Thursday’s top tech news: Another Theranos exec sentenced to over a decade in prison – The Verge

How to watch The Game Awards 2022

2022-12-08T18:52:47-05:00

It's almost time for gaming's annual end-of-year awards and announcements extravaganza. The 2022 edition of The Game Awards takes place on Thursday, December 8th, and the opening act kicks off at 7:30PM ET / 4:30PM PT. While the show itself takes place live at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, you can stream the event for free on platforms like YouTube and Twitch. For a more detailed list of where to stream the show, check The Game Awards website.

We don't know exactly how long The Game Awards will be, but host Geoff Keighley said in a Twitch stream that the main show will last about two and a half hours. That's a good thing, if you ask …

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The FTC is suing Microsoft to block its Activision Blizzard purchase

2022-12-08T17:34:57-05:00

The FTC has filed a legal challenge to try and block Microsoft's plan to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, according to a press release from the regulator. The lawsuit was filed today after weeks of back and forth between Microsoft, Sony, and regulators over competition concerns and the future of Call of Duty. The FTC argues that the acquisition would "enable Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles and its rapidly growing subscription content and cloud-gaming business." You can read the FTC's redacted complaint here or embedded at the bottom of this article.

The vote from the FTC commissioners today means Micr …

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The latest Motorola Moto G Play is a 4G-only phone for $170

2022-12-08T14:49:27-05:00

Motorola skipped a 2022 edition of the G Play and is pole-vaulting straight into 2023.

It's an easy bet that most new phones announced in 2023 will come with 5G, but there's going to be at least one LTE-only device on shelves next year: the $169 Motorola Moto G Play (2023). It's the latest edition of Motorola's budget-tier phone since the 2021 G Play, and it comes with an updated screen and camera array - but nary a 5G band on its spec sheet.

The 2023 Moto G Play sticks with a 6.5-inch LCD screen but increases the refresh rate to 90Hz. It's still a low-res 720p panel, which is likely to have more of an impact on viewing experience than a slight boost in refresh rate. The main camera gets a meaningful boost to 16 megapixels (u …

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Sega superstars ToeJam and Earl are finally getting a movie

2022-12-08T14:24:07-05:00

That’s ToeJam on the right, alongside Earl, in case you didn’t know.

Nothing can possibly prepare us for the all-encompassing funk of a movie starring ToeJam and Earl. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a ToeJam & Earl movie is currently in development at Amazon Studios in partnership with Unanimous Media and Story Kitchen.

ToeJam & Earl is just the latest video game franchise getting a movie tie-in. In addition to bigger names like Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog getting contemporary adaptations, we're also slated to see an anime version of Tomb Raider coming to Netflix as well as a live-action version of It Takes Two, which are also being handled by Story Kitchen.

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ToeJam & Earl isn't a game tha …

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Pixel Fold renders arrive with detailed size and spec rumors for Google’s foldable phone

2022-12-08T13:38:25-05:00

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This is what Google’s foldable Pixel smartphone might look like. | Image: OnLeaks and HowToiSolve

New leaks appear to reveal what to expect from Google's long-rumored foldable phone. Leaker OnLeaks has teamed up with the website HowToiSolve to share renders, a 360-degree video, and measurements of the foldable Pixel device.

According to OnLeaks and HowToiSolve, the phone will apparently have a 5.79-inch cover screen and a larger 7.69-inch inner screen, meaning it will function more like Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4, which has a cover screen, than Microsoft's Surface Duo phones, which do not. Unfolded, the Google's device will be "roughly" 158.7 x 139.7 x 5.7mm. For comparison, the Z Fold 4 is 155.1 x 130.1 x 6.3mm, so the Pixel foldable co …

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Tech companies fueled the rise of Homeland Security and domestic surveillance, report finds

2022-12-08T13:36:43-05:00

Big tech companies including Microsoft, LexisNexis, and Palantir have helped fuel the militarization of local police forces and the Department of Homeland Security's demand for high-tech surveillance, according to a new report from The Action Center on Race & the Economy (ACRE), LittleSis, MediaJustice, and the Surveillance, Tech, and Immigration Policing Project. Researchers working on the project dug into how these companies benefit from a hidden and misunderstood source of funding, which requires states to dump money into law enforcement activities if they want to receive money for things like emergency medical and response services.

The …

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Amazon is adding a TikTok-like feed of shoppable content to its app

2022-12-08T13:12:55-05:00

Amazon is the latest tech company to take a page out of TikTok's playbook. The e-commerce giant announced it was launching a new feed in the Amazon app with photos and videos of items users can purchase, first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The feed, which Amazon is calling Inspire, is the company's attempt at getting app users to make purchases as they're seeing products in online content - something other tech companies are also attempting to do. TikTok has long been working on its own in-app shopping features, including livestream shopping, and YouTube added affiliate marketing and shopping to its TikTok copy, Shorts.

Inspire will …

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Broadway’s K-pop musical showed how hard it is to create internet fame

2022-12-08T12:12:30-05:00

KPOP cast members Min, Abraham Lim, and Luna take their bows on Broadway. | Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images

F8 (pronounced like "fate") is an eight-member, all-male K-pop band signed to RBY Entertainment. A look at their official Instagram page shows the group performing in concerts, posing for shoots, and smiling on rooftops in eclectic but color-coordinated outfits. The group advertises an upcoming show and profusely thanks its fans, which it refers to as "F8 Nation." It looks very much like the Instagram page of many other K-pop groups that a scrolling fan might stumble across.

Except: F8 isn't real. It's a fictional band from KPOP, a musical that opened on Broadway on November 27th and is now, following mixed reviews and low ticket sales, set …

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Google’s latest Chrome browser modes can boost battery life and free up memory

2022-12-08T12:00:00-05:00

Google is introducing new Memory Saver and Energy Saver modes to its Google Chrome web browser. | Image: Google

Google's Chrome desktop web browser has two new performance modes - Memory Saver and Energy Saver - available starting today. The new modes allow users to reduce Chrome's memory usage by up to 30 percent and extend battery life when a device is running low on power, according to Google.

Memory Saver mode frees up memory from tabs that aren't currently in use, which should provide a smoother browsing experience. You can also mark important websites as exempt from Memory Saver to keep them operating at max performance.

Memory Saver mode uses up to 30 percent less memory when active. | Image: Google" data-portal-copyright="Image: Google">

Energy Saver mode optimizes potential battery life by limiting background activity and visual effects (such as smooth scrol …

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Audeze’s $300 gaming headset promises comfort and multipoint Bluetooth

2022-12-08T11:28:39-05:00

The Maxwell has a more subdued design than Audeze’s previous gaming headset, the Penrose. | Image credit: Audeze

While Razer, Logitech, and other companies are working on their 2023 gaming headsets, Audeze has announced its new Maxwell wireless model that starts at $299 with support for PlayStation, Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch, and mobile - everything but Xbox. There's an Xbox version that costs $30 more and makes up for some of the cost increase with a Dolby Atmos license that activates automatically. It'll start shipping in late December 2022.

Audeze typically makes big promises about great audio quality, which is fine because the products usually back them up. The Maxwell has 90mm planar magnetic drivers, which are slightly smaller than the one …

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