Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange has been linked to a federally charged crypto company and its founder to the tune of nearly $346 million in bitcoin. It comes after months of speculation that federal prosecutors are honing in on Binance over allegedly facilitating illicit money laundering.
If you’ve ever wished you could just show someone what you’re talking about rather than trying to describe it, Apple’s screen sharing function for FaceTime can help. The capability is part of SharePlay, a protocol that lets Apple users do more than just talk to each other on video calls. SharePlay and screen sharing only work between Apple mobile devices running iOS 15 and Macs running MacOS Monterey. While the iOS 15 and Monterey releases did add the ability to FaceTime with Android users via a browser, screen sharing still isn’t available outside of Apple-to-Apple connections.
After you’ve initiated a FaceTime call, tap on the screen to bring up the control bar and tap the sharing icon, which looks like a rectangle with a person in front of it.
Tap Share My Screen. A three second countdown will begin, then a black window with your initials will appear on the other person’s screen. This is where your shared content will appear once you’ve selected an app. (If you are using an iPhone, your camera turns off while sharing your screen. If you are on an iPad, your camera remains on.)
Swipe up to reveal your home screen.
Choose the app or document you want to share. If you want to share a webpage, open your browser. At this point, your screen will appear for the other person.
By default, your content will be a smaller inset window on other callers’ screens, that they can tap to enlarge.
You’ll see the other person in an inset window, which you can move around, or even slide off-screen to get it out of your way. Keep in mind that if you tap their window, screen sharing will pause.
As you navigate through apps, photos or webpages, people on your call will see exactly what appears on your screen.
Tap on the active call icon in the upper left then tap the screen sharing icon again. That will immediately end screen sharing.
In our tests, we encountered an occasional problem on iPhones with the camera not coming back on after sharing ends. If that happens, tap on the FaceTime app from your home screen, then tap the camera icon. That should bring your camera back online.
If someone else on the call is sharing their screen and it’s your turn to take over, you can switch by following these instructions:
On an iPhone, tap to bring up the FaceTime controls. On an iPad, tap to show your menu bar and tap the green FaceTime icon.
Tap the SharePlay icon, which looks like a person icon with two arcs behind it.
Tap Share My Screen.
A pop-up window will ask if you want to replace the current screen. Tap Replace Existing.
Other callers will see a black screen with your initials until you swipe up and select an app from your home page.
If you want to show people content from your MacBook or desktop Mac, the process is largely the same, but you can decide whether to share your entire screen or just one window. Note that, like on an iPad, your camera does not turn off when you screen share on a Mac.
Initiate a FaceTime call. Hover over the FaceTime window to bring up the controls.
Click the screen share icon.
Decide whether you want to share a single window or your entire screen.
If you select Window, hover over your open windows and click on the one you want to share.
If you want to share your whole screen, click anywhere on the screen. If you have two monitors, decide which screen you want to share. Everything there will appear for other people exactly as you see it.
Return to the FaceTime window and click on the Screen Share icon again.
A window will open from your menu bar at the top of the screen asking whether you want to switch to window share, screen share or end screen sharing. Click Cancel and then click Stop Sharing Screen.
The “Late Night” host shared his suspicions about the 39th president in the wake of the Biden and Trump document discoveries.
The 95th Academy Award nominations are here, and while there aren’t any big surprises, Michelle Yeoh and Everything Everywhere All at Once continued to receive their justly deserved due.
In Forspoken, you control the agile, angry Frey (voiced by Ella Balinska), slinging elemental attacks (and f-bombs) at multiple monsters before leaping off a cliff face and swinging from a molten outcrop. You keep moving, through the lands of Athia, through the adventure, because it’s really fun and satisfying, but also because when you slow down, you start to see the cracks.
Running on Square Enix’s in-house Luminous Engine (the team that made the game is a newly-formed group called Luminous Productions), Forspoken gives some beautiful moments of magical pyrotechnics, but it’s not quite up to the consistent environmental beauty (and attention to detail) of games like Horizon Forbidden West or Returnal. Still, most of the elemental effects, Frey’s movements and a lot of the world of Athia is beautifully realized.
The matriarchs that control the world, the Tantas, are fearsome, with a fascinating array of spells, lots of intrigue and a great wardrobe. Fighting, talking to and learning about the four leaders and their fall from grace are some of the highlights of Forspoken. Luminous Productions even said that the Tantas were a “labor of love” for the team, and that’s apparent.
Take Tanta Prav, the water-wielding Tanta of judgment (they all have a handy job title to explain how they’ll probably rough you up): She is delightfully unhinged and argues with herself. Surrounded by her own watery creations, she’s judge, jury and executioner – except there’s no one left to judge. Until Frey kills one of her fellow Tantas.
Pretty soon after, she’s raving in Frey’s face and you immediately understand that you will have to stop her. The broader story has peaks and troughs, but most of the great moments and set-pieces across the middle-end of the game involve the Tantas’ machinations. Try sneaking (or just rushing) into the castle of the Tanta of Strength, with ballistas firing gobs of fire at you and minions surrounding you even as you dodge the hellfire. Later on, another Tanta pulls you ‘back’ into New York, and the environment playfully teases that all is not what it seems.
While most of the elemental effects, Frey’s movements and a lot of the desolate world of Athia is beautifully realized, other parts aren’t. The only populated region of the game, Cipal, is so underwhelming, relative to the antagonists and their fortresses. Take Auden, Frey’s first friend in Cipal, a city that’s the final bastion of humanity in Athia. She often interacts with Frey in the first and final few chapters of Forspoken – arguably she has more screen time than all but one of the Tantas. She’s also one of the main sources of information about Athia, why the Tantas are now unhinged despots and well, just how bleak everything is. End of the world aside, why does she look such a mess? Similarly, Tanta Cinta, who’s pivotal to the plot, seemed to be modeled by whoever did the dirty to poor Auden.
This isn’t just a graphical problem either. It’s obvious where less effort’s been made. Open-world games with low-quality side quests (or game filler) are a regular occurrence – I’ve given up in the middle of Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla – but the majority of tasks in Forspoken are just too dull and unrewarding. I’m still chipping away at the game so if there are some pleasant surprises I will update this. But so far, it’s not looking good.
Following the primary story beats, while the magical parkour skills make dashing across land an effortless, speedy affair – and definitely faster than horses – there’s not a lot of impetus to explore too much. One of the major landmarks are giant bird cages indicating locked labyrinths. But so far as I’ve explored, they are simplistic junctions of monsters and corridors, with a sub-boss beastie at the end. Other sidequests – lots of them – are just like the fetch quests of Assassin’s Creed, Horizon, Ghost of Tsushima, Spider-Man and well, so many open-world games of the last 10 years.
Do you enjoy chasing things for collectibles? Welcome to the cat-chasing sidequests. How about doing it without your speedy magical parkour skills? Because that’s the reality– even when Frey is eventually accepted into the city, you’ll never get to dash across the city of Cipal, and leap up its walls. That means after you’ve traded with collectors, you will have to sprint like a normal human to the tavern. (Weirdly, the sprint button and the magical parkour button are not the same buttons, either.) The good thing is there’s not much to keep you in this town. Even if it’s the only populated area in the game, it’s the least interesting. Take the tavern: During celebrations, you will get to experience the most inconsequential, pointless, real-time event dance-off. The button presses and timings have little or nothing to do with the jigs and the moves. Thankfully, it seemed to be a one-off.
Forspoken may offer an open world, but you won’t be able to confront the Tantas outside of the order the plot demands. Don’t worry, the sassy bangle Cuff is around to offer a bit of banter between story beats. It’s a weird relationship between Cuff and Frey: They both seem to dislike each other, but not in an endearing way. Frey may be able to traverse, well, pretty much everything with amazing ease, but despite Square Enix pulling in TV writing talent for Forspoken, there isn’t much depth or even much of a character arc to enjoy. Many major plot points are shoehorned in the final third of the game, and Frey’s sudden mood shifts never seem all that believable.
Outside of the main campaign, Forspoken offers plenty of opportunities for exploration, but the rewards don’t feel worth the time. When I unlocked a new cloak or accessory, they’d typically be specced way below my current equipment. I’d have to go for another magical 5K run to collect herbs and other materials to upgrade things to a decent level.
The sheer breadth of magical attacks meant I eventually fell into a pattern of using my favorites – until I picked up yet another tree of spells from another fallen Tanta. (It’s a shame you don’t get access to the final set of spells until just before the closing chapters of the game.)
The battles, when the skills come together and the camera and lock-on mechanism is consistent, are a delight. You shift between support spells, summoning two lava soldiers while raining down water attacks, throwing a reality-shifting charm over a few other enemies so they start tearing each other apart. You line up multiple enemies and cast your super-spell, sending a carpet of poisoned earth spikes across the battlefield.
Coming across a particularly difficult foe, usually glowing enemies classified as mutants, often meant waiting to unlock a family of elemental attacks that were more effective. Or, simply, a matter of mopping them up on your way back from another part of the map once stronger. The rewards for beating these often never seemed worth the effort of a challenging battle (or remembering to circle back to that location).
At other times, an invisible enemy would slam into me from behind the camera. The worst fight was during one of the later boss battles with an electric bird beast. It will circle above a city, seemingly forever. Steering Frey, I struggled to land even the most straightforward long-distance attacks. I even made myself dizzy. As the camera continued to swing around and around and around. What should have been a slick showcase for Frey’s agility and parkour talents turned into a war of attrition with bonus motion sickness.
My quests and exploration would regularly be interrupted by breakstorms. These usually random blue-hued storms send a barrage of monsters at you – monsters that wouldn’t drop loot, sadly. At other times, breakstorms end if you killed the monsters in specific areas – or if you bested the super bosses that breakstorms would often spawn. Still working on that challenge, myself.
A lot of the lore and worldbuilding is rooted in text snippets you’ll pick up in dungeons or rest spots – I wish more was communicated through the characters. Without spoiling things, there are other ‘twists’ that come across as cheap shortcuts, escaping the need for another lavish boss battle.
The core story will take between 30 and 40 hours, with some diversions. You can explore a handful of new areas post-game, but nothing so far is particularly captivating. I’m avoiding spoilers again, but a wrinkle at the very end of the post-game leads to a very lazy solution for the conclusions of the story, to ensure Frey can still live her best magical life after the credits roll.
Forspoken, running on a PS5, is smooth enough, but it will still buckle under a wave of enemies and enough magical pyrotechnics. Cranking up the graphical fidelity with either ray tracing or 4K makes for a very choppy kind of a game, especially during frenetic battles.
Like me before the final chapter, Forspoken doesn’t feel quite ready. Originally meant to launch in May 2022, this game’s already been pushed back a good nine months. Could it have done with a little longer? The main story is intriguing but too short, and the open-world distractions aren’t distracting enough. At one point, opening a pretty simplistic puzzle treasure chest – there are lots of them – Frey exclaims “Boring!”. Same, Frey, same.
Fortunately, the battle system is solid and fun, offering enough for gamers looking for an adventure, and hard mode is suitably hard enough to stretch anyone looking for a proper challenge. Frey references Alice in Wonderland several times, but after 30 hours the wonder had unfortunately dried up. If you enjoy the combat, however, and there’s a demo to try out, you might forgive the dullness, and be willing to see how deep the rabbit hole goes.
Adam Klotz said he was attacked after he called out a group of teenagers who’d set an elderly passenger’s hair on fire.
After the dust cleared from Microsoft making moves to lay off over 10,000 employees—5% of its global workforce—it’s become apparent Microsoft isn’t merely taking a different tact on its virtual reality and mixed reality designs, it’s curtailing several of the major teams supposed to plant their virtual flag in the…
Mac users who have been waiting for a native version of WhatsApp can now download it without restrictions, WaBetaInfo has reported. The new app is optimized for Mac hardware and built with Mac Catalyst, so it should be faster and more efficient than the current web-wrapped Electron version. You also get a new interface with three panels to easily flip between chats, calls, archived and starred messages, while seeing contacts and interactions at a glance.
Apple’s Catalyst was designed to allow developers to port iOS apps over to macOS or create just one version that can run on either platform. Since the Mac was developed on Catalyst, that lends some hope that a long-awaited version may also come to iOS. In 2021, Meta said that it was expanding multi-device support for WhatsApp, leading to speculation that an iPad app was forthcoming.
Last year, WhatsApp released a native version for Windows 10 that works without the need for a smartphone. It looks much the same as the Mac app and also offers increased reliability and speed.
The native macOS app has been around for several months on TestFlight, but that only offers limited slots for testers. Now that it’s in a full beta, though, you can download it directly from WhatsApp’s website.
If you just bought a 2023 Polestar 2, hoooo boy are you about to be mad. The company on Tuesday showed off some of the, ahem, numerous updates that the upcoming 2024 model year PS2 will sport, including next-generation motors, a slew of new standard equipment, a more potent battery pack and the SmartZone sensor suite first teased on the Polestar 3. Also, the previously front-wheel drive single motor Polestar 2 — that’s RWD now, so let the drifting begin!
The Polestar 2 is now a fully RWD platform for the single-motor variant that arrived in March. It uses newly devised permanent magnet motor and silicon carbide inverter technologies to increase the horsepower output from 231 to 299 hp. Torque similarly jumps from 243 lb-ft to 361, putting it in line with the Tesla Model 3’s output, while the 0-60 figure drops more than a full second compared to the old motor, to 5.9 seconds.
The dual-motor AWD version will see equivalent performance gains — 421 hp and 546 lb-ft, up from 408 hp and 467 lb-ft — as well as improved traction and a 0-60 of 4.3 seconds. Opt for the 2024 Performance pack and the horsepower jumps to 455 and the 0-60 drops to 4.1 seconds. The powertrain and torque ratios in the dual-motor version have been given a rear-wheel bias and, when the extra performance of AWD isn’t necessary, the second (front) motor can be disengaged to improve efficiency and range (using the larger battery of 82 kWh) up to 300 miles, a 10 percent increase.
The PS2’s battery is receiving some slight chemistry tweaks as well. It to now offer a max 205kW charge rate while requiring 1.1 fewer tons of carbon emissions to produce — now just 5.9 tons per battery pack! Note however that this specifically applies to the Long Range single motor variant, the dual-motors both are stuck with the existing 78 kWh packs charging at 155 kW.
“Changing from front- to rear-wheel drive in the single-motor variants, and re-calibrating the torque ratio in the dual-motor variant for an increased rear-wheel drive feel, elevates the Polestar 2 driving experience to a whole new level,” Joakim Rydholm, Head of Chassis Development, said in a press release. “The updated Polestar 2 is an even more playful and agile car, retaining its compactness and complete sense of control, while at the same time becoming more mature with added comfort.”
Next year’s PS2 will be quite a bit smarter than its predecessor thanks to tech first shown off by its successor, the PS3. Polestar’s SmartZone, mounted in the vehicle’s vestigial front grille, houses an improved mid-range radar array and front-facing camera. A number of ADAS systems will come standard as well. For example, the Pilot Pack (which includes the 360-degree camera, parking assist and adaptive cruise control) will now come standard on the long-range dual motor PS2, while every trim level will get wireless device charging. And for folks that purchase the Performance package (Brembo brakes, 20-inch rims and a performance software upgrade) will receive the Plus package (Harmon Kardon stereo, panoramic glass roof, air quality software that sounds like something everyone should get just like the device charging) for no additional cost. Deliveries are expected to begin later this year and Polestar’s online order window has already opened.
Who wouldn’t want a small box that can spit a 120-inch image onto your wall? That’s the basic pitch behind 4K ultra short-throw (UST) projectors, which are sometimes called “Laser TVs.” They’re technically easier to set up than traditional projectors, and unlike large TVs, they don’t require a huge footprint. Once you’ve placed it in front of a screen (or treated wall), you can summon an enormous cinematic image in an instant.
We’ve reviewed a few UST projectors over the years, most recently Formovie’s excellent $3,000 model. Personally, I’ve been in love with LG’s Cinebeam HU85L since we first saw it in action in 2019. Sure, it was expensive at over $6,000, but that was far less than the $10,000 earlier models cost (and certainly better than Sony’s early eye-watering $30,000 to $40,000 UST projectors). Much like LG’s first OLED TVs, the CineBeam represented everything I wanted from the future of home cinema.
Now after spending a few months with the company’s latest UST, the CineBeam HU915QE, I’m even more enamored. It’s brighter than its predecessor, reaching up to 3,700 lumens with a 2,00,000:1 contrast ratio, which makes it ideal for daytime viewing and HDR content. (Unfortunately, it doesn’t support Dolby Vision, a rare feature we were surprised to see on the Formovie UST.) The new CineBeam can also be pushed even closer to your wall with the ability to spit out a 90-inch 4K image from 2.2-inches away, or a 120-inch image from 7.2-inches. I just wish it was cheaper than $5,000 — with the Formovie unit coming in at thousands less, it’s hard to justify LG’s premium.
The HU915QE looks similar to most other UST projectors — it’s just a large rectangular box — and its design is practically the same as the previous CineBeam. Still, LG gave it enough flair to make it look at home in a classy living room. Its front speaker is covered in cloth, and the entire unit is encased in a solid light gray plastic. (There’s also a black model for better nighttime viewing, though that one inexplicably spits out a darker image.) Around back, there are three HDMI ports, 2 USB connections, an optical audio port and Ethernet. It’s not exactly heavy, at 26.9 pounds, but you definitely need a wide table or credenza to align it with your screen.
That setup process, by the way, is more annoying than you’d think. Configuring any projector is a pain, as you’ll need to place it in just the right spot to fill your screen. With a traditional long- or short-throw projector, you’re often able to shift the lens around manually. But configuring a UST like the CineBeam involves finding the exact height and distance from the screen to make everything look perfect. If it gets nudged by even a millimeter, the image will simply look wrong. That makes USTs less than ideal for homes with small children or overzealous pets. (Also, you don’t want kids peeking into the projector lens, as it’s bright enough to cause serious eye damage. That’s hard to do with a traditional projector, but far too easy when it’s just sitting on the floor)
When I tested the previous CineBeam HU85L, it took me a few hours to find the proper position to work alongside my dropdown projector screen. That involved buying a small table and stacking a few wide boxes to get everything aligned. Even then, I couldn’t quite get the image to fill every corner of my screen properly. That’s when I learned that dropdown screens aren’t ideal for UST projectors (Engadget’s Steve Dent also found that small creases in dropdown screens could lead to rippled images). Ultimately, I was able to get the older CineBeam to fill around 98 percent of my 120-inch screen, but I gave up on the dream of having the whole thing covered.
Thankfully, I was able to drop the HU915QE into the exact same spot as the earlier CineBeam. After tweaking the manual focus wheel a bit, it ended up covering the same area of my screen. If you’re building your home theater or living room around a UST projector, you’ll ideally want to use a tensioned ALR (ambient light rejection) screen. Those are built to block light from everywhere but your projector, which means they’ll deliver even better brightness and contrast. If you want to use a UST during the day like a TV, you’ll definitely want to push away as much ambient light as possible.
While my setup wasn’t ideal, the CineBeam HU915QE still delivered most of what I wanted: A large and luscious dose of cinema in my basement screening room. Almost immediately, I noticed that it produced richer and more vibrant colors than the CineBeam HU85L. Colorful films like Thor Ragnarok looked just fine on the previous projector, but the new model delivered a far bolder dose of cosmic psychedelia. The improved contrast also made the HU915QE better suited for dark scenes, like the spooky nighttime sequences in Nope where you’re trying to make out something floating through the clouds.
The HU915QE is a triple laser projector, relying on red and blue lasers for their respective primary colors, as well as another blue laser shining through a phosphor to create green. That setup works well, but it can only reach 94 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut. Newer UST projectors with three distinct RGB lasers, like the HiSense PX1-Pro, can reach a wider 107 percent of the BT.2020 gamut. Like many other UST units, the HU915QE relies on pixel shifting to achieve a visible 4K resolution. It has a native resolution of 2,716 x 1,528, which is shifted twice to hit 4K. The result is an image that’s sharper than cheaper projectors, which typically have 1080p native resolutions with four-phase shifting.
After spending a few hundred hours watching everything from streaming shows like Midnight Mass, to blockbuster action films like Top Gun: Maverick, I found myself preferring the experience of using the HU915QE compared to trekking out to the theater for many films. And, to be clear, that’s a pretty big deal for a movie lover like me. Even with the COVID-19 pandemic threatening the viability of theaters, I’ve held out hope for a comeback. The strong box office performance of the Top Gun sequel and Avatar: The Way of Water makes me think that there’s still room for the true cinematic experience (though as I write this, Regal is shuttering more locations in the US after its parent company Cineworld declared bankruptcy last September). Those films, as well as the recent Dune adaptation, are so large and bombastic that even a 120-inch home projector can’t fully capture their grandeur. But the HU915QE sure comes close.
Like most projectors, the CineBeam HU915QE isn’t ideal for gaming thanks to its noticeable input lag. Still, I had a great time playing PS5 titles like God of War Ragnarok, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart and even the fast-paced Returnal on my giant screen. LG hasn’t issued any latency figures, but some reviews peg the projector’s input lag between 50ms and 67ms. There’s an auto low-latency mode that cuts off extra processing to speed things up, but you obviously won’t be using this thing for lightning-fast competitive gaming. Based on my experience with the 55-inch Samsung Odyssey Ark, though, that’s not something you’d want to do on a gigantic display anyway. Twitch gaming requires smaller screens so you can actually focus on all of the super-fast action.
When it comes to sound, I can’t imagine that anyone buying a $5,000 projector would be relying on built-in speakers, but it may make sense if you just want to avoid extra clutter in your living room. The CineBeam’s 40-watt 2.2 speaker setup sounds good enough for casual viewing – it’s certainly far better than what you’d get on modern TVs. It’s basically a fairly simple soundbar sitting below the projector, but it delivers clear dialogue and some surprisingly boomy bass. Seriously though, look into surround sound systems if you’re actually buying this thing. You deserve it.
While I spent most of my time using an Apple TV 4K, the HU915QE is also powered by LG’s WebOS platform, which offers all of the smart TV apps you’d expect. That’s nice to have, especially if you don’t want to juggle multiple remotes, but I’d wager most home theater fans will stick with their set-top box platform of choice. If you’re used to WebOS from LG’s OLED TVs, you’ll feel right at home with this projector. It even uses the same Magic Remote found on LG’s TVs, which has voice controls and (so-so) motion controls.
As much as I loved the CineBeam HU915QE, it’s not exactly priced competitively against newer entries like the $3,000 Formovie Theater. Sure, that’s not as bright, but at half the price of the CineBeam, that projector delivers Dolby Vision, great sound and excellent image quality thanks to a modern triple-laser setup. You can easily add in an excellent $2,000 surround sound system to match the CineBeam’s price . As for other high-end competitors, the HU915QE competes directly with Hisense’s much-lauded L9G, which currently sells for $4,500 to $5,000 depending on the screen you get. Samsung’s Premiere LSP9T triple-laser UST also retailed for $6,500 when it debuted, though it can now be found for around $3,500 at online sellers.
If you’re an LG loyalist, the CineBeam HU915QE is still a very compelling UST projector. It offers enough brightness to use during the day, and it’s vibrant enough in darker rooms to deliver a truly cinematic experience. But it’ll be an even better buy once it comes down in price.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
