Tech News Feed
A Pro-China Online Influence Campaign is Targeting the Rare-Earths Industry
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1,100-HP Red Bull RB17 Hybrid Hypercar Coming in 2025 for $6M - CNET
Firefox Can Now Automatically Remove Tracking From URLs
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Satellite Snaps Wowza Space Selfie With Off-the-Shelf Camera - CNET
Best Credit Cards With No Foreign Transaction Fees for July 2022 - CNET
Facebook Groups Gets Facelift with New Dedicated Channels - CNET
Tips for Playing Junker Queen in the Overwatch 2 Beta - CNET
Niantic is laying off about 90 employees and canceling four projects
Pokémon Go developer Niantic is laying off eight percent of its workforce, which is said to be around 85-90 jobs. The augmented reality game company has also canceled four projects. CEO John Hanke reportedly wrote in an email to employees that Niantic was “facing a time of economic turmoil” and had to “further streamline our operations in order to best position the company" to weather any future economic turmoil.
“We recently decided to stop production on some projects and reduce our workforce by about eight percent to focus on our key priorities,” a Niantic spokesperson told Bloomberg, which first reported the news. “We are grateful for the contributions of those leaving Niantic and we are supporting them through this difficult transition.”
One of the games that has been shelved is Transformers: Heavy Metal. Niantic and Hasbro announced that title in 2021 and had been testing it in some markets since last summer. Niantic has also canned an immersive theater project called Hamlet. It was working on that project with theater group Punchdrunk, which is behind an immersive production of Macbeth called Sleep No More. The other two shelved projects are called Blue Sky and Snowball.
Niantic hasn't yet been able to recapture the lightning-in-a-bottle success of 2016's Pokémon Go. The company shut down an AR game based on Harry Potter earlier this year. Bloomberg notes that titles based on Catan (which shuttered last year) and Nintendo's Pikmin haven't been successful either.
News of the layoffs and project cancellations comes one day after Niantic announced NBA All-World, a basketball game it's making in collaboration with the NBA and the league's players' association. Meanwhile, the company will soon release an app that will help Pokémon Go players chat with each other. It's also working on an original game called Peridot and collaborating with other companies on AR apps.
Apple Promises 'White Glove Experiences' For Its Most Helpful Community Members
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Formula E's Gen3 car will make its race debut on January 14th
Formula E’s Gen3 all-electric car will make its race debut on January 14th, 2023 in Mexico City. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) announced the date on Wednesday and shared the preliminary schedule for Formula E’s upcoming ninth season.
Before the official start of the competition in January, teams will have three days in December to test their new ride in Valencia, Spain. With today’s preliminary schedule, Formula E plans to host 18 races across 13 cities. That’s two more contests and three more stops than its 2022 slate. What’s more, for the first time, the Formula E circuit will visit Hyderabad in India and São Paulo, Brazil.
If you take a look at the schedule, you’ll notice a few gaps. Most notably, Formula E has yet to announce a New York City date. A spokesperson told Engadget the organization is working to organize races in South Africa and the US.
"New York has been the home of Formula E in the USA since Season 3, with the exception of the Covid-hit Season 6 in 2020, and has delivered some epic races in front of full grandstands,” said Formula E chief championship officer Alberto Longo. “Major construction work in the Brooklyn area will make it a challenge to use the current track layout next year which is why we have not announced a specific date on the provisional Season 9 calendar. However, we will continue to work closely with our local partners in Brooklyn to explore solutions for racing in New York next season.”
Next year’s racing debut of the Gen3 is exciting for a couple of reasons. Not only is the car faster than its predecessor, but Formula E also designed it to be more agile. That’s something that should lead to more wheel-to-wheel dueling between drivers, and make the resulting races more entertaining.
Justice Stephen Breyer to Retire From Supreme Court on Thursday - CNET
Gmail's Redesigned Interface, Featuring Chat and Meet, Now the New Default
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Google’s Switch to Android app on iOS now works with all Android 12 devices
Google is making it easier for new Android users to transfer their data from an old iPhone. As of today, the company’s Switch to Android app on iOS will work with all Android 12 devices. Previously only compatible with Pixel phones, the software is useful if you're about to move from iOS to Android.
Once you have your new phone, connect it to your old Apple one. Your best bet is a Lightning to USB-C cable, but you can also link the two devices together over WiFi. Once they’re connected, select what data you want to be moved over. Your options include apps, contacts, photos, videos, music and messages. At that point, the software will take care of the rest.
The timing of the wider availability of Switch to Android is interesting in part because WhatsApp recently made it easier for new iOS users to move their chat histories over from an old Android phone. Obviously, Google's app won't help if you switched to Android before today's announcement, but if the headache of transferring your data is what held you back previously, now you have one less reason to wait.
Best Samsung Galaxy S22, S22 Plus and S22 Ultra Cases for 2022 - CNET
Best Vlogging Camera for 2022 - CNET
'Crossy Road' creator Andy Sum's next game will arrive on July 20th
Publisher No More Robots has announced that the next game from Crossy Road creator Andy Sum will be released on Steam on July 20th. While Crossy Road is a hit arcade-style title in the vein of Frogger, TombStar takes its cue from bullet hell roguelikes, such as Enter the Gungeon and The Binding of Isaac.
TombStar, which was announced in 2020, is a colorful space Western top-down shooter. There are three characters to choose from, each with their own playstyle. You'll pick up abilities, weapons and perks to aid you in battle against the Grimheart Gang. Each of the worlds has a boss, but since the levels are procedurally generated, each run will be different.
All Clear: 'Risky Asteroid' Will Miss Earth in 2052 - CNET
Crypto Hedge Fund Three Arrows Set for Court-Ordered Liquidation
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