Two new speakers from LG, Mobile Klinik’s used smartphones, Space has 400 gaming stations and an esports arena.

LG’s got two new speakers designed for how you want to listen

If you need to get a gift for someone looking to play music, podcasts, or games, LG has a couple of new speakers to check out.

The portable Xboom 360 ($500) is a conical wireless bluetooth speaker that evenly emits sound everywhere.

It’s got a handle so you can easily carry it around and it’s equipped with an LED light for practical or party purposes.

LG’s also got a gaming speaker in the UltraGear GP9 ($700). This is effectively a sound bar but built to sit under your monitor and provide the kind of 3D audio that you’d get from a home theatre sound bar.

But what sets the GP9 apart is how it’s able to isolate your voice from the speaker sound so you can chat without needing a mic or headset.

Used tech a viable alternative to new, new, new

Mobile Klinik is a Canadian company that provides repair services to mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

They also sell certified, pre-owned smartphones. You can get an iPhone 11 or Galaxy S10+ for as little as $500.

All used devices are classified as good, very good, or like new, and come with a one-year warranty.

Space is a digital cultural centre in Stockholm

I’m not travelling anytime soon, but if I ever head to Scandinavia, I’m making time to visit Space, in Stockholm.

Described as a “culture centre”, Space occupies seven floors in a building in Stockholm’s Sergels torg district.

In some ways it’s very similar to what Vancouver’s got in the Centre for Digital Media, home to the Master of Digital Media program and which also provides space for events and studio space for business.

Space includes that but also has an esports arena, over 400 gaming stations, meeting and conference rooms, and bars and cafes.

This week on The Shift, Shane Hewitt and I talked about the first episode of Into the Starfield, a video series about the upcoming game, Starfield, updates to Battlefield 2042 and Halo Infinite, and the (RED) Creator Cup fundraising event.

We also talked about the (RED) products available in a gift guide to help support communities dealing with HIV/AIDS and covid-19, the Slopes smartphone app for skiers and boarders, and hackers skimming info from people making purchases from the website of the Principality of Sealand.

Listen in at 38:17.

We get a first look at Starfield, the next action role-playing game from the developer who brought us Fallout 4 and Skyrim, Battlefield 2042 and Halo Infinite get updated, streamers raise money for (RED) with a friendly gaming competition.

A year away from release, we can start getting excited about Starfield

The other day, Bethesda Game Studios released the first episode of a video series about Starfield, an action role-playing game coming exclusively to Xbox Series X/S next November.

“The Endless Pursuit” is episode one of, Into the Starfield. It features the game’s director, Todd Howard, talking with studio director Angela Browder and art director Matt Carofano, about how Bethesda goes about making games, with some teasers about what we might expect from the new game.

“The mechanics of the world are completely different,” admits Howard, but he also said that Starfield will include many of the elements that people – including the developers – expect of Bethesda games, like being able to interact with the environment and having a complete world created.

“I always say the one thing video games can give you that nothing else in entertainment can,” says Howard in the video, “is that feeling of pride. ‘Look what I did.’”

Updates come to Battlefield 2042, Halo Infinite Multiplayer, and someday maybe Cyberpunk 2077

Because games and game systems are mostly connected to the online world, game developers can mostly update and improve them.

This week, Battlefield 2042 from EA will release the third update to the online multiplayer shooter.

Along with fixing bugs and making the user interface easier for players to use, weekly missions are being introduced to the game as a way to encourage regular play. The developers at DICE promise more updates in December.

Meanwhile, Halo Infinite, which hasn’t even officially released yet, has made some changes to how players collect experience points in its multiplayer mode. Experience points are how players can customize and enhance their avatars.

The changes were detailed in a Twitter thread by community manager John Junyszek.

1st Game = 300XP
2nd Game = 200XP
3rd Game = 200XP
4th Game = 100XP
5th Game = 100XP
6th Game = 100XP
7th+ Game = 50XP

We believe this increase will help address those slower initial payouts while also benefiting those of you jumping on each and every day.

— John Junyszek (@Unyshek) November 30, 2021

343 Industries is increasing the amount of experience points players get for the first six matches they play each day.

As for Cyberpunk 2077, which launched a year ago, it’s been updated more than 10 times in the last 52 weeks, and the publisher, CD Projekt, says that a next-gen console update will be coming in the first six months of 2022.

Streamers, esports pros, and celebrity guests game for good

December 1 is World AIDS Day. This year, (RED), an organization that was created to raise money to fight HIV/AIDS, created a Minecraft server and invited the gaming community to come play.

Dubbed the Creator Cup, the participants, which included Twitch and YouTube streamers and professional esports players, were subjected to a Minecraft world that was being constantly changed by viewers, who were triggering events in the game by making donations.

Funds raised by the event are being directed to pandemic relief efforts due to the impact the covid-19 virus has on people living with HIV/AIDS.

Gifts that raise money to fight HIV/AIDS and covid-19, ski season means it’s time for Slopes, hackers target people looking to buy their way into the peerage.

(RED)’s gift guide raises money for HIV/AIDS and also covid-19

December 1 marks another World AIDS Day and the organization (RED), set up to rally efforts to combat HIV/AIDS around the world, has a gift guide featuring products from a range of companies that contribute to the organization.

The entire list of products is available on Amazon.

The scope of (RED)’s efforts expanded in light of covid-19 and money raised goes towards all kinds of programs that support communities deal with pandemics of all sorts. That includes funding prevention, testing and treatment, as well as education.

In Canada, CATIE is the organization responsible for sharing up-to-date, accurate and unbiased information. They warn that awareness of HIV is low and that’s a danger to people and society.

Apple has been a consistent partner and with its RED line of devices has raised nearly $270 million since the organization was formed, 15 years ago.

And through 2022, Apple is targeting half of the proceeds that are donated from the sale of these devices, which include iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, and Apple Watch Series 7, to covid-19 response efforts by the Global Fund.

And through December 6, Apple will donate a dollar for every purchase made with Apple Pay at Apple’s online and IRL retail outlets up to $1 million USD.

Get out your board or skis and get Slopes on your smartphone

Our family opened the ski season at Whistler Blackcomb last weekend.

We took it slow; this was a chance to get comfortable in some new gear and to find our ski legs.

It was also an opportunity for me to remember how much I appreciate the Slopes smartphone app. Slopes knows where we are skiing, and prompts me to record our day.

It tracks the amount of time we’re actually skiing as well as noting time standing around and time going up a lift or gondola. Slopes shows me the routes we took, gives me basic information on top speed and fitness.

And with a premium subscription – it’s $25 USD for a year – you get run-specific stats, offline trail maps, and the ability to replay your runs on a virtual 3D mountain. With an Apple Watch you get detailed health information, too.

A family plan is $40 USD a year and works for you and up to five family members on Android and iOS devices, and you can easily gift a subscription, too.

Ski season is here. Slopes will help you keep track of your season.

Hackers intercept personal and payment info from people buying nobility titles

Cybersecurity news publication, the Record, reported this week that hackers had installed “malicious code” on the website of the Principality of Sealand.

Sealand is an offshore platform built by the English military during the Second World War that was effectively decommissioned in 1956. The platform used to be outside Britain’s territorial waters and was declared by Paddy Roy Bates as an independent state.

Selling titles – lord/lady (30 pounds), baron/baroness (30 pounds), count/countess (200 pounds), duke/duchess (500 pounds), or sir/dame (100 pounds) – is a money maker for the would-be royalty who are descendents of Bates.

Journalist Catalin Cimapnu reported that transactions made since October 12 have been skimmed by the hackers, who collected user information and payment details.

The Nintendo Game & Watch is perfect for stockings, the Steam Deck will not be here in time for Christmas but an Xbox mini fridge may be.

Play The Legend of Zelda on the new Nintendo Game & Watch portable

The Nintendo Game & Watch is a small, portable game system – about the size of a deck of cards – that has classic Nintendo games built in.

They are modern-day versions of early handheld game systems that Nintendo sold between 1980 and 1991. These new systems are vastly more functional than the originals, which weren’t much more than a digital watch with simple games built in.

The latest edition of the Game & Watch is The Legend of Zelda ($50), which has three game that started the series: The Legend of Zelda (1987), Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (1988), and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (1993).

There are other Game & Watch systems available, including Super Mario Bros. ($50), which includes Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.

Valve has postponed the release of the Steam Deck portable game system

If you were hoping to have one of Valve’s new Steam Decks under the tree this year, prepare for disappointment.

The company recently announced that the portable game systems, which come preloaded with the Steam operating system and play all games that you can get on the Steam storefront, were delayed by two months, and shipping wouldn’t start until February 2022.

In a post, Valve said, “We did our best to work around the global supply chain issues, but due to material shortages, components aren’t reaching our manufacturing facilities in time for us to meet our initial launch dates.”

When your Steam Deck will be sent to you depends on when, exactly, you placed your preorder, but if this is the only delay it will be about two months later than expected.

To find out what the date is you can check the status of your pre-order.

The Xbox mini fridge is real

As part of its marketing campaign for the Xbox Series X console, Microsoft compared its new game console to a refrigerator.

Fridge for scale. #PowerYourDreams pic.twitter.com/2n4OEUKXUz

— Xbox (@Xbox) March 16, 2020

That got people calling the new system a fridge, so Microsoft actually constructed a full-size fridge replica of the Xbox Series X.

People loved that even more.

So, just in time for the holiday, Microsoft arranged for the manufacture of mini fridge Xbox Series X replicas. The US$100 gadget holds up to 12 cans and there’s a charging port for your smartphone.

They went on sale in the U.S. a few weeks ago but not in Canada.

Unfortunately, we got an update today Target cannot offer shipping to Canada through their website. Good news is fans in Canada will be able to purchase directly from the Xbox Gear Shop as part of our first wave of deliveries in December. Will share more pre-order details soon.

— Aaron Greenberg U (@aarongreenberg) October 15, 2021

If you’re keen on getting yourself one of these, keep an eye on the Xbox Gear Shop.

UPDATE: The mini fridge is available to purchase as of 6 a.m. PT, December 15. Get yours here.