Could President Trump stop you from playing Fortnite or League of Legends? That spectre arose when Trump unexpectedly added Tencent Holdings to the list of Chinese companies being targeted by recent executive orders.
Trump's probably not trying to ruin your fun, at least not explicitly. But by roping in Tencent he's potentially affecting a huge swath of holdings that the Chinese conglomerate owns or invests in.
The latest order actually targets WeChat, a popular messaging application owned by Tencent. The language and restrictions closely follow the wording of Trump’s first executive order extending his previous ban on TikTok, basically stating that the United States would ban the video-sharing service outright if an acquisition by Microsoft or another company were not completed in 45 days.
Google+ might be gone but it’s not forgotten. At least not by the courts. On June 10, Google agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit over the “software bugs” that led to some 50 million accounts having their data leaked. The settlement is a relatively small one, just $7.5 million, but if you ever set up a Google account, you may be eligible for a piece of it: $12 to be exact.
Previous Google+ account holders have likely already received an ominous email claiming “You are not being sued,” but if you banished it to your spam folder, here are the details. All claims must by submitted by October 8 and as per usual, any claims forfeit all rights “to sue Google and/or any other released entities regarding the legal claims in this case.” If you’d like to retain these rights, you must opt-out of the settlement.
There was a time when “free-to-play” was a dirty term in the games industry. There are still terrible, exploitative free-to-play games on the market—more every day, in fact.
But occasionally—occasionally—we get something...miraculous. We get a free-to-play game that doesn’t try to con players out of money or make the design intentionally boring in order to make those purchasable unlocks more exciting.
The Galaxy Tab might be a distant second to the iPad when it comes to tablet market share, but Samsung is hardly ready to concede the crown. Its newest tablet, the S7+, isn’t just its best and biggest, but it’s easily the closest you’re going to get to an iPad Pro without shopping in an Apple Store.
Samsung's Galaxy S tablets have always showcased the latest tech and specs, and the S7+ is no different. It boasts the Snapdragon 865+ processor, up to 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, a giant 10,090mAh battery, and 5G support.
But what gives the S7 its “plus” designation isn’t the specs--rather it’s the 12.4-inch screen, the biggest in a Samsung-made Android tablet since the 18.4-inch Galaxy View. That’s about two inches bigger than the 10.5-inch Tab S6 and gives Samsung a true competitor for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
Hisense's H9G 4K UHD TV offers an excellent picture for the price. It's available only in 55-inch and 65-inch flavors, but if that's what you're shopping for, it should be on your short-list.
Update 08/06/2020: After the startup Owl Cameras Inc. shut down abruptly, users were stuck with expensive dash cams and no support. But there's hope! Xirgo Technologies, the company that acquired Owl Cameras Inc.'s intellectual property, has partnered with CallPass to take over the consumer service. Read more about the rehatching of Owlcam, and stay tuned for a review of the new product promised for later this year.
Update 08/06/2020: After the startup Owl Cameras Inc. dissolved rather untidily earlier this year (see original news story below for more on that), users were stuck with expensive dash cams and no support. But there's hope! Xirgo Technologies, the company that acquired Owl Cameras Inc.'s intellectual property, has partnered with CallPass to take over the consumer service. Existing Owl customers should have received a notification via their app or email. Read more about the rehatching of Owlcam, and stay tuned for reviews of the new product promised for later this year.
Update 08/06/2020: After the startup Owl Cameras Inc. shut down abruptly, users were stuck with expensive dash cams and no support. But there's hope! Xirgo Technologies, the company that acquired Owl Cameras Inc.'s intellectual property, has partnered with CallPass to take over the consumer service. Read more about the rehatching of Owlcam, and stay tuned for a review of the new product promised for later this year.
