Spongebob Squarepants And TMNT Made Into Xbox Series X Special Edition Consoles

There have been plenty of special edition video game consoles over the years. Adding to that list, Microsoft has announced that it will be immortalising a couple of our favourite cartoon characters as upcoming special edition Xbox Series X consoles, namely Spongebob Squarepants and Leonardo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

These consoles were made specifically to celebrate the recently released Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl video game, which takes on a Smash Bros vibe of allowing players to battle it out using iconic characters from various Nickelodeon franchises. The all-star cast includes popular characters from SpongeBob SquarePants, TMNT, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, The Wild Thornberrys, Hey Arnold!, Rugrats, and more.

Gaze upon the sponge’s eyes when you push and prod them with your fingers on the controller, as he stares back at you from the console seemingly designed to fit hit pants. Leonardo’s Xbox console is, of course, outfitted with his favourite slice of pizza – pepperoni, with no anchovies.

Unfortunately, these limited edition Xbox Series X consoles aren’t up for sale. Instead, Microsoft is offering them through an ongoing Xbox sweepstakes on Twitter. The contest will run until 24 October but to be eligible, you must be living in a country where Xbox Live is officially supported, which sadly rules out Malaysia.

KPDNHEP To Introduce Special Online Business Licence To Protect Consumers

The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) is planning to introduce a special online business licence as a measure to protect consumers from potential scams or fraud. In 2020 alone, the number of complaints on online transactions have increased to a total of 11,510 compared to 5,414 in 2019, the ministry noted.

Deputy minister Datuk Rosol Wahid said that online merchants will be subject to conditions via the new licence, which would enable consumers to make online purchases without worrying about the legitimacy and reputation of sellers. The special licence would be enforced after amendments are made to the Consumer Protection (eCommerce Transactions) Regulations 2012 under the Consumer Protection Act 1999, he added. Details regarding the expected conditions that will be introduced in this new license have not been disclosed at this time.

For the time being, Rosol is advising consumers to avoid potential scams by checking sellers’ bank account numbers before proceeding with any form of online transactions. For this purpose, he is recommending the public to utilise the PDRM Commercial Crime Investigation Department’s “Semak Mule CCID” website and application.

The minister also noted another similar mobile app known as Idenfic, developed by the National Consumer Action Council (MTPN) and 7echnology Sdn Bhd. The app is currently available on both Google Play and Apple App Store.

As most of us are aware by now, eCommerce has become the more preferred approach for consumers to purchase goods, thanks to the ongoing pandemic. Also riding along with its significant rise is the potential risk of scams and frauds. Needless to say, we strongly advise our readers to always stay vigilant when shopping online and always be wary of too-good-to-be-true and other questionable deals.

Twitter Considering Special Rules For Politicians; Has A Public Survey Underway

The banning of Donald Trump from Twitter made it evident that its general rules don’t quite apply to politicians in the same way. The social media company says it has been reviewing its policies for politicians. And now, the company is reaching out to the general public for opinions.

In its blog post, Twitter says it wants to hear from its users “whether or not they believe world leaders should be subject to the same rules as others”. Also part of its public survey is if politician rule violators should face the same punishment.

Of course, Twitter will be consulting more than just the general public. The company says that it is currently “consulting human rights experts, civil society organisations and academics”.

But back to the public survey, it looks like Twitter will be taking input from the public for just short of a month. The company says it will be taking responses starting today, 19 March, all the way until 12 April. The questionnaire will be available in 14 languages, which are Arabic, Chinese, English, Farsi, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Urdu.

Ultimately, it’s not something that will impact most users directly. Though it may be something you want to take part in if you want to have a say as to what happens to (mostly) US politicians when they tweet.