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Valve’s ‘Index’ VR headset is coming in May

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While Valve worked closely for years with HTC on Vive VR hardware, it’s about to introduce a virtual reality headset of its own. A teaser page on the Steam website shows off this image of the Index, with the tagline “Upgrade your experience” and a May 2019 date. This occurs despite layoffs of some employees on its hardware team, which Valve said would not mean major changes to its plans.

The development of Steam VR gives some ideas of what Valve would like to do, but there are no details or specs on the Index itself. Hints of the device have appeared with trademark filings and even a logo, but we don’t even know if it will use the “Knuckles” finger tracking controllers we’ve seen from Valve a few times over the years. Whatever it is, we’ll know more about it soon.

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Facebook COO says it’s ‘exploring’ restrictions on who can go live

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Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg took to the Instagram blog this evening saying “We have heard feedback that we must do more – and we agree.” Despite the lack of credibility big tech companies have when it comes to dealing with dangerous hate groups, the post’s title claims “We Can Win Against Hate.“

Specifically citing the mass shooting in Christchurch New Zealand, Sandberg revealed that it identified more than 900 videos showing portions of the shooter’s original 17-minute Facebook Live broadcast. As a result, it’s making an unspecified investment in research to identify these edited versions of violent videos and block them.

More important, however, is news that the company is “exploring” restrictions on who can go Live. Coming nearly two years after a murderer in Cleveland broadcast his crime on a Facebook live stream, it seems horrifically late to start thinking about adding rules now. Still, even with a long list of incidents, all Sandberg could say is that potential restrictions could happen “depending on factors such as prior Community Standard violations.”

It’s also updated the review process to respond more quickly on similar videos in the future, and listed ways it’s supporting people in New Zealand via local organizations and the government.

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Google Store lists unannounced ‘Nest Hub Max’ 10-inch smart display

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Engadget

It seems weird that Google would reuse the Max branding from its premium speaker for a Nest device, but now that we’ve heard “Stadia” it’s hard to put anything past them. 9to5Google previously found clues of a “Sherlock” device that matches up well with its capabilities, so it could be close to release, even without any picture, or mention of a price or release date.

The specs make this seem pretty real, as they don’t match up with Google’s own 7-inch Home Hub that doesn’t have a camera. It also makes sense that Nest would build a relevant device in the category that’s more tightly tied to its existing line of smart home products including security cameras, thermostats and more. While dropping the camera makes the Home Hub more appealing for privacy reasons, someone looking to put a Nest in a highly-trafficked area of their house wouldn’t have the same concerns and can kill two birds with one stone.

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‘Call of Duty’ swatter to serve 20 years in prison

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After being given an address by the gamer he was in an argument with, Shane Gaskill, Barriss called the Wichita police posing as his rival. He told the dispatcher that he murdered his father and was holding the rest of his family hostage. A SWAT team showed up at the address provided to him by Gaskill, which was actually the residence of 28-year-old Andrew Finch. The officer involved in the fatal shooting wasn’t criminally charged, though Finch’s family has sued the city over the incident.

Barriss, now 26, was arrested shortly after the fatal shooting and pleaded guilty to 51 total charges late last year, stemming primarily from numerous false reports he made to emergency services. He was also found to have placed bomb threats to the Dallas Convention Center, a Florida high school and the Federal Communications Commission building during the agency’s vote to repeal net neutrality.

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Apple cancels AirPower after more than a year of delays

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In a statement received by Engadget that was first reported by Techcrunch, Apple senior VP of hardware Dan Riccio confirms that the company had cancelled the AirPower project. His full statement:

After much effort, we’ve concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have cancelled the project. We apologize to those customers who were looking forward to this launch. We continue to believe that the future is wireless and are committed to push the wireless experience forward.

While some theorized that we’d finally see AirPower this month, to go along with a number of other announcements the company made, it looks like that’s not to be. Certainly the release of new AirPods with a wireless charging case added fuel to that rumor, but you’ll have to charge them with a third-party wireless charger.

Apple never gave an official word as to what was going on with AirPower, but well-connected Apple blogger John Gruber said in September that he heard AirPower was running “way too hot” thanks to the multi-coil design that was necessary for the product to work. Indeed, Gruber’s sources indicated a number of engineers at Apple said it would “never work.” There’s no doubt AirPower could have been a very useful product for people with multiple Apple devices, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Apple give it a shot again down the line, but for now we’ll have to charge our plethora of devices on separate wireless mats (or just plug everything in like the heathens of old).

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Amazon is reportedly working on a news app for Fire TV

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The news comes roughly one year after Fire TV-competitor Roku launched its own free, streaming news service. According to rumors, Amazon is looking to provide local news coverage, which The Information points out, could be a way to distinguish its offering from Roku’s.

Amazon hasn’t officially announced its plans, and a few key questions are unanswered. We don’t know if Amazon has reached any programming deals, if the news content will be exclusive to the app or what the timeline looks like. But if the news app succeeds, Amazon might integrate it into its Alexa offerings — that could tie in nicely with plans for Alexa-enabled ads.

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Facebook will only stream six MLB games this season

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The MLB Network will produce dedicated Watch broadcasts with interactive and social elements. The games will be available in the US (except for blackout areas where the games air on local stations) and several international markets. Facebook and the MLB have yet to decide which games will stream on Watch, though the platform will again offer recaps of every game as well as weekly recaps for each team.

“We look forward to testing a new model for live games, which should help the league continue to reach a younger and more global audience,” Rob Shaw, Facebook’s sports partnerships lead for leagues and media, told Morning Consult. Facebook and the MLB say games streamed on the platform reached an average viewership almost 20 years younger than the MLB’s typical TV audience.

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Still the best small tablet

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If you’ve been itching for a small tablet that doesn’t skimp on performance, the iPad mini doesn’t have much competition. More importantly, you can feel comfortable buying this mini and not having to upgrade for a couple of years. That’s a good thing, especially considering Apple’s last mini went three years without a refresh.

All my fiddling with the mini has really put its battery through the wringer, but as usual, Apple says its smallest tablet is rated for around ten hours of use off a single charge. Also as usual, the company has seemingly lowballed those estimates. While flying out to Cupertino for Apple’s star-studded streaming event, I killed time mid-air with about five straight hours of old Star Trek episodes. After deplaning and getting to my hotel, I continued to use the mini for web browsing, doodling and some light gaming for another five to six hours. This wasn’t a one-off situation, either: Since I received the mini, I’ve routinely been able to squeeze out around 11 hours of use.

Apple iPad mini review (2019)

While the battery provides more than enough power to get through most times, you’ll definitely notice a difference in standby time if you’re used to larger iPads. I’m pretty bad at remembering to charge some of my gadgets, but I’ve always been able to leave the standard iPad or iPad Pro models sitting around for several days, and there’s always been at least a bit of charge left over. If you use the mini pretty sparingly, it’ll usually last for three — maybe four — days before requiring a trip to a power outlet. With heavier use, though, I frequently found myself charging the mini every other day.

Oh, and in case you needed them, the iPad mini has some cameras. I don’t mean to make them sound like an afterthought, but honestly, they just might be the least thrilling things about this new mini. The 8-megapixel, f/2.4 camera around back shoot perfectly adequate photos, and it’ll capture some serviceable 1080p footage in a pinch. There’s a good chance that the camera bolted into the smartphone in your pocket will take better photos than the iPad mini does, but hey — it’s 2019, shoot pictures with your tablet if you want to. We support you. The 7-megapixel front camera is similarly unexciting, and if nothing else, having a bigger screen is helpful for framing up your selfies. That’s about it, though: The lack of a depth sensor here means you’ll have to look elsewhere for your Animoji fix.

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Sega will still release ‘Judgment’ worldwide despite actor’s arrest

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It’s not hard to understand why Sega would press forward despite the Japanese controversy. There’s already an English voice cast for the game, so Sega can continue to sell the game abroad without upsetting people in Japan (which frowns on drug use more than other countries). Still, it creates an unusual situation where a game created by and intended for Japanese players is available seemingly everywhere but Japan.

As it stands, Sega has acknowledged that pulling the game wasn’t an easy call. Creative chief Toshihiro Nagoshi recently said that there was “no correct answer” on pulling Judgment (known as Judge Eyes in its home country), and that it might have been different if the game had already been out for a few months. And if there are future games? Nagoshi didn’t confirm any plans for one, but said that Taki wouldn’t be involved regardless of whether or not his character persists.

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Sony may cut half of its smartphone division by 2020

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The reported cutbacks at Sony perhaps shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Japenese tech giant has never been able to get a proper foothold within the industry. The company’s smartphones have fallen almost entirely out of favor. While nearly 1.6 billion smartphones shipped during 2018, just 10 million of them were Sony devices, according to Statista. Despite the struggling sales, Sony introduced a new flagship phone, the Xperia 1, at Mobile World Congress last month.

The rumored layoffs won’t be the first time Sony has downsized its smartphone division. The company laid off 2,000 employees in 2009 after closing down four facilities where it produced smartphones. It slashed 1,000 more jobs from the department in 2015 in response to underwhelming earnings. With the latest cuts, it’s fair to wonder just how many more contractions Sony’s smartphone group can endure before it shuts its doors for good.

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