Posted: 16 Jul 2020 07:32 AM PDT⏩

Dr Disrespect has spoken up for the first time in over two weeks in conversations with multiple news outlets, but the streamer declined to comment on why he might have been banned from Twitch and provided only vague details about what might come next.

The streamer, real name Herschel "Guy" Beahm, told The Washington Post that he wasn't interested in "engaging crazy speculation" about the reasons behind his apparent ban. He's "considering" a lawsuit against Twitch, according to PC Gamer, and he's starting to figure out what the Doc's return will look like. He also said he took a short vacation to the beach. "I've been dealing with a lot of stress and anxiety," Beahm said.

Beahm's Twitch account disappeared in late June in an apparent ban from the platform. Twitch has not explained why he was removed or even explicitly confirm that he was banned, and Beahm has said that Twitch gave no reason for his removal. Beahm told the Post that he is still unsure of what happened. "Honestly, we just don't know," he said.

Twitch signed Beahm, one of the most popular streamers on its platform, to a lucrative exclusivity contract earlier this year, making the fissure between the two parties all the more confounding. Beahm's disappearance from the platform came as Twitch was cracking down on accusations of harassment and assault against streamers, but no allegations have been made publicly against him.

Dr Disrespect hasn't been without controversy, though. He was temporarily banned from Twitch in 2019 after streaming from a men's bathroom at a gaming convention. He was also been criticized for performing a racist caricature on stream in 2018.

Beahm didn't offer many details about how or when he'll return, but he's clearly thinking about it. He told CNN he's not looking for an exclusivity deal and that, in the future, he could stream on multiple platforms, like YouTube, Facebook, or his own website. Beahm told PC Gamer that his team is working on a "vision" for what his return looks like, building out "the whole Doc 3.0 experience to the next level."

Fans have been waiting for weeks to hear from Beahm about what comes next. The Doc is speaking again, but for now, where he'll stream next, what might have happened with Twitch, and how he plans to address his falling out with the platform are still wide-open questions.

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Microsoft to launch xCloud streaming free with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in September - The Verge

Posted: 16 Jul 2020 06:30 AM PDT

Microsoft is planning to launch its game streaming service, currently known as Project xCloud, free to its paying Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers in September. The xCloud service will allow Xbox players to play games on mobile devices or even start a game on their consoles and resume it on their phone or tablet. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate combines Xbox Live access, an Xbox Game Pass subscription, and, starting in September, xCloud game streaming into a single $14.99 monthly subscription.

Microsoft is promising that more than 100 Xbox Game Pass titles will be playable on a phone or tablet when the streaming service launches. Microsoft isn't detailing which countries will be supported at launch just yet, though. The company has been building out its Azure data centers across the US and in parts of Europe with Xbox One S blades to stream Xbox games through xCloud. Microsoft will upgrade these servers to Xbox Series X hardware in 2021.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will be the only way to access xCloud streaming at launch, but it won't always be limited to Microsoft's top subscription tier.

"Over time we will continue to expand how we introduce streaming as part of the platform, and playing games that you own that aren't part of the subscription," says Microsoft's Xbox chief Phil Spencer in an interview with The Verge. "For launch we're putting it in Ultimate for no additional cost. We think it's a good audience for us to start with, and it's an audience that plays a lot of games."

While everyone accessing xCloud game streaming in September will do so through a phone or tablet, Microsoft isn't detailing which devices will be supported just yet. The software maker has been involved in ongoing discussions with Apple over App Store policies that have prevented Microsoft from testing xCloud with the same features as the Android version. Microsoft started testing xCloud on iOS devices earlier this year, but the test has been limited to a single Halo game.

"We want to bring xCloud, eventually, to every screen that someone can stream games to. Right now we're just saying mobile," says Spencer. "There are discussions going on and we're working through things. We'll talk more specifically about which mobile devices through August and the September launch."

It sounds like we're going to get more details on the xCloud launch in general in August. I also asked Spencer about the promised PS4 controller support and streaming xCloud games to PC, and he promised more clarity on the company's plans next month.

Project xCloud won't even be the final name for Microsoft's game streaming service. "This isn't the official name, but you should think about it as Game Pass streaming or Xbox streaming, something like that," explains Spencer. "We actually don't have the final name just yet, but it won't be Project xCloud."

Beyond the launch plans, Microsoft has greater ambitions with xCloud that go beyond just streaming to mobile devices. "There's an ease of browsing and buying capability on xCloud that I find incredibly valuable today," says Spencer. "Many times the first time I play a game will actually be on xCloud, so I can go and use it as my snackable trial experience."

Microsoft is planning to use xCloud as a vehicle for enabling people to quickly try out Xbox games. That could involve you logging into an Xbox console and seeing a friend playing a game and quickly joining in before your full download has completed, for example, or simply clicking a link from Facebook Gaming in the future.

"We want that trial to be as easy as it is in music and video today, where I can send you a track in Spotify today and you can stream it instantly," says Spencer. "Over time, anywhere I see a game I should be able to give it a try." The idea is that any time you see a game on any device or web browser, you should be able to start streaming it through xCloud in the future.

Some of these xCloud ambitions sound similar to what Google has promised with Stadia. Google's big plan is to leverage YouTube to allow people to jump straight into games. That hasn't materialized just yet, but the ease of accessing games feels like it will be an important part of both xCloud and Stadia in the future.

Some rival streaming services, like Nvidia's GeForce Now, have run into trouble with publishers by offering their games to stream without their permission. Microsoft hasn't run into any similar problems with publishers yet. "Over 100 games will be there," says Spencer. "We have an existing relationship with so many publishers already, so for us the conversation is how do we take the great business that we've built together as a platform, and as a studio or publisher and expand it."

That doesn't guarantee that every Xbox Game Pass game will necessarily be available on xCloud game streaming, but it certainly sounds like the vast majority will be. A lot of game developers have benefited from increased sales, thanks to Xbox Game Pass, especially indie developers who see the immediate benefit of access to more than 10 million subscribers.

Microsoft is now planning to show more games coming to xCloud during its Xbox Series X games event next week, and we should get more solid launch details about the service in August.

Microsoft has been building toward this xCloud launch for the best part of a decade, ever since the company first demonstrated Halo 4 running on a Windows Phone back in 2013. After nearly a year of publicly testing xCloud, September will mark the first big step toward Microsoft's ambitious plan to reach billions of gamers around the world.

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DigiTimes: Arm-Based 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air to Ship By End of 2020 - MacRumors

Posted: 16 Jul 2020 04:03 AM PDT

Apple will release its first Arm-based 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air by the end of 2020, according to a new DigiTimes report today.

Taiwan's supply chain will begin shipping backlit units (BLUs) and other components for the next-generation MacBooks in the third quarter of the year, which could be interpreted as meaning anytime between now and September.

As Apple is set to release 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ and ‌MacBook Air‌, powered by Apple Silicon, by the end of this year, total shipments of MacBook lineup are expected to reach 16-17 million units in 2020 compared to 14.5-15.5 million units shipped a year earlier, the sources estimated.

At WWDC in June, Apple officially announced that its Mac computers will be transitioned from Intel x86 to homegrown ‌Apple Silicon‌ chips. Apple said it plans to deliver the first ‌‌Apple Silicon‌‌ Mac by the end of the year and complete the transition in about two years.
DigiTimes' latest prediction pegs the launch of ‌Apple Silicon‌ Macs a little earlier than analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has said he expects an Arm-based ‌MacBook Air‌ either in the fourth quarter or in the first quarter of next year. Kuo also believes that an Arm-based 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ will arrive by the end of the year.
Apple will reportedly rely heavily on TSMC for the Arm-based silicon destined for its Macs. The semiconductor foundry is expected to ramp up its wafer sales in the second half of 2021, according to a separate DigiTimes report today.

TSMC will fabricate Apple's custom chips for the Mac using 5nm process technology, with production still in small volume during the first half of 2021, the sources noted, but the output will expand substantially later next year.

ASMedia is said to be another supplier for Apple's Arm-based Macs, and will also see orders for the devices start contributing substantially to company revenue in the second half of 2021. ASMedia reportedly will provide USB controllers for the new Macs.
Today's report also claims that parts for a new "more affordable" 10.8-inch iPad with a "high performance chip" will start shipping in the latter half of this year. This prediction aligns a little more favorably with Kuo's latest thoughts on Apple's ‌iPad‌ roadmap.
Likewise, Kuo believes Apple is working on a new 10.8-inch ‌iPad‌ that's set to be released in the second half of 2020. However, it's unclear if Apple plans to introduce a larger ‌iPad‌ or if the increase in size will be implemented through a bezel reduction, and other rumors have suggested that this updated ‌iPad‌ could actually be an ‌iPad‌ Air, so we're waiting to see what Apple has in store for the low-cost ‌iPad‌ in the future.
According to a leaker that has provided accurate information about Apple's plans in the past, Apple's next-generation low-cost ‌iPad‌ will feature an A12 chip inside, an upgrade from the A10 Fusion chip in the seventh-generation model.
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