Tech
How to Watch Today’s Senate Hearing on App Store Fairness
Apple and Google will take the hot seat at a Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee hearing examining the companies’ app stores today (April 21), where Spotify legal official Horacio Gutierrez will testify as a witness. The hearing will address the Silicon Valley tech giants’ power over the digital app market through their app stores. Developers must pay Apple and Google between 15 and 30 percent of their revenue to appear on the companies’ app stores, without a clear alternative to reach consumers. Gutierrez is head of global affairs and chief legal officer at Spotify, which filed an antitrust complaint in the EU in March 2019 alleging that Apple abused its control over which apps appear in its app store to limit competition with Apple Music. You Deserve to Make Mo...
‘Mortal Kombat’s Mehcad Brooks Talks Landing The Role of Jax, The Black Twitter Steve Harvey Meme, Gaming & More
Source: Warner Bros. / Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat is the gold standard taking the genre of fighting games to another level. The same could be said about the 1995 film, which is regarded as one of the best film adaptations of a video game. 25 years later, Mortal Kombat is getting a much-needed reboot thanks to Warner Bros., and this time, the movie is sticking to its violent roots and bringing the gory martial arts action plus insane fatalities we love from the games to the big screen. The film follows the same premise for the game, a group of chosen warriors fights on behalf of the Earth realm in a tournament called Mortal Kombat that will determine the fate of the world. Those chosen warriors will have to do battle with Outworld’s best warriors led by the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung (Chin ...
HHW Gaming: This Looming Issue Has PS3 & PS4 Owners Extremely Worried
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: SOPA Images / Getty Not all gamers have moved to the next generation by copping a PS5 and are still gaming on the PS4, but a worrisome issue has folks concerned. Inside your PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 are internal timing systems that could present a huge issue by making your PS4 games and all downloaded PS3 games unplayable on current hardware. The looming issue has been the talk of PlayStation and hacking circles for some time now, but it has recently picked up steam again after the recent announcement of only shutting down online stores for PSP, PS Vita PS3 online stores. Gamers are pointing out it’s just a matter of when this potential problem will rear its ugly head. The issue won’t affect your ability to play and re-download previously purchased...
airKAVE’s $349 Portable Air Filter Approved To Help Fight COVID-19 & Other Airborne Microbes
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: AIRKAVE / AIRKAVE PORTABLE AIR PURIFIER Despite what you see on your Instagram and Twitter timelines, COVID-19 is still here. While masking, social distancing, hand washing, and vaccines are significant steps in stopping the virus’s spread, airKAVE has a new tool that could assist in the fight. airKAVE’s Portable Air Filter, which is billed as the “world’s most advanced air purification system,” has now been approved to combat COVID-19, the company announced in a press release after passing the Characterization of Model AH01 Air Purification Device in Deactivation of Aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 test administered by MRIGlobal an independent, not-for-profit, contract organization based in Kansas City, Mo. Basically, that means the device can successfully neutral...
The Deals: Def Jam Strikes JV With Poo Bear; Deadmau5 Cosigns New Gaming Startup
“I’m extremely grateful for Bearthday Music to have partnered with Def Jam and Universal,” added Poo Bear. “This is truly a dream manifesting to have the support of Def Jam, and their belief not only in me but in the artists I believe in. I’m looking forward to what’s to come from this new promising venture. Thank you to Lucian Grange, Jeff Harleston and Naim McNair for this opportunity. HBD!!!!” In addition to the aforementioned artists, Poo Bear has worked with J Balvin, DJ Khaled, Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, Billie Eilish and Ed Sheeran, among many others. He boasts nearly 300 songwriting and production credits with sales of over 350 million records worldwide. Joel Zimmerman (deadmau5) and Richie Hawtin (Plastikman) along with music industry visionaries Ben Turner, Dean Wilson and Ind...
HHW Gaming: Cowabunga, ‘TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge’ Confirmed For Nintendo Switch
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Dotemu / Tribute Games Back in March, fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were pleased to learn that their favorite heroes in a half-shell were returning in a retro-style beat-em-up adventure for PC and unspecified consoles. Now, we finally know one of them. Announced during Nintendo’s Indie World showcase, the game, which is a love letter to retro gamers, will be coming to the Nintendo Switch later this year. To game will have players take control of either Leonardo, Raphael, Michaelangelo, or Donatello to fight the Foot Clan, Bebop, Rocksteady, and, of course, the Shredder in the button mashing adventure. To celebrate the news, a new gameplay trailer was released showing each Ninja Turtle in action, giving us a glimpse of their special moves to dis...
HHW Gaming: PS5’s First Big System Update Coming Wednesday, Here Is What To Expect
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: SOPA Images / Getty It’s been a few months since the release of the PS5, and it’s finally getting its first big system update, and with it comes some much-needed relief for your console’s hard drive. Sony announced via its blog that PS5 owners could look forward to the console’s first big system update on Wednesday (Apr.14). New features coming to the next-generation console include external USB storage support for PS5 games and cross-generational share play between PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. As expected, the biggest news is the support for external USB drives for PS5 game storage. Something PS5 owners have been praying to the video game gods for. According to Sony, PS5 owners can move installed PS5 games from the internal SSD to a compatible USB ex...
Virtual Vibes: 2 Chainz To Perform As Part of TIDAL X Facebook’s Oculus Livestream Series
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Prince Williams / Getty We can’t physically be at concerts due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Tidal and Facebook have found a way virtually for us to enjoy some tunes performed live by 2 Chainz. Monday (Apr.12), global music and entertainment streaming platform TIDAL and Facebook’s virtual reality platform Oculus announced the “I’m Different” crafter will be the fourth artist to perform as part of the ongoing six-show Livestream series. The concert will take place on 4/20, so roll up a joint and grab your Oculus headsets if you got one because the concert will be live-streamed in VR in the Venues app, available on Oculus Quest. Now, if you don’t have an Oculus Quest VR headset, don’t worry. The concert will also be streamed n 2D Video ...
Mictic’s Wearable Musical Device Allows You To Make Music Without Actual Instruments
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Mictic / Mictic Wearable Musical Device Making music with instruments without actually using instruments, sounds crazy right? Well, it’s honestly a reality, thanks to Mictic’s latest invention. Zurich, Switzerland-based company Mitic has introduced its Swiss-made XR wearable that amazingly turns your movements into actual sounds. You don’t have to be a musical genius or have picked up an instrument to use the device the company claims. Anyone can flourish while wearing the device. Source: Mictic / Mictic Wearable Musical Device So how does it work? Well, it connects with your smartphone via Bluetooth and will allow you the wearer to make sounds from different kinds of instruments like the electric guitar, drums, or cello and genre-based soundscapes like E...
Ozuna Joins Gaming Company XSET in ‘Match Made in Heaven’
“This is something that we’ve been looking to do for a while,” says Edgar Andino, Ozuna’s manager. “We’ve been looking at what gaming has been doing for artists, the masses and the unique engagement within the gaming community. We understand that this is the future. We realized this could be an interesting opportunity for not only gaming but also fashion and music.” In the upcoming months, Ozuna’s now-iconic teddy bear logo will be incorporated on the professional jerseys worn during XSET’s competitive games. “That’ll be a first for a team to have a musical logo presence,” says Selkoe. Future initiatives include an NFT dropping mid-May, and gaming will play a major role at Ozuna’s Cancun Fest scheduled for Nov. 4-8. &#...
Twitter Reportedly Was In Discussions To Drop A $4 Billion Bag On Clubhouse
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: NurPhoto / Getty Twitter is slowly rolling out Spaces, its answer to Clubhouse, but according to Bloomberg, Jack was considering backing up the Brink’s truck for the popular app. Bloomberg reports that despite building up its own voice-only social media space, Twitter discussed with Clubhouse about dropping $4 billion on the app. The conversations between the two companies allegedly stalled and no clear reasoning was given. Also, it’s not clear who approached who first about the potential blockbuster deal. Bloomberg also reports that Clubhouse is currently looking to raise money at a $4 billion valuation. It’s also unclear if that number is a direct result of the conversation between Twitter and Clubhouse or a figure that Clubhouse is throwing out there. ...
HHW Tech Review: Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra Is The Best Smartphone On The Market…Right Now
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Bernard Smalls / Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra New year, new Samsung Galaxy phone. But is the Galaxy S21 Ultra any different from the companies other offerings? Samsung left much to be desired with the Galaxy S20 Ultra, even though Samsung stuffed the phone with all kinds of features like space zoom that honestly was super gimmicky. Samsung went back to the drawing board with the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G and delivered one of the best smartphone experiences at a significantly lower price. Display & Design Source: Bernard Smalls / Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra One thing you’re always gonna get with any Samsung smartphone is a great display, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra easily delivers that with its 6.8-inch 120Hz Quad HD display. The screen on the S21 Ultra is the first o...
