HiTechEdge

Category: Tech

All news related to tech.

  • Activision Releases Call of Duty Anti-Toxicity Progress Report

    Activision Releases Call of Duty Anti-Toxicity Progress Report

    Activision has released a report on its efforts to fight toxicity in its Call of Duty franchise, as online platforms grapple with the issue.

    Like virtually all online platforms, gaming has struggled with toxic, abusive individuals, who engage in hate speech, bullying and harassment. Many gaming companies are taking measures to stop such behavior, with mixed results.

    Activision is working to address the issues, and released a report detailing what measures it has already taken.

    Banned over 350,000 accounts for racist names or toxic behavior based on player-submitted reports and an extensive review of our player-name database

    Deployed new in-game filters to catch potentially offensive user-names, clan tags or profiles

    Implemented new technology to filter potentially offensive text chat

    Implemented filters across 11 languages

    The company says there’s still much work to be done, but it will continue to address the issues.

    “We know we have a long way to go to reach our goals,” the company continues. “This is just the start. Addressing this is an ongoing commitment that we will not waiver from. We look forward to making progress on this front and coming together with you to share in the fun and joy of playing together.”

  • Amazon Buying MGM for $8.45 Billion

    Amazon Buying MGM for $8.45 Billion

    Following days of speculation and rumor, Amazon has entered an agreement to purchase MGM for $8.45 billion.

    Rumors first broke last week that Amazon was looking to purchase MGM to help boost its content for its Amazon Prime streaming service. Additional details confirmed the likely price was in the $9 billion range.

    The two companies have officially announced they have entered an agreement for Amazon to purchase MGM for $8.45 billion.

    “MGM has a vast catalog with more than 4,000 films—12 Angry Men, Basic Instinct, Creed, James Bond, Legally Blonde, Moonstruck, Poltergeist, Raging Bull, Robocop, Rocky, Silence of the Lambs, Stargate, Thelma & Louise, Tomb Raider, The Magnificent Seven, The Pink Panther, The Thomas Crown Affair, and many other icons—as well as 17,000 TV shows—including Fargo, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Vikings—that have collectively won more than 180 Academy Awards and 100 Emmys,” said Mike Hopkins, Senior Vice President of Prime Video and Amazon Studios. “The real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of IP in the deep catalog that we plan to reimagine and develop together with MGM’s talented team. It’s very exciting and provides so many opportunities for high-quality storytelling.”

    “It has been an honor to have been a part of the incredible transformation of Metro Goldwyn Mayer. To get here took immensely talented people with a true belief in one vision. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank the MGM team who have helped us arrive at this historic day,” said Kevin Ulrich, Chairman of the Board of Directors of MGM. “I am very proud that MGM’s Lion, which has long evoked the Golden Age of Hollywood, will continue its storied history, and the idea born from the creation of United Artists lives on in a way the founders originally intended, driven by the talent and their vision. The opportunity to align MGM’s storied history with Amazon is an inspiring combination.”

    Amazon emphasized its commitment to preserving MGM’s long history of great storytelling, and its intention to help the studio keep doing just that.

  • Microsoft Edge the ‘Best Performing Browser on Windows 10’

    Microsoft Edge the ‘Best Performing Browser on Windows 10’

    On the heels of announcing Internet Explorer’s imminent demise, Microsoft says Edge is the “best performing browser on Windows 10.”

    Microsoft announced Internet Explorer’s end of life date a week ago, and now the company is reassuring users the future is bright for its replacement, Microsoft Edge. In fact, thanks to its Chromium foundation and Microsoft’s hard work, the browser is now the browser to beat on Windows 10.

    There are two features contributing to Edge’s increased performance: Startup boost and sleeping tabs.

    Startup boost offloads core Microsoft Edge processes to the background, enabling the browser to start faster. 

    Microsoft Edge Sleeping Tabs – Credit Microsoft

    Sleeping tabs is designed to boost performance when using multiple tabs. When switching to a new tab, the feature will immediately put any ads in background tabs to sleep, thereby conserving energy and boosting the overall performance of Edge and Windows.

    Users will see these benefits with the release of version 91 later this week.

  • Google Chrome Now Has More Than 3 Billion Users

    Google Chrome Now Has More Than 3 Billion Users

    Google Chrome has catapulted in popularity since its debut, and now has more than 3 billion users worldwide.

    Internet Explorer was once the most popular browser, with Mozilla’s Firefox second. Once Google entered the fray with Chrome, the entire market was turned upside-down, and Chrome quickly become the most popular browser.

    Recent research by AtlasVPN, however, puts Chromes market share at a whopping 3,258,256,887 users, or 41% of the population.

    “The key reason for such browser popularity is the fact that it has been created by the tech giant Google,” writes AtlasVPN’s Anton P. “In addition, many people praise it for various customizable options and speed compared to other browsers.”

    Safari comes in second, with 944,576,100 users, thanks largely to its base of iOS/iPadOS devices, as well as the Mac . Firefox comes in third place with 181,435,430 users. Microsoft Edge, Samsung Internet and Opera round out the top six with 171,327,607, 166,779,086 and 112,196,840 respectively.

  • Valve Preparing Nintendo Switch-Like Gaming Device

    Valve Preparing Nintendo Switch-Like Gaming Device

    Valve, the maker of the popular Steam gaming platform, is reportedly looking to release its own Switch-style gaming device.

    Valve is a household name in gaming circles, thanks to its Steam platform. Steam is a popular cross-platform game distribution service that includes some of the most popular titles in existence.

    The company is looking to expand beyond game distribution, with a foray into hardware, according to Ars Technica. The new device is code-named “SteamPal,” and appears to have a touchscreen and feature a wider profile than the Nintendo Switch. It’s believed the extra width will be used for an array of gaming controls.

    There’s no concrete information on price, but Ars believes the device is built with Linux in mind. This will hopefully help keep the cost down, as Valve will be able to avoid the licensing fees associated with Windows.

    While nothing is certain, it’s believed the device may make its debut later this year, as long as the supply chain and current semiconductor shortage can support it.

  • Vimeo Goes Public

    Vimeo Goes Public

    Vimeo has gone public, with today being its first day as a publicly traded company.

    Vimeo parent IAC announced in December it was spinning the streaming platform off as a fully independent, public company. A month later, Vimeo raised $300 million, bringing its valuation to $5.7 billion, as it prepared to go public.

    The day has finally arrived, with Vimeo now a public company.

    “Today Vimeo was listed as a public company,” CEO Anjali Sud wrote on the company blog. “This has been a 16-year labor of love: sparked by a few inspired minds, nurtured by patient investors, and kindled by over a thousand passionate humans who have built, pivoted, innovated, and scaled. 

    “We’ve gone through a lot of change over the years. But what has never changed is our belief in the power of video. We put creators first, and put the power of professional-quality video in the hands of millions. We built an innovative software platform, a wildly creative community, and a strong and resilient business. I don’t think I’ll ever feel more proud of a group of people as I do today.”

    Sud sees a world of possibilities post-pandemic, including reimagining virtual events. As one of the leading video platforms, and YouTube’s main competitor, Vimeo seems well-positioned for future growth.

  • Google Officially (and Quietly) Launches Fuchsia OS

    Google Officially (and Quietly) Launches Fuchsia OS

    Google has released its third major operating system, Fuchsia OS, although most people probably missed it.

    Google has been working on Fuchsia OS for several years. The OS is an all-new undertaking, built from the ground up, without being based on Linux, UNIX or any other OS. The company has been unusually secretive about the project, leading many to conclude it could bring together the company’s OS strategy, eventually replacing both Android and Chrome.

    One of the factors in Fuchsia’s favor is Flutter, the programming language used for it. Because Flutter creates cross-platform apps, apps that are created now will be able to automatically run on any Fuchsia-powered devices once they debut.

    It appears Google has finally released Fuchsia, although to an existing device, rather than an all-new device, or as part of a wider release. According to 9to5Google, Fuchsia has been rolled out to the first-generation Nest Hub, replacing the Linux-based OS the devices were previously running.

    Google confirmed to 9to5Google there will not be any fundamental change in the device’s behavior. Nonetheless, Fuchsia running on a real-world device will give the company valuable input on how well the OS is functioning, and what improvements need to be made before a wider deployment.

  • Qualcomm Releases Next-Gen Snapdragon for Arm-Based PCs and Chromebooks

    Qualcomm Releases Next-Gen Snapdragon for Arm-Based PCs and Chromebooks

    Qualcomm has released the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 processor to help further Arm-based Windows PCs, as well as Chromebooks.

    Apple upended the PC industry when it announced it would switch its Mac computers to its own custom silicon. Apple’s new M1 processors are the evolution of the same Arm-based chips Apple has used in iPhones and iPads for years. Shortly after the announcement, former Apple executive and Be, Inc. founder Jean-Louis Gassée predictedMicrosoft would be forced to follow suit, due to the advantages Arm’s architecture offers over Intel.

    Qualcomm is working hard to help the Windows and Chromebook world embrace Arm-based chips with its new Snapdragon 7c Gen 2.

    “Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 brings the leading innovations of our compute portfolio to the next generation of entry-tier and affordable devices. Laptops powered by this platform will redefine mobile computing for education users, first line workers, and everyday light consumers, enabling reliable and powerful devices that feature advanced AI, and support for multi-day battery life,” said Miguel Nunes, Senior Director, Product Management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “We are excited to bring this next generation upgrade to our entry level platform, for the very best mobile PC experiences.”

    Qualcomm has simultaneously released Snapdragon Developer Kit, aimed at helping developers test their Windows 10 applications on the Arm-based chips.

    “We have a proud history of creating helpful developer tools in coordination with Microsoft, and the Snapdragon Developer Kit is the latest outcome of that collaboration,” said Miguel Nunes, Senior Director, Product Management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “This developer kit provides an affordable alternative to other consumer and commercial devices. With the smaller desktop configuration, this kit gives developers more flexibility than notebook options, and at a lower price point. We remain committed to helping developers address requests from customers, while reducing the overall cost of deployment.”

  • Google News Showcase Makes Its Way to the Desktop

    Google News Showcase Makes Its Way to the Desktop

    Google News Showcase has made its way to the desktop, continuing the company’s efforts to change how it interacts with news publishers.

    Google News Showcase is the company’s platform that pays publishers to work with Google’s news products. The product has already been launched in the U.K., Australia, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Czechia and India, backed by a $1 billion fund. The platform was pivotal to Google smoothing things over with Australia when it passed legislation to force tech companies to pay for news.

    The product has now moved beyond mobile and made its way to the desktop. Alex Cox, Product Manager, News made the announcement in a company blog post.

    “Today, we’re announcing a few new features for News Showcase. First, we’re rolling out News Showcase for desktop users of Google News (via news.google.com/showcase). Now every user of Google News, regardless of what device they’re using, can see enhanced story panels from our News Showcase partners. This feature is available in the eight countries where we’ve currently launched News Showcase.”

    Cox also reiterated the company’s commitment to supporting journalism.

    “News Showcase is just one part of Google’s overall commitment to the news industry. We partner with news publishers through the Google News Initiative, offer innovative products like Subscribe with Google to help them earn sustainable revenue, and build tools like those in Journalist Studio to help make it simpler and more affordable to uncover and write stories. High-quality journalism is important to us, to our users and to society as a whole, and we’re dedicated to ensuring a positive future with our products and investments.”

  • Verizon Offering Free Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass

    Verizon Offering Free Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass

    Verizon is offering subscribers free Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass in its ongoing efforts to be the center of customers’ digital life.

    Carriers are increasingly expanding beyond basics wireless service, offering promotions, complimentary services and partnerships. The goal is to help reduce churn — the rate at which customers switch carriers — by becoming entrenched in customers’ lives.

    For example, T-Mobile offers T-Mobile Money banking service and T-Mobile Home Internet, as well as free Netflix. Meanwhile, some Verizon plans include free Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, as well as free Apple Music and Discovery+. 

    Verizon is expanding its bundled services to include a free Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass plan.

    Starting May 25, new and existing customers get six months of Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass, ($4.99/mo. value) on us with any unlimited plan or 12 months on us with “Play More” or “Get More” plans.