With the 2020 presidential election coming up, deepfakes are becoming more and more common, mostly appearing in smear or disinformation campaigns. For those of you who don’t know, a deepfake is media that has been manipulated using artificial intelligence. Recently, Microsoft has introduced a new software, called Microsoft Video Authenticator, to help spot these deepfakes. This new software analyzes each piece of media and can spot some of the tiniest discrepancies, such as grayscale elements and subtle fading that go mostly unnoticed by the human eye. Then, based on these discrepancies, the software assigns a confidence score, or a percentage chance, that the media has been manipulated in some way. And while this confidence score may not always be correct, in an age where misinformation is shared everywhere, it is good to see that someone is finally taking a stand against it.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/security/a33915066/microsoft-deepfake-detection-2020-election/

On Wednesday afternoon, Playstation held an event where they showcased some of the new games coming to their new console, the PS5, as well as the release date and price. The new console will release on November 12 in select countries (US and Canada included), and November 19 to the rest of the world. There are two different editions of the PS5, the regular PS5 (disc compatible), which will cost $499.99, and the PS5 digital edition, $399.99. Most players, such as myself, will likely opt for the digital edition, as we already download all of our games from the Playstation Store and it is $100 cheaper than the disc version. It will be interesting to see how the PS5 and the Xbox Series X do against each other, when it comes to sales, but I guess we will find out in November.

https://www.gamesradar.com/ps5-showcase-event-every-trailer-and-announcement-from-the-show/

Back in July, President Trump announced his intentions to ban the popular app, TikTok, in the United States, giving the company an ultimatum to sell by September 15th. It had long been rumored that tech giant, Microsoft, would buy the app, but TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance decided to go with another offer. On Sunday, with just two days to go before President Trump’s deadline, ByteDance reached an agreement (in principle) with Oracle to take over the app’s U.S. operations. What this means for the app’s future still remains to be seen, but to me, this seems like this could be a step in the right direction.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/tiktok-reaches-deal-oracle-n1238454?cid=eml_mrd_20200914&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Morning%20Rundown%20Sep%2014%2C%202020

In our consumption of media, we are given the illusion of choice.

Back in 1983, upwards of 50 companies owned 90% of the media in America. Today, that number is down to six. These “Big 6” corporations (Comcast, News-Corp, Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, and CBS) control almost all of what we watch, read, or listen to.

You may think that because you watch a different channel or read a different news article than your friend you are getting a more trustworthy report, but the reality is, what you are consuming is controlled by these same six companies. Some of you might think this is a non-issue, but when 90% of what we consume comes from only six companies, how can we ever trust that what they are telling us? That’s why now more than ever, it is so important to fact check and do your own research before believing it as an absolute truth.

https://www.businessinsider.com/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-america-2012-6

Telemedicine, the remote treatment and monitoring of patients, has been around for several years now, but it has never really became something that everyone used – until COVID-19. Over the course of the last few months, telemedicine has become a primary source of care for many. “Telehealth is bridging the gap between people, physicians and health systems, enabling everyone, especially symptomatic patients, to stay at home and communicate with physicians through virtual channels, helping to reduce the spread of the virus to mass populations and the medical staff on the frontlines,” said CEO and co-founder of Tyto Care, Dedi Gilad. Gilad’s statement touches on the importance of telemedicine with the pandemic, as with this method, people are able to limit close contact with others, all from the comfort of their homes.

Although telemedicine is on the rise now because of the pandemic, due to its’ convenience, don’t expect it to go away any time soon.

https://medicalfuturist.com/covid-19-was-needed-for-telemedicine-to-finally-go-mainstream/

As I am sure many of you already know, Sony is slated to come out with their new console, the Playstation 5, later this year. With this new release, Sony is adding a new 3D audio engine in order to make games feel more realistic. This engine, called Tempest 3D AudioTech, simulates sound coming from a variety of directions with algorithms and audio timing effects to make players feel as if they are fully immersed in the game. Compared to the old and current systems, this will be a huge step forward. “Back in the day if you played the game using the TV speakers, you could tell that there was one last enemy growling and hunting you down, but it was difficult to tell quite where that enemy was,” said Mark Cerny, Sony’s PS5 lead system architect. “But with 3D audio with good locality, the idea is you know the enemy is precisely there. And you turn, and you take it out.” The one downside to this though, is that you’ll need headphones or speakers that are compatible with the Tempest Engine. Casual gamers who might not be too interested in this feature can opt-out of buying the extra hardware, however, I have a feeling the hardcore gamers will have no problem spending the extra cash.

https://www.tomsguide.com/features/ps5-and-3d-audio-everything-you-need-to-know

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and having to wear masks everywhere, people are unable to unlock their iPhones or iPads using Face ID. I know first hand just how annoying this seemingly minor inconvenience can be, as over the summer I had to wear a mask for my job and was unable to unlock my phone without entering my passcode manually or taking my mask off for a quick second. Luckily, there is actually a quick fix for this problem. First, go to “Settings” and select “Face ID & Passcode”, then tap “Set Up an Alternative Appearance”. Next, fold your mask in half so it only covers half of your face and then follow the instructions given on-screen. Additionally, if the device tells you the mask is obstructing your face, move it slightly further away from the middle of your face. If this method does not work for you, you can always reset your Face ID. This method is a bit of a pain since you have to scan your face without a mask on at first, then repeat the steps from above, but this time, putting your face mask on the opposite side of your face. Hopefully this method works for you, but if not, it isn’t the end of the world.

How to Use Face ID with a Face Mask on iPhone & iPad