Новости за 08.11.2018

HTC will start selling its standalone Vive Focus virtual reality headset worldwide today, after an initial launch in China earlier this year. The headset, which will cost $599 in the US, is aimed at business customers in 37 countries. It’s part of a larger attempt to make HTC VR headsets appealing to companies, including a newly announced collaboration app called Vive Sync, which lets employees in different offices meet and work together in VR.

Vine lives, according to co-creator Dom Hofmann. The entrepreneur, who’s been working on and off on a spiritual successor to the now-defunct short-form video app, says the proper sequel will be called Byte, and it’s coming in spring 2019.

The production is choreographed to the film’s original score

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Virgin Hyperloop One has found a new CEO, and it’s someone who knows a thing or two about running both big and small transportation systems. Jay Walder, who recently left his position as CEO of bike-share operator Motivate, will become the new chief executive of the futuristic transportation company. Walder will replace Rob Lloyd, who served as CEO for three years.

After AT&T and Verizon both lowered their prepaid unlimited data plan prices, T-Mobile is following in the footsteps of its competitors by offering a discount on its prepaid unlimited data plan. For a limited time, customers can sign up for a $50 per month prepaid plan with unlimited talk, text, and 4G LTE data.

Over the last few days, controversy has surrounded a widely viewed clip where a Red Dead Redemption 2 player gleefully feeds an in-game feminist to an alligator. After the press reported that the clip had been viewed nearly a million times by commenters who cheered the action, the uploader temporarily got his entire channel terminated from YouTube. Hours later, YouTube reversed its decision and conceded that its content reviewers sometimes make “mistakes.”

The number of cigarette smokers in the US hit the lowest levels public health officials have ever seen, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today. But even though e-cigarette companies tout vapes as alternatives to cigarettes, this dramatic drop in smoking isn’t necessarily because of a rise in vaping.

Ahead of the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a rumor began circulating that J.K. Rowling was going to kill off Harry’s best friend, Ron Weasley. That didn’t happen, though Rowling admits she seriously considered it. But the fact that the idea was so believable reveals a problem with Chosen One stories. They create a narrative power imbalance where the main character’s best friends can never be their equal. They can be killed off to show the situation is serious, but even if they survive... Читать дальше...

T-Mobile announced today that since launching its Scam ID and Scam Block features 18 months ago, the carrier has blocked over 1 billion scam calls. T-Mobile says it’s also ready to adopt the new FCC SHAKEN/STIR standards that allow customers to receive verified calls.

What started as a small planned protest against the company’s handling of a sexual misconduct case has expanded into a full-blown political awakening at Google. Employees who organized last week’s unexpectedly massive 20,000-person walkout at Google offices worldwide are now pushing company leadership to institute new policy changes and put in place better protections for employees.

First launched back in March, Pinterest’s friend feed provided a dedicated section of the service where you could follow posts from other users. Now, this feed is getting a redesign, removing the tiled images in favor of a simpler single column of posts, Instagram-style. There are even horizontal rows of Pinterest-recommended accounts that you can follow.

Starting with the release of Chrome 71 in December, your browser will warn you about sites that might try and bill you without your full knowledge or consent. Specifically, the measures are targeting mobile billing services, where little more than your phone number is needed to place additional charges on your monthly bill. According to Google, millions of Chrome users encounter pages with unclear or insufficient mobile subscription information every month.

During the League of Legends World Championships this past weekend, developer Riot Games kicked off its ceremony with an augmented reality performance, a mashup of real-life K-pop group (G)I-DLE, and LoL’s fictional group, K/DA. In addition to the live performance of “Pop/Stars,” the developer also released a music video featuring all four of its virtual stars. But one character in particular caught the attention of fans: Akali, whose neon look will soon roll out in the game as a free update.

Google is announcing new policies around sexual harassment and diversity, following a worldwide employee protest last week. The new policies reflect demands from the protestors, who met with Google leadership earlier this week. “We recognize that we have not always gotten everything right in the past and we are sincerely sorry for that. It’s clear we need to make some changes,” wrote CEO Sundar Pichai in an email to employees, which he posted publicly today.

Spin, the dockless electric scooter startup, has a new owner: Ford. The news broke yesterday, and the auto giant officially confirmed the acquisition on Thursday morning. It probably won’t come as a big shock to those watching this fast-growing space. E-scooter startups that are barely a year old have spread like wildfire across the globe and seen their valuations skyrocket. It was only a matter of time until a company like Ford, which has funneled revenue from SUV and truck sales into a variety of mobility projects over the years... Читать дальше...

If it’s thicker, less powerful, and cheaper is it still the same machine?

YouTube is launching on the Nintendo Switch today. It becomes just the second major video app to be released on the console since the Switch hit shelves in March 2017. (Hulu led the way last November.) YouTube can be downloaded for free from the Nintendo eShop.

Netflix will release a slate of new anime series, including ones based on Pacific Rim and Altered Carbon.

Cannabis businesses and advocates are celebrating the forced resignation of famously anti-marijuana Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Stocks are up for marijuana companies, especially because Sessions’ ousting comes after three states voted to ease restrictions on the drug in this week’s midterm elections.

Xiaomi’s international expansion is taking a major step forward today with the Chinese company’s debut in the United Kingdom. A year and a day after launching a range of products in Spain, Xiaomi’s European foray is arriving in the UK, headlined by the Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro Android flagship phone and the opening of an Authorized Mi Store in the Westfield shopping center in London.

One of the differences between the iPhone XS and XR is the latter’s lack of support for 3D Touch, the feature that lets you press slightly harder on your phone’s screen to access certain shortcuts or “peek” at links. However, with iOS 12.1.1, 9to5Mac reports that Haptic Touch will offer one of those 3D Touch features — expanding your notifications — to iPhone XR owners.

If it seems like it’s too early to start planning for Black Friday, you’d be wrong! Target, Amazon and Costco have already started sharing early Black Friday deals, and now Walmart has just released its upcoming discounts. There are significant price cuts on consoles including the Xbox One X, PS4 1TB, and Nintendo Switch, so make sure to take advantage of these deals.

After launching Facebook Dating in Colombia in September, the company is now expanding its test markets to two new countries: Canada and Thailand. The test also includes a few new features that let you look back at someone you may have previously passed on, or pause from the whole dating scene altogether.

Amazon is releasing its Alexa app for Windows 10 today. While the app has been available on select Windows 10 laptops recently, today marks its launch in the Microsoft Store for all Windows 10 PCs. You can download and install it on any Windows 10 PC, but only compatible devices will support Alexa wake word functionality. If you don’t have a compatible PC then you can hit the button within the app to speak to Alexa, or invoke the assistant using a keyboard shortcut.

Music streaming service Tidal has announced that it is launching its app on Samsung Wearable devices, which include the latest Galaxy Watch, Gear Sport, Gear S3, Gear S2, and fitness bands including Gear Fit2 Pro and Gear Fit2. This is Tidal’s first app for wearables.