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Jumat, 26 April 2019

Google bans developer with half a billion app downloads from Play Store - Engadget

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Google is banning a major Android developer DO Global and removing its apps from the Google Play Store after it was discovered the company was committing ad fraud. Nearly half of the developer's more than 100 apps have already been removed from Google's app marketplace and it's expected the rest will disappear in the coming days, according to BuzzFeed. Apps published by DO Global, which is in part owned by massive Chinese tech firm Baidu, have racked up more than 600 million downloads in the Play Store.

While DO Global isn't the first app developer to get banned from Google's marketplace, it is one of the biggest. In addition to having its apps removed from the platform, DO Global also appears to have been given the boot from Google's AdMob network. That would mean the company is no longer allowed to market its products through Google's massive mobile advertising service.

Google's removal of DO Global comes after a BuzzFeed report that found at least six of the company's apps included code that made it seem as though a user was clicking on advertisements even when they weren't using the apps. The apps in question had generic names like Selfie Camera and Total Cleaner and seemed to intentionally obscure the fact they were owned by DO Global, which violates Play Store policy.

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https://www.engadget.com/2019/04/26/google-bans-app-developer-do-global-play-store-ad-fraud/

2019-04-26 16:32:50Z
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Amazon is reportedly prepping a new high-fidelity music streaming service - The Verge

Amazon is planning to launch a new high-fidelity music streaming service with better-than-CD-quality audio, reports Music Business Worldwide. The new service is expected to cost around $15 a month, and it would sit alongside Amazon’s existing music services. These include Prime Music and Music Unlimited, which currently offer streams at a maximum of 256 Kbps, well below the 1,411 Kbps bitrate of CDs.

“It’s a better bitrate, better than CD quality,” said one of MBW’s sources, indicating the new service will put Amazon in direct competition with Tidal’s $20-a-month hi-res streaming tier. Tidal is able to offer these “Master” quality recordings, thanks to a partnership with hi-res music technology company MQA, although Amazon is reportedly intending to offer a better bitrate than CDs without a similar partnership.

The report claims that Amazon is in discussion with music rights holders to license tracks for the new service and that one major record company has already signed up to the new service.

Although Spotify, Amazon Music’s biggest rival, has previously experimented with lossless, CD-quality audio, the maximum bitrate it currently offers is 320 Kbps. Meanwhile, Apple Music tops out at 256 Kbps, which is the same as Amazon.

Although higher-quality streaming sounds appealing, Amazon’s new service will further inflate its confusing array of streaming options. There’s the free, ad-supported Amazon Music service, which you can use through Alexa devices, and there’s another tier that gives you access to 2 million tracks that’s included with Prime.

If you want access to more tracks (48 million more, in fact), then you can pay more for Amazon Music Unlimited, but prices vary depending on how many devices you own and whether you’re an existing Amazon Prime subscriber. You can pay just $3.99 to listen on a single Echo speaker, $9.99 for a standard subscription without Prime, or $7.99 with Prime.

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https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/26/18518182/amazon-music-service-cd-quality-hi-fi-tidal-competitor-unlimited-prime-price

2019-04-26 16:18:08Z
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Sony Officially Confirms PS5 Again, As PS4 Sales Near 100 Million - GameSpot

Following the first details about the PlayStation 5 announced last week by lead system architect Mark Cerny, Sony has now officially confirmed a next-generation console. In the company's latest earnings report, Sony said its gaming division experienced an "increase in development expenses for the next generation console."

That's all Sony had to say on the subject of the PS5, however.

According to Kotaku's Jason Schreier, Sony's decision to seemingly randomly announce the PS5 was not completely random. Schreier says that one reason is because Sony just started to deliver PS5 devkits to third-party studios, and they wanted to get ahead of leaks.

Also in the earnings report, Sony announced that it shipped 17.8 million PS4 consoles during the fiscal year ended March 31. That's down from 19 million during the year prior. In all, the PS4 has now sold 96.8 million consoles worldwide since its release in 2013.

PS4 sales have been falling annually for years now, which makes sense given the console is so old. For the current fiscal year, Sony expects PS4 sales to drop yet again, falling to 16 million.

It was also confirmed in the earnings report that Sony has 36.4 million paying PlayStation Plus subscribers. Sony's digital offerings are doing very well. PlayStation Network revenue, including full-game downloads, DLC, PS Now, and PlayStation Plus, amounted to over $12.8 billion for the year, which is a new yearly record.

Sony's video game division overall, called Game and Network Services, saw revenue of $20.9 billion. PS4 sales dropped, as mentioned, but this decline was partially offset by more PS4 game sales and PlayStation Plus subscriptions. Some of the numbers and analysis here was compiled by Niko Partners senior analyst Daniel Ahmad.

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https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-confirms-ps5-again-as-ps4-sales-near-100-mill/1100-6466500/

2019-04-26 14:36:00Z
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The Morning After: The CIA is on Instagram - Engadget

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We're going into Friday with some bad news for Sinemia and the potential for one-day default Amazon Prime shipping. Also: turn the tables on the CIA and follow them on Instagram.

Nothing to see here.
iFixit pulls its Galaxy Fold teardown at Samsung's request

Remember iFixit's teardown of a pre-release Samsung Galaxy Fold? Great, now forget it. Samsung requested -- via the "trusted partner" that provided the donor device -- that iFixit pull its teardown, and the site complied voluntarily. Of course, the Internet Archive is still there if you really want to see the Fold's hinge undressed, or you could wait for a new release date so iFixit can grab a retail model and find out what, if anything, is different.

The PS4 is nearing 100 million sold.
PlayStation 4 sales slow down as Sony's new console nears

Sony's earnings report warns it expects to make even less profit in the next year, as PlayStation 4 sales slow down, and it invests in its replacement. In the last year, 17.8 million consoles were sold, less than the 19 million sold in 2017.

It couldn't outlast MoviePass.
Sinemia's theater subscription shuts down in the US

After quickly rushing through a series of plan changes and account terminations, the subscription movie-theater ticket service has announced it's shutting down. A note on the front page of Sinemia's website confirms what subscribers have suspected, citing "unexpected legal proceedings" (including a patent lawsuit filed by MoviePass) and lack of capital. Instead, the company may pivot to building subscription services for theater owners.

Oh isn't that convenient?
Amazon Prime shipping could shrink to just one-day

In a call to investors following Amazon's first quarterly earnings report, CFO Brian Olsavsky said the company is working on changing the two-day default to just one. "We're currently working on evolving our Prime shipping program, which has historically been a two-day program, to a one-day shipping program," he said. "We'll be building most of this capacity through the year in 2019."

Finally, technology we can use.
Ford's futuristic shopping cart can brake on its own

If your kids use it as a skateboard, or one rolls away in the parking lot, a sensor can detect objects in the way and bring it to a smooth stop.

Time to follow them for a change.
The CIA is now on Instagram

In a bid for transparency that will probably only reveal how thirsty it is for likes, the CIA made its first Instagram post Thursday afternoon. There's a wig disguise and a paper bag labeled "Top Secret Pulp". The caption is "I spy with my little eye...".

But wait, there's more...

The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you'll miss if you don't Subscribe.

Craving even more? Like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter.

Have a suggestion on how we can improve The Morning After? Send us a note.

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https://www.engadget.com/2019/04/26/the-morning-after-the-cia-is-on-instagram/

2019-04-26 11:29:29Z
CAIiEGnv2ZhfrolwoWQ0T5_WmcMqGAgEKg8IACoHCAowwOjjAjDp3xswpuqvAw

Sony confirms PS5 won\'t launch in next 12 months, 2020 holiday season likely launch window - Notebookcheck.net

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Sanjiv Sathiah, 2019-04-26 (Update: 2019-04-26)

I have been tech-obsessed from the time my father introduced me to my first computer, an Apple ][. Since then, I have been particularly interested in all things Apple, but also enjoy exploring and experimenting with any computing platform that I can get my hands on – I am the definitive early adopter! I have always been interested in how we can use technology to shape and improve our lives, most recently using it to record, mix and master my debut record, Acuity – Nature | Nurture.

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https://www.notebookcheck.net/Sony-confirms-PS5-won-t-launch-in-next-12-months-2020-holiday-season-likely-launch-window.419505.0.html

2019-04-26 11:24:14Z
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Google Inbox’s co-creator wants to fix Gmail with a new Chrome extension - The Verge

The co-creator of Google’s beloved-yet-discontinued Inbox app, and former lead designer for Gmail, has released a new Chrome extension that considerably simplifies Gmail’s web interface.

Michael Leggett, who was Gmail’s design lead between 2008 and 2012, released the Simplify Gmail extension on April 2nd — the day after Gmail’s 15th anniversary which was also the day Inbox was discontinued. Leggett left Google in 2015.

The extension makes numerous small tweaks to Gmail’s web interface. The left and right sidebars are hidden behind a pair of menu buttons, the search bar at the top of the screen is minimized by default, and the button to compose a new email has moved from the top left to the bottom right.

Another prominent change is the removal of the Gmail logo. “Go look at any desktop app and tell me how many have a huge fucking logo in the top left,” Leggett explained in an interview with Fast Company, “C’mon. It’s pure ego, pure bullshit. Drop the logo. Give me a break.”

The extension mirrors the strategy Leggett adopted while at Google where he used the experimental Inbox to introduce features and encourage the company to change the Gmail service. “The best I could hope for is, it’s really good and Google will force people to switch to Inbox, or it’s really good and they take the best features and put into Gmail,” Leggett said of his original aims. Gmail would later adopt many of Inbox’s ideas, including Smart Replies and the ability to snooze emails.

For what it’s worth, I like some of the changes the extension makes, but I think others go too far. Hiding the sidebars and search bar makes the interface look neater, and I like the repositioned button to open a new email. But I don’t like the removal of the Gmail logo. Leggett might think it’s “pure ego,” but I like a visual indicator of what site I’m looking at for when I’m quickly skipping through my open tabs.

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https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/26/18517631/gmail-simplify-inbox-by-google-simple-michael-leggett-user-interface-design

2019-04-26 10:30:06Z
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The PS5 won't be releasing till May 2020 at the earliest, according to Sony - GamesRadar

After the PS5 was confirmed by Sony in a surprise move earlier this month, many questions remain about the nature of the next-gen console, including details about the release date, architecture, and the PS5 price point that day-one buyers can expect.

While Sony is keeping its cards close to its chest for now, a recent earnings call by the tech company has shed a brighter light on the Sony's plans for the product, and in a subsequently released earnings report, the development of the PS5 was again reconfirmed, stating an "increase in development expensed for the next generation console."

However, according to tech reporter Takahishi Mochizuki, who transcribed the conversation that took place during the call itself, Sony stated that there would be "no next-gen PlayStation launch over [the] next 12 months." That means that we won't be seeing the release of the PS5 until May 2020 at the earliest, and even that's an optimistic prediction.

Historically, next-gen consoles are released in the third or fourth quarter of the financial year, closer to the Holiday season rather than Spring, so perhaps an October/November 2020 launch window is more feasible. Meanwhile, Microsoft has yet to lift the curtain on its Xbox Project Scarlett, but there's a chance it has plans to do so in June, alongside the debut of its E3 2019 games on the stage of its press briefing at the expo.

Kotaku's Jason Schreier has recently suggested that the reason Sony had the PS5 confirmed so early is to get ahead of any leaks, as developers start to receive press kits for the console this year. Whether we'll hear any more about the hardware within the next few months is debatable, but we need all the time we can get to our heads around the ray-tracing tech that is being used to build the next generation of the PlayStation Nation.

We're still not done with this generation. Check out the big new games of 2019 on the way, or watch the video below for a guide to the week in entertainment ahead.

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https://www.gamesradar.com/the-ps5-wont-be-releasing-till-may-2020-at-the-earliest-according-to-sony/

2019-04-26 09:53:00Z
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