Microsoft will launch the Surface Headphones in the US on November 19th

While we aren’t sure yet if it’ll be making its way here, Microsoft has announced that its Surface Headphones will be available for pre-order in the US on November 15^th and will ship on November 19^th. Priced at US$349, the Surface Headphones is the company’s first-ever over-ear headphones, which it launched alongside new Surface devices. These are Cortana-enabled smart headphones promise superior comfort and premium sound. These feature noise-cancellation and integrates some Surface Dial functionality for selecting between noise cancellation modes. They also charge using USB Type-C and promise 15 hours of battery life.

Source: The Verge

Google rolls out first ‘Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’ Project Stream invites in the US to bring console gaming to Chrome

Earlier this week, Google announced it was working with Ubisoft to beta test Assassin’s Creed Odyssey on its new Project Stream platform. The project is looking to solve the big issues associated with making AAA console titles playable on desktop version of Chrome. The test, unfortunately, is limited to the US right now but if you’re there, the users who signed up might be getting invites now. The game will be playable without the need to download anything. Users are given US$10 of in-game currency to spend and will get to play the game until January 15, 2019. Unfortunately, there will be no saved progress and achievements won’t be carried over to the final version of the game. Players are required to have Ubisoft accounts to play the game and would need connectivity speeds of at least 25 megabits per second. The Chrome browser for Mac, Windows, Linux, and Chrome OS need to be version 69 or above. It will support wired controllers, while trackpads aren’t recommended.

This test arrives amidst rumours that Google is working on a full-fledged streaming service for games that can take on the likes of the Microsoft’s and Sony’s services. It’ll reportedly work with a Chromecast-esque streaming dongle. But while that hasn’t been confirmed, this test does give us a peek into what Google can do for the gaming front.

Source: 9to5Google

Instagram testing out splitting longer videos in segments for Stories

While Instagram has IGTV for its long-form videos, it seems it wants to help out Instagram Story users who want to share videos that are longer than 15 seconds. Reddit user T0oYoung discovered that Instagram is letting users record more than 15 seconds and segmenting these clips into chunks for upload. This means you don’t need to trim the videos yourself. Instagram hasn’t officially announced this feature so it’s most likely a test at this point. As Ubergizmo points out, it looks like the text or filters applied on one segment doesn’t seem to carry over to the next one. That said, those who want to share longer clips might appreciate this feature, if it gets official, that is.

Netflix announces release date for ‘The Umbrella Academy’

Full steam ahead for the Netflix’s adaptation of Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá’s The Umbrella Academy. It’ll be hitting the streaming service the day after Valentine’s in 2019 (February 15, 2019) and as mentioned, it’s going to be based on the Dark Horse comics series by My Chemical Romance’s front man and the Brazilian comic book artist. The story follows an estranged family of siblings with superhuman abilities who need to solve the murder of their father Reginald Hargreeves.

Developed by Steven Blackman (Altered Carbon, Fargo), Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy stars Ellen Page, Mary J. Blige, Tom Hopper, Cameron Britton, Robert Sheehan, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Adam Godley, Aidan Gallagher, David Castañeda, John Magaro, Ashley Madekwe, and Colm Feore.

Source: CBR