The Morning After: Fortnite’s new game mode sounds a lot like ‘Among Us’

Epic Games’ latest addition to Fortnite is called Imposters, and it helps players scratch their Among Us itch without, well, playing Among Us. Each match features two teams of eight agents and two imposters. There’s a new level to play — one that looks incredibly similar in structure to an existing Among Us level. Hmmm.

This is Fortnite’s second attempt at an Among Us-ish mode — remember last year’s The Spy Within? — but it’s a smart move because it doesn’t center on gunplay or shooting skills. For those reasons, Among Us swiftly became one of my favorite games to play online during the pandemic with non-gamer friends. Anything but more Zoom quizzes, right?

As an imposter (aka the fun part of the game), you can make agents and imposters temporarily look like Fortnite’s mascot, Peely, as well as teleport everyone to a different location on the map. And, like in Among Us, you have the power to freeze any assignments other players are working on.

The developers of Among Usreacted as you might expect.

— Mat Smith

Swiss university claims it broke the record for Pi calculation​​

62.8 trillion digits of Pi.

Most people know the value of Pi as 3.1416, but it’s gotten longer and longer over the years. Now, a team from the University of Applied Sciences Graubünden in Switzerland claims it has broken the world record for computing the mathematical constant. If confirmed it’d blow the current record holder, Timothy Mullican, out of the water. He calculated up to 50 trillion digits and was recognized for his work last year. The team in Switzerland, however, reached 62.8 trillion digits. Guinness has yet to confirm the new record, but after it does, the university plans to publish the new and expanded value of Pi.

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Activision drops ‘Call of Duty: Vanguard’ teaser ahead of official reveal

It will launch within ‘Warzone’ on August 19th.

Activision has released a teaser trailer for its upcoming Call of Duty installment, Vanguard. It features elements clearly indicating the game is set during World War II. It shows old weapons, a German forest and a beach littered with the remains of planes from the era. Activision plans to officially launch Vanguard during an in-game event within Call of Duty: Warzone, its free-to-play battle royale title. The event, Battle of Verdansk, starts at 10:30 AM PT/1:30 PM ET on August 19th — that’s tomorrow. 

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Watch these robots tackle parkour

Boston Dynamics’ robots are learning parkour now.

Boston Dynamics Atlas robot performing a parkour leap
Boston Dynamics

The now-Hyundai-owned robot company has shared a new video showing its humanoid bots successfully completing a parkour routine that included vaulting beams and even a backflip.

Watch here.

Google Pixel 5a review: The 4a 5G wasn’t broken, so Google didn’t fix it

It’s a lot of the same stuff.

Google Pixel 5a
Terrence O’Brien / Engadget

Before the Pixel 6 breaks cover, how about a newer midrange Pixel phone? Yes, as predicted, Google’s Pixel 5a has appeared, and we’ve given it a full review. If you liked what you heard about its predecessor, the Pixel 4a 5G, then there are not many surprises. It’s largely the same phone, but this time packing water resistance. Terrence O’Brien tests everything out — including what seems to be a very impressive battery life.

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Scuf Gaming’s new Xbox Series X/S controllers might beat Microsoft’s own

They’re not cheap, though.

Scuf Gaming Instinct Pro with map patterned face
Kris Naudus / Engadget

Welcome to the world of luxury gamepads. Scuf, a brand that once collaborated with Microsoft on an official high-end gamepad, has now tackled the Xbox Series X/S with the new $170 Instinct and $200 Instinct Pro controllers. They bring back fan-favorite features like an interchangeable faceplate while also improving the buttons and switches. Kris Naudus tests out some luxurious controllers aimed at the professional gamer — or at least the very serious ones. 

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Watch the trailer for the new ‘Star Wars’ anime anthology

It hits Disney+ on September 22nd.

Star Wars: Visions
Lucasfilm

Disney previously offered a behind-the-scenes look at its anime series, and now it has revealed the first trailer. You can watch it in either the original Japanese with subtitles or an English dub. Expect to see droids, lightsabers, Stormtroopers and more. The nine-episode run starts next month.

Watch here.

The best Nintendo Switch accessories you can buy

We cover the Switch Lite, too.

So you have a Switch. You’ve got the games, but you need a case. Or another controller, or simply more storage space? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Here’s the best ways to upgrade Nintendo’s hybrid console — before that OLED option even lands.

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The big news you might have missed

Nura’s newest wireless earbuds are only available through a subscription

Qualcomm unveils its first 5G-capable reference drone

Timbuk2 made some dedicated gamer bags with Astro

Loupedeck Live is a compelling alternative to Elgato’s Stream Deck

Engadget Deals: Apple’s MacBook Pro M1 is $200 off right now at Amazon

‘Carpool Karaoke’ is returning from a pandemic hiatus (and moving to Apple TV+)

ASUS updates its ROG Phone series with Qualcomm’s newest mobile processor

ASUS is updating its range of ROG gaming phones at a fast clip to keep up with the latest processor advancements. The new ROG Phone 5S and 5S Pro, the fifth and latest additions to the high-end lineup, pack Qualcomm’s fresh Snapdragon 888+ 5G chipset, a beefed-up version of the base 888 found inside predecessor, the ROG Phone 5. It’s not the first phone to get the processor, though. That accolade went to the Xiaomi Mi Mix 4. In fact, we knew the 888+ was coming to the ROG phone: Qualcomm listed ASUS’ gaming handset as a partner earlier this summer, along with devices from Vivo, Honor and Motorola.

The processor itself promises a clock speed boost from a peak 2.86GHz to nearly 3GHz courtesy of its Kryo 680 CPU architecture. It also boasts a 20 percent AI improvement with up to 32 TOPS AI performance. All of which is to say it’s a natural fit for a premium gaming phone.

ASUS ROG Phone 5S
ASUS

Beyond the upgraded chipset, the new ROG phones sport the same 6.78-inch 144Hz display, 6,000 mAh battery and triple rear cameras with a 64-megapixel main sensor as their predecessor. Additional updates include a more responsive 360Hz touch-sampling rate (which still doesn’t match the 720Hz responsiveness of Lenovo’s Legion Phone Duel 2) and a max 18GB and 512GB storage on the 5S Pro. You can also expect ultrasonic sensors for the AirTrigger 5 buttons and grip press detection.

According to Gizmochina, the two phones are currently only available to pre-order in ASUS’ native Taiwan ahead of an August 24th shipping date. The 5S costs $1,077/$1,221 based on RAM and storage and the 5S Pro costs $1,365.

Hell Is Being A Restaurant Server Right Now

This is the kind of B.S. that American food service workers are dealing with in COVID-19 hot spots.

DeSantis Top Donor Invests In Regeneron COVID Drug Governor Promotes

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been criticized for efforts to ban mask mandates and vaccine passports.

Taliban Destroy Statue Of Foe, Stoking Fear Over Their Rule

The Taliban have blown up the statue of a Shiite militia leader who fought during Afghanistan’s civil war in the 1990s.

EVgo charge network changes to kWh pricing in California

EVgo is one of the larger nationwide EV charging networks, and the company has announced that it has changed its service. It now offers new nationwide plan options, a loyalty program, and a new pricing pilot underway in California. Among the changes that EVgo is announcing include a kWh and time-of-use pricing pilot underway in California. The charger network has … Continue reading

Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster Korean Special Series is limited to two units only

If you like a Lamborghini and live in Korea, the Italian supercar maker has the perfect car for you, chingu: the Aventador S Roadster Korean Special Series. Developed exclusively for the South Korean Lambo enthusiast, the Aventador Korean Special is a joint development between Automobili Lamborghini and Lamborghini Seoul. Lambo is only building two examples of the Korean Special, and … Continue reading

Some Chevy Bolt EV owners will get new batteries

The biggest challenge to making electric vehicles today is constructing battery packs. The battery packs are some of the most expensive components inside the vehicle and are the most critical components. Unfortunately, battery packs are also one of the most dangerous components in an electric vehicle because impurities in the batteries can lead to short circuits and fire risk. In … Continue reading

T-Mobile confirms data breach affects over 47 million people

As part of its ongoing data breach investigation, T-Mobile has confirmed the enormity of the stolen information. Roughly 47.8 million current and former or prospective customers have been affected by the cyberattack on its systems, the carrier confirmed on Wednesday. Of that number, about 7.8 million are current T-Mobile postpaid accounts and the rest are prior or potential users who had applied for credit, the company added in a press release

Worryingly, the data includes some personal information including the first and last names, date of birth, SSN, and driver’s license/ID information for a “subset of customers.” So far, T-Mobile said it does not have any indication that the stolen files contain phone numbers, account numbers, passwords or financial information.

What’s more, the company said about 850,000 active T-Mobile prepaid customers also had their names, phone numbers and account PINs exposed. The affected users do not include Metro by T-Mobile, former Sprint prepaid, or Boost users and T-Mobile said it has reset the PINs on these accounts. In addition, it claimed that “some additional information” from inactive prepaid accounts was accessed through prepaid billing files.

The findings from the carrier’s preliminary analysis come just days after it was notified of a data breach. Initially, it was reported that a member of an underground forum claimed to have obtained the data for over 100 million T-Mobile customers. The culprit was reportedly selling information of about 30 million T-Mobile customers for about $270,000 in Bitcoin. 

As part of its compensation and mitigation efforts, T-Mobile is offering affected customers two years of McAfee’s ID Theft Protection Service; recommending all postpaid users change their PIN; and setting up an online resource page. T-Mobile said that it began coordination with law enforcement on Tuesday as its investigation into the data breach — the third such attack it has suffered in the past two years — continues.

Binance Hires Former IRS Criminal Investigator to Monitor Crypto Money Laundering

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency trading platform in the world, has hired a former IRS criminal investigator, Greg Monahan, to oversee investigations into money laundering, according to an announcement from the company early Wednesday. Monahan’s official title at Binance will be Global Money Laundering Reporting…

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