Better Late Than Never
Microsoft is dropping the Xbox Live Gold requirement, long overdue move imminent
For the longest of time — since always, actually — Xbox owners have had a number of great online games available to them for free but were unable to play them because Microsoft chose to charge for those anyway. …
Hard Earned Wins
Want to know one of the main reasons for Apple’s success? Look no further.
Many analysts and journalists have referred to the iPhone as a turning point for the mobile industry and, in retrospect, they were right: there have been quite a few smartphones before it, but not a single one had the impact of the iPhone on the specific way we use these devices today. Yes, the Apple brand played a role in all this. Yes, a number of iPhone features and functions were straight-up copied from other manufacturers later on. But Apple’s smartphones would not have enjoyed that long a successful ride if customer satisfaction was not consistently sky-high. …
Better Late Than Never
Sony addresses an important problem, plenty of additions and changes too
Like every modern home entertainment system of the last decade or so, the PlayStation5 has already been software-updated a number of times since its launch last November. Truth be told, though, none of those updates added anything of note, all being of the “improved stability and performance” variety instead. This changes tomorrow as Sony is releasing the first major PS5 update so far, bringing a much-requested feature to its new system along with a number of welcome additions and quality-of-life improvements.
The much-requested feature is none other than the option to move PS5 games to an external USB drive in…
Plan B: Hybrid
The House of Mouse does not follow Warner yet… but it’s not betting on movie theatres either
It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on Hollywood studios’ movie release schedules but, so far, one among them seemed somewhat less affected: Disney. The Americans had to postpone the theatrical debut of several movies, yes, but during investor calls or interviews had claimed that it would rather delay AAA films several times rather than move them on the company’s subscription service, Disney Plus. It seems though that — after taking a hard look at the state of theatre multiplexes across America and overseas — Disney now believes that the pandemic will not allow their normal operation…
Promises, Promises
Targeted at consumers thinking of buying a top Sony TV in 2021 — but is it premium enough?
Following up on the announcement it made during CES 2021 in January, Sony is launching its Bravia CORE streaming service in more than 50 countries. This service is exclusively created for owners of the best TV models the Japanese giant will be releasing this year — starting with its best OLED model, the A90J, which has just been made available — and will not be competing with the likes of Disney Plus or HBO Max. …
It might be at first glance, but a closer look at the situation raises some questions
Few words turn more heads or generate more clicks nowadays than “FREE!”. Most people have less disposable income than they would like, so every opportunity to get something for nothing is not to be missed, right? But “free” is hardly ever costless and it often takes a while to understand what the actual cost of “free” is in specific situations. Once it becomes apparent, though, the thought of “not costless after all” stakes a claim in one’s mind — and that’s exactly what can happen to people with the Epic Games Store’s “free games”.
Case in point: Epic is giving…
Preparing For War?
Lots of new games — classic and fresh alike — added, a push for mainstream success a possibility
Even though hard numbers about its popularity with iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV owners have never been revealed, there’s little question about its quality of content: Apple Arcade really is one of the best-curated subscription services at the moment, especially considering its low $4.99 monthly cost. Anything between 5 or 10 new games are added to its library every month and a total number of around 150 was nothing to sniff at. But the Cupertino giant has clearly decided to take it up a notch in April since no less than 30 more games will be added to the…
Growing Pains
The most popular streaming service in the world under scrutiny again — with good reason this time
Few questions have been asked during the last 4 years in the streaming services space more than this story’s headline: it had become such a recurring theme for analysts to question Netflix’s growth after every investor call or every missed forecast, that one could pre-post the same article as last quarter’s, wait for the latest figures, make a few changes and come off as extremely concerned of Netflix’s future in the exact same way for the umpteenth time. …
No Great Loss
Microsoft’s voice assistant had overstayed its welcome, other tech giants should take note
In line with announcements it made last July regarding its voice assistant, Microsoft has shut down Cortana in its app form for iOS and Android devices. Any lists, reminders or other content people have created with those apps is still accessible through Cortana for Windows 10 — assuming that they are signed in with the same Microsoft account of course — while that data can likewise be downloaded on smartphones or tablets through the Microsoft To Do app. Cortana has been gradually phased out over the course of several years, being unable to compete with Alexa, Siri and Assistant offered…
A Necessary End
The Koreans are probably doing the right thing, there may be more such departures before the year’s out
Putting an end to rumors that were flying around for more than a year — repeatedly shot down officially only to return a few weeks later — LG Electronics confirmed that it is exiting the smartphone business. The Korean giant’s mobile division will cease operations by the end of July. LG’s statement reiterates that the company plans to focus on “connected devices, smart homes, robotics, artificial intelligence and business-to-business solutions, as well as platforms and services”. …
Kostas Farkonas
Veteran journalist, project kickstarter, tech nut, cynical gamer, music addict, movie maniac. Will work for money, fame and bandwidth. More on farkonas.com.
