Netflix pulls an episode of ‘Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj’ in Saudi Arabia after govt. files complaint

The second episode of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj criticized Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the Saudi Arabia government’s reaction to the death of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The contradictory claims and denials that surrounded the story drew angry reactions from the public and this is what the episode wanted to center on.

Minhaj joked on the show that this was “the most unbelievable cover story since Blake Shelton won sexiest man alive.” But it seems the Saudi government wasn’t in on the joke. The government reportedly told Netflix the episode violated the country’s cybercrime laws and asked for it to be removed. The cited law effectively states that criticizing the Saudi government through any kind of digital medium is a criminal act. The streaming service complied and took it off the service in Saudi Arabia. It is, however, still viewable elsewhere. The clip is also still watchable on the series’ YouTube channel, even in Saudi Arabia. It’s unclear at this point if Google/Alphabet (parent company of YouTube) was also contacted about the clip.

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Leak suggests Google Duo will get group calling, low light mode

While Google is still trying to figure out what its unified messaging app is going to be, the company seems to be putting the work into making Google Duo app a bit more useful for its users. Android Police reports on new features coming to the service that could introduce group calling as well as a low-light mode. So far, it looks like group calls can include as much as eight people in total (including you). There will be a “Create a Group” option that will let you choose who to add to calls. You can even rename the group. But once the call starts, you will not be able to add any more users.

Aside from this, the app might be getting a low-light mode. The app will reportedly “automatically [adjust] your video in dark environments so others can see you better.” There isn’t word yet when these will be officially coming, but with testing underway we might see it soon.

Leak shares more details about ‘Galaxy S10 Lite’

Render of the Galaxy S10 Lite (Ice Universe)

The leaks for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S10 line keep coming. But what we’ll be focusing on right now is the rumoured, more affordable “Galaxy S10 Lite.” Leaker Ice Universe shared more details on the iPhone XR-like Galaxy S10 Lite. The phone, unlike the upcoming S10 and S10+, reportedly won’t have a curved display but will have one that’s flat. It will feature the same primary rear camera setup of the more premium S10 models but won’t have the triple camera array. It’ll also have a single front camera, which will be placed into a smaller cutout that’s similar to what we’ve seen in the Galaxy A8s. Its in-display fingerprint sensor won’t use the same ultrasonic tech the more premium S10s will have and it’ll have the smallest display at 5.8 inches. This doesn’t seem like too bad a deal, if you ask us, so we’re excited to see the full specs of the device once it launches. Like in years’ past we’re expecting to see the Galaxy S10 line at Mobile World Congress in the end of February. So, it won’t be much of a wait until we see these new phones.

Source: Forbes

‘Stranger Things’ will come back on July 4, 2019, releases first teaser for the next season

It’s finally here. Or at least we know it’s finally coming back. Netflix has just teased the upcoming season with a timely teaser. The Stranger Things 3 teaser dropped a few seconds into New Year’s Day by showing off the timeline of the new season, which is set in the summer of 1985, by opening on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rocking Eve from the said year. There are many cryptic shots that we’re sure fans are going to continue to analyze until we get more details. Two key clues offered in the trailer include a computer screen with the highlighted phrase “When Blue and Yellow Meet in the West” and a hidden figure typing out commands to launch the program “SilverCatFeeds.exe.” We’re only ever really going to make sense of these when the eight-episode season drops on July 4, 2019. But feel free to dive into the world wide web and theorize away. We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Source: Polygon