From everything that was shown and from everything we know so far up to this point, Hogwarts Legacy appears as if its going to be incredibly awesome. It is not too often that PlayStation highlights a video game from their State of Play that isn’t a PlayStation exclusive, but given the hype this game has around it, I don’t blame them.
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What exactly is Hogwarts Legacy?
Hogwarts Legacy is an open-world, action RPG that is set in the 1800s wizarding world. You will experience life as if you were your very own student at Hogwarts. Throughout the course of your journey, you will try and uncover hidden truths while also perfecting your magic abilities. You will have the chance to master spells, brew potions, tame magical beasts and that is just the tip of the iceberg.
Will we see any major Harry Potter Characters?
Since Hogwarts Legacy takes place in the 1800s, it will not be set in J.K Rowling’s original set of stories. This is all happening well before Harry, Hermione, or Ron ever attended Hogwarts. This means you become a student before those three legendary characters even have gotten the chance to step through Hogwarts’ doors.
You may come across some familiar faces or names along the way, but remember the game takes place in the 1800s so there will be a lot of new faces, friends, and enemies that you aren’t used to hearing about.
What are some of the features and activities featured?
As seen in the State of Play gameplay that was shown, you are going to have the option to customize and create your wizard to look the way you want. This makes it to where everyone’s character can represent them and there won’t be a default character that everyone has to choose. After you customize your wizard to your liking, you will see the famous Sorting Hat that will sort you into one of either: Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw.
The catch through all of this is that this isn’t your freshman year at Hogwarts. You will be starting out as a fifth-year student. You are late to the party, but better late than never. Also, just because this is a video game, doesn’t mean that it can get you out of school. As a wizarding student you will have to attend classes just like every other wizarding student. The classes that you will be attending aren’t your typical math or science class. Instead, some of the classes that you will be required to go to are Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, and Potions. Typical classes for a wizarding student. It appears that casting spells is a very smooth mechanic is Hogwarts Legacy which is great news given you are going to have to do lots of it.
If you are not in class and you want to roam around the campus, you can do just that. There are going to be plenty of different hidden secrets that you will be able to uncover. Hogwarts is a very mysterious school to attend. There will be plenty of dungeons, secret passageways and even puzzles to try and solve as you manage your way around the campus.
What kind of combats will you be exposed to?
The spells and abilities that you learn throughout your journey are going to be put to the test. You may need to learn certain magic spells and special abilities in order to complete certain tasks or puzzles. Most importantly, you will need to master these spells in order to defeat any combats that you find yourself getting caught in.
There will be a plethora of different creatures, evil wizards, and even annoying goblins that will try and destroy you by any means necessary. It is a dangerous world that you will be joining, but luckily there will be plenty of spells that you can master to fight against the evil darkness.
How will exploration work?
Walking around campus is one way to get around, especially when exploring campus. However, Hogwarts Legacy truly brings out the wizarding stereotype when it comes to means of travel. If you want to ride on a broomstick, you are able to do just that. In fact, you will be able to take Flying classes in order to master your broomstick abilities.
If a broomstick is not your type of speed, maybe taking a ride of a magical beast is more your speed. You heard that right. There will be ways where you can tame certain magical beast and ride on the back of them to travel around the wizarding way in a more efficient way.
Everyone will have a different path to that they can go down
The great part of Hogwarts Legacy is that you can cater your magic to how you want to play the game. There are a set of upgrades, talents and skills to aid their progression as a witch or wizard. There will also be challenges and tasks to complete around the wizarding world that will allow you to level up your different abilities. There is a lot of flexibility on what paths you want to upgrade first depending on what type of playstyle that you want to use.
The Room of Requirement is also making its way into Hogwarts Legacy and will be available to provide you with crucial things you made need throughout your journey. The Room of Requirement is the place to go if you are looking for a little boost to find some items you may be looking for.
There is a ton of exploration
Exploring Hogwarts isn’t just limited to the school itself. You are able to go beyond the walls of Hogwarts and explore the regions beyond. You will be able to explore the Forbidden Forest, Hogsmeade Village, and other locations beyond Hogwarts where you will be able to interact with tons of different NPCs and vendors to shop around with. This just proves that this game is going to be massive and will have a ton of different areas to explore. Something that is crucial for gamers when they look deeply into a video game.
Other details
With all the main details that we know about Hogwarts Legacy so far, there are still some minor details that need to be shared as well. Hogwarts Legacy is only a single player game which isn’t terrible for being an action RPG genre style game. There also will not be any micro-transactions either meaning you won’t have to shell out tons of money just to get the best upgrades in all of Hogwarts.
Another thing that I noticed from the State of Play is that there is a change of seasons. At one point there may be snow on the ground and no leaves on the trees as you are in the middle of winter. However, there can be another moment where you are running through a forest with the changing of the leaves. It is a really cool concept and proves that developers have put time and effort into even smaller details like these.
There is no doubt that this game looks visually stunning and there will be tons of different tasks to take on. As time gets closer to the official release date, more and more details will come out and we will get an even better understanding on what the wizarding world will hold for us.
Hogwarts Legacy release date
There is no official release date as of yet except that we know Hogwarts Legacy will be releasing Holiday of 2022. Holiday 2022 can be a couple of different months, but we know it should be released by the end of 2022. Hogwarts Legacy will be available for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One consoles, Nintendo Switch and PC. Based on the little bit of gameplay footage that we have seen, it appears that this game is going to make shockwaves in the gaming community.
The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.
“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.
The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.
However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”
Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.
A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.
“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.
“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”
The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.
At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.
A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”
Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.
Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.
Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.
Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.
While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.
Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.
The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.
— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.
Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:
Apple
The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.
For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.
You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.
Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.
Google
Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.
When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.
You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.
There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.
Facebook and Instagram
Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.
When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.
The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.
You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.
TikTok
The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.
Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.
X
It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.
Passwords
Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?
Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.
But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.
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Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.
The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.
“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”
San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.
Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”
“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.
The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.
