Articles by Carl Velasco
First ‘Mario Kart Tour’ Details, Screenshots, Microtransaction Mechanics Just Leaked
Has Nintendo become a bit greedy? Maybe, as the beta version of 'Mario Kart Tour' shows. The game retains the core elements of the series but Nintendo and DeNA inject it with microtransactions and lotteries.
Apple Wants Safari To Make All The Ads You See Private
Apple is proposing a new, less intrusive way of ad tracking. In its system, advertisers can gauge whether an ad is successful but are prevented from knowing more data about customers than they should.
Think Google Duplex Is So Amazing? That’s Because Humans Are Actually Behind Some Calls
Google confirms 25 percent of Duplex calls are initiated by actual humans from a call center. But eventually, Google wants to remove humans out of equation.
Remember The Ouya? It’s Shutting Down For Good This June
On June 25, Razer will permanently shut down all things Ouya, capping off its tumultuous seven-year run. Even the games, servers, and accounts will go dark on that date.
Amazon Is Making Employees Treat Tedious Warehouse Work Like A Video Game
To avoid warehouse work from becoming too tedious, Amazon is now letting employees on some of its warehouse locations play games. But not in a way you might be expecting.
For 14 Years, Google Stored Passwords In Plain Text: Does It Affect You?
An error in 2005 is affecting G Suite users’ security. Google reveals that passwords were encrypted but stored in plain text, though points there’s no evidence of a breach.
Steam Chat App Now Available On iOS And Android: Can It Take On Discord?
Now on iOS and Android, Steam Chat occupies a space dominated at present by Discord. It’s still lacking a number of features, but Valve promises to keep improving it over time.
Galaxy Home Mini Surfaces Via FCC, But Galaxy Home Still Nowhere To Be Found
For some reason, a smaller version of Samsung’s Galaxy Home just surfaced via FCC filings. There’s no word on when it or its larger sibling might come out, though.
PlayStation Employees Didn’t Know Sony Was Partnering With Microsoft And They Were Really Shocked
When Sony announced its partnership with Microsoft, no one was more shocked than its own PlayStation team. But apparently, the PlayStation 5 won’t be affected by this new relationship.
Heads Up, Mac Users: You Can Download The Microsoft Edge Browser Preview Right Now
Microsoft’s Chromium Edge browser just landed on macOS. Users can download a preview now, which includes features found on the Windows 10 build released earlier.
What Is Netflix Tax And Will It Come To My City?
Chicago was able to collect large sums from various online services thanks to the so-called Netflix Tax. More cities might start imposing this tax soon too.
Microsoft Surface Headphones Are $100 Off Right Now
Microsoft’s Surface Headphones are currently $100 off for some reason, so get them while you can. This is the first time they’ve been discounted, by the way.
Google Smart Displays Get Revamped Interface, New Homescreen
Google has made some adjustments to the Smart Display interface. The homescreen, for starters, is now not always stark-white, and several icons are gone for a cleaner, more streamlined look.
Samsung Rolls Out One UI, Health Features To Galaxy Watch, Gear S3, And Gear Sport
Older Galaxy smartwatches are getting One UI and a bunch of other new features plus optimizations. Rollout for each product varies by region, meaning not all users might get the new update at the same time.
Huawei Loses Android License As Google Cut Ties With The Chinese Company: Here’s What This Means
Huawei has been officially banned from Android, as ordered by the U.S. government. That means even recent phones won’t get official security updates moving forward, plus official Google services.
Spotify Rolls Out Redesigned App To Help People Discover Podcasts
The newly redesigned Spotify app improves prominence and discoverability of podcasts on its platform. It’s not clear, however, when this revamped app might roll out to all users.
Amazon Reportedly Building A Warehouse Just For Dangerous Items
Amazon’s new warehouse will be much smaller than its other ones. However, it’ll have stricter safety measures for hazardous items such as bear repellent and pepper sprays.
Google Has Been Secretly Tracking All Your Purchases Through Gmail
Google says it stores purchases to keep them all in one place. It claims it doesn’t use this information to target Gmail users with personalized ads.
YouTube VR To Launch On Oculus Quest The Same Day The Headset Is Released
YouTube VR will launch alongside the Oculus Quest when it comes this May 21. That’s never happened before, it’s worth noting that usually, the app is released months or even years later.
The Asus ZenFone 6 Is A $500 Flagship With Snapdragon 855 And A Swivel Camera
To stand out from the pack, Asus had to do something bold. This explains why the new ZenFone 6 has a camera setup different from most flagships, and a decent price to boot.
Stand-Alone Instagram Direct App Is Going Away Permanently
The stand-alone Instagram Direct app will no longer be supported starting later this month, according to Facebook. Instagram, however, will keep working on Direct features.
Samsung Takes On Fitbit With Its New Galaxy Fit: Everything You Need To Know
No word on an official release date for the Galaxy Fit yet except for the originally announced May 31 rollout. However, the company has now shared a video highlighting the fitness tracker’s key features.
Microsoft And Sony Announce Surprise Partnership On Cloud Gaming
Sony and Microsoft’s partnership will include collaborating on cloud gaming services, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and more. No word on whether the two will co-develop actual games, however.
Prepare To See Even More Ads On Google Apps
Google wants to serve up more ads on mobile. Soon, you’ll see them all over Google’s apps and services, including Gmail, YouTube, the Google app, and others.
If You Subscribe To Nintendo Switch Online, You’ll Get 2 Games For Just $100
Nintendo has announced two new discount bundles. One will let you buy two games for just $100, and the other will grant you a copy of 'Super Mario Maker 2' plus a year’s worth of Switch Online access for $70.
Google’s Bluetooth Titan Security Keys Aren’t So Safe After All
If you’re using Google’s Bluetooth Titan Security Key, practice caution. The company has confirmed a security bug so serious that it’s going to issue free replacements to all existing users.
Google’s New Translatotron Converts Languages Directly And Talks Like You
Translatotron employs a sequence-to-sequence network model that looks at spectrograms to generate translations that sound like you. With this, Google hopes to open up future developments in the arena of translations.
Pokémon Rumble Rush Is The Newest Pokémon Game On Mobile
Surprise, a new ‘Pokémon’ game just appeared. It’s called ‘Rumble Rush,’ which is seemingly the game announced back in 2017 that was then called ‘Pokéland.’
Bought A Faulty Original Pixel? Google Might Pay You $500 Thanks To A Lawsuit Settlement
If you bought the original Pixel or Pixel XL and experienced microphone problems, you’re in luck. Google might pay you up to $500 if you’re eligible.
Netflix Is Coming To… E3? New Netflix Game Adaptations Might Be Announced
Netflix is attending E3 to talk more about its forthcoming ‘Stranger Things’ game. But perhaps it’s got more announcements up its sleeve than it’s letting on.
