Electronic News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

Even as we inch towards the new year, artificial intelligence developments are not slowing down. Today, December 28, a report revealed that Samsung can unveil a Bespoke 4-Door Flex Refrigerator with AI Family Hub+ at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024. The AI fridge will pack features like checking the items inside using a camera and suggesting recipes based on them. In other news, Baidu's ChatGPT-rival Ernie Bot has surpassed the 100 million user mark. This and more in today's AI roundup. Let us take a closer look.

The annual CES conference showcases what new tech and ideas companies have been working on. Next year’s event will be held on January 8, 2024, in Las Vegas. Sony has confirmed it’ll be there, and you’ll be able to watch its presentation streamed on its official YouTube channel at 05:00 PM PST.

Earlier this year, my left ear, previously every bit as capable as my right, started letting me down. I at first had many explanations for this — a buildup of ear wax, some side effect of a sinus infection or a prolonged reaction to a lot of flying recently. It took a specialist to break it to me that I had joined the ranks of 1.25 billion people in the world who suffer from mild to moderate hearing loss.

The general reception surrounding Diablo 4 has had many ups and downs in its first six months since release. Currently, Diablo 4 is in a far better state than it was earlier this year. Evidently, the developers learned some valuable insights on carefully tuning this massive action RPG to meet community expectations.  In an interview with the Electronic Playground Network, Diablo general manager Rod Fergusson took some time to reflect on the first six months of Diablo 4. He also talked about the rough patches -- both the actual patches and the resulting community backlash -- and stated that upcoming updates would instead go for more thoughtful changes. According to Fergusson, a big lesson that Blizzard learned is that sometimes it's OK for things to "feel" broken to keep the fun.

Deepfakes have become a rising concern lately, with several eminent personalities including celebrities falling victim. There have been several instances where threat actors have even defrauded the victim by using deepfakes or fake voices. While the advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have increased productivity and helped users in their day-to-day lives, the technology has also been misused to carry out such scams and identity theft. After holding dialogues with tech and social media companies, the Government of India has now issued an advisory to the platforms. Know all about it.

Samsung Electronics Co. has delayed mass production plans at its new chip plant in Taylor, Texas, the Seoul Economic Daily said, potentially dealing another blow to the Biden administration's ambition to increase domestic semiconductor supplies. te

Festivities are in full swing across the world as we enter Christmas Eve, but fascinating stories from the world of artificial intelligence keep emerging. In the UK, Historic England, which is an executive non-departmental public body, is taking the help of AI to fight graffiti art vandals who deface historic churches, castles, and monasteries. In other news, as many as 30000 employees can lose their jobs in a massive Google layoff exercise, as per reports. This and more in today's AI roundup. Let us take a closer look.

Even as human-caused climate change threatens the environment, nature continues to inspire our technological advancement. "The solutions that are provided by nature have evolved for billions of years and tested repeatedly every day since the beginning of time," said Evripidis Gkanias, a University of Edinburgh researcher.

Sales of Sony's PlayStation 5 have crossed 50 million units, the Japanese electronics giant said, pointing to "strong momentum" this year for its flagship gaming console. The PS5 was launched in November 2020, with the world in the grip of the Covid pandemic, and its sales initially suffered because of widespread supply chain problems and a global chip shortage.

LG Electronics has revealed its plans for 2024's "UltraGear" gaming monitor lineup with two new OLED designs in 39" & 32" flavors.

Sony announced Wednesday that it has sold 50 million units of its PlayStation 5 console since the system launched three years ago. That puts the PS5 on pace with the PlayStation 4, which also hit the 50 million sales mark in 2016, just three years after Sony’s last-gen console launched in 2013.

Former Mass Effect lead writer Mac Walters has reflected on his time at BioWare and explained why he decided to leave the studio earlier this year. 

The Biden administration is “tracking” the impending US ban of nearly all Apple Watch sales due to a patent dispute, with power to veto the decision resting with the US Trade Representative. 

Mac Walters amassed an enviable list of credits during his nearly 20-year career at BioWare on games including Jade Empire, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age, eventually rising to lead writer of Mass Effect 2 and 3 and creative director on Mass Effect: Andromeda. He then stepped into the role of production director on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, before leaving the studio in January 2023. In a new interview with MinnMax, Walters talked about his reasons for leaving, saying he was prompted to do so in part by the success of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition.

Publisher Electronic Arts has rebranded its Frostbite engine, with the aim of better reflecting the tech as a «platform for collaborative innovation».

Today, December 19, has turned out to be an important day for artificial intelligence, especially for India. The government has announced that it has commenced the process of formulating regulations on AI to foster development, protection, and innovation in this space. In other news, IBM has revealed its plans to acquire StreamSets and webMethods platforms of Software AG for a total of 2.3 billion dollars in a bid to improve its own AI offerings. This and more in today's AI roundup. Let us take a closer look.

Electronic Arts’ proprietary Frostbite engine has received a makeover with a new logo and brand identity. Instead of multiple splinters and shards, the handprint is now a smoother, more defined shape. While built to “explore, evolve and apply proprietary technology specifically with, and for, our game studios”, it now represents “a platform for collaborative innovation.”

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Electronic Arts today announced a rebranding for Frostbite, its internal game development engine. It's the first new logo for the tech in nearly a decade.

For a harrowing hour or two after Amazon.com Inc. launched its first satellites, it appeared the company might have lost one of them. The two prototypes had entered orbit over the Atlantic Ocean at 2:24 p.m. Eastern on Oct. 6. An Amazon antenna on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius made contact with both, but during a subsequent handoff to another station, only one vehicle checked in. Amazon scanned the sky behind the first satellite for a signal from the second one but heard silence. 

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, is officially dead. A statement on the official website simply reads: «After more than two decades of E3, each one bigger than the last, the time has come to say goodbye. Thanks for the memories.»

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UPDATE

Electronic Arts launched their latest The Sims 4 expansion pack on the 7th of December. Adding a new gameplay element, The Sims 4: For Rent might be one of the most exciting expansions they have released yet.

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Remember when people were licking the game cartridges from their Nintendo Switches back in 2017? The actual company had to make a post on their support page telling people to not do that. Doing so wasn’t harmful, but it still shouldn’t be done. Now it seems that we’re in a time where people are huffing those fumes coming from Valve’s Steam Deck.

One of the glorious things about being a PC owner is the fact that the only limits to what you do with your gaming machine are your imagination and size of your bank balance. Some may desire to turn the simple box into an explosion of light and colour, whereas others may hark for something more refined and understated. One Reddit user is very much in the latter camp and decided to create a wooden tribute to the king of brown, Noctua.

When Valve introduced the Steam Deck, the company was adamant that its handheld gaming device was, at its core, a PC, with all the customizability and user freedom that entailed. «You shouldn't do any of this,» Valve said in a teardown video, before proceeding to show everyone how to take apart the Steam Deck. So when Valve now tells Steam Deck owners they shouldn't be sticking their noses next to the handheld's exhaust vents and taking a big, deep breath, I have to wonder if, y'know, they really mean it.

Earlier this week, it was announced that the Electronic Entertainment Expo — better known as E3 — has been permanently shut down, following its cancellation in 2020, 2022, and 2023 (and shift online in 2021). Now, Stanley Pierre-Louis, the president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which organized E3, has spoken more about the reasoning behind the decision.

After over two decades, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, also known as E3, is coming to an end. 

The popular gaming expo known as E3 has been officially retired after occurring almost annually for nearly 30 years. E3, an abbreviation for Electronic Entertainment Expo, has been happening since 1995, offering a space for developers and publishers to showcase their upcoming games and hardware to members of the industry, from shareholders to journalists, for instance.

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), once held every summer as the games industry’s biggest convention, is officially dead, the Entertainment Software Association confirmed.

Ding, dong, E3 is dead. The Electronic Entertainment Expo has officially been brought to a close by the Entertainment Software Association that organised the show, it has been confirmed.

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (better known as E3) is canceled indefinitely. “After more than two decades of E3, each one bigger than the last, the time has come to say goodbye,” event organizer the Entertainment Software Association wrote on its website. “Thanks for the memories. GGWP.”

The Entertainment Software Association has announced that its long-running Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is officially dead, as reported by The Washington Post. The last in-person E3 conference happened in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic and other complications prevented it from coming back in full form since. Despite struggles, the ESA attempted to bring E3 back in various ways. 

E3’s decades-long history has been peppered with ups and downs. The annual Los Angeles-based gaming expo saw a decade of steady growth after it was founded in the mid-90s. The mid-00s, on the other hand, were an altogether different story, as the event struggled, downsized and moved out of the LA Convention Center.

The Electronic Entertainment Expo is officially no more.

Approximately 9,000 games industry employees have been laid off so far this year.

This year GamesBeat was part of the 2023 Game Awards in L.A., as part of a mini GB event, “Pixels to Pop Culture,” exploring the intersection of game industry creatives, Hollywood and a growing audience’s hunger for new IP.

A recent report indicates that Apple is actively developing an under-display camera (UDC) for its upcoming iPhones within the next few years. South Korean tech giant LG is said to be working on an under-panel camera (UPC) designed to conceal the component cutout on a smartphone's display, ensuring an uninterrupted viewing experience during activities like gaming or video watching. While nothing is certain, this report has it that Apple is looking to replace the Dynamic Island display cutout with under-display sensors for both the camera and Face ID in future models.

An Apple cyber security team has met watchdog CERT-In to discuss the issue of warning notifications sent to some opposition leaders, a senior government official said on Thursday.

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Last Sentinel is a new triple-A open-world game announced at The Game Awards from Lightspeed LA, a Tencent-owned US-based developer. Lightspeed is led by Steve Martin, who previously worked on Rockstar Games and Electronic Arts.

Samsung will slowly shift away from producing lithium-ion batteries as its sub-division called Samsung SDI is reportedly developing solid-state batteries with an aim to launch the new technology a few years from now. A new team has also been formed to help the Korean giant reach its intended production goal.

Last Sentinel is a new triple-A open-world game announced at The Game Awards from Lightspeed LA, a Tencent-owned US-based developer. Lightspeed is led by Steve Martin, who previously worked on Rockstar Games and Electronic Arts.

I'm typically sceptical of trailer scrubbers—and there are a hell of a lot of them with Grand Theft Auto 6. Can't blame them, obviously, it's been 10 whole years since we last got a GTA game. 

It is no secret that Apple is working towards reducing its dependence on China for the production of its various devices, including iPhones. In recent years, Apple has shifted its focus towards India and wants to expand its partnership by planning to produce the iPhone 16 battery in India. Suppliers in India have been told to upscale their production for the same. China is Apple's massive production and supply chain country, but India is taking away a lot of their business away. The shift is happening due to the many risk factors that were exposed by the COVID-19 years. Know what Apple is planning for its new generation of iPhone.

Saber Interactive, a division of Embracer Group, has confirmed that it has laid off employees at its New World Interactive studio, the developer of Insurgency: Sandstorm.

US publishing giant Electronic Arts has made job cuts at racing specialist Codemasters.

Publisher Electronic Arts (EA) has confirmed that there has been a round of layoffs at EA-owned studio Codemasters. Known for its popular racing game series such as F1, Grid, and Dirt, it is unclear how many staff are affected at the current time.

Logitech G has announced the latest product in its premium gaming headset range; the Astro A50 X. This long-awaited follow-up to the Astro A50 headset boasts new features like PlaySync technology, which will allow players to switch between PS5 and Xbox Series X|S sources, seamlessly, via one of the headset's on-board buttons.

2023 isn't over yet, and neither are the game industry layoffs that have been such an ugly hallmark of the year. Electronic Arts has confirmed with IGN that it has laid off an unspecified number of employees from Codemasters, the developer of the Grid, F1, and EA Sports WRC racing games.

US publishing giant Electronic Arts has added to its open-sourced accessibility tools.

Social platforms are awash with ads for so-called “green” products. Power companies are “carbon neutral”. Electronics are “for the planet”. Clothing is “circular” and travel is “sustainable”. Or are they? Our study of more than 8,000 ads served more than 20,000 times in people's Facebook feeds found many green claims are vague, meaningless or unsubstantiated and consumers are potentially being deceived.

Technological advancements have moved ahead to the next step now. From the introduction of smartwatches, the tech world is now buzzing with the introduction of smart rings. Various tech brands including Oura, Pi, and more have already introduced smart rings and others like Samsung are looking to do so too. Meizu, the Chinese electronics giant, made waves at its Autumn Unbounded Ecological Conference with the introduction of its groundbreaking wearable – the Meizu MYVU Ring, which touts augmented reality capabilities. As part of the newly unveiled MYVU brand, the smart ring was introduced with the MYVU Discovery AR smart glasses. Check here to know more about this smart ring.

In recent years, the prices of flagship-class smartphones have soared, reaching a point where spending over Rs. 70000 on the latest iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, or Google Pixel models is not uncommon. However, for those with a more modest budget, the good news is that you can still enjoy nearly identical performance, features, and style for less than half the price. The sub-Rs. 40000 category is brimming with options, and some of the recently released models in this price range even boast features that are yet to be seen in more expensive flagships.

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At this year's New York Times Dealbook Summit, essentially a series of interviews with mega-wealthy CEOs, Jen-Hsun Huang of Nvidia was asked about why he constantly feels that his company may one day bite the dust. «I don't think people are trying to put me out of business—I probably know they're trying to,» he said. «I live in this condition where we're partly desperate, partly aspirational.»

Kids in the United States really want video game gifts for Christmas, according to survey results published on Nov. 20 by the Electronic Software Association. Video game-related gifts top wish lists — just eking out asks for money, clothes, and non-games electronics. But of the kids surveyed, 39% of kids plan to ask for game subscriptions, followed by consoles (38%), gear and accessories (32%), in-game currency (29%), and physical video games (22%).

Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang, who runs the semiconductor industry's most valuable company, said the US is as much as 20 years away from breaking its dependence on overseas chipmaking.

Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary Edition has appeared again, this time on Microsoft’s Xbox store.

Voice acting in video games isn’t often discussed unless a performance is good or bad. After all, many people just focus on what’s being said within the video games and don’t always pay attention to the actors themselves. That’s sad, given that voice actors work hard to do these lines, and when you don’t get a quality voice actor, the game can suffer. That brings us to a unique patent that was found on Reddit belonging to Electronic Arts. According to the patent, they’re trying to create a device that would let YOU become a voice actor for the game you’re playing.

IPhone maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. plans to expand its footprint in India with another NT$50 billion ($1.6 billion) investment for construction projects.

The Black Friday sale has ended, but by any chance if you missed the amazing deals and discounts on smartphones available then, you don't need to worry because Cyber Monday discounts have just started! During the Cyber Monday sale, you can grab huge discounts on top electronics products across all brands. If you looking for a smartphone upgrade or you want to buy an early Christmas gift for your friends and family then check the top smartphones available. The list includes Google Pixel 7a, Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus, Motorola Razr Plus, and more, all available during the Cyber Monday sale.

Most years, I log on to work over the Black Friday weekend with the intention of discussing the best deal I've bought. This time I've had my eye on extra storage, with a Lexar 4TB SSD (-19% off at $187) making it all the way through checkout. However, I cancelled once I remembered that the Alienware R10 it was destined for, which I bought a couple of Black Fridays ago (and honestly have regretted due to the hassle it's caused) only has one NVMe slot. I don't have the brainspace to futz around with an adapter or migrating my data on the current drive, particularly as the case is such a pig to deal with that I hast actually drawn blood. So instead, let's talk mini-fridges, and why they're one of the best upgrades you can make to your PC gaming setup.

India's push for local IT hardware manufacturing receives a boost as Noida-based Sahasra Group, a recent beneficiary of the government's production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, secures its first order to produce laptops for French electronics brand Thomson. Under the deal, Sahasra will manufacture budget-friendly and readily available Microsoft Windows 11 laptops for the Indian market.

Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnav, took to social media platform X to announce achievement in the mobile phone industry.

 At a whopping $9.8 bn, Black Friday shoppers have created an online spending record, Adobe Analytics reported, offering a positive sign for retailers facing lackluster sales forecasts for the holiday season.

I legitimately feel bad for anyone who bought a Steam Deck right before Valve’s surprise reveal of the new and improved OLED model. The announcement came out of nowhere and the Steam Deck OLED is a better version of the LCD original, at roughly the same price point. So, I understand why the r/SteamDeck forum was immediately flooded with new owners lamenting their life choices. To these people, and to anyone with the debut hardware, I want to make it perfectly clear: The Steam Deck LCD is one of the best handheld PCs on the market.

Electronic Arts has announced that UEFA Euro 2024 will be coming to EA Sports FC 24 in the summer of 2024 as a free update.

Bolstering their technology collaboration, India and the European Union (EU) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the semiconductor ecosystem today, November 24. The initial agreement was signed by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and the EU Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton. As part of the agreement, both India and the EU will share experiences and best practices, and identify areas for collaboration to bolster the semiconductor ecosystem among other action points.

EA's Battlefield V has hit a brand new record for concurrent players on Steam.

The Government of India has launched a crackdown on an increasingly popular artificial intelligence (AI) technology known as deepfake videos, according to Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar. This development comes a day after Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw held a meeting with top social media companies and announced that the government will soon come up with new regulations to tackle the issues surrounding deepfake videos. 

USWalmartMarvel's Spider-Man 2 bundle — $499 Modern Warfare 3 bundle — $499

The Black Friday sale is almost here and buyers can avail massive discounts on a wide range of products such as smartphones, laptops, electronics, home appliances, and more. Although the actual sale takes place on November 24, some of the offers have already gone live, allowing buyers to grab them before the stocks run out. One amazing Black Friday deal is live on the Apple MacBook Air M2. As part of the Black Friday offer, you can grab the MacBook Air at a hefty discount! Check out the details of this deal below.

In a crucial step to counter the escalating threat posed by deepfake videos, the Government of India is set to introduce new regulations or amend existing laws. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw disclosed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) plan to address the urgent need for building trust in society and democracy. Deepfakes, hyper-realistic fake videos or audio, have become a significant concern, particularly after the viral spread of such content featuring Bollywood actresses, models and other celebrities. The ministry attributes the rapid dissemination of deepfake videos to the widespread use of social media platforms and it emphasised the need for stringent measures.

Earlier this month, Agnitio Capital founder Shum Singh hosted a panel at the Montreal International Games Summit to discuss the state of mergers and acquisitions in the games industry, and opened the presentation talking about how the pandemic boom fueled incredible M&A activity a couple years ago and gave everyone a story of some founder they knew who sold a studio for an unexpectedly generous valuation.

Samsung Foundry has seemingly secured orders from major companies including AMD & Tesla, as per a report from Korean outlet, Fnnews.

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