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PlayStation Plus Prices Go Up, As The State of Chicago Adopted a New ‘Entertainment Tax’

The United States is a country in which each state has its own tax law, so it is normal to see that there are taxes in one state that are not adopted in another. The same thing will happen soon in Chicago, a state that has passed an ”entertainment tax”, a tax that taxes online entertainment services, such as Netflix, and that will raise the price of PlayStation Plus, among other Sony services, too.

Some time ago, the city of Chicago passed a law that boosted the tax on streaming content services. Xbox, Netflix, and Spotify, among others. These are now services for which users in that state must pay 9% more than those in other states of the country, and now Sony will see how this tax will damage several of its divisions. And yes, PlayStation Plus games will now cost a little more.

PlayStation Plus Prices Go Up, As The State of Chicago Adopted a New ‘Entertainment Tax’

Starting on November 14th, the price of PlayStation Plus will rise 9% in Chicago, but the tax will also affect other services such as PlayStation Now, PlayStation Vue, PlayStation Music, PlayStation Video on Demand and PlayStation Video Live Events. All these services operate in the cloud and precisely this ”cloud tax” could be implemented in other cities, such as New York.

Mayor Ralph Emanuel’s explanation for this ”entertainment tax”, as it is known locally, is that it helps pay pensions, no more, no less. Of course, companies don’t stand idly by, since it’s the users who have to pay that extra 9%, and companies can witness many unsubscriptions due to the tax.

Companies like Apple and Netflix are, at the moment, trying to act to eliminate this tax, which does not tax the physical content, for example, or the sales of digital games, but in the meantime, it will be time to go through the checkout process, if you live in Chicago, of course. Let’s hope a ”cloud tax” doesn’t reach other regions as well.

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WhatsApp Will Delete Your Olda Messages, Photos, And Videos Today

If you are a WhatsApp user, you must bear in mind that this Monday is a crucial date for all the users of the most popular instant messaging app in the world. As of November 12th, today, all messages and files, as well as any photos or videos included in your chats, that you have not backed up will be deleted forever. The information in the WhatsApp’s cloud backups will disappear for good. This measure will not affect iOS users.

WhatsApp and Google signed an agreement

Accordingly, the new measure will only affect Android users, as WhatsApp has already signed a deal with Apple that allows the iOS users to store their WhatsApp chats in the cloud service offered by Apple’s iCloud.

The agreement between Google and WhatsApp will benefit users of the most popular instant messaging application for Android, who will be able to store a backup copy of their WhatsApp chats on Google Drive without worrying about the storage space the backups occupy. Also, users would be able to transfer those backups between Android devices if they change their mobile phones.

WhatsApp will delete all your old messages, photos, and videos

The bad news is that if you haven’t backed up your WhatsApp chats in the last 12 months, WhatsApp will delete all your old messages, including your unsaved photos and videos.

The instant messaging app’s representatives recommend users to go to the WhatsApp’s settings sections and backup their chats and content to avoid their total deletion. WhatsApp also advises users to connect their smartphones to a WiFi network before backing up to Google Drive “as the file may vary in size and consume a large amount of mobile data, generating additional charges from your mobile operator.”

Keep in mind, however, that in case you’re an iOS user, this measure will not affect you as you WhatsApp chats are saved in iCloud.

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Samsung Galaxy J4 Core Announced With Android Go

Galaxy J4 Core is the enhanced version of Samsung’s first smartphone with Android Go, Google’s lightweight mobile operating system optimized to work with entry-level smartphones that want to run Android. Not all users need the high end offered by Galaxy S or Note series and the innovations brought by the upcoming folding smartphone Samsung announced recently, and which would cost around $2,000.

Galaxy J4 Core will offer the advantages of the Android Go platform, including improved boot time, optimized storage space, reduced data consumption, and a group of apps optimized under the brand of “Google Go” from Google’s primary partner in Android.

The handset has improved many aspects of the original device, the J2 Core, starting with a significant increase in screen size and resolution. Internal storage has doubled as well as support for microSD cards, while the battery is much more potent than in the previous J Core device. Samsung has also said that Galaxy J4 Core would boast a quad-core chipset but has not confirmed the model.

Samsung Galaxy J4 Core Specifications

  • Display – 6-inch screen with Corning Gorilla Glass and a resolution of 1480 by 720 in an 18.5: 9 aspect ratio;
  • Chipset – Samsung Exynos 7570 (?) with 4 Cortex-A53 cores at 1.4 GHz, probably;
  • GPU – Mali-T720 (?)
  • 1 GB of RAM;
  • 16 GB internal storage, expandable via microSD cards to up to 512 GB;
  • Cameras – An 8-MP main camera with, autofocus, f/2.2 aperture, LED flash, HDR, 1080p@30fps video and one selfies camera of 5 MP and f/2.2 aperture;
  • Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi Direct, Bluetooth 4.2, micro USB 2, Single and Dual SIM;
  • Dimensions – 160.6 x 76.1 x 7.9mm;
  • Weight – 177 grams;
  • Battery: 3,300 mAh;
  • Operating System – Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition);

At the moment Samsung did not reveal anything regarding the price of the Samsung Galaxy J4 Core device, but we should expect a budget handset ranging around $100-$150. For those Galaxy J4 Core specs, such a lowe price would be more than affordable.

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Nintendo To Stop Supporting Netflix For Wii in 2019

Recently, Netflix emailed its customers and posted a warning that Nintendo would stop supporting Netflix for Wii. So, if you’re still using an old Wii console just to watch Netflix, you should opt for an alternative as starting with January 31st, 2019, Nintendo will suspend Netflix on Wii.

Along with the suspension of the Netflix for Wii, Nintendo would also shut down the Wii Shop channel. Nintendo also announced that the Wii consoles will become useless, although users can still play offline games, as long as they already have video games copies bought.

“We hope you’ll soon enjoy an even better Netflix experience with additional features on a supported device,” Netflix representatives said. Netflix is, therefore, not offering any alternative to users but opting for a newer device that still supports the most popular online video streaming service in the world.

Nintendo To Stop Supporting Netflix For Wii in 2019

While for some Wii users the decision took by Nintendo to stop supporting Netflix for Wii as of January 31st, 2019, comes as a surprise, for others, it’s only a logical step. And, indeed, Wii is a 12-year-old console and Nintendo has already begun closing Wii channels in 2013. On the other hand, nowadays, Netflix is ubiquitous in comparison with how it was when it came out on Wii consoles.

If you’re still “in love” with your Wii console, you’ll still be able to play games on it, as long as you have the copies of those games because, as of January 31st, 2019, Nintendo will also shut down the Wii channel.

Now, if your TV is not smart and doesn’t come with pre-installed Netflix app, you’ll have to opt for a streaming device. In reality, it would be much cheaper than you imagine. On the other hand, if you’re using an older TV model without modern-day inputs, since Nintendo will stop supporting Netflix for Wii, it would leave you with no other choice than buying a new TV set to access Netflix or use Netflix on other devices.

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Android 9 Pie for Galaxy Note 8 Tested By Samsung

As we know already, Android 9 Pie is about to come to the current Samsung flagship, such as the Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9 Plus, and Galaxy Note 9. However, now, Samsung tests Android 9 Pied for Galaxy Note 8, an older device, hinting that the South Korean tech giant might also upgrade older smartphones to the new Google OS for mobile, as long as they are compatible.

Even though there are not many details on the Android 9 Pie for Galaxy Note 8 update, Samsung OEM confirmed that, indeed, the new version of the Google’s OS for mobiles will come to the before-mentioned phablet, launched in 2017 and still widely used by many people around the world.

According to some leaks in this regard, Samsung is currently testing a firmware dubbed as N950FXXU5DRK4 on Galaxy Note 8. While that’s not telling us much about what it is in reality, we must keep in mind that the Android Oreo firmware is codenamed using the CRxx format (the last four characters of the software codename).

Android 9 Pie for Galaxy Note 8 Tested By Samsung

As some voiced out, Samsung might indeed test the new Android 9 Pie on its Galaxy Note 8 device. And, in reality, there’s no reason why Samsung would not roll out a firmware upgrade to Android Pie for its last year’s phablet given that it would be compatible with the operating system and it’s still widely used.

What’s not yet known is if the new firmware tested for the Galaxy Note 8 devices will also contain the new Samsung’s One UI interface which would soon replace Samsung Experience Android skin which, at its turn, substituted TouchWiz. However, according to Android Authority, the firmware update in question would also come out for Samsung S8 and S8 Plus.

In other news, Samsung is currently holding beta testing registrations for the future One UI. Most likely, One UI will roll out on Samsung Galaxy Note 8 along with the new Android 9 Pie update.

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