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Apple supplier Broadcom suggests a delayed iPhone launch this year

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There’s no official word about any iPhone delay yet, but Bloomberg reports that Broadcom CEO Hock Tan’s comments on a quarterly earnings call lend credence to their earlier rumor that the new device will launch a few weeks later than usual. New mainstream iPhones traditionally appear in September (as shown above during last year’s launch event), but moving the new mobile devices’ appearance back would have a noticeable impact on the financial results of companies involved.

About eight minutes into the call Tan said an unnamed “large North American mobile phone customer” — a reference to Apple — would normally contribute a “double digit” uplift in revenue, but now they are “not expecting to see this uptick in revenue until our fourth fiscal quarter.” In response to a question he said “we’re in,” on the new device, but noted the only question about the launch is the possible timing.

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Hulu to no longer work on older Roku models starting June 24th

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Hulu will stop working on some older Roku player models on June 24th, according to a recent update to a Hulu help center page originally noticed by Ars Technica. Affected models are the Roku Streaming Player (models 2400 to 3100) and the Roku Streaming Stick (model 3420 or older). After June 24th, users of those models may see error messages, won’t be able to sign in or may see the app disappear altogether. Instead of the latest Hulu app, these models use the Hulu classic app and don’t have access to premium add-ons or live TV.

Newer Roku models support the latest Hulu app, but must be updated to firmware 8.1 or higher to get it. Devices that must be updated are the Roku Ultra, Roku Premiere and Premiere+, Roku Express and Express+, Roku 3 and 4, Roku 2 (model 4210), Roku Streaming Stick (model 3500 or later), Roku TV and 4K Roku TV.

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Riot is testing ‘Valorant’ on consoles — but don’t get your hopes up

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The development team is concerned about anyone feeling as though they have a disadvantage because of the platform they’re playing on. Many first-person and third-person shooters offer controller players aim assist options to compensate for the finer control they’d get with a mouse. 

Aim assist is often a bone of contention, though — some top Fortnite players recently raised concerns that aim assist in that game was far too powerful. For Valorant, which places a strong emphasis on aim and mechanical ability, striking the right balance for controller players might prove a problem.

Unless Riot can crack that issue, and any other impediment to delivering an authentic Valorant experience on console, you shouldn’t get your expectations up about playing it on PS4 or Xbox One. Still, the notion that Riot is actively trying to figure out whether console versions will work might give you some hope.

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‘Doom’ and ‘Doom II’ are now available for free on Chromebooks

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Chromebook ownership has its perks, which includes offers on a rotating selection of apps and games. Now, Doom and Doom II are available for free on Chromebooks for a limited time. The offer isn’t available to every Chromebook user, so check the perks page to see if you qualify (via Android Police).

The Doom games are the classic ‘90s versions released by Bethesda (not the 2016 reboot), and they’re usually $4.99 each. It’s unclear how long they’ll be available for free, so you’ll probably want to act quickly. Other games currently available for free on Chromebook include The Elder Scrolls: Legends and Fallout Shelter, both of which are usually $19.99.

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Criterion will stream notable titles by black filmmakers for free

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Some of the titles include Daughters of Dust (the first feature film by a black woman to be distributed in theaters in the US), Maya Angelou’s Down in the Delta, Shirley Clarke’s Portrait of Jason, Agnès Varda’s Black Panthers and Kathleen Collins’ Losing Ground, IndieWire reports. Criterion will share work by both early pioneers of African American cinema and contemporary filmmakers.

“We are also committed to examining the role we play in the idea of canon formation, whose voices get elevated, and who gets to decide what stories get told,” president Peter Becker and CEO Jonathan Turell wrote in a letter to the Criterion community.

Criterion has established an employee-guided fund with an initial $25,000 contribution to support organizations fighting racism in America, including bail funds, community groups, legal defense funds and advocacy groups addressing police reform. Criterion has pledged to contribute an additional $5,000 monthly to these causes.

“We support the protesters who have taken to the streets to demand justice, and we share their hopes. We are committed to fighting systemic racism,” Becker and Turell wrote.



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Germany will require electric vehicle charging at every gas station

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As part of a 130 billion euro stimulus plan, Germany will require every gas station in the country to install electric vehicle charging stations. As reported by Reuters, this stimulus package includes subsidies for electric vehicle purchasers and taxes to penalize owning large, pollution-generating SUVs.

According to Germany’s Motor Transit Authority, out of 168,148 cars registered in May, only 3.3 percent were electric. In 2019, less than two percent of new cars registered in Germany were electric. Experts say low sales can be attributed to worries about keeping cars charged. Diego Biasi, chairman and co-founder of Quercus Real Assets told Reuters, “We know that 97 percent of the reason why they’re not buying electric cars is range anxiety. The German move is a way to try and fix this range anxiety since it means you know a petrol station is always open.”

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Hackers targeted the UK’s coronavirus vaccine research

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The hackers attempted to access sensitive data related to the UK’s coronavirus response, including work that the country has done to develop a vaccine. The hacking attempts weren’t overly sophisticated. In most instances, the hackers tried to phish people with misleading links and take advantage of weak passwords. However, they were serious enough that the agency’s cybersecurity arm, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), has been working with hospitals and research labs to protect them. The agency has also been helping NHS make its contact-tracing app “as secure as possible.” 

While we’re mostly used to seeing hackers doing their best to upset elections, it’s easy to imagine why they would also be interested in a country’s coronavirus efforts. There’s a lot to gain both financially and politically for any power that can get ahead in the vaccine race.

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Google says state-backed hackers are targeting Trump and Biden campaigns

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Google’s security researchers say state-backed hackers from Iran and China have targeted the Trump and Biden presidential campaigns, respectively. The state-backed actors sent phishing scam attempts to the personal email accounts of campaign staff. According to Google, there are no signs that the attempts were successful, and Google has notified both campaigns.

Even if the attempts were not successful, they are significant, especially given how hackers were able to interfere with the 2016 election. Google recommends campaign staff use extra security measures, like its Advanced Protection Program, and the company is still offering free security keys to qualifying campaigns. Facebook has also outlined its 2020 election “protections.” But we’ve already seen how easy it is to breach election machines, and then there is disinformation to contend with.



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Facebook now lets everyone export media to Google Photos

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You no longer have to wonder whether or not you can transfer Facebook pictures and videos to Google Photos. The company’s Alexandru Voica has revealed that everyone worldwide now has access to a tool that sends media to Google’s cloud service. As before, you’ll have to dive into “Your Facebook Information” in settings and tell the site to transfer all your photos or all your videos (you can’t do both at the same time) to Google.

This is part of an industry Data Transfer Project that’s meant to increase the portability of your info between services. It’s partly meant to reduce scrutiny from antitrust regulators worried that internet giants are using locked-down data to discourage competition. Still, the immediate user benefits are obvious — you won’t have to keep a Facebook account open (or worry about it being hijacked) just to preserve all those family photos and concert clips for posterity.



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Facebook finally delivers on its promise to label ‘state-controlled’ media

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Facebook also plans to label ads from state-controlled media outlets. In the US, Facebook will block such ads altogether “out of an “abundance of caution” — even though it admits they rarely appear. That’s part of an attempt to protect elections in 2020 from foreign influence, Facebook says.

Facebook claims it worked with more than 65 experts on media, governance and human rights to determine what makes a media outlet “state-controlled.” It looks at each outlet’s mission statement, ownership structure, editorial guidelines, funding and more. It also considers whether organizations have measures in place to protect editorial independence.

Facebook did not say why it took so much longer to apply the labels than expected, but it may have had something to do with the fact that different state-backed media outlets have different levels of control. For instance, Russia’s RT and China’s Xinhua have been used to spread propaganda, but the UK’s BBC and Canada’s CBC maintain more distance from their respective governments.

While Facebook did not say which media outlets it will label, Qatar’s Al Jazeera previously spoke out against the labels. The outlet is privately owned but has a member of the Qatari royal family as a board chairman. Al Jazeera said Facebook would cause “irreparable harm” if it applied the state-backed label.

Facebook says organizations can submit an appeal if they believe the label is applied in error and that it will continue to refine its approach moving forward.

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