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There are still catches. Dave Zatz warned that the approach remained “a bit kludgey,” and that you can’t skip commercials like you can on your TV. You do avoid pre-roll ads, though, and this beats having to track down a WiFi hotspot to watch an episode. Streaming services like Hulu theoretically fill this gap for many people, but this could be extremely helpful if you still have a conventional TV subscription.
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Lynch speculated that these countries could use the data to blackmail and recruit American government workers, or obtain “undue foreign influence” on US policy. He also imagined a scenario where hostile countries could use the data to profile everyday US citizens for the sake of future diplomatic and military battles.
Apple and Google haven’t commented so far.
There’s no clear evidence that companies like have sent sensitive info to less-than-friendly government agencies. TikTok owner ByteDance, for example, has maintained that its US operations are detached from those in China. However, that hasn’t satisfied critics concerned about China’s influence, such as TikTok temporarily pulling a video highlighting China’s mistreatment of Uighur Muslims. The US government went so far as to make Kunlun sell Grindr by June 2020 to eliminate any questions of security risks. Apple and Google won’t necessarily be forced to reveal foreign roots for mobile apps, but they’ll undoubtedly be under pressure to explain their roles in distributing those apps.
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You’ll also find Star Wars-based challenges and new unlockables like a Jedi training emote. Epic is also handing out the TIE Whisper glider to everyone, not just attendees, after high demand led to trouble getting into the game.
The high profile combined with interest suggests that in-game Fortnite events like this will persist for a while. It’s not surprising as to why. The game’s gigantic player base makes it an easy choice for advertisers who want to court a large audience of young people, and this could keep people coming back well after they’ve obtained the usual seasonal goodies. It’s just a question of whether or not Epic can both sustain interest in the core game and preserve some of the novelty of community-wide events.
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There’s no tentative release schedule, and it’s clearly too soon to learn who’ll play characters like Hiro Protagonist and YT. This may have been in the works for a while, though. There has been talk for months of resurrecting attempts to bring Snow Crash to screens following a failed attempt to make a movie.
This isn’t HBO Max’s only big sci-fi project. It’s working on a Dune prequel series executive produced by Denis Villeneuve. However, it does reflect a recent rush among services to score big sci-fi novels. Amazon in particular appears to be on a spree, snapping up William Gibson’s The Peripheral amid reports that it would adapt the hit Three-Body Problem novels from Liu Cixin. The Snow Crash deal may be as much about keeping up with competition as it is creating another tentpole show for HBO Max in its early years.
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Officials are running many services on pen and paper until it’s deemed safe for computers to come back online, although the Orleans Parish Communication District (which handles both 311 and 991 lines) and courts weren’t affected. The city added that emergency services’ communications were still active, and that it could still obtain footage from public safety cameras if there was an incident.
It’s unclear when computers will go back online, when the state of emergency will be lifted, or who the culprits were. City-scale ransomware attacks like those using SamSam have frequently been the work of extortionists hoping only for a windfall profit, although there are concerns hostile countries might use malware to bankroll programs. Louisiana’s government faced its own ransomware attack in November and had to shut its Office of Motor Vehicles for days, although the state got back online without caving in to the attackers’ demands.
The city credited its apparently successful response to preparedness. City CIO Kim LaGrue noted that the resilience to phishing likely came as a result of security training that started in the fall. Homeland Security director Collin Arnold added that New Orleans’ unfortunate experience with natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina also meant it was ready to operate offline. In that sense, the cyberattack may serve as an example of how to deal with major security incidents.
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How William Gibson keeps his science fiction real
Joshua Rothman,
The New Yorker
While a lot of sci-fi is obsessed with the distant future, one of the best authors of the genre takes a different approach. The New Yorker explains how William Gibson “has imagined the near future more convincingly than anyone else” to create his stories. That includes his concept of “cyberspace” that first appeared in his work in the early 1980s.
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Engadget Podcast: The Mac Pro and Apple’s return to great hardware
This week, Senior Editor Devindra Hardawar and UK Bureau Chief Mat Smith explore who may need a $52,000 Mac Pro (it’s not as crazy as you think!).
‘The Outer Worlds’ DLC is coming next year
In a forum post celebrating the three awards it was nominated for at The Game Awards, Obsidian revealed it will expand The Outer Worlds next year with DLC.
Engadget’s 2019 holiday gift guide is here!
After months of thinking, curating, photographing and more thinking, we’ve come up with a holiday gift guide that covers all the bases (and budgets), from laptops and mobile devices, to toys, to the smart home, to book and media recommendations (only on nerdy subjects, of course). All told, there are more than 150 items in our guide, spanning 13 categories, with advice from 25 of our writers and editors. You know, the people testing and reviewing this stuff all year long.
The next Xbox is called Series X
Previously known as Project Scarlett, the next-generation Xbox resembles a PC tower, and it arrives holidays 2020. Xbox chief Phil Spencer wrote in a blog post that the Series X design allows Microsoft to pack in four times the processing power of Xbox One X “in the most quiet and efficient way.” It’s said to be no louder than an Xbox One X, helped by a single fan that pushes air through the top.
Microsoft says the Xbox Series X can handle 4K visuals at 60 frames per second, and potentially up to 120 fps. The console will also offer hardware-accelerated ray tracing and variable refresh rate, along with 8K capability. It’s compatible with software going back to the original Xbox and will work with Xbox One controllers. The controller it comes with is similar to the current Xbox pad, but it’s very slightly smaller and adds a dedicated DualShock 4-like Share button. As far as games, Halo: Infinite is in development, and with the unveiling, we got a peek at Nina Theory’s Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II.
Elon Musk took Tesla’s Cybertruck for a weekend drive around LA
Los Angelenos spotted the Tesla boss driving his electric truck down the 405 and getting some dinner at Nobu.
The most expensive new Mac Pro configuration costs $52,599
Apple has started taking orders for the redesigned Mac Pro and its webcam-lacking Pro Display XDR. The workstation is available starting at $5,999 with an eight-core 3.5GHz Xeon processor, 32GB of RAM, Radeon Pro 580X graphics and a 256GB solid-state drive. All told, you’re looking at close to $53,000 if you max out the system with 1.5TB of RAM and a set of $400 wheels — which we did here.
NASA unveils ‘the most powerful rocket ever built’
This week at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine gave the public its first up-close look at the Space Launch System, or SLS. The SLS program is running rather behind schedule, with launch originally aimed for 2019 and a possible manned first mission being considered. Now, the first test of the SLS is aimed for 2021, to be ready for the Artemis mission to the moon in 2024.
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The tech giant also discussed the techniques it uses in order to capture as many map imagery as possible. As you may know, it uses Street View cars equipped with cameras that can take photos from various angles while they’re driving. For areas where driving isn’t possible, such as nature reserves and far-flung areas with no roads, it sends people equipped with Street View Trekker backpacks.
In addition, Google explained that it uses a technique called photogrammetry to stitch several images together. In fact, the tech giant employs the same method to conjure up VR experiences, including the virtual tour of Versailles it created for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift users.
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It obviously can’t help if the film you’ve chosen goes downhill after that. But if you’re not feeling what you’re watching right from the start, all you need to do is stop the film within half an hour, and then call or email customer service within 24 hours. Vudu will issue your account with credit equal to the price of your rental within the day, as well.
While the feature sounds like a great way to find the perfect films to watch for your holiday get-togethers, take note that it does have limitations. You can only do it once per movie, and you’re limited to four redos per month. Also, it won’t work on movies you’ve already downloaded on your device, because Vudu has to be able to remove the rental from your account to be able to issue your credit.
In case your feelings of regret came from renting from Vudu when the movie you’ve chosen is available for cheaper elsewhere, don’t worry: The platform has also introduced price matching for Amazon and iTunes. The rental has to be identical in every way, though, including resolution and edition. You also need to contact customer service within 24 hours and while Vudu can confirm its rivals’ lower prices, so you can receive the price difference in your account.
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Did you enjoy Obsidian’s RPG The Outer Worlds, but just wished there was a bit more to explore? We have good news. In a forum post celebrating the three awards it was nominated for at The Game Awards, the team revealed it will be expanding the story next year with DLC. Details on what that includes will be revealed “at a later date,” but maybe just don’t uninstall that one from your system yet.
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