Technology

The League of Legends World Championship, the concluding tournament that brings together the best teams from across the world, will take place in Reykjavík, Iceland at the Laugardalshöll indoor sporting arena. Riot Games revealed the news today, following the August announcement that the event would be moved from China to Europe. The event kicks off on October 5th and will conclude on November 6th. No fans will be in attendance. Reykjavík was also this year’s location for League’s other big international tournament, the Mid-Season Invitational, which took place in May. “Riot successfully hosted the Mid-Season Invitational this past May in Hall B at the Laugardalshöll without a live audience, which resulted in zero COVID-19 cases among players, staff, and partners,” the company noted in tod...

Apple‘s big event for the iPhone 13 hasn’t even taken place yet and rumors for the iPhone 14 are already surfacing. Revealed by Apple leaker Jon Prosser, a render of the leak he was previewed was made in order to protect his source, and from the leak, we can see a very iPhone 4 inspired update. While the phone will supposedly be slightly thicker, the camera bump and raised lenses will be incorporated into the glass back for a completely flush look. The phone will also have a squared-off design with round volume buttons, a titanium chassis, and new speakers. One of the more demanded upgrades has also been satisfied with the removal of the notch where only a punch-hole camera is now present. This will still be offered with a Lightning port. While there’s still quite some time until the 14’s ...

Jeff Bezos‘ Amazon and Blue Origin have once again hit back at Elon Musk and SpaceX by now claiming that the latter consistently breaks rules regarding its missions and testing. In a new statement to the FCC as part of the two companies’ ongoing legal battle, Amazon said that SpaceX treats rules as if they were just for other people: “Whether it is launching satellites with unlicensed antennas, launching rockets without approval, building an unapproved launch tower, or re-opening a factory in violation of a shelter-in-place order, the conduct of SpaceX and other Musk-led companies makes their view plain: rules are for other people, and those who insist upon or even simply request compliance are deserving of derision and ad hominem attacks.” Citing multiple occasions in which SpaceX and Mus...

The “Just Walk Out” technology used by Amazon Go stores and Fresh supermarkets is now arriving at two Whole Foods locations. Shoppers simply need to scan their in-app QR Code, use the Amazon One palm scanner, or insert a debit card linked to their Amazon upon entering the store to skip the check-out line. The Just Walk Out system uses computer vision, deep learning algorithms and sensors —similar to the tech found in self-driving cars— to keep track of exactly what shoppers are putting into their bag and putting back on the shelves. In response to concerns over the loss of jobs due to cashier-less technology, Amazon assured workers that Whole Foods stores will still “employ a comparable number of team members,” who will “spend even more time interacting with customers and delivering a grea...

Facebook and Ray-Ban are set to announce their smart glasses collaboration later today, September 9th, and right on cue Evan “Evleaks” Blass has posted a ton of alleged photos of the product lineup. The glasses are called Ray-Ban Stories, and other than the box it doesn’t look like Facebook branding appears anywhere on the product. Evleaks’ images include three distinct frame styles — Wayfarer, Round, and Meteor — and they all look pretty close to the classic Ray-Ban designs. The difference, of course, is the presence of two cameras by the hinges on either side. There’s also a button along the top of the right temple, which could potentially be used to operate the cameras. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously said of the glasses that they “have [Ray-Ban’s] iconic form factor, and they l...

Microsoft is starting to test the ability for TV remotes to navigate around the Xbox dashboard. A new version of the Xbox dashboard for Xbox Series S / X consoles is being tested with selected Xbox Insiders, and it enables new HDMI-CEC features that let ordinary TV remote controls navigate around the Xbox dashboard and control streaming apps like Netflix. While the Xbox Series S / X consoles have had some HDMI-CEC features to control TV volume or turn on TVs when an Xbox boots up, these new additions mean you won’t have to reach for an Xbox controller if you just want to watch content from Netflix, Twitch, YouTube, or many other streaming apps. The new HDMI-CEC features also include an option to enable your TV to switch input to your Xbox simply by pressing the Xbox button on a controller....

LG has created a new flexible display material that it claims is as strong as glass. Named the “Real Folding Window,” the material was developed by LG Chem and consists of PET film that’s coated on both sides with new technology that gives it more strength while reducing folding marks. “Unlike existing polyimide films and tempered glass-type materials, the cover window that applied LG Chem’s new coating technologies will maximize flexibility, while also providing optimized solutions for foldable phones such as making improvements to chronic issues like fold impressions on the connecting part of the screen,” said a spokesperson for the South Korean tech company. On top of these traits, the Real Folding Window has also been designed to fold both inwards and outwards, giving it an advantage o...

The Los Angeles Police Department asked officers to gather social media information as a standard part of their interviews with civilians, whether or not the people were implicated in a crime. The practice, revealed in public records obtained by the Brennan Center for Justice, is part of a larger LAPD social media monitoring strategy — one that’s similar to other US police department policies but may go beyond them. As the Brennan Center notes, a 2015 memo from LAPD Police Chief Charlie Beck told the department that “similar to a nickname or an alias, a person’s online persona or identity used for social media and communication can be highly beneficial to investigations and possibly even future outreach programs.” Beck said that officers should collect “social media and email account infor...

Netflix is doubling down on TikTok star Addison Rae with a new multi-picture film deal that could see the social media celebrity bringing even more eyes to the streaming service, As part of the deal, Netflix will develop projects specifically for Rae to star in and executive produce (via Variety). The motivation seems to be the early success of He’s All That, the gender-swapped remake of She’s All That, which was first announced in September 2020. The company projects the film will be watched by more than 55 million households in the first month of release and says it reached #1 on the company’s chart “in 78 countries, including Brazil, France, and Saudi Arabia.” Critical reception to He’s All That has been mixed, from surprisingly positive to rightfully dismissive, but that might not matt...

Robinhood is rolling out a new feature that lets you automatically invest in cryptocurrencies on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule. The investment app says this service will let you automatically invest in things like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and other supported cryptocurrencies without a commission fee. Before we go any further, though, I should warn you that nothing in this article is qualified or expert financial advice. It’s probably wise to talk with an expert who can help you come up with an investment strategy that’s right for you. Robinhood’s approach here is automatic investing, not trading. It won’t sell the crypto for you when an algorithm decides it’d make financial sense to do so. Instead, it’s just steadily building your crypto portfolio. A view of what recurring crypt...

Using a robot vacuum has always been a bit hazardous for pet owners. Leaving a robovac to do its thing in your absence can be a problem if your less-than-perfectly-trained dog or cat also does its thing while you’re out. A quick Google of “Roomba dog poop” gives you some idea of what the outcome can be, as unheeding robots with spinning brushes barrel into the mess and proceed to spread it liberally around the house. But now, Roomba-maker iRobot say it’s fixed this scatological problem. The company’s latest robovac, the Roomba j7+, uses built-in machine vision and AI to identify and avoid pet messes of all sorts. “It’s a big deal for us,” iRobot founder and CEO Colin Angle tells The Verge. “We’ve been working on it for a long time and we’re guaranteeing that it works.” “we’re guaranteeing ...

Twitter is testing out its new “Communities” feature in hopes of channeling and fostering more constructive online discussions. The concept was first introduced earlier in the year and focuses on creating spaces for users tweeting about the same topics to interact and communicate more conveniently. While the social media platform already allows its members to follow various topics, Communities will take it one step further by appointing an approved moderator to each Community, similar to Reddit and its Subreddits. Aside from moderators and admins that’ll monitor their space and make sure there’s no spreading of misinformation, conversations within different Communities will also be made public, so more users can report misconduct or anything they find in contravention of Twitter’s terms an...