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Hey, good morning! We made it to Friday. But what about yesterday? Some poor soul got their hands on Nintendo's new console two weeks in advance -- but has no games to play on it, Apple is tinkering with a 4K TV box. Oh, and if you'd like some bedtime reading, may I suggest Mark Zuckerberg's lengthy treatise on the future of Facebook?
A new Nintendo console... but nothing to play
One eager Nintendo Switch buyer saw his new console arrived two weeks ahead of schedule, Unfortunately, he has absolutely nothing to play on it. "I have no games at all," he told the popular gaming forum NeoGAF. "All I can do is flip through the menus." It looks like Nintendo has taken a better direction with its console UI, landing somewhere between Android and the PS4's interface. Just a few weeks to go, you brave soul.
Bloomberg: There's a 4K Apple TV box on the way
Even with an App Store onboard, the Apple TV hasn't revolutionized TV in the way some analysts predicted. Still, the company is working on this project, shifting execs around to possibly revive stalled plans for a Sling TV-esque "skinny bundle" of channels. For now, however, Bloomberg reports there's a 4K and HDR-capable version of the box in the pipeline, but that should be the only big difference.
Google Fiber refocuses, may shift towards wireless
While gigabit fiber connections everywhere are a wonderful dream, rolling it out can get pricey, fast. That's why Google Fiber is pulling back from previous expansion plans, and shedding employees. Under a new CEO, it may look to roll out high speed connections that "follow" users around town like WiFi, or expand the Webpass wireless service it acquired.
AT&T will offer unlimited data for all customers
Well that didn't take long. Just a few days after Verizon announced it would start offering an unlimited data plan after years of selling capped data packages, AT&T will be doing the same. As of tomorrow, AT&T will let any current or potential customer buy an unlimited data plan -- until now, only DirecTV customers were able to purchased unlimited data from the carrier. Stream, my friends. Download!
Google Assistant now helps with your shopping on Google Home
Amazon's Echo and its Alexa virtual assistant had a big head start before Google debuted Home, but the company has revealed a big addition that could strike at the heart of Alexa's domain: shopping. You can now use Google Assistant on the company's connected smart speaker to order goods from its Express shopping service.
Zuckerberg challenges Facebook to build the foundation of a global community
If you have some time today, you can peruse Facebook's new mission statement. In a sprawling essay, Mark Zuckerberg challenges his company to deal with issues like finding the line between responsible filtering and censorship across different communities. In his vision, Facebook can be a part of a social infrastructure. Of the few concrete plans mentioned, one focuses on connecting people by their interests -- book club, anyone?
But wait, there's more...
- Samsung's South Korean leader has been arrested for bribery
- ZTE announces the first gigabit LTE-ready phone
- Hasbro's Proto Max robot dog teaches coding on the sly
- Lenovo is being dragged down by its mobile business
- NASA wants to send humans aboard the first SLS flight