Technology

Google announced this Wednesday on its Nest community blog the return of holiday-themed ringtones for Nest Doorbells (via 9to5Google). Visitors arriving for family holiday gatherings can now press the Nest Doorbell and be greeted with sounds of the holidays, including “Winter,” Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and New Year’s jingles. Google did have holiday bell options last year as well — but only as a perk for subscribers to its Nest Aware smart alert service. This year, owners of both the battery Nest Doorbell and the wired version (formerly Nest Hello) can get in on the fun sans that subscription. Google mentions that the newer battery Nest Doorbell requires users to use the Google Home app with an account in order to activate the themes — while wired users can also enable them through th...

Halo Infinite’s multiplayer beta has been a blast so far, but one common criticism is that you can’t pick a dedicated playlist for Slayer, the game’s deathmatch mode. Fortunately, that will be changing soon, but not until next year. 343 Industries community manager John Junyszek tweeted Friday that a Social Slayer playlist is in the works, but it won’t be ready until after the holidays. Junyszek also said 343 is aiming to add Fiesta, Tactical Slayer (SWAT), and Free-For-All playlists “before the end of the year.” Let’s talk about Halo Infinite playlists!We’ve been reading your feedback, and we’re working on plans to add Fiesta, Tactical Slayer (SWAT), and Free-For-All playlists as we speak. They won’t land by Dec 8, but the team is pushing to get them in before the ...

Uber has launched a new feature that allows riders and drivers to automatically record audio during their trips. The tool comes as one of several initiatives that Uber is introducing to increase safety precautions. The feature must first be enabled by users for the option to record audio on future trips. Once enabled, riders and drivers can then access the feature by pressing the shield logo in the Uber app and simply hitting record. Riders and drivers both record individual trips, and drivers will have the option to leave the feature on while they’re online. Riders will be notified if a driver is actively using the feature via the app. The audio file is encrypted and neither rider, driver or Uber can listen to it. If a user submits a safety report to Uber, they can opt to attach the recor...

Apple has honored the best apps and games on its App Store for this year. Selected by the store’s editorial team, the 2021 App Store Awards recognized 15 apps and games that delivered exceptional quality, innovative technology, creative design and positive cultural impact. Apple recognized one App of the Year and one Game of the Year for each of its devices. For App of the Year, the kids’ world-building Toca Life World led for the iPhone, while the video editing app LumaFusion, which doubled its users during the pandemic, was recognized for the iPad. The sports streaming service DAZN was granted the title for the Apple TV, and the humor-infused meteorology app Carrot Weather for the Apple Watch. League of Legends emerged on top as the iPhone’s Game of the Year. Meanwhile, Marvel Future Rev...

Sony is planning to create an Xbox Game Pass-like subscription service, according to Bloomberg. The company already offers two subscription services, PlayStation Plus (which is required for the majority of online multiplayer games) and PlayStation Now (which offers a catalog of games to download or stream), and they will reportedly be merged in this new offering. Sony will likely keep the PlayStation Plus brand, reporter Jason Schreier said on Twitter, but “phase out” PlayStation Now. This new service, which is codenamed Spartacus, would have three tiers. One would offer current PlayStation Plus perks, another would include a catalog of PS4 and “eventually” PS5 games, and a third would have “extended demos, game streaming and a library of classic PS1, PS2, PS3 and PSP games,” Bloomberg rep...

Until recently, I was a firm believer in the traditional smiley emoji. “It’s cute!” I used to think, as I happily used it to indicate my gentle amusement at everything from puns to fun weekend plans. But apparently, this was a mistake, and when I thought I was expressing sincere happiness, I was actually sending an emoji that’s “colossally insulting in every conceivable way,” according to The Guardian. It seems the rest of the world agrees, and the “slightly smiling face,” to use its full name, doesn’t feature in the top 10 of the most used emoji in 2021. In fact, according to data from the Unicode Consortium, the slightly smiling face isn’t even in the top 20. It’s down at number 28, sandwiched between “clapping hands” and “flushed face.” How the ranking of the top 10 emoji has changed, a...

Walmart has announced a new Gamer Drop event coming to select stores on December 11th, where the retailer is promising to have the latest gaming titles and consoles. This marks the first in-store console restock from Walmart, and it’s billing it as a holiday shopping event, complete with discounts and exclusive gear. Details are a bit sparse, but the posted circular on Walmart’s website prominently features the major consoles, including the Nintendo Switch OLED Model, Xbox Series X / S, and both models of the PlayStation 5 with the note of “Available in-store or online at Walmart.com/GamerDrop.” This event is exclusive to select Walmart stores. You can find the closest Walmart that’s participating in the Gamer Drop event on Saturday, the 11th, by searching your address or zip code on the G...

Buried deep within Facebook’s November report on Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior is a tale of international intrigue that seems more like a Netflix drama than an attempted disinformation campaign (although the way Netflix mines social media for ideas these days, maybe stay tuned). On July 24th, a Swiss biologist named Wilson Edwards claimed on Facebook and Twitter that the US was pressuring World Health Organization (WHO) scientists studying the origins of COVID-19. His claims spread quickly on social media, as such claims are wont to do, and within a week’s time, the Global Times and People’s Daily, two state-run Chinese media outlets, were denouncing Wilson Edwards’ claims as “intimidation” by the US. Wilson Edwards created his Facebook account two days after China refused to accept a p...

Microsoft is backtracking on changes it made to Windows 11 that made it more difficult to switch default browsers. A new test build of Windows 11 now allows users of Chrome, Firefox, and other browsers to set a default browser with a single button, which is a far simpler process. Rafael Rivera, developer of the excellent EarTrumpet Windows app, discovered the new Windows 11 changes earlier this week. Instead of having to change individual file extensions or protocol handlers for HTTP, HTTPS, .HTML, and .HTM, Windows 11 now offers a simple button that lets people switch default browsers in a similar way to Windows 10. Microsoft has confirmed the changes are intentional and are currently being tested. “In the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22509 released to the Dev Channel on Wednesday, we...

Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales is selling a non-fungible token (or NFT) based on his first edit of the free encyclopedia. Auction house Christie’s will hold a sale of the token from December 3rd to 15th, auctioning it alongside the Strawberry iMac Wales was using around Wikipedia’s launch. The funds will go toward charitable causes and WT.Social, a donation-backed social network that Wales launched in 2019. Wales’ NFT is effectively the keys to a very early version of Wikipedia, which debuted in January of 2001. “What you see displayed is what Wikipedia looked like at the moment that I set up the software,” he tells The Verge. The single page will be launched publicly on the web, and much like Wikipedia itself, anyone will be able to see and edit it. But all changes will revert after fiv...

Last September, a bored 24-year-old from South Carolina decided to livestream the launch of Nvidia’s RTX 3080 graphics card, little knowing the GPU was about to become one of the most difficult-to-buy gadgets in the world. Now, Larry says he’s on track to pull in $100,000 a year — and another $100K for his software development partner Stu — as the proprietors of Falcodrin Stock Alerts and the Falcodrin Community Discord. They’ve become full-time GPU hunters, helping others find an estimated 50,000 graphics cards (and counting) in exchange for affiliate revenue. You sign up for alerts and get a ping when a GPU’s in stock. Like what you see? When you press the buy button, that retailer gives Falcodrin a piece of the action. But if you’re hoping to find a GPU this holiday season, Falcodrin ha...

A new update to Pokémon Go for iOS lets you run the game at higher frame rates. With version 1.191.0, the “advanced settings” section of the app now includes an option that reads “Unlock your device’s native refresh rate for higher FPS.” I tried it out on my iPhone 13 Pro and it makes a huge difference. Pokémon Go isn’t the most visually complicated game, of course, but there’s a lot of scrolling and camera movement, and the smoother touch response feels a lot better when you’re lining up a pokéball throw with your finger. Here’s how the feature appears in the game’s menu: Pokémon Go was previously locked to 30fps on iOS devices. Many Android phones are already capable of running the game at a higher frame rate, though in my experience testing across several devices the support can be hit ...