Technology - Google News

The back of the Xbox Series X retail box prominently features Master Chief, so fans replaced him with Craig - VG247
Epic, Spotify and others ally against Apple and Google app policies - Engadget
Amazon’s Echo conquered the smart home — what comes next? - The Verge

The back of the Xbox Series X retail box prominently features Master Chief, so fans replaced him with Craig - VG247

Posted: 24 Sep 2020 03:33 AM PDT

By Sherif Saed, Thursday, 24 September 2020 11:33 GMT

People are having fun re-designing the back of the Xbox Series X retail package.

Now that Xbox Series X pre-orders are live everywhere, retailers worldwide are starting to update their listings with official packaging. We recently got a look at the front of the box, and now, the back has made its way online (via Xbox News).

Unsurprisingly – though no less unfortunate – Master Chief and Halo Infinite take up the entire back of the box. Microsoft doesn't explicitly state the name of the game, so it works as a sort of aspirational thing, in the same way 3D hot ladies adorned the packaging of PC GPUs for years. Master Chief is Xbox's most recognisable character, after all, so it's easy to see how that came about.

But, Halo Infinite is no longer a launch game, so the image is a little disingenuous – at least if you highly value the day one experience. Nevertheless, the way Master Chief is positioned on the back inspired fans to replace him, for the memes.

Over on the Resetera forums, a number of alternate designs have emerged, with the first, of course, being of Craig the Brute, by Fred Wood.

In light of Microsoft's $7.5 billion acquisition of ZeniMax, more serious re-designs have also been conceived. Take this one from Resetera forum member ThatsMyTrunks, who replaced one marine with another.

And, keeping with the theme of memes, they also rigged up this spectacular cover featuring Bethesda's Todd Howard.

And how about this one with Killer Instinct's Fulgore? Microsoft doesn't seem to be interested in bringing the series back for another console launch, though we do hope it gets a revival down the line.

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Epic, Spotify and others ally against Apple and Google app policies - Engadget

Posted: 24 Sep 2020 07:06 AM PDT

Daniel Ek, CEO of Swedish music streaming service Spotify, gestures as he makes a speech at a press conference in Tokyo on September 29, 2016. Spotify kicked off its services in Japan on September 29. / AFP / TORU YAMANAKA (Photo credit should read TORU YAMANAKA/AFP via Getty Images) — TORU YAMANAKA via Getty Images

A diverse variety of companies including Epic Games, Spotify, Match Group, Tile and others have formed an alliance to pressure Apple, Google and others to change their app store rules. The Coalition for App Fairness debuted today, stating that "Apple taxes consumers and crushes innovation," and that it will advocate "freedom of choice and fair competition across the app ecosystem." The group plans to push for new regulations governing how app stores can be run.

Many of the members, including Epic, Spotify and Tile have already filed some sort of action against Apple or Google. Spotify has filed a complaint in the European court over high fees and Apple rules that favor its own products, while Tile has accused Apple of reducing its usability on iOS in favor of its own app, FindMy. Epic Games, meanwhile, tried to bypass the App Store altogether and found itself terminated from the store, developer tools and all.

The coalition will allow those companies to pool resources and lobby as a group, while giving clout to smaller developers who could never tackle giants like Apple or Google alone. It's open to "companies of any size, in any industry who are committed to protecting consumer choice, fostering competition and creating a level playing field for all app and game developers locally," according to the coalition.

The group has proposed a code of conduct it wants Apple and other store owners to adopt. It requests that developers should not pay "unfair, unreasonable or discriminatory fees," that developers should have access to the platform's technical details and that they shouldn't be forced to use an exclusive app store, "including payment obligations."

Apple has always argued that it applies the same rules — and 30 percent cut — to all developers, with some of the revenue being used to run the store and pay for security, app review, hosting, distribution, fraud protection and payment processing. In the case of subscriptions, it has noted that the fees drop to 15 percent after the first year. As it noted with Spotify, "[They] wouldn't be the business they are today without the App Store ecosystem, but now they're leveraging their scale to avoid contributing to maintaining that ecosystem for the next generation of app entrepreneurs. We think that's wrong."

In this article: Epic Games, Spotify, Match, Coalition for App Fairness, App Store, Google Play, competition, oversight, news, gear

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Amazon’s Echo conquered the smart home — what comes next? - The Verge

Posted: 24 Sep 2020 05:36 AM PDT

Amazon is gearing up for its latest hardware event where it's expected to announce its latest smart home gear. Based on prior years, we could see new Echo speakers, Alexa updates, Eero routers, Ring cameras, and more.

But looking at Amazon's smart home lineup right now, the question isn't whether Amazon will have new hardware to show off. It's whether Amazon can convince its current customers to buy them.

Look at the current slate of Echos or Eeros, for example. They're already excellent products. Smart home gear has a much longer lifespan than, say, a laptop or a smartphone, where leaps in design and new features are far more apparent. So how do you convince someone that their smart speaker needs an upgrade without a new screen or better camera to sell them on? Yes, Amazon might be able to get first-gen Echo owners to upgrade — the newer versions offer significant boosts in sound quality and design — but what about the owners of second-gen devices or the most recent third-gen wave?

Take the most recent Echo Dot, which Amazon released back in 2018, for example. The design is still sleek and elegant, and the sound quality still great. There's even a version with a clock built in. What else is there to upgrade? Adding USB-C would make me, a gadget-obsessed tech writer who dreams of universal port standards, happy, but it's not an upgrade worth paying for if you already own one. And while Amazon could slim down the size or improve the sound quality, it's hard to imagine that either of those would dramatically improve the day-to-day experience of using the current model.

Those diminishing returns are precisely why Amazon's more recent efforts have been less about getting Echo owners to upgrade and more about expanding where its Echo devices are put. Amazon might not be able to convince you to replace the aging Echo in your living room, but it could persuade you to get an Echo Dot for your other rooms, an Echo Show for your kitchen, an Echo Studio for your office, an Echo Auto for your car, even wearable Echo Buds, Loop rings, and Frames so you're in contact with Alexa at all times.

But after last year's slate of hardware, it's hard to imagine where else Amazon can sell you on putting a smart speaker. Amazon's last round of speakers was already better than ever — and in more places than ever. But even the idea of selling more types of Echos to blanket your home or person has limits. At some point, Alexa can already hear you wherever you are in your house. And attempts to draw Alexa outside the home — with things like Echo Auto or the array of personal devices, smartphone apps, and smartwatches — haven't really caught on yet.

Amazon does have another option, though: instead of making your smart home setup bigger by adding more devices, the company can help make your existing smart home smarter with new Alexa features or capabilities.

However, that approach bears the risk of complexity. Part of the magic of Echo devices is their relative simplicity: you ask Alexa to do a thing or answer a question, and it happens. Add too many features or options on top, and it becomes a smaller, less functional computer that you have to manage. No one wants to have to remember a specific convoluted command or sequence for getting something done.

It's a strange impasse. Amazon, in many ways, is hindered by its own success, with a product lineup that's strong (and age-resistant) enough that it's hard to make a compelling argument to upgrade or buy more products. Like Alexander, there seem to be no more worlds left for Alexa to conquer — so where does Amazon go next?

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