Latest News - Page 1688

Apple has changed its App Store guidelines, granting apps the ability to send push notifications that contain advertising.

Originally, Apple banned apps from sending notifications to users that contained any form of advertising. Now, the company has altered its App Store guidelines, and now apps can send through push notifications that contain advertisements if the user agrees to it. Apple says that app developers can send marketing notifications when "customers have explicitly opted in to receive them."

This new change has opened the door for iPhone users to be spammed with advertisements from already downloaded apps. Apple doesn't specify if users will have to enable advertisement push notifications from already downloaded apps. An example of this could include Amazon sending push notifications for an upcoming sale. 9to5Mac also found that Apple has set its deadline for when 'Sign In with Apple' will be implemented. This feature is a replica of Google's single system sign-in that allows users to get into new apps quickly.

In January, NASA's Voyager 2 experienced a glitch that triggered the craft into initializing its pre-programmed fault-protection mode.

In this mode, Voyager 2 disabled all of its five measuring instruments that it would normally be using to gather data with. Since then, NASA's engineers have been working around the clock to get the ancient craft back up and running as per normal. The biggest problem that the engineers faced was the sheer distance Voyager 2 is away from Earth. Engineers were required to troubleshoot the problem, but every command they sent to the craft it took 17 hours to reach the probe and for data to be received back here on Earth.

The engineers found that the glitch occurred when Voyager 2 missed a spin maneuver that was meant to calibrate its magnetic-field instrument. This glitch resulted in two power-hungry systems being left on simultaneously, which then triggered the probes preprogrammed fault-protection mode. Luckily, engineers were able to resolve the issue, and now Voyager 2 is back to working as per normal. NASA announced the news via a statement on its website, check that out here for more information.

When NASA launches the Mars rover, it will mark a big moment in space travel history for humans, which means the rover better have a good name to be remembered by.

Choosing a name for the rover isn't merely picking a name out of a hat that contains potentials; it's more complicated than that. NASA decided to get the public involved in choosing the name, and over many months NASA has been receiving letters from K-12 students. Each of these letters is submissions for a potential name, and after going through several rounds of judges, NASA has narrowed the list down to just nine potentials.

The competition to win the naming of NASA's Mars 2020 rover gathered over 28,000 entries from across the country. Each of these entries proposed a name for the craft and included a brief essay to explain the reasoning behind why the Mars 2020 rover should be named whatever name was chosen. 4,700 volunteer judges siphoned through the entries and got 28,000 down to just 155. A second round of judges then came in and got that 155 down to just 9. Those 9 finalists were then voted on by the public, and now we await who the winner was.

In an effort to increase the amount of traffic to Twitter, the company has announced a new style of Tweeting called "Fleets".

So what is a "Fleet" according to what Twitter states in a blog post, "Fleets are for you to share your ideas and momentary opinions. These posts disappear after 24 hours and have no Retweets, likes or public comments. In an initial survey, people told us that, once the Fleets are gone, they are more comfortable sharing everyday and everyday thoughts. We hope that those people who are not usually comfortable with Tweeting use Fleets to talk about the reflections that come to their head."

It seems that Twitter are attempting to follow in the footsteps of Snapchat inspired content. Fleets won't just be text either, as Twitter states that they will also feature videos, GIFs, and photos. Twitter users will also be able to respond to Fleets with a direct message to the recipient user. I'm not sure if Fleets are going to spark more toxic behavior on Twitter, as people will now be able to temporarily flame other users and hide behind the fact that their comments will be removed relatively soon.

Scientists have created not just a new bendable concrete, but the concrete itself is cement-free which reduces its environmental footprint -- good all round stuff right here, folks.

Researchers out of the Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia have developed a new type of concrete that is bendable, and doesn't require cement to make it. The team put a gigantic weight on top two pillars of concrete: the first, a traditional slab of concrete that snapped under considerable pressure -- but the second one, now that is some magic.

The team used synthetic fibers into their concrete mix, as well as creating a process to manufacture it without needing to heat it up to cure it. This might not sound like a lot, but it radically reduces the impact on the environment -- there's no need to heat up the limestone to make the cement component, with the Swinburne researchers adding it requires 36% less energy to do it their way, versus "conventional bendable concrete". Not only that but it emits a huge 76% less carbon dioxide -- and we all know that is a better thing for the world.

Samsung unveiled its new Galaxy S20 family of smartphones last month at its Unpacked 2020 event, with the new Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and Galaxy S20 Ultra all detailed and showed off to the world. But now? Now we have some teardown action:

The fine folks at iFixit have ripped apart (very carefully), Samsung's new flagship Galaxy S20 Ultra smartphone. The teardown video is a nerds BFF, showing off the massive 108-megapixel camera sensor that just on its own is impressive -- it takes up twice the surface area of the 12-megapixel sensor inside of the iPhone 11 series from Apple.

Most of the space inside of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is used up by the required chips -- Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 865 processor and Snapdragon X55 5G modem, as well as the huge array of camera sensors, circuit boards, and more. Joined in that space being used is the huge 5000mAh battery, too.

The entire gaming world is going to explode once Rockstar officially teases Grand Theft Auto 6, but it looks like the company kinda did -- on their own YouTube channel of all places.

In a tweet from Rockstar_Mag, a very small but very important discovery has been made on Rockstar's official YouTube channel. The tweet itself shows that Rockstar has added a private video to their YouTube channel, that hasn't been unveiled to the public yet. This of course has started the rumors that it could be for Grand Theft Auto 6.

But with the Game Developers Conference recently postponed and a bunch of developers out of pocket, and out of the eyes of the media to show off their games -- maybe Rockstar had planned a GDC 2020 tease for Grand Theft Auto 6? We'll never know, but now all eyes will be on Rockstar going forward (as if they weren't already) as we get closer to E3 2020 -- which is still going ahead, according to its organizers.

Google has reportedly ended all in-person job interviews over coronavirus fears, with the everything giant moving its job interviews through Hangouts.

The company has told potential candidates that all interviews will be done through video calls "for the forseeable future", after it restricted employee travel after a Google employee at its Switzerland office was tested positive for COVID-19. This is a big move by a big company, and with no end in sight for coronavirus / COVID-19 and its spread across the globe, it is worrying.

The Verge reports it has seen an email from Google staff, which read: "In light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and to protect our candidates' and interviewers' health and wellbeing, we will be conducting all Google interviews globally virtually via Google Hangout (or BlueJeans for applicable countries) for the foreseeable future".

The most enthusiast VR headset on the market would have to be the Valve Index, created perfectly for Valve's own Half-Life: Alyx which is about to drop on March 23 -- but buying a Valve Index right now is near impossible.

Well, a Valve spokesperson has talked with Engadget to confirm that Valve will have more of its Index VR headsets on March 9 at 1PM eastern. The company expects "high demand" will see the Valve Index sold out virtually instantly, so if you miss this sale you could be waiting another couple of months before you get your hands (and eyes) into a Valve Index headset.

Half-Life: Alyx drops on March 23 so this is a just-in-time restocking of the Valve Index, which should be one of the best VR gaming experiences money can buy -- that is, if your money is quick enough to buy the Valve Index once it restocks on March 9.

The Half-Life franchise isn't going back into hiding after Half-Life: Alyx ships. Valve promises this is just the beginning.

Valve is returning to game dev in a big way with Half-Life: Alyx, its new VR-exclusive game. It's the first new Half-Life title in almost 13 years but it certainly won't be the last. In a recent interview with Game Informer, Valve's Robin Walker says the series will live on.

"We absolutely see Half-Life: Alyx as our return to this world, not the end of it," Walker said. "Half-Life means a lot to us, and it's been incredibly rewarding to refamiliarize ourselves with its characters, setting, and mechanics."

The Xbox Series X's new Smart Delivery system may also let you pick and choose which portion of a game you want to install, effectively reducing the overall size of a game.

Games these days are absolutely huge. Modern Warfare, for example, clocks in at over 100GB for the whole package. But what if you could carve up the installation and only download what you actually want to play?

This feature, dubbed custom installation, has tremendous implications for next-gen consoles. Remember next-gen systems like the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 will use SSDs (probably QLC flash-powered drives for improved reliability) instead of hard drives. SSDs typically aren't as reliable as HDDs and lots of writes and deletes could bog down the storage. Plus there's a fixed amount of space on them, so developers will need to be conscious of how to best use the storage.

Halo: Combat Evolved is now available on PC for just $10, complete with platform optimizations to ensure high FPS and smooth gameplay.

Yesterday 343 Industries pulled a surprise worthy of a Grunt birthday party: They launched Halo 1's anticipated PC port on Steam and the Microsoft Store.

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary can be purchased separately for $10 and also comes included in the $40 Master Chief Collection, which packs six Halo games in one purchase. It's also included as part of Microsoft's $10 a month Game Pass subscription on PC.

Without any specifics, reveals, or even teasers, Google makes it hard to get excited about new Stadia studio announcements.

Google today opened its third game development studio for its Stadia game streaming service. The new Playa Vista, California-based studio will be helmed by ex-Sony exec Shannon Studstill, who served as Sony's vice president of product development for the last nine years.

Google is clearly gearing up for big with Stadia and is eager to throw money at the service, but it's still hard to get excited about these kinds of reveals. Google simply hasn't communicated enough actual interactive content to its audiences. There's no snippets of gameplay, no key art, new ARGs or creative showcases of what is coming--or what's even possible with Stadia. There's just assurances that these things are coming, PR speak, and nebulous claims.

In a surprise move, Konami today released Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for Android and iPhones.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is now available on both iOS and Google Play mobile storefronts for just $2.99, a huge fraction of the game's actual value. This is a big surprise as most Japanese publishers charge at least $10 for big legacy games. Symphony of the Night is easily one of the longest Castlevania games and will keep you busy with its Metroidvania-style nonlinear structure, with tons of RPG mechanics and exploration.

The mobile port is fully optimized with enhanced touchscreen controls, but also supports Bluetooth and wired controllers for better precision. There's some nice convenience features added in like macro-ing spells for quick execution, and save state functionality, which lets you save anywhere in the game and pick up right where you left off.

The PlayStation 2 was released 20 years ago today in Japan. Yes, really.

On March 4, 2000, Sony made history with the PlayStation 2. The system reigns as the best-selling system of all time and for good reason: The console was the most accessible DVD player of the era, it played old-school PlayStation 1 games and supported original DualShock controllers, and had an absolutely amazing library of games (Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5 is likewise poised to do the same with PS4 backward compatibility).

The PS2 was a smash success right out of the gate and raked in a tremendous $250 million in one day. It was an era before the PlayStation Network and digital downloads crowded the market, a time where the only real way to get games was to buy them in a store. Retailer coffers swelled, Sony opened the gateway to a flood of new titles, and consumers flocked to the console due to its flexible multimedia capabilities--it played DVDs, CDs, and games.

A mysterious new Star Wars game called Project Maverick has stealthily appeared on the European PlayStation Store, possibly hinting at a reboot, remake, or remaster of a popular starship simulator.

EA may release a new Star Wars game in 2020 after all, and it could be a Rogue Squadron remaster. The newly leaked Project Maverick art strongly hints at an aerial starfighter game set in the classic trilogy, showing a brace of X-Wings hurdling towards a Star Destroyer. The locale is possibly Mustafar, the fiery lava planet where Darth Vader was essentially born.

This kind of game makes sense for EA and can recycle assets, features, and overall mechanics from previous titles. Project Maverick could leverage the existing ship-to-ship combat found in Star Wars Battlefront II, for instance, complete with enhancements in the DICE engine. Or it could be an entirely new entry in the Rogue Squadron franchise complete with its own story arcs, new ships, and chaotic battles. There's lots of possibilities here.

As society adopts more and more forms of new technology, many people are wondering what the effects all this technology has on us. Sony wants to highlight that in an upcoming kid's film.

The new movie is called 'Connected,' and the story revolves around how much humans are relying on technology, and in particular, how a father is upset about how much his children are relying on technology. The movie is from the minds of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and The Lego Movie (Christopher Miller and Philip Lord) and is directed by Michael Rianda, who is the director of the hit TV series Gravity Falls.

'Connected' will continue on the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse animation style, which was deemed one of the best parts about Into the Spider-Verse and will no doubt be a highlight for 'Connected'. As for the plot, the movie circles around a family that saves the world, while at the same time highlighting societies reliance on technology. We get a taste for the story in the above trailer where we see the father of the family decide to take a family road trip, but then robots and what seems like technology as a whole begin to turn against humans.

If you are a Rick and Morty fan, then you would no doubt know about how much Rick loves the discontinued Szechuan sauce from McDonald's.

If you didn't even know McDonald's even did Szechuan sauce, here's a quick history lesson for you. Back in 1998, McDonald's did a promotional tie in with Disney's Mulan. Apart of that promotional tie in was a new dipping sauce for McDonald's nuggets hence Szechuan sauce. The sauce was only available for a very brief period of time, and when the promotion for the movie ended, so did the sauce's existence.

Fast-forwarding to 2017, Adult Swim debuts an episode of Rick and Morty where Rick visits the memory of the Szechuan sauce to get a taste of it once again. After this episode aired, many Rick and Morty fans went on a riot asking McDonald's to remake the sauce again so they could try it. After some time, McDonald's was convinced and remade a limited amount of Szechuan sauce, and they sold out almost immediately.

Respawn Entertainment have reworked many aspects of Apex Legends, including backpack size, and stack sizes for items.

The update has already been added to the live servers and comes as apart of the System Override Collections Event. The new patch has added a bunch of new content for players to enjoy, as well as introducing some new changes to in-game backpack size and how items stack in the inventory. Firstly, the new patch adds an additional two inventory slows to every variant of backpack. Gray has gone from 10 to 12, Blue from 12 to 14, and finally Purple 14 to 16.

Moving onto item stacking changes. Players will now have a much harder time stacking a bunch of grenades for the last fight, as Respawn has reduced the amount that can be carried. Not only does this affect grenades, but it also affects syringes, medkits, shield battery/cell, light, heavy, and energy ammo. Other changes that have come in this patch are: Peacekeep nerfs, Sentinel buffs, Crypto tweaks, Bloodhound buffs, and Gibraltar nerfs. For the full patch notes check out this link here.

A meteorite that fell from space and landed on Earth has given scientists and researchers evidence to suggest that the building blocks of life are capable of being found outside of Earth.

The meteorite is called Acfer 086 and landed in Algeria around 30 years ago. Since then, scientists have performed studies on the meteorite and now have recently discovered some vital information. Researchers found the protein hemolithin inside the meteorite, and if you don't know what hemolithin is, its a small protein that's composed of the amino acid glycine, iron, lithium, and oxygen.

Scientists aren't surprised at finding these elements, but what they are surprised at is finding these elements in this specific configuration - marking the first time a configuration of this caliber has been found on Earth. While the composition of the molecule contains elements we are familiar with, the proteins ratio of hydrogen to isotope deuterium didn't match anything scientists have found on Earth.