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Fans are creating a Harry Potter role-playing game inside ‘Minecraft’

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The team doesn’t have an official release date, but it’s hoping to release an initial version for free, with access to areas like the Great Hall and Hagrid’s Hut, by the end of January. There’s a Patreon (linked above) for those who want to contribute.

It’s a colossal project, and made all the more notable by its use of plain Minecraft. With that said, it’s not clear how long this will last. This isn’t exactly a subtle homage to Harry Potter from both the books and movies, and we wouldn’t be surprised if Pottermore or Warner Bros. took issue over copyright grounds. Having said this, there have been instances where media giants and fan project makers have reached agreements. If the companies come knocking, they might decide that it’s better to accommodate the community’s enthusiasm than shut it down.

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Apple’s AirPods drop to $129 on Amazon

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The pros and cons of the AirPods are well-established by this point. The sound quality is merely okay, there’s no water resistance, and the design offers neither extensive control nor a secure fit for some listeners. And of course, they lose much of their appeal if you aren’t already an Apple device user. They’re extremely convenient if you are invested in the Apple ecosystem, though, and they still nail some fundamentals (such as a long-lasting battery case and a reliable connection) better than others. The AirPods are a solid choice if you want to listen to podcasts during your bus ride or take hands-free phone calls.

Buy Apple AirPods (Latest Version) on Amazon – $129

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Amazon is selling Kindles at Black Friday prices

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Both devices received high scores when we reviewed them, 95 and 91, respectively. The two standout features on the Kindle Paperwhite are waterproofing and Bluetooth Audible support, so you can listen to audiobooks on the go. The Paperwhite comes in black or twilight blue, with 8GB or 32GB of storage. The latter will cost you $110, but that’s still a $50 discount.

If you decided to save even more, going with the Kindle won’t be too much of a sacrifice. The latest model includes a front-lit screen, touchscreen and support for Audible over Bluetooth. You’ll give up waterproofing, get less storage (4GB) and be limited to black or white, but those may very well be tradeoffs you’re willing to make. These discounts could make the readers especially appealing if your New Year’s resolutions included reading goals.

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OnePlus talks about the 120Hz display for its next flagship phone

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The Fluid Display touts an “exclusive optimization solution” that reportedly renders frames 7 percent faster, and it boasts a 240Hz touch sampling rate to make it that much more responsive to your finger taps. You can also expect smoother-looking video playback at 60Hz or 120Hz, too, thanks to the same kind of frame insertion technology used in many modern TVs (this comes at the same time as TV makers are courting people who hate motion smoothing, but never you mind that).

You can likewise expect better color accuracy through “professional tuning” that promises a Just Noticeable Color Difference ratio of less than 0.8 (slightly better than the Galaxy S10’s 0.9, for context), 10-bit color that’s automatically calibrated at the factory and a 1,000-nit peak brightness.

We wouldn’t be surprised if 120Hz AMOLED displays appear in more phones in 2020 (Apple and Samsung are rumored to be making that leap). What OnePlus claims to be special now may be relatively commonplace by the end of the year. Still, the Fluid Display shows that very fast refresh rates are coming to mainstream phones before long, and sets a benchmark for what to expect.



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The Morning After: Let the Samsung Galaxy S20 leaks begin

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Cameras and a name.
Oh look, our first Samsung Galaxy S20 leak

XDA-Developers has obtained pictures of what it says is the Galaxy S20+ 5G — which is what it says on the boot-up screen. A shot of the back reveals an elaborate camera array that reportedly includes a 12-megapixel 1.8-micron main camera, an ultra-wide, a telephoto and possibly a macro lens. There might also be a rear microphone to boost audio quality when you’re recording videos. According to reports, this wouldn’t necessarily be the highest-end model, either. There’s also a rumored S20 Ultra, which would include more advanced camera tech (such as Samsung’s 108-megapixel sensor). Talking of names, the next attempt at a foldable phone could arrive as the Galaxy Z Flip. I have zero emotional attachment to that name.

There are ways…
Six ways to ‘win’ CES

CES 2020 was, in comparison to the eight previous shows I’ve attended, kinda silly. Whether that’s because tech is bigger (and the budgets have followed), or that we’re all a little desensitized to new product reveals, this year offered some tangible ways to make sure companies made a splash. Some of these methods are more replicable than others.

The app offers the most comprehensive set of grilling features we’ve seen so far.Weber Connect will be a useful tool for grillers of all skill levels

Giving a boost to Weber’s SmokeFire grills and the Smart Grilling hub is the company’s new Connect app. For at-home grill masters, Weber Connect will provide step-by-step guidance on how to prep the grill, prep meat, when to put it on, when to flip, how long to rest it and more. The system can even give an estimated completion time based on the type and weight of meat or seafood you tell the app you’re cooking. Inside the Weber Connect app, the steps run in order, so you know what’s next and how long you have until you need to move to the next step. According to Engadget pitmaster, Billy Steele, it’s a major upgrade that will help both newbies and seasoned professionals. Also, how did he get to write about BBQ when I was schlepping around conference halls?

Software and keyboards will make foldables feasible.
The future of foldable tablets got clearer at CES 2020

At CES, one of Engadget’s PC reporters Cherlynn Low saw several folding screens that were bigger than the Galaxy Fold’s 7.3-inch panel. As it turns out, she thinks a bigger foldable makes a lot more sense, and at CES, the industry showed the broad strokes of what a foldable PC would do.

You don’t have to open a window to talk to the outside world.
Tesla cars will soon ‘talk’ to pedestrians

Elon Musk has teased plans to let Tesla cars “talk” to pedestrians through external speakers (presumably the ones added to comply with sound requirements in the EU and US). He didn’t outline how it would work, but the feature appears to at least support canned clips.

It’s not certain if you’ll get to either speak directly to people outside or send automated speech (say, to warn that you’re backing up). It could still be helpful both for convenience and as a safety measure, though.

But wait, there’s more…

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‘Westworld’ season 3 premieres March 15th

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As we’ve already learned, the third season will take place not only in the park from the first two seasons, but also in the outside world. We saw Dolores interacting with a construction worker played by Aaron Paul, and learned that she’s a target. The plot will also feature a creepy company called Incite that bears a resemblance to current Silicon Valley tech giants.

The latest trailer gives us a bit more background about how Westworld’s AI came to be. A number of chaotic events coalesced into a massive problem for humanity, which was only saved by something called the “System” in the year 2039. (On a side note, it seems tasteless to use the Hong Kong riots as part of a plot point to demonstrate the rise of dystopia.) Apparently, though, Dolores and her self-aware AI friends have messed that up. “Up until now, the system was working, but there’s someone we haven’t accounted for: You,” the narrator says darkly.

Co-creator Jonathan Nolan said that the world is still pretty messed despite this System but, unlike Blade Runner and other dystopic fictions, they filmed it in nice locations with a pretty sheen. “Dystopia can look pretty beautiful in the world,” he told Deadline. “Just because the world is corrupt inside, doesn’t mean it can’t be smothered over and pretty. We wanted to find a version of dystopia that we hadn’t seen before.”

Westworld suffered from a lackluster second season after the enormous success of season one. However, viewers will no doubt be less willing to tolerate the boring episodes like we saw in season two that failed to move the plot. We’ll certainly see a lot of new faces, including Paul, Vincent Cassel, Lena Waithe and Marshawn Lynch.



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Mazda purposely limited its new EV ‘to feel more like a gas car’

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Even though it’s producing the MX-3, Mazda seems less than enthusiastic about electric cars. It recently said that it made the MX-3 with a relatively small 35.5 kWh battery because long-range EVs are worse for the environment than diesels — a claim that’s based on a number of questionable assumptions. As a result, the MX-3 is only expected to go up to 120 miles or so on a charge, based on EPA figures.

Mazda said that it will never offer “big-battery” electric car, and plans to offer a hybrid version of the MX-30 with a rotary engine range extender. It could be pinning most of its hopes on that vehicle, as its PR efforts around the all-electric MX-30 have not generated much enthusiasm to date.

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Stephen Colbert is producing an animated news spoof for CBS All Access

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There are no details for casting or the premiere date at this stage, although The Late Show‘s Chris Licht will help Colbert executive produce. Some of the animation expertise comes from RJ Fried and Tim Luecke of Showtime’s Trump spoof Our Cartoon President.

This is unusual for All Access, which has focused largely on live-action comedies and dramas so far. It’s not shocking that CBS might consider this given the competition, though. Rival services like Netflix have their own shows covering hot topics, and CBS can take advantage of both Colbert’s talk show experience and its news faculties to offer rapid-fire programming that might be difficult for others to match.

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NBC may revive ‘Quantum Leap’ for its Peacock streaming service

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We wouldn’t count on a possible show bringing back Scott Bakula or Dean Stockwell, at least not in their original roles. Bakula is tied up with NCIS: New Orleans, while Stockwell hasn’t acted in five years. It’s likelier that this would be a reboot or a sequel.

You might find out more soon. NBC is expected to say more about Peacock on January 16th, including pricing that could include an ad-supported free tier and a $10 ad-free option. There’s little doubt that the network wants Peacock to have a strong start, and resurrecting a classic sci-fi series might do the trick — just ask CBS how well that worked.

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