Choose your own fisticuffs with a new update, including the “original” level of difficulty Sifu players who want a smoother...
The post Sifu shows off its new Student and Master difficulty levels appeared first on Destructoid.
Experts and tech industry veterans have long expected the global semiconductor shortage to last for years, but Intel chief Pat Gelsinger now says it could go on longer than previously expected. The CEO told CNBC's TechCheck that he expects the issue to drag on until 2024, because the shortage has now hit equipment manufacturing. That could make it difficult for companies to obtain key manufacturing tools and hit production goals that might be bigger than before due to growing demand.
Gelsinger told the publication:
"That's part of the reason that we believe the overall semiconductor shortage will now drift into 2024, from our earlier estimates in 2023, just because the shortages have now hit equipment and some of those factory ramps will be more challenged."
Lockdowns tied to the COVID-19 pandemic had severely impacted the chip industry at a time when demand was ramping up. It forced not just tech companies, but also automakers like GM and Ford, to limit and even to suspend production. Apple's MacBook and iPad shipments faced delays due to component shortages, and smartphone shipments in general fell in late 2021. This negative impact on the tech and auto industries translated to devastating economic consequences — according to CBS News, the global chip shortage cost the United States $240 billion in 2021 based on expert estimates.
Gelsinger previously said that he believes the situation will last until 2023, which falls in line with analysts' and other industry execs' expectations. After Gelsinger became Intel's CEO, the company had announced several massive investments meant to expand chip manufacturing outside Asia. (To note, a Bloomberg report from back in late 2021 claimed that the White House "strongly discouraged" Intel from ramping up its chip production in China.) Intel said it's spending $20 billion to build two chip factories in Arizona, and another $20 billion at least to build "the largest silicon manufacturing location on the planet" in Ohio.
A new Final Fantasy VII Remake mod gives party member Barret Wallace an updated aesthetic that hews closer to the pre-development concept art created by famed illustrator Yoshitaka Amano.
Bungie was served a bit of a loss this week in its ongoing legal war against cheat makers and sellers. On Wednesday, a federal judge dismissed Bungie’s copyright infringement claims against website AimJunkies while agreeing with the cheat seller’s legal defense that the Destiny publisher’s other, non-trademark-related…
According to a new report, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2 will only release on the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, skipping the good ol’ PS4 and Xbox One. That’s according to VentureBeat journalist and insider Jeff Grubb, who revealed this tidbit of information in his premium Grubbsnax show. We had previously only heard speculations of the game skipping last-gen consoles based on its rumored release window.
Grubb reiterated in his show that Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts are targeting a release window of 2023. Additionally, the game’s subtitle might undergo a change and it’s possible that it won’t be titled Fallen Order at all.
(Rumor) Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2 is to be next gen only according to Jeff Grubb
Source:https://t.co/lOZBSQ6t8X pic.twitter.com/pnOnht9dFA
— Idle Sloth (@IdleSloth84) April 28, 2022
(Update) According to Jeff Grubb on his latest GrubbSnax podcast he said Star Jedi: Fallen Order 2 will be coming out in 2023. He believes that they will also be changing the subtitle name.
— Idle Sloth (@IdleSloth84) April 28, 2022
Notwithstanding supply issues, a current-gen only release makes sense since we’re well into the cycle. If previous reports are to be believed, EA will reveal Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2 (or whatever it’ll be called) by summer 2022 at the latest.
Zarmena writes… I truly sympathize with people who still haven’t been able to snag a PS5 and/or Xbox Series X/S but that’s hardly the fault of development studios who have repeatedly said that they are often bogged by hardware constraints when developing for last-gen consoles. Getting a game to work on a PS4 and Xbox One while simultaneously ensuring that no corners are cut on the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S doesn’t seem like an easy feat. It’s time to let go.
In other news, Sony is reportedly eyeing Warner Bros. studios and IPs, and Final Fantasy 16 is in the final stretch of development.
The post Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2 Might Also Skip PS4 and Xbox One appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
Rumor has it that Sony is eyeing Warner Bros. Discovery’s development studios for future PlayStation acquisitions as the company is looking to offload its development teams and license its IPs. That’s according to Kinda Funny’s Imran Khan, who claims to have heard “a decent bit of chatter” about WB Discovery “shopping their game development studios around.” Interestingly, it was exactly a year ago that we heard reports of WB wanting to do away with its game development wing, especially following its merger with Discovery, but the company denied this report at the time.
Sony has made it abundantly clear that it’s not done with acquisitions yet, but the company’s acquisitions have been on a completely different trajectory than Microsoft’s. The latter has been purchasing entire publishing houses while the former has focused on studios that it has been working with. If what Khan has heard is true, it looks like WB wants to sell its development studios but only “license” popular IPs, which include big hits that are too many to name. We’re talking Mortal Kombat, Batman, Middle-earth, and the list goes on. At present, WB owns a number of high-profile studios including NetherRealm, Rocksteady, Avalanche Software, Monolith, and TT Games.
Couldn’t get enough confirmation to actually write a post about it, but hearing a decent bit of chatter this week about WB Discovery shopping their game development studios around.
— Imran Khan (@imranzomg) April 29, 2022
Lending some credence to Khan’s tweet, journalist Jeff Gerstmann said that he too has been hearing this rumor on and off for a while. As some Twitter users pointed out, known insider and fellow journalist Jeff Grubb said a year ago that he had heard Microsoft was interested in purchasing NetherRealm and Rocksteady. However, following Activision Blizzard and Bethesda deals (the former of which is already being scrutinized by the FTC), and rumors of Sony working closely with Hogwarts Legacy developer Avalanche, we can only wonder what’s going on behind the scenes right now.
As for who else is interested in WB properties, Khan claims that Sony and Microsoft are joined by EA, Take-Two, Tencent, NetEase, and PUBG Corp.
In other news, Gotham Knights might be skipping last-gen consoles, and Sony has released a rather confusing PS Plus conversion chart.
The post Rumor: Sony and Microsoft Among Companies Interested in Purchasing Warner Bros. Studios appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
Flying Visit Hey folks! Welcome to this week’s Whatcha Been Playing! This will be a shorter deal than usual, as...
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Apple recently sent notices to some indie developers, warning them that their app will be pulled from the App Store if it's not updated within 30 days. The tech giant has had a policy in place against outdated and abandoned applications since 2016, but the move suggests that it's now more rigorously enforcing that rule. Some of the letters' recipients criticized the policy for being a barrier to indie developers, what with how tough it is to keep up with platform changes and how much work it takes to roll out even a minor update. Now, Apple has published a post clarifying why some old apps are in danger of being removed, along with the announcement that it's giving developers more time to update their applications.
In the post, the company said that it will only send removal notices to developers whose apps haven't been updated in three years, as well as to devs whose apps have not "been downloaded at all or extremely few times during a rolling 12 month period." Apple said that dropping outdated apps makes newer ones more discoverable and also ensures users can enjoy games and tools that have been optimized for its latest OS and devices.
As a lot of people know, there are older apps don't work as well on the latest generation of phones, tablets and laptops anymore, delivering a subpar user experience. Still, 30 days might not be nowhere near enough time for smaller developers to conjure up an update. The good news is that Apple has extended its grace period and is now giving them up to 90 days to update their applications. Users will get to keep apps that are already installed on their devices even if they end up getting deleted, and developers can continue earning from them through microtransactions.
PS Plus subscribers get an additional discount in the currently featured sale. Today, it’s all about the “Games Under 20” with many worth-playing games having their prices slashed. Sadly, actually sorting through the normal deal prices to find the PS Plus discounts can be incredibly tricky. Happily, this article is here with all PS Plus Games discounts for today, April 29, 2022.
These are the best PS Plus games discounts for April 29:
Coming in at $8.99 (further reduced down from $11.99), Zero Escape: The Nonary Games is an interactive story that tells the tale of two groups of nine captives, who must play a deadly game of life and death. Take a look at the PlayStation LifeStyle review for a more comprehensive overview.
Coming in at $8.99 (further discounted down from $13.99), now is a great time to get ready for the upcoming Sniper Elite 5 by playing its predecessor. Sniper Elite 4 tests players’ sniping skills in Italy, where coastal towns, ancient forests, mountain valleys, and colossal Nazi megastructures await! Read the PlayStation LifeStyle review for more information.
There are three free PS Plus games available to download for April. They are Slay the Spire, SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated, and Hood: Outlaws and Legends.
Those still trying to track down an in-stock PS5 will want to read today’s PSLS PS5 Restock Update.
In other PlayStation news, five PlayStation classics have appeared on the PSN backend in time for the PS Premium launch. Also, Supermassive Games’ The Quarry has 186 endings, for some reason.
The post The Best PS Plus Discounts Today, April 29, 2022 appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
Psyonix is announcing an updated Rocket League Formula One Fan Pack for 2022, giving players a way to unify their passions of cars bumping into one another to score points and… also that. Much like last year’s offering, you’ll get a freshly-updated F1 car model, new audio and Pirelli-branded Wheels. You’ll also be able to deck your ride out in the livery of Alfa Romeo, AlphaTauri, Ferrari, McLaren, McLaren Miami and AlphaTauri's farm team, Red Bull.
The car model will be based on Rocket League’sDominus Hitbox, the same one that’s used to underpin many of its crossover models. Between May 4th and May 10th, to coincide with the Miami GP, players can drop down 1,100 credits to get the Fan Pack, and those who buy now will get two additional updates through the rest of the season thrown in for free. That includes decals for Mercedes, Haas, Williams, Aston Martin and Alpine, while the fall update will include different color variants for the Pirelli wheels.
Insider is reporting that infamous weight loss app Noom is laying off a significant number of its coaches as it shifts its strategy. The company, which presently enables users to engage in text chat with experts, will reportedly shift to a system of scheduled video calling, reducing the need for so many workers. Internal documents suggest that the people who remain will see higher workloads to cover for the departures. 180 coaches are believed to have already been let go, with a further 315 due to join them in the coming days. Individuals who take voluntary severance can expect eight weeks’ pay, although the site says that Noom will not cover the cost of unused vacation days.
Noom, which garnered $540 million in fresh venture funding in 2021 saw its business surge as a consequence of the pandemic. TechCrunch reported that the platform had earned $400 million in profit across 2020 as users flocked to its promised mix of live coaching and CBT-inspired practices. Its critics, however, believe that Noom’s unique spin on weight loss is nothing more than a standard heavily-restrictive diet, packaged in the language of wellness. In 2021, Noom branched out into mental health coaching under the banner Noom Mood.
As FastCompany outlined last year, Noom’s key metric is calorie restriction, tasking men to limit their intake to around 1,400 calories per day. (There’s a lot of debate about the proper calorie limit for weight loss, but that figure is seen as problematically low and well below what the CDC recommends.) Last year, an Outside investigation found that Noom was not tailoring its recommendations to the age, height and weight of its users, instead issuing a stock limit for the majority of participants. That same investigation found that there is little pre-screening for people who may have lived with disordered eating beforehand. Casey Johnston, who writes She's A Beast, has also called into question Noom's advertising practices, potentially misleading customers as to its effectiveness.
It’s Friday, which is normally the last good day for PS5 restock news ahead of a quiet weekend. If you’ve missed our recent posts, there’s still plenty of must-know information for US and UK hopefuls to read. Dive into the latest info in this PSLS PS5 Restock Update for April 29, 2022.
For today, April 29, those hunting for a PS5 in the US will first want to check the stock levels at their local Target stores. Target recently changed the way that they showed PS5 restock information. Now hopeful buyers can check the Target website each morning for a stock refresh.
If you somehow haven’t already, it’s well worth registering your interest in buying directly from PlayStation, if you haven’t done so already. Once you’ve registered your interest, you’ll need to watch out for the stock alert emails.
Though it’s still tough to track down a PS5 console, accessories for the next-gen system are still widely available at stores like Amazon. Take a look at the links above for some of our highlights.
For today, April 29, those with an EE account should check the EE website for some exclusive bundle deals. These include deals with an additional controller, charging station, PlayStation credit, and games.
Otherwise, your best bet is to register your interest in buying a system directly from PlayStation. Get registered and then watch out for the emails.
In other PlayStation news, the Balan Wonderworld director was removed from the game six months before release. Five PlayStation classics have appeared on the PSN backend in time for PS Plus Premium. Supermassive’s The Quarry has 186 endings, for some reason.
The post The PSLS PS5 Restock Update for April 29, 2022 appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
Apple announced back in February that it's introducing changes that would make AirTags easier to find after several stories of bad actors using the tracker to stalk people came out. One of the upcoming changes it promised is adjusting the sound AirTags emit to be as loud as possible to make them "more easily findable." Now, as MacRumors reports, the tech giant has started rolling out that capability with the device's latest firmware update.
While Apple has published release notes to reveal what the update adds to the tracker, it didn't mention that the company is gradually making the feature available on a staggered basis. According to the publication, only one percent of users received the update when it went out on Tuesday, but it will be delivered to 10 percent of users by May 3rd and to 25 percent by May 9th. Apple expects to complete the rollout by May 13th.
Earlier this April, Motherboard had obtained police data that included 50 cases of women receiving notifications or hearing alert sounds revealing that someone was tracking them with an AirTag. While that's not a particularly large number, it suggests a growing number of cases wherein the trackers are being used for stalking purposes. In an effort to prevent the device from a creepy character's tool of choice, Apple promised a handful of anti-stalking features that include showing people a warning that it's a crime to use the device to track people. The company will also update newer iPhones' precision finding technology to make them capable of displaying the direction and distance to an unknown AirTag.
If you’re looking for a game with hundreds of endings that’s not an RPG then you’re in luck because Supermassive’s The Quarry offers just that: 186 endings. That’s according to game director Will Bynes, who revealed during an exclusive interview with IGN that all of the endings will be unique. The game’s script has apparently surpassed 1,000 pages as a result.
Bynes has revealed that The Quarry is being written like a movie screenplay except in movies, actors usually get around 100 pages of script. With this one being over 1,000 pages long, Supermassive and 2K are shooting 50 pages per day. And yes, The Quarry is scheduled for release this year, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Writing a branching narrative is a really interesting exercise. We write a full, 100-page screenplay as if it were a movie. We develop our character styles, and once we’ve got that, we can start looking at how we break that out into a full 10-hour experience. Actors are used to, on a feature film, a 100-page script. So when we send the actors the scripts they get very alarmed because they’re huge. The script for this is over 1,000 pages. We have to shoot about 50 pages a day, which is unheard of. It’s just a mad amount of footage. But obviously a lot of what they’re learning is the same thing again and again and again, but a different branch.
The Quarry will release on June 10th.
Zarmena writes… I have no problem with a game having 186 endings, out of which I’m only really going to bother with one. But there better not be a darn trophy tied to achieving all endings. That’s where I draw the line. On a serious note, I’m not a big trophy hunter but Until Dawn was a fun Platinum run. I’m looking forward to The Quarry but I’m not sure how I feel about the idea of nearly 200 endings. I’m sure there’s a monster out there willing to sit through all of them, but is this really necessary?
In other news, Call of Duty cheaters will no longer be able to see their opponents, and it turns out, the PlayStation game preservation team isn’t working on PS3 emulation.
The post Supermassive’s The Quarry Has 186 Endings, For Some Reason appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
Thanks to the Ricochet anti-cheat software, Call of Duty cheaters will no longer be able to see their opponents but their opponents will be able to see them, leaving them ripe for the taking. This new mitigation feature, called Cloaking, comes mere months after Activision activated a God mode of sorts for players when encountering cheaters. For the uninitiated, this is when legitimate players are granted a Damage Shield that repels all of an identified cheater’s bullets, leaving them to be taken out effortlessly. The Cloaking technique takes things to another level.
As previously explained, Cloaking makes players completely invisible for identified cheaters. This means that they aren’t able to see or hear their opponents at all, including their bullets. Legitimate players, on the other hand, will be able to identify players that are impacted by Cloaking. As Activision aptly puts it, these are players “you see spinning in circles hollering, ‘Who is shooting me?!'” All that’s left for you to do is punish them as you see fit.
These mitigation techniques don’t mean cheaters aren’t being banned at all, however. Activision recently announced that it has banned over 90,000 cheaters across Call of Duty: Vanguard and Warzone, and has banned an additional 54,000 accounts since the last ban wave update. “Of course, we understand that for every advancement we make in anti-cheat, cheaters are working to circumvent those updates,” the publisher acknowledged. “For this reason, we encourage players to continue to use in-game reporting tools. If you see a cheater in the wild, report it. This information is invaluable to make new updates in the fight against unfair play.”
In other news, Sony has reportedly blocked PS Plus subscription stacking ahead of the new service’s rollout, and developers are apparently confused about the company’s PS Plus Premium game trial requirement.
[Source: Activision]
The post Call of Duty Cheaters Will No Longer Be Able to See Their Opponents appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
For anyone building a PC or looking for accessories like monitors, storage or keyboards, Amazon is having a one-day sale that might be of strong interest. A host of desirable items are significantly marked down, including keyboards, headsets, power supplies, displays, cases and storage, with discounts as high as 48 percent.
Buy PC accessories at AmazonThere are a few standout deals, but lots of other choice as well. First on the list is the 31.5-inch 2,560 x 1,440 Acer Nitro XV322QU IPS gaming display, with features like DisplayHDR 400, AMD FreeSync, up to a 170Hz refresh rate, 0.5 millisecond lag and 90 percent DCI-P3 color accuracy. With a large size and extreme speed, it's a highly desirable model and is at or near an all-time low of $299, for a savings of 45 percent or $250.
Speaking of speed, Razer's Huntsman V2 TKS Tenkeyless gaming keyboard (above) offers that in spades, with the "fastest linear optical switches with sound dampeners and an 8,000Hz polling rate," the company says. In other words, it's fast and quiet while offering great durability thanks to the Doubleshot PBT keycaps. It's now on sale for $100, saving you $60 or 38 percent over the regular price.
Finally, you'll appreciate this deal if you're a PC builder. Corsair's HX850 platinum-certified, fully modular power supply is on sale for $120, for a savings of 35 percent of $65. That 850-watt category is the sweet spot for most enthusiasts, and the $65 savings might let you upgrade your CPU or RAM.
There are numerous other items, including a Toshiba N300 14TB NAS drive for $265 (37 percent off), be quiet!'s 1,500W BN647 power supply for $300 (33 percent off) and Sennheiser's GSX 1000 Gaming Audio Amplifier at $120 (48 percent off). Finally, while it's not a PC accessory, the best deal in the sale is on Samsung's 10.5-inch 256GB Galaxy Tab S6 for $300, a full 59 percent off. It's best to act soon, though, as the sale ends in less than a day.
It’s Thursday, which is usually another good day for PS5 restock news. Fortunately for those in the US and UK, there’s some must-know information on how to have the best chance at getting the new-gen Sony console. Read on for the latest info in this PSLS PS5 Restock Update for April 28, 2022.
For today, April 28, those in the US will immediately want to check for local Target stock. Earlier this week, Target changed the way that they showed PS5 restock information. Now hopeful buyers can check the Target website each morning for a stock refresh. Those hunting for a console will want to be regularly checking local stores for any PS5 stock and then be ready to go and get it.
Following the recent drop on the official PlayStation Store, it’s well worth registering your interest in buying directly from PlayStation, if you haven’t done so already. Once you’ve registered your interest, it’s time to start monitoring those emails. Even though it’s a more exclusive sale, there’s still a limited supply of consoles, so time is of the essence.
While it remains tough to hunt down a PS5 system, peripherals for the next-gen Sony console are still in plentiful supply. Have a look at the links above for some of our product highlights.
For today, April 28, Game is the retailer to visit. At the time of writing, there are a number of in-stock bundles.
If Game doesn’t have what you’re looking for, those with an EE account should check the EE website for some exclusive bundle deals. These include deals with an additional controller, charging station, PlayStation credit, and games.
In other PlayStation news, PS Plus Premium game trials are rumored to be in the works by the PlayStation Store team. The PlayStation Game Preservation Team is focusing on archival efforts and not PS3 emulation. The real island of Tsushima is planning to sell Ghost of Tsushima merchandise as souvenirs.
The post The PSLS PS5 Restock Update for April 28, 2022 appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
CNN is pulling the plug on its streaming service today, April 28th, instead of on April 30th like previously reported. The company has sent out emails to subscribers, and as Digital Trends reports, it clearly states that CNN+ streaming "will come to an end on April 28th." The service launched just a month ago on March 29th, but it was only pulling in 10,000 daily users who were willing to pay $6 a month for live and on-demand news programming, according to CNBC. New CNN president Chris Licht was reportedly the one who recommended its closure, which might come with hundreds of job cuts.
Try not to spend all $3 of that refund at once. pic.twitter.com/XMq48iWTPo
— Phil (@philnickinson) April 27, 2022
CNN invested hundreds of millions of dollars into the project and recruited talent from other networks to host shows for the platform. While the service was short-lived, CNN itself reported that the network is committed to finding new roles for the hosts of its shows.
Discovery CEO Jean-Briac Perrette informed employees about the closure in a meeting where he said that the situation was avoidable, but that "prior leadership decided to just keep going" with its planned March debut despite the impending merger between his company and CNN owner WarnerMedia. The merged company, Warner Bros. Discovery, had a different strategy in mind — it's also billions in debt as a result of the merging process.
In addition to informing subscribers in an email about the earlier-than-expected closure, CNN has also updated the service's help page. The company stated in the page that all subscribers will receive a full refund. It didn't say why CNN+ is shutting down a couple of days earlier than announced, but Digital Trends notes that it might be because subscriptions are about to renew. Some early adopters were able to sign up on March 28th, a day before the service's official launch date. Whatever the reason is, subscribers can say goodbye to CNN+ today and expect to get their refund on May 28th.
Elon Musk won't be able to get out of his agreement requiring oversight of his tweets about the company, Bloomberg reported. A judge has rejected his request to drop the 2018 deal made with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that required a company lawyer approve any Tesla-related tweets. The judge also denied Musk's request to block an SEC subpoena related to possible insider trading.
"Musk cannot now seek to retract the agreement he knowingly and willingly entered by simply bemoaning that he felt like he had to agree to it at the time but now — once the specter of the litigation is a distant memory and his company has become, in his estimation, all but invincible — wishes that he had not," US District Judge Lewis Liman wrote.
Musk may wish it were otherwise, but he remains subject to the same enforcement authority — and has the same means to challenge the exercise of that authority — as any other citizen.
After Musk tweeted in 2018 that he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private at $420, the SEC sued saying that Musk had misled investors. The parties eventually settled, with Musk and Tesla agreeing to pay $20 million each and require lawyers to review Musk's Tesla-related tweets.
However, last month Musk asked a federal court to terminate the deal, saying he felt "forced" to sign the consent decree during a period when Tesla's financial health was at risk. A self-described "free speech absolutist," he also claimed through his lawyer that the deal impinged on his his First Amendment rights.
The judge also denied Musk's request to quash an SEC subpoena related to a Twitter poll he conducted asking users whether he should sell Tesla shares or not. Officials were concerned he might have told his brother Kimbal about the poll, leading the brother to sell 88,500 shares just a day before the November 6th, 2021 tweet. In response, Musk said that the Twitter poll in question was just meant to gather input and not a disclosure of information he'd have to report to the SEC.
"Musk may wish it were otherwise, but he remains subject to the same enforcement authority — and has the same means to challenge the exercise of that authority — as any other citizen," Liman wrote. "Indeed, to conclude otherwise would be to hold that a serial violator of the securities laws or a recidivist would enjoy greater protection against SEC enforcement than a person who had never even been accused of a securities law violation."
In response, Musk's lawyer Alex Spiro said that the court's ruling still means he can address SEC subpoenas on a case-by-case basis. "The court is simply saying we can move to quash these subpoenas when they are compelled," he told Bloomberg. "Nothing will ever change the truth, which is that Elon Musk was considering taking Tesla private and could have — all that’s left some half decade later is remnant litigation which will make that truth clearer and clearer."
Sub of the month club A Pokemon Unite subscription service is coming to town, and it doesn’t sound great on...
The post Of course Pokemon Unite is getting a subscription service, that’s a no from me appeared first on Destructoid.
News of Twitter's buyout has rattled some users, as Elon Musk indicated he plans to take a much more hands-off approach to content moderation. As is often the case when Twitter makes a change (or infers that one is coming), some users have threatened to leave the platform. Mastodon has been welcoming those that made the jump. Mastodon said it saw “an influx of approx. 41,287 users.”
It’s not the first time Mastodon has benefited from Twitter drama. The company was briefly popular in 2017, following outrage over Twitter’s decision to remove user handles from the character limit for replies — yes, they were more innocent times.
— Mat Smith
The Fiture mirror wants to improve your at-home workout form
Ford starts production of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup
The latest macOS beta includes a fix for the Studio Display webcam
Instagram recently began testing a feature for you to highlight specific posts above your photo grid. If you’re among the people the company has enrolled in the trial, you can access the feature by tapping the three dots at the top of a post and selecting the new “pin to your profile” option. It’s pretty much identical to the pinned options you get with other social networks, like Twitter and TikTok. But that’s not stopped Instagram taking inspiration from its rivals. Again.
The Roku Channel has signed a multi-year deal with Lionsgate Films that will allow it to stream upcoming blockbusters like John Wick 4 and Borderlands for free. Roku will get those films in a timely fashion, too: right after their initial streaming windows on Lionsgate's Starz platform.
Roku has made a steady push into free programming, buying all of Quibi's short-form shows last year and later adding content from the Tribeca Film Festival, IGN, CBC News and AccuWeather.
Elden Ring is famous for its rich open world, but it just got turned into an… ambitious 8-bit rolling adventure demake. It was created by Reddit user Shintendo, who showed off an early demo set in Elden Ring's Chapel of Anticipation. There, a Tarnished faces off against the infamous Grafted Scion boss (and loses, again). Shintendo is aiming to release a demo by the end of May on Itch.io.
The European Union’s Thierry Breton told the Financial Times that Musk's Twitter will still be subject to EU regulations, including the new Digital Services Act governing efforts to fight misinformation. The Tesla chief is "welcome" but "there are rules" he still has to follow, Breton said. The Digital Services Act requires Twitter and other internet companies to share how they're curbing false claims on their sites. It also bans ads targeting minors as well as specific ethnicities, political affiliations, religions and sexual orientations.
The Department of Energy has finalized rules to block sales of many incandescent light bulbs. The measures bring in stricter efficiency standards, targeting light bulbs that emit less than 45 lumens per watt. If this all sounds familiar, it’s because the bulbs turned into a bit of political tennis. The most recent move reverses a decision by the Trump administration in 2019 to roll back stricter standards for bulbs. This was after the Obama administration established rules that would have blocked sales of inefficient light bulbs from January 1st, 2020.
With YouTube's Shorts gathering significant momentum over the past year, Google is now experimenting with ads on the platform, Bloomberg reported. At first, you're likely to see app-install ads and other promotions, according to Google. "While it's still early days, we're encouraged by initial advertiser feedback and results," said Google's chief business officer Philipp Schindler on an investors call.
Shorts launched in September 2020 to counter TikTok offering 15-second videos shot on mobile phones, and expanded to the US in March 2021. The platform now averages over 30 billion daily views, up more than four times over last year. "As we've always done with products, we focus on building a great user experience first, and we'll work to build monetization over time," said Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
YouTube as a whole missed expectations by a good margin, posting $6.87 billion in sales compared to the $7.48 billion investors were expecting, according to Variety. Parent Alphabet also fell a bit short of targets with $68.01 billion in revenue, but that's still up 8 percent over the same quarter last year.
Along with YouTube shorts, a bright spot was the YouTube TV cord-cutting subscription service that "continues to deliver substantial revenue growth," the company said. Pichai also revealed that viewers watch more than 700 million hours of YouTube content per day on connected TVs. He added that YouTube will introduce new smartphone features for connected TVs this year that will make it easier for users to comment and share content.
A new PS Store sale has kicked off today, offering hundreds of games for under 20. While this promotion doesn’t include any major recent releases except for a few like The Ascent, it gives you a chance to pick up some great games that you may have missed in previous sales – all for under 20. As always, make sure to log into your local store page for regional pricing and availability. You have until May 10th to avail the offer.
PS4 & PS5 Episode I Racer Pinball VR Republic Commando: Squadrons COMPLETE EDITIONIn other news, you can grab some Ghost of Tsushima merch in the real island of Tsushima, and Call of Duty Extinction 2 was in development once upon a time.
The post PS Store ‘Games Under 20’ Promotion Kicks Off Today appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
