“Not content simply to remove Fortnite from the App Store, Apple is attacking Epic’s entire business in unrelated areas,” the lawsuit states. “Left unchecked, Apple’s actions will irreparably damage Epic’s reputation among Fortnite users and be catastrophic for the future of the separate Unreal Engine business.” The company says that the preliminary injunctive relief is necessary to prevent Epic’s business from being crushed before the case even goes to judgement.
The proposed preliminary injunction would restrain Apple from removing and de-listing Fortnite (which the company has already done) and would prevent it from taking actions against Epic’s other titles as well as Unreal Engine.
The conflict erupted last week when Epic began offering Fortnite discounts to users who bypassed Android and iOS app stores, thus working around the 30 percent cut. Apple then removed the game from its store for violating its policies, which then prompted Epic to file a lawsuit against it. The same thing occurred with Google — Android pulled the game from its app store and Epic filed suit against Google. Epic has also posted a parody of Apple’s 1984 ad which ends with a #FreeFortnite hashtag.
Apple has responded with the statement that it sent last week:
“Epic has had apps on the App Store for a decade, and have benefited from the App Store ecosystem – including its tools, testing, and distribution that Apple provides to all developers. Epic agreed to the App Store terms and guidelines freely and we’re glad they’ve built such a successful business on the App Store. The fact that their business interests now lead them to push for a special arrangement does not change the fact that these guidelines create a level playing field for all developers and make the store safe for all users. We will make every effort to work with Epic to resolve these violations so they can return Fortnite to the App Store.”
Moving forward, Chrome will disable autofill on mixed forms, so that the page isn’t automatically populated with potentially sensitive or private information about you. If a mixed form has login or password prompts, you’ll still be able to use Chrome’s password manager. That helps people enter unique passwords and it’s “safer to use unique passwords even on forms that are submitted insecurely, than to reuse passwords,” Panditrao wrote.
If you start entering details on a mixed form, a warning will pop up to tell you it’s not secure. When you try to submit such a form, a full-page alert will explain the potential risks of doing so, and ask if you’d like to continue anyway.
This appears to be part of a plan Google announced last October to block HTTP subresources on HTTPS pages by default in Chrome. That’s been a gradual process. Tackling mixed forms is a positive move, and hopefully it’ll prompt more developers to migrate forms on their sites to HTTPS.
It might be tempting to pick up a third-party dock for your Switch. Don’t. There have been reports of Switches getting bricked by non-Nintendo docks, which means you’re stuck with the official $100 model. However, if all you’re looking for is a change in look, you can buy a skin for your dock (and the Joy-Cons too) that will liven things up. Dbrand offers a range of bold, vibrant colors, and the skins won’t damage your Switch if removed. If you’d prefer something with a design, Slickwraps offers marble and camo patterns as well some attractive Super Nintendo and Super Famicom-themed skins.
If your Switch gets a lot of use, chances are you may have picked up some extra Joy-Cons and a Pro Controller. It’s a real pain to have to charge multiple pairs of Joy-Cons on one Switch, however, so a charging dock can be a great buy. PowerA’s Pro Controller charging dock has room for one pair of Joy-Cons and a Pro Controller, keeping them tidy and powered up. If you don’t need a place to put your Pro Controller, the regular charging dock can accommodate two sets of Joy-Cons. You can also use them for other controllers that slide onto your Switch’s rails like the official NES-style controllers or Hori’s Split Pad Pro.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the Labo VR kit from last year, mostly due to its price and a lack of game support. But if you’re interested in trying out the virtual reality modes in games like Super Mario Odyssey and Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, the VR starter kit is a good purchase. It comes with the basic headset and the blaster, which was easily the most fun of all the various Labo VR projects. It usually runs around $40, but Best Buy often puts it on sale for half that amount so be sure to keep an eye out.
You’re going to need a case, that’s certain. It doesn’t need to be fancy, just enough to protect your Switch from getting bumped around in your bag. The AmazonBasics model is cheap, has 10 slots to hold additional Switch cards and a mesh pocket to store an extra charging cord or set of Joy-Cons. If you’re planning to take your entire setup, dock and all, Amazon also makes a larger storage case that can fit all the cords and controller accessories. If you need something smaller for your Switch Lite, the official case from Nintendo is incredibly slim and even comes with a screen protector. But it’s not made for carrying a lot of games — for that we recommend TomToc’s line of Switch Lite cases, which are waterproof and come in a wide variety of colors to match your handheld for under $20.
Whether you hate the speakers on your Switch or just don’t want to bother those around you, you’re going to need a pair of headphones to listen to your games. Ideally you want something that doesn’t cost too much and can survive a beating in your bag, so if you don’t mind wires we’re still big fans of Turtle Beach’s Recon 70, which offers great sound in an affordable, lightweight form factor. However, if you just can’t stand cords and don’t mind dropping extra cash, check out the SteelSeries Arctis 1. It comes with a USB-C receiver you can plug directly into your console for a solid wireless connection, and the sound quality is among the best you’ll find in any gaming headset, especially for under $150.
If you already have a pair of wireless headphones you’re particularly attached to, you can use those with your Switch or Switch Lite by plugging HomeSpot’s 5.0 Audio Transmitter Adapter into the USB-C port. It’s rather diminutive and can slip into your case easily, and very affordable at only $35.
One thing you definitely have to worry about if you game on the go often is battery life, and in those cases you’ll want to carry around an extra power bank. For your Switch there are two features you need to focus on, and that’s the ability to use a USB-C cord to connect, and a slim profile so it’ll fit inside your Switch case. The RavPower 26,800mAh power bank fits both those criteria perfectly, is rather affordable at $60, and can even charge your device as you play.
Occasionally you might want to make use of the Switch’s kickstand and play with a standard gamepad. The official Pro Controller is generally accepted to be the best available, but it’s also kind of cumbersome to lug around in your bag. If you’re trying to travel a little lighter and don’t mind a slightly smaller version, PowerA’s Enhanced Nano controller can do the job. In my testing I found it’s susceptible to electrical interference, but when you’re sitting right in front of the Switch on a table it should handle the task just fine. It even comes with a little cloth bag to protect the controller from dings and scratches.
You probably already have a bag that you’re carrying around all your stuff in, but if you were looking for a bag specifically made for your Switch, how about this backpack from OIVO? It’s specifically designed to hold a Nintendo Switch and all its accessories, and it looks like the rucksacks from Pokémon Let’s Go. The company also makes less overtly nerdy bags, but where’s the fun in that?
Last week, Bloombergreported that Apple would launch its first content bundle for its streaming platform. Now, Apple has confirmed the move with a new deal that combines CBS All Access (normally $9.99.month for the ad-free tier) with Showtime (normally $10.99/month) for just $9.99 a month in the Apple TV app.
The bundle will give users, and up to six family members, access to CBS and Showtime’s content without ads. You’ll still need an Apple TV+ subscription (currently $4.99/month, though Apple offers one-year free trials on new device purchases) in order to take advantage of the deal, but even so, the 52 percent discount still offers substantial savings.
NVIDIA has announced it will run a digital version of its GTC conference from October 5th-9th. There’ll be a keynote from CEO and founder Jensen Huang on the first day of the event at 9AM ET. That’ll mark his second GTC keynote of the year.
The conference will cover innovations in artificial intelligence, graphics, virtual reality and much more across a swathe of industries and government services. NVIDIA will host localized streams during the event for North America, Europe, Israel, India, Taiwan, Japan and Korea. There’ll be four hours of live programming per day in each region, such as Q&As, as well as on-demand sessions. There’ll be more than 500 sessions in total, along with 16 full-day workshops.
With Locate X, an agency like the Secret Service could, for instance, create a geo-fence around a crime scene. It could then identify mobile devices that were in that area prior to the crime and see where those devices traveled before or after the incident. Police took that approach following a burglary in 2019, and they ended up investigating an innocent cyclist based on his RunKeeper data.
In March, Protocol reported that US Customs and Border Protection purchased Locate X, and a former Babel Street employee told Protocol that the Secret Service and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were using the location-tracking tech. But Motherboard has the first confirmation that the Secret Service did in fact purchase Locate X.
This isn’t a new issue. Federal agents have reportedly been buying commercially-available cell phone location data to track immigrants for years. A recent report on Black Lives Matter protestors released by Mobilewalla shows just how much info private companies can glean from smartphone apps.
It’s unclear how federal agencies get away with obtaining this info without a warrant. In 2018, the US Supreme Court ruled that law enforcement need a warrant to perform cell phone tower searches. But why bother when you have app data?
Senator Ron Wyden is reportedly planning legislation to block law enforcement from purchasing products like Locate X.
“It is clear that multiple federal agencies have turned to purchasing Americans’ data to buy their way around Americans’ Fourth Amendment Rights. I’m drafting legislation to close this loophole, and ensure the Fourth Amendment isn’t for sale,” Wyden said in a statement provided to Motherboard.
It’ll include about 20 minutes of details on indie games that are coming to Nintendo Switch. It’ll likely focus on second- and third-party titles, so you probably shouldn’t expect updates on the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 or those rumored Mario remasters. You’ll be able to watch the Indie World Showcase stream below.
A Google spokesperson told Engadget, “If we reasonably believe that we can prevent someone from dying or from suffering serious physical harm, we may provide relevant information to a government agency. We consider these data disclosures in light of applicable laws and our policies.”
According to The Guardian, a user whose YouTube channel is now banned had left comments on a video about the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton saying, “Hi guys, I need your help, I cant (sic) help but look at those shooters and think, that could be me… I think I should do the same thing they are doing.” This person went on to discuss methods of making explosive devices.
While the video itself has since been deleted, The Guardian noted that the same user’s other comments elsewhere, also discussing making explosives, were still up on YouTube. The company did appear to have removed this individual’s comments that included racial slurs, though.
For at least two other individuals that The Guardian highlighted, Google’s approach appears to have been the same: report the user to law enforcement and provide identifying information, remove some of the offending content but leave some others behind. In one case, The Guardian pointed out that the user still had two Gmail accounts despite “making anti-Jewish comments, praising white supremacist terrorists, including mass killers, and suggesting he may emulate them.”
It’s not clear if Google did not see the remaining comments as breaking community guidelines, or if there are other reasons for leaving them on the platform. But it does publicly share details on how it handles government requests for information.
The documents that The Guardian referred to were part of a “Blueleaks” leak and were associated with the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center (NCRIC), according to The Guardian. The NCRIC is part of a national network of “fusion centers” that share information across state, federal and local law agencies. Executive director of the NCRIC Mike Sena told The Guardian that Google’s reports “came through a common reporting facility on the site’s front page that ‘the public, law enforcement, and any other organization’ can use to pass information to the fusion center.”
On its website, the NCRIC describes the purpose of its Building Communities of Trust initiative as focusing on “developing relationships of trust between law enforcement, fusion centers, and the communities they serve, particularly immigrant and minority communities, so that the challenges of crime control and prevention of terrorism can be addressed.”
It also states, “To engage in effective and meaningful information sharing, it is fully recognized that it must be done in a manner that protects individuals’ privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties.” It adds that “We have developed, implemented and enforce various policies and procedures which are fundamental” to safeguarding constitutional rights and ensuring that it’s addressing ethical and legal obligations.
Not all the material Google shared with the NCRIC was related to racist or terrorist threats, according to The Guardian. Some of it was also related to thoughts of suicide, self-harm or mental distress. While the majority of users don’t appear to have to worry about Google sending their information to law enforcement agencies, it would be helpful to get clarity on when and why the company might do so.
For better transparency, Google should also explain what its standards are for removing content and accounts of the people it identifies to law enforcement, or explain its actions. Some of its rationale is detailed on its page explaining how it handles government requests for information, but it’s still unclear where the lines are when it comes to removing users’ content or access.
Update (at 4:01pm ET Aug 17th 2020): This article was edited to add Google’s statement, which was provided after the story was published, as well as information on how the company handles government requests.
After tests in Pan’s workshop proved the idea was at least somewhat feasible, he took the device to Huntington Beach, California. By the time Pan developed the gun, though, it seemed more beachgoers were wearing masks. Still, he had a few passersby test the mask launcher on a dummy, and it sort of worked.
While the mask gun is maybe a bit cathartic, shooting projectiles at someone’s face is never super safe. In an ideal world, good old public health measures and a little bit of compassion for fellow humans would get people to wear masks. Since this is not an ideal world, we’re left daydreaming about mask launchers and dropping personal protective equipment (PPE) out of drones.
The developer took inspiration from Japanese folk tales and mythology for the two-player story and four-player survival missions. The two-player missions tap into the combat fundamentals from the main campaign, but there are “new magical twists that often require careful synchronization with your partner,” according to Bridges
You can play with your friends or let Ghost of Tsushima match you up with other players. The modes are completely separate from the main game, so you won’t play as Jin or his companions. You’ll be able to pick from four classes: Samurai, Hunter, Ronin and Assassin. Sucker Punch will reveal their abilities and customization options in the coming months.
As well the story and survival missions, the latter of which include Oni enemies with supernatural abilities, there’ll be a four-player Raid that’ll go live soon after Ghost of Tsushima: Legends rolls out. You and your teammates will venture to “an entirely new realm to challenge a brutal, terrifying enemy,” Bridges wrote.
Since you won’t be able to play through these modes with more than three of your buddies, you won’t entirely get to live out whatever Seven Samourai fantasies you might have been harboring. But you might get pretty close.
