So far, the most specific report about what may have happened has come from security journalist Brian Krebs. He laid out posts that popped up days ahead of the attack on a gray market forum for people who trade in social media accounts, and he even identified a 21-year-old as a possible 'pivotal' figure in the attack.
— Richard
Lenovo's new budget AMD gaming laptops start at $660
You'll have to wait until August for some of the more powerful options.
Lenovo
If you need a new gaming PC and you don't want to spend a lot of money, these Lenovo laptops might be what you're looking for. They have AMD's Ryzen CPUs inside and you can configure them to include powerful NVIDIA RTX 2060 GPUs. The cheapest model starts at $660, while a Legion 5 with AMD Ryzen 7 4800 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti GPU is available now for $760. Continue reading.
Leica's 41-megapixel M10-R rangefinder is made for landscape photography
Yes, it's expensive.
Leica
Meet Leica's highest-resolution model yet, the $8,295 full-frame, 40.9-megapixel M10-R. Unlike past models, it has more potential for landscape or city photography requiring maximum detail. Steve Dent went on a photo tour to see what those extra pixels can do. Continue reading.
Microsoft discontinues the Xbox One X and plugs xCloud into Game Pass
The Xbox One S All-Digital is getting the ax, too.
Engadget
Before Microsoft reveals more information about the Xbox Series X, it has some news to break about current generation consoles and cloud gaming. First, its ending production of two consoles: the top of the line Xbox One X, and its cheapest box, the discless Xbox One S All-Digital edition. With the Xbox Series X on the way (and rumors of a cheaper "Xbox Series X" console to go along with it), that provides some extra room in the lineup. Meanwhile, any gamers who want to pick one up can likely expect to see them still on shelves for the next few months.
Blackmagic's new $9,995 camera shoots 12K video at 60 fps
It can easily capture 4K or 8K without cropping.
Blackmagic Design
On Thursday, Blackmagic Design unveiled the Ursa Mini Pro 12K. The centerpiece of the company's third-generation Ursa Mini Pro is an 80-megapixel 12,288 x 6,480 sensor with 14 stops of dynamic range and a native ISO of 800. Blackmagic says it spent almost four years developing the array, which features an equal number of red, green and blue pixels. At its native 12K, the sensor can capture footage at 60 frames per second. It can also record 8K and 4K footage at 110 and 220 frames per second, respectively. Continue reading.
Everything you need to know about Google's Pixel 4a
Google is not great at keeping secrets.
Google
Now that Google has retired its fan-favorite Pixel 3a, what's next? Chris Velazco digs into the rumor mill and explains what the next midrange smartphone from Google will look like. Continue reading.
You can buy 'Microsoft Flight Simulator' on 10 DVDs if you want
But why?
Aerosoft
When the 2020 edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator comes out on August 18th, fans of the long-running series in Europe will have the chance to buy a physical copy of the upcoming game. Usually, that wouldn't be a big deal, but Flight Simulator will come on a whopping 10 discs. Continue reading.
Gmail is getting a huge workplace overhaul
On Google, your digital office starts in Gmail.
Google
To answer the question of how it will respond to Microsoft Teams and Slack, Google is creating a stronger link between Gmail and its other productivity apps. Google Chat is already integrated with Gmail on the web, and soon it will be built into the mobile app on Android and iOS. Group chats can include people inside or outside your company, and another tab in the mobile app will take users directly to Meet for video and voice calls. Continue reading.
The good news is that Lenovo's Flex 5G delivers on its promises of fast cellular speeds and long battery life. It even has a decent full HD 14-inch screen combined with a roomy keyboard and trackpad. Unfortunately, Cherlynn Low reports that the Windows on ARM experience still isn't good enough to justify this laptop's $1,400 price. Continue reading.
This console generation is on its way out, but Andrew Tarantola believes one of the PS4's best games ever is about to appear. That game, of course, is Ghost of Tsushima, which takes place during the Mongol invasion of Tsushima Island in the 13th century. It's not breaking a lot of new ground gameplay-wise, though, with elements cribbed from other third-person Sony games you've played before, like Horizon: Zero Dawn and Uncharted, as well as third-party titles like Batman Arkham and Sekiro.
Sony
Still, he said that "Sucker Punch has managed to seamlessly meld them together, hone and polish the overarching gameplay experience into something truly phenomenal," so I guess there's one good reason to give your PS4 another go before it's replaced this fall.
— Richard
Lego's buildable NES console comes with a 'playable' game
The gorgeous set launches on August 1st.
Lego
Just as we were getting used to the Lego Super Mario kits, the company has officially unveiled a brick-based replica of an entire Nintendo Entertainment System (which just so happened to turn 37 today). The 'console' doesn't actually play any games, but there is a buildable TV, with a tiny Mario figure and a crank that slowly moves the level in the background. The kit also comes with a special Action Brick that the Lego Mario from the upcoming Starter Course can scan.
Like Lego Mario, though, it's one expensive project. The Lego NES is $230 — you could get an actual Switch console for that. Continue reading.
Sony will reportedly make millions of extra PS5s to meet COVID-19 demand
But that doesn't mean you'll be able to get one.
Sony
The coronavirus pandemic is still with us, and as a result, people may be spending more time at home over the next several months. This possibility seems to be impacting plans for Sony and Facebook, as reports from Bloomberg and Nikkei suggest the companies will build millions more PlayStation 5s and Oculus headsets than they had originally planned.
Combined with potentially increased demand, it's hard to say how this will impact availability, but now Sony's largely robotic production facilities will crank out as many as 10 million PS5s by the end of the year. One hurdle that's harder to clear is moving those units to buyers outside of Asia — limits on air freight mean many of them may not be delivered until 2021. Continue reading.
SpaceX gets closer to a private beta of its Starlink internet service
And leaks images of its home antenna.
SpaceX
SpaceX has revealed it will launch, this summer, a private beta for its satellite-provided internet service Starlink followed by a public beta. It's emailing prospective testers to collect their addresses to narrow down locations beyond the ZIP and area code level, and data miners have dug into its website to find support information and some pictures of its equipment. Continue reading.
Miso Robotics' Flippy is part of an upcoming pilot program.
Miso Robotics
White Castle is teaming up with Miso Robotics to pilot burger-flipping bots in its restaurants, starting in Indiana. The two companies have been collaborating for about a year to integrate Flippy's ROAR (Robot on a Rail) system into White Castle's existing kitchen layouts and workflows. The robotic arm will, as its name implies, ride an overhead rail in front of the griddle flat top and oil fryer using the restaurant's existing equipment.
White Castle hopes that Flippy's assistance can help its staff reduce food waste and shorten the time customers spend waiting for their food to arrive, helping with the trend for increased 'low-touch' eateries due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Plans are for the system to be working by September. Continue reading.
The gadgets degrade quickly, but with a 93 percent graphite pencil, you're potentially on the way to drawing a temporary glucose sensor or heart rate monitor — once the scientists finish testing the biomedical components.
— Richard
Sony Xperia 1 ii review
It has an oddball design to go with a 4K screen and in-depth controls for photos and videos.
Engadget
This $1,200 phone isn't made for everyone, but according to Chris Velazco that's a good thing: "For people who relish the thrill of laboring over camera settings to get just the right photo or snippet of footage, the Xperia 1 ii scratches that itch like no other phone."
You can now apply for your $25 iPhone 'batterygate' compensation
Remember 2017's iPhone throttling scandal?
Engadget
To qualify for a payment, you must either currently have or have previously owned an iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus and or an iPhone SE that ran iOS 10.2.1 or later before December 21st, 2017. Also included are iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models that ran iOS 11.2 or later before December 21st, 2017. You must have also experienced "diminished performance" on your device.
According to the website's FAQ, "Apple will provide a cash payment of approximately $25 per eligible device" — but depending on how many people apply, it could be less than that.
Star Wars animated series 'The Bad Batch' is coming to Disney+ in 2021
*Batch.
Disney
Star Wars stalwart Dave Filoni is among the series' executive producers, and Jennifer Corbett (of Star Wars Resistance) will be head writer of The Bad Batch. It'll follow the Bad Batch (surprisingly enough), a group of experimental clones who debuted in The Clone Wars. Each of them has a unique skill, "which makes them extraordinarily effective soldiers and a formidable crew." Along with this show and another season of The Mandalorian, there are several other Star Wars series on the way to Disney+.
Amazon's smart shopping cart knows what you're buying
It's coming to Amazon's LA store first.
Amazon
The "Dash Cart" looks like any other grocery cart, but uses a mix of cameras, sensors and a built-in scale to work out a person's purchases and then deduct the amount from the card associated with their Amazon account. Unlike the company's automated Go stores, it doesn't need an array of wall-mounted cameras to work.
