Earlier this year, Disney won the bidding war for the filmed version of megahit musical Hamilton,which was shot in 2016 and features the original cast. Disney was going to bring the film to movie theaters in October 2021, but it’s bringing forward the release date by more than a year and skipping cinemas entirely — Hamilton will drop on Disney+ like a hot mixtape on July 3rd.
Given that’s the eve of Independence Day and protagonist Alexander Hamilton helped frame the US Constitution, that’s pretty nifty timing. Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and the Hamilton team gave Disney the green light to release the movie much earlier than originally planned, albeit as a streaming exclusive.
Sony hasn’t committed to a more definitive launch window for the PlayStation 5 than “holiday 2020,” but its recruitment efforts might have narrowed things down. As Twitter user Nibel noticed, a Sony Interactive Entertainment job listing in Japan for a global QCD (quality, cost, delivery) overseer asked the new hire to help with a PS5 launch supposedly scheduled for October 2020. Another example of the listing suggests Sony has stopped hiring for the role, although it’s not clear if that’s due to a successful hire.
Whether or not the PS5 arrives in October is another matter. Outside of the original PlayStation launch, Sony has typically chosen to debut its flagship consoles in November. There’s also the not-so-small question of how the COVID-19 pandemic affects the system’s premiere. Production won’t necessarily be affected at this stage, but late development, distribution and game availability might. Although October is still plausible, we wouldn’t plan our gaming calendars around that month just yet.
Twitch is getting in on gift cards. Available in denominations of $25, $50, $100 and $200 (and multiples thereof), the new digital gift cards can be sent to your Twitch-loving pals (or yourself) via email or text message and used to pay for pretty much anything on the platform. Get a streamer-supporting subscription from $5, buy interactive community Bits from $1.40 or go ad-free with Turbo for $9 a month.
The cards come with a range of messages, from “Happy Graduation” to “Thank you” — or you can opt for the plain Twitch logo — and once they’ve been redeemed will automatically be applied to any purchases made on the twitch.tv website. As long as the receiving account is active, they’ll never expire, and you don’t need a stored payment method in place to use the balance of a gift card, which makes them particularly handy for parents that want to keep tabs on their kids’ online spending (although if a purchase adds up to more than the available funds the recipient will be prompted to add one). At this stage they’re only available for use in the US, but Twitch says it’s working on rolling them out globally soon. Get them here.
The iconic first-person shooter Doom has been remastered and ported to pretty much everything, from ATMs to printer screens to iPods. Now, game development enthusiast Sylvain Lefebvre has created a machine that only plays his custom port of Doom.
How? Well, Lefebvre used an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) circuit board. I’m oversimplifying hugely, but think of them as flashdrives for programming logic. These were originally meant to serve as the brains behind simpler electronics but are now being regularly used in homebrew gaming, including hardware-based emulation. Companies like Analogue Interactive use FPGA chips to create retro gaming hardware like the Mega SG — proving the power of these things.
Lefebvre’s creation runs Doom — and nothing else.
— Mat
Elon Musk restarts Tesla production in defiance of county lockdown
Just can’t wait.
Tesla
Tesla’s Fremont factory is in Alameda County, CA, which is still under a stay in place order due to the coronavirus pandemic. Elon Musk has previously agitated about the measures being taken to fight the outbreak, after incorrectly downplaying its potential impact, and now has decided to reopen the factory against the orders of local officials. In a tweet, Musk said, “I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.”
There didn’t seem to be much chance local police would lead the billionaire away in cuffs, and it hasn’t happened so far. County officials have been negotiating with the company over reopening and said in a statement of their own that “We are addressing this matter using the same phased approach we use for other businesses which have violated the Order in the past, and we hope that Tesla will likewise comply without further enforcement measures.” Continue reading.
Engadget’s Guide to Home Entertainment: How to buy a soundbar
You don’t need lots of speakers for great TV audio.
JBL
Built-in TV speakers are trash and everyone knows it. But upgrading the audio component of your home entertainment system is complicated — and often expensive. Soundbars are better than multi-speaker setups but they, too, can cost thousands. Thankfully, you don’t have to break the bank to get a solid soundbar. Our soundbar buying guide lays out everything you need to know and includes a list of our favorites for every budget. Continue reading.
How to find free ebooks while libraries are closed
Maybe you’re running out of shows to stream.
Shelter in place orders have almost definitely shuttered your local library. But that doesn’t mean you can’t ride out this pandemic with a stack of good books by your side — they just might be of the digital variety. Start with your neighborhood library and then branch out. Andrew Tarantola lays out how to make the most of online book catalogs. Continue reading.
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Motorola Razr’s Android 10 update makes better use of the outer screen
Functional even when it’s folded closed.
Engadget
After updating your Razr to Android 10, you can use more apps on the outer (aka Quick View) screen, including Google Maps’ turn-by-turn navigation and music control for apps like Pandora, Spotify and YouTube Music. You can also access favorite contacts to make calls from that external display, and you can reply to messages directly from the screen using either a new Quick View keyboard or canned Smart Replies. Continue reading.
Some players have voiced concerns about queue times, but Kaplan says that Blizzard’s data shows the new mode will actually improve wait times, rather than stretch the out. However, he does reassure fans that the game will continue to be balanced specifically for Role Queue, which will remain the primary competitive mode for Overwatch.
There are a few other tweaks in the pipeline, too. According to Kaplan, the Experimental card will be making a return soon, and there are some planned changes for hero pools, notably that they’ll no longer apply in matches for players with skill ratings below 3500. Come Season 23, then, only the top players will be subject to hero pools. Overwatch 2is still very much on Blizzard’s agenda, but with no release date yet announced these sort of changes help keep the OG game interesting.
Quibi will finally start rolling out the ability to cast its bite-sized shows to TVs this week. In a report about the company’s performance since it launched in early April, the New York Times says that Quibi is launching the capability this week for iPhone users. Android subscribers will unfortunately have to wait a few more weeks to get it.
The service went live without the feature, because its creators envisioned it as an app that people would primarily access on their phones. Its shows are only a few minutes long per episode, designed to be consumed while in the middle of a commute or while waiting in line. Shelter—in-place orders due to the coronavirus pandemic went out shortly after it launched, though, prompting subscribers to ask for a casting capability so they can watch on a bigger screen instead.
If the update needs to take longer than that or requires the vehicle to be parked, though, owners can schedule it to take place in the middle of the night or whenever is convenient for them. Ford explains that Mach-E’s OTA capabilities go beyond the updates its SYNC platform can deliver. It can be used to provide not just performance enhancements, but also completely new features that might not exist when the vehicle first becomes available.
The automaker also wants to ensure interested buyers that the Mach—E and its OTA feature are on track despite the coronavirus pandemic. Its engineering team has set up remote access to the vehicle’s components and is currently working from home. In addition, Ford promises to start equipping its redesigned vehicles in the US with OTA capability for wireless upgrades this year.
Roland is continuing its push to improve its digital instruments and software with a new pricing structure that’ll make its Zen-Core synth engine more accessible to all, whether they’re amateur tinkerers or full-time pros. Its ever-growing cloud-based platform, Roland Cloud, is moving to the company’s primary roland.com website, and will offer three membership levels: Core, Pro and Ultimate.
Core — the entry-level tier — costs $30 a year, or just $3 a month, and includes access to the Zenology software synth and Zen-Core sound packs. Pro comes in at $99 a year, or $10 a month, and offers unlimited access to the TR-808 and D-50, Zenology Pro (a full-edit version is coming this fall), with access to all Zen-Core sound packs and wave and model expansions for software, plus Anthology, TERA, FLAVR, Drum Studio, and all software patches and patterns. Finally, Ultimate will cost $199 a year, or $20 a month, and includes the whole kit and caboodle, including all Legendary and SRX collections and unlimited access to all instruments and sounds.
Apple’s Magic Keyboard works so well that it blurs the line between iPads and full-blown Macs. Now, iFixit has taken a closer look at what’s inside its keys as well as its sturdy, elegant trackpad, which we called one of Magic Keyboard’s biggest selling points in our review. Apparently, the trackpad uses a lever system with just one button at the center. That means you’re clicking that one button wherever you press on the trackpad, whether it’s the corners, the edges or the center of the structure.
Unfortunately, iFixit has yet to dismantle the whole keyboard due to social distancing rules — the trackpad was the only part of the device its team could take apart easily. They used X-ray to scan the inside of the keyboard, though, and found scissor (instead of butterfly) switches. It also has large metal plates where your palms typically rest likely to prevent bending and serve as weights to stabilize the device when attached to an iPad.
This week Warner Bros. is joining Universal in bringing one of its planned theatrical releases directly to home viewers, with the debut of Scoob! on Friday. One difference between this and Trolls World Tour is that you’ll have the option to rent or buy it in 4K. For sports fans, the final two episodes of The Last Dance will arrive this weekend, while Showtime and Kevin Durant are releasing a new documentary about basketball in Prince Georges County, Maryland.
Separately, Netflix is releasing its second big interactive TV special for adults. While the first one was a special episode of Black Mirror, this week Kimmy Schmidt is returning with Kimmy vs. the Reverend, allowing viewers to determine how things turn out. Look below to check out each day’s highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).
