Technology news

Amazon is adding two more phones to its Prime Exclusive collection today, with the announcement of the Moto G6 Play and Moto Z3 Play. Both devices will come with Alexa as the default voice assistant.The G6 Play and Z3 Play will both be available unlocked so you can use them on Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, or Sprint. As part of the Prime Exclusive collection, Prime members will get a discount on the devices along with preloaded apps like Prime Photos, Video, and Music. They can also access Alexa

One of Fortnite’s biggest draws is that it’s constantly updated with new things, like limited-time events or fancy weapons. While the steady drip of tweaks and additions help keep Fortnite fresh, it’s hard to predict how all these different elements will interact with one another. Lately, players have been exploiting a Fortnite vehicle in a way that keeps forcing Epic Games to take it out.
Shopping carts were introduced into Fortnite on May 30th, and they were an immediate hit

MoviePass, the cheap movie ticket subscription service that has taken the film industry by storm, is about to introduce a controversial change to its service. Previously, you could pay a flat price to see any movie you want, but starting in July, getting tickets for high-demand movies will incur an additional fee.
MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe told Business Insider that the surge pricing will only happen under certain conditions.“At certain times for certain films — on opening weekend &m

Facebook Messenger can now automatically translate messages between Spanish and English as part of a new M Translation feature that was first announced at F8 earlier this year, via Engadget.
M Translations join the existing M Suggestions features that are already built into Messenger for things like quick replies, polls, and sharing your location. The translation feature, which should be available now for users in the US and Mexico, will recognize when a user gets a message in a language that i

There have been a handful of excellent, classic arcade games released on the Nintendo Switch that are best played vertically, as was originally intended. Titles like Ikaruga, Pac-Man, and most recently the first proper port of Donkey Kong’s arcade iteration. There’s only one problem: playing vertical games on the Switch is a nightmare, since the tablet’s kickstand and controller slots don’t support the format. But a new crowdfunded accessory could solve that problem.
It&

For the past few years, Remedy Entertainment has toyed with different ways to tell its stories. Its thriller game Alan Wake played out through episodic installments, not unlike a TV show. Sci-fi action-adventure game Quantum Break took the idea of television more literally, with a live-action series grafted on to a game. If players expect the developer’s latest game, Control, to follow in these more experimental footsteps, however, they’re in for a surprise. “With Control, we&

As electric vehicles become less niche, the batteries powering them need to keep up. Last week, Elon Musk tweeted that batteries for the Tesla Model 3 use less than 3 percent of an expensive chemical called cobalt, and the next generation battery “will use none” of the material that some have called the “blood diamond of batteries.” How soon can that claim come true?
Cobalt is a key component of batteries. It’s also the most expensive material in the battery and mi

As someone who loves gadgets with fiddly dials and buttons, I love the idea of the Loupedeck, a bespoke console that launched last year designed specifically for one thing: editing photos in Lightroom. And now, Loupedeck is taking that year’s worth of feedback to introduce the Loupedeck+, which expands on the original with even more dials and buttons, better software, and integration with more services.More dials!
The biggest addition is the Loupedeck+ will work with things that aren&rsqu

Microsoft’s attempts to downplay its work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hasn’t stopped internal dissent, with some employees still confused and concerned about the scope of the services the company provides to the agency. Meanwhile, the chorus from the rank and file is growing: the letter denouncing the company’s cooperation with ICE now has over 300 signatures.The uproar started on Monday. As the public condemned the Trump administration’s policy of sep

The US Supreme Court has overturned a tax-related ruling from 1992, freeing state and local governments to collect billions in internet sales tax, as reported by Bloomberg. The 1992 ruling from Quill v. North Dakota, focused on mail-order and catalog purchases, requiring that a business must have a physical presence within a state in order for the state to collect sales tax.
The 5-4 vote overturned this ruling, citing companies like Newegg, Wayfair, and Overstock in the Supreme Court decision,

The Nintendo Switch version of Minecraft is getting a big update today, bringing the Bedrock Engine to Nintendo’s portable console. The update enables cross-play with PC, Xbox One, and smartphones —but notably not the PlayStation 4. Sony is blocking cross-play for Fortnite, Rocket League, and Minecraft so PS4 players can’t play against Xbox One or Nintendo Switch owners. Meanwhile, Nintendo and Microsoft are partnering to utilize cross-play as a marketing weapon today.
The Min

Daria. Aeon Flux. Made. The Real World. If you grew up in the late ‘90s and early aughts, amid ‘zza-scented food courts and blinging arcades — and, crucially, you had cable or at least one friend with cable — you’re probably familiar with these seminal shows from MTV’s heyday. Now they’re all coming back: the network is launching MTV Studios, a new production arm that will focus on monetizing its vast library of intellectual property by selling beloved

Google has redesigned the Google Account hub on Android with a simpler, more intuitive interface, and it now quickly lets you search for whatever setting or account detail you want to review or change. The new look will come to the web and iOS “later this year.” Google says that 20 million people visit their account settings daily, so it’s a pretty crucial thing for the company to get right and constantly improve. The account page includes your personal info, devices attached

If self-driving cars take off, people might wind up taking more car trips, which could lead to Americans consuming more energy than if self-driving cars rarely leave the lot, according to a government report.
Today, transportation — including passenger vehicles, buses, and commercial trucks — accounts for about a third of energy use in the US, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). (It’s also the number one source of carbon emissions, YaleEnvironment360 repo

Google is making good on the promise it made at its I/O conference in May by introducing what a feature called continued conversation for Google Home, Home Mini, and Home Max today. Continued conversation allows you to ask Assistant a question and then add a follow-up, a reminder, or an item to a shopping list without having to say, “OK Google,” each time.An example of a conversation with the new feature could go something like: “Hey Google, what’s the weather like? ...

Jamie Lendino ContributorShare on Twitter Jamie Lendino is the editor-in-chief of Extreme TechBy the first few months of 1982, it had become more common to see electronics stores, toy stores, and discount variety stops selling 2600 games. This was before Electronics Boutique, Software Etc., and later, GameStop . Mostly you bought games at stores that sold other electronic products, like Sears or Consumer Distributors. Toys ’R’ Us was a big seller of 2600 games. To buy one, you had t

Facebook’s fight against fake news, hoaxes, and spammers will never be over for good, but the company is doing its best to keep up the pressure on bad actors on its network. Today, it announced a number of new measures, including using machine learning to spot hoax articles that are copied and pasted by different accounts.
This isn’t the first time Facebook has announced it’s using AI to target misleading content, and it’s clear that the company exaggerates AI’s po

Urban Airship has raised $25 million in Series F funding.
The company started out as a platform supporting push notifications, but has since expanded to include other marketing channels like email, SMS, mobile wallets and voice assistants. The goal is to be the platform managing messaging and unifying customer data across all these channels.
Altogether, Urban Airshipsaid it’s now delivered more than two trillion messages, doubling the number from a year ago.
Recent product additions includ