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Thursday, 3 October 2019

Yippie-Ki-Yay, the Illustrated Die Hard Christmas Book Is Back On Sale For $10

I realize it’s early October, but this illustrated Die Hard Christmas book is a great read all year long, and at $11, it’s within about $1 of an all-time low price. Even if it lives in your Christmas decoration storage box for 11 months of the year, it could still be worth grabbing with this sale.

Apple Bans App That Allowed Hong Kong Protestors to Track Police Movements

Apple has reportedly banned an app that allows Hong Kong protestors to track protests and police movements in the city state, despite increasing international condemnation against the violence used by the authorities.

According to The Register, Apple has told the makers of the HKmap Live app that it can't be allowed in the App Store because it helps protestors to evade the police.

"Your app contains content - or facilitates, enables, and encourages an activity - that is not legal ... specifically, the app allowed users to evade law enforcement," the American tech giant told makers of the HKmap Live on Tuesday before pulling it.

Opposition to the Chinese state and the Hong Kong authorities has grown louder, driven by an escalation in violence against protestors over the past week. On Wednesday, thousands of people took to the streets of Hong Kong to denounce the shooting of an unarmed teenage student by police.

Tsang Chi-kin was shot in the chest at point-blank range on Tuesday. He remains in hospital in stable but critical condition after surgery to remove the bullet, which narrowly missed his heart.

The rise in police violence has led protesters to make use of digital networking and collaborative tools to organize street gatherings, with services like HKmap Live being used to help them avoid what they perceive as government-orchestrated attacks.

This isn't the first time Apple has acted to remove apps from the App Store to abide by Chinese law. In July 2017, Apple removed the majority of VPN apps from the App Store in China, following regulations passed earlier in the year that require such apps to be authorized by the Chinese government.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tags: App Store, China, Hong Kong

This article, "Apple Bans App That Allowed Hong Kong Protestors to Track Police Movements" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories https://ift.tt/2nYiqaC

Facebook Must Delete Content Globally If It's Considered Defamatory in Europe, Top EU Court Rules

The top court in the European Union has ruled Facebook must delete content globally, not just in Europe, if a European court decides that the content is defamatory. The case was brought by an Austrian politician who said that a Facebook user had defamed and insulted her by writing she was a “corrupt oaf,” among other…

Mario Kart Tour is Nintendo's Biggest Mobile Launch to Date With 90 Million Downloads in First Week

Nintendo's latest smartphone app Mario Kart Tour has been downloaded over 90 million times since it launched last week, according to new download estimates shared by Sensor Tower.

The number eclipses both Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp and Super Mario Run, which were downloaded a respective 14.3 million times and just under 13 million times in their debut week, making Mario Kart Tour Nintendo's biggest mobile game launch to date.

Breaking down the figure across platforms, the free-to-play game was downloaded 36.5 million times on iOS devices, while the Android version was downloaded 53.3 million times.

In terms of overall revenue driven by in-app purchases, Mario Kart Tour earned $12.7 million, so it hasn't reached the heights of Fire Emblem Heroes, which earned Nintendo $28.2 million in its first week. Super Mario Run meanwhile clocked up $16.1 million in its debut week, making Mario Kart Tour the company's third-biggest game.

Across platforms, $9.6 million (75.5 percent) was spent in-game by iOS device users, while Android IAPs amounted to $3.1 million (24.5 percent). Most spending occurred in the U.S. with $5.8 million, followed by Japan ($4 million) and France ($752,000).

Announced in January 2018, Mario Kart Tour was delayed several times before its debut last week. The game features an optional "Gold Pass" subscription, which introduces various in-game items and badges and also unlocks the faster 200cc mode. Nintendo is offering a two-week free trial, after which it costs $4.99 a month.

Mario Kart Tour is a free download from the App Store, requires iOS 10 or later to play, and officially supports iPhone 5s or iPad Air and later devices. A Nintendo Account is also required to play the game. [Direct Link]

Tags: Nintendo, Sensor Tower

This article, "Mario Kart Tour is Nintendo's Biggest Mobile Launch to Date With 90 Million Downloads in First Week" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories https://ift.tt/2pEinRJ

Wednesday, 2 October 2019

The Filmmaker Behind How to Train Your Dragon Will Venture to Treasure Island

If there’s one thing we know for a fact that filmmaker Dean DeBlois can do, it’s bring sweeping adventures on land, air, and sea to life on the screen—and that’s what he’ll soon try to do with a literary classic.