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Amazon offers quantum computing on its AWS servers

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Instead of building its own quantum computer (which involves a lot of dollar), AWS has launched Braket (so named for the common notation of quantum states) in partnership with D-Wave, IonQ and Rigetti. The service makes these companies’ quantum computers available through the cloud, allowing developers and researchers to play around with qubits and quantum circuits, and to test quantum algorithms in a simulated environment. Users can build their own algorithms from scratch, or work with a set of pre-built ones. Everything is accessed through a single interface.

AWS is also launching the AWS Center for Quantum Computing and the AWS Quantum Solutions Lab. Again, neither involve Amazon building its own quantum computer, but rather they create an ecosystem for the advancement and exploration of the technology. It’s a smart move for Amazon — it gets them in the quantum game without the eye-watering financial risk, and opens up the tech to those that couldn’t otherwise ever hope to access it. Microsoft launched a similar service — Azure Quantum — last month, while IBM’s Q Experience is already well established, so it seems that achieving quantum supremacy might not be tech’s main objective after all.

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Apple’s first Music Awards will be headlined by Billie Eilish

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The star of the show will be Billie Eilish, who’ll be celebrating her Artist of the Year award with a special performance at the event. Other winners include Lizzo, as Breakthrough Artist of the Year, and Lil Nas X, who takes home the Song of the Year award for his earworm tune Old Town Road.

And, because it’s Apple, the physical awards themselves are seriously extra with custom silicon wafer suspended between polished glass, an anodized aluminium body and patterns created by ultraviolet lithography — no cheap plated participation trophies here. Watch the event live via iTunes.



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Facebook’s latest big Twitch steal is ‘Smash Bros.’ streamer ZeRo

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Barrios previously retired from pro-gaming until he returned in October 2018 to play in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate competitions. He even set a world record after a 56-event win streak from 2014 to 2015. The former Twitch streamer has revealed his move on Facebook (of course), announcing that his first livestream for the platform will take place on December 3rd at 1PM EST. He’ll be putting Facebook’s charity-giving tools to good use — the social network introduced the ability to do gaming charity livestreams in late 2018 — and raise funds for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

In addition to Barrios, Facebook Gaming has also signed Spain-based creators xFaRgAnx and Augustin51. Their addition to the platform’s roster shows the company is on a mission to capture more gaming audiences outside of English-speaking countries.

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Riot Games pays $10 million to settle gender discrimination lawsuit

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The League of Legends’ developer’s “men-first” and “bro” company culture was first brought to light by a Kotaku investigation, which described a sexist environment where women are routinely discriminated against. One former and one current employee then sued the company over violations of the California Equal Pay act, detailing a workplace wherein “crotch grabbing,” “phantom humping” and “hot girl” lists allegedly go unpunished. The lawsuit, which gained class action status, also accused Riot Games of denying outspoken women promotions — even demoting them at times — and removing their benefits.

Earlier this year, a few months after the lawsuit was filed, more than 150 employees walked out to protest the motion Riot Games filed to force the plaintiffs into arbitration. Riot Games noted in the settlement documents that it has beefed up its internal reporting programs since then, hired a dedicated chief diversity officer and undertook a “review of all pay, promotion and hiring practices to increase fairness and transparency.”

A Riot Games spokesperson told LA Times in a statement:

“We’re pleased to have a proposed settlement to fully resolve the class action lawsuit. The settlement is another important step forward, and demonstrates our commitment to living up to our values and to making Riot an inclusive environment for the industry’s best talent.”

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NASA photos show the crash site of India’s Vikram lunar lander

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In September India lost contact with its Vikram lander just a mile above the Moon’s surface, and now NASA has confirmed photos taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show where it impacted. The actual discovery, however, has been credited to an amateur, Shanmuga Subramanian. As the New York Times reported, he is an Indian programmer and mechanical engineer who noted subtle differences in before/after mosaic photos back in October.

The debris kicked up by the impact was small enough that it’s barely recognizable in the orbiter’s resolution. According to NASA, the debris Shanmuga found is about 750m from the main crash site. Last week the ISRO said Vikram crashed within 500m of its intended landing point, but didn’t release any pictures. The crash was apparently due to a problem with its braking thrusters, although the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft that released it is still operational and orbiting the moon, collecting data.



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Apple highlights some of the best (and most popular) apps of 2019

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Sayonara Wild Hearts was easily the most stylish of Apple Arcade’s first games, so its nod here feels well-warranted despite being a cross-platform title. And the same could be said for Hyper Light Drifter — it’s a little strange to see it take the crown for Best iPad game of the year when it debuted on PCs and Macs over three years ago. (Eva Gaspar, CEO of Abylight Studios, told Engadget they took on the project of adapting HLD for iOS after completing the Switch port last year.) Regardless, there are a handful of fascinating choices that even we hadn’t heard of before, so be sure to check out the full list below.

iPhone App of the Year: Spectre Camera (Lux Optics)

iPad App of the Year: Flow by Moleskine (Moleskine)

Mac App of the Year: Affinity Publisher (Serif Labs)

Apple TV App of the Year: The Explorers (The Explorers Network)

iPhone Game of the Year: “Sky: Children of the Light” (thatgamecompany)

iPad Game of the Year: “Hyper Light Drifter” (Abylight S.L.)

Mac Game of the Year: “GRIS” (Devolver / Nomada Studio)

Apple TV Game of the Year: “Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap” (DotEmu)

Apple Arcade Game of the Year: “Sayonara Wild Hearts” (Simogo)

As usual, Apple also provided details on the year’s most downloaded apps. You’d probably see many of these titles coming from miles away, but still — it’s interesting to see how certain apps, companies and platforms stack up over time. Take TikTok for instance: It’s an unabashed phenomenon now, albeit one that’s also causing concern in the upper echelons of multiple governments. This year, it was Apple’s fourth most downloaded free iPhone app — that’s a pretty big jump from last year, where it placed 16th.) And while YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat continue to claim the first, second and third place crowns respectively, Bitmoji dropped out of the top ten entirely this year. Guess those custom clothes weren’t enough to keep people hooked.

Here are the full lists:

Top Free iPhone Apps

  1. YouTube: Watch, Listen, Stream
  2. Instagram
  3. Snapchat
  4. TikTok – Make Your Day
  5. Messenger
  6. Gmail – Email by Google
  7. Netflix
  8. Facebook
  9. Google Maps – Transit & Food
  10. Amazon – Shopping made easy

Top Paid iPhone Apps

  1. Facetune
  2. HotSchedules
  3. Dark Sky Weather
  4. The Wonder Weeks
  5. AutoSleep Tracker for Watch
  6. TouchRetouch
  7. Afterlight – Photo Editor
  8. Procreate Pocket
  9. Sky Guide
  10. Toca Hair Salon 3

Top Free iPad Apps

  1. YouTube: Watch, Listen, Stream
  2. Netflix
  3. Amazon Prime Video
  4. Google Chrome
  5. Hulu: Watch TV Shows & Movies
  6. Messenger
  7. Gmail – Email by Google
  8. Facebook
  9. TikTok – Make Your Day
  10. Calculator

Top Paid iPad Apps

  1. Procreate
  2. Notability
  3. GoodNotes 5
  4. Duet Display
  5. Toca Hair Salon 3
  6. Toca Life: Neighborhood
  7. XtraMath
  8. PDF Expert 7: PDF Editor
  9. LumaFusion
  10. Affinity Designer

Top Free iPhone Games

  1. Mario Kart Tour
  2. Color Bump 3D
  3. aquapark.io
  4. Call of Duty: Mobile
  5. BitLife – Life Simulator
  6. Polysphere – art of puzzle
  7. Wordscapes
  8. Fortnite
  9. Roller Splat!
  10. AMAZE!!

Top Paid iPhone Games

  1. Minecraft
  2. Heads Up!
  3. Plague Inc.
  4. Bloons TD 6
  5. Geometry Dash
  6. Rebel Inc.
  7. The Game of Life
  8. Stardew Valley
  9. Bloons TD 5
  10. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Top Free iPad Games

  1. Roblox
  2. aquapark.io
  3. Paper.io 2
  4. Color Bump 3D
  5. Magic Tiles 3: Piano Game
  6. Fortnite
  7. Polysphere – art of puzzle
  8. Wordscapes
  9. Tiles Hop – EDM Rush
  10. Helix Jump

Top Paid iPad Games

  1. Minecraft
  2. Geometry Dash
  3. Bloons TD 6
  4. Plague Inc.
  5. Amazing Frog?
  6. Stardew Valley
  7. The Game of Life
  8. Heads Up!
  9. Terraria
  10. Bendy and the Ink Machine

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What’s on TV: ‘Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ and ‘Silicon Valley’

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This weekend, Silicon Valley ends its run on HBO after six seasons lampooning tech culture. This is also the week that you can get Game of Thrones on Blu-ray either as a Complete Series or just season eight, which is also available on Ultra HD Blu-ray. Either way, you should finally be able to see what’s going on in the Battle of Winterfell. Other big releases include a new Tiffany Haddish comedy special on Netflix, and a new season of Amazon’s award-winning series Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

For gamers, the Halo: Master Chief Collection is making its debut on PC, while players on Xbox One and PC can both revisit Halo: Reach. In sports we have a slew of college football conference championships. Look after the break to check out each day’s highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).

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Apple loses bid to stop class action lawsuit over MacBook keyboards

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The lawsuit covers many Apple laptops with butterfly keyboards, starting with the original 12-inch MacBook from 2015 and including MacBook Pro models produced in 2016 or later.

We’ve asked Apple for comment. It might face an uphill battle in court, however. While the company has never said the butterfly keyboard design was inherently flawed, it instituted repair programs for that keyboard design and even added the latest 13-inch MacBook Pro to the program the moment it became available. Also, the 16-inch MacBook Pro conspicuously reverted to scissor switches in what many see as a tacit acknowledgment that the earlier technology was too fragile. As such, there’s a real chance Apple could find itself paying for its design choices well after the butterfly keyboard becomes a distant memory.

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Samsung’s Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Buds are on sale for $624

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The Galaxy S10 is Samsung’s flagship model. Introduced early this year, it has an all-screen, bezel-less display with a punchhole for the front-facing camera. The screen is HDR10+ certified, meaning you’ll get more dynamic range on your smartphone. There’s also an in-screen fingerprint reader, three rear-facing camera lenses and promised improvements you’d expect, like faster speeds and a longer-lasting battery.

The Galaxy Buds aren’t our favorite true wireless earbuds, but they are tailor-made for the S10, so you’ll get to take advantage of all of the features — like the ability to charge them on the back of your phone. They have a solid battery life and reliable connection, but you’ll have to look past average audio quality, frustrating touch controls and a disappointing microphone for calls. At this price, you may be happy to do so.

If you’re still on the fence, the extra $50 gift card from Amazon may sway you. You can put that towards accessories for you S10 or other holiday shopping.

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Homeland Security wants airport face scans for US citizens

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It won’t surprise you to hear that civil rights advocates object to the potential expansion. ACLU Senior Policy Analyst Jay Stanley said in a statement that the government was “reneging” on a longstanding promise to spare citizens from this “intrusive surveillance technology.” He also contended that this was an unfair burden on people using their “constitutional right to travel,” and pointed to abuses of power, data breaches and potential bias as strong reasons to avoid expanding use of the technology.

The ACLU told Engadget that it’s “calling on Congress” to put a stop to widened facial recognition, but can’t say if it’ll take further action as the full proposal isn’t available.

Beyond that, it’s not clear that facial recognition will be ready in time to meet Homeland Security’s goals. It’s supposed to roll out the technology in the 20 top US airports by 2021, but it has faced technical and practical hurdles that include inaccuracies, network problems and staff shortages. Even if the department gets its expanded powers and completes the rollout on time, the technology may not work reliably enough to spot fraudsters.

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