Author: Fran Pérez

{ "de-DE": "Großer Anhänger der Videospiel- und Technologieindustrie, er hat bei Medien wie Alfa Beta Juega, Urban Tecno oder Nintenderos mitgewirkt. Zusätzlich leitet er einen kleinen Blog, der sich auf Videospiele konzentriert, HelGames.", "en-US": "Avid follower of the video game and technology industry, he has worked with media such as Alfa Beta Juega, Urban Tecno, or Nintenderos. Additionally, he runs a small blog focused on video games, HelGames.", "es-ES": "Gran seguidor de la industria del videojuego y la tecnología, ha pasado por medios como Alfa Beta Juega, Urban Tecno o Nintenderos. Adicionalmente, dirige un pequeño blog centrado en videojuegos, HelGames.", "fr-FR": "Grand suiveur de l'industrie du jeu vidéo et de la technologie, il a collaboré avec des médias tels que Alfa Beta Juega, Urban Tecno ou Nintenderos. De plus, il dirige un petit blog axé sur les jeux vidéo, HelGames.", "it-IT": "Grande seguace dell'industria dei videogiochi e della tecnologia, ha lavorato con media come Alfa Beta Juega, Urban Tecno o Nintenderos. Inoltre, gestisce un piccolo blog focalizzato sui videogiochi, HelGames.", "ja-JP": "", "nl-NL": "", "pl-PL": "", "pt-BR": "Grande seguidor da indústria de videogames e tecnologia, passou por mídias como Alfa Beta Juega, Urban Tecno ou Nintenderos. Além disso, dirige um pequeno blog focado em videogames, HelGames.", "social": { "email": "", "facebook": "", "twitter": "", "linkedin": "" } }

California Authorities Investigate Tesla for Autopilot Safety Concerns and Misleading Ads

As reported by CNBC, it seems that Tesla is in trouble. The mentioned media outlet has revealed that Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company is under investigation by the California Attorney General’s office for issues related to the company’s vehicle autopilot system and allegations of deceptive advertising.

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The lawsuits filed against Tesla claim that the autopilot system in these vehicles occasionally brakes unexpectedly, which can lead to dangerous situations on the road. This issue has been referred to as “phantom braking,” and when it occurs, the affected cars come to a sudden stop, regardless of their location. Clearly, this can result in accidents involving other vehicles.

Tesla and its autopilot face new problems

As it has been revealed, it appears that the affected Tesla model is the Tesla Model 3, specifically when its autopilot feature is activated. One of the plaintiffs, named Greg Webster, who reported the problem to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2022, provided his testimony to CNBC, which prompted the California Attorney General’s office to reach out to him to learn more about his experience.

Currently, the California Attorney General’s office has not denied the possibility of initiating an investigation against Tesla in this case. At least, that’s what they acknowledged in a statement. They stated, “To protect its integrity, we cannot comment on, confirm, or deny any potential or ongoing investigation.”

Greg Webster’s testimony indicates that he feels deceived by Tesla, as he claims that the company’s marketing led him to believe that he had a vehicle with functionalities that would make it fully autonomous. According to what the plaintiff shared with CNBC, he purchased Tesla’s premium package for hundreds of thousands of dollars, expecting advanced features, but instead, he encountered the so-called “phantom braking” issue.

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“Tesla should offer customers the option of a full refund for autopilot features if they are dissatisfied with the product,” complained Webster. “We bought a fully autonomous product and received a driver-assist product with partial autonomy.” With this potential case, Tesla is facing yet another legal battle due to its autopilot system, adding to an increasingly significant list of legal challenges the company is facing.

Facebook Reaches Milestone: Surpasses 3 Billion Monthly Active Users

While most of us may think that Facebook is past its prime in the realm of the internet and social media, the latest quarterly report from Meta has revealed that it boasts over 3 billion monthly active users, which is a truly remarkable milestone.

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We also know that Meta and its investors are more than pleased with that figure, but that’s not the only one. Facebook has an astounding number of daily users as well. To be precise, Mark Zuckerberg’s social network accumulates 2.064 billion daily active users during this last quarter, who primarily engage in viewing memes and suggested videos on the platform.

Facebook is on a roll

These figures represent a notably significant growth for Meta’s social network, which had around 2.037 billion daily active users in the previous quarter. The growth is even more substantial when compared to Facebook’s numbers in previous periods. In any case, it’s evident that the platform is experiencing a very favorable moment, and Zuckerberg seems to have a clear understanding of the reason behind this success.

Reels are highly present on both Instagram and Facebook, and they appear to be one of the main reasons these platforms remain at the top today. This video feature for Meta’s services was created in response to TikTok and, according to Mark Zuckerberg himself, it now accumulates 200 billion daily views, counting both Instagram and Facebook.

Despite the waning interest in the metaverse and the decreasing desire of young people to use Facebook, the results of this last quarter seem more than satisfactory for Meta. They have managed to amass around 3.880 billion monthly active users across all their services. This last figure is truly remarkable as it represents nearly half of the world’s population.

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Let’s remember that the company owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and the recently launched Threads. Regarding Threads, Mark Zuckerberg said the following: “We saw unprecedented growth from the beginning, and, more importantly, we are seeing more people returning daily than we expected.”

Google Pixel Watch 2 Leak Reveals Aluminum Build and Fitbit Coach Integration

9To5Google has published a report sharing a leak that suggests the upcoming Pixel Watch 2 will be lighter than its predecessor. According to the mentioned report, this new smartwatch will feature an aluminum casing instead of stainless steel, like the first Pixel Watch.

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This way, Google’s new smartwatch would leave behind the weight of the current Pixel Watch, which is 36 grams without a strap, and opt for a weight similar to that of the Fitbit Sense 2, around 26 grams without a strap. It’s important to note that currently, the Pixel Watch is already one of the heaviest devices in the smartwatch market, even heavier than the aluminum Apple Watch Series 8.

The next Pixel Watch 2 would have an aluminum casing and a redesigned Fitbit app

Considering that it is a device meant to be worn on the wrist and tailored for active users who prefer meticulous sleep tracking, using aluminum for its casing and making it lighter seems like a smart decision.

Beyond this material change, the team at Mountain View is also planning a complete redesign of the Fitbit app, which will accompany the new Google smartwatch.

Apparently, this redesign will be part of the Fitbit Premium subscription and will be named “Fitbit Coach.” According to the mentioned source, this revamped fitness app will include workouts very similar to what its Premium mode already offers.

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As previously mentioned, all of this information comes from a leak accessed by 9To5Google, so it’s important to proceed with caution and not take anything for granted. Additionally, regardless of the leak, it’s worth noting that the Pixel Watch 2 is not expected to be released until later this year, coinciding with the unveiling of the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro in the fall.

Seamless Gaming Experience Ahead: NVIDIA’s RTX IO to Eradicate Stuttering in Games

Although announced in 2020 alongside the RTX 30 Series graphics cards, the RTX IO technology was recently launched a few days ago with the release of Portal: Prelude RTX and now with Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart on PC. Currently, there aren’t many more games that incorporate this tool, but NVIDIA has stated that it will significantly enhance the performance of these games, as reported by WCCFTech.

Over time, game developers are expected to embrace this technology to improve players’ gaming experience. Not only will this enhance performance, but they also claim that RTX IO will be crucial in eliminating stuttering effects on our screens.

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New NVIDIA RTX IO promises to enhance the PC gaming experience

Both performance and stuttering effects will be improved thanks to RTX IO, as it enables games to rely less on the CPU in PC and utilize the GPU cores to perform certain necessary tasks for gaming. This method significantly changes the way video games are currently executed on our computers.

Currently, game data travels from the hard disk to the CPU and is then decompressed using the system’s RAM. After this, the data is sent to the GPU for processing. With increasingly high specifications in modern video games, the data sizes have become much larger, and the bottlenecks between the processor and RAM lead to more performance losses during gameplay. This situation changes with NVIDIA’s new addition.

With RTX IO, the input/output bandwidth increases, and the compressed data is directly sent from the SSD to the GPU, loading only the indices into the PC’s RAM. Considering that the graphics card directly decompresses the data using GDeflate, the CPU is freed from this workload, resulting in a significant overall performance boost.

Indeed, this new technology also achieves faster texture loading times in games and reduces the disk space occupied by game data. Currently, you can experience all of these benefits through Portal: Prelude RTX, which serves as an excellent technical demo for this occasion. In fact, this Portal allows us to closely observe the capabilities of this technology in addressing stuttering issues in games.

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The stuttering effects on our screens while gaming will be reduced with this RTX IO, as it frees the processor from the burden of decompressing and processing the mentioned data, giving it a clear path to perform other necessary tasks to enjoy games on PC. Therefore, this new addition from NVIDIA improves overall performance, as potential bottlenecks will not occur as frequently.

Meta’s Geo-Restriction: European Users Blocked from Threads, VPNs Ineffective

Meta has confirmed that they are indeed preventing access to Instagram Threads for users in Europe, as the new app from Mark Zuckerberg’s company is currently unavailable in the EU, at least for now. Interestingly, even with a VPN, you won’t be able to access the platform.

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On July 6th, the social network was launched in over 100 countries, none of which included any European countries. The reason behind this is that data protection regulations prevented its debut, as Threads utilizes user data from Instagram, including information about user behavior and advertising, which directly violates the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Even with a VPN you won’t be able to access Instagram Threads from the EU

For this reason, Meta decided to postpone the launch of Threads in Europe in order to find appropriate solutions and avoid compliance issues with European regulations. This is what motivated the company to prevent European users from accessing the social network, even if they use a VPN, as shared by Twitter user Matt Navarra. They have implemented new measures that block access to the social network, regardless of the method used to access it.

However, the Threads team has assured that the European market remains crucial to them, indicating that it will eventually be available to users in the European Union, although no specific release date has been announced. Considering that the app is still in its early stages, it may not be a significant setback to have to wait to enjoy it in this continent.

As of today, the Meta-owned platform, which already has over 100 million users, collects data on users’ health and physical activity, as well as financial information, contact details (physical address, email, phone), shared content, and browsing history. That’s not all; Threads also utilizes other types of data, such as user location and contacts, among many others.

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Indeed, it is evident that Meta needs to make significant improvements in these aspects for Threads to be able to launch in Europe and comply with the regulations of the EU Digital Markets Act. Nevertheless, Instagram Threads has already emerged as one of the most promising alternatives to Twitter currently available.

Windows 11 to Get AI Boost: Microsoft Announces AI Center in App Store

Back in May, it was announced that several artificial intelligence-related features would be coming to the Microsoft Store. Now, Microsoft has confirmed the availability of one of these features. Specifically, we’re talking about the AI Center, which serves to recommend applications that utilize AI, whether they are Microsoft’s own apps or third-party ones.

However, don’t worry if you can’t see this new section in the Microsoft Store on Windows 11, as it is currently only available to those who are part of the Windows 11 Insiders program. In fact, this addition comes as part of the Preview Build 25905 in the Canary channel of the operating system. Therefore, user experiences and feedback will be crucial for the full integration into the app store of the mentioned system, although there are no further details available at this time.

Microsoft aims to leave us with the best recommendations of apps that use AI in Windows 11

While this is not the only AI-related novelty being tested, it is indeed the most prominent one, despite the scarce details available. As seen in the header image of the article, we can expect a selection of applications that allow us to edit images using AI, as indicated by Microsoft in their statement.

Furthermore, in the same image, we can observe that this AI Center will be located on the left side of the Microsoft Store, just below the Movies & TV section. Although not particularly significant, it does give us an idea that this AI Center will have its dedicated section within the Windows 11 store.

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In addition to this notable addition, Windows 11 Insiders program users can also test a new feature that offers an enhanced version of Windows 11 emojis with a 3D style. They are also implementing a price tracking feature, which will allow us to see the value of apps over the past 30 days.

Roblox + Meta Quest: A Winning Combination for Immersive Gaming

After some rumors, it’s now official: Roblox is coming to Meta Quest in the next few weeks. This is great news for both parties, but it’s worth mentioning that the launch won’t be in full form for now. The social platform will be first released as a beta version on the App Lab.

Of course, Roblox will be enjoyed by Meta Quest 2 and Quest Pro users, and those who acquire Quest 3 will also be able to dive into this platform once these new virtual reality goggles hit the market.

Roblox is coming in beta version to Meta Quest

Let’s remember that its launch on Meta Quest does not signify its arrival on VR devices, as Roblox could already be enjoyed on various similar devices such as Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. However, none of these devices offer the convenience provided by Meta’s goggles. Nevertheless, its immense popularity stems from gaming and the creation of experiences and worlds offered on PC, consoles, and mobile platforms, where it has managed to amass 66 million daily active users.

The availability and success of Roblox on the mentioned platforms are great news for those who are planning to embrace Roblox on Meta Quest (keep in mind that access to this version will be available for users aged 13 and above), as Roblox supports cross-play across all its versions.

With over 15 million distinct experiences, Roblox aims to become a significant element in the metaverse landscape, making its arrival on Meta’s VR devices highly logical. Regarding its beta version, the company has stated that this version will allow Roblox developers to optimize their experiences for Meta Quest and create new ones, while players can provide feedback to the creators.

In fact, in the announcement, they mentioned that all existing Roblox experiences that use default scripts will automatically work on Meta’s VR devices, while any experience utilizing custom scripts will need to be updated with VR support. Therefore, it appears that Roblox developers will have ample opportunity to experiment before the full launch on the Meta Quest Store, which is expected to happen later this year.

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Regardless, both in its beta version and at the time of its full launch, we can expect Roblox to arrive on Meta Quest with a wide range of existing and new experiences.

Share Your Screen on WhatsApp: New Feature Now Available on Windows 11

The use of WhatsApp is so common in our daily lives that mentioning the number of users is almost absurd. However, we shouldn’t forget about the updates that Meta keeps introducing, including those that affect the PC application, specifically for users with Windows 11.

The WhatsApp app for Windows 11 is on the verge of receiving several exciting updates, and the feature highlighted in this news is the ability to share screens during video calls with our contacts. While this is not the only addition, it is certainly the most eye-catching one for the messaging platform in its desktop version.

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The WhatsApp app for Windows 11 will receive the option to share screen in video calls

Activating this feature will be very simple, as all we have to do is click on “Share Screen” while in the middle of a video call. Once we’ve taken that simple step, we can choose what we want to show the person or people we are having the call with. In other words, we can display our open windows, the taskbar, applications, the desktop, and more.

As mentioned, this function is not yet available to everyone who has the app on their Windows 11 computer, but it can be enjoyed by WhatsApp Beta users. This version of the Meta application is ideal for those who want to try out all the upcoming features that will be introduced to the platform before they are released to everyone.

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Furthermore, this is not the only upcoming feature in WhatsApp, as users of its beta version for Windows 11 will be able to try out a function that allows uploading videos with a much higher resolution than usual. Additionally, it doesn’t stop there. Suggestions for stickers will also be added, giving us the option to add a more animated touch to our conversations, and with more context as well.

It is also expected that the desktop app will add a series of filters in the coming weeks, giving us the option to have our conversations much more organized and differentiated.

Say Hello to Your Virtual Self: Meta Unveils Avatar Video Call Feature

Surely all of you have found yourselves in that situation where you have to make a video call but you’re not looking too presentable. Well, Meta has added a very interesting feature for users who make video calls from Instagram and Messenger, which are some of the best apps for these calls.

Specifically, the company has announced that now users can use their avatars to make video calls from Instagram and Messenger, which is undoubtedly a great addition for all those people who are in a hurry during the day. This functionality is available for iOS and Android devices.

If you are not visible, don’t worry, now you have your avatar to make video calls on Instagram and Messenger

“We’ve all been there: a call comes in, but your hair looks like a mess. Or you’ve been crying while rewatching From Scratch. Sometimes, we just aren’t camera-ready. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a third option between having the camera off and being fully present on the call?” Meta said in a blog post.

In the announcement itself, Meta has confirmed that over a billion Meta avatars have been created, helping people express themselves in new ways in digital spaces. Undoubtedly, this addition to Instagram and Messenger is a new way of conducting video calls, apart from the typical options of having the camera on or off. Let’s say it’s a rather interesting middle ground.

Furthermore, they have also indicated that with this functionality, avatars will now be “more fun, useful, and social than ever.” Regarding these avatars, it has been mentioned that their respective stickers can now be used to add “a bit more action and liveliness to conversations.” In fact, these stickers, which can be animated, can be shared through Instagram, on Facebook stories and Reels, as well as in Facebook comments and 1:1 Messenger message threads.

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Lastly, the company has also mentioned that they are testing a simpler way to create avatars on WhatsApp and Facebook, where you can take a selfie and receive a suggestion for your avatar directly from your photo. Once you choose the option that interests you the most, you can always further personalize your avatar.