OpenAI has started rolling out its advanced Voice Mode feature. Starting today, a small number of paying ChatGPT users will be able to have a tete-a-tete with the AI chatbot. All ChatGPT Plus members should receive access to the expanded toolset by the fall of this year.In an announcement on X, the company said this advanced version of its Voice Mode "offers more natural, real-time conversations, allows you to interrupt anytime, and senses and responds to your emotions."
Spotify users who don't pay for a subscription can once again see lyrics for any song they listen to on the service. Back in May, the company began a wider rollout of a test that it initiated last fall, requiring a paid subscription to see lyrics to any track. Free users could still follow along with the words, but only for three songs a month. Now, Spotify is removing the restriction so free users can see all the lyrics they need to with no cap on viewing them.At Spotify, we're always testing and iterating. This means availability of our features can vary across tiers and between markets and devices," a Spotify spokesperson told Engadget. "Over the coming weeks, we'll be expanding Lyrics availability for Spotify Free users so more people can enjoy viewing more lyrics, globally."As you might expect, the initial move to cap access to lyrics for free users drew backlash earlier this year. Perhaps Spotify thought doing so was a way to push people to its revised subscription tiers that start at $11 a month for music streaming. CEO Daniel Ek explained during the company's most recent earnings call this month that plans were in motion to improve what's offered to free users. It seems that list of updates included bringing back full access to lyrics."We are prioritizing enhancements in our free product pipeline that based on existing performance in certain markets," Ek said on the call. "Further additional improvements will be integrated into our free experience in the coming months."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/spotify-lyrics-are-back-for-free-users-175200293.html?src=rss
The Senate has passed two major online safety bills amid years of debate over social media's impact on teen mental health. The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act, also known as COPPA 2.0, passed the Senate in a vote of 91 - T3.The bills will next head to the House, though it's unclear if the measures will have enough support to pass. If passed into law, the bills would be the most significant pieces of legislation regulating tech companies in years.KOSA requires social media companies like Meta to offer controls to disable algorithmic feeds and other addictive" features for children under the age of 16. It also requires companies to provide parental supervision features and safeguard minors from content that promotes eating disorders, self harm, sexual exploitation and other harmful content.One of the most controversial provisions in the bill creates what's known as a duty of care." This means platforms are required to prevent or mitigate certain harmful effects of their products, like addictive" features or algorithms that promote dangerous content. The Federal Trade Commission would be in charge of enforcing the standard.The bill was originally introduced in 2022 but stalled amid pushback from digital rights and other advocacy groups who said the legislation would force platforms to spy on teens. A revised version, meant to address some of those concerns, was introduced last year, though the ACLU, EFF and other free speech groups still oppose the bill. In a statement last week, the ACLU said that KOSA would encourage social media companies to censor protected speech" and incentivize the removal of anonymous browsing on wide swaths of the internet."COPPA 2.0, on the other hand, has been less controversial among privacy advocates. An expansion of the 1998 Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act, it aims to revise the nearly 30-year-old law to better reflect the modern internet and social media landscape. If passed, the law would prohibit companies from targeting advertising to children and collecting personal data on teens between 13 and 16 without consent. It also requires companies to offer an eraser button" for personal data to delete children and teens' personal information from a platform when technologically feasible."The vote underscores how online safety has become a rare source of bipartisan agreement in the Senate, which has hosted numerous hearings on teen safety issues in recent years. The CEOs of Meta, Snap, Discord, X and TikTok testified at one such hearing earlier this year, during which South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham accused the executives of having blood on their hands" for numerous safety lapses.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-senate-just-passed-two-landmark-bills-aimed-at-protecting-minors-online-170935128.html?src=rss
Meta has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to the state of Texas in order to resolve a lawsuit that accused the company of illegally using facial recognition technology. The suit alleges that Meta used this tech to collect the biometric data of millions of Texans without consent. The agreement marks the largest financial settlement ever paid out to a single state.The lawsuit was originally filed in 2022 and was the first big case brought under the state's Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act, which was put into place back in 2009. A provision of this law mandates up to $25,000 per violation and Texas accused Meta of violating the statute billions of times" via photos and videos that users uploaded to Facebook that were tagged without consent.Additionally, the original suit could have led to an additional $10,000 per alleged violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. In other words, Meta just saved itself a bunch of money, considering the sheer number of alleged violations and a maximum financial penalty of $35,000 each.
When I attended the first hands-off briefing for Star Wars Outlaws at Summer Game Fest 2023, I left Ubisoft's demo room on a high, thinking this could be the piece of media that finally pulls me into the Star Wars universe. I loved the focus on a solo protagonist, Kay Vess, and her cute merqaal pet, Nix. I adored the fact that developers said the game would tell a cohesive, linear story, rather than throwing players into an unfocused open world and calling it AAA. I was eager to get my hands on it.Since then, I've been fortunate enough to access two different previews of Star Wars Outlaws, and my initial excitement has been tempered. It's not completely extinguished, but the slices that I've played have reinforced a bloaty vibe underpinned by unclear navigation and generic combat. I still think Star Wars Outlaws is a pretty game with interesting character designs and environments, but I'm now less hopeful about everything else it's offering - you know, the elements that haven't been plucked directly out of the existing Star Wars universe.UbisoftThe sections I've played of Star Wars Outlaws span cosmic dogfights, parkour levels in metal-lined space stations and military bases, and stealth missions against roaming Stormtroopers and interstellar criminal factions. I also hopped on a speeder and had a great time flying over the dunes of Toshara with Nix on the back of my bike; one thing I'm definitely looking forward to in the full game is entering hovercraft races.As for the bits I actually played, I would describe the overall theme as confusing. I encountered a head-scratching moment in the first minutes of my initial preview at Summer Game Fest 2024 in June: I crawled through a busted, rocky base and found myself at the mouth of a cliffside cave, the mountain too steep to climb down and the ground too far away for a leap of faith. I stood there and searched for an indication of where to go next, scanning the scenery from side to side and top to bottom, but nothing jumped out. So, I jumped.This was the incorrect move, and I died and reset. After searching the edge of the cave for a few more minutes and second-guessing whether I was in the proper location, a Ubisoft spokesperson pointed out a strip of coiled metal high above my head - literally as far up as Kay's field of view would go and blended in with the foliage. An inconspicuous white label identified it as an interactable object, but the entire thing was incredibly easy to miss. I pushed R3 on the controller and hooked onto it with my grappling gun, feeling incredibly dumb. Unfortunately, this was a repeated experience (and feeling) throughout the preview levels.EngadgetOne of the selling points of Star Wars Outlaws is its parkour-style mechanics, where Kay climbs metal grids, slides along shallow ledges by her fingertips and uses her grappling hook to swing across gaps. However, these mechanics are hit-or-miss, draining the flow from any attempted parkour action. The climbable grids are highlighted in a dull yellow that doesn't exactly stand out against rusted metal walls, and even when Kay jumps directly to them, she sometimes fails to connect. This happened to me during both previews, in different sections of the game, and the second instance led me to think the grid wasn't actually climbable at all. I wasted a good chunk of time farting around the affected area before considering another jump to the grid. It worked, but the loop left me frustrated.I don't mind some enmeshed, not-obvious traversal points in my games, but Star Wars Outlaws seems to take this idea too far.Navigating the environments was also weirdly challenging. I got lost in multiple areas in my previews, even with a responsive HUD and highlighted objective markers on the screen the whole time. The little yellow indicator was difficult to follow through maze-like settlements filled with similar-looking stalls, stairwells and hallways, and tracking objectives only got harder once blaster fights broke out. I never want to wonder where the hell I'm supposed to be going in the middle of intense combat, but Star Wars Outlaws served up this situation multiple times.UbisoftI enjoyed some sections of the game just fine, particularly the final mission that I played. On the icy planet Kijimi, I snuck into a protected, two-story ballroom on a mission to steal an object in the center of the space. Nix is always by Kay's side and he can be instructed to collect shinies, flip switches, and distract or attack enemies, and I made him do all of these things during this mission. The stealth mechanics in Star Wars Outlaws are straightforward - crouch to be sneaky - and enemies are generally oblivious unless you're directly in their line of sight. In rooms with two enemies, it's best to send Nix after one guard while silently taking down the other, and then finish off the attacked, disoriented foe as Nix scurries away. I employed this tactic to great success, and even once a blaster battle broke out anyway, I had a good time lobbing grenades and landing headshots in this level.My time on Kijimi gives me hope that maybe I just need a few uninterrupted hours with Star Wars Outlaws for the game to really click. I'm intrigued by its reputation system, where players can track their standing with various interstellar criminal networks, altering the level of access Kay will have with the associated areas and characters. Hacking doors and safes involves a screwdriver and a little rhythm game, and the process is satisfying every time. The speeder controls well and I'm stoked to try out some actual races once I practice a little more. Space battles are dizzying and perfectly serviceable. Nix is adorable in every situation. There's plenty to look forward to here, but I can't forget the frustration that's seemingly built into the climbing mechanics, grappling hook and nav system.UbisoftI'm concerned that Star Wars Outlaws has fallen victim to classic AAA bloat, offering a big universe of mediocre experiences, some of them half-functional and the rest lacking depth or innovation. In the game's previews, there are hints that this is the case. As always though, I'm prepared to be surprised.If I had advice for anyone interested in Star Wars Outlaws - and this still includes me, just barely - it would be this: Look up. Like way up.Star Wars Outlaws will hit PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on August 30.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/i-really-want-to-like-star-wars-outlaws-160032476.html?src=rss
Apple's AirPods Pro high-end earbuds are on sale via Amazon for just $180. That's a discount of nearly 30 percent and nearly matches a record-low price. This deal is for the most-recent second-generation device. There's a reason why these earbuds are the crown jewel of Apple's lineup. They are just that good. The AirPods Pro easily made our list of the best wireless earbuds. We called them a huge improvement over the previous models" and called out the stellar sound quality and active noise cancellation. The transparency mode is more natural-sounding than rival products and the new swipe gesture works better than one would think. We also heaped praise in our official review on the included charging case. We loved the built-in speaker, which helps locate the earbuds and alerts users to a low battery. The battery life is on-point, with six hours for the earbuds and 30 hours with repeated trips to the charging case. There's multipoint connectivity, IPX4 water-resistance and a simulated spatial audio. Did we mention they also sound fantastic, particularly for earbuds? On the downside, Apple loves money. The case features a lanyard loop, for instance, but it'll cost you $13 to get an official lanyard. The original price is also extremely high, at $250, though this deal alleviates some of that frustration. These aren't the only Apple earbuds currently on sale via Amazon. The regular third-gen AirPods are available for $130, instead of $170. Also, the second-gen OG AirPods are available for just $70, which is one heck of a deal. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-airpods-pro-are-on-sale-for-180-right-now-150952950.html?src=rss
It's the middle of summer for those of us in the northern hemisphere, which means many of us are getting out and about to make the most of the warm weather. But there's little worse than finding yourself mid-hike or with several more acts to go at a festival only to find your phone is out of juice. To help you stay in touch with friends and share envy-inducing photos on Instagram, you might need a portable charger, and a solid Anker options is currently on sale. The Anker 334 MagGo Battery with a 10,000mAh capacity is 21 percent off at $31.49. It typically costs $40. This model is a strong choice for iPhone users as it's MagSafe-compatible. According to Anker, you'll be able to charge an iPhone 15 Pro 1.7 times over and an iPhone 15 Pro Max 1.2 times thanks to its decently sized battery. The company also suggests that the power bank could add up to 22 hours of video playback time to an iPhone 14. The power bank delivers 7.5W of wireless charging. It's unlikely to easily budge from the back of your iPhone as it has 10N of magnetic force, which is more than Apple's own MagSafe charger. On the downside, you'll need a compatible device to use this. The Anker 334 MagGo Battery only works with the iPhone 12 and later models. If you have a case that isn't MagSafe-compatible, you'll need to remove that first too. In addition, wireless charging is slower than simply plugging your phone in, but that's perhaps less of a concern when you're off camping for a weekend. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/you-can-snag-an-anker-10k-magsafe-power-bank-now-for-32-143426995.html?src=rss
If you're having a little trouble with Microsoft Office or Teams today, you're not alone. The company has reported some Azure-related issues that are preventing some users from accessing certain services. The problems started at around 8AM on Tuesday.Microsoft reported on a status page that "a subset of customers may experience issues connecting to Microsoft services globally." The company deployed several engineering teams to try and resolve the problem as swiftly as possible. "We've identified multiple workstreams and are working to mitigate impacted workstreams by performing failover operations," it said in a statement. "More details will be provided as they become available."For what it's worth, there was a significant spike in outage reports made to Down Detector on Tuesday morning for both Microsoft and Microsoft 365. Here's hoping the issue is resolved soon so you can rejoin Teams calls you never wanted to be on in the first place.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/some-microsoft-services-including-office-are-suffering-from-an-outage-142757596.html?src=rss
Our pick for the best budget MacBook is back at its all-time low price. Right now, you can get the 13-inch MacBook Air with an M2 chip for its Prime Day price of $799, down from $999. The deal is available on the 256GB models in Silver, Space Gray or Starlight, but doesn't include AppleCare+. We dubbed this MacBook Air a "near-perfect Mac" when it debuted in 2022, giving it a 96 in our review. Some of the features that stood out to us included the M2 chip, which has eight CPU cores and up to 10 GPU cores. Apple might be up to the M4 chip now, but if you're looking for a device that can do all the basics without struggling, then an M2 is plenty strong enough. Apple's 2022 MacBook Air also offers a Liquid Retina Display with a 60Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of brightness. The entire device is also slimmer and sleeker than its predecessor. Plus, it has a quad-speaker system, compatibility with Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio and a three-mic array. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-m2-macbook-air-drops-back-down-to-a-record-low-of-799-135526109.html?src=rss
When people type a question into Perplexity, the two-year-old search engine scours the internet and uses information from multiple sources, including online publishers, to synthesize an answer using AI. Soon, Perplexity will start sharing revenue with some publishers as part of an advertising platform it plans to launch around the end of September, the company announced on Tuesday.The initiative, known as the Perplexity Publishers' Program, comes less than two months after the San Francisco-based startup backed by investors like Jeff Bezos and NVIDIA, and valued at $3 billion, came under fire from Forbes, Wired, and Conde Nast for allegedly scraping content without permission and ignoring robots.txt, a type of file that websites use to block page-crawling bots.Perplexity's initial partners include TIME, Fortune, The Texas Tribune, Der Spiegel and Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com. It's not clear exactly how much revenue Perplexity will share with publishers. Dmitry Shevelenko, the company's chief business officer, declined to reveal numbers but told Engadget that it would be a meaningful double-digit percentage shared back with the publishers that contributed source input to the answer." He also said that the partnership would extend across multiple years without specifying how many. What this wasn't, Shevelenko insisted repeatedly, was a response to the critical press coverage in the last few months. We've been talking to publishers since January," he claimed. No aspect of this program is reactive to these recent accusations."For months, publishers around the world have been concerned about the potential of AI-powered search engines and chatbots to decimate traffic by simply sucking up their content and using it to provide people with answers directly instead of having to actually visit their websites. Google has followed suit too - the company now sources answers from search results and displays AI-generated versions at the top of the page. But so far, it doesn't compensate publishers.[Our revenue share] is certainly a lot more than Google's revenue share with publishers, which is zero," Shevelenko said. The idea here is that we're making a long-term commitment. If we're successful, publishers will also be able to generate this ancillary revenue stream." Perplexity, he pointed out, was the first AI-powered search engine to include citations to sources when it launched in August 2022, although the company reportedly redesigned its user interface to show them more prominently after being called out by Forbes in June.AI companies like OpenAI have struck deals with major publishers including TIME, News Corp, Vox, Axel Springer, the Financial Times and others to use their content to train AI models, writing checks ranging from $5 million to $250 million. Perplexity's revenue-sharing program, however, is different: instead of writing publishers large checks, Perplexity plans to share revenue each time the search engine uses their content in one of its AI-generated answers. The search engine has a Related" section at the bottom of each answer that currently shows follow-up questions that users can ask the engine. When the program rolls out, Perplexity plans to let brands pay to show specific follow-up questions in this section. Shevelenko told Engadget that the company is also exploring more ad formats such as showing a video unit at the top of the page. The core idea is that we run ads for brands that are targeted to certain categories of query," he said.PerplexityThis makes sense for Perplexity because it does not train its own AI models. Instead, it lets users choose from leading AI models like OpenAI's GPT-4o, Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Meta's Llama 3.1 to summarize answers from the web. It's very simple," Shelevenko said, if we're making money and a publisher's content was used on that ad impression, the publisher will get a cut of that revenue."But without knowing how much percentage of ad revenue Perplexity plans to split with publishers, it's unclear whether the move will help publishers make up for any revenue lost due to declining traffic as AI-generated search engines and chatbots become more popular. And breaking into an online advertising business dominated by Google and Meta isn't easy. Setting up an ads business takes time," Toshit Panigrahi, founder of Tollbit, a startup that lets publishers monetize content by offering it to AI companies for a fee they can set themselves, told Engadget. Publishers are expected to hand over content today in the hopes that Perplexity sets up a successful ads business and cuts them in."Shevelenko refused to comment on the recent controversies that Perplexity has been involved in with publishers but acknowledged that onboarding them had become harder in the last few months. Some [of our conversations] were in a great place," he said, and then the bad press hit and then they kind of, you know raised more questions."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/perplexity-will-put-ads-in-its-ai-search-engine-and-share-revenue-with-publishers-130052289.html?src=rss
Tesla has issued a recall on 1.8 million vehicles across the United States, Reuters reports, a sizeable number even for a company that is no stranger to this turn of events. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced the recall due to a risk of software failure to notify individuals of a detached hood.A hood that isn't properly secured could detach while a person is driving and block their view. Tesla has issued an over-the-air software update that should fix the issue. The recall is on select Model 3, Model S and Model X vehicles from 2021 to 2024. It also impacts Model Y vehicles from 2020-2024.This year has already seen a range of Tesla recalls. In January, 200,000 cars were recalled because of a malfunctioning backup camera, and in February, the number beat even this recall, with two million vehicles flagged for too small warning light text. May saw 125,000 vehicles with seatbelt issues, and June brought faulty windshield wipers and trim for 12,000 of Tesla's Cybertrucks.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tesla-recalls-18-million-vehicles-over-risk-of-detached-hoods-140049560.html?src=rss
NASA TV is shutting down in August. The space agency is saying goodbye to its cable channel, which is available on Dish, DirecTV and similar services, as well as on local television providers. Going forward, it will put all its focus on NASA+, its on-demand streaming service that will serve as home to all its documentaries and live event coverage.NASA+ has apparently gained four times more viewership than the agency's traditional cable channel since it was launched in November last year. "In a universe where the way we consume information is rapidly changing, NASA+ is helping us inspire and connect with our current generation of explorers: the Artemis Generation," said Marc Etkind from NASA's Office of CommunicationThe agency's streaming service is completely free and doesn't have ads. Viewers can access it via the official NASA app for iOS and Android when they're on mobile devices, but they can also get the agency's app for Roku, Apple TV or Fire TV if they want to watch on a bigger screen. To watch NASA's coverage and shows on a computer, users can visit the official NASA+ website on their browsers.In addition to announcing its cable channel's closure, NASA has also revealed its upcoming lineup for new shows, episodes and live event coverage. One of the upcoming documentaries entitled Planetary Defenders tackles humanity's efforts at asteroid detection and planetary defense, while Our Alien Earth will show NASA scientists' field work in the most extreme environments all over the world to aid in the discovery of extraterrestrial life in the universe.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nasa-will-shut-down-nasa-tv-on-cable-to-focus-on-nasa-120015334.html?src=rss
In a fireside chat on Monday between NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the SIGGRAPH 2024, the latter dropped the f-bomb. After exchanging leather jackets (apparently two billionaires can't get custom-made jackets that fit), the two talked about the future of AI, chatbots and open large language models. Zuckerberg launched into a lengthy rant about his frustrations with closed" ecosystems, like Apple's App Store. None of that is new - the Meta founder has been feuding with Apple for years.Zuckerberg, decked out in the aforementioned leather jacket and chain, said: There have been too many things that I've tried to build and have been told nah, you can't really build that' by the platform provider that, at some level, I'm just like, nah, fuck that.'"It's the latest public step along his rebrand/ midlife crisis/bit of both. MMA training, Carthage must die" tees and rebellious banter all have more than a whiff of Succession's Kendall Roy.- Mat SmithThe biggest stories you might have missedBorder agents can't search cellphones of NYC visitors without a warrant, court rulesInstagram creators can now make AI doppelgangers to chat with their followersGoogle's first cross-device sharing features for Android now rolling outYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!Apple Intelligence is here, as part of the iOS 18.1 developer betaBut not all the features.It's always fun to do a 180 on a newsletter from the day before. Apple's long-awaited take on artificial intelligence is, well, rolling out. Whoops.The developer betas for iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1 just dropped, and they include some of the first Apple Intelligence features. If you have Apple developer accounts, you can update software and go into settings to see a new option for Apple Intelligence. There, you'll have to join a waitlist, but it shouldn't take longer than a few hours.The update includes writing tools for proofreading, rewriting or summarizing text. You'll also gain the ability to create Memories in the redesigned Photos app, as well as transcribe live calls in the Phone app. Features not yet available are Genmoji, Image Playground, ChatGPT integration, Cleanup in Photos and upgraded Siri.Continue reading.Samsung Galaxy Flip 6 reviewA slightly better foldable for everyoneEngadgetNow there's more foldable competition than ever, how does Samsung's latest flip-phone fare? While Z Flip 6's design has remained largely the same, Samsung made several under-the-hood upgrades this year, with improved battery life and cameras. It makes the best case yet for mainstream foldables, but the company could do more, especially in using the secondary front screen. That said, the new AI features are a lot of fun.Continue reading.Sony made an adorable Astro Bot PS5 controllerThe touchpad has eyes.SonySony announced a themed PS5 DualSense controller to coincide with its incoming Astro Bot game. The game, like the VR title before it, taps into all the tricks and features of the DualSense controller, so the collab is a no-brainer in a lot of ways. It costs $80 and ships September 6, the same day as the game.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-mark-zuckerberg-is-surprisingly-angry-about-closed-platforms-115711926.html?src=rss
In his two decades running the company now known as Meta, Mark Zuckerberg has gone through many transformations. More recently, he's been showing off a seemingly less filtered version of himself. But during a live streamed conversation with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, the Meta CEO seemed to veer a little more off script than he intended.The conversation began normally enough, with the two billionaire executives congratulating each other on their AI dominance. Zuckerberg made sure to talk up the company's recent AI Studio announcement before settling into his usual talking points, which recently have included pointed criticism of Apple.Zuckerberg then launched into a lengthy rant about his frustrations with closed" ecosystems like Apple's App Store. None of that is particularly new, as the Meta founder has been feuding with Apple for years. But then Zuckerberg, who is usually quite controlled in his public appearances, revealed just how frustrated he is, telling Huang that his reaction to being told no" is fuck that."I mean, this is sort of selfish, but, you know, after building this company for awhile, one of my things for the next 10 or 15 years is like, I just want to make sure that we can build the fundamental technology that we're going to be building social experiences on, because there just have been too many things that I've tried to build and then have just been told nah you can't really build that by the platform provider,' that at some level I'm just like, nah, fuck that,'" Zuckerberg said.There goes our broadcast opportunity," Huang said. Sorry," Zuckerberg said. Get me talking about closed platforms, and I get angry."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mark-zuckerberg-says-fck-that-to-closed-platforms-235700788.html?src=rss
The next time you DM a creator on Instagram, you might get a reply from their AI. Meta is starting to roll out its AI Studio, a set of tools that will allow Instagram creators to make an AI persona that can answer questions and chat with their followers and fans on their behalf.The company first introduced AI Studio at its Connect event last fall but it only recently began to test creator-made AIs with a handful of prominent Instagrammers. Now, Meta is making the tools available to more US-based creators and giving the rest of its users the chance to experiment with specialized AI characters."According to Meta, the new creator AIs are meant to address a long-running issue for Instagram users with large followings: it can be nearly impossible for the service's most popular users to keep up with the flood of messages they receive every day. Now, though, they'll be able to make an AI that functions as an extension of themselves," says Connor Hayes, who is VP of Product for AI Studio at Meta.These creators can actually use the comments that they've made, the captions that they've made, the transcripts of the Reels that they've posted, as well as any custom instructions or links that they want to provide ... so that the AI can answer on their behalf," Hayes tells Engadget.Mark Zuckerberg has suggested he has big ambitions for such chatbots. In a recent interview with Bloomberg he said he expects there will eventually be hundreds of millions" of creator-made AIs on Meta's apps. However, it's unclear if Instagram users will be as interested in engaging with AI versions of their favorite creators. Meta previously experimented with AI chatbots that took on the personalities of celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Kendall Jenner, but those characters" proved to be largely underwhelming.One thing that ended up being somewhat confusing for people was, am I talking to the celebrity that is embodying this AI, or am I talking to an AI and they're playing the character,'" Meta's Hayes says about the celebrity-branded chatbots. We think that going in this direction where the public figures can represent themselves, or an AI that's an extension of themselves, will be a lot clearer."MetaAI Studio isn't just for creators, though. Meta will also allow any user to create custom AI characters" that can chat about specific topics, make memes or offer advice. Like the creator-focused characters, these chatbots will be powered by Meta's new Llama 3.1 model. Users can share their chatbot creations and track how many people are using them, though they won't be able to view other users' interactions with them.The new chatbots are the latest way Meta has pushed its users to spend more time with its AI as it crams Meta AI into more and more places in its apps. But Meta AI has also at times struggled to relay accurate information In a blog post, Meta notes that it has policies and protections in place to keep people safe and help ensure AIs are used responsibly."Screenshots provided by the company show that chats with the new AI characters will also have a familiar disclaimer: Some messages generated by AI may be inaccurate or inappropriate."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/instagram-creators-can-now-make-ai-doppelgangers-to-chat-with-their-followers-220052768.html?src=rss
Don't call it AI, but Apple's long-awaited take on artificial intelligence is finally rolling out today. Well, in limited form, anyway. The developer betas for iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1 just dropped, and they include some of the first Apple Intelligence features available to a broader, public group of testers. To be clear, this isn't the full release that was rumored to be delayed till October. These updates are part of an early preview for developers to test.How to get the new Apple Intelligence featuresStarting today, those with Apple developer accounts will be able to update their software and go into their settings to see a new option for Apple Intelligence. There, you'll have to join a waitlist, though it shouldn't take longer than a few hours for you to gain access to the new features.It's important to note that you have to have either an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max to use the new Apple Intelligence features in the iOS 18.1 developer beta, or an iPad or Mac with an M1 chip or newer for the iPadOS 18.1 preview. If your device and Siri's languages are not set to US English, you'll have to change them both to that before you can access the Apple Intelligence setting.You'll also be running software that might be unstable or buggy, so be sure to back up your device before installing the developer beta.What Apple Intelligence features are available now?Once you've been granted access, Apple will deliver a notification to your device. The new stuff you'll be able to play with in this version of the beta include writing tools for proofreading, rewriting or summarizing text. You'll also gain the ability to create Memories in the redesigned Photos app, as well as transcribe live calls in the Phone app (or audio in Notes). Apple Intelligence can produce summaries of those clips.Part of the redesigned Siri is also available, including the new glowing borders, the ability to type to the assistant and it being able to understand requests even if you've stuttered or interrupted yourself mid-speech.Features that aren't yet available are Genmoji, Image Playground, ChatGPT integration, Cleanup in Photos and the personal context and in-app actions for Siri. More should arrive in future betas, and as a reminder the full, general release of iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia is expected later this year. Apple Intelligence features are slated to roll out in 2024 and over the course of the next year.Update, July 29 2024, 5:15PM ET: This story has been updated to include more details around what Apple Intelligence features are available in the developer beta, as well as required language settings.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-intelligence-is-here-as-part-of-the-ios-181-developer-beta-170836131.html?src=rss
Sony's currently prepping a Mario-like adventure game for PS5 that's inspired by its cute little Astro Bot mascot character. That title arrives on September 6 and looks like an absolute blast. Taking a page from Nintendo, the company also just announced a themed DualSense controller to commemorate the release. It's pretty dang adorable.The Astro Bot Limited Edition DualSense wireless controller is an homage to the titular bucket of bolts, who made his first appearance in a collection of VR minigames released back in 2013. Sony calls the controller a true work of art" and it's easy to see why. This thing is certainly purdy. There are a pair of robotic peepers right on the touchpad. The handles and buttons feature Astro Bot's signature blue accent.The company has also explained how the upcoming 3D platformer takes advantage of the DualSense controller's many features. The developer has increased the number of textures that players can feel through the controller via haptic feedback. The adaptive trigger response has been refined to take advantage of the protagonist's new powers. Sony describes being able to feel the thruster rattling" when using a jetpack, as an example.It says that every new power up in the game has been given that same special treatment." This includes the Dual Speeder gadget, which quite literally turns the controller into a motion-controlled spaceship. These new features are for all DualSense gamepads, and not just the one that looks like a robot.The themed controller costs $80 and ships the very same day as the game, on September 6. We played a demo of Astro Bot back in June and came away impressed. We said it feels fantastic" and that the whole thing is infused with childlike joy." Mario had better look out.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-new-astro-bot-ps5-controller-is-pretty-dang-adorable-152727280.html?src=rss
Prime Day might be in the rearview mirror but July isn't done with sales on Apple products just yet. Amazon is running deals on different iPads, including Apple's 10th-generation iPad with 64GB. The device is back down to its all-time low price of $300, dropping from $349 - a 14 percent discount. The sale is available in every color option. Apple released the 10th-gen iPad in 2022, but it's still our favorite budget iPad on the market. We gave it an 85 in our review thanks to perks like its 10.9-inch screen and liquid retina display with a 2360p x 1640p resolution. Unlike many of Apple's more recent products, this iPad comes with an A14 chip rather than a M1 or higher. However, if you're only going to use it for things like watching videos or scrolling the web, then it should be more than enough power. The 10th-generation iPad isn't the only model discounted, with a range of iPads on sale. You can opt for the 2022 version's predecessor, the ninth-gen iPad, which is down to $249 from $329 - a 24 percent discount. Then there's Apple's 11-inch iPad Air with an M2 chip, $559 from $599. If you want to drop a lot of money on an iPad (and get a high-quality product in return), check out the 16 percent discount on Apple's 11-inch iPad Pro with an M4 chip. The top-of-the-line iPad is available for $1,350, down from $1,599. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-10th-gen-ipad-is-back-on-sale-for-300-151024717.html?src=rss
PlayStation 5 owners who have been on the fence about picking up the PlayStation VR2 now might be a little more tempted to do so. The virtual reality headset is on sale for $345, which is $205 off and the lowest price we've seen to date. The PS VR2, which debuted in early 2023, is one of the best headsets we've tested. We gave it a score of 84 in our review. The dual 2K OLED HDR displays are terrific and they deliver an effective resolution of 4K. It's comfortable to wear for extended periods, while the likes of eye tracking and haptic feedback are welcome inclusions. There are some significant drawbacks though. Games from the original PS VR aren't supported on the headset unless the developer has ported them over. The current library of PS VR2 titles is small too, and Sony has not announced any future first-party titles for the headset. That said, the company has started offering PS Plus users some PS VR2 games at no extra cost. And there's now another reason why the headset is starting to look more appealing, especially at this price. In August, Sony will enable PC support for the headset. That will open up a far wider range of experiences for PS VR2 owners who also have a capable gaming PC. The PC adapter will cost $60 and some features, such as haptic feedback and HDR, won't work. However, if you can stomach the trade offs, thousands of Steam VR games (including Half-Life: Alyx) await. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sonys-playstation-vr2-is-cheaper-than-ever-right-now-144941354.html?src=rss
A federal court has ruled that United States border agents cannot search cellphones without warrants in the Eastern District of New York. The decision applies to both US citizens and international visitors entering the region, which includes New York City, the most-visited site by overseas travelers.The case stems from a 2022 incident in which border agents manually searched the phone of a man named Kurbonali Sultanov at JFK Airport in New York. He initially refused and then handed over the device once agents said he had no choice. The phone was later searched more thoroughly with a warrant, but Sultanov moved to suppress evidence obtained during the initial search, claiming it violated his rights.Civil liberties groups backed the motion. "As the court recognizes, warrantless searches of electronic devices at the border are an unjustified intrusion into travelers' private expressions, personal associations, and journalistic endeavors - activities the First and Fourth Amendments were designed to protect," said Scott Wilkens, senior counsel at the Knight First Amendment Institute. The court didn't dismiss the evidence, however, claiming the border agents acted in good faith.The debate over whether border control agents can search electronic devices has raged for years. In 2017, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of 11 individuals who had their phones searched at the border.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/border-agents-cant-search-cellphones-of-nyc-visitors-without-a-warrant-court-rules-130231682.html?src=rss
Google is rolling out the two handy features first announced at I/O in May: Call casting and internet sharing. They're the first wave of the company's new "Cross-device services" that make it easier to hop between Android devices, 9to5Google reported.According to Google's help page, Call casting lets you switch video calls "from your device to another device with the same Google Account... for example, a video calling app may let you cast your call to another device and the app will show a list of your nearby devices that you can cast to." At the moment, this only works for Google Meet; to use it, you select the Cast button that looks exactly like the existing Cast/Chromecast icon).GoogleInternet sharing, meanwhile, lets you "automatically share hotspot access with your own devices," Google wrote. It works with Chromebooks and Android devices signed into your Google Account, provided you have Bluetooth and device location enabled. It doesn't work with Samsung devices, though, so Google suggests using the auto-hotspot feature instead.The new feature is currently on Android 11+ running Google Play services version 24.28.34. That's currently in beta, so we should see a wider rollout soon.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/googles-first-cross-device-sharing-features-for-android-now-rolling-out-123019094.html?src=rss
Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip series has always tempted me more than the Z Fold. Maybe it's the flip-phone nostalgia taking hold; maybe it's the fact that I don't want to watch video inside a square; maybe it's simply the Z Flip's more palatable price. The Z Flip series has launched in tandem with the Z Fold for several years, but often with specifications that put it around the bottom of each flagship family, including the traditionally shaped Galaxy S family. That changes this year, with Samsung addressing some of the Z Flip 5's biggest shortcomings: battery life and middling cameras. It's a good thing too. As we mentioned in our Z Fold 6 review, there's more foldable competition than ever. In fact, in the face of Motorola's most recent foldables, while Samsung is doing something, is it enough? Design and display Image by Mat Smith/Engadget You'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference, visually, between the Z Flip 6 and last year's Z Flip 5, with only some minor design changes. The upgraded camera array now has a metal edge around each lens, and the sides are flatter this year, in line with the design of other 2024 Galaxy devices. There's alo a largely imperceptible reduction in thickness when the device is closed too, likely down to a newer hinge design. Compared to my year-old Z Flip 5, the crease seems once again even less visible this year. While and display sizes and resolutions remain the same, the main screen on the Z Flip 6 tops out at 2,600 nits, compared to the 1,750 nits of the Z Flip 5's display. Samsung claims this is its brightest foldable display yet, and it's more than enough to handle temperamental summer weather here in the UK. It's another crisp, smooth, beautiful flexible AMOLED. Image by Mat Smith/Engadget The Z Flip 6's cover display is the same size, brightness and resolution as its predecessor. Does it look as good as the Moto Razr 50 Ultra? In my opinion, no, but there's enough screen space to read notifications, frame your photos and even watch videos. Also, if you're worried about screen toughness on your new foldable, Samsung's new Z Assurance program is worth noting. It offers a free one-time replacement of Samsung's factory-installed screen protector on the Z Flip 6 and even a one-time discount on screen replacement if the very worst should happen. When it comes to utility, despite more widget support (and space for more of them), the Z Flip 6's Flex Window doesn't do enough. Notifications are still a swipe away, and the expansive screen (introduced last year) offers enough space to take selfies with the device without unfolding it. Samsung's software innovations, like AI-powered translation, take advantage of the dual-screen Z Flip 6, showing both parties what's being said. It's generally pretty accurate, and combining audio and text should help reduce misunderstandings and mistranslations. Galaxy AI powers new photography features tied to the cover display, too. AutoZoom takes at least some of the guesswork out of framing when setting up the Z Flip to take a timed photo or record video without direct supervision, and it works well, cramming in friends or cropping your surroundings to focus in on your group. Editing and modifying the Flex Window is still unnecessarily complicated. Other features are buried away in the Labs section of settings, and there are not enough widgets for a device on its fifth iteration. (Samsung never launched a Z Flip 2.) But, when other flip foldables offer a truncated version of your home screen, and can (with mixed success) run most apps, some new widgets aren't enough. Fortunately, Samsung's Labs settings can run a handful of apps on the cover screen, including YouTube, Netflix, WhatsApp, and Google Maps. It's a start, but if the cover display can handle streaming video, surely I could get a Kindle reading app, or a stripped-down version of Chrome. I wish Samsung had pushed it further. (There are some tools and apps to work around this, many Galaxy Z Flip users swear by Good Lock, but I don't want to have to work around this constraint.) The Z Flip 6 also gets a RAM upgrade this year, up to 12 gigs from 8GB last year. Like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and S24, it has a powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, and I didn't notice any performance issues during testing. Cameras Image by Mat Smith/Engadget The primary camera sensor on this year's Z Flip has finally been upgraded to 50 megapixels, putting it on par with this year's Galaxy S24. It's better, sure, but doesn't quite match the capabilities of leading camera phones like the Pixel 8 Pro, S24 Ultra, or iPhone 15 Pro. Pitting the Z Flip 6 against the Z Flip 5, I was surprised how often the images pretty much matched each other. Predictably, if I chose to shoot on the Z Flip 6 in full 50-megapixel stills, that offered more fidelity than the Z Flip 5. If I shot in 12MP on the Z Flip 6, there often was little difference between the two foldables. The newer phone was less prone to blowing out an entire image when everything was brightly lit. At the same time, it's more reliable in low-light situations, especially when you choose the 12MP setting, letting the phone process those extra pixels for a more detailed shot. The Z Flip 6 seemed more capable of pulling out finer detail, whether that was blades of grass or the soft outline of this patient dog. A bigger benefit of that bigger sensor is that the Z Flip 6 can zoom in by cropping the 50MP image to a 12MP one. You can capture a nice image at 2x and even 4x zoom, without a dedicated telephoto lens. Unsurprisingly, thanks to Samsung's processing, the higher-resolution sensors in the Z Flip 6 perform better in low light than last year's model. Samsung's imaging processing occasionally got a little too aggressive, with clothing and skylines often marred by crinkly lines and artifacts. It's not really a leap beyond the Z Flip 5's cameras, but it wasn't a terrible imaging setup in the first place. This form factor ensures that you're using these high-resolution cameras for any selfies or video calls, meaning nothing else comes close in quality. Galaxy AI features come to foldables Samsung's Galaxy AI software lands on its foldables this year, and the company continues adding and refining. Alongside Chat Assist for writing texts and emails, the fantastic Google Circle to Search is here, making it easier to investigate practically anything you're looking at on your phone. It's the camera features I've been most impressed with - and were pretty much the only Galaxy AI tricks I used with any regularity. Samsung's improved AI photo editing tools are easy to use and right where you need them to be. Once you open a photo, you tap on Samsung's AI sparkle icon, and select objects by circling them. You can then delete your selection or move it into a better position and, with another tap of the AI button, let Samsung's AI fill in the gaps. In complete contrast to the laborious widget menus and settings for the front display, it's so easy to use and does what you want it to. After your AI nips and tucks, there's a view original' button to compare your images. Then there's Sketch to image, a delightful distraction. Making a few cursory lines, or attempt to draw something specific, and Galaxy AI will generate an object and apply it to your photo, often in a photo-realistic way. Sometimes, it even nails it. Image by Mat Smith/Engadget Galaxy phones will add an AI-generated content" watermark, but the bigger signs of AI objects and editing were scale (hi, giant goose), blurry outlines or the rules of physics. I was surprised at how capable Sasmung's image generation was. Sketching a ghost (successfully!) behind a mesh barrier generated my spook behind the barrier. It would also apply appropriate light shading and shadows for some uncannily accurate results. That dog picture earlier? There was no ball there. Also: multiple photorealistic white hats. It was a shame I couldn't change the color of these items, or offer some text-based guidance to recognize my scribbles. It's a gimmick, sure, but it's a good one. I'm still using it a lot, days later. It's a lot of fun. Not all the AI features are that successful: Portrait Studio will automatically detect images of people and offer multiple AI-generated drawings/ sketches and 3D renders, all of which make me look like all the other white male tech journalists who wear glasses. Which is harsh, but fair. Battery life: Better, not great The Z Flip 6 packs a bigger 4,000mAh battery, and the Z Flip series' biggest weakness has been lasting an entire day, especially under heavy use. The Z Flip 6 scrapes through here. Using it as my main phone, it always lasted through a day of heavy use, with around 10 percent left at around 10PM. I would still keep a charger on me, anxious that I might not make it through an evening. On our video rundown test, it lasted over 13 hours of playback on the main screen. Sadly, the frustratingly slow charge speed is still here. The Z Flip 6 can charge up to 25W, and after years of higher charge rates, I felt it took its time to recharge. From empty, it took two hours to top up fully. For comparison, the S24 Ultra can charge at up to 45W, and the Pixel 8 Pro can charge at up to 40W. I think this would also be less of an issue if I weren't worried about the Z Flip 6's battery going the distance. Foldables have typically taken lower power input over the years, likely due to how battery cells are arranged inside a foldable device. However, if the 2024 Motorola Razr+ can handle 45W, why can't the Z Flip 6? Wrap-up Image by Mat Smith/Engadget Samsung's Z Flip series remains the most realistic flagship option when pitted against the smartphone slab status quo. The latest model is satisfying to use and satisfying to fold away and slip into a pocket. The Z Flip 6 also has better cameras, improved battery life and comes with all the Galaxy AI features that are shaping up to be Samsung's smartphone USP. Perhaps this focus on AI meant that the cover display has barely evolved since last year's Z Flip - especially frustrating when the Z Flip 6 costs $100 more than its predecessor. While you can tap into experimental features to enable YouTube playback and Google Maps access, it's a little underwhelming, especially when rivals like Motorola have proved that more is possible on a foldable's secondary screen.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-galaxy-flip-6-review-a-slightly-better-foldable-aimed-at-everyone-120041523.html?src=rss
There are so many songs and trends floating around on TikTok that it can be hard to keep track of them. If you're open to singing - or at least humming - a little tune, that might change. TikTok has started rolling out a new feature called "Sound Search" that allows you to hum, sing or play a song, and the platform will show you the tune and videos that use it, TechCrunch reports.That last point sets it apart from YouTube, which lets you search for a song in the same way but doesn't pull up videos that have it. It's also ahead of the long-standing Shazam, which requires you to play the real song rather than hum a few bars to identify it.TikTok's Sound Search, however, does seem to work better when a song is more popular on the app. In some instances, singing lyrics might show, instead, a video about a topic or word mentioned instead of the actual song. The new feature is accessible by going to the search bar, clicking the microphone and picking Sound Search. Currently, Sound Search is only available to a small group of users in select areas.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tiktoks-sound-search-lets-you-find-videos-by-humming-or-singing-120029367.html?src=rss
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple Intelligence may not be part of September's public releases of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18.According to Gurman, Apple is planning to introduce Apple Intelligence with iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1, out by October. It's not all bad news: The betas for these - with some of the AI features - will reportedly be ready for developers as soon as this week.It's a bit of a disappointment, though - just like my experience with the early beta of iOS 18. A lot of the most exciting software features teased seem to require the might of Apple Intelligence.When the company's take on AI does finally arrive, it may not offer everything teased at WWDC: An AI-powered Siri should arrive later.- Mat SmithThe biggest stories you might have missedElon Musk shared a doctored Harris campaign video on X You can date everything in Date Everything!Amazon drops the first teaser for its upcoming Yakuza video game adaptationSome sex toy businesses might not survive Etsy's new seller policiesYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!Samsung Galaxy Ring reviewA bit basic, a bit pricey.EngadgetSamsung's new product category has arrived: Lightweight, comfortable and with a surprisingly rich trove of health metrics and data, it's an impressive debut. No subscription also puts it ahead of the existing competition. It's still a little pricey, however. Read on for our full review.Continue reading.ISPs are fighting to raise the price of low-income broadbandCompanies argue $30 broadband is impossible.A new government program is distributing federal funds through states to encourage internet service providers (ISPs) to offer lower rates for lower-income customers.However, a letter sent to US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo signed by more than 30 broadband industry trade groups, such as ACA Connects and the Fiber Broadband Association, raises both a sense of alarm and urgency" about their ability to participate in the program. It claims a fixed rate of $30 per month for high-speed internet access is completely unmoored from the economic realities of deploying and operating networks in the highest-cost, hardest-to-reach areas."Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-apple-intelligence-may-not-arrive-with-ios-18-112000779.html?src=rss
Simply Elegant Glass has been selling hand-crafted sex toys on Etsy for nearly a decade. In that time, the shop has made over 7,000 sales and racked up more than 1,500 mostly five-star reviews. The Etsy shop - which offers glass dildos, anal plugs and other insertable items - drives the majority of the small business' overall sales. But as of Monday July 29, the bulk of the shop's catalog won't be allowed on the marketplace anymore under Etsy's new restrictions around sex toys.The Adult Nudity and Sexual Content policy, which was quietly published at the end of June to the platform's House Rules," states that Etsy prohibits the sale of adult toys that are: inserted into the body; applied to the genitalia; designed for genitals to be inserted into them." Among other things, it specifically forbids vendors from selling dildos, vibrators, anal plugs, sex dolls and fleshlights." The policy update, spotted first by Mashable, came in tandem with a community forum post by Etsy's head of Trust & Safety, Alice Wu Paulus, who wrote that it was designed to reflect evolving industry standards and best practices so that we can continue to keep our users safe."The note about the impending change said Etsy would, in the coming weeks, communicate directly with sellers who may need to update their listing images to be compliant." Enforcement would begin on July 29, it said, and non-compliant listings would be removed. But up to three weeks after the new policy was published online, sellers that spoke to Engadget said they were never contacted directly by Etsy. All of them found out about the ban through social media or other means.Etsy did not answer specific questions about the reasons behind its decision when contacted by Engadget, but a spokesperson said the change will only affect a very small percentage of the platform's overall seller community. The only explanation stated in the policy change itself notes that the site wants to ensure content is appropriate for a wide audience."It's been received as the final nail in the coffin for many adult-oriented businesses on Etsy. Multiple sellers described the preceding years to Engadget as a fight to exist and succeed on the platform. And with no alternative marketplace for handmade products currently operating at Etsy's scale, it feels as though the only venue for finding such items has been essentially deleted off the internet," said Andy, a glassblower for Simply Elegant Glass who chose to share only their first name.If I want to find products that are handmade - unless I knew of their existence beforehand through Etsy - finding them is incredibly difficult," Andy said. They said they found advertising on Google to be prohibitively expensive," and products from small businesses are often buried in search results. If a person were just searching by product type, I don't think you would be able to find [Simply Elegant Glass] on Google," Andy said.Simply Elegant Glass launched its own website a few years ago and recently migrated to Shopify in an effort to shift away from its reliance on Etsy, but said in a recent post on X that even still, most of our traffic originates from Etsy searches."As they see it, Andy said the platform has trended toward allowing more dubious sellers, people who do not actually make the toys, dropshippers" and shops that would otherwise seem to fly in the face of [Etsy's] policies." Dropshipping is an increasingly common practice in which businesses sell products they don't actually make or even keep in stock themselves - instead, they source these items from a third-party supplier once they've received the orders, and the suppliers will ship them to the customers. Etsy has said that dropshipping is not allowed on the platform under most circumstances, but dropshippers have still found a way.In addition to sex toys, Etsy's new policy prohibits the sale of all pornography, including vintage Playboy magazines and any photographs or photo-realistic depictions of sex acts and genitalia. Non-realistic artworks featuring sex acts or genitalia may be permitted, but only under certain conditions: if sex acts are shown, there can be no visible genitalia; if genitalia are shown, there can't be any sexual context." Any materials that feature a combination of familial and sexual terms, e.g., slogans such as Daddy's slut' or Choke me Mommy,'" are out, too. Etsy will, however, continue to allow certain sexual accessories, like some BDSM gear and sex furniture.Sellers that spoke to Engadget questioned why Etsy couldn't solve issues of safety with methods other than a ban, like creating a designated adult-only section to keep these materials from popping up in inappropriate places.The marketplace is one that sellers and shoppers alike have come to rely on for bespoke sex products. Etsy is really the only place you can go that I know of to support small business/makers in the alternative product world," Alissa Milano, an Etsy patron who has purchased sex and kink products on the platform, told Engadget in a DM.On top of discoverability, the intuitive user interface makes it easy for shops to create listings and offer customization options, and it gives potential buyers a way to get in touch with a seller if they have any questions before placing an order. I talk to most of the customers," said Daniel Tyler, who runs the UK-based adult site Secret Kink, and sells on Etsy under the name of SecretLatex. Often, he says, they want little changes here and there. If you're buying on Amazon, you won't get that." And because it costs so little to list products on Etsy - $.20 per listing - it's probably the most accessible place to sell something," said Chelsea Downs, founder of New York Toy Collective. Emerging indie marketplaces like Spicerack that are trying to provide a better option for sellers in the adult space are a promising development, but they don't yet have the reach or name recognition of Etsy.Even before the ban, though, adult product sellers say they've grappled with account suspensions and seemingly arbitrary listings removals, despite their best efforts to comply with Etsy's existing rules around mature items. Or, their shops would plummet in the search ranks and be unable to climb back up. It just gets worse and worse and worse," said Downs, who notes that her shop's sales on the platform are not nearly what they once were.Tyler says his Etsy shop was banned about six or seven years back for unknown reasons. I couldn't get the shop open, no one would respond," he said. He rebranded and returned to the platform a few years later, and has so far been safe," but says, I get various warnings about policy violations every other week." The current Etsy shop sells latex and rubber kinkwear as well as dildos, silicone penis sleeves and gender expression products such as packers - prosthetics meant to mimic the bulge of a penis and testicles that can be worn under clothing. Some of his listings won't be allowed under the new rules.Etsy sales accounted for 50 percent of Secret Kink's turnover last year, and 30 percent the year before that, Tyler said. I always said to my partner that I'm worried that any day... they're just going to close my store down," he said. Amid the economic struggles small businesses are already dealing with, Tyler says the platform's latest move is just another kick in the teeth."Both Tyler and Downs also expressed concerns about how the changes could affect shoppers' access to gender affirming products. Downs' shop, which has made over 12,000 sales in its seven years on Etsy, also sells a mix of pleasure and gender expression products. According to an Etsy spokesperson, items like packers that would be classified as prosthetics and not toys (i.e. not intended for sexual acts) are still permitted, along with some sexual wellness products.The overhaul at Etsy comes on the heels of age verification laws that have begun to gain traction in the US, with the stated intent of shielding minors from adult content on the internet. In recent weeks, Pornhub has pulled out of several states that have enacted or are trying to push forward with such legislation, rather than comply with verification methods that could pose a privacy risk to the site's users. And sex was already a tough sell for online businesses prior to this movement. Payment processors, like PayPal and Stripe, have historically taken a harsh stance on the sale of sex-related products and sexual content (remember when OnlyFans tried to ban porn to appease the banks?).Whatever Etsy's reasoning, affected sellers say they're bracing for industry-wide impacts. Matt Rowe, one of the owners of the fantasy sex toy shop Odyssey Toys said in an email that it's going to be a devastating blow for so many" artisan makers. There's some extremely talented people driving innovation and creating some incredible work through their designs, and for many of them their business may have the rug pulled out from underneath them almost overnight."Rowe said he considers Odyssey one of the lucky ones" because Etsy currently accounts for only about 20-25 percent of the business' sales - but the potential impact on the team of owners and workers, plus their families, is still really worrying." Odyssey moved into a bigger office earlier this year, and brought on new staff members, Rowe said.With no word from Etsy in the aftermath of its decision, many sellers said their future right now feels uncertain. We're left wondering if our account will be deactivated? Restricted? Or will they just remove our products? Who knows!" Rowe said.Selling sex toys may have put a target on their backs, but the affected sellers warned that there are broader issues plaguing Etsy that will continue to affect even the small businesses that don't carry mature products. Their gripes include being dinged" in search rankings for not offering free shipping, and having to navigate a playing field that's changed immensely with an influx of dropshippers, mass-produced products and AI art. This idea of a handmade marketplace no longer exists," said Downs.In July, Etsy updated its seller handbook with new categories to reflect what it says belongs on the platform, loosening its grip on the handmade," vintage" or craft supply" categories that listings were once required to fit into. Now, shops can choose to label their products as made by a seller," designed by a seller," sourced by a seller" or handpicked by a seller."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/artisanal-sex-toy-businesses-might-not-survive-etsys-new-seller-policies-230014133.html?src=rss
Apple Intelligence isn't likely to be ready in time for the public releases of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 in September, but you might not have to wait too long for it after that. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is planning to introduce Apple Intelligence with iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1, which the company expects to be out by October. The betas for these - with some of the AI features - will reportedly be ready for developers to start playing with as soon as this week.Apple Intelligence won't offer its full suite of features at the start. Some, like the AI-powered Siri, are expected to come later in the year.Gurman has reported that these updates could even slip into next year. And when Apple Intelligence does arrive, it won't be compatible with every phone that can support iOS 18. Apple said during its announcement that it requires a device with an A17 Pro processor or M-series chip. That rules out all recent iPhone models except the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-intelligence-reportedly-may-not-arrive-until-october-with-ios-181-213406695.html?src=rss
As spotted by The New York Times, Elon Musk shared an altered version of Kamala Harris' campaign video on Friday night that uses a deepfake voiceover to say things like, I was selected because I am the ultimate diversity hire," in the VP's voice. Nowhere does the post alert users to the fact that the video has been manipulated and features comments Harris did not actually say. Under X's own policies, users may not share synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context media that may deceive or confuse people and lead to harm (misleading media')."The post has been up all weekend, amassing over 119 million views by early Sunday afternoon. It was originally posted by another user, @MrReaganUSA, whose post states that it is a parody. Among other things, the voice in the video says, I had four years under the tutelage of the ultimate deep state puppet, a wonderful mentor, Joe Biden." Musk's post - which only says, This is amazing," with a laughing emoji - has not been labeled as misleading, which the site will sometimes do if it determines certain media is as such, and no Community Notes have been added, though NYT notes that several have been suggested.Altered media is in some cases allowed to stay up on the site and won't be labeled as misleading, according to X's policies. That includes memes and satire, provided these do not cause significant confusion about the authenticity of the media." The potential for deepfakes to be used to influence voters' opinions ahead of elections has been a growing concern in recent years. Earlier this year, 20 tech companies signed an agreement pledging to help fight the deceptive use of AI" in the 2024 elections - including X.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/elon-musk-shared-a-doctored-harris-campaign-video-on-x-without-labeling-it-as-fake-172617272.html?src=rss
Apple and the unionized employees at its Towson, Maryland retail store have reached a tentative agreement that could secure them better pay, job protections, scheduling improvements to support a work-life balance and a more transparent disciplinary process. The Towson location in 2022 became the first Apple Store in the country to unionize, and back in May, it voted to authorize a strike against the company after unsatisfactory" negotiation outcomes.The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers' Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (IAM CORE) said it's been negotiating with Apple since January 2023. Under the tentative three-year agreement they've now reached, workers would be given average raises of 10 percent over the life of the contract, and starting pay rates for most positions would go up. The agreement would also establish a severance clause. The union represents about 85 employees, who will get to vote on the agreement on August 6.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-has-reached-a-union-contract-with-us-retail-employees-for-the-first-time-212422613.html?src=rss
The Department of Justice on Friday night asked a federal court to reject TikTok's bid to have the law that could ban it overturned, citing national security concerns that include its alleged use of internal search tools to collect information on users' views around sensitive topics. It comes in response to a petition filed in May by TikTok in an attempt to challenge the law that now requires its China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app or it will be banned in the US. President Biden signed the bill into law in April.In one of the documents filed with the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, the DOJ says a search tool within Lark, the web-suite system the company's employees use to communicate, allowed ByteDance and TikTok employees in the United States and China to collect bulk user information based on the user's content or expressions, including views on gun control, abortion, and religion." The DOJ also argues in the filings that TikTok could be used to subject US users to content manipulation, and that their sensitive information could end up stored on servers in China.TikTok has repeatedly denied the accusations about it being a threat to national security and has called the efforts to ban it unconstitutional." In its latest statement responding to the DOJ filing, posted on X, TikTok said, Nothing in this brief changes the fact that the Constitution is on our side."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/doj-says-tiktok-collected-users-views-on-issues-like-abortion-gun-control-and-religion-201617503.html?src=rss
New releases in fiction, nonfiction and comics that caught our attention.The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves and China MievilleA few years ago, Keanu Reeves took a dive into the world of comics with a series called BRZRKR, which he wrote with longtime comic creator Matt Kindt. The limited series, which played out over 12 issues, follows a half-mortal, half-God warrior known as B who lives a violent existence but cannot die. And after 80,000 years of being alive, he really wants to. Eventually, he ends up working as a killing machine for the US government.Netflix has plans for a film and anime spinoff of the series, and the BRZRKR universe is still growing even beyond that. This week, Reeves and author China Mieville - known for his works of weird fiction" that blend sci-fi, fantasy and other genres - released The Book of Elsewhere, a novel that returns to the story of B in a pulpy, blood-soaked epic. It's written with a unique style, starting off choppy in the prologue before shifting into something else entirely. If there's one thing reviewers seem to agree on, it's that this book is not afraid to get weird.Why Machines Learn: The Elegant Math Behind Modern AI by Anil AnanthaswamyAI is all around us, and these days, conversations about the Big Tech race to build better and better systems sometimes feel almost escapable. But how often do we on the outside stop and take a look at how we got here in the technical sense, down to the math that made it all possible?In Anil Ananthaswamy's new book, Why Machines Learn: The Elegant Math Behind Modern AI, the award-winning science journalist and author explains the history and mathematics underlying machine learning as we know it today. It's not exactly light reading, but sometimes it's nice to put your brain to work a little. You don't need to be a math whiz to keep up with it - Ananthaswamy has said a basic understanding of calculus should be enough.Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2024) #1 by Jason Aaron, Joelle JonesThe Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back in another new comic series from IDW, written by Jason Aaron (Batman: Off-World, Thor, Scalped), with art by Joelle Jones (Lady Killer, Catwoman). The first issue was released this week - and it finds Raphael behind bars.Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2024) celebrates the 40th anniversary of the franchise that we as a society just cannot seem to get enough of (no complaints here). In it, the turtles have all split off on their own and left New York, and it looks like the first few issues will each focus on one of the brothers. But, they'll eventually be brought back together to do what they do best - fight bad guys and eat pizza. It's meant to be something that even people who haven't kept up with the many series over the years will be able to get into without feeling lost.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/what-to-read-this-weekend-keanu-reeves-book-of-elsewhere-ai-math-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-173909519.html?src=rss
Freelancer has accused Anthropic, the AI startup behind the Claude large language models, of ignoring its "do not crawl" robots.txt protocol to scrape its websites' data. Meanwhile, iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens said Anthropic has ignored the website's policy prohibiting the use of its content for AI model training. Matt Barrie, the chief executive of Freelancer, told The Information that Anthropic's ClaudeBot is "the most aggressive scraper by far." His website allegedly got 3.5 million visits from the company's crawler within a span of four hours, which is "probably about five times the volume of the number two" AI crawler. Similarly, Wiens posted on X/Twitter that Anthropic's bot hit iFixit's servers a million times in 24 hours. "You're not only taking our content without paying, you're tying up our devops resources," he wrote.Back in June, Wired accused another AI company, Perplexity, of crawling its website despite the presence of the Robots Exclusion Protocol, or robots.txt. A robots.txt file typically contains instructions for web crawlers on which pages they can and can't access. While compliance is voluntary, it's mostly just been ignored by bad bots. After Wired's piece came out, a startup called TollBit that connects AI firms with content publishers reported that it's not just Perplexity that's bypassing robots.txt signals. While it didn't name names, Business Insider said it learned that OpenAI and Anthropic were ignoring the protocol, as well.Barrie said Freelancer tried to refuse the bot's access requests at first, but it ultimately had to block Anthropic's crawler entirely. "This is egregious scraping [which] makes the site slower for everyone operating on it and ultimately affects our revenue," he added. As for iFixit, Wiens said the website has set alarms for high traffic, and his people got woken up at 3AM due to Anthropic's activities. The company's crawler stopped scraping iFixit after it added a line in its robots.txt file that disallows Anthropic's bot, in particular.The AI startup told The Information that it respects robots.txt and that its crawler "respected that signal when iFixit implemented it." It also said that it aims "for minimal disruption by being thoughtful about how quickly [it crawls] the same domains," which is why it's now investigating the case.AI firms use crawlers to collect content from websites that they can use to train their generative AI technologies. They've been the target of multiple lawsuits as a result, with publishers accusing them of copyright infringement. To prevent more lawsuits from being filed, companies like OpenAI have been striking deals with publishers and websites. OpenAI's content partners, so far, include News Corp, Vox Media, the Financial Times and Reddit. iFixit's Wiens seems open to the idea of signing a deal for the how-to-repair's website's articles, as well, telling Anthropic in a tweet he's willing to have a conversation about licensing content for commercial use.
Amazon has released its first teaser video for Like A Dragon: Yakuza, its live action adaptation of SEGA's Yakuza games, at San Diego Comic-Con. There's a lot of focus on the inking process of Kazuma Kiryu's iconic dragon tattoo, but you'll also get glimpses of Kamurocho's night scene, various characters in the series and the underground fight club that shows up as a mini-game across the franchise. In the last few seconds of the video, you'll see a shirtless Kiryu heading to a circle of cheering viewers betting on his match.When the company announced the show in June, it described the adaptation as a "crime-suspense-action series" that "follows the life, childhood friends, and repercussions of the decisions of Kazuma Kiryu, a fearsome and peerless Yakuza warrior with a strong sense of justice, duty, and humanity." Seeing as the show is set between 1995 and 2005, it will most like be based on the first Yakuza game with glimpses of the years that took place after the events in Yakuza 0.The first three of episodes of Like A Dragon: Yakuza will arrive on Prime Video on October 24, with the next three coming on October 31. It stars Ryoma Takeuchi (Kamen Rider Drive, Roppongi Class) as Kiryu. And as this teaser has revealed, his best friend Nishiki, who plays a pivotal role in the story, will be portrayed by Kento Kaku (Netflix's House of Ninjas).This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-drops-the-first-teaser-for-its-upcoming-yakuza-adaptation-110442602.html?src=rss
A new government program is trying to encourage Internet service providers (ISPs) to offer lower rates for lower income customers by distributing federal funds through states. The only problem is the ISPs don't want to offer the proposed rates.Ars Technicaobtained a letter sent to US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo signed by more than 30 broadband industry trade groups like ACA Connects and the Fiber Broadband Association as well as several state based organizations. The letter raises both a sense of alarm and urgency" about their ability to participate in the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. The newly formed BEAD program provides over $42 billion in federal funds to expand high-speed internet access by funding planning, infrastructure, deployment and adoption programs" in states across the country, according to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).The money first goes to the NTIA and then it's distributed to states after they obtain approval from the NTIA by presenting a low-cost broadband Internet option. The ISP industries' letter claims a fixed rate of $30 per month for high speed Internet access is completely unmoored from the economic realities of deploying and operating networks in the highest-cost, hardest-to-reach areas."The letter urges the NTIA to revise the low-cost service option rate proposed or approved so far. Twenty-six states have completed all of the BEAD program's phases.Americans pay an average of $89 a month for Internet access. New Jersey has the highest average bill at $126 per month, according to a survey conducted by U.S. News and World Report. A 2021 study from the Pew Research Center found that 57 percent of households with an annual salary of $30,000 or less have a broadband connection.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/isps-are-fighting-to-raise-the-price-of-low-income-broadband-220620369.html?src=rss
The Boys may be one season away from ending but it's not done caking your screens with blood and torn muscle tissue. Cast member Jensen Ackles who plays Soldier Boy on The Boys revealed at the San Diego Comic-Con that Amazon will produce a prequel of the superhero show called Vought Rising.The new prequel will take place in the 1950s during the early days of the evil Vought empire, the mega conglomerate that runs the entire superhero industry in The Boys' universe. The new series will show the early exploits of characters like Soldier Boy and the almost-immortal Nazi supe Stormfront played by Aya Cash. The story will revolve around some kind of twisted murder mystery about the origins of Vought," according to executive producer Eric Kripke and showrunner and executive producer Paul Grellong.Vought Rising sounds like a reimagining of Watchmen without the brooding and self-importance. That's not to say Watchmen is bad. Those things and its brutal honesty about the nature of its characters are what makes it great but would it kill Rorschach to make just one curse-laden pop culture reference?The Boys has become Amazon's Game of Thrones. Even when the main series ends, it won't be the last we hear from it. The same Comic-Con panel also revealed its college themed spinoff Gen V is getting another season, according to GamesRadar+. There's also another spinoff in development called The Boys: Mexico with Diego Luna, Gael Garcia Bernal and Blue Beetle writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, according to Deadline.There's also The Boys Presents: Diabolical, the animated anthology series in which some of the original series' writers and producers like Garth Ennis and Seth Rogen and special guest stars like Awkwafina and Andy Samberg penned original stories about supes and presented them in different animation styles. Not to sound ungrateful but when are we gonna get another season of that?This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-is-giving-the-boys-the-prequel-treatment-201058614.html?src=rss
Have you ever looked at something in your home like a dining room table or an adjustable height desk and wondered what it would be like to go on a date with it? Also, were you sober at the time? A new dating sim game called Date Everything! will let you see just what it's like to search for true, meaningful love with the things you see almost every day (in the cleanest way possible, of course).The surreal sounding dating sim game comes from an LA-based studio called Sassy Chap Games founded by a group of voice actors who've worked on games and shows like Critical Role, HiFi-Rush, One Punch Man, Final Fantasy XV, X-Men 97 and Genshin Impact. The indie game publisher Team17 will distribute the game for PC on Steam, the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, according to a press release.The game puts players in the role of a lonely heart who receives a special pair of glasses called a Dateviator" that transforms items in their home into human date candidates. For instance, the vacuum cleaner turns into a hunky heartthrob named Hoove and the laundry hamper transforms into a fiery redhead named Harper. Date Everything! has 100 possible mates in your home with their own voices, styles and personalities.You get to know items like the refrigerator or the drawing room piano in their human forms. Depending on how things go, the relationship can end in one of three ways: Love, Friend or Hate. These relationships create a chain of different possible paths in which your choices influence the outcome along a critical path tying it all together," according to the press release.Team17/Sassy Chap GamesSince Date Everything! comes from a studio founded by voice actors, all of the characters are fully voiced. Some of the more familiar names include Felicia Day from Supernatural and Mystery Science Theater 3000, Johnny Yong Bosch from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and Grey DeLisle from Scooby-Doo and The Last Airbender.Date Everything! doesn't just sound like a new and interesting twist on the dating sim game concept. It also sounds like a great way to boost your ego. If you're down because you don't have someone in your life, at least you can play the game and realize, Well, at least I'm not trying to date my garbage disposal."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/you-can-date-everything-in-date-everything-190032967.html?src=rss
We haven't had an update on Netflix's Bioshock movie in a couple of years, leading some to wonder if it was quietly canned. The good news? The movie's still coming. The (potential) bad news? The budget has been slashed, according to reporting by Variety.This comes from producer Roy Lee, who was one of the people behind The Lego Movie. He announced the reduced budget during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con. He didn't put out any numbers, but did say that the movie is currently being reconfigured" to be a more personal" film. Director Francis Lawrence is still helming the picture. He has directed four of the five Hunger Games movies, along with I Am Legend and the original Constantine.The Bioshock film was first announced back in 2022, but since that time Netflix has experienced something of a regime change on the executive level. Dan Lin replaced Scott Stuber as the streamer's film chief and Lin has tightened the purse strings away from stuff like Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon.The new regime has lowered the budgets," Lee said at Comic-Con. So we're doing a much smaller version."In addition to budget cuts, Lee noted that Netflix has changed its compensation strategy with regard to movies. It's shifting to a more traditional model that relies on bonuses tied to actual viewership numbers.This could actually be good news. In my opinion, personal stories tend to work better than constant CGI battles with hordes of faceless baddies. Bioshock is also, at its heart, a personal story about family, with the fantastical Rapture setting being window dressing.I guess it ultimately depends on how much of that budget was cut. There's a big difference between a slightly reduced budget and a massive cut that turns all of the footage into darkened corridor scenes filmed in a series of Toronto or Atlanta warehouses. The release date hasn't been announced and, honestly, it could still be a ways off. Director Lawrence has a lot on his plate right now, including an adaptation of Stephen King's The Long Walk and yet another Hunger Games movie.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-bioshock-movie-is-still-happening-but-with-a-reduced-budget-184524214.html?src=rss
Warner Bros. Discovery followed through on its threat to take appropriate action" against the NBA for rejecting its broadcasting rights offer. Variety reported on Friday that the media company sued the league in the New York State Supreme Court after the NBA turned down its bid to match Amazon's streaming package that kicks in starting in the 2025-26 season.The conflict stems from Warner's belief that its current contract gives it the right to match any offer that would replace Warner's TNT as a home for NBA games (and the iconic Inside the NBA) in the upcoming deal. As for the league's stance, The Athletic reported that since the current agreements were signed when streaming was on the horizon, but not part of the deals," the NBA disagrees with Warner's matching claim.The lawsuit was expected as soon as the league announced its new broadcasting and streaming package, which also includes Disney (ABC and ESPN) and Comcast (NBC). The NBA reportedly told Warner it rejected its matching offer because it wanted to put all its games on its streaming service, Max, in addition to TNT. Amazon also allegedly offered to pay its first three years in full, whereas Warner offered a three-year line of credit. Finally, the NBA reportedly believed Amazon's reach was simply greater.Warner Bros. Discovery's most recent proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video's offer and, therefore, we have entered into a long-term arrangement with Amazon," the NBA's statement on Wednesday read.Charles BarkleyTNT / Warner Bros. DiscoveryUnless Warner can force the NBA's hand, the new agreement will almost certainly mean the end of Inside the NBA. The decades-old sports show, starring Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal, has harnessed a rare blend of comedy, chemistry and (sometimes taking a backseat to the first two) sports analysis. The beloved program, which has won 19 Sports Emmy Awards, began in 1989 as a Johnson solo effort before fleshing out its tight-knit cast through the following years and (in the case of Shaq) decades.Turner has partnered with the NBA since the 1984-85 season, which coincided with Barkley's (and Michael Jordan's) entrance into the league out of college.Barkley lashed out at the NBA after hearing about the new rights package, accusing it of wanting to break up with us from the beginning" in a statement on X. Adding, I'm not sure TNT ever had a chance," the Hall of Famer described it as a sad day when owners and commissioners choose money over the fans."It just sucks," Barkley wrote before thanking Turner's fans for the last 24 years he's been on the show. Inside the NBA will return next season, perhaps its last, along with the network's standard lineup of NBA games, before the new deal begins in the 2025-26 season.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/warner-bros-discovery-sues-the-nba-in-a-last-ditch-effort-to-block-amazons-new-streaming-package-183352404.html?src=rss
Apple's M3 MacBook Air combines Apple's lightest and thinnest laptop design with the impressive horsepower of third-generation Apple silicon. B&H Photo Video has the 2024 laptop on sale for $200 off. Usually $1,299, the variant with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage is only $1,099. The 2024 MacBook Air adds the M3 chip, Apple's silicon with a 3nm process that crams more electronic components into a smaller space compared to its predecessor. Apple's Neural Engine, which will become more crucial with the introduction of Apple Intelligence AI features this fall, is also 15 percent faster in the M3 family than the M2. While the M3 MacBook Air may not provide a dramatic speed boost over the M2 in day-to-day tasks, it has a higher ceiling for intensive work and is more future-proofed. The M3 model adds support for dual screens with the lid closed. It also supports Wi-Fi 6E's faster speeds and lower latency if you have a compatible router. Engadget Senior Editor Devindra Hardawar praised the device in his review from earlier this year, describing the two sizes of the laptop as great computers with excellent performance, gorgeous screens and incredible battery life." The M3 MacBook Air lasted over 10 hours in our video-playback battery stress test. Although the $200 off deal at B&H is for the 13-inch model, the retailer (which operates online but also has a robust Manhattan retail outlet) has the 15-inch model for $150 off. If you like more real estate for your apps and desktop (or, like me, need larger text for aging eyes), the larger model may be the better choice. One thing to keep in mind before ordering is that B&H's return policy states that it won't take computers back for a refund once the packaging has been unsealed. Although you can contact customer service for an exchange if something is wrong out of the box, buyer's remorse alone won't cut it for getting your money back. This contrasts with competitors like the Apple Store, Amazon and Best Buy, so consider that before proceeding. However, apart from that footnote, B&H has been an Apple partner for nearly a decade and has built a solid reputation with customers since its 1973 founding. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-m3-macbook-air-with-16gb-of-ram-is-200-off-right-now-165605741.html?src=rss
There's word going around that X just enabled a setting that lets it train Grok on public tweets, as well as any interactions they have with the chatbot. That's not entirely true: a help page instructing users how to opt-out of X using their data to train Grok has been live since at least May. X just never exactly made it crystal clear that it was opting everyone into this, which is a sketchy move. If you don't want a bad chatbot to use your bad tweets for training, it's thankfully easy to switch that off.You just need to uncheck a box from the Grok data sharing tab in the X settings. If that link doesn't work, you can go to Settings > Privacy and Safety > Grok. For the time being, the setting isn't accessible through X's mobile apps (the company says it will be soon), so you'll have to uncheck the box on the web for now. It's also worth noting that Grok isn't trained on any tweets from private X accounts.
As we've seen in years past, once Amazon's Prime Day ends, many of the deals evaporate. But one week after the sale frenzy (both from Amazon and other retailers) we're still seeing quite a few deals that have either stayed true to their event pricing or have come up with a fresh discount after the fact. Right now, the budget pick in our iPad guide is just $1 more than the low it hit last week. Our favorite pair of budget earbuds is also just a buck more than the Prime Day low. And, as of this writing, Amazon is still offering a free $300 gift card if you order the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 that just started shipping on Wednesday. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-10th-generation-ipad-is-back-down-to-300-plus-the-rest-of-this-weeks-best-tech-deals-155930268.html?src=rss
The 65-inch LG C3 OLED TV is 48 percent off via Woot, which brings the price down to $1,298. That's a savings of around $1,200 on the well-regarded OLED panel. There's one major caveat. This deal is for today only, or until the stock runs out. To that end, there's a limit of one per customer, but that's probably not a huge deal unless you're in the process of furnishing a mansion or something. The LG C3 OLED is considered one of the best TVs for gaming, and with good reason. We loved this television's high contrast and the deep blacks on offer. We also praised the low input lag, increased motion response and wide array of appropriate viewing angles. It follows HDR guidelines, works with all the major VRR formats and has four HDMI 2.1 ports that are capable of outputting 4K 120Hz with a gaming console or PC. It supports all the major HDR standards, including Dolby Vision. This TV is available in sizes up to 83-inches, but the larger models aren't on sale. I use a 65-inch OLED, though not this one, and it's plenty big enough for TV and gaming. Despite being a dang good value, this isn't a perfect television. The WOLED panel doesn't get quite as bright as a QD-OLED like the Samsung S90C. Also, it doesn't support a 144Hz refresh rate, which could be a dealbreaker to picky PC gamers. Still, the price is definitely right. Just make sure you pick this up sooner rather than later. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-65-inch-lg-c3-oled-tv-is-nearly-half-off-for-today-only-152153420.html?src=rss
NASA's Perseverance rover has been collecting samples from Mars since 2021, but one of its most recently collected rocks could help it achieve its goal of finding evidence of ancient life on the planet. Nicknamed Cheyava Falls after the tallest waterfall in the Grand Canyon, the 3.2 feet by 2 feet sample contains "chemical signatures and structures" that could've been formed by ancient microbial life from billions of years ago.Perseverance collected the rock on July 21 from what was once a Martian river valley carved by flowing water long ago. The sample, which you can see in close up below and from afar at the center of the image above, exhibits large white calcium sulfate veins running along its length. They indicate that water did run through the rock at one point.More importantly, it contains millimeter-size marks that look like "leopard spots" all over its central reddish band. On our planet, those spots could form on sedimentary terrestrial rocks when there are chemical reactions that turn hematite, one of the minerals responsible for Mars' reddish color, to white. Those reactions can release iron and phosphate, which could've served as an energy source for microbes.The rover's Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL) tool already determined that the black rings around the spots contain iron and phosphate. However, that doesn't automatically mean that the rock truly did serve as a host for ancient microbes.NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSSThe spots could've been formed by non-biological processes, and that's something scientists will have to figure out. "We cannot say right now that we have discovered life on Mars," Katie Stack Morgan, the deputy project scientist, said. "But what we are saying is that we have a potential biosignature, which is a set of features that could have a biological origin but do need further study and more data."NASA still has to bring back the samples Perseverance had collected to our planet, including Cheyava Falls. As The New York Times notes, the Mars Sample Return mission is years behind schedule and would not be able to bring back rocks from the red planet until 2040 instead of in the early 2030's like originally planned. NASA recently asked aerospace companies for alternative solutions on how to get the samples to Earth much sooner and will finance their studies due later this year. Scientists will also have to conduct extensive testing to rule out contamination and non-biological processes, as well as other possible explanations for how the leopard spots had formed, before they can proclaim that they're indeed evidence of ancient Martian life.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nasas-perseverance-rover-found-a-rock-on-mars-that-could-indicate-ancient-life-150006064.html?src=rss
Apple has joined several other tech companies in agreeing to abide by voluntary AI safeguards laid out by the Biden administration. Those who make the pledge have committed to abide by eight guidelines related to safety, security and social responsibility, including flagging societal risks such as biases; testing for vulnerabilities, watermarking AI-generated images and audio; and sharing trust and safety details with the government and other companies.Amazon, Google, Microsoft and OpenAI were among the initial adoptees of the pact, which the White House announced last July. The voluntary agreement, which is not enforceable, will expire after Congress passes laws to regulate AI.Since the guidelines were announced, Apple unveiled a suite of AI-powered features under the umbrella name of Apple Intelligence. The tools will work across the company's key devices and are set to start rolling out in the coming months. As part of that push, Apple has teamed up with OpenAI to incorporate ChatGPT into Apple Intelligence. In joining the voluntary code of practice, Apple may be hoping to ward off regulatory scrutiny of its AI tools.Although President Joe Biden has talked up the potential benefits of AI, he has warned of the dangers posed by the technology as well. His administration has been clear that it wants AI companies to develop their tech in a responsible manner.Meanwhile, the White House said in a statement that federal agencies have met all of the 270-day targets laid out in a sweeping Executive Order related to AI that Biden issued last October. The EO covers issues such as safety and security measures, as well as reporting and data transparency schemes. The White House says that agencies have met all the stipulated deadlines to date.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-agrees-to-stick-by-biden-administrations-voluntary-ai-safeguards-144653327.html?src=rss
A grand jury in Kansas City has indicted Rim Jong Hyok, a North Korean intelligence operative who allegedly used ransomware to attack health providers' systems in the US, according to AP News. The State Department said Rim is part of a group called Andariel that's controlled by the North Korean intelligence agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau. Rim is not in the US government's custody. The agency is now offering a $10 million reward for information that would lead to his location or the location of a foreign operative who "engages in certain malicious cyber activities against US critical infrastructure."A Kansas medical center alerted the FBI about an attack that blocked personnel's access to patient files and lab test results, as well as prevented them from operating hospital equipment with their computers, was back in 2021. It's a common MO of Rim's Andariel group, which would infiltrate a computer system and infect it with Maui ransomware. The group would then ask their target for payment and would threaten to release sensitive information if they don't pay up. In the Kansas hospital's case, the group demanded a ransom in Bitcoin worth $100,000 within 48 hours. The group allegedly used the money it gets to buy more computers and servers to fund more cyberattacks.The FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Department of the Treasury issued a joint cybersecurity warning in the midst of Andariel's attacks on healthcare providers in 2022. "The North Korean state-sponsored cyber actors likely assume healthcare organizations are willing to pay ransoms because these organizations provide services that are critical to human life and health," they wrote. Federal investigators said they followed the ransom the Kansas medical center paid across blockchains and found that someone had transferred the Bitcoin to an address belonging to two Hong Kong nationals. Based on the court documents seen by AP, the money was then transferred to a Chinese bank and withdrawn from an ATM in China close to the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge connecting the country to North Korea.Andariel and Rim are being accused of infiltrating 17 entities across 11 states, including four defense contractors, two US Air Force bases and NASA. The group was reportedly able to stay in NASA's computer system for three months and steal 17 gigabytes of classified information. During one of its operations that targeted a US defense contractor in November 2022, the State Department said the group was also able to extract over 30 gigabytes of data that include information on the material used in US military aircraft and satellites.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/north-korean-who-used-ransomware-to-attack-us-healthcare-providers-has-been-indicted-140008610.html?src=rss
I don't expect much from a device as small as a ring. There's no room for a lot of hardware, so it only really needs to do a few things well. A sleep tracker that doesn't get in the way of, well, sleeping, is my holy grail, and smart rings are a tantalizing option. Samsung's Galaxy Ring promises to monitor my slumber and log my daily activity, and do so comfortably and unobtrusively, all for $400. That's $100 more than its closest competitor, the Oura Ring, though the latter charges an additional $6 a month to use its software. Oura has been around for over five years, and in that time, it has developed more sophisticated ways to deliver insights to its customers, while Samsung is just starting. But for a debut effort, the Galaxy Ring has been a surprisingly informative health-tracking device for those with compatible Samsung phones. The Galaxy Ring's weight and design Of all the wearables available, rings are among the smallest and lightest. My Galaxy Ring is a size seven, which is the third tiniest Samsung makes. That puts it at about 2.3 grams, or just under 0.1 ounces light, which is about half the 4 to 6 grams that Oura's rings weigh, depending on their size. Thanks to that lack of weight and the device's slim profile, I barely feel it on my finger when trying to fall asleep, which, for a sensitive sleeper like me, is a huge deal. The only thing that sometimes bothers me are the red and green LEDs flashing in my dark bedroom, but they're not so bright to keep me up after I close my eyes. I'm extremely finicky, and don't like wearing a ring when my hands are even the slightest bit wet, so I frequently took the wearable off. But if you're less sensitive than me, you'll be happy to know the Galaxy Ring will survive soap and running water. I wore it while washing my hands a few times, taking the ring off afterwards for my fingers to fully dry. When I eventually put the device back on after having applied lotion and sunscreen, I was happy to see that the creams did not get in the way of its sensors getting readings. Because I frequently took the ring on and off, I did have mini panic attacks a few times when I thought it fell out of my pocket. Thankfully, in those situations, I was able to use Samsung's location-tracking app to see that it wasn't too far away and was likely in my pants. The problem with the ring's lack of components, though, is that I can't play an audible alarm to help find it. That absence of features is a compromise I'm happy to make in exchange for the Galaxy Ring's barely-there footprint. What Samsung does offer here also feels good enough for a basic health tracker, though it does pale in comparison to the competition. Sam Rutherford for Engadget The Galaxy Ring as a sleep tracker I've mostly used the Galaxy Ring to track my sleep and general activity, since it doesn't log any workout beyond walking and running. For the most part, all I really have to do with the ring is make sure I place it on my index finger, where it fits more snugly than the middle. This helps ensure my blood oxygen readings are accurate, or I end up with numbers that are wildly low. Beyond that, I spent most of my testing time on Samsung's Wear and Health apps, poring over my sleep data. We've come a long way since the early days where Fitbits only looked at the duration of your rest, guessing based on how still you are whether you've fallen asleep. These days, using your heart rate to determine whether you're in REM or deep sleep is table stakes, and on that front Samsung delivers as expected. Sam Rutherford for Engadget I obviously can't tell you what stages I'm in as I sleep, but I did like that Samsung not only presents the data clearly, but also adds helpful context. It tells me why it's important to have time in the REM zone, and whether 11 minutes in deep sleep was enough for recovery. The app also helps me understand how I compare to other people, without me having to navigate to a separate app or browser. I did find that the Ring noted accurately what times I fell asleep and awoke, and even logged a midday nap in the app (though it didn't show sleep cycle data for that period). It took a few days, but once a baseline was established, the Galaxy Ring started telling me what my skin temperature was throughout the night, highlighting my peak and lowest numbers. I've been pleasantly surprised to find that my coldest temperature to date has been on one night in Singapore, which goes against my assumption that the local heat and humidity would affect these readings. It's been mollifying to see that my stats seem normal, although my blood oxygen levels have varied wildly depending on which finger I wear the ring on. It's even gone as low as 76 percent, which would be concerning, but I've stopped caring much about that section of my sleep insights, since it seems my review unit might be a little loose. You don't have to spend as much time as I do digging into the numbers - Samsung, like most other modern sleep-tracking services, will assign a sleep score to tell you how well you slept. There are also graphs to help you understand your trends at a glance. It's important to note that Samsung said the energy score, sleep tracking and Wellness Tips features are based on Galaxy AI, meaning they'll require a Galaxy phone, Samsung Health app and Samsung account to work. Sam Rutherford for Engadget The Galaxy Ring as an activity tracker Samsung's ring might not track a wide variety of exercises, but the data it does gather is surprisingly comprehensive. I was fully expecting the walks it automatically detected to only show me basic stats like duration and, perhaps, step count. But it actually presented my average speed, cadence, heart rate, heart rate zones, calories burned and distance traveled too. I'm pretty impressed, but I must point out that Oura offers a Workout heart rate feature that lets you manually start and end heart-rate tracking sessions from your phone. It also automatically detects at least 40 different activities, including yardwork, cycling, snowboarding, horseback riding and HIIT. Oura also frequently adds new metrics like cardiovascular age and capacity, as well as experimental features like Symptom Radar to guess when you might not be feeling well. It's ahead of Samsung in the game here and seems to be fighting to keep that gap open. I guess if you're going to pay an extra $6 a month, you better get a significantly superior service. In my experience, both Samsung and Oura are fairly accurate at tracking activity. In the last few days, I've been surprised to see the Galaxy Ring had tracked pretty much every time I went with my parents to a nearby hawker center, even though the walks only took fewer than 10 minutes. Compared to the Apple Watch Series 9 I usually wear, Samsung is more likely to include a short trip in its app's activity log, which was not only more rewarding but also felt like a more complete picture of my day. Sam Rutherford for Engadget My problems with Samsung Health One area where the Galaxy Ring (and rings in general) falls short of smartwatches is in delivering any sort of notification. As an activity tracker, this is mainly a problem when it comes to pushing stand reminders. Both Samsung and Oura will serve alerts on your phone when you've been stationary for too long, prompting you to get up and move. Wristworn wearables typically buzz and tell you on the screen, and it's a lot harder to miss or ignore them. I've definitely had a few days where I was in an editing or writing hole and only noticed numerous alerts to move hours later when I looked at my Galaxy phone. This isn't a major problem, and is another small tradeoff I'm happy to accept since the Ring is so small. But I do have two specific complaints for Samsung, and they both pertain to the app. My first issue is the confusing interface for automatic activity detection. When you go into the Ring's settings to enable this (which is unfortunately not turned on by default), you'll see the words Activities to detect" under a tinier label called Auto detect workouts." Next to the larger font is a grayed out toggle that turns blue when you slide it to the right. Pushing this switch on didn't actually enable the feature. Tapping on the words Activities to detect" brought me into a different page with rows for Walking" and Running," each accompanied by their own toggles. You'll also have to press each of these activities to go into another page and turn on location tracking. Because of this, I spent my first few days with the Galaxy Ring confused why my walks weren't being logged, despite having turned on the main toggle. A better layout with improved organization that requires fewer taps and pages would really help here. My other gripe is a more specific situation. As I'm concurrently testing the Galaxy Watch Ultra, the information collected by that smartwatch is also considered by Samsung Health when calculating my energy score. This is actually a good thing, as I'd prefer to use a Galaxy Watch to log my gym sessions and rely on the ring everywhere else. But because the Galaxy Watch Ultra is so inaccurate when it's not being worn, it actually recorded random workout sessions, like two bike rides that I never took. This caused the Health app to think I had overexerted myself and it ended up recommending I take it super easy the next day, when in reality I had done very little. Yes, I can manually delete these entries, but when I'm busy and just want to glance at my energy score, this causes confusion. Why was my score so low? Did I somehow sleep poorly? I can already imagine hypochondriacs spiraling if they didn't know what happened. Luckily, Samsung clearly labels at the bottom of each workout record which device detected the activity. This is unlikely to be a huge problem unless you have both the Galaxy Ring and Watch like I do, and is something that seems easy enough to fix. Sam Rutherford for Engadget The Galaxy Ring's battery life Samsung says the Galaxy Ring can deliver continuous usage" for up to seven days, and in my experience that's fairly accurate. But you'll have to be able to tolerate seeing the battery levels drop all the way to zero to get the full week. In the two weeks or so that I've worn the ring, it consistently dropped to under 20 percent by day six, and would basically die on day seven. Charging the device's 18mAh battery shouldn't take too long. Samsung says 30 minutes will get you 40 percent of the way, and when I placed the Ring in its case for about 5 minutes, it went up by two percent. If I hadn't been trying to gauge its battery life for this review, I would probably have recharged it any time I wasn't wearing it, and likely wouldn't have ever run out of juice. Other issues For its debut smart ring, Samsung's delivered a satisfactory product that mostly delivers. Compared to the Oura ring, the Galaxy Ring is perfunctory. The main bonus Samsung had over the competition is its double pinch gesture, that can dismiss alarms or remotely launch the camera on your Samsung phone. I wasn't able to test this feature because I tested the Ring with a Galaxy S24, and it's only compatible with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6. Samsung says double-pinch functionality is coming to the S24 lineup soon. Unlike the Oura ring, Samsung's wearable doesn't work with iPhones, though rumors are rife that iOS support is coming. For now, if you're in Apple's ecosystem you won't be able to use the Galaxy Ring. Those who use a Samsung phone are more likely to appreciate the Galaxy Ring most. Other integrations like Find My and Samsung Health are available to anyone that installs the SmartThings app and has a Samsung account. Wrap-up Though the Galaxy Ring is fairly basic at the moment, it seems to have a lot of potential. Samsung needs to continue to invest in research to expand the insights it could deliver with the limited set of data the ring collects. Given the company's history with bringing new features to its watches, Health app and the Z series of foldable phones so far, it might just do that. If you're happy to spend $400 on a low-profile wearable sleep tracker that also logs your walks or runs, the Galaxy Ring will do the job.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-galaxy-ring-review-a-bit-basic-a-bit-pricey-130034811.html?src=rss
Apple's well-specked 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 Pro chip, 18GB of memory and 512GB of storage is on sale for the lowest price we've seen yet at Amazon. You can pick one up for $1,699, a savings of $300 (15 percent) and the lowest price we've seen to date on this particular model. We're also seeing discounts across the board on various 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros. Ad we noted in our review, Apple's MacBook Pro is one of the best ultraportables you can buy today thanks to the fast and efficient M3 Pro chip, gorgeous 14-inch screen, useful port selection and excellent keyboard and trackpad. It's particularly strong for content creation thanks to real-time decoding of commonly-used pro video formats - a feature missing on many PC laptops. One issue we had with the MacBook Pro is that updates to the processor, RAM or storage add a lot to the price, and those things are important for video or photo editing. That makes this model a particularly good deal, because it's already well-equipped with 18GB of unified memory and an M3 Pro processor. If you don't need the M3 Pro's horsepower, the 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 chip is on sale for $1,749 and nets you 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. Or, if your budget doesn't permit that, the 8GB/512GB M3 model is available for $1,399 or $200 off. You can also grab a 16-inch M3 Pro model with 18GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for $2,249, a savings of $200 (10 percent) over the list price. Another great deal is on the 16-inch M3 Max model with 36GB of memory and 1TB of storage at $3,099, or $400 off. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-14-inch-macbook-pro-laptop-with-an-m3-pro-chip-is-300-off-at-amazon-123042013.html?src=rss
Yesterday's Gran Turismo 7 game update 1.49 introduced all-new physics that have added extra realism and generally improved gameplay. However, the change is also causing some bizarre problems in specific situations, making cars bounce violently or just get hurled into the air.The physics updates are generally positive, adding "more natural cornering physics and acceleration/deceleration stability levels," according to the developer. Similar changes to tire physics and steering allow a more challenging and rewarding driving experience overall.
OpenAI announced a new AI-powered search engine prototype called SearchGPT. It's described SearchGPT as a temporary prototype of new AI search features that give you fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources." The company plans to test out the product with 10,000 initial users, then roll it into ChatGPT after gathering feedback.It's a spicy time to launch AI-powered search engines. Last month, Perplexity faced criticism for summarizing stories from Forbes and Wired without adequate attribution or backlinks to the publications. It also ignored robots.txt, a way for websites to tell crawlers that scrape data to back off. Earlier this week, Wired publisher Conde Nast reportedly sent a cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity and accused it of plagiarism. Also: see the Reddit drama earlier this week.SearchGPT categorizes its results with short descriptions and visuals, but according to some early users, just like its chatbot forebears, accuracy is... lacking.- Mat SmithThe biggest stories you might have missedThe best cameras for 2024WhatsApp hits 100 million monthly active US usersYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!Google brings its faster, lighter AI model to free Gemini usersIt's also expanding access.Google is making its Gemini AI faster and more efficient across the board. You now have access to 1.5 Flash, its generative AI model designed to generate responses more quickly and efficiently, even if you're not paying for access to Google's AI. The company says you'll notice improvements in latency and in the tool's reasoning and image understanding.Continue reading.Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro reviewAirPods clones that actually deliver.EngadgetSure, Samsung copied Apple in multiple ways on its Galaxy Buds 3 ($180) and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro ($250). Not only in physical design (remember when Samsung ribbed Apple for the AirPods' stems?), but the third-gen Buds mirror a few features from AirPods too. That includes Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), Adaptive EQ and Voice Detect. However, the best features require a recent Samsung device, while ANC, on an open-type earbud, is basically useless.Continue reading.AI video startup Runway reportedly trained on thousands' of YouTube videos without permissionYouTube's spokesperson reiterated it would be a clear violation' of its terms.AI company Runway reportedly scraped thousands" of YouTube videos and pirated versions of copyrighted movies without permission. 404 Media obtained alleged internal spreadsheets suggesting the AI video-generating startup trained its Gen-3 model using YouTube content from channels like Disney, Netflix, Pixar and popular media outlets. 404 Media found that prompting the video generator with the names of popular YouTubers listed in the spreadsheet spat out results bearing an uncanny resemblance. Entering the same names in Runway's older Gen-2 model - trained before the alleged data in the spreadsheets - generated unrelated" results.Continue reading.Overwatch 2 may test a return to six-player teamsBlizzard plans to experiment with various team compositions after the controversial 5v5 switch.Overwatch 2 developers plan to experiment with a range of team compositions beyond the role-locked 5v5 format of the current game. That includes a potential revival of six-player teams from the original Overwatch.Game director Aaron Keller wrote the team was exploring how we can test different forms of 6v6 in the game to gauge the results." Faced with increased team shooter competition, it could be a move to keep its most loyal fans.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-openai-reveals-its-ai-powered-search-engine-searchgpt-111656599.html?src=rss
The US is in the middle of another hotly contested and seemingly close presidential election. This election is also happening in this new age of widespread access to artificial intelligence and easily disseminated misinformation. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon says his office tracked the source of one key piece of election misinformation back to X's Grok chatbot.The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that X's premium chatbot service is passing along erroneous information about the deadlines for states' presidential ballots including Minnesota. When Grok is asked Which states' presidential ballot deadlines have passed?", Grok claims Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington have passed their presidential ballots." Grok then sources its information to an X post published on Sunday by user and conservative pundit @EvanAKilgore, which does not include a correction or warning about election misinformation.In Fun Mode," Grok repeats the incorrect information and source with the comment, So if you're planning on running for president in one of these states, you might want to check if there's a write-in option. Or, you know, travel back to before the deadlines passed." Another response to the same question said These states have already passed their deadlines to get on the presidential ballot, which means they're probably just sitting around, twiddling their thumbs, wondering what to do now that Joe Biden has dropped out. But hey, at least they've got their ballots ready to go, right?"Grok insinuates that President Joe Biden's name can't be replaced on these nine states' ballots because the deadlines have passed. President Biden was the presumptive nominee until he announced he would no longer seek a second term on Sunday. The Democratic Party will choose its nominee through a virtual roll call vote ahead of its convention and states don't start printing ballots until after both conventions. Also, Minnesota's ballot deadline isn't until Aug. 26.Several fact checks from more reputable news outlets refute the claim that Biden's name is etched into stone on these states' ballots. Politifact rated a similar claim with the same list of nine states as False."Simon says members of his staff tried to inform X about the misinformation their chatbot was spreading on its platform but could not reach a media relations representative. The response he says he received was equally concerning.[They] got what I can only verbalize as the equivalent of a shoulder shrug," Simon said to the Star Tribune.We reached out to X's press email for comment and only received a reply that read, "Busy now, please check back later."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xs-grok-chatbot-is-misleading-voters-about-the-presidential-election-224839736.html?src=rss
San Diego Comic-Con is a popular time to announce any big news for the geekdom, but it's also a popular time for big news to accidentally get revealed early. Today, an attendee took a photo of the booth for comic publisher Dark Horse that may have leaked plans for a remaster of two Soul Reaver games. The image shows a statue of characters Raziel and Kain, and the artwork is accompanied by a sign with branding that reads Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver I and II Remastered. The sign has since been removed from the display.Dark Horse Comics Vice President of Product Development and Sales Randy Lahrman spoke to GameSpot at the convention about the leak. He said the statue in question would be available in August and that more details would be forthcoming, but he did not comment on the possible game remasters.The Soul Reaver games were made by Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver initially came out in 1999 for the original PlayStation, and sequel Soul Reaver II came out two years later. Both projects were helmed by director Amy Hennig, who went on to work at Naughty Dog on the Uncharted and Jax and Daxter franchises. Crystal Dynamics may be best known for its work on the rebooted Lara Croft series, and the company was acquired by Embracer Group alongside Eidos-Montreal and Square Enix Montreal in 2022.It does seem plausible that remasters are in the works. Earlier this month, news dropped about a planned prequel graphic novel titled Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver - The Dead Shall Rise. It will be a Kickstarter project by Bit Bot and Crystal Dynamics.We've reached out to Crystal Dynamics about today's leak and will update the story if we receive any official information.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/comic-con-leak-sparks-rumors-of-two-remastered-soul-reaver-games-223906020.html?src=rss
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