Plans to help tackle so-called “fake news” have been announced by the BBC and some of the biggest names in journalism and technology.
The new measures include an early warning system for use during elections or when lives may be at risk, extra online education and improved access to impartial resources for voters.
Major publishers, Google, Twitter and Facebook have helped devise the scheme.
The BBC said the moves were “crucial steps” in fighting disinformation.
Other recent events such as this year’s Indian elections have also highlighted the dangers of disinformation and the risk it poses to democracy.
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Earlier this summer, the BBC convened a Trusted News Summit, bringing together senior figures from major global technology firms and publishing to help tackle the problem.
The group drew-up new plans including:
Early warning system: creating a system so that organisations can alert each other rapidly when they discover disinformation that threatens human life or disrupts democracy during elections. The emphasis will be on moving quickly and collectively to undermine disinformation before it can take hold.
Media education: a joint online media education campaign to support and promote media education messages.
Voter information: co-operation on civic information around elections, so there is a common way to explain how and where to vote.
Shared learning: particularly around high-profile elections.
BBC Director General Tony Hall said: “Disinformation and so-called fake news is a threat to us all. At its worst, it can present a serious threat to democracy and even to people’s lives.
“This summit has shown a determination to take collective action to fight this problem and we have agreed some crucial steps towards this.”
We saw numerous Pixel 3 leaks before the handset was officially unveiled and so far it’s been the same story with the Pixel 4: another unauthorized image has hit the web, this one showing off a rather eye-catching orange color.
As spotted by tipster Ben Geskin, the image appeared on Chinese social network Weibo, and based on the text accompanying the picture, this color could be named coral.
Alongside the coral handset we’ve got the more conventional black and white, so it looks like you’ve got a choice of three colors to pick from if you’re buying a PIxel 4 this year – though of course nothing is certain until Google makes its announcements.
The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are currently available in black, white, and “not pink” direct from Google, while the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL come in black, white, and “purple-ish”. It would seem that three color approach will be continued here.
(Image credit: @BenGeskin / Weibo)
Even just in the last few days we’ve heard plenty of details about what’s coming with the Pixel 4 and the Pixel 4 XL – it’s likely to come with 6GB of RAM and a Snapdragon 855 processor on the inside.
One of the biggest upgrades from last year is going to be with the rear-facing camera. A dual-lens snapper is rumored, complete with as much as 8x zoom, improved night photography, and some special action shooting modes.
Numerous photos and videos of the handsets have leaked out as well, showing off a rather hefty top bezel and a smaller chin, as well as the square rear camera housing (a feature Google confirmed with its own sneak preview).
We’re also going to see a feature called Motion Sense, made possible by the Soli motion-sensing radar Google has been working on: it’ll enable you to control your phone without actually touching it.
World of Warcraft Classic has been hit by DDoS attacks this weekend, which started on Saturday, and although Blizzard says the issues are now resolved, some players are still reporting that they are unable to log in on certain servers.
As Kotaku reports, these DDoS attacks began at around 11 AM ET (3pm UK time) yesterday, with a group going by the name of UKDrillas claiming responsibility, stating on Twitter that they would cycle through WoW Classic servers with their DDoS fire (the group’s Twitter account has since been suspended).
Blizzard didn’t confirm that this organization was responsible, but did announce that there were DDoS disruptions affecting some of its player base on Twitter.
Some online services continue to be impacted by a series of DDoS attacks which are resulting in high latency and disconnections. These disruption effects have been felt by a portion of our players, impacting their gaming experience. Thank you again for your continued patience.September 7, 2019
According to the chatter that followed from players on Twitter, the effects were widespread, and the group targeted more than just Classic servers eventually, hitting normal WoW servers too.
Blizzard customer service tweeted seven hours ago (from the time of writing) to say: “All WoW Realms except Rattlegore are back online and stable. The investigation continues for that realm. Some players may experience persistent login issues until realm maintenance tomorrow morning.”
And the company followed that tweet an hour later with a statement claiming that everything had been resolved: “Rattlegore is now stabilized as well. Thank you everyone for your patience.”
All is not well?
While some gamers are indeed finding that everything is fine now, a number of players commenting on that latest Twitter post are reporting that they are still having issues logging in, or that they might be able to login, but still can’t get into the actual game.
Can’t get into Dalaran. Can get to character list but can’t get on to a character.September 8, 2019
Other reports indicate issues still persisting in the US, the Oceanic region, and Malaysia, with some gamers also complaining that they can’t log in to Battle.net at all.
Hopefully any remaining problems will be resolved in short order – there is a scheduled realm maintenance happening at 7am PT (2pm UK time) for an hour, so with any luck, any gremlins that may still be in the works will be stamped out by the time servers come back up.
Other chatter online has linked UKDrillas to DDoS attacks on Twitch servers earlier this weekend, and even this weekend’s Wikipedia outage, but no official confirmation has been given as to whether or not that’s true on any count (including by Blizzard).
For years, musicians Mike Einziger and Ann Marie Calhoun wanted to provide music fans a better sound experience when they were on tour. Sure, fans who got front-row seats had a great experience, but what about the fans who sat behind the speakers or those sitting in the back? Most of the time all those folks can hear is the people around them.
It was a problem that plagued Calhoun and Einziger when they were on tour with Hans Zimmer, and one that didn’t seem to have a good universal solution that could work in every venue around the world. So they made one.
The culmination of Calhoun and Einziger’s work is called Mixhalo – a software solution that interfaces directly to a venue’s soundboard and broadcasts the mix locally to anyone with an app at the show through a private wireless network. It’s a platform that could radically change how you’ll listen to artists at venues all across the US – and, if things go well, all across the world.
Music for the masses
The benefits of Mixhalo are pretty obvious to anyone who’s ever sat in the back of a crowded arena during a show: the app allows you to hear more of the music and less of the crowd.
But, according to the two co-founders and its CEO Marc Ruxin, it’s more than that: It’s not only about balancing the scales of auditoriums and giving everyone a chance to hear quality music, but it also allows fans to still hear the music if they need to get up out of their seats and, at a big festival like Coachella, Lollapalooza or Outside Lands, to hear what’s happening on other stages.
And so far, it seems people like what they hear – the company has already announced a $10.7 million Series A financing led by Foundry Group and has worked with globally recognized acts like Bruno Mars and Metallica – the latter of whom, Calhoun and Einziger told us, actually used Mixhalo to showcase every individual instrument by creating a separate stream in the app.
Mixhalo antennas were attached to the poles in the center of festival as well as the outer edges.
(Image credit: Future)
The magic behind Mixhalo is the local wireless network that it sets up at each venue. Once you’re within range of the network, the free downloadable app on your phone will show you the different stages available, and you can connect to a live feed from the soundboard. Plug a pair of headphones into your phone and you’ll hear the music from the stage in real time.
The technology’s biggest public demonstration happened earlier this year at Aerosmith’s live show in Las Vegas where Mixhalo teamed up with audio brand THX, but the team plans on taking it festivals all across the US – including last month’s Outside Lands festival in San Francisco where we were able to go hands on with the audio app and meet its co-founders.
Front-row sound from the back of a festival
So how exactly can you use the app? Well before anyone arrived at the festival Mixhalo and its core team arrived to setup. They needed to install a number of antennas in sections of San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Park and create the network that we’d later use to hear the bands on stage through the app.
“Knowing the challenge of building a technology platform that could deliver this experience to every fan in venues of all sizes, I was skeptical it could be done,” said Ryan McIntyre, managing director of Foundry Group, the company that’s helped Mixhalo raise funding.
“However, once I experienced Mixhalo at the tiny Fox Theater in Boulder and then at the Aerosmith show in Las Vegas, I was convinced of the technology.”
Situated all around the show’s main stage and two side stages the antennas would provide a sort of wireless mesh for the app to tap into. As long as you stood within the covered area and had the app turned on, you could tune into any one of the venue’s stages. Unfortunately that means that you’re unable to tune into a concert while you’re at home but, according to Mixhalo’s team, it’s better like that as they’d have to negotiate streaming rights for every show.
By the time we arrived at Outside Lands, everything was setup and fully functioning and all we needed to do is pop open the app the see the stages. Once we picked a stage, we popped on a pair of headphones and could hear the music coming from that stage in real-time and seemingly Hi Res quality.
It’s a pretty elegant solution for a complex problem… mostly.
(Image credit: Future)
It’s not all music to our ears
Of course, setting up a wireless network the size of Golden Gate Park comes with its own set of challenges – some of which Mixhalo is still ironing out the kinks for.
One of its biggest issues is that the antennas that broadcast the signal are obviously limited in number and range – meaning in some areas the app has spotty reception and in others there’s no reception at all. When that happens the Mixhalo app will tell you that you’ve lost connection and tells you to move closer to an antenna.
Mixhalo, both the company and the app, also needs to borrow a small amount of bandwidth from the venue that’s hosting the event. In the case of Outside Lands, the team piggybacked off the vendor network, a good solution, but one that could present a challenge in which there’s limited connectivity.
You also can’t ignore that the antennas are a big part of the solution. They’ll need to be at every show that wants to use Mixhalo – which means they’ll need to be transported and setup ahead of the show. That means planning time, coordination and collaboration between Mixhalo’s team and the venue.
That said, all this falls on the shoulders of Marc Ruxin’s team – besides the dropped signal, these aren’t things that you as a concert-goer have to care about; as long as there’s signal, you get front-row sound anywhere in the venue.
It’s nice to be able to walk away to grab a beer or use the bathroom and still hear the music.
(Image credit: Future)
The future of live audio
The Mixhalo demonstration we went to centered around live concerts, which makes sense given its founders backgrounds – Calhoun is a world-renowned violinist and key collaborator with Hans Zimmer for a number of his movie soundtracks while Einziger is the lead guitarist and co-founder of the band Incubus.
And yet, while live concerts present a good opportunity for Mixhalo, both founders say that concert venues are just the beginning – they see a future in using Mixhalo as a way to listen to sports games, eSports tournaments, business conferences and other public events, all of which could make use of Mixhalo.
There’s also been talk of integrating the Mixhalo app into a pair of headphones, though, Calhoun and Einziger still encourage people to bring their own headphones for the time being. “We don’t want to force people to spend a lot of money to get this experience,” Calhoun told us. “We want everyone to be able to access it with whichever headphones they already own.”
With that said, if you see pairs of headphones at the next festival you go to, you’ll know why.
So here she is again – Serena Williams is back in the Arthur Ashe Stadium for her tenth(!) US Open women’s final. And that means she’s only two sets away from finally equalling Margaret Court’s record of tennis Grand Slam singles titles. Canadian Bianca Andreescu is the player to beat and you can see the outcome of this one by following our guide to getting a Williams vs Andreescu live stream today.
US Open 2019 – where and when
The US Open is taking place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City.
The women’s final takes place today (Saturday, September 7) with the action scheduled to start at 4pm local time, so that’s 1pm PT, 9pm BST and 6am AEST.
Last year’s final was one to forget for Serena – it was actually rather sad seeing her unravel in front of the partisan home crowd. But we all know just how good this legend of the game is and, at 37-years-old she will be as determined as ever to lift the US Open title for the seventh time in her extraordinary career.
It was Naomi Osaka standing in her way last year and this time around her opponent is even younger – the 19-year-old Bianca Andreescu from north of the border. While Serena will of course be favorite, the Canadian will recall with relish that she came out victorious in their only match to date. OK, so that was by default when Serena retired hurt during their Rogers Cup final match last month. But Andreescu will need to take every mental positive she can get going into this one.
Make sure you don’t miss any of the 2019 US Open women’s final – follow our Serena Williams vs Bianca Andreescu live stream guide below – it doesn’t even matter where on Earth you are.
Live stream US Open tennis 2019 from outside your country
For your watching options in the US, UK (where interestingly Amazon Prime video has the rights), Australia, Canada and New Zealand, we have more details below – just scroll down the page.
But if you try to watch your domestic coverage of this final from somewhere outside your home country, you’ll soon find a problem…geo-blocking. That’s where the broadcaster prevents you from watching the feed overseas.
The best way to clear this net is to download and install a VPN (click the link if you’re a bit unsure of what that is). We’ve tested all of the major VPN services and we rate ExpressVPN as the absolute best. It’s compatible with loads of devices (e.g. Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox and PS4) and streaming services, ranks amongst the fastest and most secure, and even has an available 30-day money back guarantee so that you can effectively try before you buy.
So that’s game, set and match for Express – but there are other fantastic VPN options out there as well:
1. ExpressVPN: the best all-round VPN for streaming, comes with 30-day free trial and three months FREEwith a one-year sub
2. NordVPN: SmartPlay tech makes NordVPN a great choice for streaming
3. IPVanish supports up to 10 devices, so great on the go
And don’t forget that a VPN isn’t just for watching tennis. From unblocking restricted sites and watching Netflix in other territories, to adding an extra layer of security for online shopping and banking, it’s not hard to see why their popularity is increasing. Ace!
How to watch Serena in the final in the US
ESPN has the rights to show the big Williams vs Andreescu final and the action is set to kick off at 4pm ET / 1pm PT. For live streaming on the move, subscribers should watch via the ESPN app or WatchESPN.com.
And if you’re a cord cutter that wants to catch the tennis without signing up to a lengthy, expensive plan, you could always try one of these sports streaming sites. They all have free trials going for them, too:
The best way to watch Andreescu in Canada
In Canada the US Open is being covered by TSN and RDS, but again, these are subscription services.
Using a VPN is the way to go if you want to access an account when you’re overseas.
How to live stream US Open tennis in the UK – for FREE
Amazon Prime again has exclusive rights to broadcast the US Open tennis in the UK. That means Amazon Prime members can live stream all the action at no additional cost, with coverage of the finals starting at 9pm BST.
If you want to stream the tennis from your phone or tablet, the Amazon Prime Video app is available for Android via Google Play and Apple devices via the App Store.
Amazon Prime membership costs £79 per year or £7.99 per month, which can be cancelled at any time. The subscription will get you access to Amazon’s library of TV shows and films as well as unlimited one-day delivery on Amazon orders from the UK.
New users can sign up for a free 30-day trial with full access to live sports coverage as well as free one-day delivery on purchases from Amazon’s online store during that time.
Not in the UK but still want to watch the tennis on your Prime account. Then you best option is to download and install a VPN and then log in to a UK IP address.
How to live stream Williams vs Andreescu in Australia
ESPN HD via Foxtel will broadcasting live US Open action.
Kayo Sports will also be on hand with extensive live coverage of the tournament. The streaming service features no lock-in contracts and also includes access to over 50 sports, both live and on demand.
Kayo Sports Basic Package costs $25 per month and allows users to stream across two devices simultaneously. Alternatively, the service also offers a Kayo Sports Premium Package, which provides three concurrent streams for $35 per month.
For those wanting to watch the Fox or Kayo Sports subscription coverage overseas, you’ll need to go down the VPN route as above.
The best way to stream Williams vs Andreescu live in New Zealand
In New Zealand you’re going to be able to catch all the action on Sky NZ, although again, this is a paid service.
If you want to catch it but are out of New Zealand over the fortnight, you can use a VPN to access the tennis coverage.
Ready to rumble? UFC 242 is here and it’s one we heartily recommend that you do not miss. After Khabib Nurmagomedov destroyed the quite literally ‘Notorious’ Conor McGregor through submission last year, he immediately became the fighter everyone feared. Now, he’s back to defend his UFC Lightweight Championship belt. In other words, cancel all of your Saturday plans, watching a UFC 242 live stream should be your only goal.
With 27 wins, 0 losses and one of the most controversial feuds in UFC history under his (lightweight) belt, Khabib would need a pretty fearless fighter to take him on for his title – enter the American Dustin Poirier.
UFC 242 – where and when?
UFC 242 is on at The Arena in Abu Dhabi.
You can tune in to watch the coverage with the the main card for UFC 242 starting at 2pm ET, 11am PT (so 7pm BST or 4am AEST).
Poirier might not have quite the impressive track record Khabib has, but after leaving Max Holloway in the dust back in April he’s proved he is the person to take on Khabib. Especially as he holds the interim UFC Lightweight title.
And it’s not just today’s main fight to get hyped about. Watching a UFC 242 live stream will mean catching Edson Barboza vs Paul Felder, a fight that really began back in July, 2015 when the two fighters first went head-to-head, with Barboza pulling out a unanimous win. Now, Felder is back for blood. And not to mention ‘The Tasmanian Devil’ Davi Ramos vs Islam Makhachev, two well matched fighters, likely to push way into the rounds in a fist for fist marathon. In other words, UFC 242 is looking like a event you will not want to miss.
No matter what weight class, which fighter or which style you’re there for, we’ll show you how to live stream UFC 242’s main card today from anywhere in the world.
Live stream UFC 242 from outside your country
Worry not if you’re a huge UFC fan but aren’t in the country to watch UFC 242 today. If you find the coverage is geo-blocked, you can try using a VPN to change your IP address to a country where the fights are airing and watch this week’s main card just as if you were back at home.
Virtual Private Networks are also handy if you’re concerned about streaming safely on the web, thanks to the encryption they use to hide your details. And the best won’t log your personal information, either. We’ve tested hundreds of VPNs and can recommend these as the best VPN options currently available:
1. Express VPN (comes with a 30 day money back guarantee) Simply put, this is our pick as the #1 VPN in the world right now. You can watch on many devices at once including Smart TVs, Fire TV Stick, PC, Mac, iPhone, Android phone, iPads, tablets etc. Check out Express VPN and get 3 months FREE on an annual plan.
2. NordVPN:SmartPlay tech makes NordVPN a great, affordable choice for streaming
3. IPVanish supports up to 10 devices, so great on the go
How to watch UFC 242 online in the US exclusively on ESPN
Since January 2019, ESPN+ has held the exclusive rights to show every single UFC event in the US – and of course that includes UFC 242.
How much that costs depends on whether or not you already subscribe to the service. If you don’t, then the best way to go is with a UFC Bundle, costing you $79.99. That won’t just buy you the UFC 242 PPV, but you’ll get a year-long subscription to ESPN+ (that would normally cost $50 alone).
For all of the UFC fans in the UK there is some good news and bad news. The good news is that BT Sport will be exclusively airing the event so it is easy to find a stream.
The bad news is that this is a pay-per-view event only, meaning you will have to cough up £19.95 to live stream UFC 242.
You’ll need to head to BT Sport Box Office to buy the pay-per-view. The coverage is available on services and devices like Sky, Virgin TV, Google Chromecast and Apple Airplay.
If that’s a bit too late for you, don’t worry as BT Sport also offers spoiler-free replays every three hours beginning at 9am on Sunday, 8 September until midnight on Monday, 9 September.
If you’re a BT Sport subscriber but find yourself outside the UK and want to tune in, it’s simple to do with a handy tool – simply grab a VPN and follow the instructions above to live stream the action.
(Image credit: Future)
Watch a UFC 242 stream in Australia
For those trying to catch UFC 242 in Australia, Main Event will be the place to go. As a pay-per-view over in Australia, It will cost you $54.95 to catch the event.
The event will be airing Down Under on the Sunday, September 8 at 4am and then will be replaying at 12pm, 6pm and every 6 hours from midnight.
IFA is always a great time to check out the latest in headphones, speakers, soundbars (and just about any other audio gadgets you can think of), and IFA 2019 was no exception.
We didn’t see much in the way of groundbreaking, never-seen-before innovation; instead, the pervading trend at IFA 2019 was for brands big and small to build on their existing technology, making their products better than ever before.
So, without further ado, here’s the very best audio technology we saw at Europe’s biggest tech show this year.
(Image credit: Future)
The best speaker: Sonos Move
Sonos has everything from soundbars to imposing architectural wireless speakers, but until now, it’s never released a portable Bluetooth speaker.
Having waited this long, Sonos needed to release something really special to fill this gap in its range, and it has – the Sonos Move impressed us with its flexibility, ranging from on-the-go portable playback to being part of an in-the-home multi room set-up.
The best soundbar: Anker Nebula Soundbar – Fire TV Edition
Not content with being embedded into smartphones, tablets, web browsers and your home’s smart speakers, Amazon is continuing its push into televisions – and surprisingly, soundbars.
The Anker Nebula Soundbar – Fire TV Edition comes with Fire TV built-in, so that means you can use it to watch Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, and more. It also contains the smarts of Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa, so you can navigate your TV with your voice alone.
Sound-wise, it’s got dual built-in subwoofers, so it should sound pretty bassy, while a 2:1 channel design means you get room-filling sound.
(Image credit: Audio-Technica)
The best turntable: Audio-Technica AT-LP5x
We’ve had only the briefest of sessions with the AT-LP5x, but even at this early stage it’s hard to find fault – there’s a commitment to good materials, the ability to digitalize your records, and a flexibility for adding other audio components of your choice that makes for a turntable that will grow along with your love of vinyl.
The lack of Bluetooth connectivity may put off those who want to avoid frustrating their speaker setup with annoying cables, but even so, that wired connectivity is usually seen as a plus within the audiophile community, many of whom believe it offers a higher level of audio quality.
Sony has a fantastic reputation for creating outstanding noise-canceling headphones, and the brand is hoping for another win with its new WI-1000XM2 wireless neckband earbuds.
The new headphones build on the class-leading design of their predecessors, packing in an updated noise -cancelation processor – the same one that’s used in our all-time favorite true wireless earbuds, the Sony WF-1000XM3s.
Noise cancelation is excellent, and the sound quality on offer appears to be very good indeed based on the short time we spent testing them – battery life could be better, though.
You may be surprised to find a TV in an audio round up, but the Philips OLED+984 is like no other, sporting the most advanced sound system ever fitted to a television.
The OLED+984 immediately sets itself apart from your average set thanks to a protruding tubular tweeter enclosure that nestles above a hanging soundbar-style main driver array – created in partnership with British audio specialist Bowers & Wilkins.
That unique design means that you don’t need to shell out for an additional soundbar, making it easier than ever before to achieve a fantastic home cinema setup in your living room.
