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Google Play has introduced a new feature called Game Trials, which will let you play a portion of paid games for free before you commit to buying them. It's now rolling out to select paid games on mobile, and it's coming soon to Google Play Games on PC. Titles that offer Game Trials will show a button marked "Try" on their profile pages. When you click it, you'll see how long you can play the game before you have to buy it. In Google's example, the survival and horror game Dredge will give you 60 minutes of free play time, after which you'll get the option to either buy the game or delete it from your device.
Google has also announced that it's releasing more paid indie games over the coming months, including Moonlight Peaks, Sledding Game and Low-Budget Repairs. It has launched a new section in the Play store, as well, to feature games optimized for Windows PCs. You can wishlist the games from that section to get a notification when they're on sale.
Finally, the company is rolling out Play Games Sidekick, the Gemini-powered Android overlay it announced last year, to select games downloaded from Play. Sidekick can show you relevant info and tools for whatever game you're playing without having to do a search query. But if you'd rather ask other people for gaming advice instead of an AI, you can also look at a game's Community Posts, a feature now available in English for select titles on
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 Weekly MLB games are set to return to the Apple TV subscription service on Friday, March 27, Apple said today. The fifth Friday Night Baseball season will begin with the Los Angeles Angels facing off against the Houston Astros, followed by the Cleveland Guardians playing against the Seattle Mariners.
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 Apple today released iOS 16.7.15, iPadOS 16.7.15, iOS 15.8.7, and iPadOS 15.8.7, updates designed for older iPhones and iPads that are not able to run newer versions of iOS and iPadOS.
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Google announced a new set of AI updates on Tuesday, embedding its Gemini assistant into Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive. The rollout aims to transform these apps from passive tools into "active collaborators" that can draft documents, build complex spreadsheets, and design presentations by pulling data directly from a user's emails, chats, and files. From […]
The post Google Expands Gemini AI Across Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive to Speed Up Workflows appeared first on eWEEK.
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Happy MacBook Neo launch day! Apple's $599 notebook is finally here, and we picked one up to take a look at the new machine and share some first impressions.
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Microsoft first debuted its full screen Xbox experience for Windows in the ROG Ally Xbox handheld, in a bid to compete with Steam's nearly 15-year-old Big Picture Mode. That Xbox interface eventually made its way to other Windows 11 gaming portables last year. Today at GDC, Microsoft revealed that its big screen Xbox UI is headed to all Windows 11 devices (including laptops and desktops) in April. Oh yah, and it's now simply called "Xbox Mode."
Xbox Mode will only be available in select markets at first, and Microsoft describes it as bringing "a controller-optimized experience to your Windows 11 device, letting players browse their library, launch games, use Game Bar and switch between apps." You know, just like Steam Big Picture mode. Microsoft didn't have much else to share about optimizations in Xbox Mode, but when it debuted the feature for Windows 11 Insiders last fall, the company noted that its task switcher will let people quickly move between games, as well as their apps.
Microsoft revealed at GDC today that it plans to start sending Project Helix
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The Grammarly Expert Review feature included the names of writers and literary figures without consulting them first.
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Adobe unveils an AI Assistant for Photoshop and upgrades Firefly, letting users edit images with prompts, voice commands, and new generative AI tools.
The post 7 New AI Tools in Photoshop That Let You Edit Photos With Simple Prompts appeared first on eWEEK.
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A new company called Musical Beings has officially unveiled the Tembo, which might be the cutest drum machine ever made. Just look at this thing! It's got a wooden chassis that resembles a standard drum machine, but with one key difference. The sequencer is tactile. Users arrange beats by placing magnetic pucks that trigger samples.
This seems like a really good way to introduce the basics of sequencing and beatmaking to kids and young adults, being that DAWs and grooveboxes can feature a steep learning curve. The sequencer isn't all that different from what's found on a typical groovebox, but the analog nature of it seems novel.
The company says it designed Tembo to "enable everyone to create music from the very first touch." Co-founder David Davidov told MusicRadar that most instruments take "so long to get to the fun part" and that Musical Beings wanted to "help people experience music as something they do, not just something they listen to."
Just because it's accessible to kids and amateurs doesn't mean it's not for seasoned musicians. This is a real-deal drum machine with plenty of nifty features. There's a five-channel, 16-step sequencer that's controlled via the aforementioned circular magnets. The machine inclu
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Yann LeCun's new startup AMI launched with a $1.03 billion seed round to build AI "world models," betting against the LLM-first approach.
The post Yann LeCun, Meta's Former AI Chief, Launches $1B Startup Focused on ‘World Models' appeared first on eWEEK.
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I really don't know how Apple did it. The MacBook Neo is a $600 laptop that doesn't feel like an afterthought, which is a curse that has befallen so many cheap Windows notebooks. Sure, it has a slower A-series processor and it's limited to 8GB of RAM. But the MacBook Neo still feels as deeply considered as Apple's most premium hardware. Its screen, trackpad and overall usability is so far ahead of the competition, every Windows PC maker, including Microsoft, should be ashamed.
I've argued that a cheap MacBook could be the best for Apple to peel away Windows users, and after spending almost a week with the Neo, I'm convinced it will do just that. It's just fast enough to handle basic productivity work. It's sturdy enough to be tortured by kids in classrooms. And you really can't beat its $599 starting price. Once Windows users learn it's not that hard to switch to macOS, Apple will likely have another hit on its hands.
What's so Neo about this MacBook?
I'll admit, I laughed at the MacBook Neo's name at first. It really does feel like a desperately hip name ASUS or Acer would slap onto their machines (in fact, Acer is doing so right now), rather than something Apple would even consider. But the Neo name is more than just a dated reference to the Matrix — it's also a clear signal that this is a new
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 Apple is planning to launch an all-new "MacBook Ultra" model this year, featuring an OLED display, touchscreen, and a higher price point, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
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A Nature Medicine study finds ChatGPT Health misjudged over half of medical emergencies and sometimes advised delayed care, raising concerns about AI triage reliability.
The post Would ChatGPT Health Recognize Your Medical Emergency? New Study Raises Doubts appeared first on eWEEK.
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Anthropic was banned after refusing mass surveillance and autonomous weapons use, while OpenAI secured a Pentagon deal. Inside Washington's AI showdown.
The post Anthropic Blacklisted, OpenAI Welcomed: Inside the Pentagon's AI Pivot appeared first on eWEEK.
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 While the technology behind AI-powered chatbots quickly captured the public imagination, an even more powerful application of generative artificial intelligence has been creating a buzz among business leaders. It's called agentic AI. The post Agentic AI Set To Revolutionize Business Operations, Decision-Making appeared first on TechNewsWorld.
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