Tech
HHW Gaming: Apple Gives ‘Fortnite’ The Boot From App Store After Epic Games “Violates” In-App Payments Rule
Source: Epic Games/Fortnite Just like that, Fortnite is gone from Apple’s App Store after Epic Games announced it was giving players a discount if they purchased V-Bucks directly from Epic. Apple’s decision literally comes hours after Epic Games revealed it would be bypassing the 30% revenue cut that both the App Store and Google Play store takes when players purchase V-Bucks in Fortnite. In a statement released earlier today announcing its new mobile direct payment system Epic stated: “If Apple or Google lower their fees on payments in the future, Epic will pass along the savings to you.” Apple, of course, didn’t care for the decision and subsequently has pulled the game from the App Store and in its own statement, the company said: “Today, Epic Games ...
HHW Tech Review: Turtle Beach’s New Stealth 600 Gen 2 Offers Premium Sound For Under A $100
Source: Bernard Smalls / Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 PS4 Global gaming accessory manufacturer Turtle Beach is dropping updated versions of its Stealth 600 and 700 gaming headsets. Here is the lowdown on the new peripherals. The second generation of both the Stealth 600 and 700 have been revealed. The Stealth 700 Gen 2 arrives for both consoles on September 20 and is a bit pricier than the 600 Stealth model, costing $149.99, offering premium features like leather earcups and the ability to connect to your consoles via Bluetooth. Source: Turtle Beach / Stealth 700 Gen 2 Focusing on the Stealth 600 Gen 2 model, which was revealed by the San Diego based company, the two headsets come two new sleek styles, with some updates from the previous iteration. There are two different variations for...
Reelz v. Reels: Network Sues Instagram, Facebook for Trademark Infringement
Instagram last week launched a new short-video feature called Reels — capitalizing on demand in the market amid privacy concerns surrounding TikTok and a looming ban of the ByteDance-owned app — and it’s already facing troubles of its own. ReelzChannel says the feature’s name infringes on its longstanding trademark. The network, which launched in 2006, says it reaches more than 50 million homes in the U.S. The suit, which was filed Tuesday in Minnesota federal court, where the network’s parent company Hubbard Broadcasting is based, claims Reels usurps Reelz’ goodwill and is likely to confuse consumers. {“nid”:”9429589″,”type”:”post”,”title”:”Instagram Launches TikTok Competitor Reels”...
HHW Gaming Preview: ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Beta Left Us Cautiously Optimistic About The Game
Source: Bernard Smalls / Crystal Dynamics Crystal Dynamics Marvel’s Avengers is easily one of the year’s most anticipated titles dropping this year on consoles. PlayStation 4 players, including us, got a chance to take the game for a spin during its closed beta over the weekend first, and we walked away with some mixed reactions. After spending hours with the game, we are still cautiously excited to play the game revolving solely around Earth’s mightiest heroes, but the game’s multiplayer aspect has us a bit worried. Before you jump into the game’s multiplayer experience, Crystal Dynamics gives you a crash course by allowing you to play the game’s Golden Gate Bridge mission. The mission which will be in Marvel’s Avenger’s promising story camp...
Universal Music Group & Tencent Music Launch New Label in China
Universal Music Group and Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME) are strengthening their ties with a new joint venture music label that will develop, produce and showcase Chinese artists, the companies announced Monday (Aug. 10). The news came with announcements UMG had reached a multi-year licensing extension with Tencent, as well as a new multi-year licensing deal with Chinese streaming platform NetEase Cloud Music. Under the renewed agreement between Tencent and UMG — first signed in May 2017 — Tencent will continue to distribute UMG content on its associated streaming platforms QQ Music, Kogou Music and Kuwo Music, as well as the karaoke platform WeSing. {“nid”:”9399541″,”type”:”post”,”title”:”Universal Musi...
Facebook Removes Numerous Fugazi Pages & Instagram Accounts Pretending To Be Black Trump Supporters
Source: SOPA Images / Getty Finding Black Trump supporters not named Diamond and Silk is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, so it should be hard to believe that there was actually Facebook groups full of them. Facebook removed numerous Facebook groups that social network says were a part of a troll farm that were pretending to be African Americans supporting the occupant in the White House, Donald Trump, as well as QAnon supporters. The company said the groups were in violation of its policies against coordinated inauthentic behavior. In the report, Facebook revealed that it removed 35 Facebook accounts, three pages, and 88 Instagram accounts for “violating our policy against foreign interference, which is coordinated inauthentic behavior on behalf of a foreign entity.”...
Roland Celebrates The 40th Anniversary of the Iconic TR-808 Drum Machine
Source: Roland / Roland TR-808 The TR-808 drum machine help crafted many classics records, to celebrate the device’s 40th anniversary, Roland decided to bless beat junkies with some freebies. Roland celebrated the anniversary of its famed device, which first arrived back in 1980 on 8/08, now forever known as 808 day, by dropping a slew of freebies. When you head over to Roland’s landing page dedicated to the TR-808, you can watch a documentary. It features Arthur Baker, A Guy Called Gerald, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Jermaine Dupri, the Avila Brothers, Cozmo D, and Carl Craig discussing the device’s impact when used to craft classic records we have come to love. Songs like Afrika Bambaataa’s “Planet Rock” is one of those legendary records that were broug...
Digital Media Company LiveXLive Had an OK Quarter, But It’s Got a Long Way to Go
What three letters best explain the modest gains LiveXLive unveiled during its quarterly earnings call Thursday? The would be P-P-P as in the Paycheck Protection Program. Nearly all of the company’s $3.5 million reduction in spending for the quarter appeared to have come from the almost $2 million federal loan it received in March, coupled with $1.4 million in reductions of employee salaries and other expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. That helped LiveXLive achieve its “best quarter in the history of the company,” according to CEO and chairman Rob Ellin, who reported a 11% increase in revenue and a quarterly loss of $7.5 million, or $0.13 per share. That missed the consensus estimate of a loss of $0.12, but marked a significant improvement from a loss of $0.21 per share a year ago (tot...
HHW Gaming: Rocksteady Studio’s New Game Will Focus Around The ‘Suicide Squad’
Source: WB Games / Rocksteady Studios It’s been five years since Rocksteady Studios has blessed the masses with a Batman game leaving fans wondering when is the next DC Comics-based title would arrive. Early Friday (Aug.7), we finally learned what the game-studio has been working on during its absence. Today, Rocksteady announced that the next game it is working on will focus on the Suicide Squad by revealing a poster featuring Superman with a crosshair on his head. It’s been long speculated that Rocksteady’s next game might star the Man of Steel or just be another Batman game. Well, it would seem that the rumors about Superman are somewhat accurate, BUT if the game will have players take control of the ragtag team of supervillains, Kal-El is going to be one of your targe...
HHW Gaming: No Surprise, Nintendo’s Profits Hit 400% During COVID-19 Pandemic
Source: KAZUHIRO NOGI / Getty Well, this news shouldn’t really surprise anyone, due to COVID-19 keeping our butts in the crib, Nintendo is reporting some staggering profit numbers. The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic forced us all to find different means of entertainment to keep ourselves entertained while being stuck in the crib, and it appears video games are king. Nintendo reported that its profits skyrocketed amid the coronavirus situation, reportedly a whopping 400% percent, according to the company. Sources close to Nintendo report profits rose 428 percent in Q1, surpassing initial predictions from analysts highlighting astronomical growth compared to last year’s numbers. The Japanese-based company reported approximately $3.4 billion in net sales in Q2, which is a 108 per...
Blank Stare: Donald Trump Issues Executive Order Banning TikTok & WeChat “Transactions” In 45 Days
Source: NurPhoto / Getty After seemingly agreeing to allow Microsoft to work out some sort of deal to purchase TikTok, Donald Trump has gone ahead anyway with his move to ban the app and WeChat putting more pressure on the tech company to get a deal done. This situation just keeps on getting more confusing by the day. El Trumpito’s hard-on to stick it to China for “ruining” you know what let’s be honest, exposing how inept of a leader he is decided to ban all transactions from both TikTok and WeChat in 45 days. Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the National Emergencies Act, the EO (executive order) states: “The spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned by companies in the People’s Republic of China…con...
Say Hello To Samsung’s Newest Flagship Smartphone The Galaxy Note 20 & Note 20 Ultra
Source: Samsung / Samsung Mobile Samsung’s worst-kept secret, the Galaxy Note 20, and Note 20 Ultra have finally been unveiled, and both devices look stunning and are loaded with even more features. Oh, the new Galaxy Tab S7, S7 Plus, Galaxy Buds Live, and Galaxy Watch3 were also revealed. Before we get into Samsung’s newest tab and wearables, we gotta focus on the crown jewel of the entire event, the Galaxy Note 20, and Note 20 Ultra. Source: Samsung / Samsung Mobile If you loved the Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 Plus like we did, then you definitely shouldn’t be disappointed with the Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra. Samsung has definitely taken the best of the previous and model and expanded on it with the latest offering in the powerful smartphone that promises to give users th...
