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Facebook debuts new notifications to fight vaccine misinformation

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Facebook Vaccine Notifications

But, the notifications don’t appear to completely prevent people from viewing anti-vaccination content. One screenshot the company shared with CNN shows that, at least on Instagram, individuals have the option to still see what other users have posted using a vaccine-related hashtag. This differs from Pinterest’s recently announced approach, in which the company has said it will only display information from credible sources like the WHO. Additionally, unlike Pinterest, it doesn’t appear Facebook has worked with the CDC and WHO to create content that lives directly on its platforms.

The new notifications are at least in part a reaction to a sudden surge in easily preventable diseases like the measles — with more than 1,200 confirmed cases in the US since the start of the year. That’s the most since 1992. Previously, Facebook had attempted to curb the spread of vaccine-related misinformation by downranking anti-vaxxer groups and pages. Of the big three social media platforms, the company is the last to start pointing users to more credible information on vaccines.

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‘Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE’ gets an encore on Switch in January

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Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE wasn’t exactly a straight crossover between Nintendo and Atlus’ popular RPG series. It was more of a remix title, borrowing characters from both series (like Chrom and Caeda) and placing them in a modern day Tokyo plagued by evil spirits called “Mirages” that feed off human creative energy. Our team of heroes consisted of aspiring and established idols based out of a talent agency. There were music videos. It was weird, but also beloved by a few members of the Engadget team.

The Switch release is called Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore, which should tell you this isn’t just a straight port. It’ll include a new song, new story elements and new playable characters like Tiki. It’s out January 17th, and you can preorder it today.



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Facebook, Google meet intelligence agencies to talk 2020 election security

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We’ve asked the companies in question for comment. Microsoft confirmed to Engadget that it “is participating in this meeting.” In a statement, Twitter said it “always welcome[s] the opportunity” to meet with government agencies and fellow companies to discuss securing the 2020 election, and said there was a “joint effort in response to a shared threat.”

The meeting shows that both sides want to coordinate on election security in a way they didn’t in 2016. Tech firms have been more proactive this time around — Facebook has been operating “war rooms” to monitor elections, for instance, while Google has instituted measures to protect high-risk hacking targets. The question, as always, is whether or not these measures will be enough. Security improvements didn’t stop Russia and others from targeting the 2018 midterms, and it’s doubtful they’ll back off just because they face a more united opposition.

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Spotify’s Android widget will return in a future update

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When it first removed the widget, the company said, “We always take retiring features in Spotify very seriously.” It went on to justify the removal by noting people could access much of the same functionality through the operating system’s notification shade (pictured above). Of course, none of that helped to defuse the situation.

In the aftermath, the community forum post where Spotify first shared the news was filled with 52 pages of response — none of them positive — and some 16,000 votes before the company closed the thread. As The Verge notes, one individual even said they moved their entire family to Tidal as a result. The decision was especially infuriating because all the other major music streaming services still offer an Android widget.

When the widget comes back in a future release, Spotify says it will add visual tweaks and performance enhancements. No word yet on when the company plans to release that update, however. That said, by way of apology, a manager said, “We value your input and ideas…” and invited users to continue providing the company with feedback.

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Amazon’s new Fire TV Cube is faster at understanding your voice commands

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Buried beneath that sleek body is a new hexa-core processor which has enabled Amazon to offer local voice control, with on-device processing. That has been combined with far-field microphones that, hopefully, will help the system hear you in busy rooms. Amazon claims that the extra speed and processing power means that the Fire TV Cube is more than four times faster than the previous edition.

In terms of picture quality, the original Fire TV Cube supported Dolby Vision and HDR, but this new model also gets HDR10+. As usual, you get HDMI CEC to run all of your home entertainment devices, and Amazon promises it’s made it faster than gear from other companies.

Fire TV Cube

In a demo at Amazon’s noisy event, the Fire TV Cube was fast, although it did struggle to pick up my voice when I spoke at my normal volume. What was obvious was the speed of the processing, without the lag you would expect from a voice-controlled system.

It’s sometimes hard to see where something like the Fire TV cube fits into Amazon’s complicated ecosystem of connected home products. Company representatives said that it isn’t intended as a replacement for an Echo, assuming you’ve paired it with a Fire TV stick, in your living room.

The Fire TV Cube is available to pre-order today with an infrared extender cable and an Ethernet adapter for shipping in early October for $119.99 in the US, Canada $149.99, UK for £109.99.

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‘Gears 5’ launch trailer highlights the variety of game modes

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Microsoft is determined to pull out all the stops for the imminent Gears 5 release, and that includes showing how it pulled all the stops for the game itself. The tech giant has posted a definitive launch trailer that showcases the cover shooter’s five main modes, including the shiny new Escape co-op mode, an updated Versus with an accessible Arcade element, an expanded Horde mode, the Map Builder… oh, and the actual story.

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Hulu nabs rights to the ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ book sequel

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The Hulu series, which has been approved for a fourth season, has already become a sequel of sorts to the original dystopian novel. The show began as a very loose depiction of the novel in its first season, with entirely new characters and storylines not encountered in the original work. According to Time, Atwood began writing her sequel before the streaming series premiered, but also worked extensively with Miller on each season of the show.

The Testaments takes place 15 years after the events of the first novel, and will be narrated by three female characters. Atwood die-hards shouldn’t expect the Hulu version of the sequel to be a straight rendition, either. Miller told THR that he viewed the TV series as a “companion” to the books. “In the end, this show, my show, is built to be a companion piece to both of those books, to sit on the shelf with them, where hopefully you can read the books and then you can watch something that illuminates them and gives some visuals, and explore some stuff more deeply. I look at the show as a companion piece to a piece of classic literature, as opposed to something that lives independently of Margaret’s work,” he said.

The Testaments will hit booksellers on September 10th. Hulu hasn’t confirmed a release date yet for the fourth season of The Handmaid’s Tale, but it’s likely it will be released in the spring or summer of 2020.

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Early version of ‘Plants vs. Zombies 3’ is available today for $30

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The Founder’s Edition is available for $30 ($10 cheaper than the launch-day price). It’s essentially a paid beta. PopCap says the modes and features in the Founder’s Edition are already final, but by letting fans come in early, the team will be able to polish performance. The dev team hopes to gather feedback specific to each week’s content launch, and for the first four weeks, “Founding Neighbors” will be rewarded with exclusive rewards, like a Fire Defender item, Ultimate Champ Star costume for All-Star Zombie and Pea of Valiance costume for Peashooter.

It’s been six years since Plants vs Zombies 2 made its way into the world, and fans have been eagerly waiting for the next edition. This isn’t the first time they’ve previewed the game, though. Earlier this summer, PopCap shared a pre-alpha build on Google Play. With the feedback from that build and the Founder’s Edition, we’d expect Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville to be pretty much perfect by its October launch.

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‘Overwatch’ is reportedly coming to Nintendo Switch in October

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Kotaku reportedly confirmed with sources the game will hit Switch next month. It suggested that version will drop in North America on October 15th — just in time for the annual Halloween event.

We might get official confirmation on the port later today, as the latest Nintendo Direct stream will kick off at 6 PM ET. There was also speculation about Overwatch mascot Tracer making her way to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a DLC character, so we might find out if that rumor’s true too.

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