Pixel 4 smartphone will have a fancy radar sensor called Soli
Fortnite World Cup winner takes home US$3m out of a total US$30m prize pool
Uber to add NSW public transport into ride-sharing app
Calibrate your TV with this simple guide
Cheap refurb iPhone 8 & Samsung S9, Google Home Hub, DJI Spark Drone, Doom (2016), FarCry 5, Nikon D610 DSLR
Google has let loose with some details about the upcoming Pixel 4 smartphone. They've said the Pixel 4 will utilise a radar sensor it calls "Soli" in a new feature called Motion Sense that will "allow you to skip songs, snooze alarms, and silence phone calls, just by waving your hand". There's also a face unlock feature that seems to operate almost the same as Apple's FaceID, but due to the Soli radar the Pixel 4 knows when you're reaching for your phone and will start the face scanning process earlier as to unlock your phone faster. Sounds pretty nifty to me.
The Fortnite World Cup ended yesterday, with 16 year-old Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf crowned champion. It was held at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City (where the US Open tennis finals are held), with a total prize pool US$30m - the same as the FIFA Women's World Cup. Kyle took home US$3m as the champ (more than Tiger Woods got as prize money for winning the US Masters) and a 13-yo from Argentina who came 5th took home US$900,000. The Verge has a great colour piece giving more context about the event. It's taken pretty damn seriously by Epic (who make Fortnite), the fans and competitors.
NSW public transport options are getting integrated into Uber's ride-sharing app. Accordsing to the NSW transport and roads minister Andrew Constance, "When customers enter their destination in the Uber app they’ll see ‘public transport’ as an option. Nearby transport hubs, timetable and pricing information will be displayed on the screen of their smart phone, making them even more aware of alternative options to using a car". I guess the idea is you'll see how fucked traffic is in Sydney and decide to catch the train instead of an Uber? The innovation never stops in NSW!
The Wirecutter has a handy guide on what settings to tweak on your fancy new TV so you get the best picture quality. Most TVs come out of the box looking like shit, so it's important to do this. Set the colour and contrast alongside some content you're familiar with, turn down the sharpening, make the colour temperature to "warm" (on most TVs), disable motion blur compensation and disable all the "dynamic" stuff. If you wanna get a bit fancier, there are DVDs & Blu-Rays that guide you through the process with colour charts and reference images for you to calibrate against.
Refurbished 64GB iPhone 8 - $570 from Phonebot
Refurbished Samsung S9 64GB - $479 from Phonebot
Google Home Hub - $118.15 delivered using the code PASTA15 on eBay
DJI Spark drone (no accessories, drone only) - $404.10 from Amazon AU
Doom (2016) for PC - $9.80 from Green Man Gaming
FarCry 5 for PS4 - $20 from Amazon AU
Nikon D610 full-frame DSLR (body only) - $1099 from Australian Camera Sales
🎶 Possibly Maybe - Björk
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