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The Morning After: Xbox Series X and Series S reviews are in

Next-gen gaming starts with new Xboxes, and Tesla gets into the tequila business.

Engadget

2018’s jokes are 2020’s reality. I’m speaking, of course, about Tesla Tequila. Previously featured in an April Fool’s tweet from Elon Musk (pre-SEC settlement era), “Teslaquila” is now an actual drink you can buy. While Tesla didn’t go with the one-word name after trying to trademark it, buyers can expect an exclusive hand-blown glass bottle.

Tesla Tequila

The price for this small-batch tequila is $250 per bottle, limited to two per person and only shipped to states that allow online liquor sales.

— Richard Lawler

Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S reviews

The good, the bad and the in-between of new consoles.

Xbox Series S

Microsoft’s new consoles officially go on sale next week, and we can finally tell you what we think of them. According to Devindra Hardawar, the $499 Series X is “everything we’d want in a next-generation system” with one small problem — lack of new exclusives to showcase its 4K, HDR and ray tracing power.

The $299 Series S brings many of the more powerful box’s benefits (speedy storage and a new GPU) in a cheaper, smaller package. However, as Jessica Conditt points out in her review, those benefits do come with some compromises in storage space and for playing older Xbox titles on new high-res TVs.
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Watch our iPhone 12 Mini and Pro Max hands-ons here

Detailed reviews are incoming, but here are some first impressions.

iPhone 12 mini

Pre-orders for the Mini and the Pro Max open today at 8 AM ET, but if you're still wondering what they look like and if you need one, check out our photos and hands-on videos before you order.
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US authorities seize $1 billion worth of Silk Road Bitcoin

The seized Bitcoin came from someone who allegedly hacked the Silk Road.

Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht is in jail, but the feds are still chasing the money he made while running the dark web marketplace. This week, cryptocurrency experts noticed one of the largest transfers ever had taken place, which was a move shrouded in mystery until authorities announced they’d seized over 69,000 Bitcoin from a wallet linked to the marketplace.

So how did they get the digital currency, which is now worth more than $1 billion? According to the criminal complaint, an “Individual X” stole it from the Silk Road and sat on it until now. The government knows who this person is but so far isn’t giving up any more details.
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Sega sells its arcade business due to the COVID-19 pandemic

It doesn't know when business might pick up again.

Arcades have taken a big hit in the pandemic. And Sega is cutting its losses. Sega Sammy Holdings has sold 85.1 percent of its Japanese arcade business, Sega Entertainment, to the amusement-machine company Genda.

Sega told Famitsu in an interview that customers can still visit, and that it would still develop arcade games. Genda said it aimed to expand the amusement facility business, but it appears Sega’s plans to turn arcades into “fog gaming” data centers didn’t pan out.
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The PS5 will only be sold online on launch day

It’s a safety measure.

PlayStation 5

If you haven’t been able to lock in a PlayStation 5 pre-order, don’t plan to line up at a local retailer in the hopes of snagging the console on launch day. All day-one PS5 sales will be online-only via Sony’s retail partners.

The company says this is to help keep retailers, staff and consumers safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The move applies to all regions on the PS5’s launch day: November 12th or 19th, depending on where you are. Oddly enough, Sony made the announcement at the same time reviews of the new Xbox consoles went live. Timing is everything.
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Facebook removes ‘Stop the Steal’ group after ‘worrying calls for violence’

Hundreds of thousands of people joined in just one day.

Facebook has taken down a viral group with hundreds of thousands of members after “worrying calls for violence” and group admin efforts to organize offline events in states where votes are still being counted. The group called Stop the Steal was just over 24 hours old and had already gained more than 300,000 members and was growing quickly, according to Vice News.

Group members used the platform to share conspiracy theories, while others encouraged an armed response to election results. It was these actions that apparently prompted a response from Facebook.
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