The Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 is a refresh of Microsoft’s clamshell option, an oddity given Microsoft’s creation of the modern 2-in-1. The HP Spectre x360 13 is, therefore, an interesting comparison.
Source: Digital trends
Similar filings in the past have been an indication of upcoming products.
Source: CNET
Adobe and UC Berkeley say their artificial intelligence tool can spot doctored images 99% of the time.
Source: CNET
In a strangely public product announcement, the phone-cracking firm revealed a powerful new device.
Source: Wired
On Prank Encounters, Gaten Matarazzo, aka Dustin, will be tricking people who think they’ve started new jobs.
Source: CNET
Days after Ethiopian ICT officials made public pledges to improve net access, the government began playing on-again, off-again with the internet—shutting it down (almost completely) to coincide with the country’s national exams.
Data provided to TechCrunch from Oracle’s Internet Intelligence confirmed intermittent net blackouts from June 11 to 14, with connectivity returning for brief periods during that time-span.
Sources on the ground, including in the country’s tech community, confirmed to TechCrunch internet stoppage over the period.
Mobile and IP connectivity in Ethiopia is managed by state owned Ethio Telecom, though the government—led by newly elected Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Sahle-Work Zewde—has committed to break up the telecom and privatize it.
On the reason for the outage, the government of Ethiopia has not issued a statement and a government official in charge of ICT policy did not respond to a TechCrunch inquiry.
Press reports, and a source speaking to TechCrunch on background, said Ethiopia’s internet stoppage was done to stop students from cheating on national exams, which took place this week.
Earlier this week I attended Ethiopia’s ICT Expo and first Startup Ethiopia event, moderating and sitting on panels with Ethiopian government representatives to discuss the country’s startup community and internet landscape. Several officials, such as State Minister of Innovation and Technology Jemal Beker, named specific commitments to improve the country’s internet quality, access, and choice within the next year.
Ethiopia took policy steps in that direction, announcing steps this week to issue individual telco licences by the end of 2019.
The East African nation of 100 million with the continent’s seventh largest economy is bidding to become Africa’s next startup hub.
Ethiopia has a budding tech scene, but lags the continent’s tech standouts—like Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa—that have become focal-points for startup formation, exits, and VC.
Still, startups such as local ride-hail ventures Ride and ZayRide have started to gain traction (Uber has not yet entered Ethiopia). This week’s Startup Ethiopia event also showcased high-potential early-stage ventures such payment company YenaPay and agtech, e-commerce startup Deamat.
One thing discussed at Startup Ethiopia was the need for startups—most of which operate on mobile platforms—to have consistent, affordable, and accessible internet to drive forward business models.
Ethiopia is taking steps and making statements in that direction, but this week’s net stoppage shows there are still hurdles and disconnects.
One of those is the country’s government pursuing an internet shutdown just days after attempting to convince investors, angel networks, and a global tech audience it’s serious about making Ethiopia an African startup hub.
Â
Source: TechCrunch
The Justice Department could approve the deal as early as next week if the companies agree to divest spectrum to help create another wireless competitor, The New York Times reports.
Source: CNET
Everything you need to know to score major discounts on laptops and PCs from Acer, Asus, Google, Lenovo, Samsung and others.
Source: CNET
Every story about E3 has opened with a mention of Sony’s absence, and this one’s no different. The lack of one of gaming’s “big three� loomed large over the show, right down to a strange sense of space on the showroom floor.
Even Xbox chief Phil Spencer mourned the absence of the company’s biggest competitor, stating, “I wish Sony was here,� during a live stream.
But the show went on, as it has through countless ebbs and flows of the gaming industry. Sony’s clearly got plenty up its sleeve with regard to next-generation content, and frankly, no one’s too worried about their health.
Microsoft, meanwhile, came out swinging on Sunday. The company had a TON of games to reveal at the show, with dozens of trailers, all told. And while Microsoft did touch upon two key pieces of news, it ultimately ended up blowing through those announcements, with very little time devoted to either its next-generation 8K console, Project Scarlett, or its streaming service, Project xCloud.
In fact, we ultimately went back to Microsoft later in the week to clarify some things about the service and discovered in the process that console streaming will be free and not a part of the broader xCloud offering.
While Microsoft ultimately seemed cautious (or pressed for time) to go into either xCloud or Game Pass in too much detail onstage, streaming was unquestionably the biggest story of the show. That’s due in no small part to the fact that Google took a little wind out of E3’s sails by shedding more light on its Stadia offering during a surprise press conference last Friday.
On Tuesday, a Nintendo executive confirmed for me that the company is exploring streaming, but wasn’t able to comment on any specifics. Regardless, the writing is clearly on the wall here, and Nintendo has certainly taken notice. In the meantime, the company showed off its latest Animal Crossing title, a sneak peek of the next Zelda and the surprise hit of the show: A gooey Luigi called, naturally, Gooigi. Honestly though, I’m most excited about that Link’s Awakening remaster.
Square’s big event was fairly lackluster, though we did get a preview of the Uncanny (Valley) Avengers. Ubisoft had some cool demos on tap, including Watch Dogs: Legion and story mode for Assassin’s Creed. The publisher is also launching its own streaming service, with help from Google Stadia. Bethesda, meanwhile, is getting in on the battle royale phenomenon with a new mode for Fallout 76. Though the Fall Guys’ version is far more adorable.
There’s a Razer energy drink, Opera gaming browser, new George R.R. Martin game, Warcraft-meets-The-Office show from the It’s Always Sunny crew and a dance game for the Nintendo Wii. Not the Switch, not the Wii U, the Wii. Happy E3 2019!
Source: TechCrunch
Sad news for anyone who loves geeky goods and top-notch April Fools’ jokes: ThinkGeek.com, the 20-year-old online retailer known for selling more geek-centric gadgets and peripherals than you could fit in a TARDIS, is going away.
According to an FAQ sitting at the top of its site, ThinkGeek isn’t “shutting down,” it just won’t continue on as the site we’ve come to know, instead living on as a shadow of its former self as a section in GameStop (which acquired ThinkGeek in 2015 for a reported $140 million.)
Says the FAQ:
On July 2nd, 2019, ThinkGeek.com will be moving in with our parent company GameStop. After this move, you will be able to shop a curated selection of unique items historically found on ThinkGeek.com via a ThinkGeek section at GameStop
The word “curated” is pretty key, there, because there’s just no way a couple of shelves in GameStop will be able to cover the array of fandoms that ThinkGeek.com covered. From Marvel, to Star Wars, to Potter, to Tolkien, it covered a whole lot of (fan)bases in one swoop.
ThinkGeek.com is — or, I guess, was — one of those shops that was fun to explore; anytime I found myself there, I’d inevitably lose track of time clicking around from category to category, often throwing down a credit card for some Star Wars shirt or Aperture Science pint glass I probably didn’t need. Hopefully that sense of “Oooh, look at that! And that! And that!” will live on in whatever section springs up on GameStop’s site.
The company also says that the 40 standalone ThinkGeek retail stores dotting the U.S. will stay open.
This news comes after a few back-to-back 75%-off sales of all clearance goods, and now it looks like they’ve marked things down 50% site-wide to clear the warehouses.
Perhaps most of all, we’ll miss ThinkGeek’s April Fools’ day gags. On a day in which many companies find themselves trying a bit too hard to make us laugh, ThinkGeek just always seemed to get it right. They’d sprinkle their site with fake product listings for people to stumble upon. Things like…
The Fortnite R/C Battle Bus:
Or the Admiral Ackbar Singing Bass:
Or the absolutely brilliant Tauntaun sleeping bag (a gag that proved so popular that they ended up making and selling them for a while):
Alas.
ThinkGeek says it’ll still take return requests for orders made before June 13th, and that any ThinkGeek gift cards you’ve got sitting around will be honored at GameStop’s online and real-world locations.
Source: TechCrunch