Tuesday, May 24, 2016

IT News Head Lines (Engadget) 25/05/2016





New, thinner Macbook Pros will reportedly have an OLED touch bar
Barring a big change to the trackpad, Apple's high-powered MacBook Pro models haven't seen many major differences in recent years. That may be until now. According to 9to5Mac, which is citing both Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and its own sources, the n...

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'Ori and the Blind Forest' finally makes its way to retail
What began on Xbox One as a digital title, then a definitive edition on the same console, followed by one on PC is finally making its way to bricks and mortar stores. On June 14th, you'll be able to walk into your favorite fine purveyor of video game...

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DJI drones can start streaming live aerial videos on Facebook
DJI has updated its Go app to add a feature it promised in April: the capability to stream videos over Facebook Live using compatible drones, including the latest Phantom and Inspire. Sure, you can already stream aerial footage of sprawling landscape...

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Watch the most powerful x-ray laser zap droplets of water
Scientists at Stanford University's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory wanted to better understand explosions caused by x-rays, and we got a cool short movie out of their efforts. They filmed droplets and jets of water being vaporized by the lab's...

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Facebook auto-translates 200 million lines of text every day
Facebook reaches more than 1.6 billion users in every corner of the Earth. Making sure everybody understands one another, at least at the linguistic level, has fallen to the company's machine learning algorithms. According to Alan Packer, Facebook's...

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Geek Squad employee allegedly searched PCs for the FBI
An astute PC technician is supposed to report any illegal content they see while fixing a machine, but one employee of Best Buy's Geek Squad might have gone too far. The defense in a child pornography case alleges that the FBI paid Geek Squad agent...

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What's on your HDTV: 'Overwatch,' 'Chef's Table'
Blizzard is finally ready with a fully new game. The servers just went live for Overwatch, and players enjoying its all-multiplayer action. Beyond that, Netflix is dropping season two of its critically acclaimed Chef's Table series, as well as its se...

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'Romancing SaGa 2' is out for mobile devices this week
Square Enix has been hard at work this year bringing titles we previously thought may never see the light of day in the west to mobile devices. The latest to join the ranks of mobile ports is Romancing SaGa 2, a port of the cult classic Super Famicom...

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ATM hacking spree nets thieves $12.7 million in two hours
Normally when your data is part of a haul from some security breach your most immediate worry is about how it can be used to steal your identity online. Well, sometimes that information is instrumental in physical heists. On May 15th, a team of hacke...

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Facebook Live adds nonstop, 24-hour video
As part of the social network's wider push into live video, Facebook is expanding beyond on-the-ground journalism and in-car Star Wars toy reviews. TechCrunch reports Facebook Live will now also allow for 24-hour, nonstop streaming broadcasts.

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Polaroid's first smart TVs pack 4K and Google Cast
When Google unveiled a wider range of TVs with Google Cast support, you might have done a double-take when you saw Polaroid's name -- what, the reborn camera maker? Yes, it's true... and you may have a good reason to take notice. Polaroid has unvei...

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Snapchat does something useful, lets you buy 'X-Men' tickets
Although they're sitting out Comic-Con, 20th Century Fox is going big with their Snapchat-based promotions for Friday's release of X-Men: Apocalypse. While users will notice Snapchat's filter lenses are all mutant-themed today, the movie studio has a...

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Amazon no longer offers refunds for after-the-sale price drops
Say goodbye to the days when Amazon would cut you a break if the price of a product dropped right after you ordered it. Customers are reporting that Amazon has stopped offering partial refunds on orders if a price drop happens within 7 days -- if you...

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NASA is building the next Mars rover in mixed reality
I poked my head inside NASA's latest Mars rover. During a mixed reality demonstration at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, as soon as I strapped on a HoloLens, a vibrant holographic vehicle popped up in front of me.

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ESPN and 'League of Legends' studio aren't making a broadcast deal
League of Legends is one of the most popular esports titles in the world, but it's not heading to ESPN any time soon. Spokespeople for Riot Games and ESPN tell Engadget that the companies are not working on a broadcasting deal, despite a report on PV...

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Facebook Live video replays will highlight the best moments
By now, you've certainly heard about Facebook's live video push. As the company continues to revise the live-streaming feature, new tools are being added on the regular. TechCrunch reports that the social network will soon let viewers skip straight t...

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Violent crime prediction algorithms are racially biased
When a criminal defendant faces sentencing in the United States, a judge can use several factors to determine a punishment that fits the crime. Increasingly, one of those factors is what is known as a "risk assessment score" -- a number meant to pred...

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Netflix's Disney streaming exclusives start in September
Netflix is about to get a whole lot more magical. There's a whole cadre of additional Disney films coming to the streaming service this September as Netflix becomes the exclusive streaming service for movies from Disney, Marvel, Lucasfilm and Pixar.

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Android will have password-free sign-ins by the end of 2016
Back in 2015, Google teased the prospect of Project Abacus, a sign-in approach for Android that ditches passwords in favor of a trust system that uses patterns (such as location, typing speed and voice) to verify your identity. But when is it coming...

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Facebook offers a free VR audio tool thanks to a buyout
Facebook isn't merely content to make a virtual reality camera rig and call it a day. The company has revealed that it acquired Two Big Ears, the creator of the VR audio app Spatial Workstation, and has set the software loose. As of now, Spatial Work...

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Chance the Rapper's streaming-only album hits Billboard chart
In late 2014, the Billboard 200 chart began to take into account both album sales and streaming plays for its rankings. When the list is updated this week, the first streaming-only album will be included on the chart. Chance the Rapper's Coloring Boo...

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Chicago turns to big data to predict gun and gang violence
Chicago has been inundated with gun-related crimes over the past year -- nearly 3,000 people were shot in 2015, along with another 240 already in 2016. However, in a city of 2.7 million, the CPD attributes much of this violence to a small segment of...

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Waterstones is done selling e-books
Waterstones is well and truly getting back to basics today, as it has dropped e-books and audiobooks from its online store. The digital libraries of Waterstones customers will remain accessible until June 13th, with Kobo taking over the following day...

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AT&T streamlines its smartphone installment plans
AT&T's current Next installment plans are a little bewildering, to put it mildly. Do you want to trade in at 12, 18 or 24 months? How about a downpayment and installments for 28 months? Mercifully, the carrier knows what a mess it made. As of Jun...

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Dell's 43-inch, 4K monitor supports four clients on one screen
Dell's latest monitor is a doozy. The Dell 43 Multi-Client Monitor (P4317Q) is a 4K, 43-inch beast that acts as if it's four displays squished into one. When shown on a single screen, the displays are borderless, but users are able to swap any of the...

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Available Tags:Macbook , Facebook , Google , Amazon , NASA , Android , smartphone

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