Gadget Headlines

https://theinvader.com/ is entering its 19th year of existence as of today. Which is nothing short of amazing, to be honest. Especially given how this group of veteran video games enthusiasts continues chugging along and covering the gaming industry on an everyday basis in a pleasantly consistent fashion.

And most will agree how few practices build a loyal following as efficiently as such a consistent track record of reporting does; at least as far as traditional news coverage on the Internet is concerned. Interestingly enough, The Invader’s staff does not see its 18 years’ worth of reporting as that big of a deal, though it acknowledges how it never would have expected the site to still be live and regularly updated as of 2020.

And just for some tiny bit of extra context, we are talking about an outlet that started reporting on the video games industry back when titles such as GTA: Vice City, Age of Mythology, and 007: Nightfire were battling for every minute of our spare time. As well as one in which many cult classics and full-fledged masterpieces in the vein of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the original 3D remake of Jordan Mechner’s Prince of Persia have not even been completed just yet. Let alone produced, boxed, released, and celebrated en masse.

The Invader has been bringing us news coverage before we have even learned about the first Call of Duty. Therefore, it also predates the most legendary MMORPG of them all, seeing how it started operating nearly two full years prior to Club Penguin’s worldwide release (rest in peace, sweet prince).

And it is somehow still going strong. In this sense, The Invader is still as much of a passion project as it always was. Since it would appear that not even almost two decades of tiring media work did anything but deepened its staff’s infatuation with interactive entertainment. Making us excited to see what’s next for them.

Upcoming Google’s Android-based smartphones will come with Android 12 pre-installed, powered by the new Tensor SoC chip. This SoC is turning many heads as it was in development by Google since 2016, making its debut in the new Pixel 6 smartphones. Google believes that this SoC will make it possible for users of Pixel 6 smartphones to experience ultimate AI technology and advanced machine learning through the usage of their phones. All of this would indicate that some more advanced functions within Android 12 are to get introduced to the market, along with better personalization and security measures. What about the phones themselves?

Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 6 Pro Technical Specifications

Both Pixels feature a refreshed design, which, at least judging by the renders popping up, will remain subtle but premium. Hardware specification-wise, the Pixel 6 is expected to have a 6,4 inches AMOLED display, 8GB of RAM, 128/256GB of onboard storage, 50MP and 12MP cameras on the back, and a single 8MP front-facing camera. Pixel 6 Pro, as one would expect, bumps up the specs a notch, featuring a slightly larger screen at 6,7 inches, 12GB of RAM, 128/256/512GB onboard storage options, 50MP, 48MP, and 12MP cameras on the back with a single 12MP camera unit on the front. In terms of batteries, the Pixel 6 should have a 4,614mAh capacity, while the Pro variant should have a 5,000mAh battery.

With such an impressive spec sheet, both Pixel phones will impose to be an excellent choice for mobile gaming and gaming on the cloud in general. In addition, Pixel phones were always highly rated in terms of web content compatibility, so for anyone looking into playing browser-based casino games such as Blackjack, Baccarat, Roulette, or slot machines, this platform will be a good choice. Modern casino web-based games build upon the proved and tested technology behind embedding games into websites such as HTML5 and often include sports betting sections on the site, expanding the entertainment portfolio significantly.

The Pixel 6 Series Release Date and MSRP

After plenty of suggestions from the Internet’s rumour mill, the release date is somewhere in the Fall of 2021, which is all we officially know so far. With that said, this means that Pixel 6 might arrive in September, which follows the usual Google trend of releasing their flagship Pixel phones by the end of the yea. Still, we might see a slightly postponed release with troubles related to chip manufacturing and the global shortage of components.

Price-wise, things are a bit more challenging to assess, as the Pixel series has moved between ranges a bit throughout its existence in the last couple of years. However, based on the Pixel 5 series MSRP pricing of US$699, it is possible and expected for the Pixel 6 smartphone to follow the same trend. On the other hand, Rick Osterloh, Google’s hardware executive, has mentioned several times that the Pixel 6 aims to be a mainstream premium product, which might indicate a slightly beefier price tag.

In addition to its collection of gaming and technology websites, Damage Media Group is now adding a travel and tourism site to its resume. SummerHeadlines.com is expected to launch this summer, just in time for the 2022 tourist season. The site will inform readers about the attractions, gastronomy, and history of ten diverse vacation destinations in Europe, as well as provide them with itineraries and suggestions for road trips.

The Website

SummerHeadlines.com will operate on the latest version of WordPress, which provides the site with Google-friendly coding that makes the site render beautifully across all devices. It will use a modified Soledad Magazine theme, giving it a polished, web magazine feel, and it will retain high speeds even under heavy traffic loads due to its A2 hosting.

The Future of Travel

The future of travel looks bright in 2022. Experts agree that this summer will see a huge increase in tourism as a result of restrictions being lifted across the globe. Most countries in Europe are now relaxing their entry requirements, making it easier than ever for fully-vaccinated travelers to go on both domestic and international holidays.

SummerHeadlines.com Content

The travel site will focus on ten of the most-visited countries in Europe, and will provide readers with information about entry requirements, tips for what to do and where to go, and a look at the best time to visit. Each country will have its own pillar article, with several smaller articles branching off to describe specific cities within that country. The guide to Cyprus, for instance, describes the local museums, monasteries, and national parks one can visit, as well as the country’s world-famous wine, Commandaria.

Six countries have been profiled on SummerHeadlines.com so far, as the site is still under construction. The full launch of the project is set for summer 2023. For the latest news, you can follow DMG on their Linkedin page.

About Damage Media Group

An independent digital publishing group based in Tallinn, Estonia, DMG specializes in creating content-driven experiences for technology, travel, and gaming enthusiasts. Since it was established in late 2020, the company has been paving its way into the publishing sector by acquiring existing websites that operate within their markets of interest. It then improves upon those websites via its own network of journalists, editors and contributors from the tech and gaming sectors. The latest news about the company can be found on their LinkedIn Page.

YouTube Premium has been around for a while now, nearly seven years. This unique subscription model is for purchase to make your YouTube video content consumption much better, as it rids the user from ads. In addition to removing ads, the YouTube application on smartphones enables background playback, which means one can listen to some podcasts or music hosted using YouTube itself even when the application gets minimized. Furthermore, the user can also download content off YouTube for offline viewing later within the application with the Premium subscription. At the moment of writing, the regular YouTube Premium subscription goes for US$11.99 monthly.

Enter YouTube Premium Lite

It is hard to disagree that the US$11.99 premium for ad-free YouTube videos seems like a bit of a stretch, but it looks like a more affordable option is also in the workings. The Premium Lite subscription plan is currently being tested in some regions of Europe (Nordic lands and Benelux) to note how the market responds. The new subscription plan gets offered for $US6.99 per month, and it only provides ad-free YouTube videos with no other regular Premium features.

While everyone waits for the market feedback and whether or not Premium Lite becomes a permanent subscription model, it is essential to note that unmonetized channels will still work typically. This practice gets followed by online gaming industries such as casino and sportsbooks websites with dedicated YouTube channels used for game reviews and new content to their game portfolios. In that sense, casino websites use their official media to get the latest news, trailers, and anything else that might interest users who haven’t played a game like Roulette or Blackjack online. The best thing about this is that no premium subscription is needed to enjoy this content without ads.

There Might Be Multiple YouTube Premium Variants

The currently tested Premium Lite is in no way a completed, public version. The variant described above acts as a testing ground for YouTube to push the limits and market demands. Over time, we expect YouTube to carry multiple subscription plans for their users, which could impact YouTube’s ad monetization policies for creators, for better or worse. The paid subscriptions impact the end user’s experience, and there is a strong demand for such features, so it is all about determining the correct price ranges. For example, Netflix has three available subscription models, with differentiating features being the resolution of the movies and shows and the number of users who can simultaneously get logged in watching content. An excellent example of a simple but good enough model accepted well in the market.

It is more probable to see modified family subscriptions for YouTube Premium, as this makes more sense for shared YouTube accounts or accounts owned by people living in the same household. In addition, judging by the feedback YouTube Premium has received during its existence so far, we believe there is a high demand for YouTube without ads. In contrast, the rest of the features included in the Premium subscription might cater to a more delicate customer base.

InkEvolved, one of the first versatile Helpdesks dedicated to providing printer users with troubleshooting solutions, has decided to undergo a rebranding. From Canon to Epson, some of the biggest brands in the printer community have their section on the InkEvolved website. Unlike other sites that site entirely to one name brand, this one has several of them.  

“Having encountered our fair share of printer problems back in the day, we started toying with the idea of starting our very own printing helpdesk early in our college years.” – The InkEvolved Team 

It‘s been three years since they launched their site, and now that their anniversary is coming up in July, it is time to tell the world about the significant changes that will be coming in the next few months. The most notable difference for their visitors is that InkEvolved is no longer the site’s official name. Now PrinterHeadlines will be the new home for InkEvolved.  

Doubling Up The Team 

The new home is also welcoming four new members who will write up more troubleshooting articles about four new printers that will also be joining the community. The team had four specialists covering Epson, HP, Brother, and Canon printers, but from now on, Lexmark, Konica, Dymo, and Ricoh find themselves on that list too. For the future, they are also looking into adding more subjects related to 3D printers as well.  

Fusing new troubleshooting content and a remodelled platform means that the overall user experience will ultimately reach a higher level. The first steps they have taken for the remodelling are moving from the unmanaged WordPress platform and trying out the managed solution from Kinsta. After that, the team decided to use the tagDiv platform due to its exemplary performance and features.  

Bringing The Printer Community Together 

The overall rebranding objective is to bring the printer community closer together in troubleshooting and the general aspect of printing. Two of the main ways they will do this is by adding more categories to the PrinterHeadlines page. This change will direct visitors to the page for troubleshooting advice and other information that could be useful, such as reviews, news, best buy‘s, manuals, and more.  

Another way they hope to unite the printing community is by keeping up with their social media pages. Till now, their Facebook hasn‘t been too active and informative for users, so they promised to take matters into their own hands and promised to dedicate some time and effort into this area PrinterHeadlines. Visit PrinterHeadlines for all the latest news in the printer world.