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Musk security team reportedly struck the car of alleged stalker

The South Pasadena Police Department is looking to question a member of Elon Musk’s security team after the team member allegedly hit the car of another person — that person was the same one Musk later claimed was a threat to his family.

According to a press release shared by the police (via The Verge), the incident occurred at around 9:51pm on the 700 block of Mission Street in Pasadena, California. The press release notes that the victim, identified only as a 29-year-old from Connecticut, was the only one at the scene when police arrived.

The Connecticut man said he exited the 110 freeway and stopped to use his phone when another car “pulled directly in front of him, blocking his path.” According to the police report, the driver of that car got out and accused the Connecticut man of following him on the freeway. Both men apparently recorded each other on their phones. The driver then got back in his vehicle and, as he was leaving, struck the Connecticut man’s vehicle. When police arrived, the driver had already left the scene.

“At no time during the incident did the victim identify the suspect or indicate the altercation was anything more than coincidental,” the report reads.

The report goes on to note that two days after the incident, Pasadena police determined the driver was a member of Musk’s security team but that Musk was not present during the confrontation. The report notes that efforts are underway to contact Musk and his security team for statements.

These details come after Musk’s December 14th Twitter posts, which alleged that a stalker followed a car carrying his son, thinking Musk was in the vehicle. Musk tweeted that the alleged stalker blocked the vehicle from moving and climbed on the hood, but there is no mention of that in the police report. Musk also tweeted a video of a masked man sitting inside a car and asked if anyone recognized the person or the car.

Musk used the incident to justify banning several Twitter accounts

Those tweets kicked off a chaotic few days that saw Twitter ban Jack Sweeney and his @ElonJet account, which shared details about the flights of Musk’s private jet using publicly available information. Musk blamed the alleged stalker incident on Sweeney and Twitter introduced hasty new policies prohibiting the sharing of real-time location information. Moreover, Twitter started banning journalists covering the story and introduced another policy prohibiting accounts from linking to other platforms in a bid to tamp down on people linking to Sweeney’s accounts on other platforms. Musk eventually apologized and began rolling back the changes.

However, The Washington Post previously published a story with an interview with a person named Brandon Collado, who claimed to be in the video shared by Musk. Collado said he was driving for Uber Eats and showed the Post a video of what he claimed was a member of Musk’s security team. That video appeared to match the from shared by Musk but from the other angle. Collado made several odd claims referencing Musk’s ex-girlfriend, Canadian artist Grimes, and believed he received coded messages from Grimes through Instagram.

It will be interesting to see what other details emerge about the altercation, but so far, it seems like the @ElonJet account had little, if anything, to do with it. As noted by the Post, Musk’s jet landed in Los Angeles, California, on Monday, December 12th. Moreover, Musk was in San Francisco the previous night, where he was booed at Dave Chappelle’s comedy show. Police told the Post that there was no evidence to suggest the alleged stalker had used the jet-tracking account.

You can read the latest in the ongoing saga of Musk and Twitter here.

Source: South Pasadena Police Department Via: The Verge

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Google is testing bilingual Search results in India

Google is working on diversifying the languages it uses in Search results to display information in more than one language, as first reported by Android Police.

The new experiment is starting with the Hindi language in India, but could soon be developed to support multilingual queries in French and English in Canada.

In a majorly multilingual market like India, Google has found that users prefer viewing Search results that are linguistically dynamic, and not just presented in the same language as the searched keyword.

Although users can find Search results in different languages, it either requires you to search for their query in the language they’re looking for the result in or change their device’s language outright.

What the company is doing now in India is making Search bilingual, regardless of the language your search keyword are in. “To make it easier for people who use more than one language to seek and explore information, we’re now making search results pages bilingual, for people who prefer it that way,” reads Google’s blog about the functionality. “Using advanced machine learning-based translation models and a cross-language search technology, we’ll serve you high-quality and relevant content in your local language alongside English results, if that’s how you choose to view them.”

The functionality has rolled out in Hindi, with Google intending to expand the feature to other Indian languages, including Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Bengali, in the coming year.

The feature is likely to be tested in India for a while before it makes its way to other bi/multilingual countries like Canada.

Image credit: Google

Source: Google Via: Android Police

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Amazon offers up ‘Very Merry deals’ on Apple, Beats, other tech

Amazon Canada has unleashed some last minute “Very Merry deals” that you can take advantage of, with the intent of having these said deals arrive before the big day.

Here is a list of what the online retailer is offering:

MobileSyrup utilizes affiliate partnerships. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content, though we may earn a commission on purchases made via these links that helps fund the journalism provided free on our website.

Source: Amazon Canada

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Where to stream Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery in Canada

In 2019, writer-director Rian Johnson delighted audiences with his thoroughly entertaining comedy-mystery film, Knives Out.

Now, he’s back with a standalone sequel, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. The new movie once again stars Daniel Craig as comically accented detective Benoit Blanc — this time as he works to solve a murder on a billionaire’s private island.

Like its predecessor, Glass Onion features a star-studded ensemble cast that includes Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Dave Bautista, Leslie Odom, Jr., Kate Hudson, Jessica Henwick and Madelyn Cline.

However, unlike the first Knives OutGlass Onion only played in select theatres for one week in November. Otherwise, the movie will begin streaming exclusively on Netflix on December 23rd. This is part of Netflix’s larger deal with original Knives Out distributor Lionsgate to acquire Glass Onion and one more sequel for $450 million USD (around $612 million CAD).

Glass Onion premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September to significant critical acclaim, with some even saying it’s better than the original.

Image credit: Netflix

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Rick and Morty co-creator’s High on Life ditched Stadia to break records on Xbox

Xbox has announced that High on Life, the latest title from Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland’s Squanch Games, has set three Xbox Game Pass records.

In a blog post, the gaming giant confirmed that the comedic sci-fi shooter, which hit Xbox consoles and PC on December 12th, is the biggest Game Pass launch of any third-party title to date, the biggest Game Pass release of 2022 and the biggest single-player launch in Game Pass history. Xbox says these stats are based on the number of hours played in the first five days of release.

Having any new IP hit a milestone like this is significant in and of itself, but High on Life‘s success is especially notable since the game was originally set to release on Google Stadia, as reported in June by Axios‘ Stephen Totillo. We’ve since learned that Google’s struggling game streaming platform is officially set to shutter next month, so Squanch Games certainly dodged a bullet with this one.

In High on Life, players assume the role of a teenage bounty hunter who must use living weapons to save Earth from an alien invasion. As a Roiland-produced project, the game also has a ton of Rick and Morty-esque humour, although that’s proven to be a bit divisive so far.

Xbox Game Pass costs $11.99/month or $16.99 for Game Pass Ultimate, which includes Game Pass for console and PC, EA Play, Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Image credit: Squanch Games

Source: Xbox

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The Witcher 3 on PS5 is a sweet update to one of the best games of all time

It’s crazy to think that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt came out over seven years ago. At the time, I’d recently been laid off (RIP Future Shop) and jumped at the chance to lose myself in an expansive open-world. And boy, did it deliver, becoming one of my favourite games of all time.

Now, developer CD Projekt Red has given the last-gen RPG a fresh coat of paint on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S via a free update to Wild Hunt‘s Complete Edition. It couldn’t have come at a better time, too — as one of many people who felt burned by the studio’s mishandling of its most recent game, Cyberpunk 2077, there’s a lovely comfort in revisiting something so beloved, especially with a bevy of current-gen enhancements and bug fixes.

And after nearly 200 hours across the main game and its Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions (which are all included in the Complete Edition), the update has me finding even more enjoyment with the whole experience.

If you’re unfamiliar, Wild Hunt follows Geralt of Rivia, a magically enhanced monster hunter known as a witcher, who must find his adopted Ciri before the spectral warriors called The Wild Hunt. It’s a magnificently well-written tale that takes Geralt across the fantastical world of the Continent and embroils him in all kinds of fascinating political intrigue. The exceptional writing extends to the game’s many sidequests, which feel as high-quality as the main story missions and, as a result, flesh out the world even more. This all remains true in 2022, but it’s the technical improvements that have me falling in love once again with CDPR’s magnum opus, making it easily worth the time sink.

Like a lot of current-gen games, you now have a few graphical options, ranging from a 60fps performance mode with dynamic 4K resolution scaling and a 4K/30fps option with ray-tracing. The latter setting offers admittedly impressive lighting and shadow effects, but the trade-off for the reduced framerate ultimately wasn’t worth it for me.

But the 60fps performance mode is an absolute delight, adding a wonderful new level of smoothness to traversal and combat. On top of these options, CDPR has cleaned up several other aspects of the presentation, including crisper and more detailed character models, reworked foliage, richer foliage, a new ‘Gray Sky’ weather type and higher crowd density. Some fan-made mods have also been brought over from the PC version for further enhancements. The end result is something that looks and feels like a modern game, especially when you factor in how dense and NPC-heavy the world can be.

The Witcher 3 Geralt and CiriBut beyond that, it actually encouraged me to play a bit differently. Admittedly, I sometimes rush through areas to get to the next quest or cutscene, in part because the experience is grabbing me but also because I just want to get to the next game in my ever-growing backlog. With the new Wild Hunt update, though, I found myself going through the Continent more methodically, even after I’d taken the time to initially take note of what’s improved.

I wanted to live and breathe in this world and soak in all of its refreshingly distinct Slavic-inspired touchstones, from the musky, sweltering swamps and lush, colourful forestry to the lively, bustling medieval cities. It’s a testament to the quality of both the original world design and the presentational overhaul that I felt this added layer of immersion. (The new photo mode is the perfect way to capture all this beauty.)

Gameplay-wise, CDPR has also made some smart changes. On a base level, there are new control and camera options to tweak how Geralt feels while moving, a nice way to address some complaints of clunky handling in the original game. But the bigger, more profound change is the utility of magic, known here as ‘Signs.’ As a witcher, Geralt can cast five basic Signs: Aard (a telekinetic blast), Axii (a Jedi mind trick-esque confusion spell), Igni (projectile fire), Yrden (slows down the enemy) and Quen (a temporary protective shield). In the original version of Wild Hunt, you would have to pull open a radial wheel to toggle equipped Signs, which could definitely slow the pace of battles.

With the update, you can enable ‘Quick Sign Casting,’ which allows you to assign a spell to your controller’s face buttons and bring them using L2. My muscle memory had gotten accustomed to the wheel, but once I got the hang of the streamlined control option, it was a genuine revelation. All told, it significantly adds to the rhythm of the core combat, which is admittedly not terribly deep from a mechanical standpoint.

The layers instead came from how you respond to the staggeringly high number of enemies you encounter, like reading up on a monster’s strengths and weaknesses and brewing the necessary potions to counter that. That’s all still there, of course, but now you’re also encouraged to more actively switch between your Signs, making the already balletic swordplay feel more dynamic and engaging. For example, Yrden’s circular area of effect makes it effective for crowd control, but sometimes you just want to switch to Igni which, when upgraded, can have Geralt shooting a stream of flame out of fingers and incinerate foes.

Another noteworthy addition is a new questline that, upon completion, unlocks a set of armour inspired by Henry Cavill’s Geralt in Netflix’s The Witcher series. I could never get into the show, but it’s an undeniably cool way to add even more value to the update while paying homage to a popular part of The Witcher franchise. If nothing else, there’s a real novelty in hearing Geralt voice actor Doug Cockle reprise the role for some more charming and gravelly lines of dialogue.

In the end, I’ve really enjoyed my time with The Witcher 3‘s ‘next-gen’ update. From the litany of technical improvements to the small-but-meaningful gameplay additions, this really feels like a low-key remaster of an all-time great RPG. That CDPR is offering all of this for free is just brilliant, as it’s easy to see how other publishers would have sold this separately or even charged a small fee to upgrade. Whether you’re someone who’s never played The Witcher 3 or are an avid fan like I am, this update makes it absolutely worth your while to plan a trip to the Continent.

Image credit: CDPR

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Apple and MLS announce 2023 season schedule

Last month, Apple announced that it will launch a MLS Season Pass in more than 100 countries on February 1st, 2023.

The Season Pass would be available directly through the Apple TV app on Apple TV set-top boxes, smart TVs, video game consoles and more, and would allow users to stream every MLS regular-season game, the playoffs and the Leagues Cup live with no regional blackouts.

Until now, the schedule for the MLS games was unknown, but Apple has revealed the full schedule of the 2023 MLS Season Pass for those watching on the Apple TV app.

A majority of the 2023 MLS Season Pass will be broadcasted on Saturdays, with some matches taking place on “select Wednesdays” at 7:30pm local time.

The MLS Season Pass launch on February 1st, 2023 will mark the first day off a decade-long partnership between Apple and the MLS, and is part of a broader strategy by Apple to offer more live sports through its Apple TV streaming app.

The MLS Season Pass is set to cost $99 USD (about $134 CAD) per season or $14.99 USD (roughly $20 CAD) per month. Apple hasn’t revealed the official Canadian pricing for the service yet.

Check out the full Season Pass schedule on Apple’s website or the MLS website.

Source: Apple,

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New on Prime Video Canada: January 2023

Every month, Amazon adds several new series and movies to its streaming service, Prime Video and January 2023 will be no different.

Below is everything set to hit and leave Prime Video in Canada. Amazon also shared several featured titles coming to Prime Video Channels, which are add-on channels with additional content for extra subscription fees (they’re noted below):

January 4th

  • Nos Étes: Season 1-4

January 6th

  • LOL: Qui Le Dernier?
  • The Rig: Season 1 (Amazon Original)
  • Payback (Exclusive Content)

January 13th

  • Hunters: Season 2 (Amazon Original)
  • The Test: Season 2 (Amazon Original)

January 15th

  • A Dash of Love
  • The Perfect Bride
  • All Things Valentine
  • The Story of Us
  • Love, Once and Always
  • Date with Love

January 20th

  • The Legend of Vox Machine: Season 2 (Amazon Orignal))
  • Detective Knight: Independence
  • Marquerite Volant: Season 1

January 27th

  • Shotgun Wedding (Amazon Orignal)
  • Jeepers Creepers: Reborn
  • Good Rivals (Amazon Original)
  • Lupin vs Cats Eye
  • Alan Patridge – Stratagem

Leaving Prime Video

  • Maid in Manhattan (January 1st)
  • Fury (January 1st)
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind (January 1st)
  • Zombieland (January 1st)
  • Catch and Release (January 1st)
  • Bing (January 6th)
  • Parks and Recreation (January 8th)
  • A Quiet Place Part II (January 13th)
  • Being Erica (January 14th)
  • Nancy Drew (January 21st)
  • Charmed (January 28th)

Coming to Prime Video Channel

  • Mayfair Witches: Season 1 (AMC+ – January 5th)
  • BMF: Season 2 (Starz – January 6th)
  • The King’s Daughter (Starz – January 20th)
  • Vera: Season 12 (BritBox – January 22nd)
  • Married at First Sight: Season 16  (StackTV – January 5th)
  • Fantasy Island: Season 2 (StackTV – January 3rd)
  • Mayor of Kingstown: Season 2 (Paramount+ January 15th)
  • The Bachelor: Season 26 (Citytv+ – January 24th)
  • Poker Face: Season 1 (Citytv+ – January 26th)
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Apple reveals what’s included in latest AirTag update

Apple has dropped two firmware releases for its AirTag Bluetooth tracker since November, but until now, it’s been unclear what new features were actually included in these updates.

Now, according to a new support document on Apple’s website, update ‘2.0.24‘ allows users to locate unknown AirTags via ‘Precision Finding.’ Apple first announced the feature earlier this year as an anti-stalking measure.

When an iPhone detects an unknown AirTag that’s following them, the user can now utilize Precision Finding and a sound alert to locate it and disable the device.

It’s important to point out that Precision Detection requires an iPhone 11 or later that features Apple’s U1 Ultra Wideband chip.

2.0.36,’ on the other hand, fixes an issue with the AirTag’s accelerometer that prevented it from activating when moving.

Similar to Apple’s AirPods, it’s not easy to update the AirTags’ firmware. The Bluetooth tracker automatically updates when connected to an iPhone, and there’s no way to push it manually.

Source: Apple, (1) Via: 9to5Mac

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iPhone factory workers reportedly asked to work sick, skip COVID tests

Sick workers in Foxconn’s Zhengzhou, China-based iPhone factory are reportedly being asked to show up for shifts and avoid taking COVID-19 tests.

The details come from Rest of World (via 9to5Mac), which spoke with seven workers that joined the factory this month and contracted COVID. Rest of World said that employees were given N95 masks to wear while on production lines, but the workers say it’s still easy to catch COVID while inside the on-site dorm rooms, where eight people sleep in close proximity.

One employee told Rest of World that his supervisor advised workers not to get tested so they could continue working instead of quarantining. Another said that their supervisor seemed sick and couldn’t even walk steadily.

The report comes after Foxconn suffered a significant COVID outbreak in October, which led to workers breaking out of the plant and protests. The Zhengzhou lockdown ended about three weeks ago, but Foxconn was labelled ‘high risk.’ 9to5Mac reports it was obliged to keep using closed-loop production, which involves keeping workers in factory campuses.

Foxconn is responsible for producing iPhones, notably Apple’s top-line iPhone 14 Pro series. 9to5 notes that Foxconn is likely under immense pressure to get production back on track following the earlier disruptions. Apple previously sent a team to investigate what was happening at Foxconn.

So far, Rest of World appears to be one of the few publications covering the story. Although not the most well-known publication, Viola Zhou, who wrote the piece, previously covered Chinese politics, society, and internet culture for Vice World News and at the South China Morning Post.

Source: Rest of World Via: 9to5Mac