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Details of Google’s plans to team up with Tencent, which owns a 40% stake in Epic Games, emerged in August in redacted documents, which have now been released in unredacted form, via The Verge and Politico reporter Leah Nylen. Google feared “contagion” among games developers if Epic succeeded in dodging the Play Store and getting its own Epic Games Store and the Fortnite Launcher pre-installed on phones. SEE: The best Samsung phones: Which model should you buy?...

What did Ethereum change? Before we talk about the Merge, let’s go over what changed in Ethereum’s mainnet. A mainnet is the blockchain technology that is responsible for transmitting cryptocurrency from sender to receiver. Since Ethereum’s beginning, it used proof-of-work mechanisms to validate transactions and mine new coins. However, to mine new coins, proof-of-work transactions needed computers to compete with one another to solve complicated math problems. Bitcoin also uses proof-of-work systems to validate new coins....

Also: How Microsoft and Samsung may finally take cloud gaming mainstream Now, in its own event, Microsoft debuted several of the titles everyone expected to see at this show, including Bethesda’s new “Skyrim in space” title Starfield, vampire-focused FPS Redfall, and more. But, some of the show’s biggest announcements may have come from two very unlikely sources: Activision Blizzard, which remains in the process of being acquired by Microsoft, and Riot Games....

The Kaseya attack affected hundreds of organisations, including dozens of hospitals, schools, businesses, and even a supermarket chain in Sweden. Washington Post reporters Ellen Nakashima and Rachel Lerman wrote this week that the FBI managed to obtain the decryption keys because they accessed the servers of REvil, the Russia-based criminal gang that was behind the massive attack. REvil demanded a $70 million ransom from Kaseya and thousands from individual victims before going dark and shutting down significant parts of its infrastructure shortly after the attack....

In light of the slow progress addressing AI bias and unfairness, business and technology leaders may be finally arriving at a consensus that they need to concentrate on more “responsible” approaches to AI. A recent survey of 504 IT executives, released by Appen and conducted by The Harris Poll, finds heightened concern about the data that is increasingly driving decisions about customers, markets, and opportunities. It also hints at recognition by both types of leaders that the data they have tends to be problematic, wreaking damage to people, communities, and businesses....

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) said on Thursday that Ethan Nguyen and Andre Llacuna have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The pair, both 20 years old, allegedly operated “Frosties,” a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) project that, at the outset, looked professional and offered quirky cartoon art. However, as documented by Protocol, investors who handed over cryptocurrency to purchase the NFTs in January this year were alerted to a potential scam when the Frosties Discord server vanished alongside the original project’s Twitter profile, having briefly displayed the message, “I’m sorry....

This type of scam involves a malicious party convincing the target that they are required to provide some form or payment to settle a debt. The grift usually comes with threats of legal action, wage garnishment, or jail time, should they not comply with the request of the fictitious company or government agency the caller claims to be representing. Also: Log4j zero-day flaw: What you need to know and how to protect yourself In reality, these criminal actions are a way for unscrupulous individuals or criminal rings to secure gift card codes they can use illicitly or resell through online black markets for profit....

Other than improved S Pen integration, are there other specifications or features that might compel you to upgrade? If you are considering an upgrade, I recommend you take advantage of the pre-order launch specials and generous trade-in offers since it is always best for the customer to buy a Samsung phone before the official launch date. We have the S22 Ultra in hand and are trying to decide if its worth selling an iPhone 13 Pro Max to purchase the S22 Ultra....

All you have to do is resize or drag and drop any of a wide variety of media sources, including GIFs, videos, images, and web pages. One click will add Skype calls, plus you’re able to screen capture Zoom, Teams, and other calls. And XSplit Broadcaster isn’t just a screen recorder. The In-Game HUD can manage a single monitor, and you can use projector mode if you have multiple displays....

Modern smartphones let us listen to audiobooks, stream TV shows, check our email, and more. However, some activities simply require a proper computer. But when those times aren’t enough to warrant carrying even an extra four pounds of machinery, the solution is an ultralight notebook. And if you’re shopping for a laptop, you may as well get one with an excellent screen to display your content beautifully. The only problem is that a brand new ultralight Windows notebook with a great screen can be pretty pricey....

To test Chrome, Google used Speedometer 2.0, a benchmark from Apple’s own WebKit team, which measures the responsiveness of JavaScript-based Web applications. The higher the score, the better the performance of the browser at handling JavaScript. Google found Chrome 99 on Mac achieved a score of 300 in Speedometer, making it the highest score of any browser on macOS, including the WebKit-based Safari and also other Chromium-based browsers, from Brave to Microsoft Edge and onto Vivaldi....

The recipients hail from all across the country, with 14 from Georgia, 10 from Texas, eight from New York, three from Alabama and California, two from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, as well as one each from Florida, Hawaii, Missouri, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Washington DC. The Google for Startups Black Founders Fund was created last year as a way to help Black entrepreneurs financially. For the second round, recipients will get technical support from tools and teams across Google as well as up to $120,000 in donated Ads from Google....

A few months ago Samsung released a major software update that improved health and wellness features, while also confirming to the public that Google Assistant was still in the works. That day is now here as Samsung announced that Google Assistant is now available for the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic. See also: The best smartwatches for Android users: Top Apple Watch alternatives Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 owners will now be able to access and use both Google Assistant and Bixby on their watches, giving them a robust assistant experience....

For me, the best solution to this is Google Fi. But, before I dive into that, you need to know why using a US-based smartphone is such a pain outside the country. You see, most American carriers charge high rates if you use their services outside the U.S. For example, I use Verizon in the States. It does an excellent job of covering where I live – and drive. Verizon’s 5G-speed Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) isn’t everything they claim it is, but its other 4G and 5G work well....

If you purchased any Stadia hardware through the Google Store, Google will offer you a refund. The same is true for all game and add-on content purchases made through the Stadia store. The company expects to have the majority of refunds doled out by mid-January 2023. Players will be able to access their games library and play through January 18. The service’s failure puts a dent in Google’s broader efforts to tap into the lucrative gaming sector, which is sizable and growing....

Also: How to transfer photos from your Android to your Windows PC So, if you’re not sold on Apple or Samsung’s latest $1,200 smartphones, I don’t blame you, and you’ve also come to the right place. While I’m not here to convince you to buy one phone over the other, I’ve listed below the key buying reasons for both models so you can make the ideal purchase decision. Are you ready?...

The update fixes an issue that affects the Microsoft Teams app on Pixel phones, which froze devices after users made an emergency call. Microsoft deemed that it was caused by an unintended interaction between Teams and Android. Google and Microsoft prioritized the fix because it affected emergency calls. Google, which has been warning Android users to update the Teams app, nods to the issue in its latest security advisory. “Fix for issue preventing emergency calls in certain conditions while some third-party apps are installed,” it says in release notes....

Also: What is Google Bard? Here’s everything you need to know Google Bard is meant to be an assistive AI chatbot. Similar to ChatGPT, Bard uses artificial intelligence to provide human-like conversational responses and advanced technical abilities such as editing and generating text when prompted by a user. Bard can access Google’s search engine, while ChatGPT has no internet access and has only been trained on information available up until 2021....

That’s the gist of a recent study out of the IBM Institute for Business Value, in collaboration with Oxford Economics, which surveyed 7,164 C-suite executives across 29 industries about their cloud formations. Only three percent reported using a single private or public cloud in 2021, down from 29% in 2019, the survey finds. Avoiding vendor lock-in was the prime motivation for moving to multiple clouds. At least 79% of respondents said workloads being completely portable with no vendor lock-in is important or extremely important to the success of their digital initiatives....

Also: Meet the companies that will shape the metaverse Stephenson spoke to Hiner at CES in Las Vegas about his plans to influence the creation of the metaverse with the launch of the startup Lamina1. The startup is building a Layer 1 blockchain to provide a platform on which others can build an open metaverse. “The idea is basically that if we’re going to have a metaverse that millions of people use, there’s going to have to be experiences there that people enjoy having,” Stephenson said....