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Friday, December 25, 2020

Christmas Day Technology and more...

Technology and more...


Smartphones in the age of pandemic

SlashGear / 1h
We are just a few weeks away from the end of the year and, as always, it is an opportune time to take stock of the past twelve months. And boy what a whirlwind those twelve months were. Almost no one was left unaffected by the COVID-19 coronavirus, whether directly or indirectly. Of course, the mighty mobile market didn’t escape … Continue reading

Funimation will replace 'Akira' 4K Blu-ray discs to add HDR

Engadget / 13min
I’ve been anticipating the release of Akira on Ultra HD Blu-ray since it was announced in 2019 , and this week the discs finally shipped but there’s one small problem. While the release of this remastered anime classic in Japan includes HDR as intended, the discs shipped to customers in the UK and US do not have the expanded color and contrast of HDR 10 to go with the 4K resolution. However, whet

Delta’s Operation Melting Down Again Over Christmas

View from the Wing / 15min
Delta cancelled 67 flights on Christmas Eve day. They had already cancelled 123 flights on Christmas Day, or 10% of their schedule, by 6 a.m. on the East Coast. In contrast American Airlines had cancelled only one flight. This follows an operational meltdown over Thanksgiving . Continue reading ...


Can Disaster Movies Survive a Pandemic?

40Wired / 19min
Two new disaster movies, Greenland and Songbird, came out this month. Whether they succeed or not may change the genre’s fate.

The best iPad apps to download: ready for 2021

TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 1h
So you've got an iPad, you want the best iPad apps, but what on earth are they? We're here to help.

Did you get a VR headset for Christmas? Here are 15 things you should do first

32TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 1h
Comfort, space and games: here's everything you need to know to make sure you have the best VR experience possible.

The Master Guide to Setting Up All Your New Devices

60Wired / 1h
If you were just gifted a new phone, smartwatch, or home entertainment device, here's what to do with it.

The 16 best Netflix original movies

20Mashable / 1h
Once upon a time, Netflix's only original content was television, but once upon an earlier time it thrived on DVD mailers that have become all but myth. Netflix has always loved movies, and ever since its first original production the platform has proved more than capable of churning out crowd pleasers and Oscar winners — sometimes both at the same time. We've picked our favorites from 2020, 2019

The best Apple Watch apps we've used: ready for 2021

20TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 1h
Our list of the very best Apple Watch apps for fitness, sleep, travel and more.

Valve adds a new way to filter for discounts during Steam sales

74Engadget / 1h
Steam sales can be overwhelming, and any bit of help navigating them is much appreciated. Typically, the games you see featured on the platform’s front page don’t need any introduction, and it can be challenging to find the store’s more compelling discounts. Valve is trying to change that with a new Steam Labs feature called Faceted Browsing that allows you to narrow down what you’re looking for

'Soul' might be Pixar's most grown up movie yet

Mashable / 1h
Pixar's Soul centers on two souls whose lives have yet to begin. For 22 (voiced by Tina Fey), the condition is literal: She's been kicking around for ages in the Great Before (not to be confused with the Great Beyond, aka the afterlife), where souls are formed before they're born on Earth. For Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx), it's more a state of mind. He's a middle-school band teacher who's a

Make tangled cables a thing of the past with this self-winding one

24Mashable / 2h
TL;DR: Opt for a clutter-free charging experience with the Aduro Fidget Magnetic Self-Winding MFi Lightning Cable for $11.89, a 75% savings as of Dec. 25. Whether you have a cord that gets tangled or the outlet is inconveniently located, sometimes it feels like you have to jump through so many hoops just to power your device up. The Aduro Fidget Magnetic Self-Winding MFi Lightning Cable can help

Grab a 3-month Xbox Live Gold subscription on sale for the holidays

Mashable / 2h
TL;DR: As of Dec. 25, snag a three month subscription to Xbox Live Gold for only $21 and get your multiplayer gaming on. You can't call yourself a true gamer unless you’ve dabbled in all the consoles, subscriptions, and games . Right now happens to be a great time to try Xbox Live Gold — three-month subscriptions are on sale for 15% off with code MERRY15. For the uninitiated, Xbox Live Gold gives

Save on a sleek portable phone charger the size of a credit card

32Mashable / 2h
TL;DR: Keep your phone charged and ready with the Rush Charge Max: 3,600mAh Apple Lightning Battery Charger for $25, a 24% savings as of Dec. 25. Is there anything more useless than a dead phone battery? We'll wait. Luckily, the Rush Charge Max: 3,600mAh Apple Lightning Battery Charger can help you charge your phone on the go. This portable power bank is a small but powerful charger designed to b

Netflix's 'Bridgerton' is this year's horniest period drama, period

Mashable / 2h
The appeal of historical romance stems from the genre’s hallmarks of sexual repression, codified social strata, and great gowns, beautiful gowns. They are an imagined remembrance of a time when people lived constricted by conduct and found true love in the tension between stiff-backed politeness and concealed desire. That tension is all well and good, but the best period romances also remind its

How to watch Soul online: stream the new Pixar movie on Disney Plus today

28TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 4h
Jamie Foxx stars in the year's most talked about animated film - here's how to watch Soul online and stream the new Pixar movie wherever you are right now.

Waterfield Designs' AirPods Max case actually protects your headphones

93Engadget / 4h
Despite the $550 price tag, there are a lot of things to like about Apple’s new AirPods Max headphones. The case is not one of them. It’s a pretty terrible option, offering neither protection or style. Naturally, third-party options will soon hit the market to correct this abomination. One of the first comes from Waterfield Designs, a San Francisco-based company that’s been making lovely leather
YESTERDAY

Audeze LCD-1 Review: Like Wearing a Pair of Portable Studio Monitors

29How-To Geek / 5h
You don’t need to piss off your neighbors to hear the clear spacious sound of full-sized speakers or monitors. Audeze’s LCD-1 reference headphones manage to replicate the experience of large desktop speakers in a comfortable portable package. But with an open-back design and planar drivers, it’s hard to recommend them to anyone but audio nerds and musicians. Read This Article on Review Geek ›

Santa's Little Helper: A LEGO Machine That Measures and Cuts Wrapping Paper

37How-To Geek / 5h
If there’s one part of the holidays that isn’t quite as much fun as the others, it’s wrapping presents. While some people go to great lengths to ensure each of the gifts they wrap looks professional, we’d rather get this awesome LEGO machine to perfectly measure and cut wrapping paper for us. Read This Article on Review Geek ›

Kentucky Fried Chicken Crossed the Road Into PC Gaming 🐔

56How-To Geek / 5h
When you hear the name KFC, your mind probably conjures up images of fried chicken in a bucket. But now, the fast-food chain has released a new gaming PC—yep, you read that right—called the KFConsole. Complete with top-shelf PC components and a “chicken chamber,” the system has now been made real and has some pretty impressive specs. Read This Article on Review Geek ›

Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Cyberpunk 2077 Publisher Lied and Misled Investors

62Gizmodo / 6h
After Cyberpunk 2077 debuted to the world and set off a trash fire of rage and disappointment, the clock starting ticking. Many wondered when that anger would manifest itself into a lawsuit to take the game’s publisher, CD Projekt Red, to court. It happened on Christmas Eve. Read more...

Apple rolls out lower App Store fees for 'Small Business' developers

48Engadget / 7h
Apple has started taking smaller commissions from some of its App Store Small Business Program participants, according to AppleInsider . The tech giant introduced the program in November, offering developers that earn less than $1 million a year a way to cut App Store fees in half. Instead of paying a 30 percent commission rate, participants will only have to pay 15 percent for sales and in-app p

Master Spanish with a lifetime subscription to this clever language app

28Mashable / 7h
TL;DR: A lifetime subscription to the Lirica Premium Language Learning App is on sale for £36.81 as of Dec. 25, saving you 66% on list price. Learning a second (or third or fourth) language can be a great boost for your career. And learning Spanish is especially helpful considering it's one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world. If you've been waiting for the right moment to dive in,

Google's Search Engine Is Squashing Local News, Study Says

200+Gizmodo / 10h
When we ask who should take the rap for the decline of local news, most folks agree the blame partially lies on Google’s shoulders . The tech giant has spent the past decade systematically swallowing a larger and larger chunk of the digital ad market, diverting the dollars that outlets—particularly smaller… Read more...

Last, Last, Last-Minute Tech Gifts That Don't Suck, According to Me

56Gizmodo / 10h
I didn’t pour a ton of money into upgrading my tech this year. Our flailing economy and my general unease about the impact of the pandemic on our already troubled news industry left me feeling a little more conservative than usual about how to spend my pocket money. Where I did invest, however, I believe I did so… Read more...

The Christmas Eve Safety Briefing That Makes Flights Awesome

View from the Wing / 11h
Many flight safety briefings are done by video nowadays, at least on aircraft equipped with inflight entertainment. But flight attendants used to do safety briefings live and on some aircraft of course they still do. As long as all of the relevant information is included in the briefing, the particular verbiage isn't dictated. Back in 1999, I think, I first heard "'Twas the Flight Before Christma

Facebook Protect security program will be offered to more users in 2021

SlashGear / 11h
Facebook Protect, the enhanced security program that was made available to politicians, candidates, and similar to keep their accounts secure, will be expanded to other types of accounts starting next year. Facebook also plans to roll out support for security tokens on mobile, according to the company’s head of cybersecurity policy. The changes were recently disclosed to Axios by Facebook’s … Con

CD Projekt Red has been sued over Cyberpunk 2077's buggy release

500+Engadget / 12h
CD Projekt Red could have a legal battle on its hands. In a filing spotted by Bloomberg , a firm called Rosen Law announced that it has opened a class-action lawsuit against the company. It alleges the studio’s management misled investors about the state of the game before its release and failed to disclose that Cyberpunk 2077 “was virtually unplayable” on the PS4 and Xbox One due to “an enormous