Latest Technology

Nintendo has announced a new entry its mobile game lineup slated for early summer of 2019: Dr. Mario World . The app will be a free-to-download puzzle game, co-developed and jointly operated with Japanese messaging app LINE and developer NHN Entertainment. There isn’t much information about the game yet, except that it will be available for both iOS and Android and, while free, will contain in-app purchases. It’s set to be released in 60 countries around the world. Nintendo first made its foray into mobile entertainment in 2016 with Super Mario Run , a unique take on the classic platformer that infused elements of the endless runner genre. Since then, there have been some hits and some misses as the company has tried bucking traditional... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2WvjSgR

Tyler “Ninja” Blevins was gaming’s biggest name in 2018 , and he’s continuing that in 2019 by starring in a Super Bowl ad alongside some of the biggest athletes. Blevins, who is widely considered one of the biggest Fortnite players in the world , tweeted out the ad today, confirming it will play before Maroon 5’s halftime show. It stars former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, Michael Strahan, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. The entire commercial is about Blevins, with Manning calling him a “video game master.” “So happy to share with you guys one of the many amazing things we’v e been working on and why I’ve been traveling so much,” Blevins tweeted. So happy to share with you guys one of the many amazing things we'v... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2UwMC73

Apple yanked enterprise certificates from Facebook and Google, shutting down internal iOS apps Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2Ge3f3J

Facebook said today that Apple has restored its enterprise certificate, the software permission that allows the social network to load internal mobile apps onto the devices of employees, beta testers, and research participants. The move comes roughly one day after Apple blocked Facebook from using the program after a TechCrunch investigation revealed it had re-skinned its Onavo VPN app, pulled from the App Store last summer , as the “Facebook Research” app. Facebook was paying teenagers and adults $20 a month to use the app, which was not distributed through proper iOS channels and was instead sideloaded using Facebook’s enterprise certificate, to siphon sensitive smartphone data. Facebook pulled the app in response to the backlash, but... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2DODk13

A report from Japanese business daily Nikkei claims Nintendo is developing a smaller, cheaper version of its Switch console. The rumored Switch will focus on portability, and it will cut some features to bring the price down, but it’s not yet known what those features might be. The Nikkei report, translated by Nintendo Everything , states that Nintendo has begun working with multiple suppliers and game development companies, informing them that the console could be released as early as 2019. The report also hints at Nintendo’s plan to launch a new service aimed at “game enthusiasts willing to pay more,” sometime in 2019. That could potentially be a more robust classic games subscription, similar to the Virtual Console of the Wii and Wii... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2TpJIkm

One of EV startup NIO’s cars got stuck on a highway in China on Wednesday after the driver triggered an over-the-air software update, according to Bloomberg and the South China Morning Post . The driver, who was testing the car, and a NIO representative were wading through Beijing’s notorious traffic when the update was triggered. They wound up inside for “more than an hour” after the process began, SCMP says. The NIO representative who was stuck in the car said on Chinese social media site Weibo that “[p]olice officers came, one group after another, yet we could not even wind the window down,” according to SCMP . NIO apologized on Weibo, according to Bloomberg . The company said in a post it will “optimize” the confirmation process for... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2HJYyAS

Kanye West has settled a lawsuit with a fan who sued the artist in 2016 over false claims that The Life of Pablo would be available to stream exclusively on Tidal . The terms of the settlement were not disclosed, according to court documents, but all charges involved have been dropped. The court documents specifically state that Justin Baker-Rhett (plaintiff) and West, “hereby stipulate and agree to the dismissal of Plaintiff’s individual claims with prejudice and the putative class’s claims without prejudice, with each party to bear its own attorney fees and costs.” A potential class-action lawsuit that was threatened in 2016 will also not move forward, according to the documents. Justin Baker-Rhett, a Kanye West fan and seemingly... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2UzcUG1

Sometimes, it just feels like there’s nothing urgent to watch on Netflix. If the latest titles coming to the service aren’t your cup of tea , or if Hulu has simply won the subscription battle , you always have other options. February is the month of romance and remembering black history, but this month, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and HBO Now are mainly serving up adventure, horror, and superheroes. Amazon Prime is launching its original series Agatha Christie Presents: The ABC Murders , inspired by the novel of the same name. If the series is anything like the books, expect a fast-paced, thrilling mystery filled with red herrings and suspicious characters. Want to acknowledge Valentine’s Day without buying into the commercial messaging? Try Down, t... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2G4iL2O

Amazon continues to make loads of money, and last holiday quarter was no different. The company’s fourth-quarter earnings exceeded investor expectations with profit of just over $3 billion on sales of $72.4 billion, a 20 percent increase year-over-year revenue. For Amazon, 2018 was a year of immense growth, and the tech giant capped it off with huge sales from Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and general holiday promotions that lasted through December. Amazon gave scarce details on which products sold the best, but it did say the last three months were the best holiday season for Echo devices it’s ever had, and that its smart doorbell subsidiary Ring also enjoyed its best quarter ever. As per usual, most of the profits came from the North... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2sWBrca

Apple has now shut down Google’s ability to distribute its internal iOS apps, following a similar shutdown that was issued to Facebook earlier this week . A person familiar with the situation tells The Verge that early versions of Google Maps, Hangouts, Gmail, and other pre-release beta apps have stopped working today, alongside employee-only apps like a Gbus app for transportation and Google’s internal cafe app. We’ve reached out to both Apple and Google to comment on the situation, but neither company responded by publish time. Apple’s move to block Google’s developer certificate comes just a day after Google disabled its Screenwise Meter app following press coverage. Google’s private app was designed to monitor how people use their... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2WxVN9l

Today, Facebook removed nearly 800 accounts that were engaged in coordinated inauthentic behavior originating in Iran and operated in a number of other countries across the world. In total, Facebook identified 262 pages, 356 accounts, and three groups that were involved in the coordinated inauthentic behavior by Iran. There were 162 Instagram accounts that were identified as well. Facebook would not confirm that the accounts were created by the Iranian government. No related behavior was found on WhatsApp, according to Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy Nathaniel Gleicher. “In this case, the people behind this activity coordinated with one another and used fake accounts to misrepresent themselves, and that was the basis for our... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2G1y3VR

Old music technology has been making a comeback with sales for vinyl, cassette tapes, and analog synths increasing over the past few years , but one musician is leaning into our collective retro embrace in an unusual way. Serbian techno DJ Remute’s forthcoming LP, Technoptimistic, was programmed entirely using the sound chip for ‘90s game console Sega Genesis. And, it’s being released on a Sega Mega Drive cartridge. This isn’t Remute’s first foray into unusual music-making constraints. In 2017, he released half of his techno album Limited on floppy disk as a way to exercise working with severe space constraints. Speaking with Magnetic Magazine , Remute says saving the music in .mod format allowed him to compress songs down to about the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2DLaO0a

Today’s best deals include a $50 discount on the excellent Sony 1000XM3 wireless, noise-canceling headphones . Normally $339.99 at Rakuten ($349.99 everywhere else), these are rare savings that don’t pop up often. If you’re in the market for PC accessories, like mice, keyboards, and headsets, you’ll want to check out Amazon’s markdown on several Logitech products . Below, you’ll find a few other deals that we think are worth your attention: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 for PC (digital copy) is $19.99 at Newegg (usually $59.99) Resident Evil 2 for PC (digital copy) is $45 at Fanatical (usually $59.99) Resident Evil 2 Deluxe Edition for PC (digital copy) is $52.49 at Fanatical (usually $69.99) The iPhone SE starts at $249 at Apple (usually... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2Wui08a

Sony’s 1000XM3 are the best wireless noise-canceling headphones you can get, and today they’re discounted to $290 at Rakuten with the offer code PRO50 . These headphones rarely wiggle down from their usual $350 price, and Rakuten already offers them at about $10 lower than other retailers, so an extra $50 discount on top of that is a great opportunity to save. This deal expires at 11:59 PM on February 3rd, or once stock runs through. In addition to leading noise-cancellation performance and wireless sound quality, the 1000XM3 include a few other niceties that put them above the rest. They articulate at the ear cups to easily fit into an included hard case, charge via USB-C, and let you customize the sound stage through a companion app. G... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2UtUKoX

A monthly column looking at our favorite buttons and how we interact with them Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2sYcXPR

In today’s digital age, it sometimes feels like hardware has taken a back seat to the software that drives our devices. Button of the Month is a monthly look at what some of those buttons and switches are like on devices old and new, and aims to appreciate how we interact with our devices on a physical, tactile level. As a way to control video games, the touchpad on the PlayStation 4’s DualShock 4 controller is a failure. Sony has long used the PlayStation controller as a place to innovate. Some of those ideas stuck, like rumble and dual analog sticks. Others, like the PS3’s disastrous “Sixaxis” motion controls, were bigger failures, used by launch titles and then quickly abandoned. And while many of the additions Sony made with the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2GijyMG

Opening in Anaheim, California, and Orlando, Florida in 2019 Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2UxG20q

Verizon is the first major US carrier to offer one of HMD Global’s Nokia phones, launching a custom version of the Nokia 2.1 starting today. Verizon’s version, called the Nokia 2 V Prepaid, is one of the few Android Oreo Go phones sold in the US. Android Go devices are low-cost phones usually reserved for countries like China and India, and for people with limited internet connectivity. The Nokia 2 V has a basic spec list, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor and 1GB of RAM. There’s a 5.5-inch HD display with two cameras, one 8MP rear camera, and a 5MP selfie camera. The phone comes in two colors, blue and silver, and its 4,000 mAh battery is bigger than most, which HMD Global says should last up to two days on standby. It sells for... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2GdFZCS

Disney’s upcoming Star Wars theme parks, Galaxy’s Edge, are shaping up to be major expansions for its theme parks in Florida and California that are firmly grounded in the Star Wars canon, tying into the larger saga that we’ve seen in the films. StarWars.com announced that Phasma author Delilah S. Dawson will write a prequel novel for the experience called Black Spire . The book will be part of a larger package of in-universe additions that will flesh out the story about the planet that the parks depict, Batuu. Black Spire will be about General Leia Organa as she “dispatches her top spy to Batuu in a desperate search for Resistance allies.” The title refers to one of the outposts on the planet, which we briefly saw in Timothy Zahn’s... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2DMBxcQ

One of the biggest problems with fast-paced e-sports like Overwatch is that it can be tough to follow the action; there’s just so much happening all at once. For the second season of the Overwatch League, which kicks off next month, Blizzard and Twitch have partnered for a robust new spectating tool that should make matches much easier to understand. Called the “command center,” the tool lets you watch games from multiple viewpoints, switching between them at will. They include the first-person viewpoint of any player, the standard broadcast view, and a customizable “three-feed template” where you can add an overhead map alongside two other feeds. Blizzard previously tested these features during the Overwatch World Cup last year. “Since... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2Ux7WJB

Dell’s UltraSharp U4919DW monitor is a joy to use Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2SdaYpb

Apple has blocked a Facebook app that paid users for total access to all network data passing through their mobile phones. Facebook had been paying users $20 a month for root network access to their phones. Facebook was on-boarding users of its Research program, which included teenagers, through Apple's Enterprise system, which Apple said was a violation of its policy. The Enterprise system is supposed to be used only for the distribution of internal corporate apps to employees, not to paid external testers. from TechNewsWorld http://bit.ly/2G1NVIa

Hulu is preparing to roll out a new advertising format that users will notice when they pause a video. The new advertising unit isn’t a video, like Hulu subscribers are accustomed to, but is similar to a pop-up. When a user pauses a video, an image will appear on-screen that acts as a transparent banner ad. An example can be seen above. Vice president and head of advertising platforms Jeremy Helfand told TechCrunch the new ad format is like “a car billboard on the side of the road” that catches someone’s attention. The ad won’t appear until a few seconds after the user hits pause, and the goal is to keep the advertisement somewhat related to what people are watching. Helfand noted in a blog post on Hulu’s website that the company... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2RZ9Ztb

Uber customers who live in Denver may notice something strange when they open the company’s app today: a tiny train car with the word “transit” next to it, sitting atop the list of usual ride-hailing options. A quick tap produces a list of bus or train routes as well as the expected fare price and end-to-end directions. It’s the first example of Uber’s year-long effort to integrate public transportation options into its app. According to the company’s transit team, the goal is to discourage people from using their personal vehicles by offering more transportation options, whether that’s a bike, scooter, or now, a bus or train. It’s no secret that Uber wants to become the “One Ring” for transportation, the app that brings all other modes... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2S0ZntN

Oral arguments will begin tomorrow for one of the most important cases in internet law history. The case will be heard in a Washington, DC courtroom, as a group of net neutrality defenders squares off with the Federal Communications Commission in a legal battle to decide the rules of the web. When the FCC, led by a Republican majority, moved in late 2017 to repeal Obama-era net neutrality rules, it kicked off a fight on several fronts. There’s been some pressure on congressional lawmakers to overrule the decision, and states have moved to implement their own versions of the rules. But what may be the most likely shot at restoring net neutrality regulations will come from a petition against the FCC filed by several supporters of the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2DLSeEW

Volkswagen revealed its new electric dune buggy concept vehicle, a modern reinterpretation of the classic American dune buggies that were first created in the 1960s. Like the original dune buggies, which were made from modified parts taken from VW Beetles, the concept vehicle is based on the ”MEB” platform that will power Volkswagen’s forthcoming lineup of electric vehicles. The MEB acronym comes from Volkswagen’s native German, “Modulare E-Antriebs-Baukasten,” which translates to “modular electric drive toolkit.” The company is betting big on its MEB platform, which will serve as the basis for the 10 million electric cars it wants to sell. Volkswagen says it created the electric dune buggy concept to show that a “fully electric platform... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2HJ9oHw

In 2017, Chicago Public Radio program This American Life aired an episode called “ We Are in the Future ,” which explored the nature of Afrofuturism, a strain of science fiction that addresses the intersection between the larger African diaspora and technology across mediums. The episode followed producer Neil Drumming as he covered the topic and also commissioned a song called “The Deep” from experimental hip-hop group Clipping. This June, the band’s song will be turned into a book by Better Worlds author Rivers Solomon. The song is an engrossing one. It opens with a brief introduction about an underwater society built from the offspring of pregnant women who were thrown overboard from their slave ships. When companies exploring for oil... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2S1Nsfw

We’ve got what seems to be another good look at Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S10 Plus. This time the leak comes from 91Mobiles , which claims these are official press images. What we can see here lines up with earlier leaks of the S10 Plus, showing an extra-wide, dual-lens, hole-punch camera in the top right of the display, and a strip of lenses and flash modules on the rear. The icons on the lock screen also match previous images, suggesting that Samsung is updating its UI in 2019 with rounded and slightly cutesy icons. What’s notably missing in this render is a rear fingerprint sensor. That suggests that the S10 line-up will indeed offer an in-display fingerprint sensor instead — a feature we’ve seen from a handful of companies including V... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2FX4QLO

Two years ago, fantasy author Myke Cole announced The Armored Saint , the first book in a new trilogy that would break pace with his usual work, switching from writing modern, military urban fantasies to something more in the vein of George R.R. Martin or Joe Abercrombie, with all the swords and sorcery that one expects in a modern fantasy book. Spoilers ahead for the first two books in the Sacred Throne trilogy. The first two installments of the series — The Armored Saint and The Queen of Crows — were two of our favorite reads from last year , in which an oppressive theocracy known as the Order ruthlessly hunts down magic users. A chance encounter with the Order leads to 16-year-old Heloise to start a rebellion against them when her... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2UtCf3Z

PC accessories, like mice, keyboards, and headsets, can be pricey investments, but several options from Logitech are discounted today on Amazon. Many are from Logitech’s G series of gaming accessories, though the selection includes gear that’s more subdued in design as well. The Logitech G703 wireless gaming mouse is excellent if you’re on a budget. It has rubberized sides that allow for a steady grip, optional weights for better control, a slick design, and it can even charge wirelessly with the right mouse pad. You can find it for $66.32 today instead of its usual price of $99.99. The Logitech MX Master wireless mouse is a solid option if ergonomics are important to you. According to Logitech, you’ll get about 40 days of use per... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2CUXKnl

Shane Dawson’s new hour-and-a-half-long exploration of conspiracy theories was demonetized by YouTube for 12 hours — not because of its focus on conspiracy theories, but because of a reviewing mistake. The new video from Dawson, one of YouTube’s most popular creators who has over 20 million subscribers, has amassed more than 7 million views since being posted last night. The video contained multiple ad spots when it was first published, but those ad placements disappeared only a couple of hours later. Although Dawson’s conspiracy series is sponsored, he didn’t receive any advertising revenue for those crucial hours. Dawson’s video has since been remonetized, but it was originally cut off because it included a clip of footage showing a... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2WxpjMr

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The Seattle Seahawks might not be at the Super Bowl this year, but Microsoft is returning after a four-year hiatus. The software giant is focusing on its Xbox Adaptive Controller this year, and the commercial includes the many ways this unique controller is used. Designed for gamers with disabilities, the controller has two large programmable buttons and 19 jacks that can be connected to various accessories to make Xbox and PC gaming far more accessible for a number of players. Even Microsoft’s packaging for the controller is designed to be as accessible as possible . Microsoft’s two-minute slot tells the stories of a number of young gamers with disabilities and how the Adaptive Controller levels the playing field in Xbox games. It’s... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2DKFVJg

Intel’s new CEO is Bob Swan, the executive who has been leading the company on an interim basis for the past seven months and who joined as CFO in 2016. Intel’s prior CEO, Brian Krzanich, resigned last June after the company discovered he had violated policies with a “past consensual relationship” with an employee. While Krzanich was an engineer, Swan mostly comes from a line of financial and investing roles. He was the CFO of eBay for nine years, starting in 2006. After leaving, he joined the venture capital firm General Atlantic, which has investments in Slack, Snap, Airbnb, and Uber (also Vox Media, this website’s parent company). Swan was also the CFO, COO, and — for four months — the CEO of Webvan, a grocery delivery startup that... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2UvFFTI

Harvard Law School professor Susan Crawford explains how America’s internet connectivity issues and corrosive infrastructure are holding the country back and how we can rally to fix it. She and Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel also discuss the Huawei scandal, politicians’ roles in improving broadband internet, and her new book Fiber: The Coming Tech Revolution—and Why America Might Miss It. You can listen to their discussion about the infrastructure of America’s internet in its entirety on The Vergecast right now. Below is a lightly edited excerpt from the interview. Nilay Patel: The last time I talked to you, I think, was like 2007. It was the height of the net neutrality battle. You had just written a book about Comcast and NBC. I... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2TjvdPb

I don’t have the time, energy, or attention span to give every email a thoughtful reply. It’s a problem Google has been trying to solve with a Gmail feature called Smart Replies, the automatically generated, prewritten responses that pop up when you’re composing an email. But I worry these simple responses will make us lazy and our language homogeneous. Email’s terrible, but do I now need to worry about it destroying language and cratering our relationships, too? Most short email responses aren’t carefully written as it is, so we aren’t exactly losing out on poetry, says Naomi Baron, a professor of linguistics emerita at American University and author of Words Onscreen: The Fate of Reading in a Digital World . “We like to assume that... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2DKwk4V

So you’ve chosen everything that gives you joy and now you have all those bags of tech, clothing, books, and other stuff that you need to get rid of. Where do you go from here? First, keep in mind that just dumping it isn’t an option. Reusing and recycling old and unneeded stuff has become an important aspect of the push to preserve the world’s environment — to the point that junk food manufacturers are testing reusable packaging. Many states and urban areas are mandating the recycling of tech, metals, paper goods, or other substances, but even if you live in an area where the law doesn’t require it, you probably don’t want to add more to the world’s trash. The problem is finding how and where you can get rid of your stuff with the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2UwxmqL

If you’re wondering how good your next phone’s camera is going to be, it’d be wise to pay attention to what the manufacturer has to say about AI. Beyond the hype and bluster, the technology has enabled staggering advances in photography over the past couple of years, and there’s no reason to think that progress will slow down. There are still a lot of gimmicks around, to be sure. But the most impressive recent advancements in photography have taken place at the software and silicon level rather than the sensor or lens — and that’s largely thanks to AI giving cameras a better understanding of what they’re looking at. Google Photos provided a clear demonstration of how powerful a mix AI and photography would be when the app launched in... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2UuqV7W

Next month’s Mobile World Congress is shaping up to be an interesting one for LG, with the South Korean company now rumored to be unveiling two handsets at the show: the LG G8 ThinQ and a second, higher-end, 5G-enabled device, possibly the LG V50 ThinQ 5G. This latter rumor comes from Korea’s ETNews , which says the LG V50 will feature a 6-inch display, 7nm Snapdragon 855 chipset with vapor-chamber cooling, and 4,000mAh battery. More importantly, says ETNews , it’ll have a 5G modem. If the V50 does land at MWC, it’ll be arriving sooner than expected. The V40 and its five cameras only launched last fall , and we weren’t expecting an update to LG’s highest-end line until the same time this year. But, speeding up the launch cadence would make... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2sTP9wy

Programming note: I’m on assignment tomorrow and Friday. The Interface will return on Monday. At around 2:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Facebook sent me an update about the controversial market research program revealed on Tuesday by TechCrunch . Effective immediately, the company said, the program would end on Apple devices . It also took issue with some of the language in TechCrunch ’s report: “Key facts about this market research program are being ignored,” the company said. “Despite early reports, there was nothing ‘secret’ about this; it was literally called the Facebook Research App. It wasn’t ‘spying’ as all of the people who signed up to participate went through a clear on-boarding process asking for their permission and were paid to... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2Uvk0v4

Satellite company Telesat will use Loon’s networking software to manage Low Earth orbit constellations Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2DMZrF3

Ultraviolet, one of the entertainment industry’s first attempts at creating a comprehensive digital locker service, is shutting down on July 31st, according to Variety . Users should link their libraries to the service of at least one retailer which can then be used to access their films and TV shows after the shutdown. Ultraviolet’s days were numbered ever since Disney, the only major Hollywood studio not to join, launched its expanded Movies Anywhere locker service in 2017. Not only did it offer broad studio support, it could also be connected to major digital retailers like iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play, unlike Ultraviolet. Walmart’s Vudu, the biggest retailer to support Ultraviolet (and later Movies Anywhere), issued a statement... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2WxzaBH

We’ve heard basically nothing about Mario Kart Tour , the upcoming smartphone entry in the banana-flinging racing game series, since Nintendo announced it exactly a year ago . The game was pegged for a release before the end of March 2019, but it turns out it’s not ready — Nintendo is delaying it til summer. The decision has been made “in order to improve quality of the application and expand the content offerings after launch,” according to a statement contained within Nintendo’s quarterly earnings released today . It’s the second major Nintendo title hit with a delay this month; last week the company announced that the much-anticipated Metroid Prime 4 ’s development is being completely rebooted . Worried Nintendo fans might want to remind... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2G2Pzt0

Nintendo had the best quarter ever for Switch sales, with 9.41 million consoles moved between October and December, a 30 percent improvement on a year ago. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Pokémon: Let’s Go were also both massive hits, at 12.08 million and 10 million units sold respectively. Super Mario Party performed well, too, selling 5.3 million copies. Despite the huge numbers, though, Nintendo almost certainly won’t be able to hit its self-imposed target of 20 million Switch consoles sold this financial year . The current amount sold since April is 14.49 million units, but last year Nintendo sold just under two million. Accordingly, the company has revised its forecast down to 17 million units for the fiscal year. Switch sales... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2HI7siB

E-cigarettes helped more people quit smoking than traditional nicotine replacement therapy did, a new study says — but vapes aren’t a miracle cure for nicotine addiction. Most of the smokers who tried vaping were still smoking cigarettes by the end of the trial, and most of the vapers who did manage to quit smoking continued to vape a year later. The new study, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine , reports that 18 percent of smokers who switched to e-cigarettes had given up cigarettes after a year. That’s more than the 9.9 percent of people who stopped smoking using conventional quitting aids like the patch, gum, lozenges, or inhalers . The results add weight to the claims that e-cigarettes could help some people... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2GbxS9P

Samsung Electronics has turned in an earnings report in line with its guidance, as happens every quarter. The difference this quarter, though, is that the guidance was unexpectedly bad , and so as predicted the company’s 10.8 trillion-won (~$9.7 billion) operating profit is down 29 percent year on year. Revenue dropped 10 percent from a year earlier to 59.27 trillion won ($53.3 billion), slightly on the high end of Samsung’s provided range. Samsung says its earnings were primarily affected by falling demand for memory chips, usually its biggest profit driver, as well as slowing smartphone shipments and increased competition for mobile displays. The company doesn’t expect demand for memory to pick up this quarter, either, and is warning of... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2CTv3qD

Another adaptation of a Stephen King series is headed for a streaming service. This time, it’s his classic novel The Stand , which CBS All Access has greenlit for a 10-episode series, according to CBS . The Stand is arguably one of King’s best-known novels, a sprawling, post apocalyptic work set in the aftermath of a plague that wipes out most of the world’s population. The novel follows the breakdown of society and the efforts of a small band of survivors who seek to establish a new society led by a 108-year-old who is the embodiment of “good,” and face off against a rival faction headed by a malevolent leader. This isn’t the first time that the novel has been adapted: ABC aired an eight-hour miniseries way back in 1994, and there have... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2TuHcJC

CBS has set a premiere date for Jordan Peele’s reboot of The Twilight Zone : April 1st. The first two episodes will premiere on CBS All Access, with new episodes to follow each Thursday. Peele will be one of the show’s executive producers, and he will also host and narrate the show. The timing is apt, as CBS All Access’s other big science fiction revival show, Star Trek: Discovery , should be wrapping up its second season in April, giving subscribers another reason to hang onto their subscription for a bit longer. Created in 1959 by Rod Sterling, the original Twilight Zone has endured as a classic science fiction anthology series, with each science fiction, fantasy, or horror episode playing out a self-contained, moralistic story, often... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2HDhtx9

Yet another measles outbreak is endangering children — this one in Washington state. Of the 37 people already infected in this outbreak, at least 32 weren’t vaccinated against measles , and 35 were under 18 years old. Experts say this outbreak was easy enough to predict, and could have been prevented if more children in the area were vaccinated. The situation raises the question — how many more kids will get sick before vaccination rates increase? Measles has been flaring up around the world , with outbreaks in the US cropping up in New York, New Jersey, and now, Washington state . Last year, 349 people were infected with measles — making it the second-worst measles year since 2000, when health officials determined that the disease had... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2HHvEkS

Google just disabled a private iOS app that monitored users’ iPhone usage, after it was revealed today that the app violated Apple’s distribution policies in the same way that Facebook’s usage-tracking Research app did. Called Screenwise Meter, the iOS and Android app gave users who opted into Google’s Opinion Rewards program gift cards in exchange for tracking their internet usage data. The iOS version of the app relied on Apple’s enterprise program, which allows for the distribution of apps with special privileges to be used only by a company’s employees. The app has now been disabled on iOS, though it’s still available on Google’s Play Store. A Google spokesperson told The Verge , “The Screenwise Meter iOS app should not have... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2MFEezC

Facebook’s past year has been filled with back-to-back privacy scandals and seemingly nonstop bad news, but you wouldn’t know it looking at the company’s earnings sheet. Facebook’s Q4 2018 earnings report is out , and the social media giant has both beaten revenue expectations and seen increased user growth. There were more than 1.52 billion people using Facebook every day in December 2018, a 9 percent increase year over year. Monthly active users were also up 9 percent year over year, with 2.32 billion as of December 31st. Those numbers are both up from last quarter by 1.8 percent, improving on a three-month stretch that saw a slight usage decline in the US and Europe . This quarter’s growth is by no means the best Facebook has had, but... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2sTbDh6