In this week’s episode of The TouchArcade Show we kick things off with some discussion about AR/VR devices like Apple’s …

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In Episode 606 of The TouchArcade Show we kick things off talking about my plans for this weekend, which has …

Continue reading "Back When AOL WAS the Internet – The TouchArcade Show #606"

President-elect Trump has promised mass deportations, including workplace raids like those that took place during his first term at chicken processing plants in rural Mississippi.

Every county in Georgia has certified its general election results. There had been concerns about election certification, but with Donald Trump's victory, those worries have largely gone away.

Single-player campaign, ranked multiplayer available free of charge.

The numbers don't lie: Games as "live" services bring in more money over time.

Join Sean Gallagher, Dell's Ivan Nekrasov, and me today, January 21, at 3:15pm Eastern!

The contract software company closed a $110 million Series D round in 2023, one of the largest venture capital deals in Washington last year.

"If Jupiter doesn’t have a surface, what does it have? "

Hurricane Milton flooded parts of the Tampa Bay region just days after Hurricane Helene made landfall nearby.

A new battery plant under construction in South Carolina will supply BMW factories.

What is Jupiter's great red spot? Researchers have observed the red spot changing over time.

Researchers describe a new nudibranch that is genetically drastically different from its closest relatives.

New show is on the hunt for high-profile stars to play Hogwarts staff

The Irish actor, who won our hearts as Connell’s mum Lorraine in ‘Normal People’, is back as Bibi Garvey in Sharon Horgan’s pitch-black comic caper ‘Bad Sisters’. She tells Ellie Harrison about misogyny on certain sets, why authenticity casting can close doors, and why these days a part has to be really good for her to say yes

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has resigned over accusations that he failed to report physical and sexual abuse to the police.

Israel's Defense Minister was fired last week by Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu who said that trust had "eroded" between them. The now former defense minister met with families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and gave his thoughts on what Israel can still achieve in Gaza. We hear what was said.

The shootings were part of a wave of violence that erupted as the country plagued by gang violence swore in its new prime minister after a politically tumultuous process.

DID you ever really believe that the Netflix launch coinciding with the beginning of winter was just a coincidence? Surely those execs weren’t insinuating that you were going to be ...

The post Summer bodies are built in winter appeared first on Star Observer.

Go beneath the waves and back in time to explore the incredible story of the German attack on Bell Island. In 1942, four merchant ships were sunk by Hitler’s U-boats, coming to a final rest on the ocean floor. Now, we’ve teamed up with historians and divers to take you on an underwater tour of the shipwrecks.

A group representing hunters in the Nordic countries says it’s more optimistic than ever that the European Union will lift a longtime ban on trading seal products that deprived Canadian sealers of their primary market.

Throughout the fall, unusual white blobs have been washing ashore on beaches in eastern Newfoundland. A Memorial University chemist says the substance is a type of pollution that shouldn't have been in the ocean in the first place.

On day one of Donald Trump's presidency, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he'll be advising Trump to take fluoride out of public water. The former presidential hopeful — and prominent proponent of debunked public health claims — has described fluoride as "industrial waste."

After weeks of hurricanes and blackouts have left many in Cuba reeling, an earthquake has left people shaken as rumbling was felt across the eastern stretch of the island, including in bigger cities like Santiago de Cuba, as well as Holguin and Guantanamo.

An emperor penguin found malnourished far from its Antarctic home on the Australian south coast is being cared for by a wildlife expert, a government department said Monday.

A dome-shaped device floating in Halifax’s Northwest Arm could easily be confused with a buoy, but it is actually a contraption meant to turn ocean water into fresh water. Two Dalhousie University researchers hope it can help with water scarcity in the real world.

Dream about teeth falling out meaning often symbolizes anxiety, personal change, or fear of loss. Discover the deeper psychological and spiritual interpretations.

Private ownership, consumer choice, and competition would deliver better benefits to veterans — and force policy-makers to confront the costs of military engagements.

His early personnel choices indicate his incoming administration would be willing to use sticks as well as carrots to deal with Russia.

Nintendo has filed a lawsuit against a streamer called EveryGameGuru, accused of streaming gameplays of pirated games before they were even released — and of providing viewers access to piracy tools and illegal copies of the games.

EveryGameGuru allegedly streamed Mario & Luigi: Brothership across five days, weeks before its official release on November 7. After Nintendo had the videos taken down from various platforms, including YouTube, they continued live streaming on Loco and even included a QR code for their CashApp handle.

Nintendo said EveryGameGuru sent the company an email, saying it has “a thousand burner channels” and “can do this all day.”

Don’t anger the house of Mario! The company is asking for $150,000 in damages per violation of its copyright. 404media did the math: That could add up to millions, seeing as the suit cites at least 10 games, streamed on at least 50 occasions.

— Mat Smith

The biggest tech stories you missed

Engadget review recap: Two new Macs, the PS5 Pro and more

Sony has sold 65 million PS5s

Andor season two will hit Disney+ in April

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HTC Vive Focus Vision review

An average-performing premium VR headset.

Sure, it’s not for most of us. The Vive Focus Vision isn’t for the same people as the PSVR2 or Meta Quest 3. This is meant to be high-end VR for businesses and creators: a cross between the Focus 3 and last year’s goggle-like XR Elite. The build quality is excellent, but it’s running on aging hardware. Worse, it’s riddled with software issues and is rather expensive compared to the Meta Quest 3.

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The voice of AOL’s You’ve got mail! dies aged 74

He recorded four phrases for $200 in 1989.

If you’re aged 30 and up, you know the voice of Elwood Edwards, realize it or not. He recorded the phrase, “You’ve got mail!” and three other lines for Quantum Computer Services in 1989. That company became America Online (AOL), Meg Ryan made the movie with Tom Hanks and everything else. (AOL is currently owned by Yahoo, Engadget’s parent company.)

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Latest God of War Ragnarok patch tells the son to be quiet

It reduces all the hints from Kratos’ offspring.

The latest patch for the PS5 version of God of War Ragnarok adds the option first seen in the PC port to tone down the boy’s excessive and unsolicited hints when Kratos is contemplating the game’s many puzzles. Enough, Atreus! (The patch also includes PS5 Pro upgrades, for smooth 60 fps and better visuals. But that’s not as funny.)

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One of the most useful new features in the public beta of iOS 18.2 is the capability to share the location of a lost item connected to Apple’s Find My network. Sure, you could already share an item’s location with people in your contacts list, but Apple says this could help when you have to rely on the help of a stranger.

When you choose Share Item Location in the Find My app on iPhone, iPad or Mac, you get the option to share a link that shows the location of your missing item. The link’s recipient will be able to open it on any device, and they’ll also be able to see your Apple account email and/or phone number so they can get in touch with you. You can even share the information with selected airlines. Apple has apparently worked with several carriers to integrate this feature into their systems.

Better still, air transport tech company SITA is also incorporating Share Item Location into WorldTracer, its baggage-tracing system. Apple says more than 500 airlines and ground handlers at 2,800-plus airports use it. Perfect for when I head to Portugal in just five days’ time. Yes, brag.

For now, it’s part of the public beta, so if you want the feature, you’ll have to install iOS 18.2.

— Mat Smith

The biggest tech stories you missed

• Amazon reportedly wants drivers to wear AR glasses for improved efficiency

• This Shin Megami Tensei board game features 72 intricate demon figurines

• A white Steam Deck OLED can be yours for $679

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Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar review

New tech powers a big audio upgrade.

It’s not been a great year for Sonos, but still, here comes its latest upgraded soundbar. While the design is mostly unchanged from the Arc that debuted in 2020, there are several key changes inside the Arc Ultra that make this a better all-in-one solution. Sonos is promising better bass performance, thanks to new speaker tech debuting in the Arc Ultra, but just how good can it be? $999 worth of good?

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Google’s Pixel 8a is only $399, and it’s not even Black Friday

Just. Buy. This. Phone!

If you want an excellent midrange smartphone or an upgrade from that crunchy Android of yours from 2014, just get yourself the Pixel 8a, down $100 to $399. With Google’s Tensor G3 chip, the Pixel 8a supports many of the same AI features as the flagship Pixel devices. The cameras are excellent, and it has a gorgeous (and smooth) 6.1-inch 120Hz OLED display. The only caveat is… we’ve seen it drop to $380 briefly. Still, it’s a deal. We gave it a score of 90 in our review.

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An Overwatch: Classic event takes fans back to the beginning

A 6v6 limited-time Overwatch 2 mode starts November 12.

For the first time in over two years, Overwatch 2 players will be able to group up in teams of six for a three-week event starting today. But there’s a twist: You won’t be able to select Kiriko or Sombra or battle it out with an additional player on each side on Push maps just yet. Yes, you’ll be limited to the first 21 heroes, kitted out with their old movesets and ultimates. Did someone call for Symmetra, teleport savior? No, but they will.

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As someone who gets motion sick easily and doesn't love unexpected things coming at me, 4DX has never been my cup of tea. However, as a long time fan of Wicked, that could change as Xfinity has released a new 4DX ad ahead of Wicked the movie's November 22 release date. 

The ad is a short film titled Stay Connected to Your Dreams and was directed by Alice Brooks, Wicked's director of photography. It centers on Wicked's leads Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, who play Elphaba and Glinda, respectively. The short film shows viewers Erivo and Grande's childhoods and their love of Wicked, Grande's decade and a half old tweet wishing she'd one day play Glinda and the calls when each actor learned they'd been cast in the movie. 

According to Xfinity, the 4DX film will allow the audience to "feel the magic of Oz" and includes synchronized motion seats, wind, lightning and, of course, bubbles (IYKYK). The company also claims it's the first 4DX spot to be played nationwide. While we've not always been fans of 4DX, Wicked lovers might enjoy the slightly more immersive experience. 

You can experience the short film in select 4DX Regal theaters before the movie premieres or sans-4DX here. The second part of Wicked should arrive next year, on November 21, 2025. 

Team17, the developer of the Worms and publisher of Dredge, Blasphemous and more, is working on Rogue Point, a new rogue-lite tactical FPS game. The studio has enlisted the help of Crowbar Collective, the team behind Black Mesa, the fan-made and Valve-approved Half-Life remake that needs no further introduction. Rogue Point is currently in development and slated to enter early access soon.

Rogue Point is set in a dystopian future where a single CEO had controlled everything. After his death, competing companies work to carve up his empire. To achieve this, they hire mercenaries using the MERX app, and it’s as simple as getting food using Uber Eats. Currently, only Rogue Point, a team of vigilantes, is fighting back against this dystopian state of affairs.

The game pits teams of four against computer-controlled enemies of different classes, each offering unique challenges. Players must strategize and play with the right loadouts or risk losing. There’s plenty of gear to acquire, too, with some weapons only available in the mission field.

Maps are procedurally generated to ensure no two playthroughs are the same. Unlocked equipment may also be used in future runs. Besides the standard campaign missions where “high-octane tactical combat meets strategic planning,” there’s an endgame mission with maxed-out difficulty, promising a challenge for those craving it.

The developers have a rather extensive wishlist of features they hope to add to the game down the road. Those include new weapons (who doesn’t like new gear?), improved AI and new maps. There are currently four maps announced, but the procedural generation should make things less repetitive.

Rogue Point isn’t in early access yet, but you can wishlist it on Steam. The game is set to come out in 2025, but the developers have yet to announce a final release date.

Climate activists won against Shell in 2021 when a Dutch court commanded the oil giant to reduce its carbon emissions by 45 percent by the end of 2030. Three years later, Shell managed to win its appeal against this ruling. In the court's view, Shell doesn’t have a “social standard of care” to curtail emissions, the BBC reports.

The 2021 ruling was noteworthy, as it was the first time a court made a private company obey the 2015 Paris Agreement in addition to Dutch law. However, the appeals court judge said that while Shell had an obligation to reduce emissions, a 45 percent cut could not be established as there is no universally accepted amount. Shell’s statement says it’s planning to reduce its products’ carbon intensity by a comparatively paltry 15 to 20 percent by 2030 compared to a 2016 baseline.

The 2021 ruling would only be effective in the Netherlands as well. Shell wouldn’t have been legally obligated to follow the lower court's ruling for its operations outside Dutch territory. Now even that small gain is off the table for now.

The activists, who are largely associated with Milieudefensie (the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth), issued a statement promising to continue the fight against climate change. “Large polluters are powerful. But united, we as people have the power to change them,” said Donald Pols, Director of Milieudefensie. They’re now trying to take the case to the Supreme Court, but getting a final verdict will likely take years.

Apple is rumored to be working on a new smart home product. Mark Gurman at Bloomberg reported that the company is developing a wall-mounted display for controlling appliances, interacting with Siri and videoconferencing. The tablet is said to look "like a square iPad" with "a roughly 6-inch screen." It would have a camera at the top as well as internal speakers and a built-in rechargeable battery. His sources said this smart home display could be officially announced as soon as March following three years in development.

This description sounds a lot like the Google Home Hub, which came out in 2018, or the Echo Show, which is already up to its eighth iteration. If Apple wants to be a serious competitor in this smart home space, it'll have to prove to customers that it has something to offer that these more established brands and products don't.

Right now, the only distinguishing feature is likely Apple Intelligence, which finally began rolling out to users in late October, and the upcoming App Intents system for controlling software programs with AI. But Apple may be looking farther ahead toward something more extravagant than just a smart device control panel. Gurman reported that Apple is already working on a version with a robotic arm that could move the tablet around. It should be interesting to see exactly what Apple does formally launch and when.

THE weather bureau said it was not caught off guard by the intensity of the storm that tore through southeast Queensland on Sunday. An emergency situation was in place on the Sunshine Coast after the wild weather hit.