Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

It hasn't been a great week for Paradox Interactive, and things just got a little worse for the publisher. It has announced another delay for Prison Architect 2, the sequel to a cult hit from 2015. The game had been set to drop on May 7 (which was already a delay from March 26) but now it won't arrive until September 3.Though builds of Prison Architect 2 had been certified for all platforms, the developers at Double Eleven ran into some technical problems that will take some time to resolve. Some issues concerning memory usage and minimum spec configuration failures emerged. Although the team says its work on fixing those have been successful so far, some other technical challenges started popping up, leading to significantly more crashes.Double Eleven will use the extra development time to improve the prison management sim's stability and to refine some of its features. Paradox says it will also take the opportunity to let players get a look inside the development process via additional developer diaries and streams. A stream is set for April 25.Paradox notes that console players who pre-ordered will automatically be refunded due to platform policies - they'll need to buy Prison Architect 2 again to get a pre-order bonus. Steam players can request a refund if they wish.The Prison Architect 2 delay comes one day after studio Colossal Order said it would refund all players who bought the first asset pack for Cities Skylines 2, another game Paradox is publishing. While the asset pack (which will be added to the base game for everyone) worked, there appeared to be a consensus among fans that there wasn't enough in there to justify the $10 price. There are bigger issues at play though, as Colossal Order has more work ahead to optimize Cities Skylines 2 after a rocky debut. The studio has also delayed the console release and other DLC as it focuses on fixing the core concerns.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/prison-architect-2-is-denied-release-until-september-3-181517857.html?src=rss

Do you like rip-roaring science fiction books? Do you like movies? Then you are in for a treat in, well, two years. Amazon MGM Studios just set a release date of March 20, 2026 for Project Hail Mary, according to Deadline. It's based on the Andy Weir novel of the same name, which was one of our favorite books of the past few years, so color us excited.The film stars honorary SNL cast member Ryan Gosling and will be directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the duo behind The Lego Movie and, allegedly, most of the good parts of Solo: A Star Wars Story. Lord also wrote a little-known movie called Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.The script was penned by Drew Goddard, who cut his teeth on TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lost before moving onto features. He directed Cabin in the Woods, which is somehow both iconic and underrated at the same time. If the name Andy Weir sounds familiar, it's because he wrote a book called The Martian, which inspired the Matt Damon film. Incidentally, Goddard also wrote that script.

Before you head into the weekend to hike, pull weeds, play games or go to work, you may feel a hankering to snap up a few tech gadgets. If that's the case, here's a roundup of all the deals we found this week on gear we've tested, reviewed and just generally recommend. To get cleaner floors without much work, check out the discount codes below from Wellbots on three different iRobot robot vacs. We found discounts on streaming dongles including Google's Chromecast HD and Amazon's Fire TV Stick 4K Max, as well as new sales on security cameras from the same companies (Google Nest and Blink). There are also savings to be had from Anker, 8BitDo and Sonos. 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/some-of-our-favorite-anker-power-banks-are-up-to-30-percent-off-plus-the-rest-of-this-weeks-best-tech-deals-161051637.html?src=rss

If you're looking to automate more of your home cleaning setup, iRobot's flagship Roomba Combo J9+ is on sale for $400 off. The vacuum-mop hybrid robot, which only arrived last fall, has a redesigned dock that automatically empties debris and refills the device's mopping liquid. Usually $1,399, Wellbots has the Roomba Combo J9+ for $999 with coupon code ENGA400.The Combo J9+, Engadget's pick for the best vacuuming-mopping robot, has an upgraded motor and four-stage cleaning system that takes multiple pass-throughs across your carpets and floors. This version also adds dual rubber brushes for better suction and pressurized scrubbing. Its motor automatically lifts the mop pads when it reaches carpets and rugs to help keep them dry.The robot requires minimal setup, and its new Clean Base can automatically refill the water tank, leaving you with fewer things to worry about. The base doubles as a storage unit and appearing less like a gadget's charging station and more like living room furniture. Setup is as simple as adding water and cleaning solution to a reservoir and attaching a mop pad. Upkeep is limited to swapping mop pads and leaning the vacuum's bristles and dust bin.The Combo J9+ ships with Roomba's OS 7, a new software update that streamlines more of the cleaning process. Its Dirt Detective feature remembers your home's dirtiest areas and tackles those first on subsequent cleanings.The software has an automated setting that saves bathrooms for last, so you don't have to worry about tracking grime and bacteria to other parts of your home. (You can manually override that if you want it to get to the bathroom earlier.) Speaking of bathrooms, the machine includes iRobot's Pet Owner Official Promise (P.O.O.P.), which guarantees a replacement unit if your device accidentally sweeps up pet waste.iRobotFor those who don't mop much, Wellbots also has the standard Roomba J9+ for $300 off ($599) when you use code ENGA300. It includes all the vacuum-related features from the more expensive Combo variant, including a three-stage cleaning system, multi-surface rubber brushes and stronger suction.Finally, the previous-generation Roomba Combo j7+ offers an older (but still high-end) vacuum-mop cleaning robot for $200 off with coupon code ENGA200. Although you lose some of the features of the newer model, it still has a 96.4 percent debris removal rate, obstacle avoidance, and a four-stage cleaning system. Its cleaning toolbox includes an edge-sweeping brush, dual multi-surface rubber brushes, power-lifting suction and the mop. The device can even return to its base when it's full and continue emptying itself for up to 60 days, leaving you to focus on things that aren't cleaning.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/automate-your-vacuuming-and-mopping-with-400-off-the-roomba-combo-j9-130021267.html?src=rss

Tesla has issued a recall for around 3,878 Cybertruck vehicles, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notice has revealed. Apparently, the cover of the truck's accelerator pedal could get dislodged and trapped by the interior rim. Based on videos going around showing the problem, a faulty accelerator cover could slide up due to excessive lubricant, jamming one end into a crevice while it's still also attached to the pedal itself. That means the vehicle could get stuck accelerating in full power even after the driver lifts their foot.Tesla said in the notice that it will replace and repair the pedals as needed free of charge. The automaker will send notices to owners of recalled Cybertrucks in June, but affected drivers who want their vehicles to be fixed as soon as possible can also call the company's customer service number at +1-877-798-3752. If asked for reference, they can say that the recall service number for their issue is SB-24-33-003.Cybertruck buyers were recently informed that their deliveries had been delayed and were reportedly told that Tesla was going to issue a recall over a problem with the vehicle's accelerator. It followed an earnings call earlier this month, wherein the company revealed that it experienced its first year-over-year drop in deliveries since 2020. Tesla didn't share how many Cybertrucks it shipped exactly, but its shipments were down 20 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 and eight percent compared to the same period a year ago. A couple of weeks later, reports came out that the company is laying off more than 10 percent of its workforce to reduce costs and increase productivity. While all that information only came out over the past month, Tesla has been expecting a leaner year from the start, with Elon Musk previously warning shareholders that they will likely see "notably lower" sales growth for 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tesla-is-recalling-cybertrucks-because-their-accelerator-pedals-could-get-stuck-123057430.html?src=rss

The latest batch of rumors make it pretty clear that a PlayStation 5 Pro is coming this year, but will anyone really care about slightly better 4K graphics? This week, Engadget Senior Editor Jessica Conditt joins Cherlynn and Devindra to chat about the PS5 Pro, as well as her piece on the PlayDate two years after its release. You could say the Playdate is pretty much the opposite of another expensive high-end console.In other news, we discuss the death of Boston Dynamic's hydraulic Atlas robot, and the birth of an all-new digital model. We also chat about the abrupt closure of Possibility Space, an ambitious indie game studio.Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcast, Engadget News!Topics

The bill that could ban TikTok in the United States inches closer to becoming law. The legislation passed the House of Representatives last month, then had to face the Senate - and opposition from a few prominent lawmakers. The House is to vote on a package of bills this weekend, which includes a slightly revised version of the TikTok bill. In the latest version, ByteDance would have up to 12 months to divest TikTok, instead of the six months initially pitched.That change alone was apparently key to winning support from some skeptical members of the Senate, including Sen. Maria Cantwell, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee. What will happen if the bill passes into law? TikTok (and potentially other apps controlled by a foreign adversary") would face a ban in US app stores if it declined to sell to a new owner.- Mat SmithThe biggest stories you might have missedNothing's Ear and Ear (a) earbuds with active noise cancellation are now available for pre-orderThe 5 best mechanical keyboardsRazer's Kishi Ultra gaming controller works with damn near everything, including some foldablesCities: Skylines 2's embarrassed developers are giving away beachfront property for freeYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!Apple says it was ordered to remove WhatsApp and Threads from China App StoreChinese regulators cited national security concerns.... and in what you might believe is something of a tit-for-tat move for blocking TikTok, Apple has pulled WhatsApp and Threads from the Chinese App Store. The country's internet regulator says the removal was required and justified on national security grounds. Apple is always willing to comply, lest it harm relations with one of its largest markets.Continue Reading.Taylor Swift is joining ThreadsAt the exact same time as her new album drops.Taylor Swift has a new album out. Taylor Swift has a new album out. Taylor Swift has a new album out. Taylor Swift has a new album out.Continue ReadingAnalogue Duo reviewA second chance for an underappreciated console.Tim Stevens for EngadgetAnalogue's latest retro console takes us to the multimedia era with the Duo: a love letter to one of Japan's most beloved (but niche) consoles, the TurboGrafx-16. It's a deep cut from a brand that has made its name reviving the most obscure hardware from gaming history. But, as much as you can emulate all of these titles on pretty much any device you have laying around, there's something different about running it from the original media.Continue Reading.Netflix is done telling us how many people use NetflixThere's no penalty for secrecy if you're a streaming company.Netflix has always been secretive about how much of its near-limitless library of content is being watched at any given time. Now, the company has said it will even stop disclosing how many subscribers it has to prevent giving Wall Street another stick with which to beat it. Instead, it'll only drop data when it's good PR, like crossing the 300-million subscriber threshold, and stick telling everyone how much money it's making.Continue Reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-the-bill-to-ban-tiktok-is-barreling-ahead-111531373.html?src=rss

Amazon's live adaptation of Fallout was so well-received, the fourth main game in the franchise had a resurgence in sales almost a decade after it was released. If you were ever worried about its fate despite the success it enjoyed, you can rest easy, for now: Amazon has already renewed the show for a second season, mere days after the first one debuted. The Fallout universe is set in a post-apocalyptic world, decades after a nuclear war decimated the planet. Ella Purnell plays Lucy in the series, a vault dweller who was forced to go to the surface to rescue her father.Walton Goggins seems to be a hit with audiences as the Ghoul, a radioactive noseless bounty-hunting corpse. We called him an "enlightened choice" for the role in our review and found this to be his most engaging performance yet. As a whole, we liked Fallout almost as much as we liked the TV adaptation of the The Last of Us. It features fantastic visuals with detailed sets and costumes that stay true to the source materials, and it has a story that flows well and doesn't feel like it's struggling to juggle several different plotlines. The game is also violent and gory, though, and it's not really for the faint of heart.The show is one of Amazon's projects under executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, the creators of Westworld, who Prime Video signed back in 2019. "We can't wait to blow up the world all over again," Nolan and Joy said, indicating that they'll be back for the next season, though Amazon has yet to announce when it will begin production or if it has a timeline for the project.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/fallout-has-already-scored-a-green-light-for-a-second-season-103013664.html?src=rss

The developer behind the popular, award-winning and slightly bawdy Baldur's Gate 3 confirmed that it won't be doing Baldur's Gate 4 - but it does have other irons in the fire."We won't be introducing any major new narrative content to the story of Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3) or its origin characters and companions, nor will we be making expansions or Baldur's Gate 4," Larian Studio wrote in a community update on Steam. "We're currently working on two new projects and we couldn't be more excited about what the future has in store."Larian promised more news about the new games "later down the line," but did give a hint about the style. "Know that even as our focus turns to these new games, the sensibilities that brought you Baldur's Gate 3 are alive and well here at the Larian castle. I don't know if we're going to pull it off, but looking at our narrative, visual and gameplay plans, I think what we're working on now will be our best work ever."Baldur's Gate 3 has been praised for its breadth, character development, puzzles, combat, D&D fidelity and, of course, intimate relationships. It sold around 15 million copies, far exceeding the expectations of the studio, while pretty much sweeping game accolades over the last year. Namely, it took game of the year prizes at The Game Awards, The Steam Awards, D.I.C.E. awards, Streamer Awards, Hugo Awards, GLAAD Media Awards and others.Director Swen Vincke previously revealed that the studio dropped plans for BG3 DLC and a sequel, partly due to constraints imposed by the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition mechanics. Still, there's no question of a sequel for the Hasbro-owned property. "We've done our job. It's a story with a beginning, a middle and an end. So let's pass the torch to another studio to pick up this incredible legacy," he added.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/baldurs-gate-3-developer-confirms-it-wont-make-the-sequel-091930642.html?src=rss

Apple users in China won't be able to find and download WhatsApp and Threads from the App Store anymore, according to The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. The company said it pulled the apps from the store to comply with orders it received from Cyberspace Administration, China's internet regulator, "based on [its] national security concerns." It explained to the publications that it's "obligated to follow the laws in the countries where [it operates], even when [it disagrees]."The Great Firewall of China blocks a lot of non-domestic apps and technologies in the country, prompting locals to use VPN if they want to access any of them. Meta's Facebook and Instagram are two of those applications, but WhatsApp and Threads have been available for download until now. The Chinese regulator's order comes shortly before the Senate is set to vote on a bill that could lead to a TikTok ban in the US. Cyberspace Administration's reasoning - that the apps are a national security concern - even echoes American lawmakers' argument for blocking TikTok in the country.In the current version of the bill, ByteDance will have a year to divest TikTok, or else the short form video-sharing platform will be banned from app stores. The House is expected to pass the bill, which is part of a package that also includes aid to Ukraine and Israel. President Joe Biden previously said that he supports the package and will immediately sign the bills into law.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-says-it-was-ordered-it-to-remove-whatsapp-and-threads-from-china-app-store-061441223.html?src=rss

With the Eras Tour still under way and The Tortured Poets Department dropping today, you can't shake off Taylor Swift these days. She's everywhere - in the news, on streaming services and on social media, which now includes Threads. Taylor's Threads account, and her first post, are going live around midnight. And if you're one of the first people to share her post, you'll get a custom badge based on her new album's artwork that you can display on your Threads profile.Meta has been dropping hints and releasing easter eggs for Swifties over the past week as part of a countdown for her album release today. You may have even seen its call to pre-follow Swift on Threads, along with the shimmer effect that's been showing up on conversations on the social network with Taylor-related hashtags. Celebratory hearts pop up when you like relevant posts, as well.On Instagram, you'll be able to change the background in your DMs with one that's inspired by TPD's artwork. The company told Engadget that the countdown on Taylor's Instagram profile will also reset, and you can apparently expect yet another surprise to go live at 2AM ET.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/surprise-taylor-swift-is-joining-threads-on-the-day-her-new-album-drops-040026147.html?src=rss

The bill that could lead to a ban of TikTok in the United States appears to be much closer to becoming law. The legislation sailed through the House of Representatives last month, but faced an uncertain future in the Senate due to opposition from a few prominent lawmakers.But momentum for the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act" seems to once again be growing. The House is set to vote on a package of bills this weekend, which includes a slightly revised version of the TikTok bill. In the latest version of the bill, ByteDance would have up to 12 months to divest TikTok, instead of the six-month period stipulated in the original measure.That change, as NBC News notes, was apparently key to winning over support from some skeptical members of the Senate, including Sen. Maria Cantwell, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee. So with the House expected to pass the revised bill Saturday - it's part of a package that also includes aid to Ukraine and Israel - its path forward is starting to look much more certain, with a Senate vote coming as early as next week," according to NBC. President Joe Biden has said he would sign the bill if it's passed by Congress.If passed into law, TikTok (and potentially other apps "controlled by a foreign adversary" and deemed to be a national security threat) would face a ban in US app stores if it declined to sell to a new owner. TikTok CEO Shou Chew has suggested the company would likely mount a legal challenge to the law.It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate 7 million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the U.S. economy, annually," TikTok said in a statement.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-bill-that-could-ban-tiktok-is-barreling-ahead-230518984.html?src=rss

Netflix will stop disclosing the number of people who signed up for its service, as well as the revenue it generates from each subscriber from next year, the company announced on Thursday. It will focus, instead, on highlighting revenue growth and the amount of time spent on its platform.In our early days, when we had little revenue or profit, membership growth was a strong indicator of our future potential," the company said in a letter to shareholders. But now we're generating very substantial profit and free cash flow."Netflix revealed that the service added 9.33 million subscribers over the last few months, bringing the total number of paying households worldwide to nearly 270 million. Despite its decision to stop reporting user numbers each quarter, Netflix said that the company will announce major subscriber milestones as we cross them," which means we'll probably hear about it when it crosses 300 million.Netflix estimates that more than half a billion people around the world watch TV shows and movies through its service, an audience it is now figuring out how to squeeze even more money out of through new pricing tiers, a crackdown on password-sharing, and showing ads. Over the last few years, it has also steadily added games like the Grand Theft Auto trilogy, Hades, Dead Cells, Braid, and more, to its catalog.Subscriber metrics are an important signal to Wall Street because they show how quickly a company is growing. But Netflix's move to stop reporting these is something that we've seen from other companies before. In February, Meta announced that it would no longer break out the number of daily and monthly Facebook users each quarter but only reveal how many people collectively used Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. In 2018, Apple, too, stopped reporting the number of iPhones, iPads, and Macs it sold each quarter, choosing to focus, instead, on how much money it made in each category.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflix-is-done-telling-us-how-many-people-use-netflix-215149971.html?src=rss

Like many other multiplayer games, Overwatch 2isn't immune from cheaters. And it's not only an issue on PC, where cheaters use tools like aimbots. Some folks use XIM devices so they can play with a keyboard and mouse (KBM) on consoles. This is against Blizzard's rules, as KBM players typically have an aim advantage over those who use a controller, even though the console versions of the game have features like aim assist. While it's taken some time to get the ball rolling, the developer is finally doing something about the XIM problem.XIM devices trick consoles into believing that KBM users are playing with a controller. However, in a blog post, Blizzard says it has been able to detect KBM players on consoles over the last few Overwatch 2 seasons. It has found that the cheating problem is more prevalent among higher ranked players. The developers say that use of so-called unapproved peripherals is "very rare" in lower ranks.During the current season (which started this week), Blizzard will dish out permanent bans to the most extreme users of unapproved peripherals. It will rely on reports from other players and its own data to pinpoint those who are breaking the rules.Starting in Season 11, which should get underway in June, the developers will tackle the issue at a broader level. The first time a console player is detected using an unapproved device on consoles, they'll be banned from Competitive modes for a week. If they keep using KBM or other unapproved peripherals in casual modes, they'll get a season-long Competitive suspension, only have the option of playing with other KBM users in Quick Play and lose access to aim assist features. It's all in the name of fairness.There are accessibility concerns here, though, as some folks simply can't play games with a standard controller. Blizzard says that it has done its "utmost to ensure that players with accessibility needs will be less likely to trigger our detection." The developers say they will tailor their enforcement actions so that folks with accessibility needs can still land a sick Earthshatter or keep healing their teammates.With all that said, Blizzard is looking into adding official KBM support on consoles so folks can play the game that way without negatively impacting controller players. As things stand, console and PC players are separated into separate pools for Competitive play. So to make things fair, Blizzard would need to shuffle console players who want to use a keyboard and mouse into games with other KBM players and no aim assist.The XIM problem isn't exactly new. The Overwatch 2 developers' colleagues at Activision last year started banning Call of Duty players who spoof input devices (or just messing with them, as usual). Ubisoft and Epic have also targeted XIM users in Rainbow Six: Siege and Fortnite, respectively.Blizzard is doing more on other fronts to try to keep Overwatch 2 fair and more enjoyable for the majority of players. It's punishing those who leave in the middle of matches more severely and taking a stronger stance on toxicity in voice and text chat.Meanwhile, there's been a kerfuffle this week related to Overwatch 2 players being banned for using profanity. Those who use slurs or threaten others should obviously face appropriate consequences, but apparently booting out players from a game that has profanity filters for some slightly spicy trash talk is some kind of BS.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/blizzard-takes-aim-at-overwatch-2-console-cheaters-203923200.html?src=rss

Amazon appears to have nixed its Prime Video-only plan in the US and UK. Cord Busters reports that the little-known subscription, introduced in 2016, is no longer available to new users in either country. Those trying to sign up for the previously $8.99 monthly plan (5.99 monthly in the UK) are now directed to the landing page for a full Amazon Prime membership.The Prime Video plan launched eight years ago, priced to undercut Netflix's (at the time) $9.99-a-month subscription price for standard HD streaming on up to two devices. Although the option stuck around for close to a decade, Amazon increasingly buried it, making it impossible to sign up for on mobile devices. It was also increasingly difficult to find on desktops, where you had to navigate to an easy-to-miss See more plans" section of the Prime sign-up page.The Prime Video plan never even got a price increase during that time, further illustrating how obscure Amazon apparently wanted it to remain. Now, it appears to be gone for good. Cord Busters says it was recently removed in the US and axed from Amazon UK earlier this week.Your subscription should still work if you're already on the Prime Video-only plan. But if you cancel it or switch to the full Prime membership, don't expect to see an option to return to it.Engadget reached out to Amazon to ask about the change. We'll update this article if we hear back.Prime Video is home to Fallout, which premiered earlier this month. We found it to be one of the best video game adaptations to date, in the vein of The Last of Us.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-no-longer-offers-its-easy-to-miss-prime-video-subscription-201931193.html?src=rss

Children of the Sun burst onto the indie scene like a muzzle flash on a dark night. Publisher Devolver Digital dropped the game's first trailer on February 1, showcasing frenzied sniper shots and a radioactive art style. A Steam demo highlighting its initial seven stages went live that same day and became a breakout hit during February's Steam Next Fest. Two months later it landed in full and to broad acclaim. This explosive reveal and rapid release timeline mirrors the game itself - chaotic but contained, swift and direct, sharp and bright.Though it feels like Children of the Sun popped into existence over the span of two months, it took solo developer Rene Rother more than 20 years to get here.Rene RotherAs a kid in Berlin in the early 2000s, Rother was fascinated by the booming mod community. He spent his time messing around with free Counter-Strike mapping tools and Quake III mods from the demo discs tucked into his PC magazines. Rother daydreamed about having a job in game development, but it never felt like an attainable goal.It just didn't seem possible to make games," he told Engadget. It's like it was this huge black box."Rother couldn't see an easy entry point until the 2010s, when mesh libraries and tools like GameMaker and Unity became more accessible. He discovered a fondness for creating 3D interactive art. But aside from some free online Javascript courses, he didn't know how to program anything, so his output was limited.I dabbled into it a little bit, but then got kicked out. Again," Rother said. It was just like the whole entrance barrier was so big."Rene RotherRother pursued graphic design at university and he found the first two years fulfilling, with a focus on classical art training. By the end of his schooling, though, the lessons covered practical applications like working with clients, and Rother's vision of a graphic design career smashed into reality.There was an eye-opening moment where I felt like, this is not for me," Rother said.In between classes, Rother was still making games for himself and for jams like Ludum Dare, steadily building up his skillset and cementing his reputation in these spaces as a master of mood.Atmospheric kind of pieces, walking simulators," Rother said, recalling his early projects. Atmosphere was very interesting to me to explore. But I never thought that it was actually something that could turn into a game. I never thought that it would become something that can be sold in a way that it's actually a product."Rene RotherBy the late 2010s Rother decided he was officially over graphic design and ready to try a job in game development. He applied to a bunch of studios and, in the meantime, picked up odd jobs at a supermarket and as a stagehand, setting up electronics. He eventually secured a gig as a 3D artist at a small studio in Berlin. Meanwhile, his pile of game jam projects and unfinished prototypes continued to grow.In that timeframe, Children of the Sun happened," Rother said.In Children of the Sun, players are The Girl, a woman who escaped the cult that raised her and is now enacting sniper-based revenge on all of its cells, one bullet at a time. In each round, players line up their shot and then control a single bullet as it ricochets through individual cult members. The challenge lies in finding the most speedy, efficient and stylish path of death, earning a spot at the top of the leaderboards.It was just a random prototype I started working on," Rother said. And one Saturday morning I was thinking, I don't know what I'm doing with my life.'" With an atmospheric prototype and a head full of ennui, Rother emailed Devolver Digital that same day about potentially publishing Children of the Sun.The response was basically, The pitch was shit but the game looks cool,'" Rother said. And then it became a thing."Rene RotherVisually, Children of the Sun is dazzling. It has a sketchy 3D art style that's covered in bruise tones, with dark treelines, glowing yellow enemies and layers of texture. Every scene looks like The Girl just took a hit of adrenaline and her senses are on high alert, lending a hectic sense of hyper-vigilance to the entire experience. It's a game built on instinct.I didn't make any mood boards," Rother said. I didn't prepare [for] it. It was just like, oh, let's make it this color. Ah, let's make it this color.... This is something to very easily get lost in. I spent a lot of time just adjusting the color of grass so it works well with the otherwise purplish tones and these kinds of things. I spent way too much time on the colors."Children of the Sun went through multiple visual iterations where Rother played with contrast, depth, fog density and traditional FPS color palettes, before landing on the game's dreamlike and neon-drenched final form. The residue of this trial and error is still visible beneath Children of the Sun's frames, and that's exactly how Rother likes it.I see it as a big compliment, actually," he said. In paintings, when we talk about visual art, I really like when you can see the brushstrokes. I like when you can still see the lines of the pencil before the painting got made. I like the roughness. I wanted everything to be rough. I didn't want it to be polished."Rother picked up the game's soundtrack collaborator, experimental ambient composer Aidan Baker, the same way he hooked up with Devolver. Rother was a fan of Baker and his band Nadja, and he wanted a similar droning, slowcore vibe as a backdrop for Children of the Sun. On a whim, Rother sent Baker a casual message asking if he'd like to make music for a video game.He was like, Well I've never done it, so I don't know,'" Rother remembered. So we met one evening and then afterwards he was like, Yeah, let's just do it.' Instead of just emulating something that I like in the game, I somehow managed to get straight to the source of it. And that was a really nice experience."For Rother, Children of the Sun has been a lesson in trusting his gut. He hasn't found the proper word in English or German to describe the atmosphere he created in the game, but it's something close to melancholy, spiked with an intense coiled energy and bright, psychedelic clarity. He just knows that it feels right - visuals, music, mechanics and all.That's kind of how I live my life," Rother said. Not that I'm, like, super spontaneous or just flip-flopping around with opinions or these kinds of things. It's more about doing things that feel right to me without necessarily knowing why."When he booted up that Quake III demo disc and started making 3D vignettes for game jams, Rother didn't realize he was building the path that would eventually lead him to a major publishing deal, a collaboration with a musician he admires, a big Steam release and a game about cult sniping called Children of the Sun. When Rother takes a moment to survey his current lot in life, he feels lucky, he said.Rene RotherI feel like in the last three years, somehow, lots of things fell into my lap," Rother said. Although I still had to do something for it. I needed to be prepared for this moment, that required work.... But in the time where I prepared myself, I was not aware that I was preparing myself. So that's how the feeling of luck gets amplified a bit more."Luck" is one way to describe it, but artistic instinct" might be just as fitting. Children of the Sun is available now on Steam for $15.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/it-took-20-years-for-children-of-the-sun-to-become-an-overnight-success-194511363.html?src=rss

Subscriptions to the budgeting app Quicken Simplifi are half off through April 21. The price has been brought down to just $2 per month, which is billed annually at $24. The deal also extends to Quicken Classic, which adds more features for investments and tracking taxes. This tier now costs $4 per month, instead of $8 per month. It's also billed annually.Quicken Simplifi is pretty much the budgeting app to beat all budgeting apps. There's a reason, after all, that it topped our list of the best budgeting apps and our collection of the best apps to replace Mint. We've consistently praised the user-friendly interface that makes it easy to get started and keep an eye on things. Users have instantaneous access to various metrics, like top-line balances, net worth, recent spending, upcoming recurring payments and more.We also loved how simple (pun intended) it is to set up customized savings goals and the like. The UI is clean, yet offers playful visualizations to keep things interesting. It integrates with most financial institutions, including Fidelity. Users can also invite a spouse or a financial manager to co-manage the account.There's no integration with Zillow, so people can't track fluctuations in home value, which is something that competing apps like Monarch Money and Copilot Money offer. It requires manual entry of real estate information, just like any other asset. We also experienced some small errors during use, in which the app miscategorized some expenses, though this was in line with other products we tested. There's no option for a free trial, so $2 per month is about as close as it gets. Just remember to cancel before the year is up if things don't work out.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/quicken-simplifi-subscriptions-are-half-off-through-april-21-190006927.html?src=rss

For the second time this year, Meta has given the Quest 2 a permanent price cut. The company has dropped the price of the base headset with 128GB of storage to $199, down from $249. Until January 2, the company was charging $299 for the Quest 2.Of course, the price cut comes in the wake of the company rolling out the far more powerful and capable Meta Quest 3, which starts at a far higher price of $499. The discount suggests that Meta is trying to get rid of its remaining inventory of the previous model. Still, the Quest 2 is our pick for the best cheap VR headset and the drop to $199 makes the device even more appealing.For a couple of hundred bucks, you'll get a headset that has fast-switching LCD displays with a resolution of 1832x1920 per eye and a 90Hz refresh rate. It has a solid library of VR apps at this point, along with access to cloud gaming services like Xbox Cloud Gaming. However you slice it, the Quest 2 is a solid entry point into VR.In addition, Meta recently lowered the prices of Quest 2 accessories. The Elite Strap and Elite Strap with Battery have both dropped by 50 percent to $25 and $45, respectively. The Fit Pack, which could help you find a more comfortable fit, has also fallen by half to $20. The official carrying case, meanwhile, is down from $45 to $20.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-gives-the-quest-2-its-second-permanent-price-cut-in-four-months-184511096.html?src=rss

If you watch movies and TV on a 1080p screen, the Chromecast with Google TV (HD) provides a rock-solid streaming experience on the cheap. This is the HD version of Engadget's top choice for streaming devices. Today, Amazon has it for $10 off, letting you pick up the HDR10-capable streaming stick for only $20, nearly a record-low price.The Chromecast with Google TV (HD) plugs directly into an open HDMI port on your TV. (There's an optional power adapter with a USB cable if your TV can't supply enough juice.) If you have a 4K television, you're better off with the more expensive model designed for higher-res displays. But for HD screens, this model is hard to beat. It offers the same terrific user experience as the high-end model, only less expensive and downscaled for 1080p.Setup is quick and easy. You scan a QR code with your phone to begin the sign-in process in the Google Home app. (That's also where you add your Wi-Fi network.) So, you don't need to worry about entering long email addresses and passwords using the remote and a clunky onscreen keyboard.The device has relatively lightweight specs (1.5GB of RAM and an Amlogic S805X2 chip) that may reveal some nearly imperceptible lag when navigating the UI, especially right after startup. But it provides smooth performance when it matters most: playing content.The software streamlines things as much as possible, including a Live tab that draws from a handful of streaming services to let you resume or jump into new content straight from the home screen. Google advertises support for over 700,000 movies and TV episodes, and you can install just about any streaming service you can name, including Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV+, Max, Peacock, YouTube TV and much more.Photo by Sam Rutherford / EngadgetThe remote includes a built-in mic and a dedicated Google Assistant button. The latter lets you control TV content and smart home features with your voice. It also has standard IR integration, so you can control some of your TV's essential functions and potentially leave its remote in a drawer.If you don't want to wait for Amazon's shipping, Target has the same deal. If your local stores have them in stock, you could get instant gratification while saving five percent on your purchase if you check out using a Target RedCard.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-hd-chromecast-with-google-tv-is-on-sale-for-only-20-182333907.html?src=rss

Razer just released the Kishi Ultra mobile gaming controller, a successor to the popular Kishi V2 Pro. It's filled with improvements, including a larger form factor to accommodate beefier mobile devices like 8-inch tablets and even some foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 5. The controller also offers USB-C compatibility, so it should work with just about any device out there, as long as it fits. Remember, even modern Apple products now include USB-C ports.Razer says the controller has been designed to provide an authentic console experience on the iPhone 15 series, iPad Mini, and Android tablets with 8-inch displays." To that end, it features the company's proprietary Sensa HD haptics technology, which includes a haptic coil near each hand to increase immersion. The company says this experience will actually surpass what's found with traditional console controllers. The newly-released Interhaptics SDK will even allow developers to craft bespoke haptic experiences."This immersion is further improved by integration with Razer's Chroma RGB lighting system. This allows for customizable lighting schemes, which lets players bring a piece of their gamer room setup with them." Beyond the lighting and haptics, the controller boasts the company's proprietary Mecha-Tactile ABXY buttons and 8-way D-pad. There are console-sized hall effect triggers, programmable L4/R4 multifunction buttons and full-sized thumb sticks, complete with anti-friction rings. The expanded form factor also means it should work with most devices without having to remove the case.RazerThe controller can access Razer's subscription-free Nexus app, which pulls up custom button-mapping for thousands of compatible games across iOS and Android.. This means that it'll be a plug and play experience for the vast majority of available content, without having to fiddle with control settings. Additionally, the Nexus app lets users record and share gameplay.The Razer Kishi Ultra is available right now and costs $150. The controller is joined by an updated version of the Kishi V2, which now connects via USB-C. That one costs $100.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/razers-kishi-ultra-gaming-controller-works-with-damn-near-everything-including-some-foldables-173017166.html?src=rss

Netflix has renewed The Witcherfor a fifth season, but the company says that will bring the series to an end. The final season will be shot back-to-back with the fourth season, which has just started production. The two seasons will cover the events of the last three books in the series: Baptism of Fire, The Tower of the Swallow and Lady of the Lake. The show is a direct adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski's novels, but it does occasionally take inspiration from CD Projekt Red's game adaptations (and vice versa).The fourth season will mark a significant change for The Witcher, as Liam Hemsworth is replacing Henry Cavill in the lead role. This time around, Geralt of Rivia will find a new family in the Hanza, who will help him track down Yennefer and Ciri after the trio is separated. New cast members who are joining for the fourth season include Laurence Fishburne, Sharlto Copley and James Purefoy.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflix-will-stop-tossing-coins-to-the-witcher-after-season-five-171500284.html?src=rss

Cities: Skylines 2 developer Colossal Order is unlisting and refunding purchases of its controversial Beach Properties asset pack less than a month after its release. It's also significantly delaying the game's future DLC and console port.Beach Properties was the first paid DLC for Cities: Skylines 2, and has an Overwhelmingly Negative" rating on Steam, with just 4 percent of user reviews marked as positive. In a note announcing the reverse of course, Colossal Order CEO Mariina Hallikainen said the company had let its community down.We thought we could make up for the shortcomings of the game in a timeframe that was unrealistic, and rushed out a DLC that should not have been published in its current form," Hallikainen said. "For all this, we are truly sorry."The asset pack itself worked as advertised, adding a number of zoneable waterfront-style properties to the game, but it was definitely thin for the $9.99 asking price. Most will admit, though, that the content itself wasn't the problem: The DLC was largely derided because it was released at a time when players were waiting on patches for the base game. Cities: Skylines 2 was released in a poorly optimized state in October 2023, and although it's in better shape now, many in the community feel there are fundamental issues with the simulation, and there is still work to be done to make the game run better. Mod support - perhaps the reason that the original Cities: Skylines had such a long lifespan - was also slow to arrive, and is still only in beta, with no support for custom assets.In an FAQ accompanying the announcement, Colossal Order explains how the refund and compensation program will work. Essentially, if you bought the DLC separately, you should be able to get a refund. Those who redeemed a code as part of the game's Deluxe or Ultimate editions will not. Instead, compensation will come in the form of creator asset packs and radio stations which Colossal Order says will "total around $39.99 in added value." The beachfront properties will be added to the base game, free of charge, for all players.To call Cities: Skylines 2's launch messy would be kind. Since the game's release on PC last October, developer Colossal Order has burned through the goodwill it built up over a near-decade of the original game's lifespan. Things came to a head in late January, when many of the community's loudest and most respected voices broke rank to talk openly about the game's issues.Another casualty of today's announcement is the game's console release. Cities: Skylines 2 was supposed to launch simultaneously on PC and console, but the PS5 and Xbox versions were pushed back to spring 2024 weeks before release. It has been clear for some time that revised date was not going to happen, and Colossal Order confirmed it's now hoping to have the console ports ready for October.The final piece of bad news is that Bridges & Ports - the first expansion pack that will go beyond assets - is going to be further delayed to Q1 2025 to allow the developers to "focus on additional free patches and game updates in the coming months." The expansion pack was supposed to be released in Q2 2024, and is included in the game's Ultimate Edition.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cities-skylines-2s-embarrassed-developers-are-giving-away-beachfront-property-for-free-170042260.html?src=rss

Google's wired Nest security camera has dropped to its lowest price to date. The second-gen device is for indoor use and it's motion sensitive. It's capable of capturing 1080p HDR video. You can snap one up for $70, which is $30 or 30 percent off the regular price of $100, at Amazon if you opt for the fog or linen colorway. However, if you go for the snow variant you can save a little more. That one is on sale for $67.59, or 32 percent off.The Nest Cam uses AI to discern between people, animals and vehicles. It can send you alerts via the Google Home app, and you won't need a subscription for that. You will need a Nest Aware plan if you want up to 60 days of video history. Otherwise, Google will offer three free hours of event video history. Handily, if you have a Wi-Fi outage, up to an hour of event recordings will be stored on the device itself.There's a two-way audio function, so you can chat with house guests if you're not home. In the event of an unwanted visitor, you can contact emergency services directly from the Google Home app if you're a Nest Aware member who is perhaps using a tablet instead of a phone. You'll be able to view live video feeds on compatible smart displays and smart TVs too.Nest Aware subscribers can receive notifications when familiar faces are recognized. There's also the option to set up home and away routines so the camera doesn't capture video while you're at your place.Elsewhere, the Outdoor Nest Cam with Floodlight is on sale too. It has dropped by 29 percent to $200. That's just $10 more than the lowest price we've seen for it to date.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/googles-wired-nest-security-camera-is-cheaper-than-ever-163019138.html?src=rss

A speaker doesn't have to be brand new to sound good. Sonos speakers get high marks in our reviews and buying guides and the company has one of the better refurbished programs out there. Right now, you can grab a refurbished Sonos Arc SL soundbar for $509, which is $170 off the refurbished price and $240 off the speaker's full $749 price tag when it was new. A decent selection of other renewed soundbars and speakers are also on sale at Sonos, with up to 25 percent off the refurbished prices.We named the Sonos Arc the runner-up premium soundbar in our buying guide, praising its stellar sound quality and ability to calibrate its sound to match the room its in. The difference between the Sonos Arc and the Arc SL is the lack of a microphone, so you won't be able to talk to Alexa or the Google Assistant directly through your speaker. That might be a plus for anyone interested in the extra privacy of a mic-less device. Other than the lack of microphone, the Arc SL hardware is the same. It can even calibrate its sound to the room with the Trueplay feature, which uses the Sonos app on an iOS device to measure how sound reflects off your walls and furniture. The Arc SL is Wi-Fi enabled, supports Dolby Atmos, Apple Air Play 2 and connects to your TV via HDMI ARC or eARC. Though, sadly, there's just one HDMI port.Buying a refurbished device from Sonos carries a lot of the same perks of buying new, including the same one-year warranty, all necessary cables and manuals plus all-new packaging. They also donate one percent of refurbished sales to environmental non-profits as part of 1% for the Planet.If you'd rather a speaker that does have a mic, the refurbished second-generation Beam soundbar is also on sale. It's down to $299 after a $100 discount off the refurbished rate - which works out to $200 off the brand new sticker price. The Beam is our top pick for a mid-range soundbar in our guide and has great sound quality, supports Dolby Atmos and, like all of the company's wares, does an excellent job of pairing up with other Sonos speakers.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/sonos-refurbished-speakers-and-soundbars-are-up-to-170-off-right-now-161504151.html?src=rss

Meta just announced a major update for its AI assistant platform, Meta AI, which has been built using the long-awaited open source Llama 3 large language model (LLM). The company says it's now the most intelligent AI assistant you can use for free." As for use case scenarios, the company touts the ability to help users study for tests, plan dinners and schedule nights out. You know the drill. It's an AI chatbot.Meta AI, however, has expanded into just about every nook and cranny throughout the company's entire portfolio, after a test run with Instagram DMs last week. It's still available with Instagram, but now users can access it on Messenger, Facebook feeds and Whatsapp. The chatbot also has a dedicated web portal at, wait for it, meta.ai. You don't need a company login to use it this way, though it won't generate images. Those recently-released Ray-Ban smart glasses also integrate with the bot, with Quest headset integration coming soon.On the topic of image generation, Meta says it's now much faster and will produce images as you type. It also handles custom animated GIFs, which is pretty cool. Hopefully, it can successfully generate images of different races of people. We found that it struggled with this basic concept a couple of weeks back, as it seemed biased toward creating images of people of the same race, even when prompted otherwise.Meta's also expanding global availability along with this update, as Meta AI is coming to more than a dozen countries outside of the US. These include Australia, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Pakistan, Uganda and others. However, there's one major caveat. It's only in English, which doesn't seem that useful to a global audience, but whatever.As for safety and reliability, the company says Llama 3 has been trained on an expanded data set when compared to Llama 2. It also used synthetic data to create lengthy documents to train on and claims it excluded all data sources that are known to contain a high volume of personal information about private individuals." Meta says it conducted a series of evaluations to see how the chatbot would handle risk areas like conversations about weapons, cyber attacks and child exploitation, and adjusted as required. In our brief testing with the product, we've already run into hallucinations, as seen below.Engadget/Karissa BellAI has become one of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's pet projects, along with raising really expensive cattle for beef in a secluded Hawaiian compound, but the company's still playing catch up to OpenAI and, to a lesser extent, Google. Meta's Llama 2 never really wowed users, due to a limited feature set, so maybe this new version of the AI assistant will catch lightning in a bottle. At the very least, it should be able to draw lightning in a bottle, or more accurately, slightly tweak someone else's drawing of lightning in a bottle.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-rolls-out-an-updated-ai-assistant-built-with-the-long-awaited-llama-3-160053435.html?src=rss

TSMC is the world's biggest chipmaker and its products are found in everything from phones to game consoles and computers. But devices using TSMC chips could become more expensive if manufacturers opt to buy ones that the company makes outside of its home base of Taiwan.If a customer requests to be in a certain geographical area, the customer needs to share the incremental cost," TSMC CEO CC Wei said on an earnings call. In today's fragmented globalization environment, cost will be higher for everyone, including TSMC, our customers and our competitors."Talks with customers over price increases have already started. As the Financial Times points out, it's more expensive for TSMC to manufacture chips outside of Taiwan (where over 90 percent of the planet's most advanced semiconductors are made). But the company will be passing on those costs amid a push by companies and governments to increase chip supply outside of Taiwan, over which China is attempting to control.TSMC has plants in Japan and is building several in Arizona, the first of which started operating this month and is expected to go into full production this year. It's also constructing a plant in Germany.In addition, the US government last week agreed to provide the company with $6.6 billion in funding under the CHIPS Act, which seeks to bolster semiconductor manufacturing in the country. In return, TSMC pledged to up its US investment by $25 billion to $65 billion. Aligned with that, the company announced plans to build a third US plant by the end of the decade and to start making more advanced 2nm chips by 2028.Meanwhile, TSMC expects its manufacturing costs to increase in Taiwan. That's because power prices there are soaring. An earthquake earlier this month is also expected to have a negative effect on the company's profitability, as is its struggle to make the manufacturing of its most advanced 3nm chips more efficient.Apple, NVIDIA, AMD and Qualcomm are among TSMC's more notable customers. So if they end up buying chips from the company's US, Japan or Germany fabs, their manufacturing costs could go up. Take a wild guess who'd end up having to eat the cost of those increased expenses so device makers can maintain their profit margins.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tsmc-will-charge-more-for-chips-made-outside-of-taiwan-possibly-making-devices-more-expensive-145146879.html?src=rss

There's a new invite-only app going semi-viral among VCs, tech execs and other Silicon Valley personalities. It's called Airchat and it's trying to revive the concept of an audio-first social media app.The premise is similar to Clubhouse, the audio app that had a viral moment at the height of the pandemic in 2021 and inspired copycat features in Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Reddit before gradually fading into obscurity. But unlike the original version of Clubhouse, Airchat isn't built around live audio streams that require users to all tune it at once. It's more like Twitter or Threads, except posts can only be shared as voice notes.The app uses a timeline format, and automatically plays audio clips as you scroll your feed. You do have the ability to pause the playback and read text instead - each post is accompanied by an AI-generated transcript - but posts and replies can only be shared by recording an audio clip. There don't seem to be any time constraints on how long individual clips can be, I found at least one post where a user spoke for a full hour just to see if it would work (it did).It sounds a bit gimmicky (because it is), but the app has all the hallmarks of the kind of social apps that briefly go viral among a certain segment of extremely-online Silicon Valley nerds. It's led by a pair of well-connected tech founders: AngelList co-founder Naval Ravikant and former Tinder exec Brian Norgard. It's invitation-only and has drawn a number of well-known tech personalities among its early users: Y Combinator CEO and San Francisco political provocateur Gary Tan, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, OpenAI founder Sam Altman, VC and Elon Musk confidant Jason Calacanis.Over on X, Airchat's high-profile user base is building hype and creating FOMO for those who haven't been able to score an invite. (The app had to briefly shut off invites over the weekend due to an influx of new users," according to Ravikant, Airchat's CEO.)It's not clear exactly how many users Airchat has just yet, but it seems to be in the low tens of thousands. The app has been downloaded close to 50,000 times, research firm Appfigures told Engadget, but it's likely some of those downloads have come from people who don't yet have an invite. Ravikant, who seems to be one of the most-followed users, currently has just over 11,000 followers in the app.Using Airchat is, well, noisy and a bit confusing. Upon joining, the app asks to tap your contacts list to find friends who are already on the app, but finding people to follow beyond that can be challenging. The app doesn't have the equivalent of a for you" feed with recommended content so your only options are to manually search for users or lurk in conversations that do appear in your feed and check out other users' posts and follows.When I signed up, there were four people from my contacts in the app, only two of whom are actual friends. I followed them and the app's founders and a couple other familiar names. I then began randomly following other users as conversations began to appear in my feed. This was a terrible strategy as my feed was quickly dominated by the voices of a few especially active (but not terribly interesting) posters. With so many new users all joining at the same time, at one point my feed was just a bunch of people talking about Airchat.It's also somewhat jarring to actually hear the voices of people you've followed on social media for ages but haven't interacted with IRL. The app defaults to playing back audio at 2x speed, which tends to make people's speaking voices sound a bit unnatural, but is also kind of necessary for long-winded posts.The bigger issue, though, is that it's not entirely clear what Airchat is for. There are a handful of channels," smaller groups dedicated to chatting about specific topics like coffee or astrology or AI or war, but conversations are disjointed and hard to follow. There seem to be some corners with spirited discussion. The coffee" channel has 755 members and has lots of earnest discussion of pour-over techniques and photos of latte art. The channel is also moderated heavily," according to Ravikant (Airchat's moderation policy is self moderation," which means they expect you to make good use of blocking and muting features, though an FAQ states they will remove users for harassment, impersonation, foul behavior, and illegal content.)More creative users are also finding ways to play with the audio-centric format. I found an ASMR group that consisted mainly of people speaking in breathy whispers that kind of gave me the ick (one person did post a nice clip of their cat purring). I listened to a few poetry readings in the poetry" channel, but didn't have the patience, even at 2x speed. There's also a lot of talk of in-app karaoke, though I have yet to see it actually happen.Some might see these kinds of gimmicks as the start of some new paradigm, where people use their voices to unlock new ways of interacting. But all I can think about is how Clubhouse, at its peak, had similar gimmicks: in-app game shows, open mic nights and (very NSFW) moan rooms." It was new and interesting at a time when most people were stuck at home with nothing to do, but the novelty wore off quickly.While Clubhouse's initial success sparked copycat features from almost every other major social media company, many of those have since shut down due to lack of interest. Even Clubhouse itself is a shell of what it once was. While the app still exists, it's an entirely different service than the one that briefly captured the attention of bored tech workers. The company laid off half its staff in 2023 and has since pivoted to audio-centric group chats.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/airchat-is-the-latest-app-trying-to-make-social-audio-cool-again-140050450.html?src=rss

As learning language models (LLMs) continue to advance, so do questions about how they can benefit society in areas such as the medical field. A recent study from the University of Cambridge's School of Clinical Medicine found that OpenAI's GPT-4 performed nearly as well in an ophthalmology assessment as experts in the field, the Financial Times first reported.In the study, published in PLOS Digital Health, researchers tested the LLM, its predecessor GPT-3.5, Google's PaLM 2 and Meta's LLaMA with 87 multiple choice questions. Five expert ophthalmologists, three trainee ophthalmologists and two unspecialized junior doctors received the same mock exam. The questions came from a textbook for trialing trainees on everything from light sensitivity to lesions. The contents aren't publicly available, so the researchers believe LLMs couldn't have been trained on them previously. ChatGPT, equipped with GPT-4 or GPT-3.5, was given three chances to answer definitively or its response was marked as null.GPT-4 scored higher than the trainees and junior doctors, getting 60 of the 87 questions right. While this was significantly higher than the junior doctors' average of 37 correct answers, it just beat out the three trainees' average of 59.7. While one expert ophthalmologist only answered 56 questions accurately, the five had an average score of 66.4 right answers, beating the machine. PaLM 2 scored a 49, and GPT-3.5 scored a 42. LLaMa scored the lowest at 28, falling below the junior doctors. Notably, these trials occurred in mid-2023.While these results have potential benefits, there are also quite a few risks and concerns. Researchers noted that the study offered a limited number of questions, especially in certain categories, meaning the actual results might be varied. LLMs also have a tendency to "hallucinate" or make things up. That's one thing if its an irrelevant fact but claiming there's a cataract or cancer is another story. As is the case in many instances of LLM use, the systems also lack nuance, creating further opportunities for inaccuracy.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gpt-4-performed-close-to-the-level-of-expert-doctors-in-eye-assessments-131517436.html?src=rss

There are a frankly ridiculous number of Chromebooks on sale to choose from, but Google's Chromebook Plus initiative that launched last fall has gone a long way towards standardizing some key specs for ChromeOS devices. That in turn has made it a little easier to pick ones that'll provide a consistent quality experience without breaking the bank. Acer's latest Chromebook Plus 514, which the company just announced today, is a good example - at first glance, it looks like it checks most of the boxes I'm looking for when recommending a basic Chromebook that'll work for most people.To make things confusing, Acer already sells a few Chromebook Plus 514 models; this one is the CB514-4HT and is priced at $399. Look for that SKU if you want to make sure you're getting the latest one. This laptop is powered by Intel's 13th-gen Core i3-N305 processor and pairs that with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage - that latter spec is a bit of surprise and is a lot more storage than I'd expect to see on a $400 Chromebook. To meet the required Chromebook Plus specs, this laptop includes a 1080p webcam with a privacy shutter. While the resolution is pretty solid, not all webcams are equal so we'll have to see how this one performs in real life.AcerThe display is a 14-inch, 1080p touchscreen, so it's not quite as tall as the 1,920 x 1,200 screens that I've seen on a number of other Chromebook Plus laptops. But again, at the price I'm not going to complain too much. It has a decent selection of ports, too: two USB-C and USB-A slots along with a microSD card reader. I wouldn't have minded seeing HDMI here, as the USB-C ports could quickly be taken up by power and a monitor, but I just keep reminding myself this computer is only 400 bucks.Acer says that this laptop will hit stores in early May, though the specific SKU we're talking about here should also be at Costco as early as next week. The company also says it'll have some other configurations available in the near future, though they didn't say what'll change. I wouldn't be surprised to see a model with less storage or perhaps no touchscreen, which could drive the price down even more. If so, this might be a great budget option. But even as is, you should get a pretty good laptop here for the price.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/acers-new-399-chromebook-plus-514-hits-the-mark-for-a-solid-budget-laptop-130058747.html?src=rss

We are living in a second golden age for console gaming. Active communities, open developer tools and easy distribution have given new life to many once-dead systems. If there's one company who deserves the most thanks for bringing a love for '80s and '90s cartridge-based console gaming back to the semi-mainstream, it's Analogue.It started with the CMVS, an obsessive (and expensive) wood-grained reboot of the iconic Neo Geo. Then came the Analogue Nt in 2014, which brought easy, high-def NES gaming to our homes . In 2017, the Super Nt did the same for SNES gaming, then the Mega Sg for the Sega Genesis and, most recently, the Analogue Pocket, which supports everything from the Game Boy to the Neo Geo Pocket thanks to a series of adapters.Analogue's latest is something different. While all those before have lived and died by their cartridge ports, the new Analogue Duo takes us to the next generation of gaming: optical. That's right, Analogue has entered the multimedia era with this love letter to one of Japan's most beloved consoles, a machine that barely made a dent elsewhere in the world.That system is the TurboGrafx-16, known as the PC Engine in its home market of Japan. It launched there in 1987, beating the Sega Genesis to market by two years and the SNES by three. It rocketed to huge popularity, ultimately outselling Sega and keeping pace with Nintendo for much of its life. By the end of its run, its library offered nearly 700 games.It didn't fare so well in the US. The TurboGrafx-16 didn't come here until 1989, arriving after the Genesis brought blast processing to the masses. Nintendo and Sega soon engaged in a marketing war of epic proportions. NEC's humble TurboGrafx-16 didn't stand a chance.It didn't help that it wasn't really a 16-bit console. Though it offered support for 16-bit graphics, it only had an 8-bit internal processor, so it couldn't match the power of the competition. The add-on CD-ROM didn't help. Despite hitting the market years before the Sega CD, the Genesis add-on included an additional processor to deliver an early taste of 3D processing. The TurboGrafx drive was just that: an optical drive.The system struggled in the US for a few more years before NEC pulled the plug in 1994. In Japan, new games hit the system all the way through 1999, meaning that even the most hardcore enthusiasts in the US missed out on the bulk of the PC Engine's best titles.And, since the Analogue Duo can play imported games just as readily as local ones, it's a great excuse to dig deeper into that library.Out of the boxTim Stevens for EngadgetThe Analogue Duo is a slender console that shares an aesthetic similar to the PC Engine Duo, which was released in the US as the TurboDuo. NEC's Duo integrated the CD-ROM peripheral into a single, sleek, unified device. But, the Analogue unit feels far nicer. Its plastic body feels sturdier than the brittle stuff used on consoles back in the '90s, and the bottom is even rubberized. In fact, the Duo feels more like a high-end piece of home theater equipment, whereas the TurboGrafx-16 feels like a 30-year-old toy.Up front are two slots. On the left is where cartridge-based games go, either on HuCard or TurboChip, the two media formats NEC used over the years. On the right is the CD-ROM slot.Output to your display is via the HDMI port on the back, but there's also a 3.5mm headphone jack with its own volume knob if you want some private listening. You'll also find a port on the side for wired controllers, but since this uses the smaller Japanese connector, not the larger American one, you'll need an adapter to use TurboGrafx-16 controllers.Around the back is an SD card reader for firmware updates or the like, plus a USB-C port through which the system gets its power.At the heart of the system is an Altera Cyclone V processor, a dual-core Arm Cortex field-programmable gate array (FPGA) chip that can be effectively coded to act like any other processor. It's that core which enables the Duo to emulate the PC Engine and all its derivatives over the years.There's none of the lag and glitchy performance that you'll get when running ROMs through an emulator. This is as close as you're going to get to a modern reboot of the PC Engine, but with much cleaner output.OutputAnalogueWhether you're playing domestic or imported games, everything will look stellar. As with previous Analogue releases, the Duo outputs a 1080p signal over HDMI, resulting in the absolute cleanest way to play your games on a modern digital display.While there are ways to get an HDMI signal out of a TurboGrafx-16, ranging from RGB adapters that clip on the back to outputs soldered onto the system itself, even running through something like a scanline converter you're unlikely to ever get a signal this crisp and clean.But for those who like to preserve a taste of the old school, Analogue includes a few different gameplay modes to deliver a CRT-like look and feel.To be fair, even the greatest of games for this system don't offer much in terms of high-fidelity graphics compared to modern titles. But there are plenty well worth your time. Gate of Thunder is one of them, and it's among the best side-view shooters, or shmups, ever to hit a console. The quality of games like this helped establish the PC Engine's success in Japan.Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, though, is generally believed to be the single greatest title for the system. Released on CD-ROM in 1993, exclusively in the Japanese market, this is still ranked among the top Castlevania titles of them all.It's damned good, and plays excellently on the Analogue Duo. Load times for this game and others are quite fast, and the drive isn't as noisy as many console CD-ROM add-ons were back in the day.Gaming on the Analogue DuoThe Analogue Duo delivered flawless compatibility and playback for virtually every game I threw at it, with only one falling short: SCI: Special Criminal Investigation - which, thank goodness, has nothing to do with the CSI television series. SCI is the sequel to Chase H.Q., which was big in American arcades. Its unique mix of driving and shooting, as well as the inclusion of amazing period cars like the Nissan 300ZX Turbo made it a real favorite of mine. In fact, this was the first game I tried to play on the Duo.So, imagine my horror when the Analogue system wouldn't play it or even recognize it. It just displayed a blank screen, much like what happens on a region-locked US TurboGrafx-16 console when trying to play a Japanese game. So, I went into the Duo's settings, explicitly changed the region to Japan, and the game played without issue.This is the only game that the Duo failed to appropriately identify the region of, which is a minor annoyance at best that I'm sure will be fixed soon in one of Analogue's frequent updates.Firmware updates are easily applied via the integrated SD-card reader, which is also where your save games for CD-based titles are stored. This makes them easy to back up or even edit. With the appropriate USB adapter, it's also possible to import your old save games.ControllersTim Stevens for EngadgetIf there's one fly in this ointment, it's the controllers. As usual, Analogue partnered with 8BitDo to provide peripherals for the Duo. The $24.99 gamepad is the standard offering, and while it looks good in photos, in the hand it's somewhat underwhelming.For one thing, it feels just as light and flimsy as 8BitDo's other products, with buttons that rattle when you shake the thing. The controller doesn't even offer the same weight and solidity as the original TurboGrafx-16 controllers, which certainly aren't standouts themselves.But the 8BitDo controllers have a major advantage: they're wireless. They pair quickly and easily with the Duo and work without lag. They also feature a dedicated home button to bring up the Analogue menu.There is, though, one final kicker with the controllers: they charge over micro-USB. It's 2024, 8BitDo. Even Apple has moved to USB-C.Wrap-upI really enjoyed testing the Analogue Duo. It was an opportunity to play releases I hadn't dug out in years, and also to experience some games I hadn't yet tried, all rendered in immaculate detail.That said, it's easy to see this as a very niche release for Analogue, a company whose obsessive fans are already far from mainstream. Software emulation is infinitely cheaper and still delivers great results, but those of us who love classic console gaming know that there's just something different about running it from the original media.Whether that extra something is worth the extra cost is between you and your accountant. Despite being Analogue's most expensive release in years, and despite supporting a decidedly underappreciated console, the Analogue Duo is yet another excellent quality of life improvement for retro gamers and collectors. I can't imagine playing my HuCards any other way.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/analogue-duo-review-a-second-chance-for-an-underappreciated-console-130056763.html?src=rss

DJI is entering the portable power station market in the US and Europe with the launch of the Power 1000 and Power 500 aimed at home users or road warriors. The devices (released in China at the end of last year) can be used to power small appliances or charge devices like laptops or drones, and work in concert with solar panels to provide power on the road.The Power 1000 (13kg or 29 pounds) has a 1,024 Wh capacity and can output up to 2,200W - enough to run a home microwave oven for about 1.3 hours and a car refrigerator for 19 hours, or charge a drone up to 12 times. The Power 500 (7.3 kg or 16.3 pounds) delivers 512 Wh of capacity and 1,000W of output for half the price.DJIThe larger version supports 1200W fast recharge or 600W standard recharging (540W and 270W for the smaller version). Both can be fast-charged in 70 minutes for a 100 percent battery or 50 minutes to an 80 percent charge. Along with standard AC plugs, both have a pair of USB-C PD output ports that support 140W/100W charging for the Power 1000/Power 500 - enough for most laptops.The market is fairly saturated with such devices (Jackery, Bluetti, Anker, others), but DJI is pitching this as an ideal way to charge its drones and other products. Released in China in December, it was already available in the US at Amazon and elsewhere via the grey market.The Power 1000 is now on sale for $1,000 at DJI's store, while the Power 500 costs $500. You can add a 120W Zignes solar panel for $299. For the latter, you'll need DJI's Power Solar Panel Adapter Module or DJI Power Car Power Outlet to SDC Power Cable.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/djis-new-backup-battery-can-power-small-appliances-charge-your-drone-130037610.html?src=rss

The Samsung Galaxy A35 smartphone is officially available for US customers. We knew it was coming to the US, but we didn't know when. The phone starts at $400 and is available in two colors. It's already been available in the UK since March.The Galaxy A35 is squarely a midrange device, so don't go expecting flagship features. However, this is still a capable smartphone with plenty of bang for your buck. Samsung's A-series devices tend to be among our favorite low-cost smartphones. This model boasts a 6.6-inch Super AMOLED display with a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz, just like its cousin the Galaxy A55. The Galaxy A35 also features the company's Vision Booster software, which automatically adjusts the screen's tone to suit different ambient lighting conditions.It also includes Samsung's proprietary Knox Vault technology, which originally debuted with the Galaxy S21. This is a separate memory device within the phone for storing sensitive data like blockchain keys, biometric information and authentication credentials. The A35 and the A55 are the first midrange devices in Samsung's lineup to get this tech.Android Police has reported that the A35 features a modest Exynos 1380 processor, with an option for 6GB or 8GB of RAM. As for storage, there's a 128GB model and a 256GB model, with no microSD card slot for additional room.It includes three rear cameras. There's a 50MP main camera and a 5MP macro lens, with a relatively pedestrian 8MP ultra-wide lens. The front includes a 13MP camera for selfies and the like. There's also optical image stabilization (OIS) and video digital image stabilization (VDIS) to offset camera shake.Again, these phones start at $400 and are hitting store shelves right now. They come in two colors with, with names like Awesome Navy" and "Awesome Lilac." Not sure something can induce awe just by saying so, but whatever.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsungs-galaxy-a35-midrange-smartphone-is-officially-available-in-the-us-130016998.html?src=rss

Slack just rolled out its AI tools to all paying users, after releasing them to a select subset of customers earlier this year. The company's been teasing these features since last year and, well, now they're here.The AI auto-generates channel recaps to give people key highlights of stuff they missed while away from the keyboard or smartphone, for keeping track of important work stuff and office in-jokes. Slack says the algorithm that generates these recaps is smart enough to pull content from the various topics discussed in the channel. This means that you'll get a paragraph on how plans are going for Jenny's cake party in the conference room and another on sales trends or whatever.There's something similar available for threads, which are smaller conversations between one or a few people. The tool will recap any of these threads into a short paragraph. Customers can also opt into a daily recap for any channel or thread, delivered each morning.SlackAnother interesting feature is conversational search. The various Slack channels stretch on forever and it can be tough to find the right chat when necessary. This allows people to ask questions using natural language, with the algorithm doing the actual searching.These tools aren't just for English speakers, as Slack AI now offers Japanese and Spanish language support. Slack says it'll soon integrate some of its most-used third-party apps into the AI ecosystem. To that end, integration with Salesforce's Einstein Copilot is coming in the near future.It remains to be seen if these tools will actually be helpful or if they're just more excuses to put the letters AI" in promotional materials. I've been on Slack a long time and I haven't encountered too many scenarios in which I'd need a series of auto-generated recaps, as longer conversations are typically relegated to one-on-one meetings, emails or video streams. However, maybe this will change how people use the service.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/slack-rolls-out-its-ai-tools-to-all-paying-customers-120045296.html?src=rss

Panic is celebrating Playdate's second birthday this month, and the party favors include some piping-hot statistics about Catalog game sales.Playdate hit the market in April 2022 with 24 free games. Its Catalog store went live in March 2023, offering 16 curated games for purchase directly on the device. Panic has added more titles to Catalog on a bi-weekly basis for the past year, and the marketplace today has 181 games and apps. More than 150,000 games have been sold on Catalog, giving developers $544,290 in gross revenue - that's after taxes, processing fees and Panic's 25 percent cut.PanicThe average price of a Playdate Catalog game is $5.36. The average install size is 5.03MB, while the smallest Catalog game is 30.1KB and the largest is 107MB. Playdate ships with 4GB of flash storage. It also has 16GB of RAM, an accelerometer, a 400 x 240 1-bit display, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities, a mono speaker, and a condenser mic and stereo headphone jack. Oh, and it has a delightful little crank.The figures Panic shared today cover Catalog purchases, which means they only tell part of the story. While Catalog has just under 200 titles, there are more than 800 Playdate games and apps available on itch.io alone, and the community there is active and vibrant. As I described in our Playdate retrospective published last week, browsing the device's itch.io page feels like "hanging out in a friendly underground clubhouse populated by crank-obsessed video game freaks." But, like, in a great way.Playdate supports games from new and veteran developers, and some of its most notable titles include Mars After Midnight by Lucas Pope, Crankin's Time Travel Adventure from Keita Takahashi's studio uvula and Zipper by Bennett Foddy. Some of my personal favorites include Root Bear, Spellcorked, Word Trip, Chopter Copter and Pocket Pets.This is the first time Panic has publicly shared data about Playdate game sales or its revenue-share model. The 25 percent cut that Panic takes is less than the standard set by Steam, which gets 30 percent of most game sales, but it's more than split on the Epic Games Store, which reserves 12 percent for Epic.Playdate costs $199 and there's an optional teal cover available for $30. Panic has also been teasing the Stereo Dock - an adorable Playdate charging station, Bluetooth speaker and pen holder - for more than two years, but the accessory is still "coming soon." There's no word on a price or release window for the Stereo Dock, but Playdate Project Lead Greg Maletic recently told Engadget to expect an update in the coming months."We apologize to everyone with a Playdate who has been waiting patiently for the Stereo Dock; it's been a trickier project than we anticipated and we had a few false starts," Maletic said. "We thought we'd save some time on that project by having our factory do the software for the Stereo Dock, but we've learned that you don't always necessarily want that in some cases. The Stereo Dock is very much alive, we have the physical prototypes to prove it! We expect to have a formal update on when you can buy one later this year."PanicMore than 70,000 Playdates have been sold in the past two years and a little more than half of all owners have purchased a Catalog game, according to Panic.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/playdate-developers-have-made-more-than-500k-in-catalog-sales-120034296.html?src=rss

ASUS has updated its 16-inch Zephyrus G16 for 2024 with fresher chips and graphics options all the way up to an RTX 4090. There's a new OLED display with a 240HZ refresh rate and a full size SD card reader for transferring files. But, as much as ASUS is positioning this as a laptop for media makers as well as gamers, we need to know if its promises match its power. If you're as curious as I am, you'll have to read Sam Rutherford's review to find out for yourself.- Dan CooperThe biggest stories you might have missedMedia coalition asks the feds to investigate Google's removal of California news linksTikTok is trying to clean up its For You recommendationsAmazon says a whopping 140 third-party stores in four countries use its Just Walk Out techThere's a TV show coming based on Sega's classic arcade game Golden AxeCheaper Evercade retro consoles will arrive in JulyApple renews For All Mankind and announces a spinoff series set in the Soviet UnionTikTok Notes is basically Instagram for your TikTok accountLorelei and the Laser Eyes, by Sayonara Wild Hearts devs, comes out on May 16Yars Rising revives a 40-year-old Atari game as a modern metroidvaniaShadow platformer Schim is coming to PC and consoles on July 18You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!X's AI bot is so dumb it can't tell the difference between a bad game and vandalismThey're called euphemisms, Elon.Basketball's Klay Thompson had a rough time of it at a game, leading X users to suggest he was throwing bricks." This is a basketball term meaning he wasn't throwing well, but if you didn't know it, don't worry too much, since neither did Grok, X's homegrown AI. After reading the messages, it confected a news story suggesting Thompson was vandalizing homes in Sacramento.Continue Reading.Good riddance, WH-XB910N: Sony's confusing product names are going awaySony catches up to the 19th century.Sony's always been capable of making a great product, but it's never quite nailed the knack of naming them. For instance, it makes the best pair of wireless headphones on the market today but saddles them with the name WH-1000XM5. Now, however, the company has pledged to simplify its naming scheme, including renaming its headphone range as Wear.Continue Reading.Nintendo emulator Delta hits the iOS App Store, no sideloading requiredApple's relaxation of rules around what it permits on the App Store has seen the arrival of Delta. It's a Nintendo emulator (and a successor to GBA4iOS) that runs a plethora of older titles from the company's older consoles. Given its long-running enmity with game emulators and the ease with which it wiped out Yuzu, it can't be long before Nintendo's lawyers turn up with a fat stack of cease and desist letters.Continue Reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-is-the-new-zephyrus-g16-any-good-111508697.html?src=rss

Carl Pei's Nothing has revealed two new wireless earbuds at an event in Tokyo. It calls the Ear, the more expensive model of the two with prices starting at $149 and 129, a refinement of its older model the Ear (2). The Ear retains the brand's transparent design and looks very similar to the previous model. But it's powered by a new custom 11 mm dynamic driver and comes with a dual chamber design that allows it to deliver clearer sounds compared to its predecessor.It also features a new smart active noise cancellation (ANC) algorithm that can check for noise leakage between the earbuds and the ear canal and then add more noise cancellation accordingly. Plus, it can automatically apply the level of noise cancellation needed - high, medium or low - appropriate for the environment the user is in. Nothing says the model's noise cancellation rated at 45 dB is almost twice that of the Ear (2), as well.When it comes to battery life, the Ear's was also designed to last longer. It can last for up to 40-and-a-half hours after a full charge with its charging case, or up to eight-and-a-half hours of non-stop playback. In addition, the model comes with a new mic that enables less obstruction and interference, support for LHDC 5.0 and LDAC codec for high-resolution streaming over Bluetooth and the ability to quickly switch between connected devices.NothingMeanwhile, the Ear (a) is the more fun and more affordable model between the two new releases. It's the first Nothing model that isn't just black or white - though those colors are also available - with one version's non-transparent parts and case colored in vivid egg yolk-yellow. Even though its prices start lower than the Ear at $99 and 99, it also features the same ANC technology and the brand's new smart ANC algorithm that can check for sound leakages. It even supposedly has a better battery life than its more expensive sibling and can last for up to 42-and-a-half hours of music playback after a full charge with its charging case.Both Ear and Ear (a) are now available for pre-order from Nothing's website. They'll start making their way to buyers and will be available for general purchase on April 22.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nothings-ear-and-ear-a-earbuds-with-active-noise-cancellation-are-now-available-for-pre-order-104546636.html?src=rss

The European Union doesn't think you should have to choose between giving Meta and other major players your data or your money. In a statement, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) stated that "consent or pay" models often don't "comply with the requirements for valid consent" when a person must choose between providing their data for behavioral advertising purposes or pay for privacy.The EDPB argues that only offering a paid alternative to data collection shouldn't be the default for large online platforms. It doesn't issue a mandate but stresses that these platforms should "give significant consideration" to providing a free option that doesn't involve data processing (or at least not as much). "Controllers should take care at all times to avoid transforming the fundamental right to data protection into a feature that individuals have to pay to enjoy," EDPB Chair Anu Talus said. "Individuals should be made fully aware of the value and the consequences of their choices."Currently, EU users must pay 10 ($11) monthly for an ad-free subscription or be forced to share their data. The EU is already investigating if this system complies with the Digital Markets Act, which went into effect at the beginning of March.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/eu-criticizes-metas-privacy-for-cash-business-model-103042528.html?src=rss

Google has fired 28 employees involved in protests against the company's "Project Nimbus" cloud contract with the Israeli government, according to an internal memo seen by The Verge. That follows the arrest and suspension of nine employees on April 16 and a previous firing related to the same project last month.Some of the fired workers were forcibly removed after occupying the office of Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian. Google head of global security Chris Rackow said that the company "will not tolerate" such incidences and warned that the company could take further action."If you're one of the few who are tempted to think we're going to overlook conduct that violates our policies, think again," he told employees in a letter. "The company takes this extremely seriously, and we will continue to apply our longstanding policies to take action against disruptive behavior - up to and including termination."

Supergiant Games just treated Hades fans to an extensive look at the game's upcoming sequel. Seriously - the developer hosted a three-hour livestream that showed off Hades II's gameplay, new features and mechanics, as well as the new designs for its characters based on the gods of Greek mythology. Supergiant's Creative Director Greg Kasavin and Studio Director Amir Rao demonstrated the abilities of the game's new protagonist, Melinoe. While she's the sister of Zagreus, the first title's protagonist, and Hades II is a direct sequel to the original, Kasavin and Rao said players don't need to have prior knowledge of the first game and of Greek mythology to enjoy it. Old fans, however, will catch "delightful references" here and there.Melinoe is a witch and assassin, who's adept with her staff and can wield magic, and has a pretty different playstyle from Zagreus, as the gameplay footage showed. Kasavin and Roe also showed off new gods like Apollo, returning ones like Aphrodite and Demeter, new resources and various environments within the game. They played the technical test version of Hades II, however, which means certain environments and elements could still go through some changes before the final product is released.The developer is hoping to fix any issues technical test players might find expeditiously so that the game can go into early access, which is expected to take place sometime this spring.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/supergiant-shows-off-hades-iis-gameplay-and-new-god-designs-070033467.html?src=rss

Twitch has been testing a discovery feed for livestreams and Clips on mobile since last year, in hopes of giving users a new way to find new streamers to follow and, hence, spend more time on the platform. Now, the website has announced that it's rolling out the feature to all users later this month. The feed will first appear as a new tab in the mobile app and will allow viewers to switch between a scrollable feed for livestreams and another one for Clips. Like their names imply, the live feed will show users broadcasts from people they already follow and ongoing streams from people they don't based on their watch history. Meanwhile, the Clips feed will be filled with short snippets from live broadcasts.Users will be able to join ongoing streams from the live feed by tapping on the streamers' avatars to immediately go into theater mode. Twitch will also show when the streamer is live in the Clips feed, so viewers can check them out from there, as well. And just in case it isn't clear, Twitch explained in its announcement that the discovery feed will only be aggregating streams and clips from the service and that creators cannot upload to it directly. In other words, getting highlighted on the feed is a game of chance, though featured Clips will be given priority over non-featured ones.The discovery feed launching this month isn't its final form, though. Some users might start seeing the feed as their actual home page sometime next month, which is what Twitch had in mind for the feature in the first place. In early March, company CEO Dan Clancy said the service is giving its mobile app its first major redesign in years and that the discovery feed will be its new landing page.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/twitch-is-giving-all-users-access-to-its-discovery-feed-later-this-month-041009070.html?src=rss

The News/Media Alliance, formerly the Newspaper Association of America, asked US federal agencies to investigate Google's removal of links to California news media outlets. Google's tactic is in response to the proposed California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA), which would require it and other tech companies to pay for links to California-based publishers' news content.The News/Media Alliance, which represents over 2,200 publishers, sent letters to the Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission and California State Attorney General on Tuesday. It says the removal appears to be either coercive or retaliatory, driven by Google's opposition to a pending legislative measure in Sacramento."The CJPA would require Google and other tech platforms to pay California media outlets in exchange for links. The proposed bill passed the state Assembly last year.In a blog post last week announcing the removal, Google VP of Global News Partnerships Jaffer Zaidi warned that the CJPA is the wrong approach to supporting journalism" (because Google's current approach totally hasn't left the industry in smoldering ruins!). Zaidi said the CJPA would also put small publishers at a disadvantage and limit consumers' access to a diverse local media ecosystem." Nothing to see here, folks: just your friendly neighborhood multi-trillion-dollar company looking out for the little guy!Google described its link removal as a test to see how the bill would impact its platform:To prepare for possible CJPA implications, we are beginning a short-term test for a small percentage of California users," Zaidi wrote. The testing process involves removing links to California news websites, potentially covered by CJPA, to measure the impact of the legislation on our product experience. Until there's clarity on California's regulatory environment, we're also pausing further investments in the California news ecosystem, including new partnerships through Google News Showcase, our product and licensing program for news organizations, and planned expansions of the Google News Initiative."In its letters, The News/Media Alliance lists several laws it believes Google may be breaking with the short-term" removal. Potential federal violations include the Lanham Act, the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act. The letter to California's AG cites the state's Unruh Civil Rights Act, regulations against false advertising and misrepresentation, the California Consumer Privacy Act and California's Unfair Competition Law (UCL).Importantly, Google released no further details on how many Californians will be affected, how the Californians who will be denied news access were chosen, what publications will be affected, how long the compelled news blackouts will persist, and whether access will be blocked entirely or just to content Google particularly disfavors," News/Media Alliance President / CEO Danielle Coffey wrote in the letter to the DOJ and FTC. Because of these unknowns, there are many ways Google's unilateral decision to turn off access to news websites for Californians could violate laws."Google has a mixed track record in dealing with similar legislation. It pulled Google News from Spain for seven years in response to local copyright laws that would have required licensing fees to publishers. However, it signed deals worth around $150 million to pay Australian publishers and retreated from threats to pull news from search results in Canada, instead spending the $74 million required by the Online News Act.Google made more than $73 billion in profits in 2023. The company currently has a $1.94 trillion market cap.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/media-coalition-asks-the-feds-to-investigate-googles-removal-of-california-news-links-212052979.html?src=rss

TikTok is ramping up penalties for creators who post potentially problematic" content and tightening its rules around what can be recommended in the app. The updates arrive as TikTok is fighting for its future in the United States and trying to convince lawmakers and regulators that its app is safe for teens.Under its updated community guidelines, set to take effect in May, TikTok has added a long list of content that's not eligible to be recommended in the app's coveted For You" feed. The list includes some obvious categories, like sexually suggestive or violent content, but it also adds topics that have previously been a source of controversy for the app. For example, the new guidelines bar videos showing dangerous activity and challenges," as well as many types of weight loss or dieting content. It also prohibits any clips from users under the age of 16 from appearing in For You."There's also a lengthy section dedicated to a wide range of misinformation and conspiratorial content. From the guidelines:

It hasn't been long since Apple started allowing retro game emulators on the App Store. We've already seen one notable controversy after the company pulled Game Boy emulator iGBA from the storefront. It turned out that iGBA, which hit the top of the download charts, was a near carbon copy of another emulator submitted for review.GBA4iOS developer Riley Testut claimed that iGBA was a "knock-off of GBA4iOS" that was packed with ads and trackers. As it turns out, Testut's Delta, a successor to GBA4iOS, is now available for free in the App Store.The original emulator picked up some buzz a decade ago after Testut found a way for iPhone users to sideload the Game Boy Advance emulator without having to jailbreak their device. Apple eventually closed the iOS loophole and, of course, Nintendo was none too happy about the emulator. However, you can now download Delta free from the App Store directly without having to worry about sideloading.Along with GBA titles, the app supports NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color and Nintendo DS games, with the promise of more platforms to come. The app supports third-party controllers, as well as quick saves, cheat codes and data syncing between devices using Google Drive or Dropbox. There's even local multiplayer for up to four players, though you'll probably want to use an iPad or mirror your phone to your TV in that case.You'll need to supply any games you want to play on the emulator. To stay on the right side of the law, you'll need to dump games that you already own into ROM files.While iPhone and iPad users outside of the EU can snag Delta from the App Store directly, the process is a little different for those who live in the bloc. Testut is also behind a third-party app marketplace called AltStore, which iPhone users in the EU can now more easily install a version of.

Amazon published a blog post on Wednesday providing an update about its Just Walk Out technology, which it reportedly pulled from its Fresh grocery stores earlier this month. While extolling Just Walk Out's virtues as a sales pitch to potential retail partners, the article lists a startlingly minuscule number of (non-Amazon) stores using the tech. There are now more than 140 third-party locations with Just Walk Out technology in the U.S., UK, Australia, and Canada."Mind you, that isn't the number of companies or retail chains licensing the tech; that's the total number of locations. Nor is that the tally in one state or even one country. In four countries combined - with a total population of about 465 million - Just Walk Out is being used in more than 140 third-party locations."On average, that means there's one third-party Just Walk Out store for every 3.3 million people in those four countries. (They must be busy!) By contrast, there are over one million retail locations in the US, and, as of 2019, Starbucks had 241 locations in New York City alone, and there are over one millionAmazon had reportedly already planned to remove Just Walk Out tech from its Fresh grocery stores for roughly a year because it was too expensive and complicated for larger retail spaces to run and maintain. The company now pitches its tech as ideal for smaller convenience stores with fewer customers and products - like its own Amazon Go stores, which it has been busy shutting down over the last couple of years.AmazonThe company reportedly gutted the team of developers working on Just Walk Out tech earlier this month. (You get one guess as to how the laid-off workers were instructed to leave the office.) As part of recent layoffs from Amazon's AWS unit and Physical Stores Team, the company allegedly left only a skeleton crew" to work on the tech moving forward. A skeleton crew to maintain a skeleton sounds about right.In fairness, some of those locations are at high-traffic venues. That includes nine merch stores at Seattle's Lumen Field (home to the Seahawks and Sounders), near Amazon's headquarters. Delaware North, a large hospitality and entertainment company, has opened more than a dozen" stores using the tech. Amazon says stores adopting Just Walk Out have reported increased transactions, sales and customer satisfaction.Despite the reported gutting of Just Walk Out's development team, Amazon says it continues to invent the next generation of this technology to improve the checkout experience for large-format stores." Its next steps include improving latency for faster and more reliable receipts," new algorithms to recognize customer actions and new sensors better.If the reports about layoffs are accurate, the handful of remaining Just Walk Out developers will have their work cut out for them.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-says-a-whopping-140-third-party-stores-in-four-countries-use-its-just-walk-out-tech-191649492.html?src=rss

Comedy Central just greenlit a cartoon based on the classic Sega arcade cabinet Golden Axe, further proving we are in something of a gilded age of video game adaptations. The animated show is getting a ten-episode first season and features a voice cast filled with comedic heavy hitters, like Danny Pudi from Community and Carl Tart from Grand Crew (RIP) and the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast universe.It also stars Matthew Rhys, from The Americans and Perry Mason, and comedian Lisa Gilroy. The pilot is being written by Mike McMahon, the creator of Star Trek: Lower Decks and Solar Opposites, and Joe Chandler, a regular writer for American Dad. Chandler is the showrunner and McMahon is on board as the executive producer. Interestingly, several big Sega names are also involved with the show, including Haruki Satomi, Shuki Utsumi and Toru Nakahara, the latter being largely responsible for shepherding the Sonic the Hedgehog cinematic universe.The plot looks appropriately zany, as there wasn't too much story in those old arcade cabinets. The show bills itself as a hilarious and loving homage to Sega's 1989 video game series" and follows several warriors as they attempt to save the realm from franchise antagonist Death Adder. It does look to be doing a deep dive on the franchise, as one of the characters is the panther/man hybrid beast from Golden Axe III. Comedy Central promises plenty of exciting cameos" from the fictional world. There's no release date yet and the show is still in the script-writing stage. Animation takes a long time, so hold your horses.We've really gone from zero to sixty when it comes to game adaptations, right? In just the past year, we've had shows based on The Last of Us, Fallout, Twisted Metal and more. There's also a little-known movie about two Italian plumbers that may or may not have set the box office on fire. A TV show based on another Sega property, Knuckles, premieres April 26 on Paramount+.As for Golden Axe, there hasn't been a franchise installment since 2008, though that's about to change. Sega recently announced that its rebooting the property, alongside other classics like Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/theres-a-tv-show-coming-based-on-segas-classic-arcade-game-golden-axe-185336446.html?src=rss

Blaze Entertainment has made a bunch of announcements regarding its Evercade retro gaming consoles. Among other things, the company has revealed refreshed and less expensive hardware.The Evercade -R range updates the VS and EXP with a new look. Each of the new consoles, which will arrive in July, comes with a bundled cartridge (more on that in a moment). The previous consoles have been discontinued but will be available while stocks last.Blaze redesigned the handheld Evercade EXP-R with the aim of reducing costs. To that end, Blaze has removed two features: 18 Capcom games that were built into the EXP and the Mini-HDMI out port. On the plus side, that means the latest version of the console is $100 (100 in the UK and 120 in Europe), $30 less than the previous system.The EXP-R has a new textured grip on the back that seeks to improve comfort for longer gaming sessions. The system is charcoal grey and there are turquoise accents on the power, menu, start and select buttons. Like its predecessor, the EXP-R includes Wi-Fi and a TATE button, which allows you to switch to vertical play while maintaining an accurate screen ratio.Rather than being a handheld, the Evercade VS-R plugs into your TV. It has the same color scheme as the EXP-R, with a turquoise power button and front LED light. Like the VS, it has a dual cartridge slot and four USB ports for controllers.The console now supports the TATE screen rotation function and there's Wi-Fi connectivity for firmware updates. The console comes with a controller and power cable, but you'll need to supply your own HDMI cable. The Evercade VS-R will also drop support for the Namco Museum Collection 1 & 2. That said, with these changes, Blaze has also been able to drop the price of the VS-R to $100, the same as the new handheld.You might want some games to play on those systems. To that end, Evercade has announced a new cartridge format. The Giga Cart is able to store larger games (such as ones that were originally available on CDs) and it will typically cost $25, compared with the $18 of regular Evercade cartridges.Blaze is planning to release two titles on the Giga Cart format this year, and we now know what one of those is: a collection of the first three Tomb Raider games. This isn't the so-so remastered bundle with upgraded visuals that hit other platforms earlier this year. Tomb Raider Collection 1 includes the original versions of the three games with the OG character models and textures. While you'll be able to buy the cart separately and play it on existing Evercade and Super Pocket devices, Blaze is bundling it in with the Evercade EXP-R and VS-R.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cheaper-evercade-retro-consoles-will-arrive-in-july-180459612.html?src=rss

In typical LG fashion, the company is following up its CES soundbar announcement with pricing and availability info a few months later. The company's latest Dolby Atmos model, the S95TR, is now available from LG and other retailers for $1,500. That's pricey for sure, but the company has bundled the soundbar with a subwoofer and a pair of rear surround speakers. That means completing your setup won't require additional purchases.Inside, the S95TR houses 17 speakers, including five up-firing drivers. LG says this soundbar is the first to feature a center-positioned, up-firing speaker, which enhances dimensional audio and helps with dialog clarity. LG explains that it also upgraded the tweeters in the S95TR and it integrated passive radiators. This combo keeps high frequencies clear while also delivering 120Hz low-frequency response in a 9.1.5-channel setup.The company's Wowcast tech allows the S95TR to connect to compatible LG TVs wirelessly, including the transmission of Dolby Atmos and DTS:X without a cable. Wow Orchestra can utilize the speakers of an LG TV with the soundbar for "a harmonious fusion of audio channels." There's also the company's 3D Spatial Sound Technology that analyzes audio channels with a three-dimensional engine to make things as immersive as possible. AI Room Calibration is here as well, which will include the rear surround speakers in its room tuning for the first time this year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lgs-s95tr-soundbar-with-wireless-dolby-atmos-is-now-available-for-1500-175155520.html?src=rss

For All Mankind is coming back for a fifth season of space-based alt-history hijinks on Apple TV+. This is unsurprising news, given the near-universal critical acclaim heaped on season four. However, the company also surprise-announced a spinoff series called Star City that will follow the Russian space program.Original series creators Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi are all onboard for Star City, though there's no cast yet. The plot synopsis calls it a robust expansion" of the universe and refers to it as a propulsive, paranoid thriller." It also looks to be taking viewers back to the events of season one of For All Mankind, chronicling the Russian moon landing that started the story.This time, we explore the story from behind the Iron Curtain, showing the lives of the cosmonauts, the engineers and the intelligence officers embedded among them in the Soviet space program, and the risks they all took to propel humanity forward," Apple wrote in a press release.The company didn't say if the show would rely on frequent time jumps, like its forebear. To that end, Apple hasn't released any casting information for season five of For All Mankind. Given the show's propensity toward expansive time skips, it's highly possible series regulars like Joel Kinnaman and Krys Marshall are on their way out. After all, their characters were really getting up there in age and stretching credulity in season four.Apple TV+This is some seriously good news for sci-fi fans, but still doesn't take away the brutal sting of Star Trek: Lower Decks getting canceled. Paramount should probably just sell Star Trek to Apple already, since the latter actually seems to care about science fiction.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-renews-for-all-mankind-and-announces-a-spinoff-series-set-in-the-soviet-union-173950761.html?src=rss

Last night, Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson had a rough outing shooting 0 for 10 in a loss against the Sacramento Kings, ending the team's chances of making the NBA playoffs. But then, almost as if to add insult to injury, X's AI bot Grok generated a trending story claiming Thompson was vandalizing homes in the area with bricks.Now at this point, even casual basketball fans may be able to see what went wrong. But Grok isn't very smart, because it seems that after seeing user posts about a player simply missing a bunch of shots (aka shooting bricks), the bot took things literally resulting in a completely fictitious AI-generated report.After misinterpreting user posts about Klay Thompson's poor shooting during an NBA game, X's AI bot Grok created a fictitious story on the social media platform's trending section.Screenshot by Sam Rutherford (via X)In the event this fabrication - which was the #5 trending story at the time of writing - gets corrected or deleted by Elon Musk, Grok originally wrote In a bizarre turn of events, NBA star Klay Thompson has been accused of vandalizing multiple houses with bricks in Sacramento. Authorities are investigating the claims after several individuals reported their houses being damaged, with windows shattered by bricks. Klay Thompson has not yet issued a statement regarding the accusations. The incidents have left the community shaken, but no injuries were reported. The motive behind the alleged vandalism remains unclear." Amusingly, despite pointing out the unusual nature of the story Grok went ahead of put out some nonsense anyway.Granted, in fine print beneath the story, X says Grok is an early feature and can make mistakes. Verify its outputs." But even that warning seems to have backfired, as basketball fans began memeing on the AI with posts sarcastically verifying the AI's erroneous statement.After Grok created an erroneous story about Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson, users began memeing on the situation.Screenshot by Sam Rutherford (via X)For most people, Grok's latest gaff may merely be another example in an ongoing series of early AI tools messing up. But for others like Musk who believes that AI will be smarter than humans as soon as the end of next year, this should serve as a reminder that AI is still in desperate need of regular fact-checking.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xs-ai-bot-is-so-dumb-it-cant-tell-the-difference-between-a-bad-game-and-vandalism-172707401.html?src=rss

A data scraping service is selling information on what it claims to be 600 million Discord users. A report from 404 Media details Spy Pet, an online service that gathers, stores and sells troves of information from the social platform. But have no fear: It markets its services to totally trustworthy paying clients like law enforcement, AI model trainers or your average person curious about what their friends are up to." Why ask them when you can simply purchase and download a copy of their Discord activity?For as little as $5 in cryptocurrency, Spy Pet lets you access data about specific users, such as which servers they participate in, what messages they've sent and when they joined or left voice channels. It claims to have information on an alleged 600 million users across 14,000 Discord servers and three billion messages.As for what inspired Spy Pet, its creator suggested it's a classic case of doing what one enjoys and pushing personal boundaries. I like scraping, archiving, and challenging myself," the creator told 404 Media. Discord is basically the holy grail of scraping, since Discord is trying absolutely anything to combat scraping."Some people run a 5K, set a weight-loss goal or take up pickleball. Others start a social scraping service that sells data to the feds, AI companies and creepy exes. To each their own!404 Media says the database lets you search for specific users. For each search result, a page shows the servers the user has joined (at least among those Spy Pet monitors), their connected accounts, a table showing their recent messages (including the server name, time stamps and the message itself) and their voice channel entry and exit times. Paying customers can conveniently export their prey's - or friend's" -chats into a CSV file.Discord says it's investigating Spy Pet and weighing its options. Discord is committed to protecting the privacy and data of our users," a company spokesperson wrote in an email to Engadget. We are currently investigating this matter. If we determine that violations of our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines have occurred, we will take appropriate steps to enforce our policies. We cannot provide further comments as this is an ongoing investigation."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/creepy-monitoring-service-sells-searchable-discord-user-data-for-as-little-as-5-170228224.html?src=rss