• These Black Friday PS5 Bundles Are Perfect For Fortnite and NBA Fans
    lifehacker.com
    We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.Sony might have just released the PlayStation 5 Pro, but at $700, it has yet to see any Black Friday deals, and thats not likely to change anytime soon. Its a good thing, then, that the far more affordable PS5 Slim models originally released last year are stepping up to pick up the slack.Both the Digital Edition and Disc Edition of the console are on sale across multiple retailers, although youll want to be careful where you buy. While its pretty self explanatory that only the Disc Edition comes with a disc drive, you could also miss out on a few potential goodies if youre not careful, regardless of which model you pick.Thats because, while Amazon and Best Buy are both selling the consoles on their own, there are also bundles available that throw in some extra goodies at no additional cost. PlayStation 5 Disc Edition (Fortnite Cobalt Star Bundle) $424.99 at Amazon Get Deal Get Deal $424.99 at Amazon PlayStation 5 Digital Edition Fortnite Cobalt Star Bundle $374.99 at Amazon Get Deal Get Deal $374.99 at Amazon Fortnite players will want to opt for the Fortnite Cobalt Star Bundle, which is available for both PS5 Slim models and throws in 1,000 V-Bucks and some extra cosmetics (Im sure someone younger than me will know whether theyre any good, but hey, theyre worth it for the stunning price of free). Sports fans, meanwhile, can get a PS5 Slim Digital Edition with a copy of NBA 2K25 direct from PlayStation for the same price. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an NBA bundle for the model with a disc drive, and add-on disc drives are currently not on sale.All PS5 Slim bundles listed here come with the console in white along with a single DualSense controller, and if youre so inclined, you can also save big on the PSVR 2 right now, which will open up your new console to a whole new type of game. In general, these deals knock about $75 off the price of getting a PS5, which puts it in spitting distance of the much less powerful Nintendo Switch OLED's typical (non-sale) price.
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  • Your iPhone Can Now Automatically Remove Location Data From Photos You Share Online
    lifehacker.com
    When you share photos or videos from your iPhone, you're often also sharing the exact location where the photo was taken. Your iPhone logs the location of each picture by default, which is useful because it allows you to search for photos by location. This feature has helped me quickly find the exact picture I'm looking for, but at the same time, I have no desire to accidentally expose a picture's location when I share it.With iOS 18.2, you're be able to stop your iPhone from sharing image and video locations by default (although you'll have to do it by app). The new feature also lets you remove captions and choose a default format for photos shared to third-party apps. Here's how to get started.How to automatically remove location data from iPhone photosThis feature is available with iOS 18.2, which is in public beta at the time of writing. A stable release is set for December, but to try it now, first sign up for Apple's beta program, then unlock your phone and go to Settings > Software Update > Beta Updates. Choose iOS 18 Public Beta, then hit the back button and select Update Now on iOS 18.2 Beta. Alternatively, you could sign up for a developer account to access the developer beta instead, but there's no need to do so here. Note that installing a beta to your phone can introduce instability to your device.With the iOS 18.2 beta installed, do the following:Open your iPhone's Settings app.Navigate to Privacy & Security > Photos.Select any app that has access to your photos, preferably a messenger or a social media app where you're most likely to want to hide location information.Under Private Access, tap Options.Under Include, disable Location and Captions. This will remove location data and captions added through Apple's Photos app when sharing images or videos with the external app.While you're here, you can also select a Format that media sent to the app will use. The Most Compatible option will share photos in jpg and videos in H.264, while the Current option will upload in the same format that the media was saved in. Automatic lets iOS choose the best format depending on the app.Finally, repeat this process with other apps you regularly share photos with to ensure that your location data is safe.At the time of writing, many apps haven't been updated to fully support this feature, but you can expect that to change in the future.In the meantime, for a more nuclear option, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Camera and choose Never to stop photos from having your location data in the first place.
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  • Starter Packs are the latest Bluesky feature that Threads is going to shamelessly adopt
    www.engadget.com
    Threads is readying a feature inspired by Blueskys Starter Packs, according to reporting by TechCrunch and others. Chris Messina, who invented the hashtag, posted a screenshot of the tool to the social media app. He also says you can see an early version of the tool yourself by pasting "installedbarcelona://recommended_follow_lists" into Safari on iOS if you have the latest Threads app. We gave this a shot and, lo and behold, it worked.Meta/ThreadsFor those who have yet to wander over to Bluesky, Starter Packs are curated lists of people to follow that help newcomers get started on the app. These packs can be built in a number of different ways. Engadget has one with many of its writers and editors, myself included. Come for the promise of tech news, but stay for random photos of my cats.The version likely coming to Threads looks to work in a similar way. The lists of users are handpicked by people on Threads and can be about pretty much anything. Messina showed off a list called NBA Threads," as seen above.The feature has become so popular on Bluesky that theres even a searchable database, complete with over 37,000 of these bundles of humans. The packs can also be shared directly in feeds, though we dont know if Threads will allow that.BlueskyBluesky has responded to this move with snark, writing on Threads that if this app is going to keep copying our features, you might as well just join Bluesky. For those who have been paying attention, Threads has been paying homage to all kinds of pre-existing Bluesky features in recent days and months. The platform recently rolled out custom feeds and the ability to change the default feed to people you follow. This is like Sega and Nintendo all over again, only with pithy messages instead of genre-defining gaming classics.Why is Threads so eager to mimic some of Blueskys most popular features? Well, the latter has seen tremendous growth spikes over the last couple of months, recently hitting 20 million users. Folks are fleeing the sinking ship that is X in droves and looking for a replacement app. Threads wants to be the one. Bluesky also wants to be the one. You know the drill.Threads may be acting like the underdog here by adopting some of Blueskys features, but it actually has a massive head start. The platform recently announced that it had over 35 million signups in November alone.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/starter-packs-are-the-latest-bluesky-feature-that-threads-is-going-to-shamelessly-adopt-193159548.html?src=rss
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  • How to watch the 2024 Black Friday NFL game
    www.engadget.com
    (David Eulitt/Getty Images)David Eulitt via Getty ImagesMaybe you're a huge football fan, maybe you're someone who wants to kick up your feet on the couch and enjoy something on in the background while you scroll for Black Friday deals on your phone and recover from Thanksgiving. Either way, we (and the Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs) have got you covered.This Friday, the Chiefs (10-1) host the Raiders (2-9) in a game that the home team is unsurprisingly favored to win. But last holiday season the two teams faced off on Christmas just for the Raiders to win in a shocking upset proof that anything could happen on Friday afternoon. And if that's not enough drama for you, odds are Taylor Swift may show up to support Travis Kelce.Are you ready to watch yet? The game kicks off on Friday, November 29 at 3PM ET (12PM PT) inside Allegiant Stadium. Here's what you need to know before tuning in.Stream Black Friday football on Amazon Prime Video Black Friday football game timeThe Raiders vs. Chiefs Black Friday game kicks off at 3PM ET on Amazon Prime Video and locally on KSHB-TV 41 (Kansas City market). You can tune into pregame coverage starting at 1:30PM ET.How to watch the Las Vegas Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs gameStream Black Friday football on Amazon Prime Video Unlike the NFL's usual Sunday slate, which airs across several channels and live streaming platforms, this year's Black Friday football game will stream nationally only on Amazon Prime Video (which is also the exclusive home for the NFL's regular season Thursday night games).Game coverage will include play-by-play by Al Michaels, Color Analysis by Kirk Herbstreit and sideline reporting from Kaylee Hartung.Amazon Prime Video is included in a standard Amazon Prime subscription ($15 per month or $139 per year), but you can also subscribe directly to the video streaming platform for $9 per month. Amazon Prime offers a 30-day free trial, so you could tune into Fridays game totally free.How to watch the Raiders vs. Chiefs game locallyFor out-of-market viewers, the Black Friday game airs on Amazon Prime Video. But for those in the Kansas City market, the game will air on KSHB-TV 41. For Las Vegas viewers the channel is still TBA.Are there any Black Friday deals tied to the game?Last year was the debut of a Black Friday NFL game, and Amazon used the occasion to proffer a handful of deals to the captive audience. We expect the same for this year, but the vast majority of Amazon's Black Friday deals are already up and running, including the usual bevy of Black Friday discounts on Amazon devices, including Kindle readers, Ring doorbells, Fire tablets and Echo smart displays. There's no need to wait for Friday.NFL Thanksgiving week scheduleThis game is squarely in the middle of the NFL's holiday weekend schedule. If you want to catch all of the action, the games start on Thanksgiving day proper and finish up on Monday night with the Browns taking on the Broncos.All times EasternThursday, Nov. 28Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions: 12:30PM (CBS)New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys: 4:30PM (FOX)Miami Dolphins vs. Green Bay Packers: 8:20PM (NBC, Peacock)Friday, Nov. 29Las Vegas Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs: 3:00PM (Prime Video)Sunday, Dec. 1Los Angeles Chargers vs. Atlanta Falcons: 1PM (CBS)Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals: 1PM (CBS)Arizona Cardinals vs. Minnesota Vikings: 1PM (FOX)Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots: 1PM (CBS)Seattle Seahawks vs. New York Jets: 1PM (FOX)Tennessee Titans vs. Washington Commanders: 1PM (CBS)Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: 1PM (FOX)Los Angeles Rams vs. New Orleans Saints: 4:05PM (FOX)Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers: 4:05PM (FOX)Philadelphia Eagles vs. Baltimore Ravens: 4:25PM (CBS)San Francisco 49ers vs. Buffalo Bills: 8:20PM (NBC, Peacock)Monday, Dec. 2Cleveland Browns vs. Denver Broncos: 8:15PM (ABC, ESPN+)This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/how-to-watch-the-2024-black-friday-nfl-game-192547550.html?src=rss
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  • NYT Strands today hints, answers and spangram for Thursday, November 28 (game #270)
    www.techradar.com
    Looking for NYT Strands answers and hints? Here's all you need to know to solve today's game, including the spangram.
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  • Bitcoin slides toward $90,000 as price moves back after postelection rally
    www.cnbc.com
    Bitcoin retreated further from the psychological $100,000 milestone as investors booked profits from the token's gains following the presidential election.
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  • This startup makes thrifting furniture far easier, even for big retailers like Pottery Barn
    www.cnbc.com
    The New York-based startup AptDeco is an online marketplace for buying and selling used furniture that provides pick-up and delivery for items.
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  • In-depth on face replacement, environments and that crazy tennis ball POV shot in Challengers
    beforesandafters.com
    A new podcast with VFX supervisor Brian Drewes.Today on the befores & afters podcast, were talking to ZERO VFX visual effects supervisor Brian Drewes about the film, Challengers. Now, if youre a befores & afters reader, you might have already seen some coverage of this fantastic tennis film in the magazine, but I wanted to share a follow-up chat I had with Brian where we go into a lot of fun detail about face replacements, environments, crafting slow-mo shots and a range of invisible effects. This really is one of the most unique visual effects projects from the past year, I think. This episode of the befores & afters podcast is sponsored by SideFX. Looking for great customer case studies, presentations and demos? Head to the SideFX YouTube channel. There youll find tons of Houdini, Solaris and Karma content. This includes recordings of recent Houdini HIVE sessions from around the world.Check out the chat above, a behind the scenes video below.The post In-depth on face replacement, environments and that crazy tennis ball POV shot in Challengers appeared first on befores & afters.
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  • Advanced Motion Technology Reinvents 3D Animation
    beforesandafters.com
    Experience Prop-Paired Animations and Motion with Facial Expressions, Exclusively on ActorCore.ActorCore, the premium online content store for 3D productions, releases new types of mocap animations: Prop-Paired Animations and Motions with Facial Expressions. With over 3,600 professional motion assets, many of which stand out in the market, such as Hollywood action sequences and hand-keyed cartoon animations, ActorCores latest offerings demonstrate its strength in delivering unique content. This expansion continues to simplify workflows and boost productivity for game, film, simulation, and visualization productions.Worlds First: Prop-Paired Animations & Motion with Facial ExpressionsActorCore is renowned for its expertise in 3D motion, offering a vast array of high-quality assets that cover a wide range of themes, all while leveraging advanced technology in the digital content market. The latest release includes:Prop-Paired AnimationsThis mocap animation synchronizes human motion with animated props, enhancing visual fidelity and simplifying data handling. It allows characters to interact seamlessly with props without the need for separate loading, animation, or manual alignment. Users can experience this firsthand with the Skateboard motion pack, which features professional skateboarding moves that automatically synchronize the skateboard with the characters animations. Additional motion packs featuring animated props, such as biking, will be released in 2025.Motion with Facial ExpressionsActorCore provides motions that incorporate facial expressions, enhancing interactions by maintaining eye contact during conversations, expressing excitement while watching sports, and conveying situational awareness. This type of motion adds depth and authenticity to scenes, bringing them to life with expressive, lifelike movements. Explore how digital actors are enhanced with natural facial and body motions in the Group Sit & Chat, Group Stand & Chat, and Idle Sit and Stand motion packs.Evolving 3D Motion TechnologyFrom the outset, ActorCore has provided high-quality mocap motion while offering professional hand-keyed motion. Initially focused on single-character performances, ActorCore also delivers dual and multi-character interactions, further enriched with facial expression and animated prop integration. The solid advancement in motion technology is designed to simplify 3D production for users while enhancing precision and realism in their projects.In addition to Prop-Paired Animations and Motion with Facial Expressions, special content can be found in the ActorCore 3D motion store:Hollywood-caliber Mocap Animation: Collaborating with top stunt actors and leading mocap studios to deliver incredible performances, ActorCore provides top-notch mocap animations in a wide range of themes for action-film productions, game design, and scene simulations.Handkey Animation: Tailored hand-keyed animations breathe life into diverse 3D cartoon characters, showcasing unique body types and vibrant personalities. Existing projects can be elevated with dynamic, fluid movements that capture the essence of each character.Group Animation: Paired motions for two or more characters illustrate interpersonal relationships or communication, such as those between a parent and child, friends, lovers, and co-workers.Perfectly Matched Motions and PropsVirtual actors no longer perform empty-handed! Hundreds of 3D props and accessories are now available on ActorCore. With the Related Content feature, it is easy to locate the most suitable props to complement selected motions, or vice versa, and preview them alongside the actor. This intelligent matching process allows for convenient access to relevant content, saving significant time on searching and verification.Additionally, Related Content allows for the application of different props to either hands. Furthermore, the same or different props can be applied to each hand of a group of characters, effortlessly creating variety for crowd scenes, such as street protestors, concert audiences, and sports spectators.Custom DownloadIn addition to downloading individual content, it is possible to combine the selected character, motion, and prop from the inventory to create a single FBX file. This allows the character to directly interact with the needed prop in motion after importing to different platforms, eliminating the hassle of manually combining assets in 3D animation software.Easy Crowd Simulation Facilitated by iCloneWith a large bank of lightweight characters, 3D motions, and props from ActorCore, crowd simulations can be easily achieved by implementing the powerful crowd generation features of iClone.Dynamic crowds of any size can be effortlessly generated, engaged in a range of activities such as sitting, standing, conversing, walking, or jogging, all animated to reflect appropriate styles for different genders and age groups.ActorCore motions and props are accessible directly inside iClone, allowing for the pairing of accessories through motions or vice versa, using ActorCores Related Content feature.Motions are auto-loaded with animated props, such as a skateboarding motion that includes the skateboard inside iClone.Motion and prop animations can be exported from iClone to all major 3D production tools.Find Any Motion in ActorCoreActorCore currently offers over 3,600 motions, all compatible with major 3D programs including Unreal Engine, Unity, Maya, MotionBuilder, Blender, 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Omniverse, and iClone. Step-by-step guides and tutorials are available for each program, along with optimized Auto Setup plugins and Import Presets to streamline workflow. Visit ActorCore today to access a large selection of premium 3D motions.Brought to you by Reallusion:This article is part of the befores & afters VFX Insight series. If youd like to promote your VFX/animation/CG tech or service, you can find out more about the VFX Insight series here.The post Advanced Motion Technology Reinvents 3D Animation appeared first on befores & afters.
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