Deal: Buy a Moto Z2 Force from T-Mobile and get one FREE!

A great deal on an indestructible phone!

For a limited time, new and existing T-Mobile customers can get a FREE Moto Z2 Force with the purchase of a Moto Z2 Force on the 24-month equipment installment plan.

To take advantage of the offer, new customers need just to purchase both phones on the Equipment Installment Plan and activate them on a T-Mobile ONE Unlimited plan. Existing customers can just choose the phone on the Equipment Installment Plan (EIP), then add one voice line + unlimited data to this plan. If you get on the EIP deal, you have 24 months to pay the device off and if you do cancel your service, any remaining device balances will become due.

The BOGO offer comes in the form of an online rebate, so after getting everything activated you can submit online for a refund of up to $750 via prepaid MasterCard. As an added bonus you can get a free Insta-Share Projector Moto Mod ($299.99 value), as well.

Go to motorola.rewardpromo.com by 9/25/17 to redeem offer by submitting proof of purchase.

Buy Moto Z2 Force

‘Cuphead’ is as wondrous as it is difficult

Cuphead is a flashback in many ways. It hearkens back to the classical, hand-drawn animation style of the 1930s. And it’s reminiscent of 2D, 8-bit-era platformers that were so tough, they wanted to make you throw your controllers against the wall. Those are both reasons I can’t wait to play the rest of the game when it finally hits the Xbox One and Windows PCs on September 29th.

Just take one look at Cuphead’s gorgeous hand-drawn art style and you’ll understand the hype. First-time indie developer Studio MDHR created a game that’s as detailed and fluid as classic Disney cartoons. And it has that hint of magic that you can only get from traditional, non-CG animation. It’s also a dream to play, with controls reminiscent of Contra and other extremely difficult 2D side scrollers. Simply running around and shooting enemies feels great — and that’s a good thing, since you’ll be doing a lot of it.

You’ve got a variety of weapons to choose from, a dash-move for getting out of danger quickly, and you can also parry any pink-colored object by jumping off of them at just the right time. The vast majority of Cuphead is made up of elaborate boss fights — and I really mean elaborate.

The bosses, and their accompanying stages, feature some of the most unique designs I’ve ever seen in a video game. But you won’t have much time to drink in the gorgeous visuals before the bosses start filling up the screen with deadly projectiles. While there are attack patterns you’ll have to learn, you’ll still have to keep your wits about you for some randomized changes. Cuphead is the sort of game where you should expect to die — a lot.

Thankfully, the game gives you a few different difficulty levels to help you get your bearings. A beautiful overworld map connects all of the different boss battles, and you can also interact with other characters there. Cuphead also features a handful of platforming stages, which should evoke plenty of classic gaming nostalgia.

In addition to playing through the game solo, you can also have a friend join you in co-op mode. That’s something we don’t typically see in games today, and it brought back memories of sitting on the couch for hours on end when I was a kid.

Studio MDHR

In fact, co-op mode seemed like the ideal way to confront some of Cuphead’s more nefarious boss battles. It’s extremely helpful to have someone cover your back. If one of you dies, your partner can also save you at the last minute by parrying your ghost before it flies offscreen. You only come back with a single health bar, but at least it keeps you in the game.

Although I only had a short amount of time with Cuphead, I’m eager for more. But then again, I’ve been dying to play it since Studio MDHR gave us our first glimpse back in 2014. Like No Man’s Sky before it, Cuphead built up an insane amount of buzz over the years — so much so, that I was worried it couldn’t possibly meet my expectations. I certainly wasn’t disappointed with my first taste of the game, but as astounding as Cuphead looks, it’s also sometimes frustrating to play because it’s so difficult. It’s not unfair, but there are certainly points where you’ll want to give up in frustration. Like any great side-scroller, though, if you invest the time you’ll get better at it.

You owe it to yourself to buy Cuphead — it simply doesn’t look like any game we’ve had before. And while it might be tough, it’s ultimately a rewarding experience.

The Morning After: Tuesday, August 22nd 2017

This Tuesday morning, we’re still talking about the eclipse, getting a name for Google’s latest version of Android and testing the best virtual assistants out there.

It’ll be on the Pixel very soon.
Oreo is officially the next name for Android

Google loves to make a big splash when it reveals the name for the latest version of Android. But the company is going all out this year, using the solar eclipse as an opportunity to reveal that Android O will henceforth be referred to as Oreo. It makes at least a little sense to tie this reveal into the eclipse — those iconic photos of the solar event are at least a little bit evocative of Oreos, after all.

But why?
The solar eclipse hype is annoying, but the event is worth it

By now, it’s possible that you are completely fatigued by the August 21st total solar eclipse and all the media hype surrounding it — and it hasn’t even happened yet. It seems as though every outlet is talking nonstop about this event. But this actually is a big deal, which is why it’s gotten so much coverage. Let us break it down for you: this is one of those rare cases where the event is worth the hype.

No clear winner.
Engadget is testing all the major AI assistants

Hardly a day goes by that we don’t cover virtual assistants. If it’s not news about Siri, there’s some new development with Alexa, or Cortana or Google Assistant. Perhaps a new player, like Samsung, is wading into the space. Even Android-creator Andy Rubin is considering building an assistant of his own. And his company probably isn’t the only one that thinks there’s room for another AI helper.

With virtual assistants becoming such an integral part of our lives (or at least our tech-news diets), we felt it was time to stop and take stock of everything happening here. For one week, we asked five Engadget reporters to live with one of the major assistants. First up, Google Assistant.

The law enforcement agency has met with firms in the energy and tech sectors

FBI reportedly advising companies to ditch Kaspersky apps.

Kaspersky Lab’s tussle with the US government could have ramifications for its dealings with the private sector. A new report claims the FBI has been meeting with companies to warn them of the threat posed by the cybersecurity firm. The briefings are the latest chapter in an ongoing saga over government agencies’ use of Kaspersky’s products. Officials claim the company is a Russian stooge that can’t be trusted with protecting America’s critical infrastructure. The company denies these claims — its CEO, Eugene Kaspersky, has even offered up its source code in a bid to clear his firm’s name.

But wait, there’s more…

• Watch the trailer for Amazon’s answer to ‘Black Mirror’
• ‘Star Wars Battlefront II’ space skirmishes put Yoda in the cockpit
• Elon Musk urges the UN to limit AI weapons

Samsung’s Bixby assistant is finally available worldwide

Samsung has faced a tough slog getting Bixby to the masses, but now its voice assistant is accessible in more than 200 countries including the UK, Australia, Canada and South Africa. It’s been available in South Korea and the US since July, when it launched after months of delays.

Part of Bixby’s appeal is its positioning beyond that of a simple voice assistant. Samsung claims it learns over time, recognizing “natural language” to make interacting with your phone easier and more intuitive. It understands cross-application commands and thanks to deep integration it can be accessed without any interruptions to what you’re already doing on-screen. So you can turn down screen brightness while scrolling through Facebook, for example. Users can also create custom voice commands. Instead of setting an alarm and turning on do-not-disturb mode individually, you could simply use “good night” as a shortcut.

Bixby promises a lot, hence the anticipation around its release, and Samsung plans to roll it out to further devices in the future. It recently unveiled a Bixby-powered smart speaker and is already working on a range of smart appliances, so the company clearly has designs on powering whole homes with its voice assistant. But — and here’s the kicker — only if you speak English or Korean (and it took long enough to get it English-ready). Because despite its roll-out to hundreds of countries worldwide, Bixby still only recognizes those two languages. Samsung claims it’ll get additional language support “in time”, but given the delays it’s faced so far, non-English and non-Korean speakers could be waiting a while.

Source: Samsung

Linksys’ new router puts your gaming needs before everyone else’s

You might not think twice about your router (unless it crashes), but gamers looking for every edge do. For those folks, Linksys has unveiled the $300 WRT32X Gaming Router, a model it developed in collaboration with Rivet Networks. It uses that company’s “Killer Prioritization Engine” that — when paired with Razer, Alienware, MSI and other PCs that have the tech — can reduce ping times by as much as 77 percent, Linksys claims.

The idea is relatively simple. The WRT32X simply determines which devices using the Killer Networking hardware are connected to it. It then works with the network to “prioritize important gaming and video networking traffic above other devices in the home.” If the network is saturated, the device simply lowers the bandwidth available to other apps and users. PCs equipped with the router can also tell it to reduce priority for less important traffic like downloads while gaming is happening.

In other words, it will reduce the quality of your granny’s knitting tutorial videos so that you can blast tanks and call your crew slightly quicker on Overwatch. At the same time, it’s completely customizable, so you can prioritize streaming video, for instance. “The WRT32X will [then] treat those packets like gold and ensure nothing in the home slows down those streaming video networking packets,” notes Linksys in the PR.

Linksys adds that the WRT32X has “enterprise grade hardware” and custom-built firmware, complete with a special GUI that “won’t be found on any other router.” The UI, which appears in a special tab on the Killer Control Center of your PC, will supposedly make it easier to change key gaming network settings and get stats, and has an “edgy design” to match the WRT hardware.

Style-wise, it’s not the craziest gaming router we’ve seen, but normals would still probably want to hide it in a corner. As for the hardware, you’re looking at 802.11ac Wave 2 dual-band 3×3 wireless radios, 256MB of flash storage and 512MB of DDR3 RAM, along with a dual-core ARM CPU. It’s got four Gigabit ethernet ports, USB 3.0 and eSATA, too.

In other words, the premium price is getting you slightly better hardware, prioritization and Rivet’s “Killer” network features. If you don’t really need that, there are a lot of nice routers for a lot less money. Linksys’ WRT32X arrives in September for $300.

Source: Linksys

Netflix nabs the next film from ‘Jason Bourne’ director

Netflix is causing waves on this year’s film festival circuit with buzzy productions, such as Okja and Mudbound. Despite facing resistance from theatre chain owners upset with its distribution tactics, it seems its presence at awards ceremonies is set to continue. The streaming giant’s latest high-profile win comes courtesy of Jason Bourne director Paul Greengrass. The as-yet untitled movie will mark Greengrass’ return to the real-life dramas that have defined his career outside of the Bourne series.

The film is reportedly about Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, who was found guilty for the murders of 77 people (the majority of who were workers of a political youth organization affiliated with the country’s Labour Party) in 2011. Breivik received the maximum jail sentence of 21 years in 2012.

Greengrass is writing and directing the feature film, with plans to start shooting this fall, according to Deadline. As usual, Netflix wasn’t afraid to splash the cash, reportedly beating out several bidders for rights to the project.

Matt Damon and Greengrass’ return to the Bourne franchise last year resulted in a global hit, raking in $415 million worldwide. The director’s other films have included Captain Phillips and United 93, which bagged Oscar nods for Best Picture and Best Achievement in Directing respectively.

The new project will likely join Martin Scorsese’s much-hyped The Irishman as Netflix’s big prospect on the awards trail in 2018.

Source: Deadline

Parallels Desktop 13 for Mac Comes With High Sierra Support and Touch Bar Integration

Parallels Desktop 13 for Mac got its official release on Tuesday. The thirteenth version of the Windows virtualization software comes with numerous new features including support for macOS High Sierra and the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.

Top of the features list is Touch Bar support, enabling owners of compatible MacBook Pros to use the OLED strip with Microsoft Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as additional integration for the Windows Start Menu and Desktop, including Cortana, Task View, and Taskbar pinned elements. A Touch Bar Wizard also allows users to customize the Touch Bar and add their favorite Windows applications.

New dynamic resolution support mean users can change the window size of their Windows session, with booting and rebooting speed said to be faster and smoother as a result. Meanwhile, enhanced support for Retina displays should see better scaling of Windows applications on Mac screens.

A new Picture-in-Picture mode aims to let users monitor their virtual machine with ease, while support for the upcoming Windows 10 People Bar promises to allow users to view recent contacts in the Windows Taskbar or Mac Dock.

More generally, Parallels claims over 47 percent faster access to Windows files and documents compared to the previous version, faster file transfers over USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt SSD devices, and up to 32 vCPU and 128GB vRAM per virtual machine with Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro Edition, with code for all new versions optimized for macOS High Sierra (10.13) and Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.

Elsewhere, Parallels claims over 30 new additional tools can be found in version 13 that simplify everyday tasks on Mac and Windows. They include a drive cleaner, video conversion, a file archiver, a GIF creator, a video downloader, Do Not Sleep and Do Not Disturb modes, a Lock Screen, and the ability to temporarily hide files on the desktop, amongst many others.

Parallels Desktop 13 for Mac costs $79.99 for a new license. Existing users of Parallels Desktop for Home and Student can upgrade to V13 for $49.99, with a time-limited offer enabling users of the Desktop Pro Edition to upgrade for the same price (usually $99.99). For more pricing details, see the Parallels website.

(Thanks, Ulric!)

Related Roundup: macOS High Sierra
Tags: Microsoft, Windows 10, Parallels 13
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Photo Emerges of Alleged ‘iPhone 8’ 3D Sensing Camera Module

Continuing a running theme over the last couple of weeks, a photo emerged online late on Monday of an alleged leaked 3D sensing camera module destined for the upcoming “iPhone 8” (via Slashleaks). Apple is said to have radically revamped its front-facing camera for its OLED iPhone, adding 3D sensing capabilities for facial recognition.

Notable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has called the camera “revolutionary” because it consists of three modules: a standard camera front-facing camera module, an infrared transmitting module, and an infrared receiving module, all of which will allow the iPhone 8 to perform 3D sensing and modeling functions.

It’s also possible that the front-facing camera will support 4K video recording at 60 frames per second, based on code found in the HomePod firmware leak, although this feature could be limited to the rear camera.

As with previous alleged leaked parts – which have included an A11 processor, wireless charging pad components, and an OLED display assembly and flex power cables – it’s difficult to gauge the authenticity of the photo. However, it’s not unusual for them to crop up in the weeks leading up to an iPhone launch.

In a separate and more dubious alleged leak, a video clip emerged on Tuesday on Chinese microblogging site Weibo showing what appears to be an Apple-branded handset with a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor going through a quality control process.

Strong consensus has built in recent months around the idea that Apple is eliminating Touch ID fingerprint recognition entirely in favor of a new authentication system based on facial recognition – as per the 3D sensing camera module above.

The prediction has been made by the reliable Kuo and echoed by JP Morgan analysts as well as Bloomberg, while Apple itself has confirmed that a facial recognition system is in the works, reflected in multiple references found in the leaked HomePod firmware. Given the weight of evidence suggesting the end of Touch ID for future iPhones, it’s very likely this video shows a quality control stage for a knock-off clone iPhone destined for the Chinese market.

Expected to launch in early September, the “iPhone 8” – which could take a different name – is thought to feature a glass body and edge-to-edge OLED display that does away with the Home button. The new OLED iPhone will likely be sold alongside upgraded (but standard) 4.7 and 5.5-inch iPhones with LCD screens.

Related Roundup: iPhone 8
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VUDU App Officially Launches on Apple TV

Streaming movie and TV service VUDU has officially launched as an app on the fourth-generation Apple TV, allowing users to stream their collection of UltraViolet movies, as well as over 4,000 free “Movies on Us” titles, natively on Apple TV.

As expected, the VUDU Player app on Apple TV is limited in one respect — users can’t rent or buy any movie or TV show directly from Apple TV, so they’ll first have to add content to their collection elsewhere before navigating to Apple TV in order to view it.

The Vudu Player for Apple TV lets you play over 4,000 free Movies On Us titles, as well as your existing Vudu collection, natively on 4th generation Apple TVs with tvOS 10. And the Vudu Player is the first (and only – just want to reiterate that) player that gives you access to your UltraViolet digital locker on Apple TV (#humblebrag).

Additional features include Siri voice search to find content within your VUDU collection, and a wishlist where users can add any title to save for later, and view on any platform that VUDU is available on. Users on Reddit noted that there is no integration with Apple’s TV app.

The official launch of the VUDU Player app for Apple TV comes after rumblings about the app began in March, and then last week a report by Variety confirmed its release date of August 22.

For anyone without a VUDU account, the company encourages new users to head to its signup page to create a free account before launching the Apple TV app, since Apple’s App Store guidelines prevent it from adding a sign up option within the app. On the web, users can browse, rent, and buy over 100,000 titles, link an existing UltraViolet and Disney Movies Anywhere account, and then sync everything with their Apple TV app to view their collection on Apple’s fourth-generation set-top box.

Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 10
Tag: VUDU
Buyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Don’t Buy)
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The first ‘Shenmue III’ teaser is comfortably familiar

There’s plenty of big news flowing out from this year’s Gamescom. Although the Xbox One X has dominated the headlines thus far, some other fan-favorite games are also vying for space at the event. Among them, the long-awaited Shenmue III. Today, eager gamers are finally being treated to actual footage from the title.

The new teaser video boasts all the familiar tropes from the series. Sweeping orchestral soundtrack: check. Shots of Ryo and Shenhua gazing at open vistas: check. The mysterious dragon and phoenix mirrors: check. And, a dose of martial arts training (plus what looks like a boss fight).

The rigid character design will be hard to ignore for those hoping for a major upgrade to the series. After all, it’s been more than two years since Shenmue III was unveiled at Sony’s E3 event. Not to mention the 16-year wait since the previous instalment. But, hey, maybe those stiff character models are part of the charm. And, even 18 years down the line, Ryo’s iconic leather jacket still looks as badass as ever.

The 90-second clip reveals little about the game’s plot. Although it seems it picks up where Shenmue II left off, with a “beautiful set piece” in China, according to director and series creator Yu Suzuki. Fortunately, the backdrops look a lot more attractive.

Last we heard, the Kickstarter-funded title was getting delayed until 2018. However, the news that the game now has a global publisher (in the guise of Deep Silver) should help ease its backers’ concerns. Shenmue III will be available on PlayStation 4 and Windows PC. If the teaser isn’t enough to satisfy the Dreamcast devotee in you, then your next best bet is to hunt down this forklift simulator.

Follow all the latest news live from Gamescom here!

Source: PlayStation blog