shares 16GB of GDDR6 memory between the CPU and GPU, in a similar way to how the Xbox One X shares GDDR5 memory. So, does this mean we have a better idea of what the Xbox Scarlett’s specs will be? Well, there’s some compelling evidence, but remember that this is from a leaked benchmark, and we’re not sure if the AMD Flute SoC is going to be used in Xbox Scarlett – if the SoC even exits. It’s also worth noting that this AMD Flute is apparently an engineering sample, which means this may not be its final specifications – and that could change if (and it’s a very big if) it ends up in the Xbox Scarlett when the console launches late 2020. "I think the area that we really want to focus on next generation is frame rate and playability of the games," Spencer explained in an interview with Gamespot. "Ensuring that the games load incredibly fast, ensuring that the game is running at the highest frame rate possible." In addition Spencer went on to explain that Microsoft is aiming to get Project Scarlett games to run at 60 FPS in 4K, calling the challenge a "design goal". "This generation, we've really focused on 4K visuals and how we bring both movies through 4K Blu-ray and video streaming," Spencer explained. "And with Xbox One X allowing games to run at 4K visuals will make really strong visual enhancements next generation."
Halo Infinite will be a Project Scarlett exclusive. Xbox Project Scarlett priceMicrosoft won't be pinned down on a price point quite yet – unsurprisingly, given what a sore spot the price of the Xbox One was for fans. At launch the original Xbox One cost a whopping $499 / £429 / AU$599, which was quickly reduced when Microsoft realised people weren't forking out. Price will inevitably be determined by the cost of the components going into the console: Xbox Scarlett is going to be a lot more powerful than either the Xbox One S or Xbox One X, and that could mean we're looking at an even higher price tag. The move towards streaming, however, may lead to smaller hard drives – or maybe even the option to buy without a hard drive at all – which would certainly cut down costs. Jason Ronald, director of the Xbox platform, gave only a vague reassurance when speaking to Windows Central, saying that Microsoft knew "what reasonable price points are for a console and kind of what customers expect about that". For those in the UK or the US looking to purchase an Xbox One X or One S rather than wait for the new generation, Microsoft is making an upgrade option available through its Xbox All Access pass, which splits the cost of an Xbox console, Xbox Live and Xbox Game Pass into monthly payments across 24 months. The service goes live in November and will allow you to buy an Xbox One S (with controller) and a 24 month Game Pass Ultimate for £19.99/$22.99 per month for 24 months. With an Xbox One X, the cost is £24.99/$30.99 per month. When Xbox One S owners have paid 18 months of their console off (it's 12 months for Xbox One X owners) they'll be able to return to the retailer they purchased the console from, trade it in, and walk away with a new finance deal on Project Scarlett console. As there's no price confirmed for Project Scarlett just yet we don't know how much its monthly cost will be after trade in but will update when it's confirmed. It could, however, be a more financially manageable way to enter the new generation.
Xbox Project Scarlett gamesHalo Infinite will has been confirmed to be an Xbox Project Scarlett launch title, bringing back the Master Chief for the franchises' first outing since 2015. It will have been five years at that point since a new mainline Halo game, so fans will be chomping at the bit for fresh Halo action. The Halo franchise is widely regarded as the original Xbox’s first must-play games, so the move to launch a next-gen with a Halo game is both symbolic and quite business-savvy on Microsoft’s part. To coincide with the announcement, Microsoft and the game's developer 343 Industries unveiled a new Halo Infinite trailer, available below: If Halo is not your thing you wont be wanting for games to play at launch though – especially if you're an existing Xbox player. Xbox Project Scarlett will be capable of three generations of backwards compatibility. So, as well as Scarlett-era games, it'll also play games from the Xbox One, the Xbox 360, and the very first generation of the Xbox. As far as third-parties are concerned, we already have confirmation from Ubisoft that its upcoming titles Watch Dogs: Legion, Gods and Monsters and Rainbow Six Quarantine will be coming to Microsoft's console after delays were announced during a financial call. Now that next generation announcements are coming in, we'll be holding our breath waiting for updates from other publishers.
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| Diablo Immortal: everything there is to know about Blizzard's mobile RPG Posted: 02 Nov 2019 10:25 AM PDT Click. Hack. Click. Slash. Click. Loot. Repeat. Welcome, you're in the world of Diablo now. For the uninitiated, Diablo is the world’s premier action RPG series. It's a game that's effectively spawned many an imitator, but few have managed to come close to the original's addictive, dungeon-crawling, gear-gathering grind. Blizzard, the developers of Diablo, managed to blow away the competition on the PC and finally won over console gamers with Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition. And now they're making a move that's a bit unexpected, and has ruffled a few feathers: they're setting their sights on your smartphone, with plans to bring the demon-slaying franchise to your palm with Diablo for smartphones, which will be called Diablo Immortal. However, the move from PC to console to smartphone has been a controversial one, and already seems to be dividing the game's hardcore fanbase. We're not sure where we stand yet. But we do think that Diablo Immortal could be a genuine antidote to all the horrible Diablo clones that plague mobile game stores, right? UPDATE: BlizzCon 2019 was a much quieter affair than BlizzCon 2018 for Diablo Immortal, with only a blog post offering an update on the game's progress and a new trailer. Read on to find out more.
Image Credit: Diablo Immortal/Blizzard Entertainment Cut to the chase – Diablo on phones
Diablo Immortal trailersBlizzCon 2019 brought a gameplay and development update trailer for Diablo Immortal which shows some new character classes, gameplay mechanics and locations. Two trailers have been revealed for Diablo Immortal – one a relatively extensive look at gameplay, the other a cinematic focussing on the story. Feast your eyes on both below: Diablo Immortal release dateDiablo Immortal doesn’t have an official release date yet beyond a “coming soon” placeholder. We had been expecting a 2019 release, but a statement in February of 2019 from Blizzard CFO Dennis Durkin, aimed at easing investor expectations, stated that the company had no major releases planned for 2019. Image Credit: Diablo Immortal/Blizzard Entertainment It’s possible that as Diablo Immortal is (for the time being at least) only being considered a mobile release, that this is not considered a big mainline title for Blizzard, and could still fall into the 2019 window. But as the first all-new release in one of the company’s most storied franchises, it’s hard to imagine it not being considered a major title. Diablo Immortal gameplay and storyIt may be a mobile game, but for the most part this is going to be the same Diablo you already know and love, albeit with controls designed to make the most out of a phone touchscreen rather than a mouse or controller. Developed cooperatively between Blizzard and Chinese devs at NetEase (the company which co-operates Overwatch, Diablo 3 and Warcraft in China), the game will be set 5 years after the events of Diablo 2, and will explore what happened after the Worldstone was destroyed in that game, and the path taken to the dismal world of Diablo 3. The likes of Tyrael, Malthael, and Leah and Deckard Cain will all feature in the story, as will the demon hunters Valla and Josen who appeared in Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm. In terms of foes, expect appearances from Diablo’s buddy Baal and Skarn, the Herald of Terror. Story beats will be dished out via non-playable characters, with additional storylines landing through updates to the game. Image Credit: Diablo Immortal/Blizzard Entertainment Built from the ground-up, Diablo Immortal will introduce new abilities and techniques not yet seen in a Diablo game. While six familiar classes will be present (Barbarian, Demon Hunter, Monk, Necromancer, Crusader and Wizard – with the Witch Doctor notably absent at this stage), they’ll be able to work together in all new ways. Abilities will be able to be combined to make cross class co-operative play more exciting. A Wizard for instance will be able to freeze a foe with ice crystals before firing a beam called the Ray of Frost into the crystal. When used individually, the Ray of Frost and ice crystals can only take down one baddie, but if the ray is fired at the crystal, it fragments the beam so it can hit multiple enemies. Players will be able to use Ultimate Abilities (charged through repeated basic attacks) and Legendary items in order to enhance their powers and unleash well-timed devastating attacks that could give them the edge in a difficult battle. Image Credit: Diablo Immortal/Blizzard Entertainment Projectile and melee attacks will also be more clearly directional now—many attacks will include a a directional cone within which to fire them off, which will likely be handy when attempting to trigger the combo moves described earlier. The other big change for the game will be the amount of players who can team up together. Previously, this has topped out at four for Diablo 3. But footage of Diablo Immortal shows as many as ten players banding together to battle foes. Early reports indicate that these large scale battles will be locked to open world areas, with instanced dungeons (and the boss specific loot they offer) instead tied to four-player maximum parties. There also seems to be a greater emphasis on environmental and platforming obstacles in Diablo Immortal. The gameplay clip showed levels in which players had to abseil down a chasm while battling the forces of darkness, and another where they travelled along what appeared to be a river in a raft, taking on baddies along for the ride. Image Credit: Diablo Immortal/Blizzard Entertainment Those changes aside, expect Diablo Immortal to be very similar to previous Diablo games. You’ll fight enemies, levelling up to acquire new skills while dearly wishing that the next felled foe will drop a more powerful weapon, armour piece or accessory to make your coming battles easier. It’s one of the most addictive loops in all of gaming, and what has made Diablo one of the most revered franchises in all of gaming. Reception and controversyDiablo Immortal’s announcement was met with, at best, a mixed reception. It’s been several years since Blizzard released a mainline Diablo game, and so the trailer seemed a tease for those expecting a full PC or console release. As such, the backlash was immediate, with some accusing Blizzard of cashing in on fans’ goodwill, and that the game was merely a reskin of co-developers NetEase’s previous mobile ARPG titles. Blizzard has looked to allay fears, saying that it’s taking as much care with Diablo Immortal as any of its titles, and assuring fans that it’s an all-new game worth their time. In an interview with GamesBeat, Blizzard president J. Allen Brack defended the decision to create a mobile game stating that while Blizzard would like its core fanbase to give the mobile release a chance, it's understood that "every game is not going to be for every person". Brack added that as a mobile title, Immortal will, of course, be "different" and that it's not trying to replicate the PC experience" but promised "it’s going to be a good, authentic experience for the Blizzard games we bring to that platform." However, so great has been the animosity that Blizzard has had to show its hand for further titles earlier than expected. While it hasn’t explicitly stated that Diablo 4 is in development, it has said that Immortal is not the only Diablo game currently in the works. So expect, sooner or later, another fully fledged Diablo game to be revealed. In another interview with IGN, Brack said that the fan reaction to Immortal's reveal had taught Blizzard "a huge number of lessons". Brack acknowledged concern that Blizzard was moving away from PC releases in favor of mobile but said that this mobile release "doesn’t mean we’re not going to be continuing to make awesome PC games and awesome console games like we have in the past. " Image Credit: Diablo Immortal/Blizzard Entertainment Diablo Immortal pricing and in-game purchasesJust exactly how Blizzard will be selling Diablo Immortal is yet to be revealed. While many fans are hoping for a one-off, single payment, that seems unlikely given how the lucrative mobile gaming market has been established. We’d imagine that Diablo Immortal will be free to play, and will include some sort of in-app purchases, be that access to additional classes or, more likely, stat buffing items and cosmetic adornments for your heroes. In an update from BlizzCon 2019, Blizzard said it's still "too early" to reveal how it plans to monetise the game but assured fans that it's “taking the time to get it right”. “We want to make a Diablo game players love and to support it for years to come,” the post explains, “We plan to achieve that by creating an ecosystem that accounts for and welcomes every type of player—from our most die-hard Diablo veterans to those who’ll be exploring Sanctuary for the first time.” Image Credits: Blizzard Entertainment This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| BlizzCon brings new Diablo Immortal details Posted: 02 Nov 2019 10:12 AM PDT The big Diablo news from BlizzCon this year is, without a doubt, the confirmation of Diablo 4. But Diablo Immortal, the mobile announcement that caused such a furore at BlizzCon 2018, is still in development and Blizzard has some more details to share for it too. In a much quieter fashion than last year, Blizzard kept Diablo Immortal out of the BlizzCon opening ceremony and instead posted an update on its official blog with a trailer as well as new information on the game’s story, its classes and its gameplay. The biggest thing Blizzard wants to make clear to Diablo fans is that although Immortal will be an MMO ARPG on mobile, it wants to “include all the things you know and love about Diablo: multitudes of monsters to slay, troves of loot to collect and customize, and powerful classes to play with friends or on your own.” A quiet update
As far as new details, Blizzard confirmed that Diablo Immortal players will be able to create a brand new original hero and choose between six classes: Barbarian, Crusader, Demon Hunter, Monk, Necromancer, and Wizard. Those attending BlizzCon this year will have the chance to gets hands on with a demo of the Demon Hunter class through new locations: the town of Wortham and Ashwold Cemetary. The game will also include a new base game mechanic called Ultimate Abilities. Each class will have its own Ultimate Ability and players will be able to gain charge to unleash that stronger and more powerful ability by using basic attacks. Players will also get to enhance their power with the game’s Legendary items. These will make it possible to change up combat by doing things like transforming a burning fireball into a Frozen Orb or turning arrows into grenades. Blizzard confirmed that it plans to support Diablo Immortal long after launch with new areas, stories, enemies, events and character classes. When that launch is, however, is still unclear. According to the post, “it takes significant time to meet the Blizzard quality level” that the developer and its fans have come to expect and Blizzard wants to take time to meet the “ambitious goals” it’s set for the game. To ease feelings of impatience, it’s possible to sign up to take part in the beta test on the official Diablo Immortal website. There’s no beta start date confirmed just yet but it’ll certainly be before the release date which is a start. Blizzard stated that it’s also “too early to share details” about how the game will be monetised. Fans have expressed concern over whether or not microtransactions will be included. Although Blizzard hasn’t gone into detail, it’s hoping to assuage some fears by promising that it’s “taking the time to get it right”. “We want to make a Diablo game players love and to support it for years to come,” the post explains, “We plan to achieve that by creating an ecosystem that accounts for and welcomes every type of player—from our most die-hard Diablo veterans to those who’ll be exploring Sanctuary for the first time.” This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Avatar is the latest blockbuster movie to be added to the Disney Plus line-up Posted: 02 Nov 2019 09:00 AM PDT Another big-name movie has been added to the Disney Plus library ahead of its grand launch on November 12: James Cameron's 2009 sci-fi epic Avatar. If you sign up on or before launch day, you'll be able to start streaming the tale of the Na'vi people and their home planet of Pandora straight away, and the film's inclusion might just be enough to tempt you into subscribing. Famous for its big budget, and cutting-edge special effects, and huge box office takings – it was the highest-grossing movie of all time for a decade – Avatar is also a very long flick, clocking in at 2 hours and 41 minutes.
The movie is still waiting for a sequel, though principal filming has now finished on both Avatar 2 (due to be released in 2021) and Avatar 3 (due to be released in 2023). That November 12 launch for Disney Plus only applies to the US, Canada, and the Netherlands. Australia and New Zealand follow on November 19. We're expecting the service to spread out into other countries, but we're not exactly sure when. Avatar is going to join a whole host of content available on Disney Plus when it goes live, with plenty more in the way of shows and movies getting added over time as well. On the movie front, you're going to be able to watch most of the Star Wars and Marvel films released to date, as well as all those classic animated Disney Movies. TV show content will include The Mandalorian, an original series set in the Star Wars universe. A Disney Plus subscription will cost you $6.99 per month in the US, $8.99 per month in Australia and Canada, $9.99 in New Zealand, and €6.99 in the Netherlands. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| HarmonyOS: what you need to know about Huawei's new operating system Posted: 02 Nov 2019 09:00 AM PDT In August 2019, Huawei CEO took to the stage of the company's annual Developer Conference, to announce HarmonyOS, the company's new cross-device operating system. The announcement was clearly a thinly-veiled response to political events over the last year, but the message is clear – if Huawei has to ditch Android, down the line, it can. For the time being though, this is a smart device operating system leading the charge alongside other unified operating systems such as Google Fuchsia. HarmonyOS (previously codenamed HongMeng) is a platform designed for a variety of devices, and is currently aimed at IoT devices such as smart displays or smart home equipment. The first product with the operating system is Honor TV, although more similar products have since been announced, including Huawei TV. Given the political situation between the US and China (see: Huawei ban) and the impact it’s had on Huawei’s access to Android over the last year, it’s little wonder that the brand is presenting a defiant, confident stance. Cut to the chase
HarmonyOS price and release dateHarmonyOS will be free to use, as long as you've got a device running the OS, but since even best Huawei devices are affordable, that shouldn't be too hard. You might be waiting awhile to use HarmonyOS, though. It's in use on Honor TV and Huawei TV sets, but those are currently only available in China, and we've heard the next Huawei Watch GT smartwatch will run on the operating system, but a release of that is still some way out. As we'll get into, HarmonyOS on Huawei smartphones is still a way off too, if it's to come at all, so outside of China, we may be waiting a long time to try the operating system. How does HarmonyOS work?Huawei claims that with the rise of the IoT device, a more efficient operating system is needed. With these IoT devices packing less memory and storage than even the best smartphones, they need significantly more streamlined code, and for 100 lines of Android code, you could just have one line of HarmonyOS code. Despite this, HarmonyOS is still able to deliver powerful functionality across devices. By taking a 'single kernel across devices approach', Huawei also aims to create a shared ecosystem of different devices, break through silos and in turn save developers time. One app can be deployed across a car head unit, smartwatch, fitness tracker and speaker, working perfectly. We’ve seen something similar ideas before, most notably on Windows Phone, which had a shared Kernel with Windows 10. While that wasn’t a hit, Huawei’s could have a silver bullet in its gun - Android compatibility. Honor TV HarmonyOS started life as a TV OS, to create opportunities for seamless casting and fluid across devices, so a user could be on a video call on their phone, cast it to a TV in the kitchen, then continue it in the living room. After that, they could take a phone call, moving from room to room, with the call following them around jumping from one smart speaker to another. HarmonyOS will also feature on watches, speakers and car head units down the line, but isn't limited to these device categories. What’s more, it’s open-source, with Huawei releasing promises for plenty of developer support down the line. HarmonyOS will also be an open-source platform, so developers will be able to provide apps for the platform and other manufacturers of smartphones may even choose to use the operating system. Is HarmonyOS set to replace Android on phones?As for smartphones getting Harmony OS, Yu was clear on Huawei’s current stance when HarmonyOS was unveiled: "When can we put it on our smartphones? We can do it any time, but for the Google partnership, and efficiency, the priority will be for Google Android OS ... If we cannot use it in the future, we can switch from Android’. He clarified that the switch would be “quick and easy”, putting forward fighting words while clearly safeguarding his company’s partnership with Google, for the time being at least. Upon its announcement, Yu refrained from committing to any switches from Android to HarmonyOS just yet, and it seems Huawei's President of Global Media and Communications, Joy Tan, agrees, suggesting HarmonyOS isn't going to replace Android on Huawei phones any time soon. Tan said "a viable alternative to Android's operating system will take years to complete.", seemingly contradicting statements made upon HarmonyOS' debut, but it just shows that there's no immediate plans for HarmonyOS to be available on Huawei phones.
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| Can Facebook ever be kept safe without hurting staff? Posted: 02 Nov 2019 09:00 AM PDT In 2017, Facebook ever so slightly adjusted its mission statement. Out went a pledge to “make the world more open and connected”, and in its place came an intention to “give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together”. You could view this as an admission that 'open' had failed. 'Open' means open to hate speech, child abuse, violence, sex and the kind of illegal acts Facebook would rather have nothing to do with. And yet the company now finds itself having to clean up such messes every hour of every day. Or rather, it employs outsiders to do said dirty work. In The Cleaners, a documentary by Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck, contractors from the Philippines candidly discuss the steady stream of sex, violence and hate speech they have to sift through every day. Former Facebook moderator Chris Gray and filmmaker Moritz Riesewieck at Mozfest 2019 They have to make each decision in eight to 10 seconds, they say, and “don’t overthink” is a direct quote from the training materials, such as they are. “Don't doubt too much whether your decision is right or wrong, because otherwise you will overthink it, and then you won't be able to take a decision,” Riesewieck summarises to TechRadar at Mozilla’s Mozfest, where he and his co-director have just been on a panel discussing internet moderation. If ever there were a company to stress test the idea that any problem can be solved with enough money, it’s Facebook. And yet, so far, the problem just continues to grow. In 2009, Facebook had just 12 (yes, that’s twelve) content moderators looking out for the welfare of 120 million users. There are now over two billion people on the platform and around 15,000 moderators. While that means the ratio of moderator to user has gone up from paltry to feeble, it’s worth reflecting that Facebook in 2019 is very different to what it was a decade ago, when the Like button was the latest innovation, and Facebook Live was still years away. "The worst of the worst of the internet's trash"“Estimates say that there are about 100,000 professionals that work in this field,” says Clara Tsao, a Mozilla fellow and expert in countering online disinformation. They “deal with the worst of the worst of the internet’s trash,” she adds, noting that on 4chan they’re literally called 'janitors'. Unlike real-world janitors, though, the internet’s cleaners aren’t always given the right equipment for the enormous task at hand. Facebook’s Filipino contingent would occasionally encounter exchanges in languages they didn’t speak, using Google Translate to follow meaning. That inevitably takes a sledgehammer to nuance, before you even get onto the cultural differences inevitable between countries separated by an eight-hour time zone gap. Facebook moderators have to monitor vast amounts of content from around the world, and may be required to assess conversations in a language they don't speak Facebook moderators aren't only located in the Philippines. There are offices around the world, and it was in Dublin where Chris Gray found himself after a spell teaching in Asia. Now he’s the lead plaintiff representing moderators in High Court proceedings against Facebook. Over a nine-month spell at the company (in Ireland, most workers are on 11-month contracts, he says but most leave early), Gray was dealing with 500-600 bits of content a night, usually in the 6pm to 2am slot. It was only a year after he left that he was officially diagnosed with PTSD. “It took me a year before I realised that this job had knocked me on my arse,” he says as part of the panel discussion. This delayed reaction, Riesewieck tells us, isn’t wholly uncommon. “In some cases they told us it's mostly their friends telling them that they changed,” he explains.
In any case, many of Gray’s former colleagues are privately pleased at him breaking NDA and leading the charge to legal action – even if they’re not prepared to say so publicly just yet. “People are just coming out of the woodwork and saying, ‘Oh, thank God, somebody has spoken out and said this,’” he tells TechRadar later. To be clear, despite having personally been affected by the work, Gray feels that it’s misleading to assume it’s non-stop gore, child exploitation and sex. “To be honest, most of the work is tedious,” he says. “It’s just people reporting each other because they're having an argument and they want to use some process to get back at the other person.” Tedious, but high pressure. In the Irish office, Gray had 30 seconds to pass verdict on content whether it was a one-line insult or a 30-minute video. “If your auditor clicked in [on a video] two seconds later than you and he saw something different – he heard a different slur, or he saw something higher up the priority ladder – then bang, you've made a wrong decision.” Wrong decisions affect quality score, and quality score affects your employment. Despite this, the target for the office was a nigh-on impossible 98% accuracy. SuperheroesFinding people to talk about their moderation experience is tough, as Block and Riesewieck found when looking for subjects. NDAs are universal, and the work comes under a codename – at the time of filming it was 'project honey badger'. Despite this, Facebook – or the subcontractors that deal with moderation – hire quite openly, even if they’re often grossly misleading about what the job actually entails. “They use superheroes in costumes, ‘come be a superhero, clean up the internet’,” explains Gabi Ivens, another Mozilla fellow on the panel. “One advert in Germany for content moderators asked questions like ‘do you love social media and wants to be up to date with what's happening in the world?’” But despite the general tediousness of the day-to-day, there’s a surprising element to Block and Riesewieck’s documentary: many of their interview subjects took real pride in the role, seeing it as less of a job and more of a duty. Filipino Facebook moderators told filmmakers Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck they felt it was their ethical duty to clean up the internet “They told us they feel like superheroes of the internet – like policemen guarding the internet,” says Block. The directors credit this in part to the Philippines’ 90% Christian populous. “They told us they feel like Jesus freeing the world from it,” Block adds. This, in turn, might make people feel reluctant to walk away, seeing it as their ethical duty rather than just a job. But there are limits to this, especially as moderators aren’t making the final calls themselves. Here, the sacred text is Facebook’s labyrinthine set of rules and instructions: thousands of words accumulated over many years. In some cases, people are having to protect speech they think should be banned, or ban speech they think should be protected, something that Ivens sees as an obvious problem for wellbeing. “Keeping content online that you don’t think should be online is extremely damaging, even before you think about what people are seeing.” The irony to treating the rules as sacred is that Facebook’s rules have never been an infallible set text: they’re the results of years of iterative changes, gradually responding to crises as they emerge, and trying to make the subjective more objective.
Remember the 'free the nipple' campaign? In short, Facebook guidelines originally said that any photograph with breasts in should be banned as pornographic, which meant the internet was deprived of proud mothers breastfeeding on the platform. Facebook gradually shifted its rules and accepted that context matters. In the same way, it’s had to accept that although there’s nothing illegal with people eating Tide Pods or spreading anti-vaccination conspiracy theories, if something becomes a public health epidemic, then it has a duty to step up. "Some platforms say certain content might not be unlawful, but is unacceptable,” explains Tsao. But “other people feel like the internet should have broader freedoms to say whatever you want.” For Facebook, this dichotomy produces absurd levels of granularity: “Now we've got some guidance on if you threaten to push somebody off a roof,” Gray says. “Pushing is not a violent action. The fact that you're on a roof is important, but then how high is the roof?” So much for that “don’t overthink” guidance. This kind of inertia in moderation guidelines lets internet trolls thrive. You don’t have to look very hard to come up with examples of internet rabble rousers who step right up to the line without ever quite overstepping it. Instead, they leave that to their followers – and sometimes, catastrophically, that spills over into the real world. Morality doesn’t cross bordersFacebook’s global status makes the problem even more complex because morality isn’t shared across borders. “It's complicated because it surpasses the local policies of countries and borders right into a wild west,” Tsao says. Gray gives the example of people’s sexuality: gay pride is very much a thing in most of the west, but less so elsewhere in the world. You might tag a friend as gay in a post, and they’re comfortable enough with their sexuality to share it. So in that instance, it feels reasonable not to take the post down, even if a curmudgeonly homophobe complains about it. Morality isn't a global concept. which makes moderating international content a huge challenge “But then if you're in Nigeria you could get you beaten or killed because somebody sees that post,” he explains. “That mistake could cost somebody their life. I mean, this is the reality of it: you are sometimes looking at life and death situations.” Objective acts of violence should be more clear cut, but they aren’t. Video of a child getting shot might seem like an obvious candidate for deletion, but what if it’s citizen journalism uncovering unreported war crimes? If Facebook takes that down, then isn’t it just the unwitting propaganda wing of the world’s worst despots?
This is complex, easily muddled and doesn’t help the workers who are being judged for their objective responses to subjective posts. “People are protesting and it’s appearing on my desk,” Gray says during the panel. “And I’ve got to make the call: is that baby dead? And then I’ve got to press the right button, and if I press the wrong button because my auditor thinks the baby’s not dead, then I’ve made a mistake and it goes towards my quality score and I get fired. “So I’m lying awake in bed at night seeing that image again and trying to formulate an argument to keep my job.” Can it be fixed?It should be pretty obvious at this point that this isn’t entirely Facebook’s fault, even if the company hasn’t exactly helped itself along the way. But what can it do? It’s pretty clear throwing people at the problem won’t work, nor is AI moderation ready for show time. (And there are legitimate doubts that it ever will be – for starters, you need humans to train the AI, which just moves trauma one step backwards. “I think it'll be really hard to completely remove humans from the loop,” says Tsao.) “Facebook don't have a clear strategy for this,” says Gray. “It's all reactive. Something happens, so they make a new rule and hire more people.” He believes a lack of leadership is the root of the problem. “You need to know where you’re going with this and what your strategy is, and they don’t. Everything stems from that.” Psychology professor Roderick Ordens says it's crucially important that nobody does this type of work alone so responsibility doesn't lie entirely with an individual That, Tsao believes, is in part because the decision makers haven’t had to do it themselves. “I've interviewed a bunch of heads of trust and safety at companies, and one of them has always said: ‘if you're going to be in a management role in this professional field, you have to understand what it's like on the bottom’,” she says. “You have to understand the trauma, you have to understand what kind of support system is needed.” Roderick Ordens, a psychology professor from the University of Lincoln, has his own perspectives when we reach out to him. “There is a duty of care. This doesn’t in any way guarantee that there aren’t going to be casualties amongst people who view this kind of material, but the company must be seen to have done everything reasonable to reduce risks to staff.
“First of all, nobody should be doing this kind of work alone. And if it's been done by a group then the thing that’s really important is strong group cohesion. It’s very important to arrange this in such a way that responsibility is not seen to be with the individual.” Any company hiring for such “dangerous work”, Ordens says, should have training so that employees can recognise the warning signs: “a general sense of unease, not being able to relax after work, maybe being unduly preoccupied with certain images. And to be particularly watchful of whether sleep is adversely affected: with an accumulation of poor sleep, everything else feels much worse.” "What's on your mind?"Whether Facebook is interested in such insights is another matter. “We don’t claim that all the fault is on the side of the companies – that’s not true” says Block. “The fault, we consider at least, is they don’t make it transparent, they don’t open the discussion and they don’t accept that they alone can’t decide about all that.” Block and Riesewieck know that some Facebook employees have seen their film at a screening in San Francisco, and there was even talk of showing it at Facebook’s offices, only for follow-up emails to end up mysteriously unanswered. Certainly the NDA treatment isn’t helping, and the sheer quantity of ex- and current employees bound to them means the effect will inevitably lessen as there’s a certain safety in numbers. Gray hasn’t had any word from Facebook over breaking his – at least not directly. “I had a call a couple of weeks ago from a former colleague… and they said ‘Hey, I hear you’re being sued by Facebook’. No. Who told you I was being sued? ‘My team leader.’ Your team leader is trying to manipulate you into silence.”
In other words, the carrot to stick balance feels as comically off as Facebook’s moderator to user ratio. Given people want to make the internet a better place, perhaps Facebook could tap into that sense of meaning? Even Gray remembers feeling positive, recalling a text message he sent in the early days. “I said ‘I have personally escalated 13 cases of child abuse to the rapid response team, and I feel really good’.” But it didn’t last. “I never heard back from those people. I don't know if anything was ever done. You know, it just goes off into the void, it seems.” Could acknowledgement of making a difference boost morale? Maybe, but only if they really are having an impact, Gray fairly interjects. “Some kid in Afghanistan is tied to the bed naked and he's being beaten. I escalate that because it's it's child sexual abuse, but what can anybody do? “I’m just following the policy, the person next level up is just deleting it.” This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| How 'complicated' Stan Lee taught the Marvel's Avengers devs how to tell stories Posted: 02 Nov 2019 08:00 AM PDT We're fast approaching the anniversary of the death of Stan Lee, the legendary comic-book creator responsible for designing beloved characters such as Spider-Man, the X-Men and, yes, The Avengers. Despite his passing, Stan 'The Man' Lee has played an instrumental part in guiding Crystal Dynamics - the studio behind the upcoming Marvel's Avengers game - in its bid to tell an original, and authentic, Marvel story. We sat down with Scot Amos, head of studio at Crystal Dynamics, to have an emotional discussion about how Stan Lee's unique philosophy has influenced Marvel's Avengers. Power of a fan baseA handful of the Crystal Dynamics team - including Amos - got the opportunity to meet Lee before his passing, and to ask for some direction with regards to the Marvel's Avengers game. But what do you ask the father of comics? "Stan was a complicated guy," Amos tells us, speaking on behalf of Virgin Media. "He just loved his characters. We actually asked him, what does he want to do and what is his characterization. We had questions through fans and members of even Marvel, saying, 'Well, what can we ask him? What is his relationship [with us]? What do we have to do?'"
Ultimately, Lee's influence was more philosophical than anything. While he may be the father to the Avengers characters themselves, Crystal Dynamics has chosen to put their own stamp on the legacy of 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes'. But Lee's passion for the Marvel fan base is something which has been passed down to the team. "The beauty of Stan was that he made these characters because he wants to love them and enjoy them," Amos explains. "He had this perception that any comic could be somebody's first - and that stuck with me. "It's true. This could be the first time you've heard of Captain America or Hawkeye or Thor, and how do I make sure you don't feel left out or like 'I don't know who these characters are' or 'I didn't read the comics' or 'I didn't see the movies'. I don't want that ever. "That's something that we've been very keen to say, we can't rely on anybody having precursor knowledge, it's really assuming. You're showing up for cool action adventure game. We want you to fall in love with these heroes for the first time, or want you to fall in love with them all over again." Paying homageWhile it's important for Crystal Dynamics to put its own stamp on Marvel's Avengers, and create a unique experience that is still true to the universe, the team still feels it's important to consider the man who created it all.
"At the highest level, it's taking the pearls of wisdom from this guy who created an amazing cast of characters and just saying 'how we pay proper homage not through one specific quip or even the cameos'", Amos tells us. "It's more of, how do we take that mantle, and that responsibility, and saying 'how do we take these characters to new generations and next generations of fans and players'." The inclusion of Kamala Khan (a.k.a. Ms. Marvel) is a big part of this. Kamala will act as the main protagonist in Marvel's Avengers and it's a welcome addition, especially considering the character hasn't transcended to film fame yet. Crystal Dynamics has an - almost - entirely clean slate to work with. "When it comes to Kamala, I'd love for him to be around right now to say 'what do you think of this?'," Amos laments. "I'm tearing up thinking about the fact he's not here for that, but at the same time, we have very great partners inside of Marvel games who just know these characters. I think these guys have been not just caretakers but creators, and actually empowered us to be telling original stories with these amazing icons and I just feel privileged."
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| Intel Comet Lake leak details next-gen CPU range with 10-core flagship capable of 5.1GHz boost Posted: 02 Nov 2019 07:25 AM PDT Intel’s next-gen Comet Lake-S desktop processors have been revealed in a major leak detailing the purported full line-up, and providing info on exactly how fast some of these chips will be. We should state upfront that these are alleged CPU and spec details, which we can’t be sure of, and we need to treat any leak like this with a suitable degree of caution.
That said, Wccftech seems to have got hold of some Intel slides which are very revealing when it comes to the chip giant’s 10th-gen desktop processors based on a refinement of its 14nm++ process, which will supposedly be headed up by a 10-core (20-thread) as previously rumored. That would be the Intel Core i9-10900 which purportedly runs with a base clock of 3GHz and Turbo to 5.1GHz (that’s presumably single-core boost), and it has 20MB of cache (no clock speed details are provided for the unlocked K version of this chip, by the way). Also, as previously speculated, there is hyper-threading throughout the entire 10th-gen Core desktop family, from the Core i3 upwards. The Core i3-10100 is a quad-core part with eight-threads and a base clock of 3.2GHz with Turbo to 3.8GHz (allegedly – take that as read for everything in this report, of course). Intel’s Core i7-10700 will apparently sport 8-cores and 16-threads with a base clock of 3GHz and Turbo to 4.8GHz. And the Core i5-10500 runs with six-cores and 12-threads with a base clock of 3.2GHz and Turbo to 4.3GHz. Pentium chips remain dual-core CPUs with four-threads (and the Celeron processors at the very bottom of the 10th-gen range don’t get hyper-threading). Twin upgradeComet Lake-S will support up to 40 PCIe 3.0 lanes, and comes with a new CPU socket (LGA 1200), so will also require a motherboard upgrade. Another leaked Intel slide gives a taster of performance, with an apparent 8% improvement in Windows applications compared to Intel’s predecessor 9th-gen chips (that’s as measured under SYSmark 2014 SE). There’s a bigger boost in multi-thread compute performance with an 18% increase (going by the SPECint benchmark). TDPs will allegedly be 65W down the Core range for these chips (although the K variants will, of course, draw more power – although how much more isn’t specified in this spillage). While this seems to be a pretty full picture of what we can expect, as ever, we must be wary of placing too much trust in any early leaks. However, judging from what we can see here, the Core i9-10900 looks an impressive performer – particularly given that alleged headline Turbo speed of 5.1GHz, which as noted is presumably single-core. But perhaps more interest and focus will be placed on the mainstream Core i5-10500 six-core CPU which looks to offer a 100MHz uptick on the Core i5-9600 in terms of base clock speed, albeit with slightly slower (300MHz lower) Turbo – but then the unlocked version could offer some potentially tempting overclocking performance. And naturally, a great deal will depend on exactly how Intel prices these chips when they emerge, which according to the rumor mill will be in the first quarter of 2020. However, if Intel’s recent huge price cuts in the high-end desktop processor arena are anything to go by, we can but hope we’re in for a pleasant surprise… It’s certainly clear that Intel needs to do something to stop the rot in the enthusiast desktop CPU market, where AMD’s Ryzen is currently running away with the game.
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| Best tablet with keyboard 2019: top tablets you can type on Posted: 02 Nov 2019 04:50 AM PDT Welcome to our pick of the best tablets with keyboards in 2019. If you don’t want to go to the expense of buying separate laptop and tablet devices, there’s an easy and obvious money-saving shortcut, and that’s to purchase a tablet which comes with a detachable keyboard (or is sold as a bundle with an optional keyboard accessory, which you don’t have to take if you don’t want it). So, if you’re in the market for such a 2-in-1, which are the best hybrids currently out there? Naturally, that rather depends on what you intend to use your convertible device for. Do you want a great all-round hybrid? Or a 2-in-1 suitable for creative pros, or perhaps a device which is as wallet-friendly as it is versatile? Whatever your needs, you’ll find something to suit in the following roundup of the best tablets with keyboards. The best tablets with keyboards 2019 at a glance:
The best tablets with keyboards of 2019Microsoft introduced a very tempting 2-in-1 when it first unleashed the Surface Go, which can essentially be thought of as a far more affordable version of the Surface Pro. Sadly, just like the Surface Pro, you have to shell out separately for the detachable keyboard, but you can buy this bundled when ordering the Surface Go. And for not a lot of money, you get quite a lot of tablet here, with a very impressive 10-inch display, high-quality keyboard, and laudable performance levels (with even enough oomph to tackle some light gaming – it’ll run Minecraft very nicely indeed, for example). In short, this is a great all-rounder in terms of power, portability, and relative affordability, making it our top overall pick. There is, of course, a limit to the performance you’ll get in this price bracket, but if money is no object, then check out our next entry for a high-end Surface device which is a truly supercharged portable. Read the full review: Microsoft Surface Go If you’ve got deep pockets, then this is our favored Windows option for a power-packed high-end hybrid with a detachable keyboard. The 15-inch model can sport a Core i7 CPU backed with a GTX 1060 graphics card for some serious portable computing power – and it’s even capable of tackling contemporary games. Microsoft’s Surface Book 2 has a truly high-quality display with plenty of screen real-estate in this 15-inch version, yet it’s still surprisingly light when used as a standalone tablet. The other thing you’re getting with this hybrid is excellent battery life, which is obviously a major boon when out and about. The Surface Book 2 also benefits from an excellent build quality, and there’s very little wrong here, save for some minor niggles – like the trackpad being a bit small – and of course that very hefty price tag. But if you want a truly premium Windows 10 tablet with a detachable keyboard, if your budget can stretch, it really doesn’t come any better than this. Read the full review: Microsoft Surface Book 2 (15-inch) Our favorite Android tablet plus keyboard option is the S6 for several reasons. This is a premium slate which boasts excellent performance levels thanks to its Snapdragon 855 chip, and has a gorgeous Super AMOLED display. As a result, it’s fantastic for media playback in particular, and an added bonus is the inclusion of high quality AKG-tuned speakers. Note, however, that the keyboard must be purchased separately, and is an optional accessory (although some retailers sell it in bundles with the tablet, so you might want to look for one of these). The Book Cover, as Samsung calls it, is built in much the same vein as the Surface Pro’s detachable keyboard, using a sturdy magnetic connection, and even providing a kickstand via a cover that attaches to the rear of the Galaxy Tab S6. On the whole, it’s a pretty decent keyboard, but the downside is the accessory is pricey. Indeed, the tablet is on the expensive side itself, so the complete setup is far from a budget option. And indeed, Samsung’s interface still isn’t the best and holds the S6 back a little, but despite that quibble – and those pricing issues – this remains hands-down the top pick for those who want an Android slate with a keyboard. Read our full review: Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Those who want an ‘always connected’ 2-in-1 Windows 10 laptop with a Qualcomm CPU, quite possibly for the huge battery longevity that these machines boast, would do well to check out Lenovo’s offering. The Miix 630 is powered by a Snapdragon 835 chip which gives it just about enough power under the hood – more than previous rather feeble Snapdragon laptop efforts – and you get a rather staggering claimed 20 hours of battery life for when on the go (plus LTE connectivity, too). It’s a very smartly designed 2-in-1 with a great 12.3-inch display, and Lenovo provides the Miix 630 with not just a detachable keyboard cover, but also a stylus as well. There’s no paying extra for accessories here. There are caveats with Qualcomm-powered Windows 10 machines, in that you can’t expect the earth with performance, but the 630 is solid enough with general everyday computing. Also, it runs Windows 10 S Mode by default, but this can be easily switched away from. Note that there are more powerful ‘always connected’ machines, like Samsung’s Galaxy Book 2, but we felt that the extra power gained from the Snapdragon 850 didn’t translate into all that much difference in terms of real-world performance, particularly not when comparing the price of that Samsung product to the Miix 630. This could be an entirely different story for hybrids using the newest Snapdragon 8cx chip, but they aren’t out yet – although they may prove a much better bet for those hungering after a Windows on Snapdragon hybrid with some true grunt. Again, though, their price tags won’t be comparable to the reasonable asking price that Lenovo’s 2-in-1 is available for online these days (with all accessories bundled). Finally, note that you can buy versions of this machine with a traditional Intel Core i3 or i5 processor. Microsoft’s Surface range is, of course, heavy with hybrids that have detachable keyboards, and we’ve already mentioned two of them. But if you want a middle-ground between the fully-loaded Surface Book 2 and the affordable Surface Go, then that’s where the Surface Pro 7 is pitched. Now, in our review, we did fire a fair amount of flak at the latest iteration of the Surface Pro – mainly because Microsoft didn’t do all that much with it. The tablet, with rather thick bezels, is starting to look dated, and there wasn’t much different with the refreshed version of the hybrid, which simply gained a USB-C port (but with no Thunderbolt 3 support) and an improved faster processor (with better integrated graphics). So the Surface Pro 7 was disappointing in some respects, but it’s still a quality convertible at heart, and the beefier CPU certainly helps on the performance front (although sadly, battery life is diminished compared to its predecessor). From an overall perspective in the hybrid world, the entry-level Surface Pro 7 still represents a good pick for a mid-range 2-in-1, and can even cope with gaming decently enough. As a balanced tablet with keyboard – although remember you must pay extra for the keyboard, which can be bundled at the time of purchase – there remains a lot to like here. That said, there is quite possibly more to like about the Surface Pro 6 when you consider that it’s still being sold, and is likely to receive some tempting discounts as an outgoing model. Particularly as Black Friday is rapidly coming into view now, with the potential of major price-cutting therein… Read our full review: Surface Pro 7 It may be a touch heftier than the Surface Pro, but the third incarnation of Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Tablet is a sterling option for business users. It comes with a really well-built removable keyboard which is nicely comfortable to type on, and it’s another hybrid which bundles a stylus into the bargain (Lenovo’s ThinkPad Pen Pro). The tablet itself is built to a high standard featuring a superbly vivid 13-inch 3K touchscreen, and connectivity is impressive for a 2-in-1 in terms of the device being equipped with a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports. If there’s a flaw, it’s that battery life is only okay rather than good. Unsurprisingly, the ThinkPad X1 Tablet isn’t cheap either, but it still represents good value for money given what you’re getting here. Read our full review: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet (3rd Gen) If you’re a creative professional, there’s an obvious choice of tablet to go for, and that’s the iPad Pro. It’s not cheap, but the iPad Pro 12.9 is a fantastic device on the creative front for many reasons, and it can be combined with the detachable keyboard – which Apple calls the Smart Keyboard Folio – as you check out when buying your iPad (so make sure you add this, and the correct language for the keyboard). The detachable keyboard is solid enough effort, but what really sets the iPad Pro apart from the competition for creative types is the fantastic display which is impressively bright, and boasts support for the P3 wide color gamut (meaning it’s great for professional design work or the likes of photo editing). The Apple Pencil stylus is also a dream to use on this display, and highly responsive. The downsides are that you don’t get a full desktop experience, compared to say Windows, although Apple is trying to provide that with iPadOS to move the tablet away from its mobile (and iOS) roots. The iPad Pro 12.9 is also eye-wateringly expensive if you want a decent amount of storage, with the detachable keyboard and stylus adding a considerable dollop of extra cost. This isn’t a hybrid combo for the financially faint of heart. Read our full review: iPad Pro 12.9 We should say upfront that Google’s Pixel Slate is a pretty niche proposition, but if you do want a tablet plus keyboard combo that runs Chrome OS, then this is the best pick (out of a vanishingly thin field, admittedly). The Slate is a nicely designed piece of hardware with a beautiful display that really makes colors pop, plus it benefits from good battery life, and the keyboard cover itself is a palatable enough accessory. It’s a solid tablet offering, then, on the face of it, but one of the major drawbacks here is the price – you’re paying a lot for ‘solid’ performance. You can buy the Pixel Slate bundled with the keyboard at some online retailers, but the price tag is, frankly, pretty exorbitant – even for the base model, which only has a Core m3 processor. So this is something to definitely bear in mind: to fork out this much, you’re going to need a serious hankering to have Chrome OS on a tablet 2-in-1. A rugged 2-in-1 is another niche area, but for those who need a tablet with keyboard which can take some punishment, this Panasonic product is king of the rough-and-tough hill. Panasonic’s Toughbook CF-33 is sold standalone as a tablet or can be bundled with the keyboard – be sure to add it upon purchasing. The keyboard is well worth the extra outlay, because this is an excellent accessory, giving you a nice typing experience with a good level of travel (for a detachable unit). Battery life is superb, which is obviously great for those using the CF-33 in the field, plus you get a high quality display, and a 2-in-1 capable of surviving drops and shocks, rain, extreme temperatures and humidity. The CF-33 meets the military-grade MIL-STD-810G standard for toughness, and perhaps the biggest downside for those wanting a truly rugged hybrid is that it won’t save your wallet from a pretty severe beating. We’ve touched on some relatively affordable tablets with detachable keyboards above, but if you really want to spend as little as possible on your 2-in-1, then Linx makes a great product which you’d do well to consider. With the Linx 12 x64 you get the tablet and keyboard in one package which costs less than Apple’s detachable keyboard for the iPad Pro – yes, less than the keyboard itself, never mind including the expense of the actual iPad. The caveat is that this is an older device which was released a couple of years back, but it’s still perfectly serviceable, and the price has now been cut to under £200 in the UK (at the time of writing). And that’s quite incredible value, really, because this is a decent enough hybrid which represents a good cheap alternative to the Surface Pro, as we observed when we reviewed the device. It’s nicely thin, has a decent-sized Full HD screen, and great battery life too. Yes, the build quality isn’t the best, and performance levels are rather sluggish – a lot of which is due to the eMMC storage – but in this price bracket, you’re obviously going to encounter compromises. The Linx can cope with basic tasks, though, albeit with some slowdown at times. For the money – particularly now you can get it even cheaper than when the device first launched – this is an excellent wallet-friendly option. Those in the US may have to import a model, but even with that cost on top, it’s still a highly affordable solution for a tablet with a detachable keyboard. Alternatively, for a similar bargain basement model, check out the Chuwi Hi10 Air (just remember that this is another tablet where the keyboard is optionally bundled, so be sure you’re getting the accessory as well when purchasing). Read our full review: Linx 12 x64
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| Facebook was reportedly interested in buying Fitbit, as well as Google Posted: 02 Nov 2019 04:30 AM PDT Google just bought Fitbit for a cool $2.1 billion, but a new report suggests that Facebook was interested in picking up the wearables company as well – it just didn't offer as much money as Google did. According to The Information, Facebook got to the stage of having talks with Fitbit about a deal. Apparently Mark Zuckerberg and his executives only offered half of what Google was prepared to pay, though. If accurate, the report suggests Facebook is keen to keep expanding its hardware portfolio. The social media behemoth now develops video calling devices and bought Oculus VR for $2 billion back in 2014.
The Google-Fitbit futureNow that Google is officially becoming part of Fitbit, we're wondering what new hardware we might see in the future – could the long-rumored Pixel Watch finally make an appearance, with Fitbit tech inside. In announcing the news, Google did mention Made by Google hardware as well as Wear OS, so it looks like Google-branded wearables of some description are on the way. We might also see Fitbit's own apps and software replaced by Wear OS and Google Fit. It's still very early days though, so we'll have to wait and see what happens to the current Fitbit devices and apps. We'll also have to wait and see how Facebook's hardware strategy develops – having a pile of fitness data to add to everything else it knows about us would certainly make sense for Facebook's advertisers. Via The Next Web This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Get yourself an £80 M&S gift card with BT's latest fibre broadband deals Posted: 02 Nov 2019 04:19 AM PDT In the ever-changing landscape of BT's broadband deals, we have to say we're big fans of its latest iterations. Warming up for all of the upcoming Black Friday shopping, BT is giving away not just its fibre broadband deals but also throwing in some tasty shopping vouchers. To be more exact, across a range of its plans, BT will offer you an £80 M&S voucher. This is available with seven of BT's broadband deals but three especially stand out - Superfast Fibre 1, Superfast Fibre 2 and BT's Starter package. With prices starting from £28.99 and speeds averaging anything from 50Mb to 67Mb, BT is giving you plenty of choice for your internet - there's even a broadband and TV deal option for those needing to sort both at the same time! We've listed BT's three standout offers below or you can head straight to the BT website to compare all of your options in one place.
BT's brand new broadband deals in full:Today's best BT broadband deals
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| Samsung Galaxy S10e deal price drop: This 100GB data offer is the best around Posted: 02 Nov 2019 04:00 AM PDT And you thought you were going to have to wait until Black Friday to get the best Black Friday phone deals. Well, courtesy of Three's new deal - you might find something market leading sooner than you might think. Three is offering the impressive Samsung Galaxy S10e packed with powerful specs, 128GB storage capacity and most importantly, a whopping 100GB of data, all for just £29 with £29 to pay upfront. Click here to go directly to Three's website and bag this offer. That makes this by far the best Samsung Galaxy S10e deal on the market, especially considering just weeks ago it would have cost you a few extra quid a month. Through the mix of unlimited minutes and texts and the massive data plan, this will hold over all the savvy social media users out there with ease. Does this sound good to you? You can see find the full details of this deal down below. You can also check our best mobile phone deals to make sure you're getting the best price for you.
Three's Samsung Galaxy S10e deal in full:What's so good about the Samsung Galaxy S10e?The S10e is a more budget and affordable versions of one of the best smartphones of 2019. This is currently the best S10e deal around and it's an ace price for such an incredible phone. A modern phone, with all the 2019 specs you could need including 128GB of storage, 3,100mAh battery, 1080 x 2280 resolution and two primary cameras. Not to mention it's quite a fast phone and it features wireless powershare which is very handy. This superb feature lets you share your power with another device by simply putting it back-to-back with the device you want to charge - say goodbye to out of battery phones that's a thing of the past. Find out more with our Samsung Galaxy S10e review
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| England vs South Africa live stream: how to watch Rugby World Cup Final 2019 from anywhere Posted: 02 Nov 2019 03:56 AM PDT The Springboks have won the 2019 Rugby World Cup final and will lift the Web Ellis Cup. Yokohama in Japan is the setting for the grand finale - but you really don't need us to tell you the sheer magnitude of this game. However, you might need our help to get a free England vs South Africa live stream, especially if you're abroad today. Eddie Jones’ side head into the Rugby World Cup final as slight favourites, having pulled-off one of England's greatest Rugby World Cup performances by beating reigning champs New Zealand 19-7 in their semi-final. After losing to the All Blacks in their opening pool game, South Africa have made their way to the final somewhat under the radar, displaying some impressive defensive play coupled with incredible physicality. The big test for England will be ensuring that they haven't peaked following such a momentous semi-final victory. Eddie Jones has named an unchanged team, with skipper Owen Farrell, top try-scorer Jonny May and prop Kyle Sinckler all having been passed fit despite picking up knocks in their bruising win over the All Blacks. South Africa have also received a selection boost with news that lightning wing Cheslin Kolbe has recovered from an ankle injury and will take his place in the Springboks starting line-up. Kolbe's return in place of Sbu Nkosi is the only change to the South Africa side that played Wales, as coach Rassie Erasmus's team look to win the World Cup for the third time. Can England pull one more world-class display out of the bag, or will the battling Springboks lift the Webb Ellis Cup once more? You can watch all the action from pretty much anywhere on Earth by following our England vs South Africa Rugby World Cup Final live stream guide below.
How to watch the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final from outside your countryIf you're abroad for the Rugby World Cup Final and don't want to miss out on catching the coverage from your home country, you'll inevitably find it geo-blocked when you try to stream online - an absolute shocker if the country where you are doesn't have its own coverage. But don't sweat. With the option of a VPN, you can tune into the grand finale, no matter where you are in the world, without resorting to some dodgy feed on Reddit. And best of all, it's really easy to do (read on for details on how to stream coverage from the UK, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA). How to stream the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final live in the UK for FREELive stream the Springboks in the final for free in South AfricaHow to live stream England vs South Africa in Australia for FREEHow to watch the England vs South Africa live in New ZealandHow to live stream England vs South Africa in the US
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| Save money on Apple's latest with these ace cut price iPhone 11 deals Posted: 02 Nov 2019 02:35 AM PDT Price drops, free gifts and promotions seem to have become rife in the past few days - it's a sign that Black Friday is just around the corner. But for the Apple devotees of the world, looking to score a discount on Apple's latest and greatest, this will be the deal you'll want to find out more about. Despite only gracing the market for a few months, we're now seeing iPhone 11 deals get cut in price. Considering this is the cheapest (and arguably the best value) of Apple's latest trio, seeing those prices come down is nothing but remarkable. And, thanks to retailer Mobiles.co.uk, those price cuts are occurring across networks. EE and its super fast speeds? Cut in price. Big data O2 offers? Prices cut. There's even a reduced Vodafone offer which is looking like one of the cheapest iPhone 11 contracts we've seen yet.
So what's so good about the iPhone 11?Of Apple's latest trio of phones, the iPhone 11 is the most affordable. But that by no means makes it a bad phone in comparison to its two bigger brothers, in fact the iPhone 11 is one of our favourite phones around right now. Through its dual camera lens set-up boasting impressive wide angle shots, the fastest CPU in any phone on the market right now and an impressive 3110mAh battery, the iPhone 11 is a phone more than capable of keeping up with the competition. Read our full iPhone 11 review
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| Apple TV Plus cost, review, and everything you need to know Posted: 02 Nov 2019 01:40 AM PDT You can now access Apple's TV Plus service on all manner of devices, as the release date of November 1 has finally arrived - but will it, in the words of CEO Tim Cook, be "unlike anything that's come before"? We're currently working through our full review, but we've got all the information you could want if you want to give the free seven day trial a go. We know a lot more about the Apple TV Plus pricing and release date, with a $4.99 / £4.99 / $AU7.99 monthly subscription model that undercuts a lot of competing services like Netflix or Hulu – with the ability to share between six different family members, if you have that many close relatives. Plus, when you buy an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV, you'll get one year's subscription free – so, why not watch it? We've been keeping close tabs on the programming planned for the service, and you can check out our guide to Apple TV Plus shows for specific titles featuring everyone from Aquaman's Jason Mamoa to Deadpool's Ryan Reynolds. Apple already dominates as a seller and distributor for content, so it'll be interesting to see how they take to making that content themselves. For all the pricing, launch dates, and hype you need to know about Apple TV Plus, though, read on below. Cut to the chase
Our Apple TV Plus on-going reviewSigning up for Apple TV Plus is almost too easy, so whether or not you think you’ll stick with it doesn’t matter right now. We were able to get a 12-month free trial thanks to the purchase of an iPhone 11 Pro Max, and it didn’t require proof of purchase or a receipt like we had feared. Apple’s TV app already knows, which was a relief. There’s very little barrier to binge-watching entry. Didn’t buy a brand new iPhone? That’s OK. There’s also a 7-day free trial attached to the Apple TV Plus service just in case you didn’t buy a new iPad, Mac, or Apple TV since September 10 either. No matter what, you’ll have to confirm a credit card for the $4.99 a month, paid after your free trial ends (and you can’t opt out of auto-renew and still watch, so be sure to set a Siri reminder to cancel for either six days or 364 days from now). Also, tip for new Apple TV Plus subscribers: pay with the Apple Card if you have one. That means we’re getting 3% back when we do eventually get charged. With the press of the blue ‘Enjoy 1 Year Free’ button and Face Unlock confirming our payment method, we were able to immediate launch the first episode of The Morning Show, one of nine original shows or movies available at launch. Interesting strategy here: Apple is only launching the first three episodes of The Morning Show, See and For All Mankind, with more episodes coming in another week. So if you’re on the seven-day free trial, you’ll have to take that into account. Watching The Morning Show, which is a ripped-from-the-headlines drama, was a smooth experience – and we were glad to have the ‘Max’ version of the new iPhone for it. While watching Apple TV Plus shows on an iPad, Mac, or Apple TV (hooked up to a big-screen 4KTV) provides a bigger picture, we found the streaming to the 6.5-inch iPhone to be more than tolerable when traveling (the new AirPods Pro also helps lock in your attention). The Dolby Vision and HDR10 display tech of the new iPhones show their true colors here. The app makes it easy to stop and start a video and pick up where you left off – on any device we tested. There are minimalist controls at the bottom: play/pause flanked by 15 seconds forward and 15 seconds backward buttons (10 seconds forward/back on a Mac). There are options for turning on close captions and audio descriptions. One important button on newer iPhones: the ability to go full screen with the picture cut off a tad by the notch, or play content with tiny black bars on the sides. Such is life in a 16:9 media world in which few phones screens are that traditional widescreen aspect ratio. We’ve already burned through first three episodes of The Morning Show and, good news, we want more (there will be 10 during season one, and season two has already been green lit). At the iPhone 11 launch event, Tim Cook made the point that the monthly fee Apple TV Plus is comparable to a single movie rental. In that respect, it’s a brilliant value. But since we’re already subscribing to Netflix, Hulu, and, soon, Disney Plus, Apple needs to not just launch with one or two shows we’ll enjoy each month – it has to keep pumping them out to ensure you stay subscribed. Right now, this Apple TV review and our opinion on it end in a TV-appropriate cliffhanger. Apple TV Plus release date and priceAt Apple's iPhone 11 launch, Tim Cook confirmed that Apple TV Plus will launch on November 1, and the company has come good on that promise. Unlike the basic package of Hulu, Apple TV Plus is ad-free from the start, and available in 100-plus countries through a section of the Apple TV app on smart TVs, MacOS and iOS. Apple TV Plus pricingApple TV Plus will cost just $4.99 / £4.99 AU$7.99 per month– and, if you buy an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or AppleTV, you'll get a year's subscription for free. That's even cheaper than Netflix's cheapest subscription, which costs $9 (£5.99 / AU$9.99) per month, as well as cheaper than the soon-to-be-released Disney Plus, which will cost $6.99 (around £6 / AU$10) per month. Apple TV Plus: stars, shows and channelsThe streaming service will offer exclusive shows, movies and documentaries from acclaimed filmmakers, including JJ Abrams, Steven Spielberg and M. Night Shyamalan. The service will include shows like Amazing Stories and The Morning Show, and stars like Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carell and Jason Momoa are signed up to be involved. There's even a show for youngsters called Helpsters. Helpsters is aimed at the pre-school crowd, and follows a team of "vibrant monsters who love to solve problems," according to Apple. It's headed up by Sesame Street puppet Cody, who (as her name suggests) will help kids to learn the basics of coding – which no doubt will appeal to parents. It's also been announced that Oprah and Prince Harry will also be teaming up for a mental health docu-series, which will come to Apple TV Plus in 2020. In a statement posted to Instagram, Prince Harry said "our hope is that this series will be positive, enlightening and inclusive – sharing global stories of unparalleled human spirit fighting back from the darkest places, and the opportunity for us to understand ourselves and those around us better." Most recently, Apple dropped a trailer for a revisionist comedy-biopic on the life of the poet Emily Dickinson, with Hailee Steinfeld taking the starring role, and Apple is so confident it's already renewed it for a second season. You can get a taste of the anachronistic music and dance moves – in the style of Yorgos Lanthimos' The Favourite – in the trailer below. Other new shows include a musical take on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, featuring Will Ferrell (Anchorman, Step Brothers) and Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool, Green Lantern). WWDC 2019 also saw the unveiling on new alternative history show from Battlestar Galactica's show lead, Ron Moore – also renewed for a second season before the first has even dropped. For All Mankind will reimagine the space race of the 1960s and 1970s, from a position that sees the Soviet Union putting man on the moon first. Find its first trailer below: Most recently, we found out that M. Night Shyamalan's Servant TV series will come to Apple TV Plus on November 28. According to Engadget, it revolves around a couple who bring an "unnervingly life-like doll into their home after losing their baby". Sounds spooky. What are Apple TV channels?In addition to Apple TV Plus, Apple introduced Apple TV Channels, which combines cable subscription services and streaming services like Amazon Prime Video into the Apple TV app. (Unfortunately, however, Apple TV Channels doesn't incorporate Netflix.) Apple TV Channels will be incorporated into the Apple TV app on iOS starting in May, and on MacOS later in the year, but will sit outside Apple TV Plus' purview.
So Apple TV Plus is like Netflix?This is where things get a little confusing. While on stage, Tim Cook mage it very clear that Apple TV Plus isn't like Netflix – at least not yet. While the service will offer original content by the boatload, Apple TV Plus won't offer licensed content like Netflix or Amazon Prime does, which covers all syndicated shows, like The Big Bang Theory, Mr. Robot or Seinfeld. For now, you'll still have to buy those shows through iTunes or via your terrestrial cable app in Apple TV Channels and turn to Apple Plus for its library of originals. There's also the question of availability. Cook named a number of major TV manufacturers who will offer the new Apple TV app in his keynote, but never came close to mentioning all the platforms where Netflix is available, like Android TV, PC desktops and laptops, and non-Apple tablets. We do now know though that Samsung, at the very least, will be supporting Apple TV Plus at launch through its smart TVs. It's also worth mentioning that Apple Plus has been compared to Disney's upcoming streaming service, Disney Plus. But it looks like even though they might compete in the streaming space, Disney Plus will still be available via Apple TV.
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| The world’s fastest office inkjet printer is cheaper than you think Posted: 02 Nov 2019 01:00 AM PDT If you're looking for a new printer, then the HP PageWide Pro 552dw could be the one for you. Although it’s been around for more than three years now, it still holds the record for the fastest colour inkjet printer that you can buy off the shelf with a print speed of 70ppm (pages per minutes). There are far faster options around, like the Riso GD9630, which reaches 160ppm, but this costs more than $28,000 a piece and takes up a whole room. In contrast, the 552dw costs a mere $700 and fits easily on a desk. It reaches its maximum speed when printing in black and draft, but using the industry standard (ISO, laser comparable), the speed can come down to 50ppm when printing in colour.
SpeedyHP achieved this speed by using a head that prints the whole width of the page; hence the name PageWide. It is first and foremost an office printer which means that its native printing resolution is lower than you’d get from a photo printer (600 x 600 dpi). It has two paper trays as standard, 512MB memory and offers a wide variety of connectivity options as standard (NFC, Wireless, USB 2.0 port, 10/100Mbps Ethernet). And, while it doesn’t include a USB cable by default, it does have a one-year, onsite warranty and support which can be tripled for another $139. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Satya Nadella says avoiding politics helped Microsoft win the Pentagon cloud contract Posted: 01 Nov 2019 03:23 PM PDT Microsoft was recently awarded a contract to supply cloud computing services to the Pentagon and this has left some critics wondering whether politics played a role. For quite some time, Amazon was seen as the frontrunner for the $10bn, 10-year Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) project. The company's chances appeared to be so good that Oracle went so far as to file a lawsuit arguing that the JEDI contract’s bidding process favors a single cloud vendor. However, President Trump, who has publicly criticized Amazon as well as the company's CEO Jeff Bezos, got involved and ordered a review of the Pentagon's procurement process.
JEDI contractIn a recent interview with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, GeekWire asked the software giant's CEO whether or not he believed politics played a role in the company winning the JEDI contract. Nadella dismissed these claims and instead argued that staying out of politics had actually helped Microsoft, saying: “To me, it goes back to, if anything, Microsoft staying out of politics and staying focused on what the customer’s needs are. There are some core capabilities we have, which were always differentiated. And it’s great to see that play out when it comes to how we built the cloud as a distributed computing fabric, and hybrid being core to our design. Those are all things that I think, in the end game, really stood out. Staying focused on our customer needs, and our innovation, and our differentiation, knowing that there’s great competition, is what we want to do.” While Facebook and Amazon have come under fire in Washington DC, Microsoft has avoided the political spotlight over the past few years and has instead focused on improving its services and products. Winning the JEDI contract is a huge deal for Microsoft as it looks to gain market share over AWS in the cloud wars but Amazon could still appeal the decision and according to a source familiar with the situation, the company is currently “evaluating its options” over what to do next.
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