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PS5: Sony opens unusual direct pre-order process amid PlayStation chaos – but only for chosen people
The unusual process will see the company sell its consoles directly through its own US page.But the option to do so will be limited to people who received an invitation, with the process shrouded in mystery and exclusivity.Read moreIt invited users to submit a form including their PlayStation Network ID to be in with a chance to receive an invitation through the process. It did not say how it would select those to receive the invitation, but noted that the selection is “based on previous interests and PlayStation activities”.Anyone who was chosen through that process should now have received an email with the full instructions, allowing them to take part in the process. People who signed up through the form but did not receive an email were not selected, Sony has said.The invitations cannot be passed on or sold to anybody else, even if those people have already successfully bought consoles through other online shops.Still, having that invitation does not actually guarantee a console. Sony noted that there will only be limited consoles and that they will be given out on a first-come-first-served basis when the pre-orders open.The pre-orders will actually open at 10am pacific time, or 6pm in the UK.
TikTok will be banned in the US from Sunday
Users in the country will be stopped from downloading the video app as well as WeChat.If a deal is not struck by 12 November, the app will be fully banned, and using as well as downloading the app will be illegal, according to the order from the US Department of Commerce.Donald Trump and the US government have threatened to ban the app amid accusations that their Chinese owners mean that American data could be put at risk.People who already have the app installed will still be able to use it as normal after 20 September. But they will not be able to download new updates, which could quickly mean the app’s functionality will break, since developers will not be able to fix bugs or make changes.Officials will also not look to ban Google and Apple from offering the app through their stores in other countries.After 12 November, it will be illegal in the US not only to distribute TikTok through app stores but also to provide the underlying internet infrastructure that powers it, or to allow its code to be accessible. That would effectively amount to a complete ban, with users unable to access the app at all.WeChat will be entirely banned from 20 September, the order said.Read moreThe decision comes after threats from the US government that the app would be banned if it could not be sold to a US company.Silicon Valley tech firm Oracle has been reported to have won that battle, but the deal is yet to go through. The ban could be scrapped if that deal is successfully completed, Reuters reported, citing US commerce officials.Donald Trump said yesterday that his administration had spoken to Walmart and Oracle about a possible deal, but that there had been no substantial change in the situation.”We’re making a decision. We spoke today to Walmart, Oracle. I guess Microsoft is still involved,” Trump told reporters at the White House before leaving for a visit to Wisconsin.”We’ll make a decision, but nothing much has changed. We’ll make a decision soon.”In early August, Mr Trump signed an executive order that set a deadline of 20 September for the sale of TikTok. In recent remarks, the president had said there would be no extension of that order – though he also falsely suggested that the deadline would come on 15 September.The executive order said that if the deadline was reached and the app was still under Chinese ownership, the US would ban “any transaction by any person” with Bytedance, TikTok’s owners. Legal experts have speculated on whether the ruling would legitimately allow a ban, but the Trump administration has been clear that was the intention of the document.Watch moreThe executive order alleged that apps “developed and owned by companies in the People’s Republic of China (China) continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States” before going on say specifically that “at this time, action must be taken to address the threat posed by one mobile application in particular, TikTok”.It accused the app capturing “vast swaths of information from its users, including Internet and other network activity information such as location data and browsing and search histories” as well as censoring content on behalf of the Chinese government and helping with the country’s disinformation campaigns.TikTok and its parent company Bytedance – which offers a separate version of the app in China – have repeatedly denied those accusations.
TikTok downloads to be blocked in US within days
People in the US will be banned from downloading TikTok from this Sunday.
The US commerce department said that starting 20 September, Americans will not be able to get the popular video-sharing app.
The ban will also cover the messaging app WeChat.
Image: Chinese messaging app WeChat is also covered by the ban
President Donald Trump could still withdraw the ban before Sunday evening – if a deal is done between TikTok’s Chinese owners ByteDance and US technology giant Oracle.
The two firms are in talks to create a new company, TikTok Global, that aims to address the White House’s concerns about the security of its users’ data, with Oracle having moved ahead of Microsoft in the race for a deal.
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TikTok has 100 million users in the US.
A statement from the department said: “The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has demonstrated the means and motives to use these apps to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and the economy of the US.
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“Today’s announced prohibitions, when combined, protect users in the US by eliminating access to these applications and significantly reducing their functionality.”
It went on: “While the threats posed by WeChat and TikTok are not identical, they are similar. Each collects vast swaths of data from users, including network activity, location data, and browsing and search histories.
“Each is an active participant in China’s civil-military fusion and is subject to mandatory cooperation with the intelligence services of the CCP.
“This combination results in the use of WeChat and TikTok creating unacceptable risks to our national security.”
Trump: ‘I don’t mind’ if Microsoft buys TikTok
TikTok has said it would never share user information with Chinese authorities.
Bytedance and Oracle have submitted a proposal for a deal in which TikTok would become a separate US company with with an American board.
There would also be a security committee – the head of which would need government security clearance.
Microsoft had previously been in the running to take over the app, but their offer was rejected on 13 September.
Any deal will need the approval of both Washington and Beijing.
Tesla driver caught asleep behind wheel of self-driving car going 93mph
A man has been caught asleep behind the wheel of a self-driving Tesla car that was travelling at 150km/h (93mph).
Police in Alberta, Canada, received a call about a 2019 Tesla Model S speeding on a motorway near the town of Ponoka.
Officers said the car appeared to be in self-drive mode, with both front seats fully reclined and both the driver and passenger sleeping.
Tesla driver caught on video ‘sleeping’ while car is on auto-pilot
It had been travelling at 140km/h, but sped up to 150km/h when police turned on their emergency lights.
The car was pulled over before the 20-year-old man who was driving was charged with speeding and had his licence suspended for 24 hours for fatigue.
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The man from British Columbia was later charged with dangerous driving and is due to appear in court in December.
“Although manufacturers of new vehicles have built-in safeguards to prevent drivers from taking advantage of the new safety systems in vehicles, those systems are just that -supplemental safety systems,” RCMP traffic services Superintendent Gary Graham said in a statement.
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“They are not self-driving systems, they still come with the responsibility of driving.”
Tesla’s website says the autopilot function will steer, accelerate and brake for the car within its lane but still needs the driver to be paying attention – adding that it does “not make the vehicle autonomous”.
Image: In August, a Tesla driver crashed into a police car after allegedly watching a film while his vehicle was on autopilot. Pic: @NC_GHSP
It is merely the latest report of a motorist accused of leaving a Tesla car’s automated systems in control.
In August, a Tesla driver in North Carolina crashed into a police car after allegedly watching a film while his vehicle was on autopilot.
And onlookers were shocked to see a driver apparently sleeping while his vehicle travelled along a California road in August 2019.
PS5: Sony confirms price and release date – and Harry Potter game among new additions
Sony has come out swinging ahead of the console wars looming this holiday season by confirming its two PS5 consoles will be available in November alongside a host of exciting games.
The flagship PlayStation 5 will be available for £449 in the UK from 19 November, and a digital edition which doesn’t have a disc drive will cost £359.
Sony delivered the prices and release dates during a showcase on Wednesday which included surprise new games, including Final Fantasy XVI and an open-world RPG set in the Harry Potter universe.
Image: Sony confirmed the PS5 would be available on 19 November in the UK
Hogwarts Legacy is a role-playing game set in the late 1800s and appears as if it will allow players to choose their Hogwarts house as well as explore the world beyond the magical school.
Players will have access to spells, potions and magical creatures, and although the underlying story wasn’t revealed the narration suggested it would be shaped by the choices the player makes in-game.
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Final Fantasy XVI seems to be set in a medieval-style world with knights riding the series’ classic Chocobo steeds and characters summoning icon monsters to battle in real-time. Both games will be released in 2021.
Sony’s flagship console will cost exactly as much as Microsoft’s, although the more affordable Xbox Series S is £100 cheaper than the PS5 digital edition. That is due to the digital edition having the same specifications as the version with a disc drive.
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The consoles are going to hit shelves first in the US, Japan, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea on 12 November before coming out the following week in the rest of the world.
Pre-orders will open on 17 September at select retailers, giving Sony a bit of a head start on Microsoft with Xbox pre-orders opening on 22 September.
Image: Sony showcased a number of exciting games for the PS5
Sony put a lot of games into what was planned as a 40-minute showcase, including those above as well as a sequel to God of War, Spider-Man: Miles Morales and a new Call of Duty game.
Sky News had previously completed a full roundup of all 26 games revealed for the PS5 in March, starting with the six we’re most excited for, followed by the rest in alphabetical order.
Response to the event was very positive on social media, with the hashtag #PlayStation5 trending globally on Twitter as people talked about their favourite games.
Sony also announced the PlayStation Plus Collection, which will give players access to classic PS4 games including The Last of Us and Fallout 4 from launch.
Two asteroids shot closer to the earth than the moon this month – with more close encounters expected
Two asteroids have shot past the Earth this week, coming closer to the planet than the Moon – and more close encounters are expected during the rest of the year.The first asteroid, called 2020 RD4, was between three and seven meters wide.It passed 94,000 kilometers (58,500 miles) away on 14 September.This is approximately one third the distance between the Earth and the Moon, which are 384,400 kilometers apart.A second asteroid, called 2020 RF3, passed by only a few hours later.Read moreIt was between five and 11 meters wide, shooting by the planet at a distance of approximately 106,000 kilometers (65,700 miles).The space debris was recorded by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies, which tracks and predicts asteroids.Neither bodies came near the record for the closest asteroid to pass by the Earth, which was broken in August by asteroid 2020 QG, which came just 1,830 miles over the southern Indian Ocean, but are indicative of how many objects come by the planet safely every day.Within the next two months, many more objects are expected to pass by the planet, although only one will get as close to our planet.Between now and the end of the year only one – asteroid RZ6 – will get closer to the Earth than our Moon.It will pass by on 17 September, but is a staggering 27 meters wide between its most distant points.However, this is still relatively small; an asteroid called PM7, expected to pass by at the end of the month, is an astonishing 200 meters wide.Nasa says the asteroid only has a 0.41 per cent chance of hitting the Earth.
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