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The Amazon Appstore will no longer be available on Android as of August 20, 2025. After that date, apps from the digital storefront "are not guaranteed to operate" on Android hardware; however, they can continue to be used on devices like the Fire TV and Fire Tablets. The Coins program, Amazon's virtual currency for some Appstore app and in-app purchases, will also end on that same date. Coins will no longer be available for purchase beginning today. The Appstore was Amazon's effort to get in on the app distribution game for Android. Third-party app stores have been a hot topic for the business world in recent years, with the owners of walled gardens insisting that everything is fair while the companies trying to get a share of the action for themselves insist that it's not. There have been mixed moves to address the question in the US government, while regions such as the EU have taken more decisive steps to increase competition. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazon-is-shutting-down-its-third-party-android-app-store-192047953.html?src=rss
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After announcing its plan to end third-party fact-checking in January 2025, Meta's crowdsourced replacement is finally starting to take shape. You can now join a waitlist to be a Community Notes contributor on Facebook, Instagram and Threads when the feature rolls out in the coming months. Contributors are expect to provide context via a note when a post on one of Meta's platforms "might be inaccurate or confusing," according to the company's sign-up page. Community Notes will be able to be added to "most public content across Facebook, Instagram and Threads" and must be 500 characters or fewer. Any note is also subject to Meta's Community Standards and the judgment of other contributors. Meta expects contributors to rate notes so that the correct context gets displayed under posts. To sign-up, you need to be based in the US, be over the age of 18, have a Meta account that's more than six months old and in good standing and have either a verified phone number or two-factor authentication. Meta says contributors will start to be taken off the waitlist once the Community Notes beta launches. The company hasn't given a hard date for the launch, but does mention that Community Notes will be phased in "over the next few months." Meta started testing Community Notes on Threads a little over a month ago. The feature, in name and basic functionality, is inspired by X's Community Notes, which originally launched in 2022 when the company was still known as Twitter. Community Notes and other crowdsourced pseudo-fact checks have been tested on Google platforms like YouTube and Search as well, and they all have the same general weakness. A crowdsourced answer doesn't come with the same guarantee of accuracy as one provided by someone whose sole job it is to be an impartial fact-checker. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/you-can-now-sign-up-to-be-a-contributor-to-metas-community-notes-feature-190814234.html?src=rss
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A day after it was reported that Denis Villeneuve's third Dune movie starts shooting this summer, developer Funcom announced that its open-world MMO Dune: Awakening arrives on May 20 for PC. You can even get a jump on your journey through Arrakis with a character creator that's available today. Dune: Awakening draws inspiration from Frank Herbert's novels and the 2020s films. (Sorry, no speedo-clad Sting in this one.) However, it takes some detours from the established canon. In the game's version of Dune's world, the Fremen have vanished, Paul Atreides was never born and Lady Jessica obeyed the Bene Gesserit's instructions to give birth to a girl. (In other words, she's a total square.) So, in addition to being a bit of a "What If?" version of the Duniverse, it gives the developers freedom to use familiar environments and characters without having to tread too closely to the lore of the books and films. Handy! Funcom Funcom says you start as a prisoner sent to Arrakis to investigate the Fremen's disappearance. "Following in the footsteps of the mysterious desert tribe, you will learn the true meaning of desert power as you rise from a nameless survivor to becoming an agent of the Atreides or the Harkonnen," the game blurb reads. The character creator you can tinker with today lets you tweak your hero's looks and choose their home planet, caste and mentor (Swordmaster, Bene Gesserit, Mentat or Trooper). True to Dune form, your protagonist will have to put their hand in the box and take the dreaded Gom Jabbar test. (Fortunately, your hand will be on a keyboard or controller, not inside a sci-fi torture test.) You can use your custom character when the full game launches. The tool also includes a benchmark mode, so you'll know whether you need to invest in new PC hardware to play the survival game when it arrives. Dune: Awakening launches on May 20 on Steam. It costs $50, and pre-orders will open soon. The game is also coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, but there's no release date for the console versions yet. You can check out the latest trailer below. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/dune-awakening-will-spice-things-up-on-may-20-184552623.html?src=rss
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