The Academy Awards ceremony has been held since 1929, with the ceremony broadcast via radio for the first time in 1930. In 1953, the event was first televised and has been ever since. As the oldest of the major annual entertainment awards in America, the Academy Awards are a huge production. It’s not just about the honor of being nominated — earning an Academy Award can be career-changing. You might think you know everything there is to know about the Oscars, but as you gear up for the2024 Academy Awards, here are lesser-known interesting facts about its origins, past, and how things run behind the scenes that you’ll find fascinating....

Phone scammers purporting to be from a Chinese consulate office are tricking people in the U.S. into handing over huge sums of money. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)saidthe Chinese-language calls appear to be going to “people with Chinese last names.” Those outside the apparent target group may be unaffected by the racket, but the FTC warned everyone to be vigilant as “scammers’ tactics can change quickly.” The commission said that people across the U....

Last July, we wrote that Amazon is attempting tofill the voidleft by the recent demise of Toys R Us and would publish a holiday toy catalog, a strategy often employed by brick-and-mortar retailers. According to a recentCNBC report, the ecommerce giant is taking a page out of the tried-and-true traditional holiday books of retail toy stores. Instead of relying on all-digital advertising, Amazon is shipping a 68-page printed guide to millions of American households in advance of the holiday season....

Apex Legends dev responds to request to buy skins without coins An Apex Legends developer has responded to fan requests to use Crafting Materials to purchase exclusive skins as they’ve got no use for them otherwise. It has been over five years since Respawn Entertainment first launchedApex Legends, and the game has undergone a huge number of changes. Plenty of OG players have stuck around since the early days and are able to flex their longevity on newer fans with old skins....

We now live in an age where the two most popular flagship smartphones in the world are water resistant. While that may be incredibly comforting to know next time youriPhone 7 or Galaxy S8takes an unexpected swim, that doesn’t mean they’re impervious. If liquid gets in, there’s always a chance something could go wrong. Besides, water damage isn’t covered in either phone’s warranty. You’re not satisfied with the status quo, and fortunately, neither are smartphone manufacturers....

Microsoft is hoping to entice gamers with a hot new deal on the company’s Xbox Game Pass subscription service and there are some upcoming new additions to the library that sweeten the deal further. April’s Xbox Game Pass lineup includes the additions ofPrey, Monster Hunter: World, The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, Life is Strange: Episode 2, Resident Evil 5,andThe Golf Club 2. Available now, gamers canpurchase a three-month Xbox Game Pass subscription for $1....

An interesting report fromThe Elecsuggests that Samsung could be pulling back on the number of cameras found in its midrange smartphones, preferring to focus on improving the quality of what’s there rather than continuing to play the numbers game. This year’s midrangeGalaxy A series phonesall sport four cameras on the rear: a main shooter ranging from 48 megapixels (MP) in the Galaxy A33, to 64MP in theGalaxy A53, to 108MP in the Galaxy A73....

“Why you may trust Digital Trends – We have a 20-year history of testing, reviewing, and rating products, services and apps to help you make a sound buying decision. Find out we test and score products.“ During the last two gaming generations, developers like Telltale andQuantic Dreamredefined the narrative adventure genre, putting less emphasis on point-and-click puzzle-solving. Instead, they focused on making the game like an interactive movie with many player choices that have a direct impact on the game’s narrative....

OnePlus 7TAndy Boxall/Digitaltrends It’s that time of year again, when OnePlus has a new phone to show off, despite its last new phone coming out just a few months ago. The OnePlus 7T is the new phone in question, and as the name will tell you, it’s a successor to theOnePlus 7and not theOnePlus 7 Pro. Where is the OnePlus 7T Pro? That’s a question without an answer at the moment, so let’s focus on theOnePlus 7T....

Boost Mobile has always been seen as a smaller phone service provider, but the trade-off of that is the lower prices it offers. The company has now announced major upgrades to its growing 5G network. Previously, Boost Mobile operated as an MVNO (or mobile virtual network operator). In other words, Boost didn’t have its own towers — it sort of piggybacked off the towers of other networks. Now, Boost Mobile is announcing it covers 70% of the country with its own 5G towers and provides 99% service coverage through roaming partners....

Heading back to school soon and looking for a newChromebookto take with you? You’re not alone. Seemingly everyone is trying to get a great new Chromebook, whether it’s for taking to school or for making working from home that much easier, Chromebooks are in high demand. While many retailers have sold out, there are still some that have them in stock, ready to be delivered as soon as possible. Here’s where Chromebooks are still available....

Destiny 2’sSeason of Arrivalsmay be lighter on content than previous updates, but it does bring a new public event to the fold called Contact. LikeSeason of the Worthy’s Seraph Towers, the Contact activity can be activated on different planets and will earn players some seasonal triumphs. Here’s what you need to know to master Contact, including how to activate theheroic versionof the event. The basics To trigger the activity, open up your director and head to Io....

Fortnitechapter 3, season 2, week 9 is underway, with yet another set of challenges for you to complete. This time, you’ll need to visit specific locations around the map, use certain items/weapons to deal damage, and even utilize vehicles to complete quests. Thankfully, this week’s quests aren’t too tricky, so you should be able to complete them in just a few matches. Here, we’ll go through all the new season 2, week 9Fortnitechallenges, with a guide for each one of them....