Engadget - Is ‘Halo: Infinite’ worth the wait?

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It's Monday, December 06, 2021.

The wait is finally over. After a year-long delay, Xbox’s iconic hero, Master Chief, is back. With Halo Infinite, there are new toys and fight mechanics, while many players will also benefit from major cosmetic upgrades if they’re playing on the newest Microsoft consoles.

Senior Editor Jessica Conditt has been playing through the single-player campaign mode — while we wait for the rest of the game to appear – and it still seems very much like a Halo experience, for better and worse. Read her full impressions right here.

— Mat Smith

'Fortnite' Chapter 3 officially debuts with a new island and revamped gameplay

Yes, Spider-Man and The Rock are here.

Epic has officially released a trailer that outlines what to expect both in Chapter 3 and its first season, "Flipped." The new island is the star, with the flip from the Chapter 2 finale leading to a complete landscape overhaul that includes chaotic weather. However, the gameplay changes are arguably more important — you'll have to rethink your tactics.

Sliding and swinging mechanics should help characters move (and dodge) faster than before, while camps help your squad heal and store items that persist between matches. You can also earn XP beyond battle royale and hold on to a Victory Crown if you keep winning — possibly marking you out as a major threat during battles.

New characters? Spider-Man should be well suited to the new swinging mechanic, but you can also play as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's Fortnite character, The Foundation, or Gears of War's Marcus and Kait.

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eBay banned some users by mistake

Customers couldn't get any help.

eBay has confirmed it suspended a "small number" of users by mistake on December 3rd. The company didn't provide a cause or reveal the extent of the problem, but said it had fixed the slip-up and notified those affected.

There may have been a significant number of victims. Reddit users devoted a large thread to the bans, noting there weren't any potential red flags for at least some of the accounts. People were suspended even if they had excellent buyer and seller histories or hadn't used eBay for years.

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IKEA's latest wireless charger appears to be a portable model

We wouldn't get too excited.

IKEA has sold a variety of wireless chargers since 2015, but never one you could use without plugging into a wall outlet. It looks like that’s about to change, with images of a new portable Nordmärke Qi charger making their way online courtesy of a few hawk-eyed Reddit users. We also have some details on the device thanks to German media outlet mobiFlip, which obtained them from a reader who bought one at a store in Cologne. No word yet on whether the charger will appear elsewhere, but with these specs, you’re probably not missing out on much.

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Crypto exchange BitMart loses $196 million to hackers

The theft might be difficult to track.

The crypto exchange BitMart has lost the equivalent of $196 million (originally estimated at $150 million) to a hack. The intruder breached Ethereum and Binance wallets with a flood of transfers starting around 2:30 PM ET on December 4th, followed by an exodus of tokens two hours later that included Shiba and USDC.

It's not clear who was responsible, and the stolen funds have been sent to an Ethereum mixing service that could make it difficult to trace.

While this isn't the biggest digital heist (the Poly attacker back in August grabbed $610 million), Coindesk notes this is one of the larger centralized exchange hacks to date.

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Apple takes Russia to court over App Store ruling

The company doesn't want to let app makers mention payment alternatives.

Apple is asking for a judicial review of a Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service warning from August that allows developers to mention alternatives to the App Store's in-app payment system. FAS gave Apple until September 30th to alter its policies, but the company declined to change its rules despite the threat of a fine.

The opposition parallels Apple's legal battles in the US. The judge in Epic's lawsuit against Apple ordered the tech firm to let App Store developers point to other payment systems, but Apple appealed the injunction in hopes of a delay. The court denied the request, and Apple will have until December 9th to let app makers point to other options. The company will make exceptions to its policy for some media apps in 2022.

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