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Over a year after Capcom first confirmed a sequel was coming for Dragon's Dogma, there's finally a release date. Capcom has announced Dragon's Dogma 2 will arrive on March 22, 2024, on the Xbox Series X and Series S, the PlayStation 5 and PC. There's also a new trailer to give you a better look at what to expect from the sequel.

Dragon's Dogma 2 comes 12 years after the original game came into the world. While there were issues like a mediocre interface, the game provided a detailed, customizable story that found a devoted fan base. 

The sequel takes place in a parallel world to the original, following Arisen who had his heart stolen by the Dragon. As Capcom explains, "Queen Regent Disa has installed a false Arisen to maintain control of the kingdom of Vermund for her son. Meanwhile, the beastren nation of Battahl considers the otherworldly Pawns to be a source of misfortune and have turned to worship of the Lambent Flame and their empress Nadinia to ward off calamity." You can play as Arisen or as Main Pawn — whose personality is customizable. Dragon's Dogma 2 also introduces new monsters, such as the towering Golem named Talos. 

While there are still a few months until gameplay can commence, you can officially pre-order Dragon's Dogma 2 now. The standard version retails for $70 and includes a bonus weapon for each starting vocation in pre-order. The Deluxe Edition is available for $80 and has a "New Journey Pack" with items like a custom camping kit and Rift Crystals — plus the Ring of Assurance for pre-orders.

As December nears every year, Spotify reveals all of the artists, genres, songs and podcasts you listened to most in the last 12 months. The 2023 installment of the streaming service's Wrapped year-in-review debuts today on the Spotify app with an all-new design alongside the familiar story-style format. For the first time in a while, you can also view your streaming stats on desktop via the web. As always, the company gives you a look at what you listened to most during the year with a few new additions to freshen up the annual tradition. 

Spotify has been giving you a list of your top artists, genres, songs and podcasts for a while now, but this year the company will assign one of 12 "listening characters" that best fits your streaming habit. The feature is called Me in 2023 and those "characters" range from the Shapeshifter, someone who moves from one artists to another quickly, to the Alchemist, someone who's more prone to create their own playlists. Another new tool called Sound Town matches you to a city based on your listening and top artists. For example, if you stream a lot of Bad Bunny and Peso Pluma, the app will pair you up with Mexico City. 

Spotify

In terms of the usual lists, Spotify has given them a refresh to make things a bit more interesting. Your top five artists will now also show you when your listening peaked for each one and next week Spotify's AI DJ will to give you commentary about those top artists, genres and songs on your lists. Spotify has also integrated its Blend tool with Wrapped so you can easily see how you match up with friends with a mix all of the music you listened to most. Artist Messages also return, with over 40,000 of them giving users shout-outs if they're one of your top listens. 

Of course, Spotify is also using Wrapped to reveal the platform's most-streamed artists, songs, albums and podcasts — both globally and in the US. 2023 was truly the Taylor Swift era as she took the stop spot on both the global and US artist charts. "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus was the most popular song globally while Morgan Wallen's "Last Night" was tops in the States. Un Verano Sin Ti by Bad Bunny was the most-streamed album around the world, but Wallen's One Thing At A Time was the biggest in the US. And in the least surprising development ever, Joe Rogan's podcast was once again the most popular on both the global and United States charts. It's the fourth year in a row The Joe Rogan Experience has been the top show of the year on the global chart. That's a stat the polarizing host is sure to mention as his current contract with the service is almost up. 

Spotify Wrapped is now available inside the company's iOS and Android apps as well as the desktop and mobile web. As is typically the case, a lot of the content is shareable, so get ready for your social channels to be flooded with Wrapped lists and graphics for the rest of the week. If you're an Apple Music listener, that service's Rewind tool is already available reliving 2023 on that platform. 

Unity Software is eliminating 3.8 percent of its global workforce and terminating an agreement with VFX company Weta as part of a "reset," Reuters has reported. The news follows some severe turbulence in the company, after it imposed and then partially walked back a controversial runtime fee for its game engine. Last month, John Riccitiello stepped down as president and CEO of the company after nine years in leadership. 

Some 265 employees will be laid off, all related to Unity's professional services agreement struck as part of its purchase of Weta Digital's technology and engineering division back in 2021. Employees will have only a week to wrap up before their positions are fully terminated, according to FX Guide — a tough blow just before Christmas. In a statement, Weta FX said it will extend offers to as many affected employees as possible.

Unity will close offices in up to 14 locations including Berlin and Singapore, pending consultation with employees in some locations, while reducing its office footprint in San Francisco and Belleview, Washington. The company will no longer require that employees work from offices three days a week and will reduce "full in-office services" to three days a week.

After Unity's acquisition, Weta FX (the film industry VFX division) split off into a new and separate company. Unity, meanwhile, acquired Weta engineers along with tools for pipelines and FX, Weta's data platform, a library of assets and more. "Unity will retain ownership of the technology it acquired from Wētā in December 2021 and will be evaluating the best way to enhance its offerings with it over time. The technology will also remain fully available to Weta FX," Weta said in a statement. 

Just a month ago, Unity rolled out some significant concessions to its developer pricing model after widespread backlash over its plan to charge developers for game installations. The move will directly impact developers, publishers and distributors. The upheaval of Unity’s business model came at the same time as a series of massive layoffs. In 2023, the company reduced its headcount three times in an attempt to cut costs. CEO John Riccitiello, who took much of the brunt of the criticism, stepped down last month and was replaced by former IBM president James Whitehurst, who is serving as an interim CEO. 

Eduards Sizovs is the founder of DevTernity, a software development conference that had to cancel its most recent event. Mostly because the lineup included female speakers who, under closer inspection, turned out to be fictional. But this may not be the first time Sizovs has invented a woman, and he might also be behind a massively popular coding influencer.

Coding_Unicorn has over 115,000 Instagram followers and purports to be run by Julia Kirsina, who shares tips on software development below her selfies. 404 Media has posted evidence connecting her to Sizovs, suggesting the account is a sock puppet. Evidence includes images from a YouTube video showing Sizovs logged in to her email account, and that a lot of her posts mirror ones posted by Sizovs.

— Dan Cooper

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Google's first geothermal energy project is up and running

It produces 3.5 megawatts of electricity.

Google / Fervo Energy

Google is showing off a first-of-its-kind enhanced geothermal energy plant in Nevada, which is now operational. The search giant, in partnership with clean power startup Fervo Energy, dug a pair of narrow wells in the desert, 8,000 feet deep. When filled with cold water, the resulting steam is powerful enough to run a turbine generating 3.5 megawatts around the clock.

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Ayaneo's Macintosh-inspired mini PC starts at $149 with internals to match

It makes no sense, but that doesn’t stop me wanting one.

Ayaneo

Ayaneo’s next project is the AM01, a small form factor PC with a case that sorta looks like an original Apple Mac. The handheld gaming pioneer isn’t going to blow too many socks off with the specs, with the $149 base model packing a Ryzen 3 3200U, 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. But, and I cannot stress this enough, it does look cute.

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IKEA's new smart home sensors focus on safety and avoiding water damage

Yes, even IKEA makes a water leak sensor now.

IKEA

IKEA may not be the first name you think of in the smart home space, but it has quietly built up an impressive suite of tools. The latest additions to its range include window and door sensors as well as a water leak detector, all of which are compatible with its most recent hub. And while the US pricing hasn’t been announced, all the units are so cheap in Europe they’re a no-brainer.

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Meta pauses Quest 3 Elite Battery Strap sales, reportedly due to a charging flaw

It also had issues with the Quest 2 Elite strap.

Meta

Meta has paused sales of its Elite Strap with Battery for the Quest 3, citing a firmware-related charging defect. It says, when fixed, it’ll replace already-sold units, as and when buyers contact the company. The strap is meant to boost battery life by two hours on the standalone VR headset, but users have found it stops charging earlier than expected.

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There's a lot of bad stuff on the internet, but memes tend to be a bright, silly light in digital interactions. Now, they might be even easier to access and create thanks to Google Registry launching a new top-level domain type: .meme. That's right, forget .com or .org, you can lean right into the jokes and get a meme-centric domain. According to Google, ".meme domains are meant to spread humor, ideas, style, and culture. Use it to show your audience that you're in the present." The whole idea feels reminiscent of the early days of Tumblr. 

Google has teamed up with six companies and individuals to showcase options for using .meme. These include Know Your Meme (which highlights trending memes and history) and Tenor (for searching and creating new memes). Plus, there are another four sites devoted entirely to cat memes, including dedicated domains for both Nyan Cat and Grumpy Cat. Basically, if you want to create a lighthearted, meme-filled website, this is your chance. 

The Early Access Period (EAP) for registering a .meme domain has begun, but it includes an extra one-time fee. That additional cost will be reduced every day until December 5 at 11AM ET when .meme domains become available for a base annual price. If you're interested in buying a domain, search the name's availability at get.meme. If it's available, Google will show you a range of partners that you can purchase the domain from, such as GoDaddy.

Apple and Goldman Sachs are potentially ending their partnership four years after joining forces on an Apple credit card, The Wall Street Journal reports. The companies recently extended their agreement until 2029, but Apple proposes ending the contract in the next 12 to 15 months.

Although the pair launched a high-yield savings account in April of this year. it's likely that Goldman won't be too upset by a possible breakup. Last month, reports suggested the bank was aiming to get out of the consumer lending business. It had gone as far as to tell Apple earlier this year that it would like to get out of the agreement and approached American Express to take over its side of operations. Goldman also recently made arrangements to sell home improvement loan company Green Sky and plans to end its other credit card partnership with General Motors. Basically, Goldman tried to diversify outside of corporate and very wealthy clients. It lost billions of dollars in this attempt and is now returning to basics. The bank told employees that any layoffs would include one year's salary.

In a statement to CNBC, an Apple representative said: "Apple and Goldman Sachs are focused on providing an incredible experience for our customers to help them lead healthier financial lives. The award-winning Apple Card has seen a great reception from consumers, and we will continue to innovate and deliver the best tools and services for them."

However, Apple and Goldman's partnership was never a match made in heaven for the companies or consumers. Goldman employees were frustrated with aspects such as the payment schedule and a push for mass application approval. Customers, on the other hand, reported that the bank's customer service was a nightmare, including delayed transfers and lectures from representatives, according to The Information.

The future of Apple's credit card and high-yield savings account is uncertain. The pair are part of Apple's services sector, which is seeing growing revenue compared to reductions in its general sales. Synchrony Financial, which works with Amazon and PayPal, has been exploring the possibility of taking over Goldman's role. The company originally bid against Goldman for the program.

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Do you have a Google account you haven't checked for awhile but still want to keep? You'd better log in soon before it gets purged. Starting December 1st, 2023 (Friday), Google will begin deleting accounts that have been inactive for at least two years. The company says it's doing so for privacy reasons and no doubt to free up quite a bit of space on its servers. 

"If an account hasn’t been used for an extended period of time, it is more likely to be compromised," Google noted in May 2023. "This is because forgotten or unattended accounts often rely on old or re-used passwords that may have been compromised, haven't had two factor authentication set up, and receive fewer security checks by the user." It added that abandoned accounts are "at least 10 times less likely than active accounts to have 2-step-verification setup." 

Google will warn users before deletion via emails sent to the inactive account and another email, provided one has been set up. The policy only applies to personal and not business or education accounts, Google said. Some accounts will be exempt from deletion, including those with YouTube videos uploaded, an active paid subscription or holding gift cards. Deletion will start with accounts that have never been used, it said in May. 

To stop deletion, you'll need to sign into the inactive account and access some of the services (read or send an email, use Google Drive, watch a YouTube video, etc.). If you have anything saved in Google Photos, you'll want to access that content specifically, as Google has a separate policy for that service. "If you’re inactive in Google Photos for two years or more, all of your content may be deleted," it states. 

Google isn't alone with this policy, as since 2019, Microsoft has deleted Outlook (or related Hotmail) accounts that have been inactive for two years. In any case, it's always a good idea to backup your Google accounts using the company's Takeout feature and have a backup email for any important accounts. 

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