Tech Soha

Epic's current Fortnite season is focused on secret agents, and that now includes direct references to movies -- if not the ones you're likely to think of first. An update to the battle royale shooter has introduced a Kingsman umbrella that, like the one in the Brits-save-the-world film series, deflects bullets when you open it toward your foe. You can't use it indefinitely (that would be wildly unfair), but it might just save your life if you're out of ammo or need some space between you and your opponent. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2yhQ0wO

Just three months after capping what was the best year for Indian startups, having raised a record $14.5 billion in 2019, they are beginning to struggle to raise new capital as prominent investors urge them to "prepare for the worst”, cut spending and warn that it could be challenging to secure additional money for the next few months. In an open letter to startup founders in India, ten global and local private equity and venture capitalist firms including Accel, Lightspeed, Sequoia Capital, and Matrix Partners cautioned that the current changes to the macro environment could make it difficult for a startup to close their next fundraising deal. The firms, which included Kalaari Capital, SAIF Partners, and Nexus Venture Partners -- some of the prominent names in India to back early-stage startups -- asked founders to be prepared to not see their startups’ jump in the coming rounds and have a 12-18 month runway with what they raise. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2WWWUSA

Respawn and EA's dreams of establishing Apex Legends as an esports staple aren't going according to plan. The Apex Legends Global Series team is moving its events online "for the time being" due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that means both more remote events overall as well as greater reward for those who participate. There are now three more Online Tournaments (#4, #5 and #6) due to start on April 18th, May 2nd and May 30th, while the already-scheduled Online Tournament #3 starting April 4th is now poised to offer $100,000 in prize money on top of series points. Its finals will broadcast on Twitch and YouTube on April 6th. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2UXGbfs

This week March finally comes to an end and with the arrival of April, Netflix is adding some new licensed content to its catalog. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2WZP2j6

Snapchat's latest set of lenses come with a timely reminder of the importance of social distancing. The app introduced two new lenses, created in collaboration with the World Health Organization, that use augmented reality to serve users with tips on how to stay healthy. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/342xww1

Atari is trying themed hotels, retro consoles and other efforts to reel in nostalgic gamers, but its latest may be its oddest yet: turn Pong into a one-of-a-kind role-playing game. It's developing a Pong Quest game that has you guiding a heroic paddle through dungeons based on (what else?) Atari games like Asteroids and Centipede in a campaign to save Pong World. You'll fight in "RPG-esque" battles wielding customized Pong balls and adorning your paddle in clothing and other gear. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/3ayfqVt

Tech company keeps tabs on how people socially isolate across the country A tech company is monitoring smartphone data and grading American counties on a “Social Distancing Scoreboard” as authorities across the United States urge residents to socially isolate and slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The post Improve virtual meetings and bring consultations online — here’s what’s new to Microsoft 365 in March appeared first on Stories . from Stories https://ift.tt/2R0SaHY

After technical issues forced Capcom to delay the Resident Evil: Resistance beta on PC and PlayStation 4, it's now available on those platforms in addition to Xbox One. You'll need to install an update to try it on PS4 and Steam. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2URUUZ5

Vericool, a Livermore, Calif.-based startup that's replacing plastic coolers and packaging with plant-based products, has raised $19.1 million in a new round of financing. The company's stated goal is to replace traditional packaging materials like polystyrene with plant-based insulating packaging materials. Its technology uses 100% recycled paper fibers and other plant-based materials, according to the company, and are curbside recyclable and compostable. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/3aKgh5a

The post Improve virtual meetings and bring consultations online — here’s what’s new to Microsoft 365 in March appeared first on Stories . from Stories https://ift.tt/2R0SaHY

Snapchat is finally opening up Stories to outside apps. Nearly a year after it was first previewed, the company is introducing App Stories, a feature that allows third-party apps to post Stories created in the Snapchat app to their services. First announced at the company's Partner Summit event, App Stories is now available in four apps: Triller, Squad, Hily, and Octi. The company says more apps will adopt App Stories over time, though it's not clear how quickly Snap will be ramping up. (And no word yet on when Stories might show up in Houseparty or Tinder — two early partners that were teased during last year's Partner Summit.) from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2w12ok4

Disney said on Tuesday that it will launch its streaming service, Disney+, in India on April 3. The service, available globally in about a dozen markets, will launch in India on Hotstar, one of the most popular on-demand streaming services in the country that is also owned by Disney. The company said it is raising the yearly subscription cost of the combined entity, Disney+Hotstar, to Rs 1,499 ($20), up from Rs 999 ($13.2) that it previously charged for its most premium content on Hotstar. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/3ax9qMB

Disney said on Tuesday that it will launch its streaming service, Disney+, in India on April 3. The service, available globally in about a dozen markets, will launch in India on Hotstar, one of the most popular on-demand streaming services in the country that is also owned by Disney. TechCrunch reported last year that Disney+ will launch in India in 2020 and will increase its subscription cost. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2w0VgnO

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. For streaming services and games companies, we're all a captive audience at the moment. For Disney+, the newest challenger, it's an opportunity. With lots of kids at home, an almost infinite run of Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars content will save the sanity of many parents. Games, too, are suddenly appearing in stores, in rumors or at your front door as companies try to capitalize on all this stay-at-home time. For Final Fantasy VII Remake, it's a matter of getting the game to those who preordered it by the launch date, with the coronavirus affecting distribution. For Nintendo, well, it's still at the rumor stage, but releasing decades worth of Super Mario games for the Switch sounds like a very, very good idea to me. -- Mat from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/3bKzHax

By BY NELLIE BOWLES from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2UzbSg5

Xiaomi ended 2019 on a high, reporting a 27.1% year-over-year jump in the fourth-quarter revenue aided by overseas expansion, beating analysts’ estimation. The Chinese giant said sales in the fourth quarter jumped to 56.5 billion yuan ($8 billion), up from 44.42 billion yuan in the same quarter a year before. In the fourth quarter of 2019, Xiaomi’s net profit was RMB2.3 billion ($320 million), up 26.5% YoY. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/3ayjViy

Monzo, the U.K. challenger bank with over 4 million account holders, is taking a number of precautionary steps to help see it through the current coronavirus downturn, including voluntary furloughs and its CEO forgoing a salary, TechCrunch understands. In an internal company-wide memo issued by co-founder and CEO Tom Blomfield, he tells the bank's over 1,500 staff that he won't be taking a salary for the next twelve months, and that the senior management team and board have volunteered to take a 25% cut in salary, as have other "Monzonaughts" within the company. In addition, a limited number of Monzo's U.K. employees are being offered voluntary furloughing for two months, as part of the scheme rolled out by the U.K. government to protect jobs during the coronavirus lockdown, which is already impacting many companies -- not just Monzo -- including several other fintechs I know of. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2xBc05G

Samsung Display will stop producing liquid crystal display (LCD) panels in China and South Korea at the end of the year in order to concentrate on the new generation of "quantum dot" (QD) screens, Reuters reports. Any LCD orders made before the end of the year will still be fulfilled. Samsung made its plans for QD tech known last year, when it announced its $11 billion investment into a plant capable of manufacturing true QLED TV screens that self-illuminate. Traditionally, Samsung's quantum dot LCD tech puts LED backlights behind a filter (so the display doesn't match up to the likes of say, LG's OLED TVs), but research at the end of 2019 helped mitigate some development problems, such as burn-in. Samsung's forthcoming QD tech instead relies on indium phosphide instead of toxic cadmium, and has a lifetime of up to a million hours. The multi-billion dollar investment will take place over five years and will see Samsung convert one of its existing South Korean ...

Popular video-calling app Houseparty is offering a $1 million bounty to anyone that can prove the app has been a victim of reputational sabotage. The announcement, made by the company over Twitter, comes amid swiftly circulating rumors that the app has been hacked -- Houseparty believes these rumors have been circulated as part of a "paid commercial smear campaign," and says there is no evidence to back up claims that the app has been compromised in any way. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2QZBmkr

Uber co-founder Garrett Camp is relinquishing his role as a board director and switching to board observer -- where he says he'll focus on product strategy for the ride hailing giant. Camp made the announcement in a short Medium post in which he writes of his decade at Uber: "I’ve learned a lot, and realized that I’m most helpful when focused on product strategy & design, and this is where I’d like to focus going forward." "I will continue to work with Dara [Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO] and the product and technology leadership teams to brainstorm new ideas, iterate on plans and designs, and continue to innovate at scale," he adds. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/3aI17Od

Google is no longer selling its landmark Pixel 3 and 3 XL phones, the company confirmed with Android Police. If you enter the old Pixel 3 listing you'll get the home page instead and it no longer appears in the product carousel. Meanwhile, the carrier/configuration section shows the devices as "out of stock." from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2wI87fc

D-Wave, the Canadian quantum computing company, today announced that it is giving anyone who is working on responses to the COVID-19 free access to its Leap 2 quantum computing cloud service. "When we launched leap 2 on February 26th with our hybrid solver service, we launched a quantum computing capability that is now able to solve fairly large problems -- large scale problems -- problems at the scale of solving real-world production problems," Baratz told me. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/3bGEPvY

Back in January, Lucid Motors announced that it's finally unveiling the production model of its electric sedan in April three years after it was first revealed. The company was supposed to launch the car next week at the New York Auto Show, but the event was postponed until August due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now company CEO and former Tesla chief engineer Peter Rawlinson has confirmed to Silicon Valley Business Journal that it won't be pushing through with Lucid Air's debut. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2WY55xN

Chinese e-commerce firm Pinduoduo said on Tuesday it had raised $1.1 billion in a private share placement that will enable its further expansion and allow it to capture “additional opportunities” during the times of uncertainty. The investors were granted newly issued Class A ordinary shares of Pinduoduo representing approximately 2.8% of the company's total outstanding shares. The firm’s fourth-quarter revenue growth fell short of expectations. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/39uLwjv

A new UC San Francisco initiative will give you a way to help advance our understanding of the coronavirus pandemic, even if you're not a scientist or a medical professional. The COVID-19 Citizen Science project welcomes contributions from anyone over 18, so long as they have a phone and can download its app. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/3arHf1s

If you're launching a new product, you normally want to put on a show with a sprinkling of razzle and plenty of dazzle. That means getting journalists and fans into a big room, trotting out your wares and letting everyone play with the new toys. Unfortunately, the world is currently on lockdown to deal with COVID-19, and large groups in auditoriums is a big no-no right now. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2UM5mS4

The NBA already has an official esports league with various teams represented, but with the live basketball season on hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, it's reportedly about to put real NBA players on the sticks. Yahoo Sports reporter Chris Haynes cites league sources indicating that a 16-player NBA 2K tournament lasting 10 days will begin on Friday, with ESPN set to broadcast it. With sports pretty much shut down around the world, networks are desperate for live content and athletes have nothing to do. So far, NASCAR has made the most noticeable shift to esports with races that it airs on Fox, and now the NBA is apparently ready to follow. Fox also aired a Madden tournament this past weekend, and can likely shift scheduled events around to do even more. Ever since the NBA season was put on hold and the NBA 2K League postponed its activities, teams like the Suns have been livestreaming some games already. But bringing in league stars could put an even bigger spotlight on vide...

AT&T is still expanding its offerings to keep people online during the COVID-19 outbreak. Between April 2nd and May 13t, it's adding an extra 15GB of mobile hotspot data to every line on unlimited plans that have a monthly tethering allowance. If you have the Unlimited Extra plan, for instance, that will effectively double the amount of data you get. That's still not enough data to completely rely on your phone's connection if you're used to landline data allotments, but it could be helpful if your wired service goes down or becomes oversaturated. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2UQAAam

The Los Angeles-based digital challenger bank, HMBradley, opened its virtual doors to the public today, allowing the thousands of waitlisted would-be users to set up direct deposits and collect their sign-up bonuses. Backed by PayPal founder Max Levchin's HVF Labs, along with Walkabout Ventures, Mucker Capital, Index Ventures, and Accomplice, to the tune of $3.5 million, HMBradley was designed to benefit savers, the company said. Account holders with balances up to $100,000 can receive up to 3% annual percentage yields on their accounts. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2UHbryQ

Facebook has diverted from its policy of not fact-checking politicians in order to prevent the spread of potentially harmful coronavirus misinformation from Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Facebook made the decisive choice to remove a video shared by Bolsonaro on Sunday where he claimed that "hydroxychloroquine is working in all places." "We remove content on Facebook and Instagram that violates our Community Standards, which do not allow misinformation that could lead to physical harm" a Facebook spokesperson told TechCrunch. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/33Xd5AD

Building on the AI-generated Get Up! Mix the company unveiled last week, Apple is now adding a new section to Apple Music called Come Together that features a variety of playlists designed to help you get through long days stuck inside. In all, there are seven new playlists to check out. And as you might imagine, they cover the gamut of genres and moods. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/33YYOUo

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson is partnering with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to fund over $1 billion in COVID-19 vaccine and antiviral treatment research and development, the company said on Monday. The partnership is an expansion of an existing agreement between BARDA and J&J's Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies division. With the agreement, the company is setting a goal of providing a global supply of more than one billion doses of the vaccine, which J&J expects to have in clinical trials by September 2020 at the latest. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2JDqGEd

The list of states delaying primaries and elections is quickly increasing, with New Jersey adding local elections to the list. In fact, 23 U.S. states and the District of Columbia allow some voters to return absentee ballots via email, while five others permit some voters to do so using a web portal. As election officials, it’s our duty to stand up for the constitutional rights of our citizens, whatever their circumstances, and the reality is that online voting dramatically improves the opportunities for these two groups to engage with our democracy. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/33UxtCE

A voter contact and canvassing company, used exclusively by Republican political campaigns, mistakenly left an unprotected copy of its app's code on its website for anyone to find. The company, Campaign Sidekick, helps Republican campaigns canvass their districts using its iOS and Android apps, which pull in names and addresses from voter registration rolls. Campaign Sidekick says it has helped campaigns in Arizona, Montana, and Ohio — and contributed to the Brian Kemp campaign, which saw him narrowly win against Democratic rival Stacey Abrams in the Georgia gubernatorial campaign in 2018. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2xBsoTs

Turbo Systems, a three-year old, no-code mobile app startup, announced today it has brought on industry veteran Jen Grant to be CEO. Grant, who was previously vice president of marketing at Box and chief marketing officer at Elastic and Looker, brings more than 15 years of tech company experience to the young startup. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/3dEvRBf

If the recent release of Warzone has you itching to play even more Call of Duty, you're in luck. According to VGC, Activision will release a remastered version of the franchise's 2009 entry, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, that will feature an updated single-player campaign and graphics. With a listing for the title briefly appearing on the German PSN Store, a release seems imminent. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/3ayIT1m

Wrapping today, unicorn layoffs are back in a big way. A lot of folks hired to help companies scale look pretty expensive when growth turns negative; layoffs suck and a struggling economy is crap for everyone, but the business cycle is real, so it's not a huge shock to find ourselves here today. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2wOFpcj

It was late one Sunday in September in Krakow, Poland, and Eric "Snip3down" Wrona was heated. He was a handful of points away from making the championship series of the Apex Legends Preseason Invitational and his only shot at progressing towards the grand prize of more than $100,000. Wrona is a notable battle royale and Halo competitor, who had placed second at the X-Games -- the only other major competitive Apex Legends event. Tucked away in Alvernia Studios, a series of dome production studios turned into an esports venue with a small audience of already-eliminated players, he was prepped to wreak havoc in his final game in the loser's bracket. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/3bCnIvm

Acer is adding the option to choose Ryzen 4000 series processors to another of its laptops. After announcing the Swift 3 would get AMD chips back at CES, the company has announced that the Aspire 5 will also join the party. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2xxP1Iz

DLR, German's space agency and NASA equivalent, is doing what it can to support the global shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) used by frontline healthcare workers in their efforts to treat those affected by COVID-19. DLR announced that it has successfully tested converting its on-site 3D printers, typically used for producing aerospace-grade parts, to creating medical equipment including protective face masks and ventilators. There's a need for various kinds of components and equipment worldwide, and healthcare workers are coming up with solutions that are far less than ideal and not necessarily approved for use by governing healthcare agencies, simply because they have no other options. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/39vrKUO

Facebook has already taken a number of measures to help the global effort against the spread of the coronavirus, most recently by opening up its Messenger platform to governments, and in announcing plans to invest $100 million in small businesses around the world. Now, the platform says it will set aside an additional $100 million to support the news industry during the coronavirus crisis. In a post on Facebook's Journalism Project portal, the company says it recognizes that ad revenues are declining "at a time when journalism is needed more than ever," and that its funding will be used to help journalists cover important stories "when we all need them most." Of the grant, $25 million will be set aside as emergency funding for local news through the Facebook Journalism Project, and $75 million will be given as additional marketing spend to move money to news organizations around the world. The first round of grants have already been given to 50 local newsrooms i...

While economic conditions and the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic may not make for the best atmosphere for raising funding, some companies are still announcing round closures with significant money committed. Cambridge-based ElevateBio, for instance, revealed a $170 million Series B funding on Monday, with participation from new investors The Invus Group, Surveyor Capital, EDBI, and Vertex Ventures, along with existing investors F2 Ventures, MPM Capital, EcoR1 Capital, Redmile Group and Samsara BioCapital. ElevateBio, which was officially launched to the public less than a year ago, specializes in development of new types of cellular and genetic therapies, and operates by the creation of new companies under its portfolio each dedicated to the development and manufacturing of a specific type of therapeutic approach. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2Jo6iGP

All of those kids learning online, and all those parents working from home during the coronavirus pandemic, have combined to put a noticeable strain on major internet service providers (ISPs). Dallas-based AT&T, the nation’s largest ISP, noted that overall internet traffic was up 31% on Friday, March 27, compared to the same day last month. In addition, cell phone calls were up 32% on the same day, and Wi-Fi calls were up 82%. Overall, text messaging is up 46% over the past two-and-a-half weeks, according to AT&T. “Our network is performing well as our customers shift to staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic,” an AT&T spokesperson noted in a statement. Similarly, Verizon has said its services are performing well during the increased strain on its bandwidth. Verizon’s wireless and broadband networks handled more than 218,000 terabytes of data last Monday alone, according to a news release from the company. That equates to 106 million hours of streaming content, 190 ...

Artificial intelligence (AI) can do astonishing things when given specific jobs, but it's terrible at understanding context -- something we've seen before in this series. Thanks to a new experiment inspired by The Great British Bakeoff (GBBO), we can again witness the tragedy of AI stepping outside its lane. Researcher Janelle Shane trained NVIDIA's StyleGan 2 system on images of the show's bakers, pastries and tents, along with "random squirrels," and the results were decidedly not charming and sweet. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2xvOwin

One.com -- the big hosting provider in Europe with around 1.5 million customers, itself acquired just over a year ago by PE firm Cinven -- has acquired Hostnet, a smaller Netherlands-based competitor with about 210,000 customers. Financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed but a spokesperson for One.com said that it includes all of Hostnet's existing business -- which includes management of 810,000 domain names and 85,000 websites; domain registration, web hosting and SaaS applications services; and managed and virtual private services -- and its existing employees. The spokesperson added that the deal has been in the works for several weeks and closed in the last couple of weeks, with the teams "working through the coronavirus pandemic" to finalise it. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2UumPPZ

It's been a long seven days of lockdown for some of us, and it looks like the situation won't change for a while. The US Food and Drug Administration is rushing to get a handle on testing people for the coronavirus, and former events venues are being turned into field hospitals. It's one hell of a year, and it's only the end of March. -Mat from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/3dEIOey

Online learning looks likely to be a key beneficiary of the social distancing and quarantine measures that are being applied around the world as countries grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic. To wit: Preply, a 2013-founded tutoring marketplace, is today announcing a $10 million Series A. It said the funding will be used to scale the business and beef up its focus on the US market, where it plans to open an office by the end of the year. The Series A is led by London-based Hoxton Ventures, with European VC funds Point Nine Capital, All Iron Ventures, The Family, EduCapital, and Diligent Capital also participating. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/3dzm7Zf

A breathing aid that bridges the gap between an oxygen mask and a full ventilator has been developed by engineers at the University College London and Mercedes Formula 1 for coronavirus patients, according to reports. The team, which includes clinicians at the University College London Hospital, used a process called reverse engineering to adapt continuous... from Technology News & Reviews | New York Post https://ift.tt/3aFxT2t

When Samsung's Galaxy Chromebook arrived at CES 2020 with a beautiful body and 13.3-inch 4K OLED display, we were smitten. Now, it's finally set to arrive at Best Buy in the US on April 6th starting at $999 (in Fiesta Red or Mercury Gray), according to a Best Buy listing and The Verge. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2QW6AJo

HQ Trivia -- the once-popular mobile game that turned your random knowledge into a few bucks -- abruptly shut down earlier this year after an investment deal fell through. As such, players that still had the app on their phones were probably surprised to receive a push notification last night alerting them to the start of a new broadcast. HQ Trivia, it seems, is back. For now, at least, as the hows and whys are unclear -- although the game's founder did say last month he was searching for new investment. All we know, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, is that an anonymous investor has stumped up the cash to get the game, dubbed "Chapter Two" back on its feet. Games will be held every day at 9pm ET, apparently, and each game this week will include a donation towards coronavirus-related efforts -- a nice gesture that suggests there might be big money behind the new push. Who knows how long it'll be around for, but it's certainly something to do while you're...

Air Doctor, the health tech startup that connects travellers with local doctors, has raised $7.8 million in Series A funding. The round is led by Kamet Ventures (the AXA-backed venture builder), and The Phoenix Insurance Company. Founded in 2016, Air Doctor aims to empower travellers who get sick when abroad and need non-emergency advice or treatment. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2QVuxAp

Final Fantasy VII Remake is one of Square Enix's most-anticipated releases ever, and after already pushing the game's launch date back a month, it's run into another hiccup: disruption caused by the global coronavirus outbreak means that some players may end up getting the game before others. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/3bFFFJp

Planet Computers is continuing to build very unique physical keyboard smartphones with the launch of its latest flagship, the crowdfunded Astro Slide. It's a phone with surprisingly robust specs, but the key trick is that it can be used either as a standard 6.53-inch touchscreen smartphone or as a PDA, thanks to the "RockUp" slide hinge mechansm. from Yahoo Tech https://ift.tt/2WP9Zxj