Technology - Google News

Epic Games Store closes out 15 days of free games by giving away the Tomb Raider trilogy - The Verge
Bellroy says Pixel 6 cases are its ‘most popular product release ever’ amid restock - 9to5Google
Goodbye BlackBerry, We Really Mean It This Time - Gizmodo

Epic Games Store closes out 15 days of free games by giving away the Tomb Raider trilogy - The Verge

Posted: 30 Dec 2021 05:14 PM PST

If you're a PC gamer who has not already done so, you may want to open up the Epic Games Store and snag the final installment for its 15 Days of Free Games promotion. It's especially worth your time because instead of gifting users a single title like Shenmue III or Control, the Epic Games Store is ready to cough up the entire rebooted Tomb Raider trilogy: Tomb Raider Game of the Year Edition, Rise of the Tomb Raider 20 Year Celebration, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider Definitive Edition.

Trying to add the titles to your digital library earlier today was harder than it should've been, as continued server problems, following yesterday's Fortnite outage, slowed down the store. It's unclear if Epic Games is still having issues or if people just really wanted these games, but according to its status page, everything should be running smoothly now.

If you're wondering how Epic Games can afford to just give away games, check out the documents that surfaced earlier this year as a part of its legal battle with Apple over the App Store. As Tim Sweeney confirmed on Twitter, the company negotiates a flat fee for the giveaways instead of per copy, so suddenly billions of dollars worth of software become much cheaper.

We don't know how much the company is paying Square Enix to give away the Tomb Raider games, but an Arkham Trilogy giveaway in 2019 only cost the company $1.5 million — a relative drop in the bucket compared to the money Fortnite brings in, plus the value of adding more customers to its games store.

They will be available to add for free until January 6th at 11AM ET, so you have plenty of time to get them — unless you forget and never actually do it, so it's probably a better idea to just click that "Get" button now.

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Bellroy says Pixel 6 cases are its ‘most popular product release ever’ amid restock - 9to5Google

Posted: 30 Dec 2021 06:38 PM PST

Reports earlier this year said Google was making an aggressive manufacturing push for the Pixel 6. The company has historically never revealed numbers, but one possible indicator today comes from Pixel 6 case maker Bellroy.

The Australian accessory brand is known for their wallets and phone cases. Part of the Made for Google certification program, it was one of the first companies to offer Pixel 6 and 6 Pro cases at launch.

On Wednesday, the company announced on Instagram, alongside a partial restock, that the Pixel 6 cases have become "[its] most popular release, ever." That was reiterated today in a year-end email, while also confirming the Pixel 6 as its "most popular Pixel case."

Exact metrics are not specified, and the company's definition of "most popular" has room for interpretation in terms of what inventory it had available on hand at launch. Regardless, it's a promising stat and hopefully encourages other brands to invest in making Pixel accessories.

In terms of supply on the Bellroy website today, the Pixel 6 leather is available in Black, Basalt, Sea Mist, and Terracotta, with Cobalt unavailable. Only Biscotti and Black are currently in stock for the Pixel 6 Pro with the other three colors (Basalt, Cobalt, Terracotta) sold out, though Bellroy says it's working to "restock as soon as possible." A more limited color selection is available at the Google Store.

More on Pixel 6:

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Goodbye BlackBerry, We Really Mean It This Time - Gizmodo

Posted: 30 Dec 2021 06:28 PM PST

Image for article titled Goodbye BlackBerry, We Really Mean It This Time — Photo: Mahesh Kumar A (AP)

Before I joined the cult of iPhone, of which I have happily been a member of for many years now, my first big phone purchase was a BlackBerry. Time made it as slow as a turtle, and it began its new life in a drawer in one of the many apartments and houses I've lived in. Over the years, I forgot about BlackBerry devices, as I'm sure most of you did—no offense to the forever BlackBerry fans—until now.

The only reason I'm talking about BlackBerry phones now is because they are officially going to die on Jan. 4, 2022. If this sounds familiar to you, it's because we've been saying that BlackBerry phones are going kaput since at least 2016, which is when the company announced that it was getting out of the hardware business. Pieces of its empire, such as the BlackBerry World app store and the legendary BBM messenging service, have been falling slowly ever since.

Nonetheless, for anyone who still owns a legacy device, it really is time to say goodbye.

In a recent support message on its website, BlackBerry kindly reminded users with devices with BlackBerry 7.1 OS and earlier, BlackBerry 10 software, and BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1 and earlier versions—all of which are considered legacy devices—that after Jan. 4, 2022, these products will lose the ability to carry out key functions.

BlackBerry, which now provides security software, originally announced the end-of-life date for these devices in September 2020.

"As of this date, devices running these legacy services and software through either carrier or Wi-Fi connections will no longer reliably function, including for data, phone calls, SMS and 9-1-1 functionality," BlackBerry said.

In addition, BlackBerry apps, including BlackBerry Link, BlackBerry Desktop Manager, and BlackBerry Blend, will have "limited functionality." Users with a BlackBerry hosted email address or who receive redirected mail to a BlackBerry email address will need to migrate to another service.

Importantly, BlackBerry Android devices will not be affected by the end-of-service date unless users are redirecting their email to a BlackBerry email or use an enhanced Sim Based License or Identity Based License. In the case of the licenses, BlackBerry says users will have to obtain a standard license to cover the use of BlackBerry enterprise services on their device.

As for what you should do if you have a BlackBerry legacy device that you don't want to get rid of, the company doesn't hold back.

"Customers will need to move to new devices. Please contact your carrier of choice for more information about what devices and plans are available," BlackBerry said.

Here's to BlackBerry phones. Although they won't be around anymore, the company can be sure that they made their mark on society. As for my BlackBerry, which is still in an unknown drawer somewhere, it served me well while it lasted.

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