TechCapsules

Actor Barry Sloane, who has portrayed Captain Price in the Call of Duty video‑game series for nearly a decade, told Dan Allen Gaming he would be the “most qualified” person to reprise the role in the upcoming live‑action film directed by Peter Berg and scripted by Taylor Sheridan. Sloane highlighted his long‑term connection to the character, fan demand, and his understanding of the franchise’s scale. He acknowledged Hollywood’s casting conventions but expressed confidence that his involvement would benefit the production. The [...]

Fortnite’s Treasure Hunters season has spurred a massive hunt for Pirate Shop Access tokens, rare rewards that grant 14 days of free cosmetics. Players now map optimal chest‑search routes, targeting hotspots like Plunder Port and Buried Treasure Island, to maximize their slim odds. Content creators share detailed loops and squad strategies, though no confirmed successes yet. The tokens could save players thousands of V‑Bucks, driving intense community coordination and competitive play.

Microsoft has enhanced Outlook Classic’s search by adding a relevance‑ranked set that can display up to seven top results, replacing the previous limit of three. The update also enables Outlook Classic to fall back to Windows Search when cloud search is slow or offline, improving reliability for locally stored emails and attachments. These changes are rolling out immediately, while similar features for New Outlook remain in development. The update aims to make email retrieval faster and more [...]

Union workers at Arkane Studios allege Microsoft sabotaged the development of Marvel’s Blade, citing a 19‑month hiring freeze that caused delays and extra costs. The STJV letter claims Microsoft used these inflated costs to justify closing the studio, despite the game nearing completion. Arkane, which employs 217 staff, is seeking a buyer and demands fair redundancy payments, redeployment support, and training resources. Microsoft’s quarterly report shows $36.6 billion net income, while the union argues the studio’s profitability is [...]

Microsoft disclosed a critical Paint vulnerability (CVE‑2026‑83844) on October 13, allowing remote code execution via an out‑of‑bounds read. The patch, released through the Microsoft Store, requires Paint version 11.2609.401.0 or newer. Users with auto‑updates enabled still see older versions, and many IT admins report the update is missing from the Store. The flaw is rated “Important” (8.1/10), yet no wild exploitation has been reported. Microsoft advises installing the latest Paint update regardless of version discrepancies.

Apple and Samsung were the only major smartphone chip makers to grow market share in the third quarter of 2026, while global shipments fell 21% year‑over‑year, according to Counterpoint Research. Apple’s share rose from 17% to 21%, keeping it third among vendors; Samsung moved from 6% to 8%, placing it fifth. MediaTek remained leader with 28% despite a six‑point drop, and Qualcomm fell to 22% from 25%. New flagship SoCs launched in September – Apple’s A20 series, [...]

LG Energy Solution reported a 28% quarter‑on‑quarter revenue rise to KRW9.6 trillion (US$7.2 billion) in Q3 2026, driven largely by a 60% jump in energy‑storage‑system (ESS) shipments. Operating profit climbed to KRW756 billion, a margin of 7.8%, up from 1.5% the previous quarter. The company’s ESS order backlog reached 160 GWh, with plans to expand North American capacity to over 70 GWh by 2027. New contracts include AI data‑centre customers, and LG ES’s BESS solutions qualify under Nvidia’s AI‑factory program. [...]

Project Groundside, a community‑driven mod for Halo Wars, converts the real‑time strategy game into a first‑person shooter reminiscent of Halo: Reach. Developed for PC, the mod lets players control individual units—including Marines, Spartans, ODSTs, Warthogs, tanks and the Falcon—using Reach‑style weapons, sprinting, and a third‑person view option. A respawn system tied to in‑game supplies balances the new infantry roles. The mod also incorporates AI‑driven mechanics to enable first‑person control while preserving the original campaign and multiplayer modes. Project [...]