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Watch Huawei’s P40 unveiling in just 12 minutes

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Earlier today Huawei showed off its new P40 family of phones, which come packed with enough new tech that they’re still interesting without a path to market in the US or Google’s apps. The P40 Pro+ packs in a ridiculous 10x optical zoom capability with its super periscope telephoto lens. There’s also a new smart speaker with some impressive audio capabilities to take advantage of the Celia voice assistant that will launch in an update later this year, as well as fresh updates for its smartwatches.

The GT 2 Watch is available in more colors, while its sporty Watch GT 2e promises two weeks of battery life, and up to 24 hours of music playback. There’s even smart eyewear with built-in speakers to listen to music or take phonecalls. All of the information including release windows and pricing is in the video, which you can watch right here.

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The latest ‘Borderlands 3’ DLC is an engagement party with guns

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The new world and the campaign are the main draws, but you’ll also see a host of new weapons, mods and cosmetics.

Guns, Love and Tentacles is included in either the Super Deluxe Edition of Borderlands 3 or the Season Pass, but you can also buy it separately for $15 if you’re only interested in this expansion. You don’t need to have played the main storyline to get started, though. You’ll need to have access to the starship Sanctuary III if you want to use an existing character, but you can also create a new persona and bypass the opening of the primary story to get straight to the new material. With that said, it’s probably worth playing through at least some of the core story first. These characters have significant history (including in B2 for Hammerlock), and it’ll make more sense to dive in once you understand their backgrounds.

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Facebook’s new Messenger hub shares tips for staying connected virtually

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Today, Facebook launched a new “Messenger Coronavirus Community Hub,” which so far basically just explains how people, communities and businesses can use Messenger to stay connected during the coronavirus pandemic. If you already use Messenger, this isn’t going to introduce any groundbreaking ideas or features. Instead, the hub will provide tips like how parents and educators, for example, can host virtual playdates or use voice and video calls to check in on students and colleagues.

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Google resumes Chrome updates on a modified schedule

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The team isn’t yet ready to commit to a schedule for Chrome 84, instead promising a “future update” on the release. Version 83 is moving to the Dev channel this week.

This is good news if you were concerned that Google might have to hold off on important fixes or let Chrome’s features languish. At the same time, it’s clear that it may take a while for a vaguely familiar schedule to resume no matter how quickly Google can resume business as usual.

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Airbnb hosts can volunteer to house COVID-19 responders

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Accordingly, Airbnb has introduced a donation tool that lets people contribute to partners supporting COVID-19 relief efforts.

The project has its roots in pilot programs in France and Italy, where healthcare workers can already get free stays through Airbnb. There are close to 6,000 hosts in those countries, and Airbnb hopes its new program will host as many as 100,000 COVID-19 responders. Whether or not this happens, the effort might be important. It could not only provide comfort to workers under tremendous stress, but reduce the need for long commutes that make it harder to practice responsible social distancing.

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HBO’s ‘Kill Chain’ doc highlights the flaws in US election machines

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While the matter is of grave concern across the country, Kill Chain: The Cyber War on America’s Elections delves into problems with some specific machines and issues in certain states. For instance, back in 2005, security researcher Harri Hursti (a key figure in the film) demonstrated a memory card exploit that could alter votes on an optical scan voting machine. Those Diebold machines are still in operation in 20 states and are slated for use in November, the filmmakers note.

Elsewhere, a judge banned Georgia from continuing to use the vulnerable systems it had in place for well over a decade. In the wake of the contentious 2018 gubernatorial election, officials had new machines in place for this month’s presidential primary. While the replacements can print paper ballots, which are important for proper vote auditing, they’re still very much vulnerable as they run on Windows 7 — for which Microsoft recently ended support.

We also hear from an Indian hacker who says he was able to gain full access to Alaska’s system, including live voting data, during the 2016 presidential election. He claims he’d have been able to remove a candidate from the ballot or change any vote, but decided not to for fear of triggering some kind of alarm.

The documentary adeptly skirts the line between spelling out specific vulnerabilities and making the problems clear enough for the less technically-minded among us. It touches on many other issues related to election security, such as remote access and the case of the NSA whistleblower Reality Winner and some prominent figures weigh in, including recent presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar.

The film is effective in hammering home its message about the technical issues that pervade many US polling machines. It’s not much of a spoiler to reveal its main call-to-action: ask for a paper ballot if you’re not completely certain that your district’s electronic system is secure. Kill Chain: The Cyber War on America’s Elections premieres at 9PM ET on HBO, HBO Now and HBO Go.

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Alphabet’s Verily shows how its drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites work

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First, Verily asks that you complete an online screener. If you qualify for a test, you’ll get an appointment time. When you arrive, you’ll check in and show your license through your closed car window. Then, staff will match your ID with a lab kit and attach the info to your windshield. You’ll drive forward to a sample collection station, where you’ll roll down your window so staff can collect a nasal swab.

Your results should arrive two to four days after testing, but Verily warns that this may take longer due to lab capacities. If you test positive, you’ll get a phone call, and if you test negative, you’ll receive an email.

The testing is part of a collaboration between Verily’s Project Baseline and the state of California. At the moment, it is provided for free. A few US senators have asked how Alphabet will protect COVID-19 screening data. Project Baseline says that it is “committed to maintaining high privacy standards and keeping your data safe.”

A major public health challenge during the coronavirus pandemic has been a shortage of reliable tests, without which it’s impossible to understand the scope or spread of COVID-19. The FDA is taking steps to fast-track testing tech, and earlier this month, a Gates Foundation-backed project said it could deliver home testing kits to Seattle within the “coming weeks.” In its first week of operations, Verily tested over 1,200 individuals, and it’s working to scale its testing capacity.

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OnePlus 8 Pro will reportedly include wireless charging and waterproofing

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On Twitter, leaker Ishan Agarwal shared spec sheets detailing most of the features and internals of the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro. The interesting bit of information here is that reportedly only the Pro model will include wireless charging and an IP68 water-resistance rating. Agarwal claims the OnePlus 8 Pro will support 30W wireless fast charging. When asked about inductive charging in the past, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau has consistently said the company didn’t want to include the feature until it could make it as fast as its wired power adapter, which it appears it has been able to do. Taking a page from Samsung’s bag of tricks, the phone will also be able to inductively charge other Qi-compatible devices you place on its back.

As expected, the higher-end variant will also feature a 120Hz refresh panel, instead of a 90Hz one. It will also include faster LPDDR5 RAM, a quad-camera array with two 48-megapixel sensors and a sizeable 4,510mAh battery.

OP8 Pro GreenOther than the addition of a Snapdragon 865 processor, a slightly bigger battery and a 12GB RAM option, it doesn’t look like the more affordable OnePlus 8 will be a significant upgrade over the 7T. Looking at the camera specs, the 8 may also feature a less versatile camera than its predecessor. It seems OnePlus plans to trade out either the 7T’s telephoto or ultrawide camera for a 2-megapixel depth sensor.

In a separate leak, Slashleaks co-owner Steve Hemmerstoffer shared what he claims are official renders of the OnePlus 8 Pro in a lovely seafoam green-like color. None of the leaked specs are a surprise at this point, but they give us our best idea yet of what we can expect from OnePlus’ latest phones. We’ll likely learn more about the handsets as OnePlus slowly drip feeds more information about them ahead of their eventual release.



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US Space Force will send its first satellite into space today

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The launch is an important milestone for Space Force — the sixth branch of the military formed as a Trump administration directive. Until now, the agency has mostly just laid out plans, asked for funding, released a Star Trek-esque logo and inspired a Netflix comedy series starring Steve Carell.

The AEHF-6 satellite will provide “vastly improved global, survivable, protected communications capabilities for strategic command and tactical warfighters operating on ground, sea and air platforms,” Lockheed Martin wrote on its website. It will circle about 22,000 miles above the Earth, and it will serve international partners including Canada, the Netherlands and the UK, Space.com reports.

The rocket and satellite will launch from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and live stream will begin today at 2:37PM ET.

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Apple Arcade standout ‘Assemble With Care’ is now on Steam

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In the puzzle game Assemble With Care (developed by UsTwo), you’re tasked with repairing a dozen-or-so objects, like a cassette deck, film camera and handheld game console. By immersing you in simple, step-based tasks, the game creates a kind of zen-like chill, or what Joel Beardshaw, the lead game designer, called a “meditative head space.” The underlying story is all about empathy and learning to appreciate someone else’s problems and perspectives through human connection, which feels especially appropriate now.

We knew the game would be available for PC in early 2020, so its release isn’t a total surprise. It’s listed in the Steam Store for $7.99, but it’s currently on sale at a 15 percent discount, $6.79.

Shinsekai Into the Depths is also available on Switch. The title has you scuba diving around a post-apocalyptic, waterlogged Earth. The game uses visual storytelling rather than text or narration to explain what’s happening, and Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar compared it to playing Ecco the Dolphin or undersea Sonic levels, noting that it seems built for gamers who grew up with Capcom’s classic platformers. Now, you can try it outside of Apple Arcade for $20.

These aren’t the first games to migrate from Apple Arcade to other platforms. Sayonara Wild Hearts, for instance, hit PS4 and Switch the same day it landed on Apple Arcade. Opinions about Apple’s gaming service still vary, but at $5 per month or $50 for the year, it’s a pretty solid value. That said, if you’re not sold on adding another video game subscription, you can now try these formerly-exclusive titles on other platforms.

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