You can try out Ubisoft's Uplay+ subscription gaming service for free this month by getting a free trial.
Ubisoft's Uplay+ subscription gaming service was first announced and detailed at E3 2019, and has launched in beta today. The service costs $15 per month and will provide users will access to a library of over 100 titles, including new games. Subscribers also will be able to avail of additional benefits such as being invited to closed betas.
Uplay+ is expected to be out of beta and in full expansion early next year.
However, between today and September 30, you can get a free trial and check out the service yourself before you commit to any recurring fee. That said, Uplay+ is cancel anytime so that helps if you do decide to sign up permanently.
Are you getting spammed by Google Calendar? Google is aware of the widespread issue and is working on a fix.
Spammers and malicious actors are exploiting the default settings for Google Calendar to direct spam and potentially dangerous stuff. If you suddenly started receiving Event reminders from Google that inform you about an iPhone you won (see accompanied image for example), or some other suspicious message, it is likely you have been hit by this annoyance too. The event reminders typically also show malicious links that could be dangerous to open.
In a post to the Google Support Forums, employee Lesley Pace addressed the issue yesterday.
"We're aware of the spam occurring in Calendar and are working diligently to resolve this issue. We'll post updates to this thread as they become available,"Pace writes. A link is also added if you require information on how to remove and to report spam.
The issue arises from the default settings of Google Calendar when it comes to automatically adding invitations and providing notifications by alert. By default, Events from GMail are also added to the Calendar which you can turn off in the Google Calendar settings.
Facebook may repeat a change from its Instagram service that will reduce the visibility of a post's overall popularity.
Back in April this year, Facebook began a test on its Instagram service in which it made the overall Like count on posts invisible to all but the poster. This test is only live in select countries at the moment. The social network has confirmed to TechCrunch that it is considering the same change for posts on Facebook too.
The change was first hinted at when reverse engineer Jane Manchun Wong spotted code for hidden Like counts in the Facebook app for Android devices. It hasn't been rolled out yet, and Facebook hasn't provided any details on the outcome of the Instagram test yet either.
Removing Like counts seems to be aimed at reducing users' insecurities around comparative like counts. Witnessing others posts gather large amounts of Likes and attention while one's own posts struggle to get any can apparently have a psychological impact. It also can nudge users into self-censorship or following the crowd. These are not positive outcomes for anyone.
If Facebook does decide to begin hiding Like tallies, it will roll it out slowly the same way it has on Instagram. This will give the firm the opportunity to easily roll back the change if that becomes necessary. During the test, users would only see a few names of friends who liked a post, whereas only the poster would be able to see the actual Like count.
Earlier this week, YouTube had removed popular accounts from its service citing infringement of its rules on hate speech and conduct. It then reversed its decision for some.
Among the accounts were that of an anonymous British user called 'The Iconoclast', and another from a reportedly right-wing figure called Martin Sellner. The latter has been banned from entering the United Kingdom, according to a BBC report, which also says Austrian police are looking into reports that Sellner was in contact with the Christchurch mosque attacker. Sellner absolutely denies any links to the atrocity.
Both of the accounts were reinstated on Thursday with YouTube saying it had made the wrong call. On Friday, the decision was clarified by Farshad Shadloo, who is responsible for global products policy communications at YouTube. According to Shadloo, the channels had not broken any of its rules.
The comments followed a letter from YouTube chief Susan Wojcicki to videomakers, in which she stressed that YouTube must remain an open platform. "A commitment to openness is not easy. It sometimes means leaving up content that is outside the mainstream, controversial or even offensive," she wrote.
It is not uncommon for Twitter and other social media accounts to be hijacked and used for malicious reasons, but it is particularly embarrassing when it happens to the chief executive, and not for the first time.
Twitter chief Jack Dorsey was a victim of account theft this weekend. On Friday, the CEO's account - which has four million followers - was hijacked. Those in control of Mr Dorsey's account then went on to publish racist tweets and to retweet other content. Later on Friday, the social media firm noticed the breach and secured Dorsey's account.
According to Twitter, the breach happened because of a security insight by the mobile provider linked to Dorsey's account. This technique is called a SIM swapping attack, in which a mobile provider is duped into transferring a victim's phone number to a SIM card controlled by a malicious party.
Dorsey was targeted in a separate hack in 2016, along with Google chief Sundar Pichai and Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg.
Yesterday we told you about the exclusive streaming deal from Disney that we thought was definitely worth a look. Apparently we weren't the only ones to try and sign up for the D23 membership.
Disney has confirmed that their servers crashed after a flurry of visitors trying to get their hands on the Disney+ deal.
Disney representative told Comicbook.com that they yesterday became "aware of an issue impacting access to the Disney's D23 Fan Club website due to the heavy volume of traffic that the site is experiencing."
D23 Fan Club site seems to again work just fine, so you can head on there if you want to cash in the pretty amazing deal they have for those of us willing to sign a three-year subscription.
The deal gets you 33% percent off the regular one year deal, which isn't bad to begin with at $6.99/mo or $69.99/year. The three-year deal, available until September 2nd, costs around $140 or less than $4 a month.
It seems like Apple's iOS development is a little bit out of whack. The company has released their latest iOS beta update, which carries the version number 13.1, but the stable release of iOS 13 is yet to be released.
Of course iOS 13 won't likely be released until Apple is ready to unveil their upcoming iPhones. That's when they'll be showing off how well the two of them, hardware and software, work together.
That's also how they'll sell you the idea that you need a new phone, even though probably most of the updates are coming to previous models as well. Obviously the new hardware has its own merits that might have you convinced regardless of the iOS update, but let's be honest, most of us dearly want some iOS updates.
Rumors suggest that the new iPhones are to be unveiled on Semptember 10, which probably is the date we'll see the first official versions of iOS 13. We are still nearly two weeks away and iOS 13.1 is already in beta testing.
Unfortunately there isn't much in terms of new information that people have gathered mining the beta. This might suggest that Apple has found a critical error, perhaps even a security bug in the initial iOS 13 version that they have to release another update right off the bat.
In our article series, we're digging into AfterDawn's news archive and looking what happened exactly 20 years ago. This article series also celebrates AfterDawn's 20th anniversary.
So, we're digging into our news archive and trying to figure out what was hot and what was not, back in August, 1999 when our site was only 2 months old. I'd like to remind you, our readers, that back then, AfterDawn was strictly focused on digital audio and video technologies and reporting events in those genres. More generic "all about tech" arrived to our site much later.
DVD releases were back then what the Netflix releases are now: Matrix as an example
Back in 1999, DVD players were The Tech that many households were planning to get for the "entire family's Christmas present" - i.e. the most sought-after tech that had hit the mainstream. Thus, new DVD movie releases were also big news back then, just like, say Netflix's next month's releases are now.
In the autumn of 1999, the most anticipated movie release among the tech enthusiasts was definitely The Matrix, which was about to be released on DVD format in September. Warner Home Videos, who owned the DVD rights, was hoping that Matrix would become the first movie ever to sell over one million DVDs. But, at around the same time, in in the end of August, another blockbuster made its way to DVD format, too: Titanic. Which one won the race? Well, ;Matrix did.
Disney held their annual D23 Expo in Anaheim this weekend announcing some very anticipated Star Warstrailers among other things.
They also provided D23 Expo attendees with a special offer for Disney+ subscription that wasn't available elsewhere. Expo attendants got 33% off from the the streaming services $69.99 yearly fee, if they paid three years in advance.
Now after the exposition has concluded Disney has expanded the availability to D23 members as well.
The good news is that D23 membership can be attained without any costs, as BGR notes. While there are tiers like the D23 Gold membership that costs $99 a year, you can get the Disney+ bargain with just the regular free D23 subscription (i.e. D23 General Membership).
Getting 33% off means you'll pay around $46 per year, or $138 for the full three year subscription. That's less than four dollars per month for a subscription that is surely going to offer quite a lot of Marvel, Disney and Star Wars content in the coming years.
Netflix has changed how their platform works in numerous ways throughout the years. Things like removing stars for thumbs up and down easily spring to mind, but they are far from the most important features on the service.
One could argue, the most important piece of software with Netflix is the suggestions engine that drives what content will be shown to each person at any given time. However, it is not perfect, not even close.
If you are anything like me, you are getting annoyed at getting constantly suggested same content, even things you've already seen. Well, to better suggest content you'd like, they are now testing real human curation to compliment algorithms.
A tweet has revealed a new trial Netflix is running, called Collections. These are, well, collections of shows and/or movies gathered together by human hands.
It includes categories like "Real & Riveting" and "Just for Laughs" with an ability to follow each Collection. The sleek UI allows you to get a quick look at the top three suggestions with a short description by clicking the Collection once, and twice to get an expanded view.
Currently the feature is under testing, and only available to a select few. There's no guarantee that it is going to land on everyone's devices, ever, but if you'd get the choice, would you like to use it?
The ninth episode is called The Rise of Skywalker, and according to the trailer it is going to be one of the more epic ones, as expected.
The first half of the trailer is pretty much just build up with footage from the previous episodes, but fortunately the latter half does reveal some new and interesting details about the upcoming movie.
We see the dynamic duo Rey and Finn, as well as their partner in crime pilot Poe Dameron. They are accompanied by who else than Chewbacca and C-3PO, who seems to turn to the dark side with a glimpse into his red eyes.
Lucasfilm has managed to reuse some footage of Carrie Fisher's Leia, and she'll appear in the movie as well.
As you would expect, there's action and space battles, but also an epic fight between Rey and Kylo Ren. What's even more cryptic or dramatic, though, is the ending of the trailer with Rey in a black hood with a Sith lightsaber not unlike the one wielded by Darth Maul.
Disney has released their first official trailer for the Lucasfilm show The Mandalorian. The Star Wars spinoff depicts the stories of the infamous bounty hunters from the planet Mandalore.
Most famous Mandalorian is of course Boba Fett, but The Mandalorian doesn't have a name. Not yet at least.
The series takes place a few years after the initial trilogy and follows "a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic".
You are to expect epic Star Wars scenery and gripping storytelling as well as lots of action, if the trailer is of any indication of the contents.
The show is starred by Pedro Pascal as the Mandalorian, Gina Carano, Nick Nolte, Giancarlo Esposito, among others. The show was created by Jon Favreau.
Premiere is set for November 12 on Disney+, and Disney+ only.
Spotify is by far the largest streaming music platform in the world. However, in the U.S. Apple has closed the gap, and according to some reports even passed Spotify.
Worldwide the battle isn't really even close, and, in fact, the gap has gotten wider in favor of Spotify since Apple Music launched. Nevertheless, the Swedish music powerhouse is feeling the pressure, for sure.
Perhaps one way this is materializing is the new policy Spotify just announced. The company is copying one from Apple's playbook, and is now offering three-month free period at the start of one's Premium subscription.
Not that it is an Apple only strategy, Spotify has previously offered all kinds of trial periods, and perhaps even a 90-day one for a period of time. However, from yesterday onward this is the de facto policy.
There are some exceptions, though, at least in the beginning. For now, the free three months only applies to default individual subscriptions as well as a student subscription.
Spotify did say, that they are bringing the same benefit to Duo and Family subscriptions soon.
Google's mobile operating system is more than a decade old, and throughout the years we've grown to know different versions by their sweet names.
Now 11 years after Android's premiere Google is changing gears. No longer will Android version be called by the name of a dessert starting with the corresponding letter.
Google has announced that Android 10 will be called, well, Android 10.
All the guessing for this years treat starting with the letter Q has been in vain, but there's a lot of reasons why it's a good change.
First of all, numbers are just simpler and easier to remember. Going through the letters I did remember all the versions but one – for some reason Lollipop evaded me – but there's no question that version numbers are just more convenient.
As boring as the numbers are, they are also easier to translate and you don't have to worry about issue with different languages and cultures. I'm sure – nay, I hope – froyo isn't a thing all around the globe.
Alongside the new version naming policy, Google announced the new logos for both Android 10 as well Android in general. Above you see the simplicity in the new naming scheme, and below you have the new face of Android.
Apple's latest extension of their ecosystem is something one couldn't have imagined a decade ago. The company's new credit card is the newest, hip iPhone only accessory.
After increasing their offering to health applications, Apple is ready to conquer your wallets too. The new Apple Card, developed in partnership with Goldman Sachs, is now available to everyone in the United States.
As long as you qualify, and own an iPhone.
You can apply for the card from the Apple Wallet app, and if successful and you opt for the physical card, you'll be shipped a titanium credit card in addition to the electronic version stored in the app.
Apple promises no fees, "not even hidden ones", except for the interest rates, which the company claims are among the lowest in the industry.
The card includes a cashback program, that offers 2% on all purchases and 3% on Apple Store purchases as well as qualified partners like Uber and Uber Eats.
Cashback, or Daily Cash as Apple calls it, goes straight to your Apple account and can be used just like normal balance.
Balance is of course monitored with the Wallet app, which offers detailed information about purchases.
You can try out Ubisoft's Uplay+ subscription gaming service for free this month by getting a free trial.
Are you getting spammed by Google Calendar? Google is aware of the widespread issue and is working on a fix.
Facebook may repeat a change from its Instagram service that will reduce the visibility of a post's overall popularity.
