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With America's long-term (and even short-term) economic prospects shifting on Eric Cartman-like whims, some internet providers have begun offering multi-year price guarantees to provide a little stability amid the chaos. A couple of weeks after Verizon introduced a three-year price lock, Comcast has followed suit with a five-year pricing guarantee for new Xfinity residential customers. On the bright side, the deal isn't linked to an annual contract requirement. But, as you might expect from a massive broadband company, there's plenty of fine print. First, the offer only applies to 400 Mbps home internet plans with one year of Xfinity Mobile Unlimited (one line) a package that starts at $55 monthly (before taxes and fees). Then, if you want unlimited data, you'll need to use an Xfinity Gateway, which requires a monthly rental payment, or pay an extra $30 monthly to enjoy it with your own modem. The locked-in price doesn't cover installation, taxes, fees or other charges, which Comcast notes are subject to change during and after the promo. So, at least in theory, the company has some wiggle room to raise the price without technically raising it. Finally, if you don't enroll in and maintain paperless billing and automatic payments, you'll pay an extra $10 each month (or an extra $8 if you pay by credit or debit card). After reading those two paragraphs of fine print, you may find it amusing that Comcast's press release frames the price guarantee as being about simplicity. "Our new price guarantee removes complexity," Comcast COO Steve Croney wrote. Still, with Americans increasingly being forced to check their 401(k)s and stock portfolios like gamblers check a high-stakes sports score, any small oasis of financial stability is at least something. Comcast's offer ends on June 23.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/comcast-rolls-out-a-five-year-price-guarantee-with-plenty-of-fine-print-173421738.html?src=rss
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Following a limited, four-month preview, Google is making its Veo 2 video generation model available to more people. The company has begun rolling out the tool to Gemini Advanced users, who can use it to create 720p clips that are up to eight seconds long. "The more detailed your description, the more control you have over the final video," Google says of the model. For the time being, Gemini will only generate footage in 16:9 landscape orientation, meaning it wont be great for creating social video. That said, Google notes you can upload videos directly to TikTok or YouTube through Gemini's share sheet, and any footage you create through the chatbot will automatically be formatted as a MP4 file. Relative to the models iteration, Google says Veo 2 has a better understanding of real-world physics and human motion. If you want to start using Gemini to generate video clips, you'll need Google's $20 per month One AI Premium Plan. Once the company completes the roll out of Veo 2, video generation will be available in every language you can use Gemini on both on the web and mobile. Separately, Google is bringing Veo 2 generation to Whisk. For the uninitiated, Whisk is an experimental AI application the company offers through its Google Labs beta platform. It allows you to generate images from both text and image prompts, and with Veo 2 now baked in, you can use Whisk to animate what you create through the app.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-brings-veo-2-video-generation-to-gemini-advanced-170014422.html?src=rss
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There are physical editions of the iconic shooters Doom and Doom II coming out, thanks to Limited Run Games. All editions ship with both games, but the highlight is something called the Will it Run Edition. This one comes with all kinds of extra goodies, including a game box that actually runs the original Doom. You read that right. Box play Doom. All you have to do is connect a USB controller, as the box also has a port. It costs $666, which is a nod to the devilish source material, and is being kept to a limited run of 666 copies. It comes with the aforementioned screen-enabled game box that runs Doom, but thats just the beginning. The combo pack ships with the soundtrack on cassette, a certificate of authenticity and a trading card park with five cards. It comes with a couple of toys based on one of the franchises most iconic enemies. Theres a detailed three-inch Cacodemon that connects to a five-inch base, which looks pretty nifty. Theres a smaller handheld Cacodemon that, youll never guess, also runs Doom. Limited Run Games This edition is available for Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. The PC version, however, ships with a download code and not physical copies of both games. Preorders start on April 18 and end on May 18, with a release sometime after that. If $666 is too rich, or demonic, for your blood, there are also cheaper editions available. The Big Box Edition costs $100 and ships with both games, a really big box, a trading card set and the soundtrack on cassette. The Standard Edition only includes the games and costs $30. Get ready to mow down demons in this definitive collection DOOM + DOOM IIcomplete with SIGIL & SIGIL II on disc/cartwill be available on April 18th! pic.twitter.com/xv04Tjv9RT Limited Run Games (@LimitedRunGames) April 11, 2025 However, these arent straight ports of two 30-year-old games. The developer has made some enhancements for modern players. The visuals have been upgraded, with a native 60 FPS frame rate and 16:9 support. The weapon carousel has been updated for faster switching and the dev has added gyroscopic aiming. These titles now offer local four-player co-op and online play. The games also include a bunch of new maps and long-standing community mods, with the ability to integrate new mods. Theres even a brand-new episode called Legacy of Rust that was co-designed by id, Nightdive Studios and MachineGames. Players can also switch between the original music and a modern soundtrack. For those wondering why the developer would even make a box that runs Doom, its because the games ability to run on weird things has become a beloved meme at this point. Doom has been found running on pregnancy tests, rat brain neurons and even via gut bacteria.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/666-edition-of-doom-includes-game-box-that-itself-plays-doom-165022410.html?src=rss
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Larian Studios has deployed the final major update for Baldurs Gate 3. It's a pretty spicy one too, as the developer is adding a bunch of the community's most-requested changes. Among them is full cross-play support. So, no matter whether you're playing on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S or Mac, you can squad up with your buddies and help each other get through the huge RPG. Another welcome arrival is that of a built-in photo mode. This will be available during most parts of the game, including cutscenes. You can also slap stickers on your snaps and apply several effects to them. Along with those updates, Larian has added 12 new subclasses, and it says each of them offer new ways to play the 2023 hit. The additions are as follows: Bard College of Glamour Barbarian Path of Giants Cleric Death Domain Druid Circle of Stars Fighter Arcane Archer Monk Way of The Drunken Master Paladin Oath of the Crown Ranger Swarmkeeper Rogue Swashbuckler Sorcerer Shadow Magic Warlock Hexblade Wizard Bladesinging Larian says each of the subclasses has fresh abilities, animations, visual effects and summons. The latest Paladin subclass comes with new voiced dialogue for the Oathbreaker Knight, the studio says. Steam Trading Cards are new to Baldur's Gate 3 too, enabling Steam players to craft badges and unlock profile backgrounds and emoticons for their accounts. On top of all that, Larian has added support for partial level editing for current characters, items and triggers to its modding toolkit, as well as some quality-of-life updates. The studio says it's passing the reins to the community to make future updates as it's moving onto other projects, which will not include the next game in the series. While it's beavering away on other games, Larian plans to release weekly videos about Baldur's Gate 3 and development of the game on YouTube.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/baldurs-gate-3-gains-cross-play-a-photo-mode-and-more-in-its-final-major-update-155317724.html?src=rss
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Dune: Awakening, the open-world MMO inspired by Frank Herbert's novels and Denis Villeneuve's films, has been delayed. Developer Funcom said on Tuesday that it needs "a bit more time to cook." Previously slated for May 20, the game has a new release date of June 10 on Steam. Funcom says the three-week delay will allow it to "act on a lot more of the feedback we know is important to our beta testers." The game is in a closed one now, but the developer says it will roll out a larger-scale beta test in May. Further details on that are coming "soon." Although June 10 is the new launch date for those who buy the $50 standard version, Funcom is launching a head-start incentive for those who plunk down $70 or $90 on the Deluxe or Ultimate edition. Those versions will unlock on June 5. (Gotta love paywalling an earlier release date.) Funcom Although Dune: Awakening is set in the familiar Duniverse on Arrakis, it uses an alternate timeline. In this "what if?" version, the Fremen have disappeared, Paul Atreides was never born (sorry, Chalamaniacs) and Lady Jessica gave birth to a girl. You start as a prisoner taken to the planet but soon "learn the true meaning of desert power," rising to become an agent of the Atreides or the Harkonnen. You can get a jump on things today with a character creator, launched in February, that lets you build your hero and take the Gom Jabbar test. (For more casual Dune fans, that's the hand-in-a-box torture test.) You can use your character when the game launches. Dune: Awakening will only be available on Steam when it arrives on June 10. You can pre-order it now. It's also coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, but those versions don't yet have a release date. $50 $50 at Steam This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/dune-awakening-gets-pushed-back-to-june-155059951.html?src=rss
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