France is still rejecting the Apple/Google coronavirus contact tracing API, despite acknowledging that it offers an ‘innovative and efficient’ approach. The country is planning to begin testing its own app in the week of May 11, says a government minister … Reuters reports that the French government sees contact tracing as an essential element in easing lockdown restrictions. The minister does not give any rational reason for the decision not to use the contact tracing API created by the two tech giants....

From 9to5Toys.com . MacUpdate is offering 9 solid Mac Apps valued at $131 for free. Normally, I’d throw in a “you get what you pay for” clause in here but there are some seriously useful tools on offer. Grappler is fantastic for pulling audio off the web. Backblaze for 3 months is way better than their normal 15 day free trial. Video Rotate, and SnapNDrag always helpful for correcting iPhone videos as are Color Strokes, LightFrame and PhotoBatch for images....

In today’s broadband and mobile Internet age, 90% of the work you do on a computer involves the Internet. This fact makes using different browsers sometimes necessary since there is always a browser that is better at one thing and worse at another. When hearing “Browser” or “Internet” what do you think of first? My guess would be Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari or Firefox. But what about the less popular browsers that don’t have the user base to make such an impression and reach the top 5?...

After several delays, the Friday the 13th video game gets an official release date. Among the pantheon of horror movie monsters, arguably one of the most beloved by fans is Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees, the murderous momma’s boy who prowls Camp Crystal Lake for unwitting teenage victims. That may sound weird to say about such a character, but after 12 films, Jason has become a genre institution, and almost like a form of comfort food for those who’ve long-followed his grotesque exploits....

Friends could have turned out differently had the network got their way with adding a seventh lead character, Pat the Cop. NBC was keen on this additional friend but thankfully, the writers won that battle. It’s been a decade and a half since Friends came to an end, but it’s still one of the most popular sitcoms due to its presence through syndication and streaming services. Much of the show’s success is credited to the unwavering chemistry between its core cast: Monica (Courtney Cox), Ross (David Schwimmer), Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), Chandler (Matthew Perry), Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), and Joey (Matt LeBlanc)....

What happened to Gunther after Friends ended? The character, portrayed by James Michael Tyler, appeared in 185 episodes during the sitcom’s decade-long run on NBC, the most aside from the main cast. Gunther’s surprising move in the Friends series finale had viewers wondering about the character’s fate. Gunther was introduced in Friends season 1 as the manager of Central Perk. He was best known for his brightly colored shirts and bleached hair, a topic of long-running gags in the series....

Get your free August content calendar How to use it: Head to the final page in our content calendar PDF to find the caption generators and hashtags and match up the date with the one shown in the calendar. Save them inside Plann in hashtag sets, mix and match to your heart’s content and add in your own hashtags where appropriate. How to use the captions and hashtags: You can now download your own copy of the entire months caption prompts + accompanying hashtags sets in the document attached to the calendar....

Ross Geller changed his place a few times in Friends. At first, he lived with Carol in a one-bedroom apartment. He stayed there from his divorce up to his subsequent marriage to Emily. The whole ‘I-take-thee-Rachel’ fiasco, ultimately cost Ross his second marriage but before his divorce with Emily was decided, she made him change apartments because she didn’t want to be near anything that Rachel had touched. They moved into her cousin’s apartment but when their marriage was finally over, the cousin kicked out Ross....

Friends’ pilot episode was the perfect start to the series. The sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman is celebrating its 25th anniversary with marathons, special screenings, and the famous Central Perk couch touring around the world – it’s a great moment to be a Friends fan. The series’ first episode aired on September 22, 1994 on NBC and was the beginning of what would become one of the greatest TV shows of all time....

The world of Game of Thrones is populated with numerous family names. There are the big ones like the Starks, the Lannisters, and the Targaryens. But there are also smaller ones, like the Daynes, the Tarlys, and the Mootons. How are we supposed to keep all of these family names in our brains before the final season ends? It is an exercise in futility. Luckily, we’ve watched this show so many times, every aspect of its lore is imprinted in our brains forever....

Game of Thrones is finally back and it feels so good. With only one episode down, there’s already so much to take in with the show moving at a fast pace towards its end. The first episode helped to set up the conclusion while also calling back to the very start of the series. As we recall the very first episode, it’s hard not to think about how much Westeros has changed over the years as the fight for power and the Iron Throne has left many dead....

Game of Thrones showrunners, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, revealed that they found Jason Momoa through fan casting pages. Momoa portrayed Dothraki leader Khal Drogo on the series, and many regarded it as his big break. Not long after his time on the show, the actor then went on to play the titular character in DC’s Aquaman. That film became a monumental box office success, taking in $1.02 billion worldwide, with a highly-anticipated sequel now in the works as well....

Warning: This post contains minor behind the scenes spoilers for Game Of Thrones - We’re only ten weeks (!) away from the return of Game Of Thrones, and while fans are mourning the end of the show after this season, they’re also going wild with fan theories and speculation about what is going to happen in season 8. There have been plenty of comments from the cast to suggest that, unsurprisingly, the final season is going to be the biggest, the most shocking, the most incredible season yet - and though the ending is going to be ‘bittersweet’, it’s also going to be absolutely amazing....

The new cyberpunk inspired game Gamedec has released a few screenshots from its game-within-a-game “Harvest Time” and it looks a lot like a realistic Harvest Moon. Gamedec is a sci-fi RPG that is set in a future where humans escape reality by entering virtual worlds, and the player is a detective solving virtual crimes. The game will release on Steam later this year. Gamedec begins in a way that is very similar to other cyberpunk media like Blade Runner or Altered Carbon....

Previously, Kamcord allowed its community to view uploaded gameplay videos through its community mobile apps or online, but now it’s letting users live stream their mobile gameplay to the community. For now, the live streaming feature is only available on the desktop through Kamcord’s web app for creators (although users can view the live streams in the Kamcord mobile apps), and the company has teamed up with a handful of notable video creators to kick off the launch of the feature....

In this week’s edition of Friday 5 we showcase a couple of new games to try this weekend, including Stagehand, a title that places a new twist on the traditional platformer. We also look at Spiraloid, a stomach-turning 3D title that starts off slow, but delivers big fun in later stages. If games aren’t your thing, then you might consider Parallels Access, a subscription-based app that lets you easily access your Mac from your iPhone or iPad while away from home....

Game Freak has revealed that cut Pokémon will be returning to Pokémon Sword & Shield as part of free updates, and while this announcement has been met positively by fans, there are many who are wondering why the company never mentioned this until after the game was released. Nintendo revealed that a new Pokémon Direct was coming this week, which led to speculation that paid DLC content was coming to Pokémon Sword & Shield....

David Benioff & D.B. Weiss’ Star Wars film series reportedly takes place during the Old Republic, and the first installment is said to begin filming in the fall. This year, the biggest event in the Star Wars franchise is the premiere of Episode IX, which concludes the ongoing sequel trilogy and the Skywalker saga as a whole. But as one era for the property ends, another begins. Lucasfilm is actively developing two separate film trilogies from Rian Johnson and Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff & D....

Foxconn is a key partner for Apple with the iPhone, and is believed to be one of the leading manufacturing partners for Apple’s upcoming Apple Car project. The company even confirmed today that it plans to build electric vehicles in North America by 2023, and is currently hunting locations in the US and Mexico. Naturally, Foxconn was asked about whether its electric vehicle plans were somehow related to an Apple deal....

Today’s best deals include Woot’s big iPad and MacBook sale, plus markdowns on Acer displays, and WeMo’s HomeKit outdoor plug. Head below for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break. Woot launches biggest iPad and MacBook sale of the year Today only, Woot is offering a large selection of iPads and MacBooks from $290. Headlining is Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro 2.3GHz/16GB/512GB in new open-box condition for $1,890. As a comparison, this model regularly goes for $2,399....