Technology

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Deals on the Apple Watch Series 5 have mostly dried up for the time being, but if that model was still a little out of reach price-wise, Walmart and Best Buy each have the Apple Watch Series 3 (38mm, GPS) for $179. This price isn’t necessarily the lowest ever, though this deal is notable because stock, in general, for this model has been scarce since Black Friday. Both retailers currently have a few color options to choose between. Image: Sony If you want to load up on used video games without paying a lot, GameStop is hosting a one-day sale where you can get up to 50 percent off when you buy five preowned games that cost $19.99 or less. The percentage you’ll save increases when you add more games to your cart. (Two games nets you 20 percent in savings, three gets you 30 percent off, and s...

Andy Serkis, perhaps best known for his CGI-enhanced performance as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings movies, is reading The Hobbit live on YouTube as a benefit for UK charities providing COVID-19 relief. He started his Hobbitathon at around 5AM ET today and already has raised £203,699 (about $253,000). “So many of us are struggling in isolation during the lockdown,” Serkis wrote on the GoFundMe page for the fundraiser. “While times are tough, I want to take you on one of the greatest fantasy adventures ever written, a 12 hour armchair marathon across Middle Earth whilst raising money for two amazing charities which are doing extraordinary work right now to help those most in need in the UK: Best Beginnings and NHS Charities Together.” [embedded content] Best Beginnings works with families w...

Microsoft is planning to update Office for iPad with support for Apple’s latest iPadOS trackpad and mouse support. The software maker has always been quick to update its range of iOS apps with Apple’s latest software features, and work is already underway to update Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more. Apple surprised everyone with cursor support in iPadOS back in March, and developers are now racing to update their iPad apps. TechCrunch reported earlier this week that Microsoft is working on cursor support for Office for iPad, that’s “expected to ship in Office for iPad this fall.” We understand that Microsoft is planning to include cursor support by the fall, so it could come to some Office apps a lot sooner. Microsoft is not sharing details on its exact plans just yet. Microsoft has a hist...

On February 6th, NASA astronaut Christina Koch returned back to Earth after making history during a nearly year-long stay on board the International Space Station. She had just broken the record for longest continuous spaceflight by a woman, and while she was up there, she performed the first all-female spacewalk in history with her friend and crewmate Jessica Meir. In fact, they did three total spacewalks together. Now back on solid ground, Koch is experiencing another long-duration mission: social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. But she says her turn aboard the ISS is helping her cope during this time, and she has some tips for others who may be struggling to stay positive throughout the crisis. Koch also says she has a better understanding of what it’s going to take to send ...

At a time when simply sharing space with a fellow human being can be a dangerous activity, many governments, airports, and hospitals are discovering the non-contagious delights of robots, which can be deployed to clean surfaces and deliver goods without fear. Their latest deployment comes from Singapore, where municipal authorities are using Boston Dynamics’ four-legged Spot robot to remind park visitors to keep a safe distance from one another. Starting today, a Spot unit will patrol the city’s Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park as part of a two-week trial, broadcasting prerecorded messages “to remind park visitors to observe safe distancing measures.” Singapore authorities say the robot won’t be used to identify individuals The robot is fitted with cameras that will be used to estimate the number of...

Last year, three of the top five bestselling phones worldwide were Samsung phones, according to Counterpoint Research, holding the number three, four, and five spots after the iPhone XR and 11. If you live in the US, when you think of Samsung, you probably think of the Galaxy S or Note — but the Samsung phones that sold so well were midrange Galaxy A-series phones. Samsung is making a big push to sell more of these phones in the US with the $399 Galaxy A51. That price puts it in direct competition with the iPhone SE, but there are plenty of other Android phones that come in under $500. What makes the A51 different is Samsung’s marketing budget and partnerships. It is available unlocked on Amazon and Samsung’s website, which is significant for a midrange Samsung device, and it’s also on AT&...

Last month, after Apple and Google announced some changes to their forthcoming attempt to track the spread of COVID-19, I noted the surprising degree to which tech giants are setting the terms of the pandemic response. They own the hardware, they own the software, and national governments who would use it to find new cases of COVID-19 have to do it on the companies’ terms. This week, that process began to accelerate. But first, a bit of background. The Apple-Google collaboration will ask you to opt in to a system that causes your phone to emit Bluetooth signals to other phones around you. When you are in close proximity to another person for an extended period of time — more than five minutes, typically — both of your phones record the interaction. When a person tests positive for COVID-19...

The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is still rising, even though people are driving and flying less during the COVID-19 pandemic. CO2 reached an all-time daily high on May 3rd, hitting levels that haven’t been seen in the more than 60 years since records began. The annual average is also expected to rise, according to an analysis published today by scientists at the national meteorological service for the UK and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. They found that the overall amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is still climbing steadily, and that the dramatic changes from the pandemic barely slowed it down. Yesterday, the highest ever greenhouse gas concentration in history was observed at Mauna Loa Observatory: 418.12 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere. Improved national ...

The organizers of Tokyo Game Show have announced that this year’s event has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. TGS 2020 was due to take place from September 24th to 27th at the Makuhari Messe convention center just outside Tokyo, but there are now plans to hold an online event instead. This is the first time that TGS has ever been canceled since it started in 1996, but the news won’t come as a surprise to anyone. Virtually every in-person gaming event this year has been scratched from the calendar, including E3 and Gamescom, the biggest shows in the US and Europe respectively. TGS 2020 would likely have gained more attention than in the average year because of its status as the last major trade show before the launch of the upcoming next-gen consoles, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Se...

New York’s attorney general and Zoom have reached an agreement over the videoconferencing company’s security practices. Attorney General Letitia James offered an update today on a letter she sent in late March, raising concerns after reports of offensive “Zoombombing” as well as other privacy and security issues on the platform. The update outlines steps Zoom is taking to improve its service and praises the company for its handling of criticism. The agreement includes Zoom naming a head of security to run an operation that’s “reasonably designed” to keep user information secure and confidential. Zoom will also employ “reasonable encryption and security protocols,” provide channels for complaints, and explicitly ban “hatred against others based on race, religion, ethnicity, national origin,...

Much of the cast of Community will reunite for a virtual table read to support COVID-19 relief, according to Variety. The table read and a fan Q&A will be live streamed on the Community YouTube channel on May 18th at 5PM ET. Actors Donald Glover, Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Jim Rash, and Ken Jeong, as well as Community creator Dan Harmon, will all participate in the table read, reports Variety. They will be doing a read of the episode “Cooperative Polygraphy” from the show’s fifth season. The live stream will raise money for José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen and Frontline Foods. It’s the latest special to help raise money for COVID-19 relief. NBC aired a half-hour scripted special of Parks and Recreation on April 30th for Feeding America’...