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PlayStation VR2

Sony PlayStation VR2 set to be launched in February 2023

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Today, Sony‘s highly anticipated PlayStation VR2 headset received an official rollout date, price, and pre-order information.

PlayStation VR2
Image Source: gadgets360.com

The virtual reality partner to PlayStation 5 of Sony will go on sale officially on February 22, 2023.

It will be available in a variety of configurations, including a base model that includes the PS VR2 headset, two PS VR2 Sense controllers, and also two pieces of stereo headphones, as well as a bundle that includes all of the aforementioned items as well as a PlayStation Store discount coupon code for Horizon Call of the Mountain.

Pre-orders for the PlayStation VR2 will initiate on November 15 exclusively through the PlayStation online store for buyers in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

If you’re anxious to start the process yet, you can already pre-register to be alerted when pre-orders become available.

Buyers in areas not listed above must pre-order from authorized stores in their respective markets. Pre-orders with all these retailers will also start on November 15.

Gamers using the new PS VR2 headset will benefit from an updated 2000×2040 per eye display resolution with eye tracking, 120Hz refresh rates, and other features.

Sony also revealed a brand-new charging stand for the PS VR2 Sense controllers, in addition to pricing and release date information. Because of its stand-alone power supply, this $50 accessory can charge the controllers without using a USB port on the PlayStation 5 console.

Sony has also confirmed the launch titles for PlayStation VR2 when it arrives in stores. The debut lineup includes 11 new VR games, in addition to well-known launch titles such as Horizon Call of the Mountain and Resident Evil Village. Switchback VR, a physics-based and roguelike shooter, The Light Brigade, a VR port of the plainly-named city building sim Cities, rhythm-based shooter Pistol Whip, and several others stand out.

“We’ve created the PS VR2 headset with comfort in mind, in a slightly slimmer and lighter design compared to our previous headset,” the tech giant said in a blogpost.

“We’re expecting more than 20 titles at launch,” it added.

Source: businessinsider.in
free speech

Supporting Free Speech, Binance CEO invests $500 mn in Twitter

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Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao recently stated that his company had made an investment of $500 million in Twitter because he is “extremely supportive” of free speech.

free speech
Image Source: ibtimes.com

Changpeng stated that there were “very strong reasons” for investing in Twitter. With over 7 million follower count, Zhao is active on the social networking platform.

Zhao, aka CZ, revealed to a crowd at the Web Summit in Lisbon, “When we invest in a deal, we’re very comfortable if the deal goes through. We’re very comfortable if the deal doesn’t go through. We always want to get to a point where we’re in that position. Number one is that we want to be extremely supportive of free speech. Twitter is an important free speech platform.”

“I am a heavy Twitter user. I want to invest in products that are important for our industry”, said Zhao, adding that Binance intended to be a long-term investment in the company.

After months of twists and turns within and outside the courtroom, the deal to acquire Twitter was finally finalized on Thursday. After acquisition. Elon Musk fired the platform’s top executives. Zhao said that because Musk is “a pretty hard guy for me to predict,” he was “honestly” a “little bit surprised” when the deal finally closed.

Since Musk completely controls the board and decision-making in the now-private Twitter, it is unknown how actively involved minority investors like Binance might be. In the $44 billion acquisition, the majority of his co-investors include funds like Sequoia Capital, Fidelity Management, Andreessen Horowitz, and Brookfield.

In an effort to monetize the service and reduce Twitter’s reliance on advertisements, Musk announced on Tuesday that the social media network would charge $8 for its Blue service, which includes the highly desired “verified” badge. Zhao stated he agreed with the approach.

Musk appeared to have second thoughts about his dedication to cryptocurrencies as he put the Twitter deal together. The largest digital asset exchange in the world, Binance Holdings Ltd., contributed $500 million to Musk’s financing for the transaction in May and is reportedly putting together a team to investigate how cryptocurrency might benefit the social media giant.

In a string of text conversations made public as part of the dispute around the Twitter transaction, Musk initially suggested utilizing blockchain to support free expression and decrease spam on social media, only to respond later that “blockchain Twitter isn’t possible.”

Musk has a lot of issues with Twitter bots and spam, which led to a protracted court spat that placed his plans to buy the company at risk. The problem is especially crucial in the cryptocurrency industry, where spam accounts impersonate well-known individuals like Musk to spread the word about frauds involving bogus cryptocurrency giveaways.

However, some proponents of digital assets think that Twitter bots might be decreased by adopting blockchain. Musk’s desire to “authenticate all real humans” on Twitter may be promoted through an NFT passport or a blockchain-based identity verification tool.

When it comes to daily cryptocurrency trading volume, Binance is the largest crypto exchange in the world. It was established in 2017 by d developer Changpeng Zhao, who had previously built high-frequency trading software. After the Chinese government began to regulate cryptocurrencies more strictly, Binance eventually transferred its headquarters outside China.

google

Google Fined $275m for Anti-Competitive Practices

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Umar Javeed, Aaqib, and Sukarma Thapar, three young informants, finally forced Google to pay a whopping Rs 1,338 crore fine for abusing its dominant position in different markets itself with Android mobile operating system.

google
Image Source: pragativadi.com

Although Sukarma Thapar and Umar Javeed were working as research experts for the CCI at the time, younger brother of Umar, Aaqib, was studying law at the University of Kashmir.

The CCI, India’s national competition regulator, is in charge of encouraging competition and attempting to prevent activities that have a significant adverse effect on competition in the market. Umar and Aaqib are Valley residents. The three young informants filed a complaint in 2018 alleging that Google was misusing its dominant position in various markets.

The Competition Commission of India fined Google Rs 1,337 crore for anti-competitive practices in the Android mobile device ecosystem.

The three young subjects are all lawyers by profession now, with Umar working for a government agency, Aaqib a practising advocate in Delhi, and Sukarma an independent law and policy consultant. Umar stated that gathering evidence was difficult because they only had direct exposure to customer information to back up their case.

“We can look at an Android phone and say there are some Google-owned apps that cannot be deleted even if we wanted to, but besides that, as consumers, we have little information on how exactly Android smartphone manufacturers and app developers are affected by the role Google plays in the Android ecosystem,” he explained.

Source: latestly.com

Aaqib stated that the three of them were already interested in how India’s digital market was shaping up and how technology policies and laws influenced consumers and tech companies.

“There were many late nights and early mornings where we would just work throughout the night. “I was still a law student then and helping these guys meant I was juggling research along with studying for exams and assignments,” Aaqib said.

Compiling a comprehensive documentation of information was a difficult task that took about two months. “We had to focus on our day jobs and then research for this later in the day. That is when we would have some free time,” Sukarma said. After that, events which were related to Google attracted the trio’s attention in Europe. “In July 2018, the European Commission (the EU’s competition watchdog) imposed one of its largest fines on Google of 4.34 billion Euros for violating EU antitrust rules,” Umar said.

Source: latestly.com

After reviewing the information provided by the three informants, the CCI began an investigation into Google’s behaviour in the Android mobile device ecosystem in April 2019, which resulted in the October 20 CCI judgement and fine. Google responded by saying it would look into the competition watchdog’s decision.

“CCI’s decision is a major setback for Indian consumers and businesses opening serious security risks for Indians and raising the cost of mobile devices for Indians.”

Source: latestly.com

CCI has tightened its knot about other big technology firms such as Apple and Facebook following their hauled up by European and Australian regulators, thanks to the whistleblowing of these three informants. CCI, on the other hand, has not been successful in going all in on such anti-competitive activities by these companies.

Aside from the current penalties, Google is also under investigation by CCI in two other cases. CCI hopes that these cases will serve as a “guideline note” for other businesses that may be breaking competition laws.

Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail is soon coming to PC and Nintendo Switch

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As per a recent announcement from Gameloft, The Oregon Trail will be made available for PC and Nintendo Switch.

Oregon Trail
Image Source: gameindustry.com

The Oregon Trail, a beloved classic game, will be coming to PC and Nintendo Switch in November. The Oregon Trail is expanding to additional platforms, and Gameloft is excited to announce that it will soon be available on Windows, Steam, and Nintendo Switch.

The Oregon Trail was the most downloaded game on Apple Arcade in 2021 when it was first released in April. On November 14th, 2022, gamers will be able to play Gameloft Brisbane’s updated version of the original game on PC and Nintendo Switch.

David MacMinn, Game Manager, noted, “We’re incredibly excited for even more players to experience The Oregon Trail. We’re pleased to see our game expand to multiple new platforms, and we hope PC and Nintendo players will enjoy their time on the trail as much as we did making it.”

Caroline Fraser, Head of HarperCollins Productions, noted, “The gameplay in our new version of The Oregon Trail has proven to be as exciting and sticky as it was in the ‘90s. The stunning graphics will grab players as they journey west and confront new dangers, meet a wide cast of historical figures, and overcome challenging obstacles on their way to Oregon.”

In The Oregon Trail game, players are put in the middle of all the difficulties encountered on the westward voyage. They must make difficult decisions in perilous and unexpected circumstances in order to fill their wagon, select their traveling group, and ensure that they all arrive in Oregon safely. In a first for the franchise, players will also learn about the real history of the path, such as the Native American experience.

The Oregon Trail, which will be released in November, was developed with assistance from Gameloft Lviv and will be an exact replica of the Apple Arcade edition. The most recent new features provide further accessibility settings, activities, and visual filters to view the game in a completely new way, and it includes all five prior content upgrades.

The Oregon Trail offers “a modern twist on the trials and tribulations of the road to Oregon.” According to the publisher, the game’s 15 playable trips and seven missions will “immerse players in exhilarating journeys ranging from the historically accurate to the totally extreme.”

In the game, there will be a new fishing minigame including over 80 species, as well as the traditional perils like damaged limbs, river fording, moving gunpowder through the wilderness, blizzards, snakebites, famine, tiredness, and dysentery.

The Oregon Trail is a series of various instructional video games. Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger created the initial game in 1971, and the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC) produced it in 1974. The original game’s purpose was to educate 8th-grade students about the reality of living as a pioneer on the Oregon Trail during the 19th century. In 1848, the player takes on the role of a wagon leader who is transporting a group of settlers by covered wagon from Missouri to Oregon.

Mate Xs 2 foldable smartphone

Huawei Mate Xs 2 Foldable Smartphone to Support Satellite Communication

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Huawei Mate Xs 2 foldable smartphone will support Beidou satellite communication. It will be unveiled on November 5, 2022, during the Huawei Developer Conference 2022.

Mate Xs 2 foldable smartphone
Image Source: pocket-lint.com

On October 31, Huawei revealed that the Mate Xs 2 folding smartphone, which debuted in April, will feature Beidou satellite communications. Huawei Mate Xs 2 is an amazing smartphone with a huge folding display screen and an outwards folding mechanism.

Given that Apple introduced a similar technology with its iPhone 14 devices, this technology has received widespread praise as an industry innovation. The Beidou Navigation Satellite System offers complete global coverage for time and navigation. Short message transmission is its most notable feature.

It is a distinctive innovation of China’s Beidou satellite navigation system and will provide a significant advantage to Huawei. Using satellite communication one can send an SMS to a recipient without the need for a mobile network. Such a technology, nevertheless, is still developing and needs time to expand.

According to a previous report, Huawei is trying to add further features including two-way communication so that users can also receive SMSes and even make brief voice calls in an emergency.

Professional satellite phones, however, are frequently large, heavy, and expensive. The recently released Huawei Mate 50 series was the first smartphone supporting Beidou satellite connectivity. It’s noteworthy that the Meta Xs 2 will be the first foldable smartphone to support satellite communication.

The Huawei Mate 50 series can send text messages, provide location updates, stay in contact with the outside world, and assist in generating trajectory maps even when the user is in a desert or other emergency situations without network signal coverage.

Huawei has revealed that the Xs 2 would only be able to link to satellites run by the dominant provider of AI and data services, Beidou. Despite being offered in certain other areas, like the UK, the new feature might only function on foldable smartphone models sold in China.

Mate Xs 2 foldable smartphone is Huawei’s most recent foldable phone. It also introduced the use of tri-band Wi-Fi. Due to its tri-band WiFi connectivity, the phone can easily handle even the most demanding network tasks. The phone comes with a Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 4G Octa-core processor. 

It boasts a 7.8-inch foldable display that can be folded into a 6.5-inch screen. The smartphone has an OLED panel with a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz, high-frequency PWM dimming at 1440 Hz, and touch sampling at up to 240 Hz. The phone is available in two storage options: 8GB + 256GB or 12GB + 512GB.

The phone has three cutting-edge design features thanks to hardware innovation: ultra-fat, ultra-reliable, and ultra-thin. Roughly weighing 250g the smartphone is even lighter than the iPhone 14 Pro. The device’s strengthened screen and double-rotor hinge technology produce an almost unnoticeable crease and increase resistance.

Huawei is a Chinese global technology company with its headquarters in Shenzhen, China. It creates, develops, manufactures, and markets consumer electronics, telecommunications equipment, and diverse smart devices.

Chrome OS 107 update

Google Rolls Out Chrome OS 107 Update With ‘Save Desk for Later’ Feature

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In an effort to enhance user experience, technology giant Google has unveiled the Chrome OS 107 update with a “Save Desk for Later” feature.

Chrome OS 107 update
Image Source: indulgexpress.com

In the past few months, Google has vowed to continuously update its ChromeOS operating system. The search engine giant has just released an upgrade called ChromeOS 107 that includes a number of new features.

Users now have the option to save their Desks for afterward in addition to merging them. When a user saves a desk, all of the open tabs on that Desk are also saved so that one can return to them later.

As per 9to5Google, the new release brings two enhancements to Desks. The first enhancement will allow a user to quickly “Save desk for later” from the overview screen by clicking the button located above the leftmost window. When a user clicks the button the “Saved for later” screen, which can be found to the right side of “New desk,” appears.

Users may give it a name, view the creation date, and quickly see the icons. It is now simpler to close open desks from the Overview menu, and if you accidentally close a desk and wish to undo it, a brief “Undo” prompt appears. 

A merge feature that enables a user to consolidate opened Desks into a single one is apparently also being tested by Google. One of the most widely used productivity tools to appear in ChromeOS in recent times is Virtual Desks, which has gained popularity swiftly. The max number of virtual desktops is now eight, but Google is working to extend it to sixteen.

With so many areas to manage, Google has included a helpful function that allows users to merge one desk with the desk adjacent to it with just one click. In ChromeOS 107, users will see an icon to the left of the “X” used to close a desk when viewing a desk in overview mode. Users can delete that desk from their lineup and relocate its content to the desk just to the left by using this merge icon.

A new “Documents” filter has been added to the “Recent” view in the Files app, and the list underneath has been arranged by time to make it simpler to navigate. Users can now access “accent letters” by simply long tapping on the virtual keyboard. U By, users of Chrome OS 107 update will be able to perform the same action by pressing down on physical keys. Users might need to manually enable it if that fails.

Chrome OS 107 update also introduces auto-framing to the platform, enhancing the productivity toolkit of the platform. When auto framing is activated while using the camera on a device that supports it, the camera will intelligently zoom on the user’s face to keep one in front and center in the frame.

ChromeOS is a Linux-based operating system developed by Google. Its primary user interface is the Google Chrome internet browser, and it is adapted to the open-source ChromiumOS operating system.