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‘Diamond Hands’ offers a good, if narrow portrait of the GameStop stock squeeze
The new MSNBC documentary focuses on the people who sank all they had into stonks.
Twitter won't remove Trump's Joe Scarborough conspiracy tweets
Twitter apologizes for the "pain" caused by Trump's tweets regarding a long-debunked murder conspiracy theory.
Sling TV raises its prices but adds a few more channels
Sling TV is a worthy choice for viewers who want live TV -- the service offers plenty of channels, doesn't lock customers into long-term contracts and is one of the cheapest options out there. But now it might be a little bit harder for Sling to convince new subscribers to join, as the company increased the monthly price of its two base packages -- Sling Orange and Sling Blue -- from $25 to $30 a month. Customers can still save by bundling the two together for $45, up from $40.
MSNBC's interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook airs tonight at 8PM ET
Last week, details from Tim Cook's interview with MSNBC and Recode's Kara Swisher emerged ahead of its airing, and boy, did he have some choice words for Facebook. When asked about the social network's mess with Cambridge Analytica, the Apple CEO said: "We've never believed that these detailed profiles of people, that have incredibly deep personal information that is patched together from several sources, should exist." The cable news network will broadcast the full talk tonight at 8PM ET.
Prep for the debates and primaries with Engadget's election guide
Last week Iowa voted and there were surprises all around. Ted Cruz became the front runner in the Republican race and Marco Rubio made an excellent showing by coming in a close third. Plus Hillary Clinton only narrowly avoided an upset from Larry David impersonator Bernie Sanders. Add to that the rather contentious (and meme-inspiring) debate between the Republicans on Saturday and this week is looking to be a decisive one for the Candidates.
How to watch this week's presidential primary debates
Primary season is officially underway, but don't think that the deluge of debates is over. There will be many, many, many, more chances for the candidates to face off on stage. Tonight at 9pm ET Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will follow up their razor thin race in Iowa by bringing their sales pitches to New Hampshire. With Martin O'Malley officially out of the race, it will be down to just the two front runners. You can watch the debate live on MSNBC and at MSNBC.com. Saturday night, at 9pm ET, its the Republicans turn to put on a debate for the citizens of New Hampshire. You'll be able to watch that on your local ABC affiliate or online at abcnew.go.com/live. And, of course, before those showdowns kick off, make sure to get caught up on the candidates positions on the most pressing tech and science issues of 2016 in our election guide. And make sure to join in the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Ello, Google+, BBS or semaphore using the hashtag #engadgetelectionguide.
The ACLU and the NSA's ex-director will debate spying on June 30th
If you've wanted the NSA and anti-spying campaigners to sit down and hash things out, you're about to get your wish... well, sort of. MSNBC is holding a surveillance-themed debate between former NSA head Gen. Keith Alexander and ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero on June 30th. When the two sides meet at 10:30AM Eastern that day, they'll argue over whether or not the NSA is making Americans safer; suffice it to say that there are going to be some fierce disagreements.
Guild Wars 2 posts online manual, talks economy and art
One of the unsung heroes of MMOs is the economist -- the guy or gal in charge of making sure that supply and demand doesn't get all wonky. Whether you think about in-game economy or not, its function impacts everyone. For ArenaNet, the man in charge of keeping Guild Wars 2's money ship float is John Smith, and he's created an interesting infographic showing the state of the economy from the beta process. From the chart, Smith deduces many interesting trends that may or may not play out in the live game. The largest sources of income during the beta were rewards, followed by dynamic events and tasks, while the most frequently traded items were crafting materials. He notes that an abnormal percentage of players gravitated to jewelcrafting as a profession, although he speculates that this was because of the temporary nature of the beta. Smith even compares the rate of gems to gold to Facebook's recent IPO and finds a similar pattern therein. Keeping up with the information reveals, ArenaNet has released the online manual for Guild Wars 2 that covers everything from "getting started" to "competitive play." If the economy and manual don't interest you, perhaps art does. MSNBC interviewed Art Director Daniel Dociu about the look of Guild Wars 2, and you can watch it right here after the break.
NBC News app for Xbox 360 brings streaming show clips to the console
While NBC News is no longer rocking the MS tag on its name, it's still tight with the Redmond crew and just launched a new app on the Xbox 360. Its well hidden section on the Inside Xbox channel got a refresh just last year, but the new app should bring even more clips of breaking news, features and commentaries culled from its various shows. As you can see in the screenshot it brings the content in the now-familiar grid style of menus (or whatever Microsoft is calling it) with Kinect support and the like. You can find it on your console now, just in case you needed another place to love / hate Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews and all the rest.
It's official: Comcast buys out Microsoft's share of MSNBC
Breaking up is hard to do, and it took Microsoft and NBC a few more days to hammer out all the details and make it official. NBC is buying the software maker's half of the MSNBC website for a reporter $300 million, which will be renamed NBC News -- a change which has already taken place if you try to hit up the old site. Its HQ will also move across from Microsoft's hub in Redmond to New York. Following the split, Microsoft is apparently readying its own news service for launch later this year, aiming to hire around the same number of people that were put to work on the previous site -- and looking to improve on its recent online fortunes.
Microsoft and NBC reportedly calling it splitsville on the web, MSNBC.com to get friend-zoned
Microsoft and NBC have had what you might call a complicated relationship. They've been separated in the TV space ever since MSNBC became a solely NBC-owned entity in 2005, but the online fling has carried on to this day. If Daily Beast's tipsters are right, however, NBC may get a little less ambiguous with its relationship status and kick Microsoft to the curb. The now Comcast-owned NBCUniversal is supposedly irked at having to share equal control over the MSNBC website and wants to send Microsoft packing, buying out Redmond's 50 percent stake. While the existing management would stay, MSNBC's online staff would quit Microsoft's campus and hop over to an NBCNews.com domain to reflect their newfound independence. An NBC representative wouldn't confirm that an agreement had been signed, but did say talks had taken place -- certainly much more of a response than most rumors get. With a signed deal rumored in a matter of "days," there won't be long to wait before we learn whether or not Microsoft gets dumped once and for all.
Microsoft launches YouTube, TMZ, FiOS TV apps and many more on the Xbox 360 today
For those of you in the Xbox 360 Dashboard preview program, some of this stuff is old hat, but for the rest of us today's launch of a dozen new applications on the Dashboard is all brand new. Beyond the addition of YouTube, FiOS TV, and TMZ (can we give that one back?), Xbox 360 users get access to MSNBC content, iHeartRadio (actual radio!), and a handful of other services starting today. Though we expected as much, certain services are region-specific and will only be available to certain audiences (Rogers On Demand only exists in Canada, for instance, as it's a Canadian cable provider). Head past the break for the official list, regions and all.
Photographer Annie Leibovitz recommends iPhone as a camera
In the world of photography, there's one person who stands out for her classic portraits of such notables as John Lennon, Bill Gates, Sting and Queen Elizabeth II -- Annie Leibovitz. In a televised interview with MSNBC anchor Brian Williams, Leibovitz expounded on the use of the iPhone as the "snapshot camera of today." Williams had asked Leibovitz what her answer was to people who asked her what kind of camera to buy, which prompted the photographer to start talking about the iPhone. She said "It's a pencil, it's a pen, it's a notebook..." and is amazed by how many people show her photographs of their children by pulling out an iPhone like "the wallet with the family pictures." In what could be a line from a future Apple ad, she even makes the comment that the iPhone is "so accessible and easy." Be sure to check out the video (just watch out for the ads, though...).
Men outspend women on mobile social games
Ladies (or gentlemen), is your man a gamer? If so, you may finally have a worthwhile retort for the next time he scoffs and rolls his eyes at that $10 non-combat pet you just had to have. A recent study by MocoSpace surveyed 1,500 "mobile social gamers" about their spending practices within social games. The results? "While 53 percent were male, and 47 percent female, 69 percent of men were buying virtual goods, while only 31 percent of females did." Venturebeat adds: "On top of that, those male gamers are responsible for 90 percent of virtual goods that are purchased inside the games." The article goes on to note the recent practices of selling in-game items for real-world currency in World of Warcraft and EverQuest, though no numbers are available regarding the gender parity of those who purchased such items. For the full article -- which naturally could not resist one not-so-subtle stab at the SOE network outage -- click on over to MSNBC's Technoblog.
Anti-Aliased Special Edition: Net neutrality, the FCC, Comcast, and Glenn Beck
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/tech_news/What_net_neutrality_is_and_why_you_should_support_it'; So today's Wednesday and yes, I know, my column usually doesn't run on Wednesday. However, thanks the recent ruling against the Federal Communications Commission in their net neutrality case, it seems that there's a very relevant topic to talk about as soon as possible. Let me open by saying this -- net neutrality isn't another one of those overblown media stories, or something that we should put off on the backburner. Yet, while everyone's talking about net neutrality, few people are really talking about what it is, why you should care, and why you can't trust everything you're hearing about net neutrality. I've heard more than a few mistruths about the subject recently -- including a whole string of mistruths from everyone's favorite comedy network, Fox News. So today, let's set some things straight and talk about net neutrality. This is very serious stuff for the avid MMO gamer, the casual online gamer, or, well, anyone who touches the Internet.
The 2010 Winter Olympics kicks off tonight in HD
The wait is finally almost over and tonight at 7:30PM Eastern the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics will kick off 14 days of Winter fun. There's a total of 835 hours of HD coverage spread across NBC Universal's various channels. With so many hours of HD coverage it really shows how far we've come since the first HD Olympics in Athens in 2004, when NBC broadcast one 24 hour Olympic HD channel with events were from the previous day, and only one commercial -- you know, the Sony "Chips and Salsa" commercial that was played ad nauseam. Our favorite way to keep up with the HD sports schedule is HDSportsGuide.com but we're also sure to check out as much of the coverage online at NBCOlympics.com as we can.
Xbox 360 update to add Music Games Store, news section
Microsoft has revealed new details about its Fall 2009 Xbox 360 Dashboard Update -- yes, the same update set to bring Twitter, Last.fm and Facebook support. New to the list of update features is a dedicated Xbox Live storefront for music games DLC and a specific area of Inside Xbox called "News and More."The Music Games Store will take a big step toward dealing with the clutter on Xbox Live, offering a one-stop shop for all Rock Band, Guitar Hero and Lips DLC. Aside from the convenience of a single destination for all music game DLC purchases, shoppers will also be able to preview each track from right there in the Dashboard. As for the News and More section of Inside Xbox, it's described as "a regularly-updated stream of content from MSNBC.com, MSN Autos, The New Yorker and Dilbert." We're totally expecting some Akira-like monstrosity that is equal parts balloon boy, coffee station chit-chat and political cartoons we don't understand; though we're sure in reality the feature will be less scary and far less life-threatening.
MSNBC HD launches on DISH Network
Turbo HD shenanigans aside, DISH Network's latest press release touts its exclusive -- nationwide -- carriage of MSNBC HD, conveniently sidestepping Cablevision and Time Warner customers that have had the channel since launch last month. Still, if you enjoy Morning Joe and the rest of the MSNBC lineup in high definition and are a Classic Silver 200 or higher subscriber it should be in your lineup as of yesterday, though we suppose you're probably more interested in finding out if your DVR will continue to work.
News apps! Get your News apps!
MSNBC recently added an iPhone app to the store, so we thought it was a good time to take a look at a few news apps.The gold standard for news on the iPhone is the USA Today app. Love them or hate them, the USA Today punchy writing style feels right at home on the iPhone. News can be received from a wide range of mobile sources, and it's the design of this app that makes it stand out. I would love to have the authors pack my suitcase the next time I travel, since they have found a way to cram an incredible amount of information into a very small package. Using persistent buttons on the bottom of each screen, you can get to Headlines, Sports Scores, Weather, Photo Galleries, and Snapshots (which are a set of insta-polls), from anywhere. What makes it special is that, along with the local weather, at the top of most category screens there is a sliding set of sub-categories allowing you to get to just what you want in no time. For example, if you wanted to get the score of the Yankees' game, just tap Scores, and the sub-categories of NFL, MBL, NBA, NCAAF and NCAAB appear at the top of the screen. Tap MLB and there it is. Two taps total. Similarly, tapping Headlines brings up sub-categories of: Top News, News, Money, Sports, Life Tech and Travel. When in any category, tap Top Stories and you can set a default for the type of story you would like to see first. For example, under the sub-category of Money, you can choose to set the default to: Top Stories, Markets, Economy, Cars, Personal Finance or Industry. Set it up once and you'll be able to drill down to specific results in a universe of information with just a few taps.Tap on Share Article and you can Email, Text, Twitter (your Twitter client can be chosen in the setup pane), or log into Facebook. in all the apps covered here, you can share, but this has the most robust feature set of the lot. The fit, finish and depth of the app is, okay I'll say it -- awesome. Weather is location enabled, the Picture Galleries are extensive and under Snapshots there are nine running polls in each of the four sub-categories of News, Sports, Money and Life. USA Today is not just for hotel rooms anymore.
Plenty of gaming options for today's 'tweens
According to this MSNBC article, there are no less than 200 youth-oriented virtual worlds and MMOs either in development or on the market. Some of these titles even boast account numbers that rival Facebook and MySpace as analysts estimate 30M users in Club Penguin, 52M users in Neopets, and 90M in Habbo.Is this really surprising though? Probably not when you consider that kids today aren't totally different in this generation than previous generations. 'Tweens have always liked to socialize, play, and simply "hang out." The difference nowadays is that parents tend to have looser restrictions and the kids can accomplish most of the things they like to do without even leaving a computer chair. The rules and tools have changed.The article also talks about a 89/10/1 rule that most F2P/RMT games aim for. This rule assumes that 89% of people will play your game for free, 10% will pay the minimum, and 1% will spend lots of money. Apply that rule to the recent announcements that both Free Realms and Runes of Magic have surpassed 1M users. If the rule applies, it means 100,000 people are paying the basic fees (~$5/month) and 10,000 are spending oodles on extras ($15+/month). That's roughly $650,000 per month, which isn't half bad depending on your development costs.