American's dream vehicle for 2020 is a Ford, not a Tesla

Jak Connor | Electric Vehicles & Cars | Feb 12, 2020 12:31 AM CST

Every year, most car manufacturers have a new vehicle model coming out, and now that we are well into 2020, what vehicles are the most anticipated?

American's dream vehicle for 2020 is a Ford, not a Tesla

According to a new study conducted by Partcatalog, who analyzed Google Trends data between the dates of January 1st and February 1st found that Americans are most excited for Ford's new vehicle -- the Ford Bronco. The above map showcases each state and what they are most excited about in terms of brand and vehicle.

In summary, the following vehicles were the most popular; Ford Bronco - 19 states, Chevy Corvette Stingray - 13 states, Land Rover Defender - 6 states, Porsche Taycan - 5 states, Tesla Model Y - 3 states, Rivian R1T - 2 states, Ford Mustang Mach-E - 2 states. If you are after any more statistics like this, a new info-graph is released every month regarding vehicles. Be sure to check back here soon for more.

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NVIDIA: Activision-Blizzard has removed huge games from GeForce Now

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Feb 11, 2020 11:19 PM CST

Well, Activision-Blizzard has just fired a gigantic warning shot towards NVIDIA by removing massive games from its just-launched game streaming service GeForce Now.

NVIDIA: Activision-Blizzard has removed huge games from GeForce Now

NVIDIA has announced that Activision-Blizzard have removed its entire catalog of games, something that includes massive favorites like the World of Warcraft franchise, the Call of Duty franchise, Overwatch, and more. NVIDIA said in a statement: "While unfortunate, we hope to work together with Activision Blizzard to reenable these games and more in the future".

It seems things have changed from the GeForce Now beta to the full launch, as NVIDIA was talking to the companies before its launch to make sure they were all good with their games being launched on its upcoming-but-now-launched game streaming service. It seems Activision-Blizzard could've made a last minute change, or screwed NVIDIA over completely. I don't think we'll ever know what happened here.

Continue reading: NVIDIA: Activision-Blizzard has removed huge games from GeForce Now (full post)

Dislike: Facebook also ditches MWC because of coronavirus

Anthony Garreffa | Trade Shows | Feb 11, 2020 10:26 PM CST

Another day, another company pulls out of mobile tech show Mobile World Congress -- which is meant to take place in Barcelona, Spain between February 24-27 but at this point, no one will be going.

Dislike: Facebook also ditches MWC because of coronavirus

Facebook has now pulled out of MWC 2020, with the world's largest social media company saying that "evolving public health risks" are the reason behind not attending the show. Facebook explained: "Out of an abundance of caution, Facebook employees won't be attending this year's Mobile World Congress due to the evolving public health risks related to coronavirus".

The social network added: "We will continue to collaborate with the GSMA and our partners and thank them for their efforts". Facebook joins the likes of other massive tech giants in Amazon, Intel, LG, NVIDIA, Samsung, and ZTE that have pulled out of MWC 2020 so far. Mobile World Congress organizers GSMA have reportedly been having "internal meetings" over this all, and I would not be surprised to be writing soon that the entire event itself has been cancelled.

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Intel becomes plus-one in pulling out of MWC over coronavirus outbreak

Anthony Garreffa | Trade Shows | Feb 11, 2020 9:44 PM CST

Just about every company attending Mobile World Congress this year has pulled out over the coronavirus outbreak, with Intel joining the growing list of companies removing themselves from MWC.

Intel becomes plus-one in pulling out of MWC over coronavirus outbreak

Intel said in a statement: "The safety and wellbeing of all our employees and partners is our top priority, and we have withdrawn from this year's Mobile World Congress out of an abundance of caution". Intel isn't the only big player pulling out of Mobile World Congress, and joins the likes of Amazon, LG, NVIDIA, Samsung, and ZTE.

Mobile World Congress organizers GSMA are reportedly having internal meetings over the companies pulling out, but the organization declines to comments on these "internal meetings". I'm sure we'll see MWC cancelled entirely in the coming days, as it is meant to have over 100,000 people attend, with around 6000 of those coming in from China. GSMA, however, has said that over 2800 exhibitors still plan to attend MWC 2020.

Continue reading: Intel becomes plus-one in pulling out of MWC over coronavirus outbreak (full post)

Modern Warfare's battle royale mode Warzone possibly leaked

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Feb 11, 2020 9:19 PM CST

A new leaked image purportedly shows Modern Warfare's new battle royale mode, Warzone, and it might be free-to-play.

Modern Warfare's battle royale mode Warzone possibly leaked

It looks like some internal promo images for Modern Warfare's Warzone BR mode have leaked out, punctuating the recent battle royale hints from Infinity Ward. Users speculate Warzone could be a standalone free-to-play version that won't require Modern Warfare.

This seems iffy to me, especially given the recent update's additions, but it's possible we could see Warzone offered within Modern Warfare as well as outside of it too, complete with bonuses for season pass holders. This would promote maximum engagement and reach via two of gaming's most potent moneymakers: free-to-play and cross-play. Right now Activision-Blizzard is doubling-down on live services and "new engagement models," and this cross-synergy could be big for the brand.

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Samsung Galaxy S20: super-slick 120Hz display, but 60Hz out of the box

Samsung ships each one of its new Galaxy S20 smartphones with a gloriously smooth 120Hz display, with the new Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy S20 Ultra packing Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O displays.

Samsung Galaxy S20: super-slick 120Hz display, but 60Hz out of the box

But one thing Samsung wasn't too clear on was the native resolutions of the displays, and what you'll get out of the box. Out of the box Samsung is configuring the Galaxy S20 family of smartphones with its native 3200 x 1440 resolution -- but at 60Hz. If you want that slick 120Hz goodness you'll need to drop down to 2400 x 1080.

Not only that, but Samsung has bumped up the touch response on the Galaxy S20/S20+/S20 Ultra to a much higher 240Hz. This means you'll feel the phone feeling faster, as well as it being at a much faster 120Hz refresh rate.

Continue reading: Samsung Galaxy S20: super-slick 120Hz display, but 60Hz out of the box (full post)

Samsung's new Galaxy S20 offers easy-to-shoot 8K video abilities

Samsung has finally unveiled their family of Galaxy S20 smartphones, including the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and Galaxy S20 Ultra -- all of which can shoot 8K video.

Samsung's new Galaxy S20 offers easy-to-shoot 8K video abilities

Underneath the Galaxy S20 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, 12GB of RAM (16GB on the Galaxy S20 Ultra), and an insane array of cameras (64-megapixel on the Galaxy S20/S20+ and an even more insane 108-megapixel snapper on the Galaxy S20 Ultra). All of which allow for 8K 30FPS video support.

Samsung explains: "Pro-Grade Filming Capability: The Galaxy S20 offers stunning 8K video shooting, so users can capture their world in true-to-life color and quality. When you are done shooting, stream your video to a Samsung QLED 8K and enjoy its best-in-class viewing experience3 or grab a still from an 8K video and turn it into a high-res photo. And, even the bumpiest videos look like they were shot using an action cam, thanks to Super Steady and its anti-rolling stabilization and AI motion analysis".

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Samsung and Netflix team up for exclusive content for Galaxy S20

Samsung has just unveiled their family of Galaxy S20 smartphones at its own Unpacked event, where Netflix walked up on stage to announce it had partnered with Samsung on some new exclusive content for Samsung's new smartphones.

Samsung and Netflix team up for exclusive content for Galaxy S20

Netflix Chief Marketing Officer, Jackie Lee-Joe, said: "The mission of this partnership to make the Netflix viewing experience on Samsung mobile the absolute best it can be". Netflix has now become Samsung's entertainment partner, with Netflix announcing that "product integration will be improved".

What does this mean exactly? It means that Samsung's virtual assistant will be capable of searching for, and playing content on Netflix. Not only that, but the dedicated bonus content for Samsung's new smartphones will hopefully be announced in the near future. Samsung explained: "Users can also discover Netflix's best-in-class content through improved integration with Galaxy devices, enabling ease of content discovery and accessibility via Samsung Daily, Bixby, and Finder".

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Gears of War dev Cliff Bleszinski almost made an Alien FPS game

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Feb 11, 2020 5:42 PM CST

At one point Cliff Bleszinski's now-closed studio, Boss Key Productions, was in talks to make a brand new shooter based in the Alien franchise...and it sounds pretty damn cool.

Gears of War dev Cliff Bleszinski almost made an Alien FPS game

Games are constantly cancelled, delayed, or put in cold storage for years. Most of the time we don't get to hear about these projects, but sometimes we get slivers of info that give us an idea of what could've been. Gears of War and Unreal developer Cliff Bleszinski just gave us an a glimpse at an interesting-sounding Aliens shooter that could've been absolutely huge.

Before Boss Key Productions shut down, Bleszinski wanted to make an FPS based around the Alien franchise. The game would've starred a grown-up (and fairly bad-ass) Newt from the 1986 Aliens film and took place on Earth. Ripley would show up, but she'd be a kind of mother that guided you through the game. Newt would also have her own android sidekick just like Ash or Bishop.

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The Last of Us Part II is in final stages of development

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Feb 11, 2020 4:45 PM CST

A new progress report from Naughty Dog confirms The Last of Us Part II is in the last leg of development.

The Last of Us Part II is in final stages of development

A bit ago, Naughty Dog delayed their grisly post-apocalyptic sequel to May 2020 because they needed more time to polish and refine. Now the studio says the game is right on track for its new revised launch. Of course there was no talk of the intense crunch the studio is known for, or discussions about how difficult it may have been to make The Last of Us Part II run on the base PS4, the PS4 Pro, and optimize it for the upcoming PlayStation 5 (the latter of which probably inspired the three-month delay).

"We are thrilled to say that we've entered the final stretch of production and are putting the finishing touches on The Last of Us Part II as you read this. The end of development puts us one very large step closer to launch. We know all of you have been so patient over the last few years, so it's been thrilling to see our game taking on its final shape and knowing that means it will be in your hands soon," Naughty Dog director of communications Arne Meyer said in a PlayStation Blog post.

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