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Sony AR app shows if a new TV will fit your room

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Sony thinks it can use technology to address one of the most common hassles with TV shopping: making sure your new set will fit properly. It’s rolling out an Envision TV AR app for Android and iOS that, as the name implies, uses augmented reality to show how Sony sets will look in your living space. Once you’ve picked a TV and screen size, you just have to place a virtual target to see how well that model works against the wall or on a stand.

The app isn’t available everywhere as of this writing, and you’ll need at least an iPhone 6s for the iOS version or an ARCore-capable Android phone running Oreo or later.

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‘Crusader Kings III’ brings medieval politics to your PC on September 1st

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The Crusader Kings strategy game series is finally close to getting a third entry more than eight years after the second. Paradox has announced that Crusader Kings III will be available September 1st, 2020, with plans to once again release it on Mac, Linux and Windows. There are major upgrades in store, although it’s clear the developers aren’t straying far from the formula — this is still the dynasty-focused gameplay that you’ve known, just significantly expanded.

The new title focuses more on your ruling family’s personality, complete with character lifestyles and traits (acting against them can lead to stress or even breakdowns), earning Renown to boost your reputation and inducing Dread to keep people in line. Dynasties can split into individual houses, blackmail is an option, skilled fighters can become knights, and you can set Tenets and Doctrines for religions that deviate from the original.

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Mophie’s latest battery bank can charge itself wirelessly

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It’s not hard to find battery banks that will charge your phone wirelessly, but what happens if you don’t have a spare cable, port or outlet to charge the bank itself? Mophie has you covered. It just released the Powerstation Wireless XL, which both charges your devices and itself on any Qi-based pad. It’s going to take a long time to top up given the 10,000mAh capacity, but it’s good to have an alternative charging option — even if it’s just because you don’t like wires.

The power pack otherwise appears well-equipped regardless of how you charge. It touts two-way USB-C (including 18W fast charging), and can charge one wired and one wireless device at the same time. There’s also a Lightning input port to charge the battery using the same cable that came wit your iPhone or most iPads.

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Ubisoft’s educational Assassin’s Creed tours are free until May 21st

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Ubisoft sees the giveaway as a way to help students learn about history while studying from home. “With millions of children experiencing upheaval to their studies right now, and teachers forced to adapt their lessons to digital tools, people are seeking new and enriching ways to learn,” said Etienne Allonier, brand director for Assassin’s Creed. “We’re really proud of the Discovery Tours and their capacity to make history accessible, immersive, and fun.”

If you already own Assassin’s Creed Origins or Odyssey, you can access the modes through the main menu of the two games; there’s no need to download the standalone versions. 

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Amazon is mass-producing face shields to sell to frontline workers

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While Amazon has been busy handling employee protests, warehouse closures, investigations and an uptick in demand, employees have been working behind the scenes to develop face shields for frontline workers. To date, Amazon has donated nearly 10,000 face shields, and over the next few weeks, it plans to make hundreds of thousands available at-cost on Amazon.com.

According to a blog post, in early March, a program manager at Amazon joined a group of makers in Washington State who were 3D printing face shields for frontline workers. The group had developed its own design and was assembling the shields by hand in their homes and offices. The Amazon employee enlisted help from Prime Air colleagues, and soon, a team from Amazon was refining the face shield design. 

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Watch Sony’s ‘Ghost of Tsushima’ State of Play special here at 4PM ET

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Sony’s PS4 may be on its way out, but the forthcoming samurai adventure Ghost of Tsushima means it’s set to have a pretty magnificent swansong. And today, we’ll get an extended peek of its gameplay thanks to PlayStation’s latest episode of State of Play. In a blog post, the company says we can expect a whopping 18 minutes of new gameplay footage, including exploration, combat and more — all showing off Sucker Punch’s gorgeous open-world epic ahead of its release on July 17th.

There’s not been a lot of activity around the game since it was first revealed at E3 2018, although the ongoing coronavirus situation meant its original release date of June 26th was pushed back a few weeks. It’s set to be the PS4’s last major hurrah before the PS5 arrives later this year, and looking at the limited material we’ve seen so far, it’s not holding anything back. As such, PlayStation was mindful to note in its blog post that there definitely won’t be any PS5 news or updates in this episode — it’s all about Ghost of Tsushima. Catch the broadcast below at 1pm PT / 4pm ET.

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Apple buys virtual reality company NextVR

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For the past several years there have been rumors that Apple has been working on an augmented headset, but that device has yet to materialize. In fact, aside from its ARKit framework, which developers can use to create augmented reality experiences for iOS, the company has mostly quiet on the VR and AR front.   

When asked to comment on the move, Apple gave CNBC its usual statement when it makes an acquisition. “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans,” a spokesperson for the company said.

What seems clear is that NextVR probably won’t be making sports productions moving forward. “NextVR is heading in a new direction,” the company’s new landing page says. “Thank you to our partners and fans around the world for the role you played in building this awesome platform for sports, music and entertainment experiences in virtual reality.”

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Chrome will start blocking resource-demanding ads in August

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Google has discovered that a small percentage of ads (0.3 percent) are using a disproportionate amount (27 percent) of the network data used by ads in Chrome. These resource-demanding ads can drain battery life, saturate already strained networks and cost money, Google wrote in a blog post. So beginning this summer, Google will cap the resources a display ad can use in Chrome in order to protect users’ batteries and data plans.

Chrome will set a threshold at 4MB of network data, 15 seconds of CPU usage in any 30-second period or 60 seconds of total CPU usage. If an ad reaches its limit before a user interacts with it, the ad frame will navigate to an error page and inform the user that the ad has used too many resources.

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Peacock's first streaming originals include a 'Brave New World' series

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NBCUniversal has revealed which original series and movies you can check out when its ad-supported streaming service Peacock officially goes live on July 15th. The most eye-catching one is an adaptation of Aldous Huxley's classic dystopian novel Brav…

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Messenger Rooms, Facebook’s answer to Zoom, is now available

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Messenger Rooms, Facebook’s attempt to take on the likes of Zoom with group video calls, is now live. Anyone can create a room in Messenger, but only folks in North America can start one on Facebook for the time being. You’ll soon be able to create rooms on Instagram and WhatsApp too.

“WhatsApp and Messenger are already the most popular video calling services globally, but for large groups most of the video services out there are designed for work, not social interactions,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post on his own page. There are no time limits on the chats (unlike on some other group video calling apps) and they can pack in up to 50 people.

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