Новости за 25.03.2022

Paramount+ is kicking off its Twitter watch parties with one of the service's more important shows. Twitter and Paramount+ are kicking off a series of watch parties for the Halo TV series that will give fans chances to discuss episodes in shared moments. The run begins today (March 25th) at 6PM Eastern with a 'pre-show' through the official account, with executive producer Kiki Wolfkill and stars Olive Gray and Kate Kennedy meeting online to discuss the series and offer a behind-the-scenes look.

Spotify is trying out a new “Car Mode” on a handful of users, the streaming service confirmed to TechCrunch. Last year the company retired its old Car View mode, explaining that it needed to pave the way for “new innovations”. The new in-car interface, called “Car Mode” appears to be more focused on voice controls than the older version. The jury is still out on whether hands-free voice recognition actually makes driving safer (some studies suggest drivers who use voice controls are more distracted). Читать дальше...

Ukraine's Ministry for Digital Transformation has launched an NFT collection to help fund its military. The project was first announced in early March, but the NFT collection, called “ Meta History Museum of War,” is now live. The collection is meant to be an “NFT museum” documenting the history of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In a tally with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) this afternoon, Google Fiber customer service workers — employed by staffing agency BDS Connected Solutions, which is subcontracted by Alphabet — voted nine to one to form a union. They'll be represented by the Alphabet Workers Union, an arm of the Communications Workers of America (AWU-CWA.)

Now that GTA Online is available on the latest consoles, Rockstar wants to spice up the service for its most dedicated players. The developer is launching a $6 per month GTA+ subscription that provides regular perks for GTAO players on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. You'll get $500,000 in virtual cash each month, unlocks for past game updates, vehicle upgrades and other bonuses. You can also buy improved Shark Cards with real money to get more bonus in-game cash. 

Spotify is shuttering more of its Russian operations in response to that country's invasion of Ukraine. In a statement to Variety, the company said it would "fully suspend" service in Russia for an indefinite period. While the music streamer initially believed it was important to keep some service running to provide "trusted, independent" information, it was concerned that recent laws restricting free speech and accurate news reporting would put the safety of staff and listeners "at risk."

You might not have to wait much longer to see Sony's response to Microsoft's Game Pass. Bloombergsources claim Sony is introducing its rumored "Spartacus" service, which combines PlayStation Now game access and PlayStation Plus online features, as soon as next week. The service will launch with a "splashy" collection of recent hit games, the tipsters said, but you might not see blockbuster games arrive on the service the same day as they're available for purchase. Don't expect to play the upcoming God of War Ragnarok right away. Читать дальше...

Halo’s TV adaptation doesn't waste any time differentiating itself from the popular game franchise. We open in a rebel village bar, where patrons are discussing the evil UNSC (United Nations Space Command) and boogey-man like Spartans. It could easily be a scene from Firefly, the short-lived series about plucky folks fighting for freedom against an authoritarian central government. In short order, a group of Covenant aliens attack, leading to a bloody massacre where limbs are blown off, skulls... Читать дальше...

Roberta and Ken Williams are back. After 25 years out of the video game industry, the legendary founders of Sierra On-Line are working on a new project with an old twist – they’re rebuilding the classic text-based game Colossal Cave Adventure as a 3D experience with a VR component.

Marco Arment's Overcast has long served as an alternative to Apple Podcasts with features you don't often see elsewhere, but there's little doubt Apple has stepped up its game in recent years — and Arment has redesigned his app to match. The newly released (and still free) Overcast 2022.2 for iOS centers around a major interface rework that better reflects how you listen to podcast episodes. You'll now have quick access to new and recently played podcasts from the home screen, and you can pin must-listen shows. Читать дальше...

A slew of gadgets went on sale this week and many remain discounted as we head into the weekend. A number of Apple devices are on sale right now, including the AirPods Pro for $175, the iPad mini for $459 and the new iPad Air with the M1 chipset for $570. Elsewhere, Amazon's Fire HD 8 table is half off, while Sony's excellent WH-1000XM4 headphones remain discounted to $278. Finally, today is Tolkien Reading Day, and both Amazon and Kobo are celebrating by discounting many of Tolkien's works in e-book format... Читать дальше...

It's a good week for guitarists who love a classic echo effect. Just a few days ago, Line 6 released the DL4 MkII, a long-awaited update to its DL4 delay and looper pedal, one of the more widely-used effects pedals of the last 20 years. And now Boss, one of the most prolific and well-known manufacturers of guitar effects pedal out there, has just announced the RE-202 and RE-2 Space Echo pedals, both of which are inspired by Roland's iconic, tape-based RE-201 Space Echo unit that was originally released way back in 1974. Читать дальше...

Wolverine wants to help Halo fans finish their fight in style. The boot company has teamed up with Microsoft to create rugged limited-edition footwear inspired by Master Chief.

A new technology called Neural Radiance Field or NeRF involves training AI algorithms to enable the creation of 3D objects from two-dimensional photos. NeRF has the capability to fill in the blanks, so to speak, by interpolating what the 2D photos didn't capture. It's a neat trick that could lead to advances in various fields, such as video games and autonomous driving. Now, NVIDIA has developed a new NeRF technique — the fastest one to date, the company claims — that only needs seconds to train and to generate a 3D scene. Читать дальше...

It’s time to talk about all of those other new Apple gadgets. This week, Engadget Deputy Editor Nathan Ingraham joins Devindra to dive into Apple’s Studio Display, a nice looking 5K monitor that’s really only meant for the Mac faithful. Also, they discuss why the new iPad Air is a fabulous tablet, and explore what could be the best 5G laptop for RV nomads. Stay tuned to the end for a chat with Dan Erickson, the creator of the excellent Apple TV+ series Severance.

The US and the European Union have struck a preliminary agreement on an updated Privacy Shield framework to re-enable the flow of data between the two regions. A previous agreement was struck down by the EU's top court in 2020 over concerns that Europeans would not be fully protected from mass surveillance by the US.

Google is working on a new Nest Hub with a removable tablet that's due to be released in 2022, according to a report from 9to5Google. The screen could be detached from the hub/speaker base, then presumably be used like any other tablet. The idea would make a lot of sense in terms of boosting Nest functionality, especially since Google recently made the 2nd-gen Nest screen more tablet-like with a new shortcut launcher for web apps and games. 

GIF inventor Stephen Wilhite has died from COVID-19 at the age of 74, NPR has reported. He worked at CompuServe when he developed the Graphics Interchange Format, designed to allow photo transfers over slow modem connections, inventing the format in 1987 virtually on his own, according to his spouse.

A recent Gran Turismo 7 update sparked outrage, not just because it raised the prices of in-game cars, but also because it led to a server outage than lasted for over a day. Now Polyphony Digital President Kazunori Yamauchi has issued an apology "for the frustration and confusion" caused by the patch, along with the announcement of a big update rolling out in early April to "improve player experience." 

The UK plans to increase the number of electric vehicle charging stations to 300,000 by 2030. That would increase the current number of charge points in the country by tenfold. The government has committed £1.6 billion ($2.1 billion) to the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy.

With an improved camera, boosted performance and excellent battery life, Apple's 2021 256GB 10.2-inch iPad is already a solid deal at the regular $479 price. However, you can now pick one up at Amazon in silver or space gray for $429, an all-time low and a full $20 less than the lowest price we've seen so far. 

The world never run out of bad 'B' movies to mock, apparently, because Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) is back for a 13th season, Variety has reported. Thanks to a Kickstarter campaign last year that raised $6.52 million, a full 13-episode season of the series will arrive on a dedicated streaming platform called Gizmoplex starting on May 6th.

Reddit is looking into the possibility of introducing some video features reminiscent of TikTok's, according to TechCrunch. While the project is still in its very early stages and hasn't even entered the testing phase yet, TechCrunch says it could include TikTok-like video editing tools that make it easy for you to "react" to another person's post or to incorporate it into your content.

The European Union has reached an agreement to adopt the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a sweeping antitrust law meant to rein in Apple, Google, Meta and other tech giants. Lawmakers reached a “provisional” agreement on the law Thursday, following hours of negotiations, the European Parliament wrote in a statement.

Two former TikTok moderators filed a federal lawsuit seeking class-action status today against the platform and parent company Bytedance, reportedNPR. The plaintiffs, Ashley Velez and Reece Young, worked for the social video platform last year as contractors. To fulfill their role as moderators, they witnessed “many acts of extreme and graphic violence”, including murder, bestiality, necrophilia and other disturbing images. The lawsuit accuses TikTok of negligence and violating labor laws in California... Читать дальше...