Technology

Ubisoft is again under fire for allegations of sexual harassment, misconduct, and endemic problems of sexism and racism across the company. In a report published today, Bloomberg extensively details inappropriate behavior by top executives and managers, particularly around chief creative officer Serge Hascoët. The games industry is once again experiencing an outpouring of #MeToo stories. Over the past few weeks, Ubisoft in particular has been a hotbed for stories of systemic abuse. Several employees have already come forward publicly on Twitter to discuss harassment they endured at Ubisoft. A previous report from Kotaku pointed to top executives Tommy François and Maxime Béland, among others, as perpetrators of grossly over-the-line behavior, including one instance during which Béland alle...

LG has launched a repair program for some of its OLED TVs sold in South Korea since 2016, Yonhap News reports. The issue is related to components in the TVs’ power boards, which LG said could cause current increase leading to potential overheating as performance degrades over time. A spokesperson for the company said that the issue only appears to be affecting TVs sold in South Korea for now, but added that LG is “investigating other markets” for potential issues. “The overheating issue occurred only in very few models out of the total that used the component, but we will provide free component swaps for all of them for customer safety,” LG said in a statement, ZDNet reports. A total of around 60,000 TVs are believed to be affected, and LG has already swapped out the affected components in...

Amazon unveiled its six-wheel delivery robot, Scout, in January 2019, but has only been slowly expanding its field tests. After launching in a single neighborhood in Snohomish County, Washington and then adding a larger site in Irvine, California last August, Scout is now undergoing trials in Atlanta, Georgia and Franklin, Tennessee, Amazon announced today. It’s unclear how many robots are on the road and how many customers Scout is serving. But it seems the bots are very much still prototypes, and are being treated with the caution appropriate for a company that’s built its reputation on speedy and reliable delivery. Amazon says it has a “small number of Amazon Scout devices” operating in both Atlanta and Franklin, which will be delivering “Monday through Friday, during daylight hours.” T...

Popular voice changing app Voicemod is making its way to the iPhone today. Voicemod Clips is a new mobile app that will allow iPhone owners, and Android users soon, to modify their voice for short video and audio clips. The app is completely free to use, with no annoying ads or freemium features. You can choose from a variety of facial and audio filters to create clips that can be shared freely on social networks, messaging apps, and more. Much like the desktop app for PC, Voicemod Clips lets you choose from a variety of different voices that modify your voice in real time with the flick of a switch. There are 12 to choose from daily, out of a library of 60 in total. The effects are a fun way to alter your voice for pranks on friends, or to add some creative flair to that TikTok banger. I’...

If you’re someone who hates the minimalist approach Apple has taken to its latest Siri TV remote, then this $30 replacement might be worth a look. The “Button Remote for Apple TV,” as it’s been branded by its seller Function, looks almost identical to a version developed by Swiss TV and internet provider Salt that we covered last year. The biggest difference is that it should be easier to get your hands on it in the US, unlike the Salt-branded model, which AppleInsider notes currently commands a hefty premium on eBay. Apple’s latest TV remote is disliked by many because of a minimalistic design that asks you to use a touchpad for many common controls. Some people like the simplicity of it, while others prefer the reassurance of physical buttons. If you’re in the latter category and want a ...

Amazon Prime Day has been delayed in the US, the company announced today. The annual shopping event, which promises discounts for Amazon Prime members, is usually held in mid-July, but Amazon has now confirmed that it intends to hold the event “later than usual” this year. The company did not set a new date, but said it would be “sharing more details soon.” ”This year we’ll be holding Prime Day later than usual, while ensuring the safety of our employees and supporting our customers and selling partners,” a spokesperson for the company told The Verge. They added that the company plans to go ahead with a discount event in India on August 6-7. “Members all around the world will experience Prime Day later this year,” the spokesperson said. ”This year we’ll be holding Prime Day later than usua...

When HBO Max launched, one of WarnerMedia’s big selling points was having the entire Harry Potter collection available to stream. Three months later, that’s no longer the case. An email detailing what’s coming to and leaving HBO Max in August points out that all eight movies, from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, will leave the service on August 25th. It’s unclear where the films will wind up, but speculation is already circulating over whether the films will move to NBCUniversal’s new streaming service, Peacock. That’s because years prior to HBO Max’s launch, WarnerMedia signed a deal with NBCUniversal that gave the latter company exclusive rights to the Harry Potter series through 2025. Through that deal, most insiders assumed Harry Po...

Last year Nikon released its first full-frame mirrorless cameras, the Z7 and Z6, and now the range is expanding to a lower price with the announcement of the Z5. Unlike the Z50, which used the same Z mount but had a smaller APS-C sensor, the Z5 uses a 24-megapixel full-frame sensor. You lose a few features compared to the Z6, but the Z5 still looks like a capable camera. There’s no status screen, there’s more plastic used in the build, and the sensor isn’t backside-illuminated; it’s also not ideal for 4K video due to a 1.7x crop. But elements like the 3.69 million-dot OLED viewfinder, the 3.2-inch touchscreen, the Expeed 6 processor, and in-body image stabilization are all present. The Z5 even fixes one of the Z6 and Z7’s biggest flaws, which was that not only did they ship with a single c...

Wemo’s new miniaturized WiFi Smart Plug — which the company announced at CES earlier this year — is now available to actually buy. The new Wemo WiFi Smart Plug is functionally the same as the previous model, but it’s 45 percent smaller than the old (and now somewhat inaccurately named) Wemo Mini model that preceded it. Like the last version, it supports Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit, and the Wemo app for your various smart home integrations. The new plug is actually a fraction of a inch taller than the Wemo Mini, but it makes up for that by being far less wide than the old model. The WiFi Smart Plug now takes up just slightly more space than a three-prong plug, which should make it easier to discreetly fit into your home. It’s also getting a slight price drop: it’ll retail ...

Former intelligence contractor and whistleblower Reality Winner has reportedly tested positive for COVID-19. Winner’s sister, Brittany Winner, tweeted her diagnosis earlier today. Winner is currently incarcerated in a federal medical prison in Fort Worth, Texas, where an outbreak has sickened hundreds of inmates and killed at least two. Winner is seeking compassionate release during the coronavirus pandemic, citing underlying medical conditions. An early petition for release from her imprisonment at FMC Carswell was denied in April. Shortly afterward, Carswell reported its first coronavirus death: Andrea Circle Bear, who died after giving birth on a ventilator. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported last week that 130 people had contracted COVID-19 at the prison; the most recent Federal Bur...

Facebook has removed one of the largest anti-mask groups on its platform for violating its policies against spreading misinformation about COVID-19. The About section of the public group Unmasking America! — which had more than 9,600 members — described it as “here to spread the TRUTH about masks!” It made several claims which have been widely debunked about masks obstructing oxygen flow and having a negative psychological impact. “It is a psychological anchor for suppression, enslavement and cognitive obedience. When you wear a mask you are complicit in declaring all humans as dangerous, infectious and threats,” the post stated. It is one of dozens of such groups easily found in a search for “unmasking” on Facebook. Some of the groups are private, meaning a group admin has to approve new ...

Smart home company Wyze is experimenting with a rather unconventional method for providing customers with artificial intelligence-powered person detection for its smart security cameras: a pay-what-you-want business model. On Monday, the company said it would provide the feature for free as initially promised, after it had to disable it due to an abrupt end to its licensing deal with fellow Seattle-based company Xnor.ai, which was acquired by Apple in November of last year. But Wyze, taking a page out of the old Radiohead playbook, is hoping some customers might be willing to chip in to help it cover the costs. AI-powered person detection uses machine learning models to train an algorithm to differentiate between the movement of an inanimate object or animal and that of a human being. It’s...