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Google has a ‘.new’ shortcut for creating Calendar events

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Around the same time last year, Google introduced shortcuts that give you a way to create a new Doc, Sheet, Slide, Site or Form in just a few seconds. If they’ve been making your life easier, then you may also like Google’s new shortcut for Calendar. Now, you can add new Calendar events simply by typing “cal.new” or “meeting.new” on your browser’s address bar. It opens the full event edit page, which you can traditionally access by tapping the “Create” button and then “More Options.” There, you can add a title for your event, its location, duration, notes and other details, as well as set notifications for it.



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Naughty Dog delays ‘The Last of Us Part II’

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Google’s latest Chromebook is less ambitious but more successful.Pixelbook Go review

The Pixelbook Go is much easier to evaluate than either the first Pixelbook or the Pixel Slate. It’s a standard, familiar, almost boring laptop. But instead of figuring out if Chrome OS works on a convertible tablet or if you’re willing to spend $1,000 on a premium laptop, you could just pick the straightforward, no-frills Go. An unimpressive 1080p display is balanced out by its excellent keyboard, good performance and long battery life.

According to the team, the only option was to ‘compromise our vision.’‘The Last of Us Part II’ is delayed until May 29th, 2020

It was only a month ago that Sony announced a February release date for the follow-up to its 2013 hit The Last of Us. Now, the company has confirmed a leak by Kotaku, announcing the sequel is delayed a few months to May 2020. According to director Neil Drunkmann, “We realized we simply didn’t have enough time to bring the entire game up to a level of polish we would call Naughty Dog quality.”

Only the GTI and R are coming to the US.Volkswagen unveils the next-gen Golf and its hybrid variants

There will be three mild-hybrid versions of the Golf with a 48V lithium-ion battery and two plug-in hybrids — unfortunately, none of them are scheduled for release in the US. The plugins will sport a 13 kWh lithium-ion battery, which Volkswagen says will last about 60 kilometers (37 miles). An 8.25-inch or optional 10-inch display houses the infotainment system, which will support Alexa for voice-activated control, and it will ship with V2X technology built-in.

An Android app will launch next year.AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon team up to push next-gen RCS texting

The big four wireless carriers in the US — AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon (parent company of Engadget) — have announced their Cross-Carrier Messaging Initiative. It’s a joint venture that they promise will “Create a single seamless, interoperable RCS experience across carriers, both in the US and globally.” If you’re not familiar with RCS, it’s the technology that’s supposed to bring rich iMessage-like features to texting, replacing the old SMS standard.

Surprise!OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition with 5G is coming to T-Mobile later this year

OnePlus wasn’t entirely accurate when it said it wouldn’t offer the OnePlus 7T Pro in the US. T-Mobile has announced it’ll carry the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren sometime later in 2019.

The standard 7T Pro is a mildly souped-up 7 Pro with a Snapdragon 855+ chip, a minimum 8GB of RAM, faster charging, an ever-so-slightly larger battery and photography extras like 960 fps slow motion video and a macro mode. The McLaren model bumps the RAM to 12GB and, of course, adds that signature black-and-orange color scheme with an ethereal pattern on the back.

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Netflix quietly tests variable playback speed in Android app

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As reported by Android Police, the company is testing a variable playback speed option on its Android app. Users on Twitter have been mentioning the feature for several weeks, but it appears to be part of a limited rollout test.

When watching content on Netflix, some Android users now have a Speed option on the video playback menu, next to the Audio & Subtitles menu. In the Speed menu, there are options to reduce the speed to 0.5x or 0.75x, an option to set playback to normal (1x speed), or options to set the speed to 1.25x or 1.5x.

Adjustable playback speed is a popular option in podcast players and audiobook software, where people often speed up content to listen to it faster. Doing the same thing with video content is rather jarring, but the function made its way into apps like YouTube. Slowing down video content will let people view scenes in slow motion or could be helpful for those who struggle to understand dialogue when it’s presented at full speed.

Currently, the feature has only been spotted in the Android Netflix app. There’s no information yet on if or when a full rollout will take place, or whether the feature will be coming to other platforms as well.



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US lawmakers want streaming services like Netflix to issue emergency alerts

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In addition to exploring ways on how alerts can be issued through streaming services, READI Act would eliminate the ability to opt out of receiving certain federal alerts, including ones for incoming missiles. Alerts issued by the President or by FEMA would also have to be repeated — at the moment, it can only be played once on TV and radio stations. It would compel FEMA to prevent false alarms and would establish a reporting system for false alerts that the FCC can track, as well.

Senator Schatz said in a statement:

“When a missile alert went out across Hawai’i last year, some people never got the message on their phones, while others missed it on their TVs and radios. Even though it was a false alarm, the missile alert exposed real flaws in the way people receive emergency alerts. Our bill fixes a number of important problems with the system responsible for delivering emergency alerts. In a real emergency, these alerts can save lives so we have to do everything we can to get it right.”

A group of bipartisan Congress members — Representatives Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.), Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawai’i), Pete Olson (R-Texas) and Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) — has also introduced the READI Act at the House of Representatives. McNerney said “[t]he READI Act will help improve the current [Wireless Emergency Alert] system and emergency alerting more broadly, so that my constituents and Americans across the country can count on receiving life-saving warnings when faced with these dire situations.”

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Google Pixelbook Go review: Function over form

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In use

While Google cut some corners in the design department, the Pixelbook Go is still among the more powerful Chromebooks out there. The base model pairs an eighth-generation Intel Core m3 processor with 8GB of RAM and 64GB of storage; the one I reviewed steps up to an i5 processor and 128GB of storage. That model costs $849 and has comparable specs to what you’ll find in the $999 Pixelbook. I do wish I could have tried the m3 model, because I’m curious to see what kind of performance Google is offering for $650.

Unsurprisingly, Intel’s Core i5 and 8GB of RAM is plenty for Chrome OS. The Pixelbook Go handled my normal workload without any notable issues. My routine involves a dozen or so browser tabs, Tweetdeck, Hangouts, Slack, Todoist, Google Keep and Trello all running as Chrome apps, along with the occasional Android app or two. Adobe’s Lightroom, Netflix, YouTube Music and a smattering of games all mostly worked well, though music playback presented the occasionally “low memory” hiccup which was frustrating. Notably, this didn’t happen when using YouTube Music as a browser tab. This reinforces my belief that Android apps on Chrome aren’t worth using if there’s a web-based alternative.

Google Pixelbook Go

Overall, I think most people will be fine with the base configuration; power users may want to step up to the $849 model I tried. Google is also selling a $999 configuration that doubles the RAM to 16GB, while that $1,399 model I mentioned includes a Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, 256GB storage and a 4K display. While I’d surely enjoy that high-res screen, I don’t think it’s worth that kind of money.

The Pixelbook Go also holds up well on the battery side, something that wasn’t always true for the original. In our video playback test, the Go ran for just over 13 and a half hours before shutting down. That’s more than an hour longer than the 12-hour battery life Google claims with “mixed usage.” Unfortunately, I never came close to 12 hours when putting the Go through my normal routine, but it did last more than eight hours, which is a definite improvement over the first Pixelbook.

I will note that my review Pixelbook had a weird issue where the battery life indicator didn’t update properly. It showed whatever percentage it was app when it was awoken from sleep and didn’t update until it went to sleep again or was plugged in. Google confirmed it was a bug with the current version of Chrome OS that would be updated by the time the device shipped. The company also confirmed that the battery was otherwise performing normally and that this was just a software issue. I’ll check this again once the software update arrives and will update this review if the problem persists.

The competition

There are tons of Chromebooks you can compare the Go to, from cheap $200 devices (with specs to match), up to Google’s own Pixelbook from 2017 that still sells for $1,000 or more. That said, probably the closest comparison to the Pixelbook Go is the ASUS Chromebook Flip C434, which I reviewed earlier this year. It has an m3 processor, 1080p screen, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, just like the base Pixelbook Go. At $579, it’s cheaper than the Go, but also thicker and heavier. It does have a 360-degree hinge, but I never wanted to use the Flip in tablet mode, since it weighs more than three pounds.

Acer has its own high-end option, the Chromebook 13 CB713. For $800, you get an eighth-generation Core i5 processor, a higher-resolution screen (2,256 x 1,504), 8GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Like the Chromebook Flip, though, it’s larger and heavier than the Go.

Google Pixelbook

And then there’s the original Pixelbook, which still starts at $999. That’s $150 more than the Go model I tested, but it has the same RAM and storage as well as an i5 processor (it’s a seventh-generation chip, though, compared to the eighth-gen one in the Go). The extra cash gets you a thinner, more compact design with a better trackpad and much sharper display. It also supports the Pixelbook Pen and has that nifty 360-degree hinge. There are some definite benefits to the original Pixelbook — and it has been heavily discounted over the last year, sometimes down to $750. If you can wait, it might be worth seeing if it gets any further price cuts this holiday season.

Wrap-up

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RED founder retires, and the Hydrogen phone project is over

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At the age of 70, RED founder Jim Jannard has announced he’s retiring, saying that between his age and a few health issues “it is now time.” As he steps away from the company, he also announced its Hydrogen phone project will end after producing just one device. When the Hydrogen One arrived late last year it brought some technology, like “4V” for its display and image capture that was innovative, but didn’t live up to its $1,295 price.

Earlier this year RED announced plans to “radically” change the program and build a device to have wider appeal across pros and regular users. That’s all done now, although the Hydrogen One will continue to receive software updates, and RED Digital Cinema is still operating with Jarred Land as its president. You’ll just have to find your next moonshot phone from a camera company somewhere else.

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Square enables free stock trades using Cash App

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Square kept introducing new features for its Cash app over the past years until it’s no longer just meant for sending and receiving money from friends. Last year, the company launched the ability to instantly buy and sell bitcoin, allowing users to take a chance on cryptocurrency if they want to. Now, Square has revealed that it’s rolling out the ability to buy stocks from within the Cash app. Users don’t even have to invest money they can’t afford losing — say, over $1,000 to buy a single Google share — because it’ll allow them to buy fractions of stocks for as little as $1.

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TCL’s 2018 6-Series 4K TV goes on sale this weekend for $399

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TCL only recently introduced its new 6-Series and 8-Series 4K TVs for 2019, but their predecessors were among the most well-reviewed and highly rated TVs last year. The new 6-Series TVs add quantum dots to the mix, and start at $599 for a 55-inch version. However, there’s still some of the 2018-era TVs to clear out, and TCL has announced that Best Buy will sell the 55-inch version for just $399.

The sale starts at 2 AM ET on Friday morning and will run through Sunday night, or as long as supplies last. These 4K TVs bring excellent picture quality, Dolby Vision HDR and the Roku smart TV platform, however as The Wirecutter noted in a recent updates, there have been some complaints about color uniformity and lip sync issues when using HDMI-ARC. Still, it’s hard to find a TV this good at that price, so think hard — the sale starts in just a few hours.

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AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon team up to push next-gen RCS texting

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For years we've been hearing about the potential of RCS, a protocol replacement for SMS that would bring iMessage and Whatsapp-like features to texting. Unfortunately there's been very little to show for it, with spotty support among carriers, and on…

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Apple’s former insider trading watchdog indicted for… insider trading

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Levoff, who worked at Apple from 2008 to 2018, was charged with six counts of wire fraud and six counts of securities fraud. According to the indictment, Levioff realized a profit of around $227,000 on some trades and avoided losses of about $377,000 on others. The trades in question allegedly took place between 2011 and 2016.

As well as being a senior director of corporate law at Apple, a position he held from 2013 to 2018, the indictment notes Levoff was a co-chairman of Apple’s disclosure committee. That group reviews Apple’s earnings reports and Securities and Exchange Commission filings before they’re released.

Along with others who had access to such material information before it was made public, Levoff was subject to quarterly blackout periods. During those times, those individuals aren’t allowed to trade stock until Apple reports its earnings. However, Levoff allegedly disregarded that rule (though he reminded others to whom it applied not to trade during blackout periods), as well as Apple’s own insider trading policy — which, again, he was in charge of enforcing.

Levoff faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years on each count if convicted. The securities fraud counts carry a maximum fine of $5 million, and the wire fraud counts the higher of $250,000 or double the gains made or loses caused. The SEC also filed a lawsuit against Levoff earlier this year.

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