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Apple’s new MacBook Air blows the regular MacBook out of the water on price and power

Apple finally gave the MacBook Air a big upgrade. I only spent a few minutes with it Tuesday, but I already think it’s the Apple laptop that most people will probably buy. By size, it fits right between the regular MacBook and the MacBook Pro. In cost, it’s cheaper than both. It starts at $1,199 — admittedly more expensive than the original $999 MacBook Air — but it’s more powerful than the smaller standard MacBook, which starts at $1,299. It’s sort of weird, and I can’t think of many reasons to buy the smaller and more expensive MacBook, unless you just want a bit more portability. Given that iPad sales have continued to outpace Mac sales, however, its strongest competition might be Apple’s new iPad Pros.

Apple iPad Pro specs compared: how the iPads stand out

Apple announced new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros in New York today, which now come with Face ID, a USB-C charging port, and a new “Liquid Retina” display. Aesthetically, they’ve got slimmer bezels that only come in black, like the new MacBook Airs. The black bezels, when paired with the Smart Keyboard Folio, make the iPad Pro look closer to a laptop than it ever has before. They also allow for the 11-inch model display to fit a bigger screen into the same overall dimensions as the prior 10.5-inch model. The iPads also lose their home buttons entirely in favor of the iOS 12 gesture controls found in Apple’s new iPhones. Swiping across the various edges of the screen now brings up the home screen, lets you switch apps, and pull up the Control Center, Notification Center, and Dock.

Apple Launches New Mac Mini: Up to 6 Cores, 64 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD, & TB3

Apple on Tuesday introduced its first new small form-factor PC in four years. The new Mac mini is based on Intel’s latest Coffee Lake processors with up to six cores and improves the SFF system in almost all ways possible, making the miniature PC almost as capable as regular desktops. With that said, the considerably higher performance enabled by the new Mac mini also comes at higher price points when compared to the predecessors. Apple’s Mac mini desktops are designed for SOHO market segment as well as everyday workloads that normally do not require very capable hardware. Meanwhile, historically Apple used mobile processors for its Mac mini, which the company found good enough for the market segment. With its 2018 SFF desktops Apple is changing the game here: the company now calls its Mac mini a “workhorse” and therefore uses Intel’s custom 8th Gen Core CPUs with four or six cores operating at 4.6 GHz Turbo Boost frequency. In a bid to cool the processor down, Apple uses a brand-new cooling system featuring a blower.

SWITCH SALES PASS 22 MILLION, ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD HITS 10 MILLION COPIES SOLD

The Nintendo Switch continues to be a sales success, with Nintendo’s latest financial report placing the console at nearly 23 million units sold since its launch last year. In a new earnings report, Nintendo revealed that over the last six months the Switch has managed to sell more than 5 million units, with a slight increase in sales compared to this time last year. The new numbers now mean the Switch has almost doubled sales of the Wii U, and has overtaken GameCube’s total figure.

Old School RuneScape is officially available on Android as a free-to-play release

Back in September Jagex announced that Old School RuneScape would be releasing on Android on October 30th, and lo and behold, OSR Mobile is now officially available on the Play Store as a free-to-play release. That’s right, the members beta is finally over, which means OSR Mobile no longer requires a subscription to jump in and enjoy its classic MMORPG gameplay.

Red Dead Redemption 2 Is Beautiful on Xbox One X, Deserves PC Release

In the weeks leading up to the release of Red Dead Redemption 2, much of the focus has been on Rockstar’s labor conditions. Not only have company reps repeatedly put their feet in their mouths regarding crunch and credit, but Kotaku’s own Jason Schreier wrote up a wonderful article with dozens upon dozens of sources from both past and present Rockstar staff. The conversation that’s been happening has been at least partially fruitful, and we’re all better off knowing more about how our games get made by real people. With the legitimate and serious concerns about the various Rockstar studios in mind, there’s no doubt that the countless devs who have worked hard for years on end are excited for the world to finally play the game. Let’s jump in, and see exactly what this worldwide team has been toiling over since the release of GTA V.

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IBM to acquire Red Hat in deal valued at $34 billion

IBM is acquiring Red Hat, a major distributor of open-source software and technology, in a deal valued around $34 billion, the companies announced on Sunday. According to a joint statement, IBM will pay cash to buy all shares in Red Hat at $190 each. Shares in Red Hat closed at $116.68 on Friday before the deal was announced. The open source, enterprise software maker will become a unit of IBM’s Hybrid Cloud division, with Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst joining IBM’s senior management team and reporting to CEO Ginni Rometty.

Sony reveals the rather disappointing list of games for the PS One Classic

PlayStation today revealed the list of games that will come bundled with its retro console, the PS One Classic. While the list does include several (ahem) classics and old favorites, there are still a few rather large holes in the library.

OnePlus 6T review: Pixel 3’s problems might make this the phone to own

OnePlus’ second flagship smartphone of 2018 has gotten off to a rocky start, to say the least. First of all, just about everything there is to know about the OnePlus 6T leaked long before the phone was announced on Monday. Of course, that pretty much goes without saying at this point, since details surrounding flagship phones always leak in advance. The real trouble arrived when it came time to schedule the OnePlus 6T announcement event. First, OnePlus reportedly pushed back its planned unveiling to avoid overlapping with Google’s Pixel 3 launch. Then, after landing on the date October 30th for its big reveal, Apple announced that its October press conference would be held on the same date. Competing with Apple for media coverage is obviously ill-advised, so the company bumped up its event to today, October 29th.

Tetris Effect is loaded with game modes designed to keep you coming back

Enhance Games’ stylish, trippy take on Tetris will come with a wide variety of modes tailored to appeal to your play style and mood, and those modes are designed to keep players coming back to Tetris Effect for weeks and months after the game launches. The puzzle game’s main “campaign” mode, known as Journey Mode, will send players on a trip through 27 levels, each with their own musical and visual themes. Each level is crafted to tell a story and let players feel different emotions as they play, vice president of production Mark MacDonald said during a hands-on gameplay preview. Levels in Journey Mode will take players from the deserts of Egypt to the solitary darkness of the Moon, while others venture deep into the sea to let players swim with dolphins as they line up puzzle pieces.

Beware of malware, adware when downloading Google Chrome through Microsoft Edge

New Windows 10 PC owners should be careful about downloading Google Chrome through Microsoft Edge, as Bing is apparently returning search results that contain malware and adware. There is a running joke that the only purpose of Microsoft Edge is to download Google Chrome, but it appears that the tables could easily turn for users who are not careful. Fortunately, Twitter user Gabriel Landau did not fall prey to a fake Google Chrome download page returned by a Bing search.

Here’s why your Zoey skin in Fortnite has been removed

A number of players started to notice that opponents using the Zoey skin were harder to see at a certain distance, and it didn’t take long to confirm that they were actually becoming totally invisible to both friends and foes. Strangely, the pickaxes and weapons of the players were still visible but this definitely wasn’t an intended change for to turn Zoey into a ghost for the ongoing Fortnitemares Halloween event.

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iOS 12 stops police unlocking your iPhone

Apple is constantly working to improve the security on its devices and protect our data. This has led to improved encryption and a shift from simple passcodes to fingerprint and most recently facial recognition on its smartphones. The security measures are so good, police seizing an iPhone have to be careful not to look directly at it. There is one thorn in Apple’s side when it comes to security, though, and that’s the company Grayshift. Founded in 2016, it offers law enforcement agencies around the world an iPhone unlocking device called GrayKey. It works, or at least it did until now, and has won Grayshift many customers. However, that all changed with iOS 12.

Snap is still losing users, blames its Android app

Snapchat’s poor Android app is still proving to be a major problem for the company. The app lost users for the second straight quarter, with its daily active users declining by 2 million, and Snapchat’s lackluster Android app may be to blame. “The decline was primarily among Android users,” CEO Evan Spiegel said in his prepared remarks during the company’s third-quarter earnings call.

It Sure Seems Like ‘Fallout 76’ Will Be The ‘No Man’s Sky’ Of 2018

Just before the launch of No Man’s Sky back in August of 2016, Hello Games chief Sean Murray released an open letter to fans. There was something just a tiny bit odd about the note. After all, it opened with this line: I feel sick writing this. You are about to play ‘No Man’s Sky’ and I don’t know what you’ll think. “Believe the hype” this was decidedly not. And sure enough, upon its release the gaming community descended into that place only the gaming community really can: Collective fury, a sense of betrayal, and outrage all mixed into a frothing stew that quickly bubbled over.

‘Pokémon Go’ will track your activity without launching the app

Pokémon Go has encouraged more than a few people to step up their physical exercise, and Niantic wants to reward that. It’s launching an Adventure Sync feature in its augmented reality games (starting with Pokémon Go) that syncs with Google Fit and iOS’ HealthKit to translate steps into game progress without having the app open or using a smartwatch. If you regularly go for a run before work, you’ll see that reflected in more Pokémon candy or more efficient egg hatching. You’ll get weekly milestones, too.

This is the Fortnite Nerf gun

Short of an actual apocalypse (which should be coming any day now), this Nerf-branded gun from Hasbro is (thankfully) probably the closest you’re going to come to any real life Fortnite action in the near future. The dart-firing gun was announced recently, alongside a Fortnite version of Monopoly (which launched earlier this month), and now we’ve got some pictures and a June 1 release date. The AR-L Blaster was inspired by the firearm in the wildly popular sandbox survival game and has the giant Fortnite branding across its body to provide it.

Samsung’s Galaxy Squad Assembles: Awkwafina and Grand Prize Winner Hector Diaz join Ninja and Travis Scott in a Fortnite Battle Royale

Samsung today announced results of the #NinjaGalaxySquad contest, which called for gamers to showcase their best moments while wearing the super elite Galaxy skin within Fortnite to secure a spot on Ninja’s coveted gaming squad. Grand prize winner Hector Diaz will join the celebrity-packed squad – including Fortnite streaming legend Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, Crazy Rich Asians and Oceans 8 actor Nora “Awkwafina” Lum and award-winning artist Travis Scott – for an exclusive livestream. The exciting Fortnite gameplay is set to take place on Tuesday, October 30, which will also exclusively debut the all-new Galaxy accessory kit.

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Mister Rogers sings and narrates a Pixel 3 ad focused on Google Lens [Video]

Following last week’s launch of the Pixel 3, Google is ramping up advertising for its flagship phones. From celebrities to the World Series, the latest involves a Pixel 3 ad featuring a song from Fred Rogers that focuses on Google Lens. The 90-second clip is titled “The power to wonder” and features quick cuts of simple scenes like a shirt drying in a breeze to various animals and greenery. Beloved television personality, Fred Rogers, narrates over these scenes before jumping into his original recording of “Did You Know?”

Soundcloud Links Have Been Integrated into Instagram Stories

Soundcloud artists, rejoice. Instagram has announced it will now allow SoundCloud links to be shared through its Stories feature. The process will work similarly as it does with Spotify, which Instagram introduced to its Stories platform earlier this year.

Twitter tests status updates and ‘ice breaker’ tweets

Last month, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey told the House Committee on Energy and Commerce that one of his company’s goals is to “increase the health of public conversation” on its platform. And it’s a talking point Twitter has come back to throughout the year. In March, it reached out to experts for ideas on how to promote healthy, open and civil conversations online and in September, the company sought feedback on a proposed policy that would ban dehumanizing speech. Now, the company is testing a handful of new features aimed at encouraging users to talk to each other.

‘SUPER SMASH BROS. ULTIMATE’ ROSTER LEAK REVEALS 7 NEW CHARACTERS

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is set to release on Switch this December but it seems the growing roster is getting bigger, if this latest leak is to be believed. An unnamed person who claims to have access to promotional material took photos of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster collage on their Snapchat. The post was deleted, but later posted on message boards like 4Chan and Resetera. Nintendo has not officially confirmed any of these characters for the game at this time.

Fortnite’s map is being infested with hordes of monsters

Fortnite is getting into the Halloween spirit with the addition of undead opponents to its popular battle royale mode, marking a major moment in the game mode’s history where players can fight computer-generated enemies. A trailer for the mode, showcases the demonic ghouls in action. Players will have to defeat the monstrous-looking opponents that were birthed from Cube Fragments that appear on the map. Killing the undead will result in loot for players, and they’ll appear sporadically throughout matches.

‘Battlefield V’ won’t have battle royale until spring 2019

You’ll have to wait a while if you want to see Battlefield V’s much-touted battle royale mode. EA DICE has detailed the post-launch roadmap for its WWII shooter, and the vaunted “Firestorm” battle royale experience will arrive as part of a “Trial by Fire” chapter starting in March 2019 (it’s not clear if the mode will be available right away). While the last-one-standing experience isn’t the only tentpole feature of BFV, it’s safe to say this will be disappointing if you expected to play it over the holidays.

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TO FIND NEW FANS (AND THEIR MONEY), PATREON PARTNERS WITH REDDIT

THE PROMISE OF Patreon, the membership platform for independent artists and creators, has always been simple: If your fans like your work, they will pay you for it. No need to slough off cash from advertisers, or make shady deals with brands. It’s just you, your fans, and the stuff you make for them. Patreon has slowly introduced new ways for creators to milk the most out of these fan relationships. They can give subscribers (called “patrons”) a peek into their lives behind-the-scenes with Patreon Lens, a Snapchat dupe specifically for creators. They can host live Q&As with fans on Discord, the voice-and-text chat app. Now, Patreon has another trick up its sleeve: It’s announcing an integration with Reddit, aimed at bringing creators closer than ever to the fan networks that support them.

Facebook Rolling Out Redesigned Messenger App With Simplified Interface and Customizable Chat Bubbles

Facebook today announced that it’s rolling out a redesigned, simplified version of the Messenger app on a global basis starting today. Messenger 4, as Facebook is calling it, will refocus on conversations, making it easier to navigate through the app. Instead of nine separate tabs, there will be three tabs, with conversations quickly accessible through the “Chats” tab. Quick access to the camera for sharing photos and for video chats is also included in the Chats tab.

Arcade1Up is next-level retro gaming with cabinets for Street Fighter and other classics

The retro gaming trend gives us many ways to spend new money reliving old memories. Systems like SNES Classic, C64 Mini and the upcoming PlayStation Classic top the gift charts as consumers yearn for the good ol’ days. But now, the company Arcade1Up is taking the craze to the next level with build-it-yourself home arcade cabinets. The machines are now on sale in retail stores, starting at $300 (which converts to roughly £288, or AU$420). There are several flavors of machines, with each cabinet featuring a handful of iconic arcade titles: Street Fighter, Rampage, Centipede, Asteroids and Galaga are among the first batch.

HP’s latest Spectre x360 has a new angular design and 22.5 hours of battery life

HP is updating its popular Spectre x360 convertible laptops today. Both the 13- and 15-inch versions are getting a new “gem cut” design with a more angular look and feel. The new design also includes a USB-C port that’s angled on the edge of the Spectre x360 to improve cable management. As you’d expect, HP is including Intel’s latest 8th Gen quad-core processors inside the 13-inch Spectre x360, and six-core options for the larger 15-inch model.

Alexa, be afraid

“What was your favorite thing today?” I heard the question from at least five different Amazon executives last month in Seattle, when the online megaretailer introduced us to about a dozen new Alexa gadgets. “What jumped out at you?” All of it? None of it? I really wasn’t sure. I didn’t see a new, breakout hit like I saw when Amazon first compressed Alexa down into a Dot-sized speaker that cost just $50. Instead, I saw a mess of tangents, an Echo for everything. Alexa, throw the spaghetti at the wall. Alexa, tell us what stuck.

Those painted sculptures in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey are true to history

When Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey debuted earlier this month, it received widespread praise for the quality of its world-building and narrative. Some historians say it also deserves high marks for its attention to historical detail in recreating ancient Greece. Notably, the game showcases colorfully painted statues, temples, and tombs dotted about the virtual city. Yes, it’s true: contrary to all those pristine, gleaming white marble sculptures we see all the time in museums—the ones we long thought defined the Western aesthetic of the Classical era—Greco-Roman art was awash in color. Art historians have known this for a while, of course, but the knowledge hasn’t really moved beyond the confines of that rarefied world. That might change, now that it’s a feature in a hugely popular game.

Monster Sanctuary – Monster Taming Metroidvania

Monster Sanctuary is a monster-taming RPG with party-based combat and metroidvania-like exploration. New monsters provide additional strategic options in combat and allow you to overcome obstacles to explore new areas and find hidden treasures. The turn-based combat focuses on team synergy and combos, distinguishing Monster Sanctuary from other popular monster collecting games.

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