Technology

Bitcoin on Wednesday soared past $65,000 USD to set a new all-time record high. The blockchain-backed coin exceeded the milestone at 9:43 a.m. EST, and it is now trading above $66,400 USD, according to Coindesk data. The record marks the resurgence of the digital currency, which previously set an all-time high of just under $65,000 USD in April before declining to as low as $29,800 USD in June. “The key here is whether we are able to establish support above $65,000,” Jesse Proudman, CEO of crypto robo-advisor Makara, told CNBC. “If we can, the classic Q4 crypto rallies we’ve seen in most years could take Bitcoin towards some of the loftier price predictions we’ve seen over the past several months. If sell pressure takes over, though, our next leg up could take a while to materialize.” Bitc...

Samsung has announced a special collaboration with multifaceted Paris-meets-Tokyo lifestyle brand Maison Kitsuné, introducing a limited-edition Galaxy Watch4 and Galaxy Buds2 wearables. The Galaxy Watch4 Maison Kitsuné Edition incorporates the Watch 4’s suite of robust wellness features and intuitive UI, with added flair courtesy of the independent fashion house. The 40mm digital dial and Maison Kitsuné branded stainless steel case is secured by a Moonrock Beige strap decorated with Fox-shaped holes and delicate engravings. A custom Stardust Gray strap featuring Maison Kitsuné cursive lettering is also available. The 2nd generation Galaxy Buds feature the same soothing Moonrock Beige hues housed in a sleek Stardust Gray leather case. Variations of the Maison Kitsuné fox with galaxy sparkle...

Brave, the privacy-focused browser that blocks third-party ads and trackers by default, is switching to using its own search engine by default, the company has announced. The change will be applied for new users, and will affect which search engine is used via the browser’s address bar. Brave Search will replace Google in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada, Qwant in France, and DuckDuckGo in Germany. More countries will be switched over in the coming months. It’s a significant step for Brave’s fledgling search engine, which launched in public beta earlier this year, since most people just take what they’re given. The search engine set as the browser default is a valuable promotion tactic, and so important that the practice has become a significant focus of antitrust scrutiny. In...

I didn’t have stellar hopes going into Resident Evil 4’s virtual reality adaptation. VR versions of non-VR games are often at best superfluous and at worst painful — sometimes literally if you’re prone to motion sickness. Resident Evil 7 supported VR to questionable effect in 2017. And Resident Evil 4 in VR, an Oculus Quest 2 version of Capcom’s 2005 GameCube game, makes a lot of tradeoffs that sound compromising on paper. But the weirdest part by far? It mostly works. Resident Evil 4’s VR version retools a horror classic with VR combat satisfying enough to make up for its myriad rough edges, producing something surprisingly fun. Unlike Capcom’s recent Resident Evil 2 and 3 console remakes, which were heavily reimagined versions of their source material, RE4VR (technically simply named Res...

No Man’s Sky is getting its fourth seasonal update with a new expedition called Emergence. Just in time for spooky season (and, coincidentally, the theatrical release of Dune) Emergence focuses on discovering, taming, and battling giant sandworms. [embedded content] The trailer for Emergence features some of the wormy updates coming to No Man’s Sky. Existing sandworms will come in more varieties, players can obtain a grotesque Sarlacc pit-looking helmet, and, perhaps most importantly, players will be able to tame and ride giant flying sandworms. Since expeditions launched in March of this year, Hello Games says Emergence is the first one to feature a dedicated narrative. Starting on the sand-blighted planet of Wasan, explorers will unravel the mysteries of an ancient cult as they unlock mi...

If you can’t wait to get your hands on Apple’s new MacBook Pros, check out this great iPad Pro deal, which will certainly keep you distracted in the meantime. Today at Amazon, you can save $200 on this upgraded 12.9-inch model that has 256GB of storage. Typically $1,199, the retailer is offering the Wi-Fi-only version in space gray for $999 instead, which is an appealing price since it’s the current cost of the 128GB version. In our review, we praised the iPad Pro’s beautiful Mini LED screen, the fast M1 processor, and the Center Stage camera, which follows faces while you make video calls. The iPad also offers good dual rear cameras that are paired with lidar, excellent microphones, support for the second-gen Apple Pencil, and more. Read our review. iPad Pro (2021, Wi-Fi, 256GB) $999 $1,1...

Pre-orders for Google’s new line of phones started at the same time as their launch event, but for most of us, trying to buy a Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro has meant seeing nothing but error screens. Some unsteadiness is to be expected given the sudden demand, but at 1PM ET, the doors opened, and Google’s store seemed to fall flat. As of 5:40PM ET, Google says the store is operational again, and many of us have been able to put orders through. According to a spokesperson, “The Google Store was temporarily down but is now back up. We apologize for the inconvenience.” However, as 9to5Google points out, being able to submit an order is only part of it. Availability of different devices and projected delivery dates have continued to move around, with little consistency about what’s available and whe...

Activision Blizzard says more than 20 employees have “exited” the company, and more than 20 other employees have been reprimanded following complaints about misconduct. The Financial Times reported that the company sent a letter to staff on Tuesday with the details, and chief compliance officer Frances Townsend told the outlet that the list included game developers and “a few” supervisors but no members of the board. Activision Blizzard later posted the letter online. The letter outlines a company attempt to “earn our team’s confidence that, when they speak up, they will be heard” — following a series of lawsuits accusing Activision Blizzard employees of systematic discrimination and gender-based harassment. It says the disciplinary actions followed an increase in reports about incidents t...

Facebook is planning to change its company name next week to reflect its focus on building the metaverse, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. The coming name change, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to talk about at the company’s annual Connect conference on October 28th, but could unveil sooner, is meant to signal the tech giant’s ambition to be known for more than social media and all the ills that entail. The rebrand would likely position the blue Facebook app as one of many products under a parent company overseeing groups like Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus, and more. A spokesperson for Facebook declined to comment for this story. Facebook intends to transition to “being a metaverse company” Facebook already has more than 10,000 employees building consumer hardware ...

Streaming services may pay up to 30 percent more to production workers as part of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees’ (IATSE) deal with major Hollywood studios to avert a strike. The union tweeted a document that specifically outlined the new streaming terms of the tentative Basic Agreement. According to the one-sheet, the new agreement would secure higher wages for episodic streaming productions, including longform miniseries with runtimes longer than 66 minutes. Payouts on some miniseries could increase up to 30 percent, which will depend on how the project is classified. Longform productions that cost between $20 and $32 million, meanwhile, will no longer get a discount on account of the production heading to a streaming service. This type of production, too, will ...

Oppo is developing its own high-end chips for flagship mobile phones, according to a report in Nikkei. Two people who spoke to the newspaper said that the plan was to release custom SoCs in 2023 or 2024 “depending on the speed of development.” Oppo reportedly wants to use TSMC’s advanced 3nm process technology for the chips. If plans come to pass, Oppo would be the latest major smartphone manufacturer to take control of its own SoC design. Yesterday Google launched the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, its first phones with a custom SoC called Tensor. Apple and Samsung also design their own smartphone chips, as did Huawei before US sanctions decimated its mobile business. Oppo currently uses chips from Qualcomm and MediaTek, like all other Chinese smartphone vendors since the crackdown on Huawei. Xiaomi ...