Need for Speed Heat will not feature loot boxes of any kind, marking a positive departure from EA’s recent trend of aggressively monetizing nearly all of its games. Need for Speed Heat has a lot of ground to make up after the dismal failure of 2017’s Need for Speed Payback, which was roundly criticized for its predatory microtransactions and loot boxes (called Speed Cards). Payback, despite its strong core driving gameplay, was ultimately derided as an excruciating slog of grinding and mobile-style progression, complete with ghastly pay-to-win mechanics....

Even while it emerges Google’s Google TV plans seem to be foundering (FIRE SALE!), Apple has announced that its new Apple TV will ship its millionth unit later this week. While many hope the A4 chip inside Apple TV might be enabled to run some apps one day, many also consider the Netflix support within Apple TV to be the big win for sales. Press Release follows: Now with AirPlay®, recently available in iOS 4....

BlackRock Android Malware Discovered Which Can Steal Important Data According to the reports, BlackRock Malware is capable of targeting 337 apps. This malware can steal your important credentials. As per the analyst team at the Netherlands, the Malware was spotted on Android in May. The security firm ThreatFabric was the first one to detect the malware. The researchers say, the Malware uses the source code of another malware. BlackRock malware has additional features, and it gives the ability to steal passwords and card information....

Samsung just sent out a tweet saying a new Exynos 5 Octa will be announced next week. They say it’ll be “more powerful” and “enhanced”, but don’t provide any details. I’d like to speculate on what they might unveil, so if you’re interested, then read on. — SamsungExynos (@SamsungExynos) July 18, 2013 Before I talk about the new Octa, I’d like to talk about the one that’s “out” right now....

While we’ve known for a while that most of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 won’t take place on Earth, a humorous new look behind the scenes reveals at least one pivotal scene will take place on our planet. The opening of 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy set up the story of Peter Quill by showing his life on Earth before being abducted and raised in space. With hints as to his otherworldly parentage thrown out in the first movie, many have assumed the sequel’s focus on Quill’s father Ego might take us back to Earth....

A new Apple Store with beautiful glass architecture is currently pegged for the Stanford campus in Palo Alto, Calif., reported Palo Alto Online (via MacRumors). The building process has begun in a shopping center on Stanford’s campus, as workers are covering the building with black sheets (in typical Apple fashion). However, the building is so large —12,100 square feet total and 23 feet tall in a single story —it is certainly not an easy thing to miss....

Incisiv’s 2022 Connected Retail Experience Study found that only 22% of grocery and general merchandise retailers are satisfied with the digital connectivity available to customers and employees in their brick and mortar locations. This number rose as high as 55% for specialty and department stores, but that still left almost half struggling with issues surrounding the availability and reliability of in-store connections. The survey discovered that the situation is likely to become even more pressing over the next 12-24 months, with 93% of retailers expecting increases in overall (customer and employee) mobile device usage within their stores by the beginning of 2025, while 83% specifically plan to grow their own use of networked in-store technology, like IoT (Internet of Things) devices....

Apple’s plans for this year’s iPhone upgrades have been well documented thus far, with reports indicating the company has three new iPhones coming this fall. Macotakara today is out with a detailed look at the schematics for the upcoming devices, including a hands-on video… The blog reports that the ‘final design’ schematics have been floating through the Asian supply chain over the last week, allowing for detailed 3D mockups to be created....

The attack last week is now being investigated and everything points to it being sponsored or carried out by a country with a specific purpose. This situation is being assessed by NATO, which considers it to be an act of war. Although there are still no certainties, everything indicates that last week’s attack Petya was carried out with the help of the Russian government, although the reasons are not known....

Netflix is offering more details on its decision to remove AirPlay functionality from its iOS app. The change was announced in an update to a support document on Netflix’s website last week, with the company attributing it to unnamed “technical limitations.” In a statement to The Verge, however, Netflix elaborated on that limitation. Essentially, Netflix says that because Apple is opening AirPlay up to third-party TVs, it can no longer distinguish between devices....

If you’ve used the Mac for a while, you’ve likely heard the name NetNewsWire. It’s a powerful and open source RSS reader for macOS, and it’s being completely relaunched with an array of useful features. NetNewsWire supports syncing feeds via Feedbin, as well as direct feed-downloading. There’s also a Safari extension to easily add new feeds to the app. You can create folders, search among your feeds, and share content to a variety of third-party platforms....

We all like Chrome because of its speed, multi-platform integration, user-friendliness, third-party extensions, incognito mode and its clean and simplified design. And better yet, it has ample privacy and security tools you can employ to protect yourself while browsing the web. Now, it looks like Google is about to roll out a new security feature that is aiming to stop one of the most devious schemes in a hacker’s toolset – typosquatting....

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has released a slew of new international posters that showcases its many colorful characters. James Gunn’s highly anticipated sequel is in the final stretch before its May 5 release, and it promises plenty of the same action and humor that made the original a massive hit. Much of the success of the first Guardians of the Galaxy is the infectious chemistry among its five leads....

Along with the launch of the new iPad Pros today, we’re getting more details about aspects like iPad Pro replacement costs. As these are the most expensive iPads to date, they also carry the saltiest replacement fees with accidental damage costing up to $650 for those without AppleCare+. The new 11- and 12.9-inch iPad Pros have the new Liquid Retina fullscreen displays, like what’s found on the iPhone XR. It also comes with the A12X Bionic chip, a new design, and much more....

[tweet https://twitter.com/chipworksgary/status/251661621032796162] When Apple introduced the iPhone 5, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller noted a number of new methods being used for noise cancellation from solutions using the device’s third microphone to an updated “noise-cancelling earpiece” and the addition of wideband audio. We know from reports earlier this month that Apple is not including noise cancellation technology from Audience, as it did in previous iPhone models. While we do not know exactly what powers the iPhone 5’s enhanced audio system, Chipworks discovered a second Cirrus chip being used in its recent teardown:...

Over two years to mid-2024, 34,000 residences and 7,700 businesses will be able to get upgrades to full fibre by placing an order or being on 100Mbps connection, with the first able to place orders from mid-2023. In total, Spring Street is funding over 1,000 kilometres of fibre into the suburbs not previously covered by NBN upgrade plans. The suburbs named are: Alfredton, Bairnsdale, Balnarring, Balnarring Beach, Bandiana, Beaconsfield, Belmont, Churchill, Corio, Craigieburn, Doreen, Drumcondra, East Geelong, Elmore, Geelong, Geelong West, Grovedale, Highton, Horsham, Kangaroo Flat, Kennington, Kyneton, Leongatha, Marshall, Mernda, Merricks Beach, Mirboo North, Mornington, Mount Martha, Myrtleford, Nagambie, Nhill, North Geelong, Ocean Grove, Officer, Ouyen, Pakenham, Rippleside, Rochester, Roxburgh Park, Sale, Seymour, Somerville, Tatura, Traralgon, Wangaratta, Warragul, Warrnambool, Wendouree, and Wodonga....

Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, Netflix has become the go-to entertainment app for everyone. With a plethora of titles available to stream, it is easily one of the best streaming services in the market right now. One of the most common issues users faces while using Netflix is Error 5009. If you are facing this issue while using the app, read on to find out how to fix it. Also Read...

In a time filled with division, anger and hatred run amok, it’s incredible to see a show so hopeful and wholesome come to Netflix. Now that Queer Eye has hit its fourth season, it might be an appropriate time to discuss some of the most heartbreaking (and heartwarming) moments of the series as a whole. From miracle transformations of both self and home to tearing down mental walls in order to escape unhealthy cycles, the Fab Five have done a great job of creating a safe and positive space for growth to occur....

Netflix is rolling out a redesigned homepage that brings the biggest change to the desktop version of the streaming video site since it ditched Microsoft’s Silverlight plug-in in favor of HTML5 with Safari for OS X Yosemite last year. The overhauled design behaves much more like an iPad or iPhone app with fewer page changes and much more information and interactions on a single web page. Netflix now presents several rows of genres with relevant movies and TV shows listed beneath in a layout that makes content more discoverable....

In the second decade of the 21st century, the human race finally has a reality show that resembles the world they see around them, or, at least, what they would see if they spend all their time on social media. Welcome to Netflix’s The Circle, the future of reality television. The Circle is a television series that will make viewers wonder if Twitter had a baby with The Real World. After watching The Circle, rather than checking Facebook, try out these shows that should fill the void until Season 2 debuts....