Apple Closely Watching Coronavirus Outbreak in South Korea, Italy, CEO Tim Cook Says

https://ift.tt/1aaWXu4 is closely watching how the coronavirus outbreak is unfolding in South Korea and Italy, where the company has suppliers, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said in an interview.

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Could the most expensive Apple Mac Pro be surpassed by this 128-core AMD Epyc workstation?

Many smaller workstation vendors are rushing to fill a very lucrative niche; the likes of Coreto, Scan, Velocity Micro and Boston have a tiny window of opportunity before the computer giants (Lenovo, HP and Dell) jump on AMD’s EPYC bandwagon.

The EPYC 7702 is currently the best option out there if you're looking for the pinnacle of desktop performance - put it this way, you won’t find anything from Intel that will even come close to what AMD's Rome series CPU has to offer.

Rome offers 64 cores and 128 threads, and you can pair two together to get the sort of processing power that was found in supercomputers only a couple of decades ago.

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At $51,399, the Apple’s Mac Pro has “only” 28 cores (Intel Xeon W-3275M) and accommodates up to 1.5TB memory, two Radeon Pro Vega II Duo (that’s four GPU and 128GB HBM2 memory) and an 8TB SSD.

How does that compare to, say, an a-X2 from Mediaworkstations containing the EPYC 7702?

For a start, the a-X2 is a little more expensive at just over $53,000 (roughly £41,500 / AU$81,800). However, you get two 64-core processors, 2TB of memory, a pair of Nvidia Quadro RTX 8000 GPU with 48GB GDDR6 memory, and 8.68TB worth of high speed storage. For peace of mind, a three-year warranty with next business day onsite service is also thrown in.

It's true, the casing (adorned by two 200mm front intake fans) is not as alluring as the Mac Pro's aluminium housing, but you get so much more for your money.

Note, while Mediaworkstations ships internationally, you may have to pay additional tax depending on your location.

• Here's our list of the best video editing workstations of 2020

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India vs Sri Lanka live stream: watch today's T20 Women's World Cup 2020 from anywhere

The Women in Blue are the first team to qualify for the Women's T20 World Cup and they'll be looking to maintain their 100% win here against the Lionesses - don't miss a moment by reading our India vs Sri Lanka live stream guide below.

India will know they weren't completely convincing in their last game against New Zealand, sneaking through with a three-run win and will want to end the group phase in style in Melbourne.

Sri Lanka have given a decent account of themselves in their previous two matches against New Zealand and Australia, but ended up losing both games.

Sri Lankan hopes on Saturday will be resting on influential skipper Chamari Atapattu who hit who hit a superb fifty in the Lionesses last outing against Australia. Teenager Umesha Thimashini gave a solid turn as number three batter and looks set to retain her place.

India, meanwhile, will be looking for more from skipper Hermanpreet Kaur, who has only managed 11 runs in her three innings so far. 

It's a Women’s T20 World Cup match not be missed - don't miss a ball by checking out our India vs Sri Lanka live stream guide.

• Don't miss a match with our T20 Women's World Cup live stream guide

Live stream T20 cricket from outside your country

You might find you have a problem accessing your usual home service if you're abroad because of geo-blocking. It's where local broadcasters lock online streams of their coverage to specific areas by logging the IP address of the device trying to access their website.

Fortunately, there's an easy way to get around this nuisance and tune into the cricket just like you would from home. It's called using a VPN, and these useful pieces of software - known as Virtual Private Networks in full - allow you to log back to your country that is broadcasting the match.

Watch a Women's T20 Cricket World Cup live stream in India

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How to watch India vs Sri Lanka: US live stream details 

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Norton LifeLock phishing scam infects victims with remote access trojan

The cybercriminals behind a recent phishing campaign used a fake Norton LifeLock document in order to trick victims into installing a remote access trojan (RAT) on their systems.

The infection begins with a Microsoft Word document that contains malicious macros. However, to get users to enable macros, which are disabled by default, the threat actor behind the campaign used a fake password-protected Norton LifeLock document.

Victims are asked to enable macros and type in a password, provided in the phishing email containing the document, to gain access to it. Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42, which discovered the campaign, also found that the password dialog box accepts only a upper or lowercase letter 'C'. If the password is incorrect, the malicious action does not continue.

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If the user does input the correct password, the macro continues executing and builds a command string that installs the legitimate remote control software, NetSupport Manager.

Establishing persistence

The RAT binary is downloaded and installed onto a user's machine with help from the 'msiexec' command in the Windows Installer service.

In a new report, the researchers at  Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42 explained that the MSI payload installs without any warnings and adds a PowerShell script in the Windows temp folder. This is used for persistence and the script plays the role of a backup solution for installing NetSupport Manager.

Before the script continues its operations, it checks to see if an antivirus from either Avast or AVG is installed on the system. If this is the case, it stops running on the victim's computer. If the script finds that these programs aren't present on the machine, it adds the files needed b NetSupport Manager to a folder with a random name and also creates a registry key for the main executable named 'presentationhost.exe' for persistence.

Unit 42 first discovered the campaign at the beginning of January and the researchers tracked related activity back to November 2019 which shows that the campaign is part of a larger operation.

• Keep your devices protected with the best antivirus software

Via BleepingComputer

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iPhone 9 release date, price, news and leaks

The iPhone 9 looks set to launch in the near future, finally bringing the cheap iPhone that many have been waiting for since the iPhone SE was unveiled back in 2016.

However, where the previous budget model from Apple was designed for those that love a smaller phone, the new iPhone 9 looks set to be larger, aping the design first used on the iPhone 6.

While the cheaper iPhone 9 is likely to be popular in most countries, Apple will likely be bringing this out to also service more emerging nations, where cheaper phones sell well. These territories might have been able to buy the older iPhone 8, but offering a 'new' iPhone to them will have significant marketing power.

The new, lower-cost handset from Apple is supposed to be launching on March 31 but with the recent coronavirus outbreak that date might need to shift.

We're still waiting on more information regarding the iPhone 9, explaining what kind of features it might be bringing, but we've started to see the rumors start to appear with greater frequency, so it looks pretty likely we'll see the cheap iPhone launch in the next month or two (as long as Apple can actually make the phones).

iPhone 9 release date

Right, straight away we're into one of the more problematic elements of the iPhone 9 launch - when it will actually be.

The planets were starting to align around a March 31 launch event, where the iPhone 9 would be shown off alongside a possible new iPad Pro, new AirPods and, well, a rocket or something (we assume that Apple's got a lot of fingers in many pies).

However, with the recent outbreak of the coronavirus, smartphone production has slowed worldwide and the factories in China usually used to create the iPhone have been partly shuttered.

Tim Cook recently said that the factories had begun to return to full production, to offset investor worry that the new phone wouldn't be launched as quickly as first thought.

The iPhone SE at launch

That hasn't stopped Apple from needing to put out a press release confirming that revenue wouldn't be as high as previously thought, thanks to the outbreak, stating: "worldwide iPhone supply will be temporarily constrained".

So it's uncertain whether we'll see an Apple event at the end of March, but if the event is going ahead we expect to see the invitations going out by the middle of the month.

If the plans stay as expected, the launch on March 31 would see the iPhone 9 release date would be April 11 - but it depends whether enough handsets can be created to satisfy worldwide demand.

iPhone 9 price

Right - we've got something more of an idea about this one: the iPhone SE price began at a shade under $400 - well, $399 / £379 / AU$679.

Now, according to noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (get ready for hearing a lot of that name, as a lot of the current rumors are based on the researcher's notes - but they're usually rather accurate) the iPhone 9 price will be the same.

That means starting at $399 (probably £399, AU$600 given Apple pricing conventions), according to the findings for TF Securities - and reiterated again by Kuo later.

However, in 2016 the cost of high-end phones was about half as much as it is today - the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra launched for a maximum of $1400, so to see a smartphone being unveiled for just under $400 seems rather novel.

Whether that is the price remains to be seen - the design and spec list (which we'll dig into a little later) are a little better than the iPhone 8 - and that still retails for $449. 

iPhone 9... or the iPhone SE 2?

There's a lot of confusion currently reigning about the name of Apple's forthcoming budget phone.

Case-makers have gone early and tried to predict that it'll be called the iPhone SE 2 - and usually, they're pretty on the money. 

However, to go for the SE 2 title would be an odd move from Apple, given the last model came out four years ago, and was designed to be a smaller handset for those that missed the more holdable model.

Fast forward to the impending launch and we're expecting something much larger - it doesn't really feel like the same sort of special edition, does it?

If anything, the next version of the 'budget' iPhone feels more akin to the iPhone 5C, taking the same shape and innards as the 'main' handset by making it cheaper in a number of ways.

The iPhone 8

So that leads us back to the iPhone 9 - the iPhone 8 was last phone to put large bezels above and below the screen (along with the Touch ID button), so the iPhone 9 would be a continuation of that line, and reports have suggested that it will indeed be the case.

But then you run into the issue of the iPhone 9 sounding like a real downwards step from the iPhone 11, currently one of the world's best-selling phones. 

While it's understandable - the iPhone 9 will be much cheaper - subconsciously it sends out a message that this phone is 'lesser', which is why Apple as usually come up with something more random (such as SE, 5C or XR) to help disguise the fact.

So what will it be this year? Truthfully, we're currently stumped. If it follows the current nomenclature, we could see the iPhone 11 with a suffix - so the iPhone 11R, iPhone 11SE or some other random letter (Apple never explained what the 'C' stood for on the iPhone 5C).

For now, the iPhone 9 seems the best bet.

iPhone 9 design

As alluded to previously, the design of the iPhone 9 looks set to be almost identical to that of the iPhone 8, the iPhone 7, the iPhone 6S and the iPhone 6. Why change a winning formula, hey?

Well, actually, Apple did precisely that when it moved to the 'all-screen' phones of the iPhone X and later - but it hasn't stopped manufacturing the iPhone 8.

That means it's got the machinery to quickly built to turn around the same shape as that model, but pack it with new innards to keep it more up to date and, crucially, allow for more updates to future versions of iOS (as iPhone 6 and 6S owners can now no longer get the newest software.

This detail comes from Kuo once more, and has since been seen in renders from note leaker @Onleaks, as you can see below.

In its guise as the iPhone SE 2, the new budget iPhone has been 'seen' in a number of forms over the last two years, from a hybrid of the original SE (with angular metal sides) and the iPhone 6-8 range (with a more rounded glass front). 

It seems that will no longer come to pass, with the same iPhone 8 design, with the single camera on the rear, back in play, combined with the same 4.7-inch LCD display too.

At least that means no notch, right?

iPhone 9 specs

OK, so we've been through the price, the iPhone 9 release date, the expected design... and one question remains: what's going to make this new phone that much different?

It's a good point to posit, as it's hard to see how this model is going to be cheaper than the iPhone 8 - but it looks like that's going to be the case.

From (once again) Kuo  - and also reported elsewhere - we're hearing the following spec list:

• 3GB RAM
• A13 chipset (the same as used in the current iPhone 11)
• 4.7-inch LCD screen
• Touch ID button
• Single camera (MP still unknown)
• 32-64GB storage starting option
• No headphone jack

Let's break down those specs a little and see if we can't find out where the costs savings might be coming.

The first is the RAM, which is 25% lower than the iPhone 11 - and that's low in modern times, which means some apps might not run as smoothly.

If there was only 32GB of onboard storage, that would suggest that the iPhone 9 was  true budget phone, and would only interest those not particularly bothered about having a high-power phone... the amount of apps and media you could save on there would be pretty stingy.

However, most rumors put the iPhone 9 as having 64GB of onboard storage, which would be more than enough for most, but doesn't explain where the cost savings are coming from.

The 4.7-inch LCD screen isn't going to be high-res, with the same 750x1334 resolution as seen on the iPhone 8 - which will be a cheaper component. It'll be more than decent, but won't have the sharpness as the iPhone 11 nor the color-dripping beauty of the iPhone 11 Pro's OLED screen.

There have been plenty of rumors tipping the iPhone 9 to have Face ID facial recognition on board, or a fingerprint sensor baked into the power button - but more rumors (and our educated guess) would say that the home button / fingerprint sensor combo will remain.

And, sadly, there's almost certainly no headphone jack on board the iPhone 9 - simply because Apple's too far down the road of saying it's not needed on a smartphone to go back now.

So let's say goodbye to that port if you're an iPhone fan, and get saving for some cheaper AirPods Pro Lite.

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Sex Education season 3: release date predictions and what we know

Netflix’s raunchy but educational smash hit is returning for a third outing: Sex Education season 3 is official. Confirmation came less than a month after the stellar second landed, which we absolutely gobbled up in very few sittings. 

Sex Education keeps up with the lives, worries, and sexual hang ups of various students, parents and faculty of Moordale High School, situated in the frankly gorgeous Welsh countryside. Its timelessness ensures it can't be pegged back to a certain point in time: its themes are intended to be universal.

Mother and son Jean - the Gillian Anderson and Asa Butterfield - as they attempt to apply their knowledge of sexual psychology to their increasingly complicated lives: Otis for some quick cash, and Jean to sincerely help those in need, plus a decent helping of curiousity. The show quickly grew out of this premise and attracted a diverse ensemble cast ready to tackle all manner of social and sexual problems. 

Below, we'll break down what we know about Sex Education season 3 so far, including its likely release date, returning cast and possible storylines. Spoilers follow. 

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Sex Education season 3 is confirmed

Netflix confirmed that Sex Education season 3 is in the works on February 10, 2020.  As reported by Deadline back in 2019, the first season of the show drew in an impressive 40 million viewers during its premiere week, so the renewal is no surprise. Given the show's apparent popularity on social media, it's safe to assume Sex Education has found its audience. 

Sex Education season 3 release date predictions: expect it in 2021

Fortunately, Netflix seems to understand exactly how thirsty Sex Education fans are for more of the show, and marked the season 3 renewal announcement with a teaser. Much like season 2’s initial reveal trailer, which featured Gillian Anderson delivering a sultry monologue about the benefits of sex ed, the season 3 teaser is playfully narrated by Alistair Petrie’s Principal Groff.

We see the troublemaking principal walking the halls of Moordale High, passing portraits of Sex Education’s main cast as he notes what the future could possibly hold for each of them. The teaser wraps up with an invitation to find out more in the coming third season, but stops short of revealing an actual release date. 

If Netflix holds true to its current pattern of release for the show, which given its rating success seems possible, we predict we'll see season 3 release in January 2021. Production details are still quite scarce, but Production Weekly has the third season listed in a recent 2020 production schedule for May, so the timing roughly lines up. 

Sex Education season 3 cast: who we expect to return

While a confirmed cast list for season three is yet to hit the web, we feel pretty confident in assuming the characters featured in the teaser video are returning. 

Series headliners Butterfield (Otis Milburn) and Anderson (Dr Jean Milburn) are featured, along with a sizeable chunk of the supporting cast including Emma Mackey (Maeve Wiley), Ncuti Gatwa (Eric Effiong), Connor Swindells (Adam Groff) and Patricia Allison (Ola Nyman). Given how heavily season 2 leaned into an ensemble narrative approach, it would be difficult to imagine the show returning without the bulk of the cast reprising their roles.

Anderson tweeted about Sex Education season 3 on the day of the renewal (note the patterns on the ceiling above her):

Sex Education season 3 story: what we expect from the next set of episodes

Series creator and writer Laurie Nunn was already hard at work on the script for a third season well before Netflix renewed the show

In an interview with LADbible, Nunn touches on the tight working schedule for the series, noting that the writing process of another season before confirmed renewal is a normal part of how TV production works. When asked about the potential for future stories, Nunn said, "I love writing these characters. It's such a big ensemble and I think the theme of the show – in terms of it being about sex and relationships – it really just offers up endless story opportunities."

Season two pivoted away from its focus on Otis and instead opted to lend almost equal time to the wonderfully diverse characters around him. The internet’s newest queer icon Eric (Gatwa) benefited the most from this shift in show structure, allowing for a nuanced and moving insight into the struggles of a young black queer man. His popularity clearly hasn’t gone without notice, as the teaser video for the third season is largely focused on the potential of his blooming romance with his former bully Adam.

Eric isn’t the only student with love on the brain, of course. The timeless 'will they, won’t they?' dance between Otis and Maeve (Mackey) seems set to come to a head. The somewhat divisive final scenes of season two saw Otis confess his love to Maeve in a voicemail, only for it to be deleted by Maeve’s new love interest before she could hear it. 

While some fans have been critical of this story beat as an artificial extension of the character’s ongoing love dilemma, the show’s director shrugs off any potential backlash. In a chat with BT, Ben Taylor says "I think shoes will be thrown at screens. In a good way. I love being p***ed off at stuff. You think you want it, but you don't”. 

There are plenty more threads featuring the supporting cast that need to be picked up in Sex Education season 3. Jean ends season two with a newfound appreciation for emotional intimacy with her on-again, off-again partner Jakob thanks to her friendship with Adam’s freshly divorced mother Maureen. Elsewhere, various students are now grappling with revelations about their identity and place in the world as they face the realities of sexual assault trauma, non-conventional identities and the looming prospects of the future. 

It's one of Netflix's best shows

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about further developments for the show, Nunn is excited about the places she and her writers can take the eclectic cast. “These characters ... they've got legs. I think I could do some more with them if we're given the chance,” she said. “[Netflix] is very supportive and really wanting us to tell the stories that we feel passionate about. It really feels like we're all on the same page, wanting to make the same show.”  

It’s an exciting prospect for a show primarily made by young, diverse talent both in front of and behind the camera. It’s not hard to see why Sex Education has resonated so deeply with fans. It offers a very human, non-judgemental look at the issues facing not just teenagers, but many adults who are still coming to terms with their own sexuality. Nunn’s writing is razor-sharp, and the show’s inclusive agenda makes it a fine addition to Netflix’s growing library of progressive media and stories. 

Bring on season 3. 

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The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: release date, trailer, cast and what we know

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier on Disney Plus is one of the Marvel TV shows we're most excited about. It's the first time we've seen the MCU properly venturing onto the small screen (sorry, Netflix's Marvel shows), developing the accepting canon of the Marvel movies. 

After the fallout of Avengers: Endgame, this show will see Captain America stars Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) team again to face new and returning threats. Steve Rogers passed the shield on to Sam at the end of Endgame. 

He's still known as the Falcon, though: "I'm not Captain America. Just because he told me to hold his shield, he didn’t say 'you're Captain America now,'" Mackie told IGN. "The question is, what did he do with it next?" Marvel's CCO Kevin Feige said at CCXP in 2019. Sam now feels the weight of responsibility in carrying that shield. 

Below, you'll find everything you need to know about The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, with details about the cast, release date, footage we've seen so far and more. 

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The Falcon and The Winter Soldier release date: August 2020

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has a confirmed release date of August, now, with a specific day yet to be announced. There are six episodes in total. Expect them to roll out weekly on Fridays, like all existing Disney Plus originals. 

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier trailer: does one exist?

Sort of. During the Super Bowl, Disney Plus released a 30-second teaser of the first three Marvel shows on Disney Plus. You get more of Falcon and Winter Soldier than you do of Loki and WandaVision, including a moody shot of Bucky holding a gun at Helmut Zemo's head, an extremely brief shot of Falcon flying in his new costume and the two characters greeting each other on what looks like some kind of remote ranch. 

You also get a look at John Walker (Wyatt Russell), also known as Super-Patriot and USAgent from the comics running onto a football pitch. We'll explain more below, but it feels like a fight is brewing over who gets to be the next Captain America. It's just enough of a tease to get you excited about the show.  

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier story: what we know so far

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, as the name suggests, brings Sam and Bucky back together again for a story set in the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame. 

There's no official synopsis for the series, but after Disney dropped the teaser above, Marvel called it a 'global adventure that tests their abilities – and their patience'. It will feature the return of the villain Helmut Zemo, last seen in Captain America: Civil War, and this time wearing his mask from the comics. 

You just know Bucky will want revenge after the events of that movie. In Civil War, Zemo controlled Bucky's mind with a series of trigger words, and caused a sequence of events that almost led to the Winter Soldier's death at the hands of Tony Stark. 

We know Sam won't be Captain America yet in this series, even though we've seen him practicing with the shield in the teaser trailer. Indeed, in the Disney Plus special Expanding the Universe, we actually see a brief shot of his new costume, which is somewhat in line with the classic Falcon look from the comics.

Although the plot of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is being kept under wraps for the time being, comic book writer Marc Bernadin theorized that there's been some tension about Sam Wilson taking over as the new Captain America, and that this will form the basis of the upcoming show. "The [US] government doesn't want Sam Wilson to be Captain America," he suggests. It makes a lot of sense, and it tallies with another key bit of casting on the show. 

Back in November 2019, Wyatt Russell was added as the aforementioned John Walker – a character that should be all too familiar to comic book fans. Originally known as Super-Patriot, the former soldier will appear in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier TV series with a Captain America-esque suit. In fact, we've even seen concept art of what it looks like.

From the Disney Plus documentary Expanding the Universe.

This could be a sign that the US government intends to replace Captain America with one of their own. Could there be a battle here over who gets to have the title of Captain America? We can't be sure yet, but that would be a neat direction for this show. 

Either way, expect plenty of rich character moments between the action. "We don't want it to be all action all the time," executive producer and showrunner Malcolm Spellman says in the Expanding the Universe documentary. "We need to go home with these characters, we need to spend time unearthing who they are. And since we've got great actors, put them in situations where they really get to show what they do."

"We can create the same exciting high-end action sequences but then in between those set pieces, we get to dive deeper into the character beats," says Zoie Nagelhout, supervising producer of the show. "So it's the best of both worlds."

The Falcon and Winter Soldier cast: who's returning

It's no secret that The Falcon and The Winter Soldier will see Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan reprising their roles from the hit Marvel movies. But it looks as though we're in for a real treat as a number of other familiar Marvel faces return for the upcoming TV series.

Emily VanCamp appears again as Agent 13 aka Sharon Carter – a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and Peggy Carter's niece. The last we saw her was during the events of Captain America: Civil War when she shared a kiss with her now-uncle Steve Rogers…but the less said about that, the better. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier should fill in the gaps since Civil War, explaining what Agent 13 has been up to since going on the run.

As explained, Daniel Brühl will return as Helmut Zemo, this time sporting his mask from the comics. And as discussed, too, Wyatt Russell is part of the cast as John Walker – a militaristic successor to Captain America who is presumably the number one candidate that outside forces want to see pick up the shield. Actors Adepero Oduye, Desmond Chiam and Miki Ishikawa have been cast in currently unknown roles.

In February 2020, it was reported by Deadline that Carl Lumbly (Alias) had joined the cast in an unknown role.

Kari Skogland (The Walking Dead and The Punisher) is directing all episodes with Spellman and Derek Kolstad (John Wick) as the show's main writers.

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier will explore Captain America's legacy

Bucky's new costume, again spotted in Expanding the Universe.

It seems like The Falcon and The Winter Soldier will be as much about the legacy of Captain America as it is about its titular characters. Presumably, this show will complete Sam's acceptance of the role – or see the Avenger make it his own. 

Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo have previously explained why they chose Sam Wilson to take over as Captain America, instead of Cap's long-time friend, Bucky Barnes.

"Ever since they met in [Captain America: The Winter Soldier], there seemed a very common bond between the two characters," Anthony told Yahoo! Entertainment. "Their military background, their humility, their sort of commitment to serving. It just seemed like that would be the person Cap would entrust."

"We [did consider Bucky]," Joe added. "But... we try to logic it out and sit in the room and talk through what makes the most sense from an arc standpoint and from a logic standpoint, and Sam made the most sense."

If nothing else, this show should look fantastic. A THR story reported that the per-episode budget for the upcoming Marvel shows is up to $25 million. 

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Samsung Galaxy Note 10, Galaxy Note 10+ Get Facial Recognition, Gestures Improvements With New Update: Report

https://ift.tt/154AwVo Galaxy Note 10 update size is said to be 260MB, and the security patch is at February 2020. The translated changelog suggests optimisations in facial recognition and full screen and navigation gestures.

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Black Widow trailer, release date, cast and everything we know

Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow is an iconic member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever since the beginning of the gargantuan movie experiment. But while the MCU's other stars have headlined plenty of their own movies, Widow has always had to pair up with another hero while they take all the glory. Until now. 

The new Black Widow movie is coming May 1, 2020 in the UK and US, and it puts the spotlight firmly on Natasha Romanoff, and her mysterious past life as an assassin trained by the Russian government. A solo outing has been much deserved for such a popular character. Plus, we've only been treated to the one female-fronted MCU movie by this point: Captain Marvel.

As the dust settles on the universe-changing events of Avengers: Endgame, this is the first film to emerge from the MCU’s Phase 4. Returning us to the aftermath of Civil War, the Black Widow movie is seeing in the dawn of a new era along with Doctor Strange and Black Panther sequels, and new properties like The Eternals and Shang Chi.

Details are coming to light even more the closer we get to launch, so here's what you need to know about the Black Widow movie release date, trailer, cast, and how it fits into the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline. Spoilers for older MCU films follow.

Black Widow release date: in cinemas in 2020

The Black Widow movie is set for release in the UK and US on May 1, 2020. Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame (the highest-grossing movie of all time) released on April 26, 2018 and April 25, 2019, respectively, so this is traditionally a strong time of year for Marvel. 

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Black Widow trailers and featurettes

The first Black Widow movie teaser debuted in early December 2019. It opens with a montage of Romanoff staring into a mirror and scenes from previous MCU movies. “I used to have nothing. But then I got this job. This family. But nothing lasts forever,” she says in a voiceover. Those lines encapsulate the main themes of the trailer, which focuses on the character’s origins, and the notion of family. 

We see Romanoff meeting a returning William Hurt as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross – could this be where the Russian agent is persuaded to defect to the United States? – and also Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, an operative with similar skills to Black Widow, who Romanoff describes as “sis”. Biological sisters, or spiritual? We’ll have to wait and see…

“We have unfinished business,” Black Widow continues. “We have to go back to where it all started.” Cue assaults on military bases (apparently from her past), scenes of bonding with former colleagues Red Guardian (Stranger Things’ David Harbour) and Melina (Rachel Weisz), and Romanoff in a new-look white suit. We also get a first glimpse at Taskmaster, widely believed to be a major villain in the movie.

We get to see a little more in the Black Widow 'Special Look' trailer above. Building on what we saw from the original trailer, we can see that Black Widows must face up to her past by tackling a new breed of assassin, a "new world of Widows". In the original trailer Widow hints at the "mistakes" she made before joining S.H.I.E.L.D and this army of assassins appears to be those made manifest.

This is seemingly part of the "arc" Widow undertakes, as Scarlett Johansson mentions in the making-of featurette below. In it you can get a sneak peek at some behind-the-scenes action and see short interviews with director, Cate Shortland and producer, Kevin Fiege.

In this Super Bowl 2020 Big Game Spot we see more of Romanoff's pre-Avengers family, all suited, booted, and ready for action.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The long-awaited first solo outing for Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff – aka Black Widow – a stalwart of the MCU since 2010’s Iron Man 2.
• Where can I watch it? This will be a typically massive Marvel release, so pretty much any multiplex on the planet.
• When can I watch it? May 1, 2020.

How does Black Widow fit into the MCU? 

Eagle-eyed viewers will have noticed the inconvenient fact that (spoiler alert for the two or three people who haven’t seen Avengers: Endgame) Black Widow was one of the high-profile casualties of the final Avengers movie. The new film isn’t messing around with continuity, however, because it’s set some time in the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War, when Natasha Romanoff is living as a fugitive after helping Captain America and Bucky Barnes (the Winter Soldier) escape the authorities. 

"There are ways to do prequels that are less informative or answer questions you didn’t necessarily have, and then there are ways to do prequels where you learn all sorts of things you never knew before,” MCU overlord Kevin Feige teased io9 back in June. “I look at Better Call Saul as a wonderful example of a prequel that almost completely stands on its own apart from Breaking Bad because it informs you about so many things you didn’t know about before."

It also seems likely that the movie will feature plenty of flashbacks – the scene with Ross in the trailer features a significantly de-aged William Hurt, suggesting the meeting takes place much earlier in Romanoff’s history. We also see hints of the brutal “Red Room” facility seen in Avengers: Age of Ultron, where Black Widow was trained. In other words, expect this to be the MCU movie from the other side of the Iron Curtain.

What other Black Widow story details do we know about?

Beyond what’s in the trailer? Not a lot. This is Marvel, after all, a studio well known for not giving away unnecessary plot details. With Black Widow being such a popular character, however – along with the fact MCU movies tend to get sequels – we can’t help wondering if this will be an excuse to bring the deceased Natasha Romanoff back into the wider Marvel continuity, much as Avengers: Endgame provided a way back for Tom Hiddleston’s Loki.

Black Widow cast explained

Marvel always secures A-list acting talent, and the Black Widow movie is no exception. Alongside the returning ScarJo, Oscar-winner Rachel Weisz plays Melina, a Russian spy who goes under the alias Iron Maiden, and is a villain in the comics. Florence Pugh is Yelena, who assumed the Black Widow mantle after Natasha Romanoff in print; and Stranger Things/Hellboy star David Harbour plays Alexie Shostakov, otherwise known as Red Guardian. He’s Russia’s supersoldier answer to Captain America, though in the movie, he appears to be out of shape. 

The principal cast is rounded out by the aforementioned William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross, and Ray Winstone and OT Fagbenle in as-yet-unrevealed roles – there’s speculation that Fagbenle is playing the aforementioned Taskmaster, a masked, bow-wielding vigilante, but Marvel is playing that particular card close to its chest. 

There are also rumors that Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark/Iron Man will make an appearance – he may have been killed in Avengers: Endgame, but as with Romanoff, the Black Widow movie’s position in the timeline makes a comeback feasible.

Black Widow director: Cate Shortland is making this Marvel movie

The Black Widow movie’s director is Cate Shortland, the Australian helmer of Somersault, Lore and TV series The Secret Life of Us. It’s another admirably leftfield choice for Marvel who, after Taika Waititi on Thor: Ragnarok, and Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck on Captain Marvel – are making a habit of taking a chance on interesting filmmakers.

The screenplay, meanwhile, is from Jac Schaeffer (who’s showrunning upcoming Scarlet Witch/The Vision Disney+ show WandaVision), and Ned Benson (The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby).

Can Black Widow continue the MCU's form?

A Black Widow movie is the right move for Marvel after Avengers: Endgame. The stakes of the MCU need to dial back a bit before they can escalate to that level again, and a movie that at last explores Natasha's origins feels like a dead cert. The quality of the ensemble cast, too, speaks to how well Marvel Studios is regarded right now – everyone wants to be part of it. 

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Realme 5 Pro, Realme X Start Receiving Android 10 Update With Realme UI in India

https://ift.tt/2NZCRuZ X and Realme 5 Pro have started receiving Android 10 along with Realme UI in India. The new update brings various software optimisations.

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Vivo’s new Apex zero-port concept phone packs in-display selfie lens and 60W wireless charging

After delaying the launch that would have happened during the cancelled MWC 2020, Vivo Apex 2020 has finally been revealed to the world. As a concept phone, it has a lot of exciting features that could (and should) make it into the mainstream.

Some of these are still a bit radical - like a zero-port unibody design that means you’ll have to rely on wireless charging. Yet Vivo is claiming the Apex 2020 will be capable of an astonishing 60W wireless charging, which would far surpass the current 10W maximum found in some flagships.

Other advances are more universally appealing, like a 16MP front-facing camera situated in the main display - no notch, no punch-hole necessary. This is possible thanks to innovations in screen pixel layout and circuit design, per Vivo’s press release.

The rear camera includes a 5x-7.5x continuous optical zoom on the Apex 2020’s rear camera, which sounds like it could push past the 5x optical telephoto lenses on the Huawei P30 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. That’s exciting enough, but the main lens also features a ‘gimbal-like structure’ for optical stabilization that’s superior to an OIS setup, Vivo claims in a press release.

• The Vivo Apex 2020 concept's top features should make our best phones list in the future
• Contrast that with the exciting perks of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
• Or whatever advanced zoom is coming in the Huawei P40 Pro

Vivo Apex 2020 is mostly, but not totally, rosy

There are some compromises, of course. The Apex 2020 has a tiny 2,000mAh battery, making that 60W wireless charging a regular necessity, not a bonus. No ports likely means no SIM or microSD storage expansion, either. 

Not that we’ll get a chance to test this out in the real world. Like the aptly-named OnePlus Concept One, we doubt the Vivo Apex 2020 will ever hit the market as a consumer-appealing device. But we expect to see its innovations down the road in some capacity - if not in Vivo handsets, then in devices produced by phonemakers looking toward the future. 

• If the Vivo Apex 2020 was sold commercially, it might make our best Android phones list

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