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Technology

Sony was bringing PlayStation Now to mobile, says confidential Apple document

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In 2017 — long before Apple declared that cloud gaming could only exist on the iPhone if it jumped through gigantic hoops — Sony was preparing to launch its PlayStation Now cloud gaming service on mobile phones, a confidential document reveals.

It could have been the single biggest expansion of Sony’s PS Now game service in years. Originally, the service streamed PS2 and PS3 games to smart TVs, Blu-ray players, and the PS3 and PS Vita, but cut off all those original platforms in late 2017 (coincidence?) to focus on the PlayStation 4 and Windows PC instead. While it recently added 1080p streaming and a PS5 client, it’s never been offered on Android, iOS, or Mac.

But according to a confidential document unearthed by The Verge from the Epic v. Apple trial, Apple had insider knowledge of Sony’s upcoming launch. Apple had heard about a “[not-yet-announced] mobile extension of an existing streaming service for PlayStation users, streaming access to over 450+ PS3 games to start, with PS4 games to follow.”

A handful of PS4 games launched on PlayStation Now in July 2017, but the presentation notes that the service is “only PS3 games right now,” suggesting Apple got tipped off about more than just the move to mobile.

PlayStation Now is listed as a “mobile” subscription, in a document labeled “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY”.
Apple; Screenshot by Sean Hollister / The Verge

Why did Apple bring this up? It’s smack dab in the middle of an explanation of Apple’s plans to launch its own game subscription service, Apple Arcade, which wouldn’t be announced until two years later. At the time, Apple was preparing to target 30 top game studios and ask for as many as “a few hundred titles” to add.

Apple describes its “game subscription service,” which would launch as Apple Arcade
Apple; Screenshot by Sean Hollister / The Verge

In 2019, I wrote that Sony squandered the opportunity to be a leader in cloud gaming, despite being the first major company to recognize its potential, buying both of the early startups (Gaikai and OnLive) that proved out the idea. But despite Apple’s resistance to cloud gaming on the App Store — read my new story about what happened with Microsoft — there’s an intriguing possibility that Sony isn’t giving up yet. Sony reportedly now has a Project Spartacus that would bundle its cloud gaming service with a PlayStation Plus subscription, and it would bring original PS1 games and “eventually” PS5 games to the service too.

However, Jason Schreier’s scoop for Bloomberg doesn’t mention mobile phones at all.

While it’s possible Sony read the room and decided it wasn’t worth fighting Apple the way Steam, Shadow, Microsoft, and Google did for mobile access, it might also be that Sony decided to focus on selling more consoles instead — if you do have a PS4 or PS5 in your house, the company’s PS Remote Play app already lets you stream it (perhaps even over cellular) to a wide array of Apple devices, as well as Android. You can even stream a new PS5 to your old PS4, giving it a new lease on life.

Sony wouldn’t comment to The Verge.

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Entertainment

Crew member yelled ‘cold gun’ as he handed Alec Baldwin prop weapon, court document shows

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The “cold gun” remark was meant to indicate that the weapon did not have live rounds, according to an affidavit for a search warrant for the movie set filed by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office and obtained by CNN affiliate KOAT.

According to the affidavit, Baldwin was handed one of three prop guns by assistant director David Halls that were set up in a cart by an armorer.

Halls did not know there were live rounds in the gun, the affidavit said.

But when the actor fired the gun, a live round hit Hutchins, 42, in the chest and wounded Souza, 48, who was nearby, according to the affidavit. Hutchins was pronounced dead at the hospital after being airlifted, the affidavit says.

“Cold guns” aren’t supposed to be loaded, particularly during rehearsals, a weapons expert told CNN on Friday.

“You have to make sure that the weapon is truly cold, which means there should have been no rounds in there, period. And especially if it’s a rehearsal,” Bryan Carpenter, an armorer and weapons master in the film industry, told CNN.

Carpenter added that while it’s acceptable for some actors to want to get a feel of a weapon during rehearsals, it’s crucial to ensure the prop guns are not filled with any rounds. He noted that weapons on sets should be confirmed “cold” by two people to avoid such tragic incidents.

Despite safety measures, fatal production accidents have happened.

While filming the movie “The Crow” in 1993, actor Brandon Lee, the son of Bruce Lee, was killed in a prop gun shooting accident.

Even blank ammunition can be deadly if fired at close range. In 1984, actor John-Eric Hexum was playing around with a gun on the set of “Cover Up: Golden Opportunity” and died after putting the gun to his head and pulling the trigger.

Prop master Joseph Fisher told CNN on Friday that even when there is no “bullet” in a prop gun, there are still projectiles, including gun powder and gas which can be dangerous within a certain range.

Multiple agencies are investigating how this shooting happened

The movie called “Rust,” which was being shot at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico, was starring Baldwin, who is also a producer of the film.

A 911 call obtained by KOAT offered a glimpse into the minutes following the shooting. A crew member told the operator that two people had been “accidentally” shot on set.

“We need some help a director and a camera woman have been shot,” a woman told the operator. “I was sitting, we were rehearsing and it went off, and I ran out, we all ran out.”

Baldwin on Friday said he’s in contact with Hutchins’ family.

“There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours,” Baldwin tweeted.

“I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”

According to the affidavit, all firearms and ammunition, cameras and computer equipment and the clothes worn by the actors at the time of the shooting were to be seized.

But before Thursday’s shooting, some crew members quit the production over concerns related to safety issues — including gun safety procedures and Covid-19 protocols not being followed, according to the Los Angeles Times and other media reports.

The film’s production company told Deadline in a statement that it was not notified of official complaints regarding weapon or prop safety on set.

“We will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down,” Rust Movie Productions, LLC said in the statement. “The safety of our cast and crew is the top priority of Rust Productions and everyone associated with the company.”

CNN has made multiple attempts to reach Rust Movie Productions for comment.

The New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau is investigating.

“The production company reported the fatality and injury to OHSB last night, in accordance with workplace safety laws. OHSB is investigating the incident in coordination with law enforcement, the employer, and employees,” the agency said in a statement.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office also secured the shooting scene, spokesman Juan Ríos said.

CNN’s Lisa Respers France, Kaylene Chassie, Kay Jones, Rebekah Riess, Sandra Gonzalez and Andy Rose contributed to this report.



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Technology

Internal document reveals full Apple Watch Series 7 details: weights, connectivity, more

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A newly surfaced internal Apple document reveals more details about the Apple Watch Series 7, including weights, connectivity, and internal components. The comparison document which Apple has not shared with customers shows that the watch has a new S7 system in package, but maintains the same CPU and speeds as the S6 chip from the Series 6.

Meet the S7, same as the S6

Last night, developer Stephen Troughton-Smith discovered that the Apple Watch Series 7 has the exact same CPU as the Apple Watch Series 6, and this document corroborates that detail. What is different is simply the branding — something Apple isn’t pushing much.

Apple is calling the new SiP in Series 7, the S7 chip. While the CPU remains the same, it’s likely some other small components have in fact changed to accommodate the larger display.

Series 7 weight

Other details like the weight of each model are also included in the documentation. Apple has not revealed this information on apple.com yet.

  • The aluminum Apple Watch Series 7 weighs 32.0g/38.8g versus last year’s 30.5g/36.4g
  • The stainless steel watches are significantly heavier, weighing in at 42.3g/51.5g versus last year’s 39.7g/47.1g
  • The titanium Series 7 models weigh 37.0g/45.1g versus last year’s 34.6g/41.3g

According to the document, the Series 7 has the same speaker as Series 6, still being 50% louder than the Series 3. The Series 7 has the same Bluetooth 5.0 components, the same U1 chip, the same 32GB of storage, and the same international emergency calling functionality.

You can download the document for yourself using the Dropbox link in the tweet shared with us below. Keep in mind that Apple says at the end of the document that all of the specifications are still “subject to change without notice.”

Apple Watch Series 7 doesn’t yet have a release date or pre-order date beyond later this fall.

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US

FBI releases first declassified document September 11

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The newly declassified document, which is from 2016, provides details of the FBI’s work to investigate the alleged logistical support that a Saudi consular official and a suspected Saudi intelligence agent in Los Angeles provided to at least two of the men who hijacked planes on September 11, 2001. The document, released on the 20th anniversary of the deadly attacks, still contains significant redactions.

It details multiple connections and witness testimony that prompted FBI suspicion of Omar al-Bayoumi, who was purportedly a Saudi student in Los Angeles but whom the FBI suspected to be a Saudi intelligence agent. The FBI document describes him as deeply involved in providing “travel assistance, lodging and financing” to help the two hijackers.

The Saudi embassy in Washington, DC, previously said Wednesday that it “welcomes the release of” the FBI documents and that “any allegation that Saudi Arabia is complicit in the September 11 attacks is categorically false.”

Biden’s executive order came after more than 1,600 people affected by the attacks sent Biden a letter asking him to refrain from going to Ground Zero in New York City to mark the 20th anniversary unless he released the information. The letter in part questioned the role of Saudi Arabia, suggesting that members of the Saudi Arabian government had been involved in “supporting the attacks.”
Shortly after the letter, the Department of Justice announced it would review what previously withheld information or documents related to the September 11, 2001, attacks it can disclose to the public.

A Justice Department spokesperson said in August that the government advised a Manhattan federal court that the FBI had recently closed an investigation related to certain September 11 hijackers.

“Although this development followed the U.S. District Court rulings upholding the government’s privilege assertions, the FBI has decided to review its prior privilege assertions to identify additional information appropriate for disclosure. The FBI will disclose such information on a rolling basis as expeditiously as possible,” the spokesperson said.

Biden praised the DOJ’s decision at the time, saying it followed through on his campaign promise to have the department work on releasing 9/11 records and doubled down on his commitment to the families of victims of the September 11 attacks.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.

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Health

In internal document about COVID-19 vaccines and delta variant, CDC says “the war has changed”

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says “the war has changed” against COVID-19 and that the agency should acknowledge that in communications, according to an internal presentation by the agency.

Data in the document, which was first obtained by The Washington Post, underscores the danger posed by the highly-contagious delta variant of the virus that was first spotted in India.

In the presentation, dated July 29, the agency does not estimate that vaccinated Americans are at a significantly greater risk of so-called “breakthrough” infections. In fact, it cites recent unpublished data from several of the CDC’s ongoing cohort studies that have scrutinized large groups of Americans suggesting vaccine effectiveness remains high months after their second shot, suggesting the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines remain 65-75% effective even against asymptomatic infection.

Public health officials have repeatedly emphasized that the vaccines provide strong protection against serious illness, hospitalization and death, even if a vaccinated person does contract the virus.

The CDC’s presentation also points to new “preliminary data” from its COVID-NET system that suggests vaccinated people remain a minority of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the United States. In May, fully vaccinated people accounted for 9% of all hospitalizations according to the document, which the presentation says reflects “increases in vaccine coverage” that are higher “in older adults.”

The CDC had previously disclosed that less than 3% of hospitalizations had occurred in fully vaccinated people.

However, the CDC also now estimates in its presentation that the Delta variant could be as transmissible as Chickenpox and far more than other diseases like Ebola or SARS-CoV-2’s original ancestral strain.

A CDC spokesperson declined to comment on the leaked document.

The agency cites data — expected to be released on Friday — from a July 4th outbreak of cases among residents and visitors to Provincetown, Massachusetts, showing the amount virus in samples collected from vaccinated and unvaccinated cases were virtually identical. That echoes previous reports from India, which the agency cites in the presentation, suggesting vaccine breakthrough cases with the delta variant could be far more transmissible than with previous mutant strains, spreading even as much as in some unvaccinated cases.

The research on the July 4th outbreak prompted federal health officials to urge even fully vaccinated Americans to wear masks indoors in areas of “substantial” or “high” spread of the virus, urge all people in schools to wear masks this fall, and revise its earlier guidance exempting many fully vaccinated people from COVID-19 testing recommendations.

Local health authorities have since tracked the outbreak from the popular Cape Cod retreat to hundreds of confirmed cases, many among fully vaccinated residents.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, also briefed members of Congress on Thursday about the new data, according to a release from the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus. Fauci warned the group that the Delta variant is “considerably more transmissible” with a viral load “about a thousand times higher” than the original strain.

The CDC had also faced growing criticism for not releasing the data driving the change behind its recent guidance, aside from citing “unpublished data.” 

Briefing reporters earlier this week about the shift in the agency’s guidance, Walensky acknowledged that their science on the risk fully vaccinated people had of spreading the virus to others — in the rare cases they had a “breakthrough” infection — had shifted.

“Public health experts, scientific experts, medical experts, when we have shown them these data have universally said that this required action. I thought and I felt that when I saw the data myself,” Walensky said.



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Health

CDC document warns Delta variant appears to spread as easily as chicken pox and cause more severe infection

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The document — a slide presentation — outlines unpublished data that shows fully vaccinated people might spread the Delta variant at the same rate as unvaccinated people.

“I think people need to understand that we’re not crying wolf here. This is serious,” she told CNN.

“It’s one of the most transmissible viruses we know about. Measles, chickenpox, this — they’re all up there.”

The CDC is scheduled to publish data Friday that will back Walensky’s controversial decision to change guidance for fully vaccinated people. She said Tuesday the CDC was recommending that even fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors in places where transmission of the virus is sustained or high.

And she said everyone in schools — students, staff and visitors — should wear masks at all times.

“The measures we need to get this under control — they’re extreme. The measures you need are extreme,” Walensky told CNN.

She said the data in the report did not surprise her. “It was the synthesis of the data all in one place that was sobering,” she said.

The CDC presentation says the Delta variant is about as transmissible as chickenpox, with each infected person, on average, infecting eight or nine others. The original lineage was about as transmissible as the common cold, with each infected person passing the virus to about two other people on average.

That infectivity is known as R0.

“When you think about diseases that have an R0 of eight or nine — there aren’t that many,” Walensky told CNN.

And if vaccinated people get infected anyway, they have as much virus in their bodies as unvaccinated people. That means they’re as likely to infect someone else as unvaccinated people who get infected.

“The bottom line was that, in contrast to the other variants, vaccinated people, even if they didn’t get sick, got infected and shed virus at similar levels as unvaccinated people who got infected,” Dr. Walter Orenstein, who heads the Emory Vaccine Center and who viewed the documents, told CNN.

But vaccinated people are safer, the document indicates.

“Vaccines prevent more than 90% of severe disease, but may be less effective at preventing infection or transmission,” it reads. “Therefore, more breakthrough and more community spread despite vaccination.”

It says vaccines reduce the risk of severe disease or death 10-fold and reduce the risk of infection three-fold.

The presentation also cites three reports that indicate the Delta variant — originally known as B.1.617.2 — might cause more severe disease.

The CDC, the document advises, should “acknowledge the war has changed.” It recommends vaccine mandates and universal mask requirements.

The virus is once against surging across the US — especially in areas where fewer people are vaccinated.

The US averaged more than 61,300 new daily cases over the last week — an average that’s generally risen since the country hit a 2021 low of 11,299 daily cases on June 22, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

“The number of cases we have now is higher than any number we had on any given day last summer,” Walensky told CNN.

As of Wednesday, cases have risen in all but one state in the past seven days compared with the week before, according to Johns Hopkins.

“The one thing I will say is I’ve been heartened in the past couple of days to see more people taking action in response to the fact that it’s bad — more organizations, businesses, states, localities taking the action that’s needed to get us out of this,” Walensky said.

The CDC document walks through new “communication challenges” as a result of breakthrough infections, along with the need to retool public health messaging to highlight vaccination as the best defense against the Delta variant.

The agency should “improve (the) public’s understanding of breakthrough infections” and “improve communications around individual risk among vaccinated,” it says.

Earlier Thursday, President Joe Biden announced a number of new steps his administration will take to try to get more Americans vaccinated, including requiring that all federal employees must attest to being vaccinated against Covid-19 or face strict protocols.

“This is an American tragedy. People are dying — and will die — who don’t have to die. If you’re out there unvaccinated, you don’t have to die,” Biden said during remarks at the White House. “Read the news. You’ll see stories of unvaccinated patients in hospitals, as they’re lying in bed dying from Covid-19, they’re asking, ‘Doc, can I get the vaccine?’ The doctors have to say, ‘Sorry, it’s too late.’ “

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

CNN’s John Bonifield contributed to this report.

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Technology

War Thunder player posts classified document to prove tank is inaccurate

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A player of free-to-play vehicular combat game War Thunder has claimed that the game’s representation of the British Challenger 2 tank is inaccurate. This is an everyday occurence for the messageboard of any videogame striving for realism.

What sets this apart is that the player claimed to be a Challenger 2 commander and proceeded to post classified documents to prove they were right.

Technology

Google’s Area 120 incubator releases a powerful AI document scanner for Android

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Google’s Area 120, an internal incubator program for experimental projects, is releasing a new app today called Stack that borrows the technology underlying the search giant’s powerful DocAI enterprise tool for document analysis. The end result is a consumer document scanner app for Android that Google says vastly improves over your average mobile scanner by auto-categorizing documents into the titular stacks and enabling full text search through the contents of the documents and not just the title.

“I joined Google a couple of years ago when my education startup, Socratic, was acquired. At Socratic, we used Google’s computer vision and language understanding to make learning easier for high school students. I wondered if we could apply the same technologies to make organizing documents easier,” said Christopher Pedregal, the team lead on Stack, in a statement.

Following the acquisition, Pedregal and his colleague Matthew Cowan joined Google’s Area 120, where they came up with an app that could use DocAI and its artificial intelligence technology to improve the process of scanning receipts, bills, and other important documents. The app uses Google’s biometric authentication on Android, so you can secure sensitive documents behind face or fingerprint scanning to unlock the software. It also automatically creates fields for scanned bills so you can fill in due dates and other important info.

The app, like so many of Google’s experimental (and sometimes even not-so-experimental) efforts, is getting released in the hopes it catches on and not with any real concrete business model attached or a definite roadmap. Pedregal stresses that “it’s early days” for Stack, which means the app can “still get things wrong.” It also means it could, at a moment’s notice, get sent to the Google Graveyard — though, presumably, with the option to export your documents if that does happen at some point in the future.

That said, it seems like a powerful alternative to a normal document scanner, and few companies are better than Google at understanding text and recognizing images. So it’s certainly worth a shot if you’re in the market for a better way to organize your real-world paper.

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