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Netflix reveals its huge lineup of holiday movies and specials

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The streaming service’s holiday schedule actually starts more than a month earlier with Holiday in the Wild (November 1st). It stars Kristin Davis as a jilted woman who goes to Africa alone on what was supposed to be a second honeymoon, and ends up rescuing a baby elephant and helping nurse him back to health with the help of her pilot (Rob Lowe).

A week later, Let It Snow, based on John Green’s novel of the same name, arrives and on November 15th, the animated movie Klaus drops with the vocal talents of Jason Schwartzman, Rashida Jones and J.K. Simmons on board. On November 21st, Vanessa Hudgens befriends a medieval knight who’s been sent to modern-day Ohio in The Knight Before Christmas. A week later, Netflix will release Holiday Rush, about a dad (Romany Malco) who loses his job as a radio DJ and hatches a plan to buy his own station — just as his kids share their Christmas wishlists.

As for holiday specials of Netflix shows, you can expect to see festive entries from The Great British Baking Show, Nailed It! and Sugar Rush on the baking front. There are also holiday episodes in new seasons of Magic For Humans and Team Kaylie (both December 2nd) as well as Alexa & Katie (December 30th). You can expect specials for Super Monsters, Family Reunion and Spirit Riding Free too.

If you’re looking for something a little different, you might want to get Lost in Space again instead. Season 2 of the sci-fi show arrives December 24th. There’s also an original series called Merry Happy Whatever on the way (November 28th), which stars Dennis Quaid and follows a slightly dysfunctional family during the Christmas period.



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Pixel 4 vs. the competition: The camera battle intensifies

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It’s been yet another Pixel phone launch preceded by a ton of leaks, but we’re still glad to see the official unveiling of Google’s latest flagship. This 5.7-inch device may only have two rear cameras, but the software’s been refined even further to include better Night Sight and HDR+. That’s to be expected in the wake of more intense competition on the camera front from Samsung and Apple. To see exactly how this specs battle is shaking out, check out the table below, and stay tuned for our full review of the Pixel 4 later this month.

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Google’s Nest Mini speaker has upgraded sound and a wall mount

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There are some under-the-hood convenience upgrades as well. A faster processor can process Assistant requests sooner. Ultrasound, meanwhile, helps the Mini both make voices more audible over noise and light up volume controls when you get close. The speaker is even more eco-friendly, with a top made from plastic bottles and a body that’s 35 percent recycled plastic.

The Nest Mini will be available on October 22nd in black (Charcoal), white (Chalk), pink (Coral) and a new blue shade (Sky) for the same $49 as its predecessor. This won’t address every gripe about the Home Mini — there’s still no 3.5mm jack, and it won’t include tricks like the new Echo Dot’s alarm clock. If you just wanted Google to improve basics like sound quality and responsiveness, though, this might be a welcome upgrade.

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The Apple TV app is available on Roku

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For $4.99 per month, they’ll have access to more than 100,000 movies and TV shows, including original programming like For All Mankind, The Morning Show, Dickinson and Oprah’s Book Club.

Apple hasn’t been shy about pushing its Apple TV+ streaming service. Last month, it announced that everyone who buys an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac will get a free one-year subscription to the service. By making the jump to Roku, it’s opening a door to potential subscribers who may not buy Apple products. That’s a smart move given the competition Apple TV+ faces from Netflix, Hulu and Disney+.

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Watch Google’s Pixel 4 event right here at 10AM ET

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Yes, it’s finally time — A month after the invitations went out, the next Made by Google event is upon us. You can watch the livestream here starting at 10AM Eastern in addition to following our liveblog. There’s a lot expected at this event, and the Pixel 4 phones are really just the beginning of what’s on tap. Many anticipate a more capable Nest Mini smart speaker, a Nest WiFi system with voice control beacons and a Pixelbook Go laptop. And that’s not including new Google Assistant tricks or other developments. Google still tends to have a few surprises in store at these events even after all the leaks, so it’s worth tuning in if you want to catch everything.

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GoFundMe’s new platform is just for charities and nonprofits

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The platform, named GoFundMe Charity, will offer two different plans: one with no platform fee but “tips” from donors to support the service, or one with donor-covered fees. It will have other features to help out charities’ fundraising efforts like data reporting, integration with enterprise tools including Salesforce and Mailchimp and a ticketing feature for large or small events.

In addition to nonprofit platform, the company is also introducing another new feature: the Donate Button. This embeddable button can be added to a charity’s website and allows organizations to collect donations directly without the need to set up a GoFundMe Charity account or campaign. The button is customizable in terms of appearance and suggested donation amount and will come with plug-ins to integrate with WordPress.

Both the platform and the button will be launched in November.

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New map, boats and ‘less grind’

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Let’s start with the new map. The Chapter 2 island appears to be a little more mountainous than its predecessor and features a whole bunch of new points of interest, including Camp Cod, Power Plant and Weeping Woods. There’s a lighthouse included too. The island is also split by small water inlets, letting players either swim, fish or use boats — a vehicle brand new to Fortnite — to rotate around the map.

Challenges were reworked towards the end of Fortnite’s first chapter, but the second instalment takes things even further. To advance their Battle Pass level, players can complete challenges — which includes catching fish off Sweaty Sands pier — but also earn in-game medals by searching chests and eliminating players, which complete medal “punchcards” to boost in-game XP.

Epic says this new season means more fun and “less grind,” but whether that’s actually true remains to be seen. Like before, the Battle Pass is giftable and offers over 100 unlockable in-game items, but account levels now extend up to 250.

As with every new season, Epic has delivered fresh skins, emotes and guns. Many of them are highlighted in the Chapter 2 cinematic and Battle Pass videos embedded inside this article. If you missed them, there are a couple of new shotguns and an additional sniper rifle for those who like to inflict damage from distance. However, Epic says it has streamlined weapon arrays to balance the game.

If that wasn’t enough, players can heal their squad with the new bandage bazooka, carry their downed teammates to safety and even upgrade weapons at the new “upgrade bench” using their materials. Epic has also included more explodable elements like gas tanks and barrels, while allowing players to hide in haystacks and dumpsters to get the drop on their rivals.

Solo, Duo and Squad playlists are also back, but Trios have progressed from Arena to become a default option inside the main game. Great for teams that can’t find a fourth.

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The complete ‘Life is Strange 2’ is getting a physical release

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Both editions will be available in Europe on December 3rd, 2019, just in time for the holidays — those in the Americas will have to wait until February 4th, 2020. In the announcement posted on the official Life is Strange blog, the team behind the game explained that “different countries have different requirements when it comes to rating the content on the discs,” and they chose to release at different times instead of rolling the game out to all regions in February.

Take note, though, that while the Square Enix listing says the physical disc contains the “Complete Season,” it actually only contains Episodes 1 to 4. “Episode 5 will be supplied as a download on all platforms,” the announcement reads. It’s not entirely clear if that means you’ve already paid for it when you purchase the physical disc and can download it for free, but you can get the last episode on December 3rd regardless of your location. The physical editions are now available for pre-order from Square Enix’s website.

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Sling TV’s free streaming comes to Android and Amazon devices

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It’ll work on any Android smartphone or Android TV, along with Amazon’s Fire TV and Fire tablet. The free service will let you “experience Sling TV and watch free shows without entering credit card information,” the company said. To use it, you simply download the app on any of those devices and follow the instructions to get to guest mode. From there, you can browse free content or sign up for one of Sling TV’s cord-cutter packages, or purchase select channels à la carte.

As an enticement, Sling TV said it’s offering a free preview of tonight’s Democratic presidential debate on CNN, . You should be able to grab the app now on the Play Store, Amazon devices and Roku streaming boxes.

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Walmart will take on Amazon with discounted third-party products

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As Bloomberg notes, the move is likely a response to similar Amazon programs introduced in the past. Just before the holiday shopping season in 2017, Amazon rolled out “Discount provided by Amazon,” which cuts the prices of third-party products without affecting the money sellers get. A few weeks ago, the e-commerce giant also introduced “Sold by Amazon,” which allows Amazon to slash third-party product prices in exchange for a guaranteed payout.

Whether or not Walmart’s strategy is enough to give Amazon a run for its money — especially since it’s available to “selected sellers and selected items only” — remains to be seen. Either way, companies competing to offer the lowest prices possible by offering deep discounts sounds like a win for buyers looking for the best deals these holidays.

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