Technology News for Tuesday 5th October 2021

1. Windows 11 review: Familiar but fresh

Before 2015, Windows upgrades either cost some money, or if you bought a new laptop or desktop, the latest OS just came preinstalled. Apple's OS X moved to a ...

2. Facebook says root cause of outage was faulty configuration change

"Our engineering teams have learned that configuration changes on the backbone routers that coordinate network traffic between our data centers caused issues ...

3. Zuckerberg's apologies have been a staple of Facebook scandals. Now, the company offers defiance.

After four years of almost continuous scandal, Facebook is approaching its latest controversy over political polarization and the toxic effects of social ...

4. Tinder rolls out in-app currency to encourage real spending

Tinder is rolling out a virtual currency to encourage users to spend more time swiping, scrolling and eventually spending real money on the most popular ...

5. You can now pre-download the Battlefield 2042 open beta

The latest test for the highly anticipated next entry into the iconic Battlefield series is set to run from Oct. 6 to 9, with early access kicking off tomorrow, ...

6. Huawei's Ryzen 5000-equipped MateBook 16 is getting a global release

Around the screen you'll find a typically thin Huawei laptop bezel, helped by the fact that its 720p webcam is hidden inside the keyboard. If Huawei's previous ...

7. The Last of Us Part 2 comes to PlayStation Now

Dina see that coming. News by Ed Nightingale, Contributor. Updated on 5 October 2021. Sony has announced the latest games to be added to ...

8. Apple Watch 7 vs. Samsung Galaxy Watch 4: All the major differences between smartwatch rivals

Although it's fun to compare the two rival smartwatches' specs, most people will pick the one that matches their current operating system, especially since you ...

9. iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max Review: Your New Video Production Workhorse?

Only the Pro models can record ProRes video, ProRAW stills, and portrait stills in Night mode. All models have roughly the same core specifications, IP68 ...

10. Facebook outage leaves players twiddling their thumbs

Oct 5 (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur's Lucas Moura joked that Monday's near six-hour social media outage meant he finally had a chance to connect with his ...

11. FIFA 22 Review

Remember Kaka, Pirlo and Totti? They're all in FIFA's Ultimate Team mode these days as 'Icons', legendary players who have since retired but can be recruited as ...

12. Kobo refreshes e-reader line with Sage and Libra 2, adding Bluetooth and stylus support

A Kobo Sage e-reader on a leather couch with a stylus next to it. Image Credits: Kobo. A pair of new e-readers from Kobo iterate on ...

13. Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testifies on risks company's platforms pose to kids

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen on Tuesday warned lawmakers that Facebook operates without oversight and issued a call to action from Congress to make ...

14. Sora Is The Final Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Character

Well, for every person who's thrilled, ten more are pissed. Probably. During a digital presentation this morning, Masahiro Sakurai at long last unveiled the ...

15. iOS 15 review: Apple turns its Focus to the little things

Every year, Apple releases a major update to its operating systems for the iPhone and iPad that sets the stage for a year of changes to come.

16. Sora is the final 'Super Smash Bros. Ultimate' fighter

At the Nintendo Direct livestream a few weeks back, fans speculated that they might learn who the last remaining character in the extensive “Super Smash ...

17. Fortnitemares is out now, with new content throughout October

New costumes will be revealed regularly in the shop. There's a new Short Nite — a kind of mini-film festival — coming. And Fortnite Creative players will get ...

18. Windows 11: What to know if you're unsure about upgrading

Windows 10's days are numbered. Josh Goldman/CNET. Do I have to make the switch to Windows 11? Will my Windows 10 computer stop working after Microsoft pulls ...

19. Samsung Galaxy A52 5G smartphone review: A £399 handset that performs up there with the best

These phones win most of the headlines, but there's an ever-growing bubble of mid-range smartphones from a whole host of companies that are beginning to offer ...

20. Windows 11 rolls out to PC users - but not all of them

"It's a little chip the size of your fingernail that lives on the motherboard, sometimes it's on the CPU," Digital Trends Managing Editor Nick Mokey told ABC ...

21. Microsoft Surface Go 3 Review

Microsoft's Surface Go 3 is the best budget Windows 2-in-1 tablet, but its performance and value are a bit below expectations for a third-generation product ...

22. Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio Review

The Most Advanced Surface Laptop · Similar Products · Dell XPS 15 OLED (9510) · Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 (2021) · Razer Blade 14 · Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 ...

23. Fingerprint ID in YubiKey Bio security key helps banish passwords

Yubico, a maker of hardware security keys, on Tuesday began selling two new USB models that incorporate fingerprint recognition to add an extra level of login ...

24. Windows 11 vs. Windows 10: All the upgrades you should know about

Before you install the new OS, let's go over the big changes Microsoft made and dig into what's really different. Here's everything that's changed from Windows ...

25. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Season Six - everything we know so far

As seismic charges are triggered in WWII-era bunkers containing stockpiles of decommissioned German bombs, the stage is set for "the final showdown." The new ...

26. What to buy in October

Consumer Reports says savings this month are off to an early start in response to the latest announcement about Alexa-enabled devices.

27. Kobo announces two new e-readers, including $260 note-taking Sage

It's compatible with the company's Kobo Stylus (sold separately for $40), which lets users make handwritten notes on ebooks and PDFs that can be can converted ...

28. Ubisoft Announces Ghost Recon Battle Royale In The Year Of Our Lord 2021

Did you think we were finally over battle royales? Nope. Sorry. Not if Ubisoft has anything to say about it. Today the French publisher announced yet ...

29. YouTube Music continues glacial development pace, adds background playback

Previously, playing a streaming song on the ad-supported YouTube Music app would only work if you had the app open—navigating to something else on your phone ...

30. Windows 11 out today: Is your computer compatible with Microsoft's new OS?

Microsoft will phase out Windows 10 support over the next few years, so it's important to make sure your device supports Windows 11. Sarah Tew/CNET.

31. Co-streaming rolls out to all creators on Facebook Gaming

Facebook Gaming has been slowly bulking up its capabilities as it aims to grab a bigger slice of the game streaming duopoly currently dominated by Alphabet's ...

32. Windows 11 is here, but Microsoft's new OS is missing some key features we wanted

Windows 11 is bringing some welcome new features and a redesigned interface, but we aren't getting everything we wanted. Microsoft.

33. Google just announced its Pixel 6 event on October 19th

Google traditionally holds an October hardware event to reveal its new Pixel phones. This year, it already announced them — here's the Pixel 5A and the ...

34. After high-profile departures, Twitch re-signs streaming star Nickmercs

Kolcheff announced that he would be streaming exclusively on the Amazon-owned platform today. (Twitch is owned by Amazon, whose founder, Jeff Bezos, owns The ...

35. October's Game Pass Lineup Is Scary Good

Back 4 Blood might headline the first batch of October's Game Pass offerings, but sadly several terrific games—like the roguelike ScourgeBringer—are leaving ...

36. Twitch icon Nickmercs isn't going anywhere

Nick “Nickmercs” Kolcheff, one of the biggest streamers on Twitch, has signed a deal to continue streaming exclusively on the Amazon-owned streaming ...

37. Nintendo Switch trade in price: Buy an OLED without breaking the bank

But how much can you actually get for trading in a Nintendo Switch these days? What will GAME, CeX or Amazon give you for parting ways with your old console? If ...

38. Instagram ditches the IGTV brand, combines everything but Reels into an 'Instagram Video' format

Instagram head Adam Mosseri recently said was “no longer a photo-sharing app,” noting the company was prioritizing a shift into video amid significant ...

39. Fortnite's Halloween-themed event Fortnitemares is back

Fortnite joins the line-up of games gearing up for the spooky season. Epic Games has announced that its flagship battle royale game's annual ...

40. A Russian actor blasts off to make a movie on the International Space Station

The set for actress Yulia Peresild's next movie has limited gravity and is constantly traveling at a speed of 5 miles per second, but it does come with some ...

41. Destiny 2 arrives on Xbox Game Pass for PC on October 12th

Destiny 2 developer Bungie made some clear optimizations for the console version of the game on Xbox Series X last year, with support for 4K resolution at 60fps ...

42. Distraction-free reading service Scroll is shutting down and becoming a feature of Twitter Blue

Currently, Scroll offers paid subscribers ad-free browsing on numerous websites, including USA Today, Buzzfeed News, The Atlantic, The Verge and more for $5 a ...

43. Duo Mobile App to be Updated in October

Duo Security, the University of Minnesota's two-factor authentication provider, will update the user interface for the mobile app for Android and iOS in ...

44. What Do You Want To Know About The 2022 Toyota Tundra?

The outgoing Toyota Tundra has been around since 1066 AD, so it's about time Toyota's full-size truck gets new bones. What do you want to know about it?

45. Now all of Battlefield 2042's next-gen digital editions include cross-gen access

Previously, the Cross-Gen Bundle was only available with the more expensive digital Gold and Ultimate editions of Battlefield 2042. It's important to note that ...

46. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War season 6 kicks off with double XP weekend

The new season features a fresh 100-tier battle pass, including Alex Mason as an unlockable Operator at tier zero. Fans can enjoy the .410 Ironhide Shotgun and ...

47. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania Is Out Now And It Is Pure Joy

Everything about Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is fun. The bright yellow menus with their bright and bouncy music? Fun. The rolling around collecting ...

48. Sora's Smash Reveal Forgot To Bring The Disney

While he may not be everyone's cup of tea, Kingdom Hearts' Sora is officially coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. But there's a catch: He won't be ...

49. Greensburg Amtrak stop becomes Rockford Station for Amazon's 'A League of Their Own'

Greensburg passersby stepped into a time warp Tuesday when they encountered folks in 1940s garb galivanting around their Amtrak station.

50. Don't see the install Windows 11 option yet? You can still download it with this workaround

Eligible devices are being prompted to upgrade, but you can use Windows 11 Installation Assistant to skip the wait. ... Windows 11 will be free to download for ...

51. Yubico announces security keys with fingerprint readers

Either use style can help you avoid phishing attacks, and the YubiKey Bio can be used with a wide range of applications and services, including 1Password, ...

52. Parents sound off on testimony about the harms of Facebook and Instagram.

Some parents questioned their own complicity in allowing their young children to have social media accounts. Others blamed the platforms for harmful content.

53. Apple iPad mini (2021) Review

Apple's fifth-generation iPad mini tablet delivers Pro-level power in a smaller size that's better for reading, taking notes, and slipping in a jacket ...

54. The Pixel 6 Is Officially Coming Oct. 19

After months of waiting for an official date, Google has finally announced that its Pixel Fall Launch is happening on Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET.