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Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation spends $200M on toilet technology

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates unveiled a futuristic toilet Tuesday that doesn’t need water or sewers and uses chemicals to turn human waste into fertilizer. It is the brainchild of research projects funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world’s biggest private philanthropy organization. There are multiple designs of the toilet but all work by separating liquid and solid waste. “The current toilet simply sends the waste away in the water, whereas these toilets don’t have the sewer,” Gates said. “They take both the liquids and solids and do chemical work on it, including burning it in most cases.”

Sony’s new noise-canceling headphones are great traveling companions

Looking at the qBoseSony WH-1000XM3, a pair of wireless/wired cans that truly outshine everything else. These $349 headphones come with a USB cable, audio cable, international audio adapter, and a compact case that holds the whole thing in a tight package. The headphones also support Bluetooth and will automatically swap to wired mode when you insert the headphone cable. The WH-1000XM3s support full noise cancellation that turns even the noisiest situation into a blissful escape. An ambient audio feature lets you listen to external sounds at the touch of a button and there is even a “Quick Attention” feature that turns the headphones down instantly when you need to speak to someone. Sony touts 30 hours battery life on one charge, a claim […] still going strong.

This Taiwanese grandpa shows the best way to play Pokémon Go is with 11 phones

A 70-year-old man in Taiwan has gone viral for playing Pokémon Go with 11 phones attached to his bicycle. Chen San-yuan has made headlines internationally for the strange setup. Chen also keeps external batteries and charging cables on him so he can enjoy up to 20 hours of battery life per phone. Since first getting caught on social media and going viral in August, Chen has upgraded to a waist mount, so he can travel with his 11 phones on foot. His neighbor also commented on how Chen’s unique approach to catching pokémon has turned their street into a tourist attraction.

It looks like there’s a problem with the hitbox for new Overwatch hero Ashe

As u/DarkyPaky discovered, the latest addition to Overwatch might need a hit box adjustment, as hers is currently very noticeably oversized. It appears that not only does the hitbox for Ashe’s head include her wide-brimmed hat, but it also seems to extend above her visible model entirely. Ashe has one of the smaller character models in the game, but as it stands she might well be one of the easiest to land a headshot on right now – a problem for a hero with only 200 points of health.

The best weapon in ‘Just Cause 4’ is Mother Nature

Fortnite hits concurrent player count of 8.3 million

Fortnite launched in South Korea this week, complete with a new set of challenges. This week saw the introduction of Fortnite’s Battle Royale mode in South Korea, where players were encouraged to play at PC Bang cafes to complete PC Bang challenges. Epic Games Korea gave an interview where its spokesperson, Sung Chul Park, stated that Fortnite now has 8.3 million concurrent players worldwide. Yep. You heard us: 8.3 million people playing Fortnite simultaneously.

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Social media growth is over in the U.S. — which is its most valuable market

Social media companies aren’t growing as quickly as they used to. In some cases, they aren’t growing at all. In the United States, things are even worse for them: They’re shrinking. Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat are no longer adding new users in the United States. Facebook’s daily user base has been the same for the past three quarters. Twitter and Snapchat have both lost users in the U.S. or North America, respectively, in back-to-back quarters.

NINTENDO SWITCH MIGHT GET A YOUTUBE APP AS SOON AS THIS WEEK

Nintendo’s marketing strategy for the Switch has involved positioning the device as a games console and little else. But if an apparent leak is accurate, the Switch is about to get a new video-streaming option. On Saturday, French website NintendHome tweeted what it claimed was a screengrab of a Switch YouTube app teaser from Nintendo of America’s website. According to the image, Switch will get a YouTube app on Thursday.

Niantic revives ‘Ingress’ for the post–’Pokémon Go’ world

Niantic has a problem. It’s the king of GPS/AR/Maps–based “exergaming,” but it’s leasing its empire. Pokémon Go is built on IP it doesn’t own or control, and a portion of the profits are sent back to Japan. A chunk of the proceeds from its forthcoming Harry Potter game, already a likely blockbuster, will go to J.K. Rowling. It’s why Niantic is taking the time to remind the world that its own, original IP, Ingress, still exists. Launched in 2013, Ingress was Niantic’s first game, and one of the first to ask folks to wander around their locale and hunt for goodies. Six years and several million players later, the company has decided to relaunch the game, titled Ingress Prime. It’s hoping that a fresh start, a cleaned-up game and a deeper storyline will help coax back all of those people who tried Ingress once but never came back.

Red Dead Online beta start date, battle royale mode, rumours, leaks and more

Now that Red Dead Redemption 2 is out in the wild, fans are asking when the Red Dead Online beta is likely to begin. Much like GTA 5 and its predecessor, Red Dead Redemption 2 will have an online multiplayer feature called Red Dead Online. Access to the public beta is free for anyone who has purchased Red Dead Redemption 2, though not many details are available about it just yet.

Fortnite will start selling NFL skins this week

If you missed Fortnite’s strangest live event yet or just want to see it again, it’s all right here

Fortnite’s giant purple cube named Kevin died on Sunday roughly 30 meters above Leaky Lake after an extended struggle with levitation. Memorial services were held immediately afterward in an endless white expanse where friends and family were invited to float weightlessly amongst themselves and in the company of abstract forms that coalesced into crystalline butterflies. Kevin was 72 days old.

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HACK BRIEF: SOMEONE POSTED PRIVATE FACEBOOK MESSAGES FROM 81,000 ACCOUNTS

It’s true: Facebook has experienced a number of security-related issues lately, including a breach disclosed in September that compromised at least 30 million accounts. But that incident doesn’t explain why tens of thousands of private Facebook messages reportedly ended up for sale on an internet forum the same month, according to the BBC Russian Service. The culprit likely responsible for the leak, Facebook says, is a pest outside of the social network’s direct control: malicious browser extensions. Google, which has over 60 percent of the browser market share, has said the number of malicious Chrome extension downloads has decreased significantly over the past several years, but this breach proves malware-packed browser tools remain an issue.

Apple has a problem it doesn’t want to talk about

The era of rapid iPhone growth ended years ago. Now Apple is making a change to ensure it doesn’t have to talk as much about that problem. On a conference call Thursday, top Apple executives laid out their plans to stop disclosing the number of iPhones, iPads and Macs it sells each quarter. It’s a move that shocked analysts and only added to jitters around a mixed earnings report. Daniel Ives, an analyst with Wedbush, called the announcement a “jaw dropper” in an investor note Friday morning, particularly because Apple is at a “critical juncture.” He said Apple is trying to make up for slowing unit sales growth by charging more for its lineup of devices.

Diablo Immortal, A New RPG, Announced For Mobile At BlizzCon 2018

Diablo was for much of its life a PC-only franchise. Now, with Diablo III having expanded to consoles–including, as of today, Nintendo Switch–Blizzard has its eyes set on what might be its most difficult adaptation of the action RPG yet: mobile. During the BlizzCon 2018 opening ceremony, Blizzard revealed that it is developing a brand-new Diablo game to mobile platforms. Blizzard said it “want[s] to do it in a way that’s true to Blizzard, putting gameplay first, in a way that feels right for Diablo.” It’s described as a full-fledged action RPG you can play everywhere with everyone. It’s being developed in collaboration with NetEase. The Chinese company has previously helped to bring a number of Blizzard’s games to China.

World’s largest neuromorphic supercomputer is switched on

We’re used to hearing about supercomputers such as IBM’s 200-petaflop Summit machine, but the million-processor-core ‘Spiking Neural Network Architecture’ machine, or ‘SpiNNaker,’ is a bit different. It’s the world’s largest neuromorphic supercomputer, designed to copy the workings of the human brain and unlock its secrets, and it’s been switched on for the first time.

WORLDS 2018: FINALS GUIDE

Five reasons why Invictus Gaming will upset Fnatic in the Worlds 2018 final

For the first time since season one, a Korean team will not be in the final at the League of Legends World Championship. That year, Fnatic won the title, and they’re the favorites again tonight. But there are a few Koreans playing in the final. They’ll be on the side of China’s representative, Invictus Gaming. And even though they’re going into the last battle tonight as underdogs, they just might be good enough to pull out one more series and keep alive the legend of Korean talent.

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Welcome to Mixer Season 2

Today, we embark upon the next major evolution of Mixer…. a journey we’re calling “Season 2.” We’re specifically calling it a Season because it’s not just a one-day thing. Season 2 reflects the living, breathing nature of Mixer with new experiences and new things to try all the time. As part of Season 2, we’re continuing to grow and refine our existing experiences with new video capabilities for streaming and viewing. And then we’re also investing in three big new areas: expression, supporting creators through new monetization opportunities, and strengthening streamer communities. Excited? Us too! Let’s take a deeper look at what’s coming today and on the horizon for Season 2…

Internet divided over iPhone ‘clue’

Apple unveiled the biggest revamp to the iPad since its launch – with the screen covering the whole front of the gadget. The iPad Pro also now has Face ID, so users can unlock it and approve purchases just by looking at it, instead of the fingerprint scanner. Apple said new, bigger “brains” mean it is more powerful than nine in ten PCs – despite being in a super-slim case just 5.9mm thick.

WhatsApp ads are coming to its ‘Status’ stories

WhatsApp ads are coming. After being free to use for years, details are starting to come out about just how Facebook will monetize WhatsApp, the popular mobile messaging app it purchased for $19 billion in 2014. According to India’s The Economic Times, WhatsApp vice president Chris Daniels revealed that the company is going to start putting ads in the “Status” feature of the app.

The internet is going wild over this new emoji: What does it mean?

Is it scratching an itch? Does it represent bad Botox? Perhaps it’s your reaction to an awful pickup line. A new emoji with an uneven face and rosy cheeks is driving the internet wild. One eye is open, one eyebrow is slightly furrowed, and the mouth is doing something pretty inexplicable. According to the Emojipdia, the go-to blog about emoji, this Woozy Face digital expression represents the state of being tired and emotional (aka drunk), but people on the internet seem to think it represents a wide range of other occurrences…

Flickr revamps under SmugMug with new limits on free accounts, unlimited storage for Pros

Flickr is making some big changes, following its acquisition by SmugMug earlier this year. The company announced this week it’s addressing a series of issues on the site, including spam, customer support and use of the Yahoo login, for example. But more notably, it’s also revamping its account structure to impose increased limits for free users, while rolling out unlimited storage for Pro subscribers.

Shroud completely breaks Blackout while trying to catch a supply drop with a helicopter

The streamer was trying to catch a supply drop in midair using a helicopter he was piloting, with Skadoodle, just9n and anythING directing him on how to steer the helicopter so it would be directly underneath the falling package. Shroud was able to position the helicopter perfectly, with the supply drop landing neatly on top of the helicopter. Unfortunately, instead of sitting on top of the vehicle, it began to drag the helicopter down to the ground, and Grzesiek could only watch in horror as he was pushed through the map and into an abyss below.

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Factbox: Ten years of bitcoin

Bitcoin, the world’s first and most famous cryptocurrency, celebrates its tenth birthday on Wednesday.Its emergence has spawned a multitude of other digital currencies, brought blockchain technology to global attention, and vexed regulators worried about its crime misuse and weakness to hacking.

What is Bitcoin?

Zynga revenue and forecast come up short, but big-name games in the works

Zynga Inc. reported a slight miss on its most widely watched sales metric and projected holiday results lower than analyst expectations Wednesday afternoon, but promised a brighter future with a slate of games based on popular intellectual property including “Game of Thrones” and “Harry Potter.

Google Introduces reCAPTCHA v3 – No More Garbled Text or Clicking on Endless Stream of Random Images

Google has launched reCAPTCHA version 3 that is a complete overhaul of the reCAPTCHA technology. The company first introduced this background check system back in 2007 and this is the 3rd major overhaul being sent to it. reCAPTCHA itself was initially introduced in 2014. Designed to ward off bots on the internet, reCAPTCHA has proven to be useful but extremely annoying. However, with reCAPTCHA v3 Google aims to reduce this annoyance by no longer requiring any user interaction. No more squinting of eyes to read garbled codes or clicking on images of billboards.

Twitch CEO plots expansion beyond game streaming as Facebook and media companies enter the market

Twitch, the Amazon-owned video streaming service where viewers watch other people play video games, has outgrown its niche roots to the point that 1 million people on average are using it at any given time. The broader category of esports has blossomed into an international phenomenon, with research firm Newzoo predicting the market will grow 55 percent by 2020 to $1.4 billion. That kind of success brings with it competition from big media and tech companies looking for new areas of growth. “One of the biggest changes for Twitch over the past year is just the way that video games and streaming have started to cross over into the mainstream,” CEO and co-founder Emmett Shear told CNBC in an interview last weekend in San Jose, California, at the company’s annual TwitchCon event.

Twitch Squad Stream will officially allow multi-streams next year

Twitch is getting a major new feature called Squad Stream. Announced at TwitchCon, Squad Stream is Twitch’s way of offering native support for multi-streams. The new feature allows viewers to watch up to four streams at once; one for the streamer they’re following and three other viewpoints for the rest of the squad.

Nubia X: a Dual-Display Smartphone with No Selfie Camera

Nubia, a ZTE brand, this week introduced its new range-topping smartphone outfitted with front and rear displays and Qualcomm’s high-end SoC. The new Nubia X features a rare 93.6% screen-to-body ratio on the primary LCD, maximizing its screen real estate while also offering a serious performance. The phone will certainly catch some eyes, but what remains to be seen is how useful the second display is and how will it affect battery life of the device.

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