Oculus rolls out support for 90Hz games in first big Quest 2 update

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Oculus has rolled out its first big update for the Quest 2 standalone virtual reality headset, fulfilling a few promises it made when the headset launched last month. Headlining the new features is the 90Hz refresh rate mode that now expands to all system-level apps by default — including through Oculus Link, which has officially exited beta.

The company says it’s now allowing developers to ship Quest titles with native 90Hz support, as opposed to the Quest 2’s 72Hz base refresh rate that was active by default. Soon, the likes of Superhot, Echo VR, Beat Saber, Vacation Simulator, Job Simulator, Racket: Nx, and Space Pirate Trainer will support the higher refresh rate. Hopefully Tetris Effect and Rez Infinite will soon join that list.

I...

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from TV Aerial Installation Services Warrington https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/13/21564474/oculus-quest-2-90hz-refresh-rate-link-move-screen-recording-capture
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The Mandalorian’s new episode questions what a Mandalorian actually is

Lucasfilm Ltd.

What makes a Mandalorian a Mandalorian?

It’s a question that’s becoming increasingly important on The Mandalorian (shocking, I know), especially as our titular lead (Din Djarin, aka “Mando”) continues in his quest to find other members of his people. Mandalorians who, as we learned in the most recent episode called “The Heiress,” are very different from his own clan.

As the episode reveals, Din’s stoic ways and reverence for his armor (to the point of never revealing his face) are not typical of all Mandalorians. Rather, his tribe is a splinter group that adheres to the ways of the “Children of the Watch,” described as a “cult of religious zealots” that sought to reestablish the Way of the Mandalore (the oft-quoted, “This is the way”...

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from TV Aerial Installation Services Warrington https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/13/21564457/the-mandalorian-heiress-armor-characters-watch-armor-season-2-episode-2
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Sewage is still ‘America’s dirty secret’

A 1928 photo shows a sewer outlet pouring untreated sewage into the Mississippi in Minnesota. Nearly a century later, wastewater remains an important public health issue in the US. | Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

Doctors couldn’t diagnose the rash spreading across Catherine Flowers’ legs and body. But the activist thought it had to do with the day she wore a dress during a visit to a family whose yard featured “a hole in the ground full of raw sewage.” “I began to wonder if third-world conditions might be bringing third-world diseases to our region,” Flowers writes in her new book, Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret.

She was right. That rash led to research that found that hookworm, a parasite thought to be pretty much dead in the US, was actually alive and well in the rural Alabama county where she grew up. Without working septic systems, residents were getting sick from raw sewage. Flowers has been on a mission to change...

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from TV Aerial Installation Services Warrington https://www.theverge.com/21564385/sewage-america-dirty-secret-catherine-flowers-interview-wastewater
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Failure to launch: how we struggled to buy the PS5 and Xbox Series X

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

It’s been hard to secure the new consoles

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from TV Aerial Installation Services Warrington https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/13/21564282/ps5-sony-playstation-5-xbox-series-x-orders-launch-week
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Apple HomePod mini review: playing small ball

Apple’s newest smart speaker is way more affordable but still chasing Amazon and Google

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from TV Aerial Installation Services Warrington https://www.theverge.com/21561589/apple-homepod-mini-review
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Guide to streaming: from Disney Plus and HBO Max to NBA League Pass and Crunchyroll

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The best streaming services for your buck

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from TV Aerial Installation Services Warrington https://www.theverge.com/21271980/streaming-services-netflix-hbo-disney-plus-amazon-price-shows-movies
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How to stream HBO Max

HBO Max has arrived. Combining the vast content empire of AT&T’s WarnerMedia — HBO, Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, DC Entertainment, TBS, TNT, CNN, Cartoon Network, The CW, Crunchyroll, and Adult Swim — into a single streaming service already gives HBO Max one of the broadest streaming catalogs around.

Additional licensed content, including the works of Studio Ghibli, titles from the Criterion Collection, shows from the BBC, and popular series like Friends and The Big Bang Theory, make it one of the most high-profile streaming services yet. And that’s in addition to original shows and movies that will be exclusive to HBO Max.

But HBO Max is also one of the most expensive streaming services around, costing $14.99 per month — vastly more...

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from TV Aerial Installation Services Warrington https://www.theverge.com/21272223/hbo-max-app-how-to-watch-download-price-subscription-stream-shows
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Yes, you can visit the place Bob Ross worked now

An exhibit arranged by an organization in Muncie, IN puts together the crucial artifacts from Ross's life, including his easel, palette, and brushes...all in the home where he made his iconic painting videos.  Read more...

More about Mashable Video, Painting, Paintings, Bob Ross, and Bob Ross Challenge

from TV Aerial Installation Services Warrington http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/7NZSOID1id8/
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Google is reportedly working on linking up Nest Audio speakers with Chromecast streaming devices

Photo: Dan Seifert / The Verge

Google is working on integrating its Chromecast streaming devices and Nest Audio speakers, according to a comment from a Google spokesperson in The Wall Street Journal, in a move that would give Google’s smart home and streaming gadgets a feature parity with Amazon and Apple.

Being able to combine a streaming platform with a smart phone speaker makes a lot of sense for these companies. After all, customers already have all the hardware in their living room — why not repurpose those speakers to improve the sound of your Netflix movies? Plus, there’s the added bonus of inciting customers to stay within a company’s ecosystem. You’re more likely to buy a HomePod mini if it works with the Apple TV you already have.

Just like Amazon and Apple

...

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from TV Aerial Installation Services Warrington https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/13/21564380/google-nest-audio-speakers-chromecast-streaming-integration-link
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Google is shutting down its VR field trip app Expeditions

Google is ending support for its Expeditions virtual reality app. The app, which offered educational VR tours, will be removed from iOS and Android app stores on June 30th, 2021. “The majority” of its tours will be migrated to Google’s separate Arts & Culture app, letting users view them via web or mobile device.

Google published the news in a blog post that was spotted by 9to5Google, and it framed the decision around making Expeditions tours more accessible to students during the coronavirus pandemic. “We’ve heard and recognize that immersive experiences with VR headsets are not always accessible to all learners,” writes Jennifer Holland, Google’s director of education program management. “As Arts & Culture will offer many of the...

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from TV Aerial Installation Services Warrington https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/13/21564279/google-expeditions-vr-cardboard-tours-shutdown-arts-culture-app-migration
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Instantly turn this camera strap into a tripod...and vice versa — Future Blink

Ever needed a tripod and a camera strap? Look no further than the "Conda strap." With flexible arms that can tighten or loosen, the strap turns into either photography tool at a moment's notice.  Read more...

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How to keep track of your app subscriptions — Clarification Please

We love a good free trial but hate the auto-enrollment when we're not ready to commit. Mashable's Proma Khosla gives you a super easy way to make sure that never happens again.  Read more...

More about Mashable Video, Apple Music, Subscription Services, Cancel, and Iphone Apps

from TV Aerial Installation Services Warrington http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/rW_wFAAkGhA/
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Zoom to lift 40-minute meeting limit on Thanksgiving for longer family hangouts

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Zoom said earlier this week it would lift its standard 40-minute limit on free video chats for Thanksgiving Day to make it easier to spend time with friends and family virtually on the US holiday. Given spikes in COVID-19 cases nationwide and various new and existing restrictions on interstate travel, this year’s Thanksgiving will be an unprecedented affair likely involving a mix of in-person and virtual hangouts using videoconferencing software like Zoom.

The 40-minute limit has been one of the key restrictions of Zoom’s Basic plan throughout the pandemic, often forcing groups to restart a chat after the time limit is up and causing a fair amount of friction in keeping a conversation or virtual gathering going. Many of Zoom’s...

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from TV Aerial Installation Services Warrington https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/13/21564310/zoom-40-minute-time-limit-thanksgiving-restriction-lifted-temporary
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Police confirm no threat found after evacuating Ubisoft Montreal office

According to the CBC and other local media, a major police operation is underway at the headquarters of Ubisoft Montreal. The situation started to develop at approximately 1:30 PM ET. Montreal Police confirmed there’s an ongoing operation in the area...

from TV Aerial Installation Services Warrington https://www.engadget.com/ubisoft-montreal-police-200951447.html
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To achieve his climate goals, Joe Biden needs to bring scientists back

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks about climate change and the wildfires on the West Coast at the Delaware Museum of Natural History on September 14, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware.  | Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

‘Most of the expertise of the federal bureaucracy has fled in horror’

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from TV Aerial Installation Services Warrington https://www.theverge.com/science/21562765/joe-biden-climate-change-epa-scientists
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No, future Pixel phones aren’t exempt from Google Photos’ money grab

Today’s existing Google Pixel phones will be the last to come with free unlimited “high-quality” uploads to Google Photos. While the company said yesterday that previous Pixel phones could still upload those photos for free after Google axes unlimited storage on June 1st, 2021, Google confirmed to us that any future Pixels you buy will not come with those free uploads.

It’s not the first time Google’s scaled back the Pixel perk. Originally, one of the selling points of the Pixel was free original-quality photo storage, without the compression that Google Photos applied to most uploads in order to offer free storage to begin with. But in June, users will have to either 1) start paying for Google One storage plans after they hit the...

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from TV Aerial Installation Services Warrington https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/12/21562908/google-future-pixel-phone-no-unlimited-photos-storage-confirmed
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PayPal now lets all US users buy, sell and hold cryptocurrency

PayPal is bringing its newly-announced support for cryptocurrency to all US accounts. It first announced plans to open cryptocurrency trading to US-based users in October, but until now it was only available to a small subset of PayPal account holder...

from TV Aerial Installation Services Warrington https://www.engadget.com/paypal-opens-cryptocurrency-all-us-accounts-210541778.html
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Apple’s HomePod mini won’t leave marks on your fancy wood furniture

Between its diminutive size and more affordable price tag, Apple’s new HomePod mini has a lot going for it over its $300 predecessor. But its greatest strength might be what it won’t do to your expensive furniture. That is, it won’t leave unsightly w...

from TV Aerial Installation Services Warrington https://www.engadget.com/apple-homepod-mini-wont-mark-furniture-205719935.html
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Bait and Twitch

The latest fight over infringing music on Twitch has left streamers stranded on the battlefield

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from TV Aerial Installation Services Warrington https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/12/21562372/twitch-soundtrack-riaa-music-youtube
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Amazon sues influencer over alleged Instagram counterfeit scheme

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Today, Amazon filed suit against an influencer and a range of online businesses over an alleged counterfeiting scheme conducted across Instagram and Amazon’s Marketplace platform. According to the complaint filed in federal court in Washington state earlier today, the influencers advertised counterfeit luxury items on their Instagram page to be sold under dummy listings to Amazon Marketplace.

In its complaint, Amazon describes the scheme as “a sophisticated campaign of false advertising for the purpose of evading Amazon’s counterfeit detection tools.”

A @styleeandgrace Instagram post advertising a dummy Marketplace post, as seen in the complaint.

The complaint centers on a Long Island woman named Kelly Fitzpatrick...

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from TV Aerial Installation Services Warrington https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/12/21562758/instagram-influencer-counterfeit-gucci-dior-amazon-fake-listing
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