Tuesday 7 March 2017

The Morning After: Switch sales and how to fix your Joy-Con

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It's Tuesday, March 07, 2017.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Some good news / weird news for the Nintendo Switch, a video game cheating service lost in court and a look inside Sonos’ newest speaker. Keep an eye on the site for news today from the Geneva Motor Show (spoiler: electric cars, hybrid cars and drones + cars), but first, here’s everything you might have missed on Monday.

Can an aimbot take the stand?

‘League of Legends’ developer wins $10 million settlement from a cheating service

‘League of Legends’ developer wins $10 million settlement from a cheating service

LeagueSharp offered a sort of subscription hacking service for people who wanted to win at League of Legends instead of playing League of Legends. Last fall, League developer Riot sued the company, claiming a DMCA violation, plus alleged attacks on company servers and the doxxing of one of its employees. Now, LeagueSharp is shut down after a court-ordered ban, and other makers of cheating software may have been put on notice.

Next fastest is the Wii

The Switch is the fastest-selling console in Nintendo history

The Switch is the fastest-selling console in Nintendo history

Nintendo told a New York Times reporter that the Switch is off to a flying start. It claims the new console is its fastest-selling launch ever, with sales over its first two days topping even the Nintendo Wii. While that number mostly represents its ability to build more devices these days, it means the unusual console is experiencing a warm reception, while it’s new Zelda game is the top-selling launch title.

But not everything is perfect

Can a DIY antenna upgrade fix the left Joy-Con?

Can a DIY antenna upgrade fix the left Joy-Con?

Some Switch owners are already complaining the left side Joy-Con input has a tendency to lose sync with the console. As iFixit’s teardown showed, the two remotes are not identical, and YouTuber Spawn Wave decided to try to address the issue on his own. By soldering a bit of extra wire onto the circuit board he was able to not only stop the disconnects, but even get some extra range.

So sci-fi it hurts.

NASA wants to protect Mars with a magnetic shield

NASA wants to protect Mars with a magnetic shield

NASA wants to protect what’s left of Mars’ atmosphere, and it involves creating a magnetic shield that would deflect solar winds and radiation. 

'Conan Exiles' recouped its development costs in less than a week.

A naked barbarian simulator saved a game developer from bankruptcy

A naked barbarian simulator saved a game developer from bankruptcy

Sometimes you just don’t hear about game development struggles until the company goes bust. FunCom was teetering on the brink before it decided to make Conan Exiles. Despite the popularity of its previous Conan games, critical acclaim for titles like The Park and being the developer behind the LEGO Minifigures Online MMO, the company was hemorrhaging money. Exiles reversed the company’s fortunes, thanks to streaming gamers’ support… and some in-game nudity.

Microsoft’s been designing again.

Imagine the perfect Surface office

Imagine the perfect Surface office

With the Surface Book, Surface Studio and other products, Microsoft has managed to attract graphics pros, designers and engineers, many who were used to working with Apple products. It's now taking it further, by expanding into workspace lifestyle concepts via a partnership with Steelcase. The two companies have unveiled "Creative Spaces," which are office furniture layout concepts optimized to work with Surface products. I hope you’re in the market for a $1,000 chair.

Go back to sleep

Fitbit introduces new sleep monitoring features, plus the Alta HR

Fitbit introduces new sleep monitoring features, plus the Alta HR

The latest piece of hardware from Fitbit is an update to its style-conscious Alta line, now upgraded with a heart rate monitoring sensor. The Alta HR will go on sale for $150 in early April, but that’s not all that’s new. Every Fitbit tracker that supports sleep tracking is getting an update later this month for “Sleep Insights,” a new feature that combines sleep data with your workout and weight loss info to make recommendations. Meanwhile, “Sleep Stages” adds heart rate tracking and other metrics to the usual accelerometer-based data to get a better idea of how much sleep you’re really getting each night. 

Round two, fight.

Trump's new immigration ban restricts residents of six countries

After multiple court decisions put the brakes on Donald Trump’s first ban restricting immigration and travel from several countries with majority Muslim populations, the president is trying again. A new Executive Order has been signed and will go into effect March 16th, with a number of changes including the removal of Iraq from the list. A number of tech companies spoke out against the previous order and supported lawsuits against it and now we wait to see what happens this time around.

But wait, there's more...

1. Public Access' time is done, but a better Engadget community awaits

2. Russian hackers are reportedly extorting American left-wing groups

3. Blue Origin's latest rocket engine is finally complete

4. 'Marines United' Facebook group shut down, investigated by DoD for spreading naked photos of female servicemembers

5. How Sonos made the new Playbase sound a lot better than it should

The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you'll miss if you don't subscribe.

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Monday 6 March 2017

Editor's Pick: IBM's Quantum Leap Could Redefine 'Magic'


Rob Enderle
Mar 6, 2017 10:14 AM PT
No, I'm not talking about that Quantum Leap. IBM just made a really interesting announcement in that it is enhancing its online quantum computer systems with a new API and improving its simulator so it can handle 20 qubits. Listening to the prebriefing was a bit like pretending I was Penny trying to understand Sheldon Cooper on Big Bang Theory. [More...]

More Picks:
Google Invites Open Source Devs to Give E2EMail Encryption a Go
Google has released its E2EMail encryption code to open source as a way of pushing development of the technology. "Google has been criticized over the amount of time and seeming lack of progress it has made in E2EMail encryption, so open sourcing the code could help the project proceed more quickly," said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. That will not stop critics, though, he added. [More...]
CallidusCloud Steps Up Call Center SPM Game
CallidusCloud on Thursday launched ServiceMotivate, a call center sales performance management, or SPM, solution. ServiceMotivate is tightly integrated with Salesforce to track and reward call center agents based on key performance indicators of their service center, such as quick issue resolution and case closure rates, data quality improvements and customer satisfaction. [More...]
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The Morning After: Typos and laser tag

Engadget Email Newsletter

eng-daily-newsletter

It's Monday, March 06, 2017.

Good. Morning.

Welcome to your Monday. We have wrapped up our coverage of MWC (all things mobile) as well as GDC (all things gaming) over the weekend, played laser tag with a smartphone, and learned that you can screw up an anti-harassment bot with typos. The big events aren’t over, either: SXSW kicks off later this week. We'll be there.
 

It knows.

AI continued its world domination at Mobile World Congress
 

AI continued its world domination at Mobile World Congress<br />   

It was hard to ignore the normalization of artificial intelligence at this year's MWC. When it comes to the intersection of smartphones and AI, Motorola had the most surprising news at the show. In case you missed it, Motorola is working with Amazon (and Harman Kardon, most likely) to build a Moto Mod that will make use of Alexa. But it was certainly not the only company tapping AI for new features -- and headlines.
 

Smart garbage cans are here.
 

The game is trash

The game is trash

Maybe you’ll litter less.
 

Plus augmented reality.

Play laser tag in the real world with this smartphone attachment
 

Play laser tag in the real world with this smartphone attachment<br />   

Laser tag is fun, but in order to do so, you have to go to a special venue, get specialized equipment and basically block off the entire day. With the Inceptor, however, you don't have to. This little accessory combined with a game called Father.io essentially changes any smartphone into a mobile laser tag machine, without the need for a plastic toy gun attachment.
 

William Gibson called. He wants his dystopian sci-fi future back.
 

The cyberpunk revolution begins with video games
 

The cyberpunk revolution begins with video games<br />   

The GDC showcases the latest projects from studios around the world, offering a first-hand look at the themes and trends driving the industry forward. This year? It's all about cyberpunk. Walking among the flashy, flickering and noisy booths and all the surrounding events, the pattern becomes clear -- a significant portion of these games have a strong sci-fi vibe, many of them dealing with the idea of futuristic corporate overreach and gritty technological espionage, reflecting the times we live in.
 

But wait, there's more...

1. Typos are kryptonite to Alphabet's anti-trolling API

2. Facebook tests out a dislike button

3. Here's what happened at GDC 2017

The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you'll miss if you don't subscribe.

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