Since 2012, Yelp has caught nearly 5,000 businesses engaging in shady tactics, like paying customers for favorable ratings or hiring people to write phony reviews. Now, the company has a new tool to help people - and maybe the feds - track businesses that have tried to manipulate their standing on the review platform.Yelp is releasing a new index that tracks every U.S establishment it's ever caught engaging in suspicious" activity to influence its reviews. The company has made some of this information available in the past. Yelp places temporary alerts on businesses' pages when it discovers fake reviews, and regularly releases transparency reports detailing its moderation efforts. But the index is the first time the company has offered a single place where users can find a historical record of every business that's ever been subject to such a warning as well as a current list of businesses with active alerts on their pages .For Yelp, the index is both its latest move in a long-running war on fake reviews, as well as a nod to a changing regulatory environment in which fake reviews are attracting increasing scrutiny from regulators. The FTC recently proposed a formal ban on fake reviews with penalties of up to $50,000 for businesses caught buying, selling or manipulating online reviews.Yelp has said it supports such a rule. The company's head of user operations, Noorie Malik, points out the company has previously worked with the FTC to notify them when it discovers fake reviews and the sometimes complex operations behind them. We'd love to get to a place where this new index develops into a regular resource for others, whether it's FTC, consumers, regulators or other sites," Malik tells Engadget.But she's also quick to point out that the index is also meant to help Yelp users make educated decisions" about where to spend their money. While you may not think much about visiting a coffee shop with a history of paying people to leave positive Yelp reviews, your feelings may be very different if you're looking for a contractor to remodel your home, or for a daycare or moving company (all of which appear in the index).Of course, fake reviews isn't just a Yelp problem. Malik notes that phony reviews are often coordinated on other websites among organized groups of review rings. We also hope that it inspires other review platforms to take a firmer stance against reduced solicitation and incentivisation," she says.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/yelp-has-a-wall-of-shame-for-businesses-caught-paying-for-fake-reviews-110011882.html?src=rss
Nikon has unveiled its latest full-frame camera, the 24.5-megapixel Zf with retro style and technology borrowed from the company's high-end Z8 and Z9 cameras. With a new sensor and processor, it promises powerful features like 14-fps max shooting speeds, advanced AI autofocus and 4K 60p video. At the same time, it's a highly manual camera with a lot of old-school touches and multiple colorways, all designed to touch that vintage-loving nerve.The body and handling emphasizes manual controls, with no less than five dials on top to control shooting mode, video/photo/B&W, aperture, shutter speed and exposure compensation. It also has a pair of shooting dials front and back and a D-pad style controller, but no joystick. The "grip" is just a small ridge. With all that, the Zf really does look like a an old school Nikon film camera - right down to the chrome-plated shutter release button.NikonThe Zf's magnesium-alloy body is smallish, but not very light at 710 grams (Sony's A7 IV is 659 grams). It does offer "high dust- and drip-resistance" though, Nikon says.The high-resolution 2.1-million-dot vari-angle touch display fully articulates for vlogging and selfies, while allowing touch function controls and focus point selection. For astro shooters, it has a "Starlight view mode" that boosts display brightness in dark scenes. Meanwhile, the OLED viewfinder has a decent 3.68-million dot resolution and 0.8 times magnification.It has two card slots, but with a serious caveat. One is a high-speed UHS-II card slot, but the other is a UHS-I microSD slot - the only model with that combo as far as I know. The battery is a weak point, offering only 380 shots on a charge, compared to 580 for the Sony A7 IV. Other features include a USB 3.2 Gen1 port with charging support, mic/headphone ports and a micro HDMI connector.DIXIE_DIXON2022 for NikonInside, it has a backside-illuminated (BSI) 24.5-megapixel sensor and Expeed 7 processor borrowed from the high-end Z models. That gives it autofocus powers akin to the Z8, including Nikon's 3-D tracking plus AI-powered subject detection that can find people, dogs, cats, birds, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, trains and planes. It'll even detect far-away faces that take up as little as 3 percent of the frame's longest side.As for image quality, the standard ISO range of 100 to 64,000 promises good low-light capability, and it has a pixel shifting mode that boosts resolution up to 96-megapixels for static scenes. In line with the retro styling, Nikon has a dedicated black & white mode (with its own dial setting), that enables multiple monochromatic settings ranging from flat to high-contrast "Deep Tone Monochrome."It can hit 11fps shooting speeds in RAW mode (14fps with JPEGs) in electronic shutter mode (Nikon doesn't list specs for mechanical shutter) and offers a reduced-quality 30fps JPEG-only mode with a pre-burst option to ensure you won't miss a shot. The five-axis IBS (or vibration reduction, as Nikon calls it) reduces shake by up to 8 stops with a supported lens. Stabilization can be linked to the focus point, rather than just the center of the image as with most systems.NikonOn the video side, the Zf can record full-frame 4K at 30p from a supersampled 6K image, or 4K60p with a DX (1.5 times) crop, along with 1080p/120p. Video can be captured with 10-bit H.265 recording, which will give users better color fidelity and more options in post. However, H.265 files require a powerful computer, meaning you might have to convert them to another format for editing.Based on the specs, the Nikon Zf looks like a solid camera that can compete against models like Panasonic's S5 II and Sony's A7 IV. However, it sets itself apart from those models based on its retro styling and manual controls, which should appeal to a certain segment of buyers. The Nikon Zf arrives in October 2023 at a competitive $2,000 price for the body only, or $2,240 with the retro-styled Nikkor Z40 f/2.0 SE lens. If you want one of the other colors (Indigo Blue, Sepia Brown, Bordeaux Red, Sunset Orange, Moss Green, StoneGray), you'll pay $2,100 for the body only.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nikons-zf-full-frame-camera-puts-speed-and-video-power-in-a-retro-body-092033908.html?src=rss
Max has revealed that it's giving subscribers access to live sporting events for free - for a limited time anyway - confirming a previous Bloomberg report about the offering. The streaming service formerly known as HBO Max will launch the Bleacher Report (B/R) Sports Add-On tier on October 5. It will give audiences access to all the live sporting events airing on Warner Bros. Discovery's linear networks, including NBA, MLB, NCAA, NHL and US Soccer matches. The add-on is launching just in time for MLB's National League Division Series, the regular NHL season and NBA Opening Night.Subscribers in the US will be able to enjoy the add-on at no additional charge, whether they're paying for the ad-supported or the ad-free membership options, until February 29, 2024. After that, they'll have to start paying $10 a month for access. In its report, Bloomberg said that the company discussed using the March Madness college basketball tournament as a selling point for the new product. The tournament begins shortly after the promo period ends and could be compelling enough for fans to pay for the add-on for at least a couple of months, seeing as it ends in April.In addition to live game coverage, the sports add-on also gives viewers access to all of WBD's live pre- and post-game programming. They'll be able to watch video-on-demand content, as well, including Bleacher Report's highlights, sports documentaries and vodcasts featuring sports personalities and athletes.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/max-will-offer-free-live-sports-streaming-until-march-2024-074445038.html?src=rss
Unity's decision to start charging fees each time a title using its game engine is installed was understandably met with furor and talks of class action lawsuits. In response to the bomb Unity dropped, Terraria developer Re-Logic has stepped in to promote and support alternative open-source game engines that developers can use instead. In a post on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, Re-Logic called Unity's move "predatory" and "unequivocally condemn[ed]" the fee changes proposed, as well as the "underhanded way they were rolled out.""The flippant manner with which years of trust cultivated by Unity were cast aside for yet another way to squeeze publishers, studios and gamers is the saddest part," the developer continued. Re-Logic said that a simple public statement wasn't sufficient, so it's donating $100,000 each to the open-source game engines Godot and FNA. It will also continue supporting both projects by giving them $1,000 each every month going forward.
After a day of leaks comprising an all-digital Xbox Series X, an advanced controller, a "cloud-hybrid" console, fruitless Nintendo acquisition plans and some very mean words about Baldur's Gate 3,Xbox head Phil Spencer has spoken publicly - and semi-privately - about the situation for the first time.On X, Spencer said, "It is hard to see our team's work shared in this way because so much has changed and there's so much to be excited about right now, and in the future." He added that the company "will share the real plans when we are ready."
Elon Musk's Neuralink company, purveyors of the experimental N1 brain-computer interface (BCI), announced on Tuesday that it has finally opened enrollment for its first in-human study, dubbed Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface (PRIME, not PRIBCI). The announcement comes nearly a year after the company's most recent "show and tell" event, four months beyond the timeframe Musk had declared the trials would start, and nearly a month after rival Synchron had already beaten them to market.Per the company's announcement, the PRIME study "aims to evaluate the safety of our implant (N1) and surgical robot (R1) and assess the initial functionality of our BCI for enabling people with paralysis to control external devices with their thoughts." As such, this study is looking primarily for "those who have quadriplegia due to cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)," despite Musk's repeated and unfounded claims that the technology will be useful as vehicle for transhumanistic applications like learning Kung Fu from an SD card, uploading your consciousness to the web and controlling various household electronics with your mind.Actually, that last one is a real goal of both the company and the technology. BCIs operate as a bridge between the human mind and machines, converting the analog electrical signals of our brains into digital signals that machines understand. The N1 system from Nueralink leverages a high-fidelity Utah Array of hair-thin probes that, unlike Synchron's Stentrode, must be installed via robotic keyhole surgery (performed by Nerualink's sewing machine-like R1 robot surgeon). This array will be fitted onto the patient's motor cortex where it will record and wirelessly transmit electrical impulses produced by the region to an associated app which will interpret them into actionable commands for the computer. "The initial goal of our BCI is to grant people the ability to control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts alone," the release reads.Neuralink has been working on the N1 system since 2017, one of the first companies in the industry to begin publicly developing a commercial BCI. However, Neuralink's efforts were waylaid last year after the company was credibly accused of causing the needless suffering and death of dozens of animal test subjects, which led to both a USDA investigation on animal cruelty charges and instigated the FDA to deny the company's request to fasttrack human trials. The PRIME study is being conducted under the auspices of the investigational device exemption (IDE), which the FDA awarded Neuralink this past May.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/neuralink-opens-enrollment-for-its-first-human-bci-implants-215822024.html?src=rss
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), the philanthropic organization created in 2015 by Priscilla Chan and her husband Mark Zuckerberg, announced a bold new generative AI initiative today. The group is funding and building a high-end GPU cluster that will use AI to create predictive models of healthy and diseased cells; it hopes they'll help researchers better understand the human body's cells and cellular reactions. The group believes the collection of computers will help it achieve its incredibly lofty goal of helping to cure, prevent, or manage all diseases by the end of this century."Researchers are gathering more data than ever before about the trillions of cells within our bodies, and it's too complex for our brains to grapple with," Jeff MacGregor, CZI vice president of communications, wrote in an emailed statement to Engadget. He lists an example of imaging one cell at nanometer resolution, which would use the same amount of data as 83,000 photos on a smartphone. Sifting through the finer details of a cache of cellular models like that is where generative AI could play a role.The system will use a cluster of over 1,000 GPUs to train AI large language models (LLMs) on human cells. LLMs have done an impressive job at helping us understand protein structure, and we think they will be equally great at helping us understand more complex structures like cells," MacGregor said. He expects the AI models to draw insights and conclusions beyond even the capabilities of a team of human experts. But also, it's about the speed at which they can do this. It would take that team of experts years to draw the types of insights rather than weeks that it will take for the models to do so."Chan lists other examples of how LLMs could tackle biomedicine's problems. AI models could predict how an immune cell responds to an infection, what happens at the cellular level when a child is born with a rare disease, or even how a patient's body will respond to a new medication," the co-founder and co-CEO said. We hope that this collaborative effort will generate new insights about the fundamental characteristics of our cells."The group describes the GPU clusters as one of the first to power openly available" models of human cells, suggesting the investment could yield dividends for under-funded researchers with bright ideas. Examples of data the models will train on include those integrated into the Chan Zuckerberg Cell by Gene tool (with its existing database of over 50 million cells), resources from CZ Science research institutes and publicly available datasets. CZI Head of Science Stephen Quake describes one of the project's goals as creating a virtual biology simulator."AI is creating new opportunities in biomedicine, and building a high-performance computing cluster dedicated to life science research will accelerate progress on important scientific questions about how our cells work," said Zuckerberg. Developing digital models capable of predicting all cell types and cell states from the genome will help researchers better understand our cells and how they behave in health and disease."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-chan-zuckerberg-initiative-is-building-a-massive-gpu-cluster-to-cure-prevent-or-manage-all-diseases-205454041.html?src=rss
As part of a $520 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, Epic Games will be forced to provide refunds to Fortnite players who were allegedly tricked into making unintended purchases on the platform. About $245 million has been specifically earmarked for these refunds. The regulator has started notifying more than 37 million people via email if they are for compensation.The entire process may take one month to complete and the FTC says customers who believe they were impacted will have until January 17, 2024, to submit a claim where you can simply apply for a refund directly on the FTC's website. The FTC notes that this is one of the largest refunds in a gaming-related case to happen to date.The FTC previously claimed that Epic Games used deceptive tactics to get Fortnite players to make unintended in-game purchases. As part of a complaint first announced by the FTC in December of last year, the agency says the video game-making company made it easy for underage players to rack up charges without parental consent" and also locked the accounts of consumers" that disputed unauthorized charges. Because Epic Games violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act or COPPA, it was ordered to pay $275 million in addition to the consumer refunds.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ftc-starts-claims-process-for-fortnite-players-tricked-into-making-unwanted-purchases-201534338.html?src=rss
US Representative Deborah Ross (D-NC) has introduced an updated version of the Protect Musicians Act in an attempt to change the way independent artists bargain with major streaming platforms. Created in collaboration with The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) and The Artists Rights Alliance (ARA), the updated bill aims to "level the playing field" for artists in the digital age and the world of AI-generated music."This legislation will help give small, independent music creators a level playing field, empowering them to stand together for fairer compensation and giving them a voice in important negotiations that will determine the future of the music industry," Ross said.As it stands, current laws leave many artists, whether signed to a major label or independently working, unprotected and at the mercy of major streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. And these companies don't always provide fair compensation to artists when their music is uploaded and streamed on the platforms. Independent artists are often forced to accept whenever rates are being offered without being able to collectively negotiate for better terms. Additionally, there is no real protection for artists against having their voice or music manipulated by AI without consent.If passed, the Protect Working Musicians Act would allow working artists and independent musicians to come together and negotiate with dominant streaming platforms and artificial intelligence developers. It would also grant working artists and independent musicians the ability to collectively refuse to license their music to online music distribution platforms that refuse to pay fair market value.It could be argued that many artists have always gotten a raw deal for decades when it comes to the sales and distribution of their music. Back in the day of album downloads and CD purchases, this money was usually split in many ways, leaving only a small amount for the artist. Unfortunately, unfair compensation being offered by streaming platforms is just a modern spin on a longstanding problem. And it's not just musicians that are being affected. For years, streaming giants like Netflix have been offering low wages to its writers, which has contributed to the strike of members of the Writers Guild of America.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/revised-protect-musicians-act-could-empower-artists-against-streaming-platforms-200058922.html?src=rss
DIY repair gurus iFixit just issued a hearty rebuke at Apple, dinging the company's self-proclaimed commitment to the right-to-repair movement. Additionally, the organization has retroactively lowered the repairability score for the iPhone 14, after originally being quite impressed by the phone's easily-accessible hardware components.The iPhone 14's score shot down from a respectable 7 out of 10 to a do-not-recommend" 4 out of 10. In other words, iFixit says the phone's no longer a viable option for DIYers, even with Apple selling replacement parts via the company's Self Service Repair program. This is because self-repair is more than just parts. There's software involved and iFixit says Apple's code purposefully limits repair options for most tasks.The company derides Apple for creating a labyrinthine maze of obstacles" for both consumers and third-party repair technicians. It all boils down to software that requires and checks for parts bought directly from Apple. Otherwise, you'll lose functionality and receive endless warnings during use, as the system won't successfully pair aftermarket parts.The repair also must be validated by a proprietary chat system that requires personal information from the customer. Third-party technicians haven't relished the prospect of handing out their customers' private information just to replace a battery. Additionally, consumers and technicians alike typically rely on used or third-party parts, and Apple's system dissuades both options in favor of purchasing pricey branded components.A blog post on the matter by iFixit stated that it's heard from several repair pros who have excited the business entirely rather than deal with Apple's constant hurdles. The company also noted that community pushback began almost immediately after the iPhone 14 received its original repairability score.iFixit still lauds Apple for making an improvement over the status quo" by selling replacement parts, but says that the hoops a consumer or technician must jump through to replace a part makes the iPhone 14 literally not repairable." The site hasn't issued a repairability score for any of the just-announced iPhone 15 models, but they should start coming in the next couple of weeks.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ifixit-dings-apples-right-to-repair-commitment-and-drops-iphone-14s-repairability-score-184336316.html?src=rss
Logitech is updating its line of desktop microphones and lighting today with the Yeti GX microphone, Yeti Orb microphone and the G Litra Beam LX light. The products mark a break from the Blue brand, which Logitech acquired in 2018, as it drops the old naming and incorporates more gamer-focused RGB lighting into the series.The $150 Logitech G Yeti GX is the company's latest take on a premium, broadcast-style gaming microphone" somewhat reminiscent of the Yeti Blue X. The GX uses a supercardioid pickup pattern, which focuses on sound in front of the microphone while reducing ambient noises from the sides and behind. It includes RGB lighting, customizable with the company's LightSync, which synchronizes color and lighting across devices. It also has a scroll wheel for one-handed volume control; pressing it activates Smart Audio Lock, which the company says prevents clipping and reduces background noise.Logitech G Yeti GXLogitechThe Yeti GX is a USB-C to USB-A plug-and-play mic and is compatible with the Blue Compass boom arm and a (not yet available) updated Logitech Compass arm the company teased.Meanwhile, the $60 Logitech G Yeti Orb is a ball-shaped mic similar to the company's Snowball Ice model. The company pitches it as an entry-level microphone (designed for gamers new to streaming"); it's built with a custom condenser capsule and uses a cardioid pickup pattern. Like the more expensive Yeti GX, the Orb is compatible with the company's Blue Voice software, which can apply voice filters and let you tweak levels.LogitechFinally, the $150 Logitech G Litra Beam LX is a new desktop light similar to the company's Litra Beam. The new model still includes TrueSoft adjustable LED lighting (ranging from warm candlelight to cool blue") for streaming / video calls but also adds RGB lighting to the mix in sticking with the day's theme.All three models are available for pre-order today from Logitech's website and Amazon, which lists them as available as soon as September 21.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/logitechs-latest-yeti-mics-are-all-in-on-rgb-183025435.html?src=rss
Google has prototyped an Augmented Reality Microscope," (ARM) in conjunction with the Department of Defense, which incorporates artificial intelligence enhancements to overlay visual indicators, like heatmaps or object boundaries, in real-time. The AI additions allegedly make it easier to classify samples and identify the presence of cancer cells or pathogens.The ARM was first teased publicly in 2018 and has not been used to diagnose patients yet. Currently, 13 prototypes of the ARM exist, with significant testing still needed before it can assist everyday clinicians. However, the intention is to create a system that can be "retrofitted into existing light microscopes found in hospitals and clinics," according to Google. ARM-equipped microscopes can then provide a variety of visual feedback, including text, arrows, contours, heat maps, or animations, each tailored to unique assessment goals.The Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Unit has reportedly negotiated agreements with Google that will enable ARM distribution through the military, according to CNBC, with the hope that it could be available to some government users sometime this fall. ARM is expected to cost between $90,000 and $100,000 - likely well beyond the means of local health providers. We've asked Google for more information on the progress of the program and potential timeline of availability and will update if we hear back.This is not the first time Google Health has dipped its toes in investing in AI-powered tools that not only improve the accuracy of diagnostics but also help fill gaps in medicine where there is limited availability of healthcare personnel. The tech giant has made it a point to partner with startups that invest in AI to improve healthcare" and is projected to have invested upwards of $200 billion on AI investments in the past decade, according to Reuters. This is especially noteworthy considering the World Health Organization predicts a shortfall of 15 million health care workers worldwide by 2030.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-is-developing-an-ai-powered-microscope-to-help-doctors-spot-cancer-181507943.html?src=rss
I'm not sure when I found myself expecting disappointment from Microsoft's PC hardware. Maybe it was when the Surface Pro X arrived with a gorgeous design, but a woefully undercooked Windows-on-Arm experience. Or perhaps it was when the company gave up on the intriguing dual-screen Surface Neo, following the underwhleming launch of the Surface Duo (effectively killing the Courier concept twice). I do know that last year's Surface Pro 9 5G - an Arm-based PC that had no business wearing the "Pro" badge - was the last straw.Even though Microsoft managed to make the dream of a hybrid tablet PC come true, the company's Surface business has been in a rut for years. And, really, there's not much hope in sight.Perhaps that'll change once we see Microsoft's latest batch of devices during its New York City event on Thursday. But given that this week kicked off with Surface mastermind Panos Panay leaving the company, there's a good chance there won't be much to get excited about. The most recent batch of rumors, via DigitalTrends, suggest we'll see a (much-needed) Surface Laptop Studio 2, Surface Laptop Go 3 and Surface Go 4 unveiled this week. We'd also expect to see the requisite Surface Pro updates with Intel's most recent hardware, without much of a design refresh.Former Microsoft executive Panos Panay demonstrating the Surface Pro 3.STAN HONDA via Getty ImagesMicrosoft kicked off 2023 by admitting that Surface sales had tanked during the 2022 holiday quarter, which dovetailed with a massive decline in the broader PC market. Since then, the company has been noticeably quiet about its device plans. In contrast, Apple has been steadily refreshing its computers with its latest M-series chips, and it made a huge splash with the Vision Pro, a bid for spatial computing and mixed reality that's far ahead of what the HoloLens 2 offers.Part of Microsoft's problem is that the initial pitch for the Surface - a tablet that can be your laptop! - just seems tired now. In 2012, it was honestly exciting to see Microsoft kick off an entirely new PC form factor. The company managed to turn the Surface Pro tablets into devices we could recommend, and it spurred on PC makers to develop their own hybrids. But at the same time, ultraportable laptops got lighter and more powerful. Why bother juggling a flimsy keyboard and kickstand on your lap when you could be far more productive on an XPS 13?It didn't help that Windows never became a truly tablet-friendly operating system. The Surface was developed with Windows 8 in mind, but users hated the Start page and the shift away from the traditional desktop. Windows 10 was a hasty apology for all of Windows 8's mistakes. Since then, Microsoft has treated touchscreens as an afterthought, always secondary to the holy keyboard and mouse/trackpad.Devindra Hardawar/EngadgetWhile I enjoy the flexibility of using touchscreens for scrolling and doodling on Windows laptops today, I wouldn't be caught dead using the Surface Pro 9 without its keyboard. Windows tablets also don't make much sense when the iPad and cheaper Android tablets exist. Both Apple and Google are also pushing to make their platforms better for general computing and multitasking. That's effectively taking the opposite approach from Microsoft: Turning tablet platforms into PCs, rather than trying to shove Windows into slates.Industry observers agree that Microsoft may have to reconsider its PC strategy. "I think Surface needs to get back to its roots and consider what is the ultimate Windows experience for hardware and software on a PC," said Anshel Sag, Principal Analyst at Moore Insights and Strategies. "I think that definition has changed with the growth of AI."For Microsoft, going back to its roots might involve a stronger push into Windows on Arm compatibility. The company has made significant progress since the disastrous Surface with Windows RT, but using last year's Surface Pro 9 5G made it clear the experience could be better. Emulated apps like Chrome were noticeably slower than typical Windows PCs. "It doesn't really feel like Microsoft has taken this [Windows on Arm] challenge seriously until maybe a year or two ago," Sag said. "Now it has, but it's undoubtedly behind, and I think that's going to cost its OEM partners and growth potential."Devindra Hardawar/EngadgetIt's also hard for Microsoft to generate much excitement around its devices when it consistently stumbles with new releases. The Surface Laptop Studio was a genuinely cool attempt at crafting a more powerful Surface with a tilting screen, but it was underpowered due to its quad-core CPU. (It was also meant to replace the Surface Book, another concept that died because Microsoft became trapped by its design decisions.) The Surface Duo was a potentially more sturdy dual-screen concept than a true foldable phone, but software and performance issues held it back. (Its sequel wasn't much better.) Samsung, meanwhile, managed to transform its Galaxy Fold from a nearly unusable beta to something we actually like.Instead of expecting to be delighted by Microsoft's PC and mobile hardware, I've learned to expect compromise and heartbreak. To its credit, Microsoft has churned out some hardware that can appeal to mainstream shoppers. The Surface Laptop is still a fetching ultraportable, and the Laptop Go was a noble attempt at crafting an inexpensive-yet-premium laptop. But the whole point of the Surface was to change the face of computing. Microsoft can't manage that if it keeps getting in its own way.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/can-microsofts-surface-pcs-get-out-of-their-rut-175518777.html?src=rss
Ahead of dropping the paid Phantom Liberty expansion next week, CD Projekt Red will release a major update for Cyberpunk 2077 on September 21. The patch will overhaul a lot of the game's systems, switch up the skill trees and make other sweeping changes. There should be a significant visual upgrade for many PC players as well. As of Thursday, Cyberpunk 2077 will be the first game to support DLSS 3.5, the latest version of NVIDIA's upscaling tech.DLSS 3.5 has a feature called Ray Reconstruction, which uses AI to upgrade the ray-traced elements of a game. According to NVIDIA, it "replaces hand-tuned denoisers, which resolve sampled rays in a scene, with an NVIDIA supercomputer-trained AI network that generates higher-quality pixels in between sampled rays."The company trained DLSS 3.5 on five times the volume of data it fed into DLSS 3. NVIDIA claims the latest version can pinpoint different ray-traced effects to both make more intelligent decisions about factoring in temporal and spatial data, and to "retain high frequency information for superior-quality upscaling."You don't necessarily need to have a 40-series GeForce RTX GPU to see the benefit. While only those graphics cards support DLSS 3, the latest version of the tech will be available on all RTX GPUs.In the case of Cyberpunk 2077, Ray Reconstruction will help to deliver "an even better, more immersive, more realistic experience," NVIDIA claims. That's due to upgraded quality and clarity of reflections, more accurate global illumination and more dynamically responsive lighting, the company says.You'll be able to try out DLSS 3.5 in more games this fall. Along with Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, it will be soon available in the likes of Portal RTXand Alan Wake 2.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nvidias-dlss-35-brings-upgraded-ray-tracing-to-cyberpunk-2077-this-week-174447575.html?src=rss
Fitbit's redesign is finally here. Google just announced that the comprehensive refresh starts rolling out today after existing as a beta build since August. The update simplifies the experience by splitting everything up into three tabs. There's the Today tab, the Coach tab and the You tab, with each offering unique metrics and access to activities.The Today tab boasts a fully customizable set of daily stats and metrics for easy perusal. Though called Today," it also provides access to health trends over the past month or year. The Coach tab is all about motivation, with curated lists of mindfulness sessions, workouts and more. The You tab is where you access achievement badges and related progress metrics. Google says that all of this information is kept private and won't be leveraged for ads data.The refresh doesn't change what's free and what's only available to paying subscribers, so your basic fitness flow will remain the same, but the app's visual language is markedly different, and there are some new features. Google encourages Fitbit users to use the new app to track physical activity with or without a dedicated device, as the update improves integration with smartphone sensors for more accurate step counts. The company also touts new privacy controls and increased customization options within the Today tab.The update begins a global launch today for both iOS and Android platforms. This is a major release, however, so it could take a few days before the redesigned app hits your inbox. The redesign couldn't arrive at a better time, as Fitbit sunsetted a number of features earlier this year, including open groups, adventures and challenges. While these features haven't exactly returned with this refresh, the Coach tab will feature daily challenges and scenarios similar to what was previously available, and the You tab provides access to achievement badges.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/fitbits-radically-redesigned-app-is-ready-for-public-consumption-171433809.html?src=rss
If you thought we were done learning juicy details about the internal workings of Xbox after this summer's Federal Trade Commission-Microsoft trial wrapped up, hoo boy, you can guess again. A jaw-dropping court document leak has revealed a ton of information about recent goings on within the Microsoft Gaming division, as well as critical details about its future plans. Perhaps the biggest nugget concerned a major Xbox Series X refresh that Microsoft has lined up for next year.All-digital Xbox Series X refreshMicrosoft via FTCOver the last few console generations, we've seen the likes of Sony and Microsoft release updated hardware midway through the cycle (the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X spring to mind). And while there are always rumors in the lead up to those new versions, we've never seen legitimate leaks of this magnitude before.Codenamed "Brooklin," a refreshed Series X will have double the internal storage at 2TB, lower power usage, Wi-Fi 6E connectivity and other tech updates, according to a leaked document. This model will have a cylindrical design, compared with the boxy original Series X.Critically, Microsoft is planning to ditch the console's disc drive. It's not yet clear as to whether there will be an external disc drive available (as is rumored to be the case for a PlayStation 5 refresh). It would mark a significant shift for Xbox to no longer offer a disc drive as standard and perhaps accelerate the death of physical game discs. What's more, Microsoft plans to sell the updated Series X for $499, the same price as the current console.Microsoft via FTCMicrosoft is planning to release an updated Xbox controller next year as well, per the unredacted filing. Codenamed "Sebile," the peripheral is slated to have "precision haptic feedback" (perhaps to better compete with Sony's DualSense), quieter inputs and, like some premium controllers, modular thumbsticks. There's said to be support for "seamless" pairing and switching between devices with the help of new mobile app features.Intriguingly, a "direct-to-cloud" feature is mentioned in a slide. That suggests Microsoft is focusing on reducing input latency for games streamed from the cloud, like Google tried with the Stadia Controller (RIP).Sebile is slated to arrive in May, according to the documents. Microsoft is then expected to announce the new Series X (and a Series S refresh) in June, likely at its annual summer showcase. The $299 Series S refresh is now expected to go on sale around August or September 2024, with the beefed-up Series X scheduled to land a couple months later. It seems Microsoft is planning a clearance sale on the current Series S too, as a slide mentions a $199 offer for Black Friday 2024.The next-gen Xbox could be a 'cloud-hybrid' consoleXboxIt seems we're not yet midway through the current console generation, but of course Microsoft is thinking about what's ahead. The next-gen Xbox, slated to arrive in 2028, is expected to support "cloud hybrid games."There's not much detail available on that, but it's clear the company has been moving in this direction for a while. Microsoft Flight Simulator, for instance, incorporates real-time weather data that it pulls from the cloud (that's not a pun, I swear). Xbox has been making a major push into cloud gaming over the last few years too.There's an implication that the next-generation Xbox will have an always-online requirement for certain games. It's entirely plausible that there will still be a sizable digital divide by 2028, which could prevent some folks in rural areas or other regions with poor internet access from properly being able to play games on Microsoft's next major console.Xbox head Phil Spencer really wants to buy NintendoLucy Nicholson / ReutersMicrosoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer thinks it would be, like, super cool if the company bought Nintendo. Spencer suggested in an internal 2020 email discussing acquisition targets that he saw Nintendo as a white whale for the company, and one that he was personally invested in snapping up. He saw that as a potential "career moment," per the email.The document nods toward other possible acquisition targets, including another highly ambitious one in Valve. Spencer mentioned that his team was in active talks with Warner Bros. Interactive and Bethesda parent ZeniMax Media. Both of those were seemingly open to a deal and while the WB talks didn't work out in Microsoft's favor, the company did scoop up ZeniMax for $7.5 billion.It seems highly unlikely that Microsoft would ever actually buy Nintendo. Antitrust regulators would surely have a lot to say about that, particularly after Microsoft's ZeniMax purchase and its pending $68.7 billion deal for Activision Blizzard (which could close any day now). It's not hard to imagine that Japanese officials in particular would be none too happy about an American business buying one of the country's best-known brands. Still, it's nice to have dreams, eh, Phil?Upcoming gamesThe leak also shed some light on Xbox's plans for upcoming games. It seems that new Doom and Dishonored games are in the pipeline. The latter would see Arkane returning to a successful series after Redfall - its most recent attempt to branch out into fresh IP - faceplanted this year. Fallout 3 Remaster, Oblivion Remaster and a Ghostwire: Tokyo sequel were also mentioned in the leaked documents.It's worth noting, however, that this Bethesda roadmap ran from fiscal years 2020 through 2024. A lot has changed since then, including Microsoft buying the publisher. Games get canceled all the time, so it's unclear whether any of these unannounced projects will actually come to light. Still, it's hard to imagine that there isn't some kind of Doom title in development.Aaron Souppouris/EngadgetThis is all the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the leaked documents. There are details on everything from Game Pass revenue to Microsoft leaders' reactions to the PlayStation 5 announcement and Spencer revealing he bought his own PS5 (he had to plump for a bundle with Horizon Forbidden West included).The timing of this leak could not have been worse for Microsoft, as we're going into the critical holiday period. The company was banking on Starfield being a must-have game (it isn't, unfortunately) to help it shift consoles and Game Pass subscriptions in the last few months of the year. This news won't help convince people who were on the fence to buy an Xbox soon either. Knowing that a revamped Series X is on the way next year will surely put some people off of buying one now (raises hand). That could result in Microsoft losing more ground against Sony and Nintendo, which appears set to debut a brand new console in 2024.The FTC, which still has a lawsuit in the works in an attempt to block the Microsoft-Activision deal, has claimed it's not to blame for the leak. "Microsoft was responsible for the error in uploading these documents to the court," Douglas Farrar, director of the FTC's office of public affairs, told NBC News. However all of this information got out there, some heads are surely rolling at Microsoft HQ today.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/everything-we-learned-from-the-biggest-leak-in-xbox-history-161027198.html?src=rss
What are we willing to fight for? What do we deserve, morally speaking? What is our place, our relationship with the universe, with nature?"During a preview of The Talos Principle 2 in August, series writer Jonas Kyratzes posed 19 questions about the essence of humanity in just 90 seconds. Between explanations of new mechanics and puzzle systems, he rattled off deep musings about society and the natural world as easily as if he were reading his weekly grocery list. It felt like these questions were constantly on his mind, poised at the tip of his tongue.What does society owe me?" he asked. What do I owe society? What is our relationship with nature? What is our relationship with the universe? Is the universe kind? Is nature understanding or is it cruel and random? And if it is cruel and random, where do we fit in? What degree of control should we have?"CroteamHe wasn't craving answers. TheTalos Principle 2 is filled with provocations like these, and according to Kyratzes, they're designed to generate conversation and debate, even if it's all internal. The goal is to spawn deep thoughts about the future of humanity and the role technology can play in our evolution.They're statements that are intended to make you think," Kyratzes told Engadget a few weeks after the initial preview. Let's say the robots are human and they're capable of love. Like, that's our premise.... Hopefully that is also the sort of thing that will provoke some thought."This philosophical approach to the future is the heart of The Talos Principle, an award-winning sci-fi puzzle game that debuted in 2014, and its tender curiosity is baked into the sequel as well. The Talos Principle 2 is due out this year for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, and it directly follows the story of the original. It's set in a burgeoning society built by sentient robots, and its main gameplay mechanic involves solving complex laser riddles, interspersed with conversations about the nature of consciousness, love and survival.CroteamCo-writer Verena Kyratzes didn't work on the original game's story, but she and the other developers at Croteam used its calm, question-asking approach as a blueprint for the sequel.It didn't only ask you a question, but once you gave the answer to the question, it kind of very politely asked you to just think about whether you're really sure about that," she said. It's a game that constantly tries to make you think, to interrogate yourself and your beliefs, and I really hope that we managed to do that in the second one, too. The gentleness of it is something that's very important to me because I think if you're talking down to somebody, if you're just telling them, That was stupid,' then they will immediately close off."The Talos Principle 2 represents an old-school brand of sci-fi that invites people to play around with the ideas it poses; warm, welcoming and slow. Even the series' conclusions, when it offers any, are inherently optimistic, centering on humanity and the ability society has to thrive with nature in the future. It's a return to a Carl Sagan era of forward thought, positioning people as the solution, not just the instigator, in problems like climate change, overpopulation, rogue AI, pandemics and space travel. This alone is a refreshing perspective in a sea of mainstream sci-fi media that only envisions the future as a miserable, sterile void manufactured by society's stubbornness and greed.CroteamConsistently, science fiction presents itself as being original for taking a dystopian view, as if it was subverting a mainstream narrative of hopefulness," Jonas Kyratzes said. They'll be like, In our story technology is bad.' Oh really, you mean like every other story?"As a series, The Talos Principle is more thematically aligned with the aspirational sci-fi of the original Star Trek or The Next Generation than it is with the gloom of today's Picard. This optimistic, human-first approach makes The Talos Principle 2 subversive as a work of contemporary sci-fi.Here's how Jonas Kyratzes and Verena Kyratzes discussed the modern glut of pessimistic sci-fi among themselves:
TikTok is rolling out a toolset that lets users label posts that have been created or enhanced by artificial intelligence. This move comes after the social media giant added a number of filters for video uploads that made heavy use of AI, and an image generator to help create unique backgrounds. The filters are being renamed to make it clearer which ones rely on generative AI to further assist with labeling. Moving forward, these filters will have AI" in the name somewhere.The new labels aren't exclusive to TikTok-approved filters. You can slap the label on any content that's been completely generated or significantly edited by AI, no matter where the content has been sourced from. Disney+ could have used these tools back when Secret Invasion premiered.TikTok's new labeling tools aren't exactly optional. A recent company policy clearly states that any AI-generated content that contains realistic images, audio or video" must be labeled as such to help viewers contextualize" the situation and prevent the potential spread of misleading content." However, you can use other disclosures, like stickers or captions, to get the point across without violating any community guidelines.When you place the onus on consumers to label their content, mistakes are gonna happen. To that end, TikTok's developing its own algorithm that will label AI-generated posts automatically, though it hasn't announced when these in-house tools will launch. All of the aforementioned tools were developed in tandem with the company's safety advisory councils, with assistance from industry and scholastic experts.Additionally, the platform has committed itself to abiding by the Partnership on AI's Responsible Practices for Synthetic Media, a list of recommendations for increased transparency involving artificial intelligence. TikTok will also partner with the nonprofit Digital Moment to host roundtables to discuss the advancement of AI with young community members."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tiktok-now-lets-creators-label-ai-generated-content-154536858.html?src=rss
After years of rumors, Intel's "Meteor Lake" processors will finally be arriving in PCs on December 14th. Now dubbed "Core Ultra" as part of the company's new naming scheme, they'll be the first chips built on the "Intel 4" (7nm) architecture, as well as the first to include a built-in Neural Processing Unit (NPU) to accelerate AI performance. In almost every way, the Core Ultra chips demonstrate where Intel is headed next: Building efficient-yet-powerful chips that can keep up with modern AI demands.At this point, Intel appears to be squarely focused on laptops with Core Ultra chips. The company is rumored to be refreshing its Raptor Lake CPUs for desktops later this year. While it may be surprising to see a notebook chip taking the lead, the strategy makes a certain amount of sense. Meteor Lake's efficiency push is at odds with what desktop users actually want: As much freaking power as possible. So for now, at least, the company is better off splitting its 14th-gen CPU families.Core Ultra is practically a showcase of Intel's latest innovations. It's built on the company's FOVEROS 3D packaging; it features entirely new P and E-cores, with a focus on being as power efficient as possible; graphics will be up to twice as fast when it comes to performance per watt; and in addition to sporting an NPU, it can also leverage its GPU and CPU for other AI tasks. Funny enough, it won't support the company's recently announced Thunderbolt 5 standard, instead Core Ultra will feature Thunderbolt 4 and PCIe Gen5.We're still waiting for final details on Intel's final Core Ultra models, as well as the company's plans for 14th-gen desktop chips. But for now, at least, we've got plenty of reasons to be excited about next year's batch of laptops.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/intels-core-ultra-meteor-lake-chips-arrive-on-december-14-153515292.html?src=rss
Amazon has rolled out a new Kindle Scribe sale for Prime members. Each configuration of the 10.2-inch ereader is up to 22 percent off, which brings the base version with 16GB of storage and Amazon's "Basic Pen" stylus down to $265. That's $75 off the device's usual price and only $10 more than the discount we saw during Amazon's Prime Day event last July. The 16GB variant with a "Premium Pen" stylus - which includes a dedicated eraser function and a customizable shortcut button - is down to $290, while the 32GB and 64GB models are $305 and $330, respectively. (The higher-capacity options come with the Premium Pen as standard.) You can get each with a three-month trial to Amazon's Kindle Unlimited service too; just be aware that the subscription will auto-renew by default.We gave the Kindle Scribe a review score of 85 last November, and we currently recommend it in our guide to the best e-ink tablets. The big hook is that it's the only Kindle with note-taking support. At its core, it works like any other Amazon ereader, but you can use the included stylus to jot things down in books and documents, create to-do lists, draw sketches and so on with minimal latency. The roomy, 300 ppi display and slim design are a delight, and you still get access to Amazon's giant ebook library.Amazon has steadily improved the note-taking aspect of the Scribe since launch, but there are still some shortcomings. You can't mark up every book directly on the page - most have you write in windowed sticky notes - handwriting-to-text support is limited, and there's no easy way to sync handwritten notes with services like Google Drive or OneNote. The device isn't waterproof either. Generally speaking, we like the reMarkable 2 as a more flexible e-ink tablet for writing, while the Kindle Paperwhite is a better value purely for reading. But if you want some level of pen support without giving up the usual Kindle experience, the Scribe is worth considering, and this discount makes it a little more approachable.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/amazons-kindle-scribe-is-up-to-22-percent-off-for-prime-members-151536128.html?src=rss
Microsoft is holding a 'special event' at 10 AM ET on Thursday, September 21. Details are scant but the timing certainly indicates a fall hardware event, likely prioritizing a new line of Surface products. There isn't a livestream but you can watch the whole thing at 1 PM ET via Microsoft. There should also be a stream on the official Microsoft Surface YouTube channel after the fact. If you don't want to wait three hours for some hot Microsoft news, check our liveblog that will run alongside the actual morning event.The company held its annual hardware event in October last year, but typically sticks to late September for these kinds of things. Microsoft hasn't released any official confirmation as to what will be unveiled, but rumors indicate a refresh to the popular Surface Laptop Studio hybrid device, giving it a much-needed performance boost, and the follow-up to the Surface Laptop Go 2. The current model is fairly underpowered, with an aging 11th Gen Intel chipset, so this would be welcome news.Of course, there's likely to be a surprise or two, given this is Microsoft's big annual event. Will we get a refresh to the Surface Pro 9 or the Surface Laptop 5? Watch to find out. The desktop Surface Studio 2+ is getting long in the tooth and could use some hardware-based TLC. There have also been some rumors indicating that the company's prepping a follow-up to the Surface Duo dual-screen smartphone, though it's unlikely to get unveiled tomorrow.This is also the year 2023 on a planet called Earth, so expect some AI news. To that end, Surface product lead and Windows 11 guru Panos Panay just announced his exit from the company after nearly 20 years, who championed the use of AI in the operating system.Last year, we got the aforementioned Surface Studio 2+ all-in-one desktop computer, the Surface Laptop 5, the Surface Pro 9 and plenty of software announcements. There was also some AI stuffed into Microsoft Teams.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/how-to-watch-and-follow-thursdays-microsoft-surface-event-150034227.html?src=rss
The 12.9-inch Apple iPad Pro's cost has finally dropped into the triple digits. The 128GB sixth-generation model is at an all-time low price of $999 (hey, $1 under $1,000 still counts) from $1,099 - a nine percent discount. The deal is only available in Space Gray, with the Silver model coming in at $1,049.Apple's sixth-gen iPad Pro 12.9-inch came on the scene in 2022, and - though it wasn't a major upgrade - it garnered an 87 in our review. The biggest change was a swap from the M1 to the M2 chip, which increased its GPU performance by 52 percent to a score of 32,834. The M2 chip also lets you record 4K resolution video in ProRes at 30 frames per second and introduces Hover, which lets you interact with some elements when your pencil is 12mm above the screen.The 12.9-inch model's features are identical to the iPad Pro 11-inch, except for the size (obviously) and it having a Liquid Retina XDR display versus a standard one. It's quite a bit cheaper for such a small difference, with a nine percent discount cutting its price from $799 to $729. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple's 2024 iPad Pro might come with an M3 chip and have an OLED display, among other upgrades.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-129-inch-ipad-pro-drops-to-999-143633282.html?src=rss
This spring Dyson launched the Zone, which pairs noise-canceling headphones with an air-purifying visor. It was swiftly met with backlash for its funky, bane-like aesthetic. Oh, and it's $949 price tag. What no one could have predicted is that, just a few months after Zone launched, a massive Canadian wildfire would billow enough smoke across the East Coast to turn New York City's skyline into a surreal orange nightmare. The orange scare" was a freakishly timely event that drew attention to the climate crisis. This, in tandem with the World Health Organization's (WHO), estimates that 9 in 10 people around the world are breathing in air that exceeds pollutant limits, should be enough to scare anyone - especially considering how quickly urbanization is growing, exacerbating those problems. Suddenly AQI entered everyone's vocabulary and probably more than a few people started giving the Dyson Zone another look.Dyson's reputation as a maker of household air purifiers gives the company solid ground to build on; it's just making the tech wearable. The company claims that the Zone's two-stage, sealed filtration system can remove 99 percent of ultrafine particles and city fumes." Dyson's engineering lead Vicky Gibson-Robinson told Engadget that the Zone uses an electrostatic filter to capture particulates as small as 0.1 microns. That, paired with an activated carbon filter that she claims can absorb fumes and gasses such as nitrogen dioxide (the main pollutant emitted by cars, trucks, and buses), is the bread and butter of the filter. Keep in mind, though, that the Zone will require electrostatic filter replacements, anywhere from every six to 12 months depending on the dirtiness of the city you are based in. The carbon filter, on the other hand, Dyson engineers said will not need to be replaced as often and should only be swapped out when it starts smelling."The Zone has three air flow rates based on your level of activity: rest (level one), light (level two), and moderate (level three). Gibson-Robinson says the best way to get the most out of the Zone is by setting it to auto mode to preserve battery life (a big point of contention which we will get to later). If you put it in auto mode, it will just ramp up and ramp down as it needs to," she said, meaning the Zone is smart enough to know when to increase the filtration rate depending on the wearer's movement and breathing rate. The more you strain and move, the more inhaling and exhaling, and the more filtration is needed.Gibson-Robinson says that all the claims made about the Dyson Zone, such as its ability to remove fine particles like PM2.5 that can enter your respiratory tract, were made via testing each part of the filtration system individually. Meaning, the electrostatic filter, the activated carbon filter, and the impeller fan were tested alone. Gibson-Robinson claims that since we were not planning to disassemble the device during our tests, we might find that the Zone's ability to filter pollutants would be even greater than claimed.Engadget VideoEngadget picked three locations to test how well the Zone performed, including a clean lab as a control, and a subway station in New York City, followed by a busy intersection. We reached out to experts at NYU's Grossman School of Medicine who work in partnership with the University's Langone's Center for the Investigation of Environmental Hazards to help us test the Dyson Zone's filtration system."The subway is a good substitute for a worst-case scenario," said Terry Gordon, NYU Professor at the Grossman School of Medicine, who helped Engadget run these tests. Gordon, who has researched the underground transit systems and its health effects on commuters, says that in a scenario where an air quality emergency is not taking place, the air quality inside a subway station is comparable. Meaning, how well the Zone does in the subway station would be a good indicator of how well it would perform during another acute air pollution crisis.Once we agreed on a mission, our aim was simple: test how well the Zone removed pollutants from the air surrounding a wearer's breathing zone, no pun intended. We primarily used two lab-grade devices: a portable particulate monitor and a particulate counter. The portable particulate monitor gave us real-time measurements of PM10 and PM2.5 particulates in the air, which are the two main types of pollutants scientists care about and differentiate based on size. Meanwhile, a particulate counter is used to measure the concentration of pollutants left in the air. In an ideal world, we would have liked to test the Zone's ability to filter out volatile organic compounds (VOCs), or toxic chemicals that come from home products and natural sources like benzene, formaldehyde or acetone, but these compounds were not easily detectable in the city streets or on the subway by our handheld VOC detector. This made sense since the subway tract is mostly run on electricity, not coal or gas.DysonFor each test, we collected data while the Dyson Zone's visor blew air in my face, instead of a dummy head. We did it this way for two reasons. For one, the lab-grade dummy head was not always detected by the Zone, so the filter would not run properly. Also, this allowed me to include real-world user experience in our assessment.So first, in the NYU lab, while the visor blew fresh air into my face, Gordon's Ph.D. students David Luglio and Antonio Saporito held clear tubes connected to both the portable particulate monitor and the particulate counter in the path of the airflow. This happened in the small cramped space between the plastic visor and my lips. By doing this, we were able to gauge how the numbers recorded on the devices changed when the filter was turned on and off. Because it was a clean lab, the air quality was already pretty good. When we turned on the filter to rate three, the volume of PMs measured by the monitor dropped to zero. No surprise there.Engadget VideoWe applied the same method on the 14th Street-1st Avenue subway platform in Manhattan's Lower East Side, which is often flooded with college students taking the L train into Brooklyn. Using the particulate monitor and the particulate counter, we recounted how the filter did before and after being turned on. The results clearly demonstrated the Zone's effectiveness. The ambient particle monitor went from giving a reading of 200 micrograms of particle matter per cubic meter of air before it dropped close to 50. This meant the air quality went from dangerous to normal with the Zone running a level three.Meanwhile, the particle counter went from measuring 20,000 particulates per cubic centimeter to under 1,000 at the level three. So instead of all those fine particles going up into my respiratory tract, they were wafted away through the filtration system.NYU doctoral student David Luglio, whose thesis work has primarily focused on the health effects of long-term exposure to subway air quality in large metropolitan areas in cities like New York and D.C., was shocked by how well the Zone filtered the subway air. "Air quality in the subways in general, wildfire or not, is probably one of the worst environments to be in in New York City because concentrations are typically at least 100 micrograms per cubic meter, and outside on a typical day it is only 10 or less."Engadget VideoIn our final test, we used the same method on the busy street corner right across from the subway station. Again, the Zone did its thing. Readings from the two live monitors spiked and dropped again-proving that the Zone actually worked."It's Dyson and Dyson knows particles and filtrations, that's what they're famous for," Gordon said. The Dyson Zone proved it can remove ambient particles from the surrounding air, he continued. Those particles "are the main contributor to the adverse health effects of air pollution-more so than ozone, NO2, SO2," and ultimately wearing a device like the Zone will protect your lungs and your heart from the adverse health effects of long-term air pollution.This is all great in theory. However, there almost always has to be a catch with experimental devices that explore new categories like the Zone does: the battery life. Unfortunately, while testing, the Zone would only last about an hour and a half. We had to keep a charger handy in case it decided to shut off. This, coupled with the fact that we weren't even using the audio feature while testing, told me that the device is still a long way from being practical for everyday use. Dyson is fully of this issue. "Although the audio system and the airflow system are two separate systems, they're sharing the battery," Gibson-Robinson said.You only have to look at what Dyson has done with the vacuum cleaners, Gibson-Robinson explained. To draw a comparison, Gibson-Robinson brought up her first handheld vacuum. "[It] had a runtime of something like nine minutes, 15 minutes, something like that and now my newest one, which I got the other week, actually blew my mind. It's like 60 minutes of runtime," she continued.It took the company a decade to make that leap. While Dyson's capacity to boost battery life in its handheld vacuums could be a good indicator that there are loads of gains to be made for the Zone, it's nearly impossible to justify the $949 asking price. That, coupled with the fact that the climate crisis is worsening day by day, some consumers (myself included) might not be willing to wait for Dyson.Still, Gibson-Robinson says the compromise on battery life "felt adequate" in order to offer a device that could double as a headphone and a filter. "We've obviously had to balance between because the batteries are housed in that headband... and we've had to balance comfort and weight with battery life and performance," she said. But ultimately, "It's engineered and designed to be worn primarily as a pair of headphones and then secondary, which pains me to say because I did all the filtration stuff, the secondary function is that it's a purifier," she added.Besides the disappointing battery life, I wasn't a fan of the plastic visor itself. Although Dyson claims it's super durable (Gibson-Robinson even dropped the visor from a balcony once out of curiosity), the detachable plastic felt like an awkward appendage at times. You can pull the visor down to sit below your chin while you're wearing the headphones if you don't want to run the filter all the time. You can also flick it back up and have your face covered in a second if you are ready to turn on the filtration mode. But something about it hanging beneath my chin when the filter was off felt kind of gross after a while.Engadget VideoIf you're a germaphobe like me, there's plenty of reason to worry about something being so close to your face all the time. For one, it bumps into your face when you put it on in a rush and do not adjust it properly. It also comes off pretty easily, making it easy to drop on, say, a gross subway station floor. On the plus side, although the material feels cheap and flimsy, it's at least easy to clean since it's removable and wipeable.Still, there's a heaviness to the device overall. I don't feel like I can just brandish the headphones around my neck, especially with the visor up. Not only is it uncomfortable after a few hours of wear, but it's sure to attract attention, which isn't ideal when I just want to feel invisible on my commute home.If I were really concerned with my respiratory health and wanted to limit my daily exposure to pollutants, I would choose something more practical and affordable. Is it nice to know the Zone does in fact work? Sure, but why would I drop $949 on this when I already have a pair of good noise-canceling headphones, and cheaper filtration alternatives exist. Besides the standard K-95 mask, a chemical respirator with filters used in construction and for painting, there are portable HEPA filters you can buy off of Amazon for under $50 bucks. They run for about 200 to 500 hours and have a filtration efficiency of 99.7%. It basically provides what the Zone offers in its level one filtration mode, but at a fraction of the cost and without any of the battery limitations.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/we-put-the-dyson-zones-air-filters-to-the-test-heres-what-we-found-133014523.html?src=rss
Between its drone delivery attempts and its Just Walk Out tech removing the need for cashiers, Amazon is trying to make the buying experience as quick and minimally interactive with others as it can. Now, the tech company has announced that it's further expanding Just Walk Out's abilities to support softline merchandise like clothing - particularly fan gear. Amazon is making the jump with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) - a decades-old technology that utilizes radio waves for tracking (typically inventory). While Amazon might be getting into the RFID game late, clothing designers have used the technology for everything from preventing counterfeiting to quicker self-checkout.Like in other Just Walk Out stores, customers grab their items and pay with a card or using their palm on an Amazon One device. Each piece of merchandise has a unique tag that's read as customers pass through the exit gate - then charging them accordingly.Amazon tested RFID for Just Walk Out at the Seattle Kraken's Climate Pledge Arena during the last few games of the 2022-2023 NHL season. The tech company decided to expand RFID to the Seattle Seahawk's Lumen Field for the 2023 to 2024 NFL season after being "validated by positive feedback from the Kraken fans and arena officials." This opening marks the stadium's ninth Just Walk Out store - the highest number of any venue. Amazon claims that the first Just Walk Out store at Lumen Field (opened last September) had an 85 percent higher transaction rate and 112 percent better total sales per game during the 2022 to 2023 season, compared to the traditional retailer that previously existed in that storefront.Amazon launched its first Just Walk Out store in 2018 and has since expanded to 75 Amazon-owned and 85 third-party stores in sports stadiums, airports, college campuses and more. Currently, Just Walk Out tech is only available in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, but Amazon claims it has "new locations launching every month."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-adds-rfid-support-to-just-walk-out-stores-for-softline-products-like-clothing-130047415.html?src=rss
Let's charge the iPhone 15 Pro Max before going to bed," I thought wearily after a long day at Apple Park. Even though the device, which I had just unboxed a few hours earlier, was still showing at least 80 percent left of juice, I wanted to make sure it didn't run out the next day. Time with a new review unit is precious, and I couldn't risk wasting any of it on a dead phone.I dragged myself over to the work desk in my hotel room, unplugged my iPhone 14 Pro and stuck the Lightning charger into the iPhone 15 Pro Max. It didn't work. In my sleep-deprived fog, I tried a few more times to jam the cable into the port. It wasn't until about five attempts later that it hit me: This is USB-C.A spark of joy broke through the haze clouding my brain, until I realized I had to unplug my laptop or set up a whole new USB-C charger. I looked at the clock, glanced at the iPhone 15 Pro Max's battery indicator, shrugged and went to sleep. It'll probably have enough power till I can plug it in in the morning.As it turns out, although my dream of a one-charger-fits-all world had finally come true (at least for the devices I use), the utopia I had envisioned wasn't quite perfect in reality. I wanted to just be able to carry a single charger for the half dozen (or so) gadgets I carry around when I travel, but that's probably never going to happen. If I'm going to have to bring multiple wires anyway, does it matter if one of them is Lightning?In the end, it does, but the convenience of being able to use any of the cables I have to charge any of the devices I own doesn't make as huge of a difference as I had expected. Not yet, anyway. Perhaps it will be a bigger improvement when people using older, Lightning-charging iPhones finally move on to USB-C and the whole world adopts this standard. For now, though, the change is small.What might matter more on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are the new action button, camera improvements, refined design and updated processor. Apple also managed to keep the same price for the Pro ($999) and Pro Max ($1,199) while doubling the storage capacity on the base model of the latter. If you've been holding onto an iPhone that's at least two years old (or even just a year old), this could well be the year to upgrade.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetDesignFor the first time, I've found myself seriously considering switching to a Pro Max. In the past, despite some performance benefits and superior features, Apple's largest handset has always felt too hefty. But thanks to its new titanium build, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is fractions of an inch smaller and almost 20 grams (or about half an ounce) lighter than its predecessor. I said this in my hands-on and I'll say it again: The iPhone 14 Pro Max felt like it would fracture my skull if it fell on my face, while the new model may only leave a bruise (or maybe a dent).That's probably in part thanks to the fact that the new iPhone's edges are slightly curved, which not only makes them feel less sharp, but gives the handset the illusion of being thinner, even though it's actually a hundredth of an inch thicker than last year.Speaking of teeny measurements, the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max's bezels are also ever so slightly smaller than before. That's largely why Apple was able to retain the same screen sizes while bringing the length and width of each device down.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetTogether with the smaller bezels, the overall design changes make the iPhone 15 Pro Max slightly easier to use with one hand. I also appreciate the brushed metal finish on my Natural Titanium review unit, though I wish Apple would give the Pro line some brighter colors already. This year, you can choose from the silver-ish shade I have, or white, black and blue. Yawn. I know a lot of people slap a case on their new phones the second they get them, but some of us like to live a little dangerously and want a pretty color like those on the regular iPhone 15s.Though the iPhone 15 Pro Max is smaller and lighter than the last generation, it's certainly still one of the heaviest in its category. The Pixel 7 Pro is a bit lighter at 212 grams (7.5 ounces) while the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the heaviest at 234 grams (8.25 ounces). Meanwhile, the smaller Pro model is actually lighter than the S23 Plus (195 grams) and the Pixel 7 (197 grams, 6.9 ounces).I haven't used the phones long enough, nor have I been brave enough to risk exposing these review units to my hazardous purse without a case, so I can't tell you how durable or scratch-resistant the titanium build is yet. Thankfully, I have also not dropped either device so far, but, as in previous years, they're both rated IP68 for dust and water resistance, which should provide the clumsiest of us some peace of mind.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetThere are, of course, two crucial external hardware changes this year: USB-C and the Action button. If you're not looking for them, these differences aren't obvious. The hole at the bottom is still a hole, while the button now juts out slightly more than before. And because the iPhone 15 Pros are slightly smaller than their predecessors, your old case will not fit.Action buttonI was surprised to learn that I'm actually in the minority of people who used the mute slider on older iPhones. It turns out that apparently most people set their devices to mute and leave it at that. I tend to leave my phone on my couch while doing chores, so every now and then I'd set it to ring so I wouldn't miss calls from delivery people.In any case, Apple switching the mute slider out for the Action button doesn't bother me. I still get access to a physical key to quickly mute my phone, but for people who don't use that function, there are plenty more options. You can set it to open the camera, turn on the flashlight, begin a voice recording, change Focus modes or start a shortcut. In each of those, you can fine-tune the settings to have the system, say, launch the camera in selfie or portrait mode.Once you've used the Action button to trigger your shortcut, you can keep pressing the button to control the primary action in each scenario. In the camera, that's the shutter. For voice recordings, that becomes the start or stop key.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetIn the days that I've been testing the iPhone 15 Pro Max, I've set it to launch the camera, since I've been focusing on testing the new hardware. It's frankly been a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it's so much faster to use the Action button to open the camera than having to long press or swipe on the on-screen shortcut. On the other hand, it wasn't always easier to reach for the Action button, and though it's easy enough to identify it by size, I found myself accidentally pressing the volume keys a few times.I get the sense that this is a gesture I'll get used to over time, especially since it did eventually come in handy when I was frantically photographing some wild deer and rabbits in Caumsett State Historic Park.It's also worth noting that, despite my concerns that the Action button might be too easy to accidentally trigger, I have yet to unintentionally launch the camera. I've tossed the iPhone 15 Pro Max in a satchel full of other phones, a backpack stuffed with jackets and snacks, as well as a tightly packed overnight duffel bag. Surprisingly, none of these tight squeezes caused the shortcut to trigger.Cameras - To zoom or not to zoomThis year, the Pro Max has a new telephoto lens that offers 5x optical zoom, thanks to a tetraprism design that reflects light four times within the iPhone's body and creates enough space for a 120mm focal length. Meanwhile, the smaller Pro still retains a 3x optical zoom at 77mm.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetIn reality, the iPhone 15 Pro Max delivered closeups that are slightly cleaner than what its predecessor was capable of. I used them both to take photos of an ad for the iPhone 15 Pro Max on the side of a building, and only after I zoomed all the way into the pictures on my laptop did I notice a slight difference. The newer phone rendered a window frame better, with a bit less noise than the iPhone 14 Pro Max.When I set both cameras to shoot at the older phone's maximum range of 15x, the newer phone had a noticeable advantage. Wording on the back of a faraway bus was so much clearer on the 15 Pro Max that I could actually guess what an ad said, while the 14 Pro Max's image was basically a blur.The iPhone 15 Pro Max's closest rival on the zoom photography front is Google's Pixel 7 Pro, which also offers 5x optical zoom. Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra has 3x and 10x options, with a total of 100x zoom when combined with digital processing. It's no surprise, then, that in general, the Galaxy handset tended to deliver the clearest images at 3x, 5x and beyond. Words were visible on distant objects, and blades of grass were clearer.Compared to the Pixel 7 Pro, the iPhone 15 Pro Max offered similar clarity and detail, as well as brighter images. But Google usually offers better contrast and shadows.In a very challenging situation when I was trying to shoot a gray heron that was bathing by Oyster Bay in Long Island, the iPhone was better at retaining the ripples on the water's surface, while the Pixel mostly overexposed the sea. At 10x zoom, the Galaxy S23 Ultra's pictures of the bird looked like I had captured images of the Predator, complete with extreme halo effect around the subject.The iPhone and Pixel both allow you to make use of these telephoto options while recording video, which came in handy when I tried to film a finicky baby deer from a distance. The Galaxy, on the other hand, is stuck at one zoom level. Ultimately, if you frequently use your phone to capture distant subjects, the iPhone 15 Pro Max will serve you well and has mostly caught up to the competition.What might matter more in your daily photography scenarios is the updated portrait mode pipeline, which Apple says now benefit from the Photonic Engine." I was really excited to see an improvement here, since I rely heavily on Portrait mode for most of my photos of food, animals and people. For the latter two (specifically cats, dogs and people), Apple will automatically capture depth information so you can edit background blur later, and you won't have to go into Portrait mode just to get bokeh. But sadly, the iPhone still lags behind the likes of its Pixel and Galaxy competitors.In my close-up portraits of sprinkles on a scoop of ice cream, the Pixel 7 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra managed to keep the individual grains as well as a spoon in focus while retaining the frosty texture of the mounds underneath. Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 Pro Max's picture was a mess, with large parts of the spoon and ice cream blurred out and random other bits in focus. This could have been a fluke, but I never got the same with the other phones.Apple's portrait effect fared better when I changed over to 1x zoom, although as with older iPhones I have to move back a significant distance before the bokeh effects will kick in. But when it did work, the iPhone's portrait mode produced a shallower, more pronounced depth of field than Google and Samsung's phones. The Pixel delivered a more natural and subtle result, though.The good news is that with Apple's new Focus and Depth Control tool, you can go into most pictures and edit the amount of background blur. Or you can change up the focal point altogether. This works with the front camera and live photos well, and generally delivers pleasant results. The iPhone is surprisingly accurate at recognizing the outlines of subjects, although not all my pictures with people in them were identified as portraits. I also couldn't use this tool to fix the wonky ice cream photos, since multiple parts of the sprinkles remained blurry no matter where I tried to set a new focus.Although Apple has worked on improving its Night mode, Google still has the upper hand in low light. My shots of trees and houses along a lake in the dark came out best on the Pixel, which retained the gradient in the sky and a bench in the foreground, without blowing out the lights from homes across the water. The iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra fared respectably, though Samsung's phone was the most susceptible to overexposure from the lights.It's worth pointing out that the iPhone's photos now use a default resolution of 24 megapixels, combining the light you get from 12MP shots and the detail from the 48MP sensor. File sizes are about half a megabyte larger than before, which will probably eat up your storage more quickly.One thing this processing allows Apple to do is offer three focal length options: 24 mm, 28mm and 35mm. Practically, this just means you can tap the 1" icon at the bottom of the viewfinder to jump between 1x, 1.2x and 1.5x options. Apple didn't just crop in from a 48MP image to create these views - it created individual processing pipelines to enable these at the default 24MP resolution. But for most mobile photographers, that won't mean much. All it translates to are some nifty zoom options, which were fun to use but I didn't find myself reaching for them much.For the most part, the iPhone 15 Pro Max delivered solid landscapes and portraits in daylight, and has shown slight improvement at night. Its video quality remains arguably the best in the industry, with cinematic mode videos still as aesthetically pleasing as before.Performance, in use and battery lifeIt's hard to evaluate the performance of any new phone in just a week. Out of the box, handsets rarely have any lag, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max is as speedy as you'd expect. Its A17 Pro chip kept things running smoothly as I tested multiple camera and video modes in rapid succession, while downloading games, pulling up pictures and hotspotting to another iPhone nearby. I did notice some hiccups when launching the camera with the Action button, but I suspect that has more to do with glitchy software than actual performance.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetOne of the biggest updates with the A17 Pro processor is the six-core graphics processor that enables hardware-accelerated ray-tracing for realistic lighting effects in games. This allows Apple to coax serious developers and studios like Capcom and Ubisoft to bring console-level versions of their titles to the iPhone. I was able to check out a preview of Resident Evil Village on the iPhone 15 Pro and it ran smoothly as expected. Creepy babies aside, some of the graphics and lighting effects were nice and I saw no dropped frames, although the edges of a character's hair looked a little jagged. Don't expect high-end console level quality here, but you'll get pretty good animations in general.I loved looking at my new contact poster on the Pro Max's 6.7-inch display, and thanks to ProMotion's 120Hz refresh rate, scrolling through the long lists of my Instagram Story viewers was satisfyingly smooth. When I was getting ready in a hotel room, the background music I played sounded surprisingly clear and loud through its speakers.I've already described the impact USB-C actually makes in the real world, so I won't go on about it again. What I didn't mention was that with the move to the new port, Apple was also able to add support for USB Power Delivery (USB PD), which allows the iPhone to charge up other devices. You can use a USB-C to Lightning cable to power up an AirPods case for example, or even another iPhone.That's a pretty handy feature, especially considering how much battery life the iPhone 15 Pro Max has. It usually lasted about two days on a charge, which is slightly longer than other handsets of this size. Of course, over time, I expect battery life to deteriorate and average out at about one and a half days, based on previous experience.When it's time to recharge your iPhone, you can expect similar charging speeds to older models in that you should get up to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. Fast charge is supported with compatible power units, capped at 27 watts, which is basically the same as before.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetWrap-upThis year's new iPhones actually feel like significant upgrades compared to the last two models. With the introduction of the Action button, USB-C and some camera improvements, the changes coming to Apple's Pro handsets feel meatier than before. Plus, the new titanium build makes the devices seem refreshed, while under-the-hood advances like the A17 Pro processor and a second-generation ultra wideband chip should make for smooth day-to-day use. Though the individual features seem small on their own, altogether this year's set of updates add up to more than the sum of their parts.Of course, there's also the non-pro models of the iPhone 15 to consider, and thanks to their new 48MP sensors and pretty colors, they're a compelling, lower-cost alternative. They also charge via USB-C and come with the same new portrait image effects, which might be good enough for most people. Our review of that device is coming soon, so stay tuned if you can't decide between the standard iPhone 15 or the Pro.Meanwhile, if you've always been a Pro user and already live in a USB-C world, the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will almost certainly satisfy.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/iphone-15-pro-max-review-apple-makes-a-strong-case-for-its-biggest-phone-130018980.html?src=rss
Netgear just announced a new flagship router, the Orbi 970, that's absolutely brimming with features. The router supports the newest Wi-Fi 7 wireless standard and ships in a quad-band format, so it also handles other formats like Wi-Fi 6, 5 and 2.4. It boasts speeds up to 27 Gbps and includes 12 high-performance antennas" for 360-degree coverage, with mesh satellite devices available for an even larger wireless footprint.The Orbi 970 was quite obviously designed with modern consumers in mind, so it should excel when streaming 4K or even 8K video, engaging with high-output VR and AR applications, UHD video conferencing, online gaming and everything else people get up to online these days. The system's also smart-home friendly with the capacity to connect up to 200 devices.The ultrawide bandwidth router is fully compatible with older wireless standards and it's a quad-band device, so everything should work at once without too much fiddling. The Orbi 970 automatically chooses the correct wireless platform for each device and speeds are increased via a dedicated backhaul feature that Netgear says doubles" the speed in which the router and any satellites communicate.The Wi-Fi 7 integration is the big news here, however, as this allows smartphones and laptops to whiz along at speeds up to 5Gbps. This isn't Netgear's first Wi-Fi 7 router, that honor goes to the highly capable Nighthawk RS700S, but the wireless standard has significantly increased in popularity throughout the past year.The port options here seem on point, as the router itself features a single 10 gig Internet port, one 10 gig Ethernet port and four 2.5 gig Ethernet ports. Additionally, each satellite boasts one 10 gig Ethernet port and two 2.5 gig Ethernet ports. The system also looks pretty nifty, with a cylindrical design and a slim profile.However, with great wireless power comes great financial responsibility. Like many high-end Netgear products, this thing's expensive. The base model that includes the router and a single satellite costs $1,700. A three-pack that includes two satellites, offering coverage of 10,000 square feet, costs $2,300 and each additional satellite sets you back $900. The Orbi 970 series is available in white via Netgear or third-party retailers, but the limited-edition black series is only available from the manufacturer. You do get a free year of the company's proprietary antivirus product, Netgear Armor, with a purchase.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netgears-new-wallet-busting-orbi-router-has-just-about-every-feature-imaginable-123035066.html?src=rss
Bethesda's roadmap for the fiscal years starting in 2020 and ending in 2024 has made its way online as part of the unredacted documents leaked from the FTC v. Microsoft case. The list contains games we're already expecting from the developer, but it also includes previously unannounced titles. One of the them is a new entry for the Doom franchise entitled Doom Year Zero, which was scheduled to come out int the current fiscal year. Meanwhile, Bethesda had Dishonored 3 listed with the rest of the games planned for release in the fiscal year of 2024. It was also aiming to release a sequel to the paranormal adventure game Ghostwire: Tokyo in the same period.Seeing as Bethesda has yet to announce these titles, it's unclear if they will be launched according to the developer's original plans, or even if they're still coming out all. Other than the aforementioned games, the roadmap for FY 2024 also lists Fallout 3 Remaster and an unnamed licensed IP game. Oblivion Remaster was listed for FY 2022, but it has yet to be released.In a letter from the same cache of leaked documents wherein Microsoft Gaming chief Phil Spencer talked about how much he wanted to acquire Nintendo, he also mentioned that the tech giant was in talks to buy Bethesda parent company Zenimax. Bethesda officially became part of Xbox in 2021 after regulators approved the purchase - something that may or may not happen for Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition. The tech giant announced last year that it intended to purchase Activision Blizzard for $69 billion, but regulators in the US and EU have opposed to deal - at least in its initial formulation - due to concerns it could limit competition within the industry.MicrosoftThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/leaked-microsoft-documents-hint-at-new-doom-and-dishonored-games-122130396.html?src=rss
Microsoft Gaming chief Phil Spencer wanted to acquire Nintendo so bad, he considered it a "career moment." One of the leaked documents from the FTC v. Microsoft case was an email Spencer sent to the company's Chief Marketing Officers Chris Capossela and Takeshi Numoto in 2020. The executive talked about how Nintendo was the prime asset for the tech giant in gaming, which is Microsoft's best bet for consumer relevance. He was confident that if there was an American company capable of acquiring Nintendo, it was Microsoft. However, Nintendo was apparently sitting on a "big pile of cash" that made it unlikely to go looking for buyers.Spencer added that Nintendo had a board of directors that had not pushed for increases in market growth in ages. He explained that it might change in the future, though, as one of Microsoft's board of directors - investment company ValueAct Capital - had been "heavily acquiring" Nintendo shares and had been "fully supportive" of an acquisition if the opportunity arose.Microsoft has a long history of trying to acquire the Japanese gaming giant. When Bloomberg published an in-depth oral account of how the Xbox came to be for its 20th anniversary in 2021, it was revealed that the company asked Nintendo if it was willing to be acquired - and got laughed out of the room. "They just laughed their asses off," Xbox co-creator Kevin Bachus said. "Like, imagine an hour of somebody just laughing at you. That was kind of how that meeting went." Microsoft also reportedly asked Nintendo to let it take care of hardware so it could focus on games, but it ultimately failed to convince the company to do a merger.In Spencer's letter, he said it was "taking a long time for Nintendo to see that their future exists off of their own hardware." And then he ended it with a smiley face that seemed to indicate that he was willing to play the long game, though it's unclear if he still has plans to make another attempt at a merger. Microsoft's legal battle against the Federal Trade Commission will decide the outcome of the company's $69 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition. The company announced the massive purchase in early 2022, but the FTC filed a lawsuit to block the merger, which the agency says can harm competition in the gaming market.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xbox-chief-phil-spencer-believed-a-nintendo-merger-would-have-been-his-career-moment-114525963.html?src=rss
Yes, Amazon's Prime Day already happened in July, but the company's members-only sales events are apparently not done. Amazon now plans to hold Prime Big Deal Days, another Prime Day of sorts, on October 10 and 11, something it did the same month last year.Prime Day is two days long, and that's the pattern Amazon is following here, even hinting at a few early deals on Amazon devices. You can save up to 65 percent on a three-pack of eero Pro Mesh Wi-Fi, select Fire TV devices, Kindles and more. Amazon also promises a $15 credit to Prime members who download its Photos app and upload their first photo, between now and October 7, just ahead of its Big Deal Days.If you want to know what devices to keep an eye on - check out our Prime Day primer right here.- Mat SmithThe biggest stories you might have missedHow social engineering takes advantage of your kindnessAnker charging gear and power banks are up to 50 percent off right nowiOS 17's release date is upon us, here's how to update your iPhonewatchOS 10 has arrived, bringing widgets back to the Apple WatchIntel seems pretty excited about glass substratesUnity apologizes and promises to change its controversial game install fee policyMicrosoft's Panos Panay leaves after nearly 20 yearsAnd he's reportedly heading to Amazon.Associated PressPanos Panay is leaving Microsoft. After heading the development of the initial Surface line of tablets and hybrid laptops, he became the company's chief product officer in 2018. His rise continued in 2021 when he moved to executive vice president after a successful Windows 11 launch. He's also been a mainstay of Microsoft's livestreams, press events and product launches alongside CEO Satya Nadella.There's been no reason given by either party, but Panay said he has decided to turn the page and write the next chapter" when he announced the move on X. However, Bloomberg subsequently reported he has been poached by Amazon. Panay will apparently replace Dave Limp, the Amazon executive previously in charge of Alexa and Echo, who announced his retirement last month. What makes this more unusual is that Microsoft has a livestream event this Thursday, which will almost certainly focus on the new Surface products.Continue reading.MS Paint just got two killer features for a '90s graphics editorMicrosoft is rolling out layers and transparent PNG support.Associated PressiOS updates? Pschh. Tell me more about MS Paint. The '90s and '00s distraction is finally getting support for layers. It's an exciting time to be alive.Continue reading.AirPods Pro Adaptive Audio previewAutomatically adjusting to your day.Alongside the arrival of iOS 17, a firmware update to Apple's AirPods Pro adds a few new features, most of which will automatically adjust to your environment or activity, so you don't have to touch the earbuds or reach for your phone. The headline addition is Adaptive Audio, a tool that automatically and dynamically" blends transparency mode and active noise cancellation (ANC) based on your surroundings. Adaptive Audio gradually starts tweaking the blend of ANC and transparency. So if you enter a loud coffee shop, AirPods Pro gently increases noise cancellation to combat the distractions. Engadget's Billy Steele tests out all the new features.Continue reading.The Google Nest Hub Max is losing some of its video call functionalityIt'll still support Meet, in a more limited capacity.Google is discontinuing support for Zoom and Google Meet meetings on its Nest Hub Max. Some users have received notifications that they can no longer join meetings from the device beginning September 28. The news follows Zoom's July announcement that Nest Hub Max support will end for the video calling service on September 30. Google said in a statement that support for joining meetings via meeting codes and links in Meet" is going away, but also noted, There is no change to making 1:1 and group video calls to friends, family and businesses with Google Meet."Continue reading.Sonos Move 2 reviewBetter sound and battery life come at a cost.When Sonos released its first portable speaker, the Move, four years ago, it was an anomaly. Portable and connectable through Bluetooth, this was a different Sonos product. In 2023, these tricks have proliferated across the Sonos lineup. The more affordable Roam speaker brought the Move's feature set to a much smaller device, while recent home speakers, like the Era 100 and 300, both support Bluetooth, as well. The Move 2 doesn't suggest a new direction for future Sonos products, but it does bring the company's latest tech and design cues to an existing product.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-amazons-plans-for-yet-another-sales-event-111551729.html?src=rss
A massive leak from the FTC v. Microsoft court battle showed Microsoft's roadmap for a mid-generation Xbox Series X console, but that wasn't the only news. The same document also revealed Microsoft's tentative plans for the next-generation Xbox - what it calls a "hybrid game platform." The system would combine local hardware and cloud computing to create an "immersive game & app platform" arriving around 2028, according to a leaked May 2022 presentation hidden inside another PDF."Our vision: Develop a next generation hybrid game platform capable of leveraging the combined power of the client and cloud to deliver deeper immersion and entirely new classes of game experiences," one of the slides reads. "Optimized for real time game play and creators, we will enable new levels of performance beyond the capabilities of the client hardware alone." In a slide, Microsoft projects the next gen arriving in 2028 with "cloud hybrid games" and an "immersive game & app platform."MicrosoftOn the hardware side, Microsoft foresees things like next-gen DirectX raytracing, dynamic global illumination, ML based super resolution, micropolygon rendering optimization and more. The system could allow for different types of devices, ranging from relatively powerful consoles to "Thin OS... $99 consumer or handheld devices" that rely on xCloud computing."Hybrid compute" would presumably differ from regular cloud gaming by using hardware and cloud computing to display in-game elements simultaneously. For instance, primary characters would run on your local GPU, while NPCs, background elements and more would be generated remotely.MicrosoftMicrosoft also sees heavy use of AI and machine learning (ML) in next-gen gaming. From a performance vantage, neural networks would power super resolution, frame rate interpretation and latency compensation, for instance. They would improve game experiences (AI agents, codex, matchmaking, player ranking) and player services (safety & toxicity, personalization & discovery, support services). It would also aid on the creator side via AI game testing, procedural content, physics, NLP dialogue and live ops (engagement & retention management, monetization, cloud resource optimization).One slide suggested Microsoft was seeking to forge deals with AMD for Navi 5 graphics and Zen 6 CPU cores, but another stated that the company needs to make an "Arm64 decision." In any case, it may have already begun its plans. Another slide titled "The journey has already started" shows a full roadmap: hardware design and hybrid game design starting in 2024, with dev kits available by 2027 and shipping by 2028.MicrosoftThe slide appears to be part of a conversation, and not a fixed roadmap by any means. Preceding the slideshow are documents showing a conversation between CEO Satya Nadella, Xbox's Phil Spencer, and others. Saying that the company is working on four types of computers (cloud everything, a hybrid Xbox, hybrid Windows, and hybrid HoloLens), Nadella notes that "we need to bring the company's systems talent together to align on a unified vision," adding that "we can't go from big idea to big idea. We need to bring the company's systems talent together to align on a unified vision."Other ideas revolve around a "mobile controller," whereby the "controller becomes the hero." That makes it seem that Microsoft was still working out its vision for next-gen Xbox at the time of the presentation - so it may have changed course completely since then.MicrosoftThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/leaked-microsoft-documents-detail-cloud-hybrid-next-gen-xbox-for-2028-110309102.html?src=rss
We've already seen OpenAI and Salesforce incorporate their standalone chatbots into larger, more comprehensive machine learning platforms that span the breadth and depth of their businesses. On Tuesday, Google announced that its Bard AI is receiving the same treatment and has been empowered to pull real-time data from other Google applications including Docs, Maps, Lens, Flights, Hotels and YouTube, as well as the users' own silo of stored personal data, to provide more relevant and actionable chatbot responses.I've had the great fortune of being a part of the team from the inception," Jack Krawczyk,bproduct lead for Bard, told Engadget. This Thursday marks six months since Bard entered into the world."GoogleBut despite of the technology's rapid spread, Krawczyk concedes that many users remain wary of it, either because they don't see an immediate use-case for it in their personal lives or some others are saying, I've also heard that it makes things up a lot.'" Bard's new capabilities are meant to help assuage those concerns and build public trust with the technology through increased transparency and more fully explained reasoning by the AI.We started off talking about Bard as a creative collaborator because that we saw in our initial testing, that's how people use it," he continued."Six months into the experiment, that hypothesis is truly validating."The new iteration of Bard, is the first time a language model will not only talk about how confident it is in its answer by finding content from across the web and linking to it," Krawczyk said. It's also the first time the language model is willing to admit that it made a mistake or got something wrong, and we think that's a critical step." Krawczyk notes that feedback provided by the experimental tool's users over the past half year has enabled the company to rapidly iterate increasingly robust, more intuitive and imaginative" language models.To that end, the chatbot can now parse and respond to more extensive and complicated prompts, such as It's my first semester in college and I want to get involved, but also would like to get strong grades. Help me formulate a point of view on why it's important to balance my involvement in school clubs and extracurriculars, while also focusing on my studies."In order to provide these more expansive responses, Google is following OpenAI and Salesforce's lead in enabling its AI to access the real-time capabilities of the company's other apps - including Maps, YouTube, Hotels and Flights, among others. What's more, users will be able to mix and match those API requests using natural language requests.That is, if you want to take your partner to Puerto Rico on February 14, 2024 and go sightseeing, you'll be able to ask Bard, can you show me flights to Puerto Rico and available hotels on Valentines Day next year?" and then follow up with, show me a map of interesting sites near our hotel" and Bard should be able to provide a list of potential flights, available hotel rooms and a list of stuff to do outside of said hotel room once you book it.We believe there's already a high bar for the transparency choice and control that you have with your data," Krawczyk said. It needs to be even higher as it relates to bringing in your private data."In an effort to improve the transparency of its AI's reasoning, Google is both explicitly linking to the sites that it is summarizing, and introducing a Double Check feature that will highlight potentially unfounded responses. When users click on Bard's G button, the AI will independently audit its latest response and search the web for supporting information. If Search turns up contradictory evidence, the statement is highlighted orange. Conversely, heavily referenced and supported statements will be highlighted green.GoogleUsers will also be able to opt-in to a feature, dubbed Bard Extensions, that will allow the AI access to their personal Google data (emails, photos, calendar entries, et cetera) so that it can provide specific answers about their daily lives. Instead of digging through email chains looking for a specific important date, for example, users will be able to ask Bard to scour their Gmail account for the information, as well as summarize the most important points of the overall discussion. Or, the user could work with the chatbot to draft a cover letter based specifically on the work experience listed in their resume.And to allay concerns over Google potentially having even more access to your personal data than it already does, the company has pledged that your content from Gmail, Docs and Drive is not seen by human reviewers, used by Bard to show you ads or used to train the Bard model." What's more, users will be able to opt in and out of the system at will and can allow or deny access to specific files. The service is initially only available to non-enterprise users in English, though the company is working to expand those offerings in the future.We think that this is a really critical step, but so much context is required in communication," Krawczyk said. We think really harnessing the healthy and open web is key because what we found in the first six months of Bard is, people will see a response and then follow up with trusted content to actually understand and go deeper. We're excited to provide that for people with this new experience."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/googles-bard-ai-can-tap-the-companys-apps--and-your-personal-data--for-better-responses-100020506.html?src=rss
A Microsoft AI research team that uploaded training data on GitHub in an effort to offer other researchers open-source code and AI models for image recognition inadvertently exposed 38TB of personal data. Wiz, a cybersecurity firm, discovered a link included in the files that contained backups of Microsoft employees' computers. Those backups contained passwords to Microsoft services, secret keys and over 30,000 internal Teams messages from hundreds of the tech giant's employees, Wiz says. Microsoft assures in its own report of the incident, however, that "no customer data was exposed, and no other internal services were put at risk."The link was deliberately included with the files so that interested researchers could download pretrained models - that part was no accident. Microsoft's researchers used an Azure feature called "SAS tokens," which allows users to create shareable links that give other people access to data in their Azure Storage account. Users can choose what information can be accessed through SAS links, whether it's a single file, a full container or their entire storage. In Microsoft's case, the researchers shared a link that had access to the full storage account.Wiz discovered and reported the security issue to Microsoft on June 22, and the company had revoked the SAS token by June 23. Microsoft also explained that it rescans all its public repositories, but its system had marked this particular link as a "false positive." The company has since fixed the issue, so that its system can detect SAS tokens that are too permissive than intended in the future. While the particular link Wiz detected has been fixed, improperly configured SAS tokens could potentially lead to data leaks and big privacy problems. Microsoft acknowledges that "SAS tokens need to be created and handled appropriately" and has also published a list of best practices when using them, which it presumably (and hopefully) practices itself.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-ai-researchers-mistakenly-leaked-38tb-of-company-data-094659079.html?src=rss
Microsoft is planning a mid-generation refresh of the Xbox Series X with a new disc-less cylindrical design, according to a document accidentally revealed from the FTC v. Microsoft court battle. It also leaked the existence of a new controller with a gyro (codenamed Sebile), a refreshed Xbox Series S, key specs for the new devices and a timeline. It's not clear how the documents came into public view, but they could be damaging for Xbox's gaming business, as it shows the company's strategy well over a year in advance.Microsoft previously stated it has no plans for a mid-gen console refresh, but that doesn't appear to be true according to the document. In fact, the company is working on three new consoles. The first, codenamed Ellewood, is a light refresh of the Xbox Series S (set to arrive in September 2024), while "Brooklin," tentatively planned for November 2024, is a new disc-less version of the Xbox Series X. Another model, called XDL, matches Brooklin's specs but will presumably offer Xbox Design Lab customization.MicrosoftMicrosoft's two-tone "Sebile" controller has a built-in accelerometer and haptics that "double as speakers," which would make it more like Sony's latest DualSense controller. It also features new modular thumbsticks, quieter buttons and thumbsticks and new app features, along with sustainability tweaks like a swappable battery, recycled materials and improved reparability. Once it's released, we'll likely see games with support for the gyro, letting you maneuver just by moving the controller around. The company will also have an XDL version of Sebile, codenamed Igraine.The star of this leak is the new updated Xbox Series X console, though. While Microsoft touts it as "adorable" (presumably due to the cylindrical design that's less severe than the current fridge-like Xbox Series X), many gamers may not find the lack of a disc cute at all.Along with the new design, the Series X will come with Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, USB-C front port, an all-new southbridge "to modernize IO and sustainability efforts" and a 6-nanometer die shrink. That will result in a reduced (15 percent) power draw with a new low-power standby mode that's up to 80 percent less than current standby, along with increased use of recycled plastic (>30 percent) and 100 percent recycled packaging.MicrosoftIt'll have 2TB of storage, or double the current model, and come standard with the Sebile controller. Microsoft also notes that it'll have the "same great price" as the current Xbox Series X at $499 when it arrives (tentatively November 2024), but that's a somewhat disingenuous statement given the lack of a disc.The Xbox Series S will have similar improvements inside, along with double the storage (1TB rather than 512GB), though the design appears relatively unchanged. It's also set to carry the same current $299 price, with availability tentatively set for September 2024.A lot more information is laid out, including things that Microsoft would no doubt want private, like projected sales volumes, margins, funding and more. For instance, Microsoft notes that "Sebile full product vision not currently approved due to GM % (gross margin percentage), and appears to place that ball in the "Finance" court. It also outlines a "path to leadership in gaming" with a vision of cloud-first, PC-first and console-first Xbox Game Pass subscription numbers. The leak appears to be a massive screwup that will likely cause some severe fallout, so stay tuned.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/huge-leak-reveals-microsoft-will-launch-an-all-digital-xbox-series-x-and-new-gyro-controller-090442796.html?src=rss
Opera has unveiled custom versions of its desktop and Android browser that fans of one of the world's most enduring games might appreciate. It has teamed up with Chess.com to integrate chess directly into the browser.A chess-themed version of the desktop browser includes a Chess.com icon in the sidebar. So, rather than having a dedicated tab for the website open, you can pin the panel and plot your next moves as you browse the web. You'll have swift access to puzzles, streamers and ongoing games.On Android, there's a whole new version of the browser available, Opera says. Opt in to the custom build, and you'll see a bunch of chess-related content on the home page, including articles and videos.Opera has integrated other services into its browser's sidebar over the years, including TikTok, WhatsApp and Instagram. The company also recently released its Opera One browser, which is infused with its generative AI and supports other GPT-based services.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/operas-browser-is-now-available-with-chess-baked-in-080052789.html?src=rss
In a couple of weeks' time, Jack Dorsey will be running Square's business again. Dorsey founded the fintech company in 2009 before expanding its services and renaming it Block by the end of 2021. Square itself, the financial platform for small-to-medium businesses, became one of the businesses under the new company. Block also owns Cash App, installment payment provider Afterpay, website creator Weebly and a controlling stake in music streaming service Tidal. In February this year, Alyssa Henry was named the CEO of Square after years of serving as its EVP and head of its seller unit. Now, according to a regulatory filing seen by CNN, Henry is stepping down and leaving the company on October 2.Dorsey will take on the additional role as "Square Head" in addition to helming Block, though it's unclear if he will fill the seat permanently or will serve as a temporary leader until the next CEO takes over. "As CEO of Square, Alyssa Henry helped transform the business into a software-led technology company, guided the team during the uncertainty of global pandemic lockdowns, and expanded our breadth of services for small businesses around the world," a Block spokesperson told CNN. "Square is what it is today in large part because of Alyssa's leadership and we wish her the best in her future endeavors."Prior to joining Square, Henry led Amazon Web Services' storage services division and oversaw software development, operations, as well as inbound and outbound product management for several teams. Her LinkedIn page still lists Square as her employer and doesn't say where she's headed next. Henry's reason for departure also remains unknown, and Block didn't say whether it was connected in any way to the outage Square experienced a few days ago. As Payments Dive notes, Square was out for almost a whole day, leaving merchants unable to process payments.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/jack-dorsey-is-heading-square-again-after-its-current-ceo-steps-down-062649106.html?src=rss
After 38 years, Microsoft is updating its Paint App with support for image transparency and layers. For most of us, MS Paint brings waves of nostalgia and memories of spending hours trying to be Picasso. Back then, you had a pencil, brushes, a handful of colors and not much else. Now, it seems Microsoft is beefing up its app to make it more useful for slightly more advanced image editing. In a blog post, Dave Grochocki, Principal Product Manager for Windows Inbox Apps, announced the new features and "exciting" new possibilities."When you combine layers, transparency, and other tools in Paint, you can create exciting new images and artwork! For example, when combined with the new background removal feature, you can quickly create interesting layered compositions," Grochocki said.To get started, you'll need to click on the new layer option in the toolbar and that will open a panel on the side of the canvas. From there, you can hide, duplicate, merge or delete layers - much like you can do in other, more robust photo editing software. As of right now, the update is only available to users who are signed up to receive Windows Insider software builds. The features are not currently available to all Windows users, but are likely to be rolled out soon.While it isn't the most groundbreaking thing, people who are still using MS Paint will find these features useful. And it's likely Microsoft will continue to update its Paint app, since the company has made it clear: MS Paint is here to stay.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ms-paint-just-got-two-killer-features-for-a-90s-graphics-editor-202341195.html?src=rss
The newly upgraded particle accelerator at the DoE's Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) has produced its first X-rays. The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) upgrade, LCLS-II, can emit up to a million X-ray pulses per second (8,000 times more than the original) and an almost continuous beam 10,000 times brighter than its predecessor. Researchers believe it will enable unprecedented research into atomic-scale, ultrafast phenomena" and shed new light on quantum computing, communications, clean energy and medicine.One of the keys to the accelerator's powerful upgrade is its cooling abilities. The original LCLS, which went online in 2009, was capped at 120 pulses per second because of the natural limits of how many electrons could simultaneously travel through the accelerator's room-temperature copper pipes. But the updated version includes 37 cryogenic modules cooled to negative 456 degrees Fahrenheit (colder than outer space), allowing it to boost electrons to high energies with nearly zero energy loss." The new accelerator will work in parallel with the existing copper one.SLAC researchers say the new capabilities will allow them to examine details of quantum materials with unprecedented resolution while enabling new forms of quantum computing and reveal unpredictable and fleeting chemical events" to help advance clean energy tech. In addition, they say it could help scientists develop new pharmaceuticals by studying how biological molecules work on an unprecedented scale. Finally, they stated that its unmatched 8,000 flashes per second will open up entirely new fields of scientific investigation."SLACSLAC researchers began envisioning upgrades to the original LCLS in 2010. The project has since gone through $1.1 billion and has involved thousands of scientists, engineers, and technicians across DOE, as well as numerous institutional partners." It required numerous cutting-edge components," including a new electron source, two cryoplants to produce refrigerant and two new undulators to generate X-rays from the beam. Multiple institutions contributed to the endeavor, including five US national labs (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory, among others) and Cornell University.Experiments in each of these areas are set to begin in the coming weeks and months, attracting thousands of researchers from across the nation and around the world," said LCLS Director Mike Dunne. DOE user facilities such as LCLS are provided at no cost to the users - we select on the basis of the most important and impactful science. LCLS-II is going to drive a revolution across many academic and industrial sectors. I look forward to the onslaught of new ideas - this is the essence of why national labs exist."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/stanfords-upgraded-x-ray-laser-is-up-and-running-192326869.html?src=rss
Agility Robotics, the creator of the bipedal robot Digit, is opening a manufacturing plant in Salem, Oregon that will give the company the capacity to produce more than 10,000 humanoid robots a year. The 70,000 square foot factory coined RoboFab" is set to open later this year and will employ upwards of 500 workers in Salem.Agility Robotics says its facility will also employ its very own Digits, the iconic humanoid robot, in the new factory. The Digits will help move, load and unload warehouse goods.The company says some customers can expect delivery of the first Digits in 2024, with general market availability in 2025. In a statement, Damion Shelton, Agility Robotics' co-founder and CEO says that the ultimate goal of creating Digits is to Solve difficult problems in today's workforce like injuries, burnout, high turnover and unfillable labor gaps."The manufacturing of bipedal robots is something we have seen teased by competitors like Boston Dynamics' Atlas and Tesla's Optimus robot prototype. However, none have matured to the extent of being able to churn out thousands of robots like that being seen in this effort by Agility Robotics. Still, until these robots are actually in production, it's too soon to say if Agility Robotics' warehouse robots, which are designed to fill a gap in the logistics and distribution industry, will actually surpass its competitors in this newly burgeoning market.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/agility-robotics-is-building-its-first-bipedal-robot-factory-in-oregon-184436386.html?src=rss
It didn't take long to learn Panos Panay's new home. The industry veteran, instrumental in developing Windows 11 and the Microsoft Surface line of 2-in-1s and laptops, has reportedly been hired by Amazon, according toBloomberg. Microsoft's former chief product officer will lead Amazon's division responsible for Alexa and Echo smart devices.Panay will replace Dave Limp, the Amazon executive previously in charge of Alexa and Echo, who announced his retirement last month. Panay's move from one Seattle-based tech giant to another will have him overseeing a division hit by layoffs last year. Ironically, Amazon and Microsoft each have fall hardware events scheduled this week.Microsoft brought on Panay in 2004 as a group program manager. He oversaw the development of Surface devices during their formative years, where he became an event mainstay with his passionate and detailed product launch keynotes. He was promoted in 2018 to chief product officer before landing his last Microsoft position as executive vice president in 2021. Panay said he decided to turn the page and write the next chapter." Yusuf Mehdi will replace him as Microsoft's head of Windows and Surface teams.We reached out to Amazon for comment and confirmation, and we'll update this article when we hear something.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/panos-panay-is-reportedly-heading-to-amazon-after-leaving-microsoft-175017471.html?src=rss
It's a big day for Apple users as the company is rolling out major operating system updates for most of its devices (Mac users need to wait a bit longer). Just ahead of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 arriving later this week, the company has released watchOS 10. If you have an Apple Watch Series 4 or above, you can install it now.The biggest change is the introduction of widgets (which are a bit like Glances from Apple's original wearable) for every watch face, which include two new ones. You'll be able to use the Digital Crown to cycle through your widgets and see access features like timers, stopwatches and podcasts when those are active.The World Clock app should make it easier to understand the time of day in different parts of the world at a glimpse thanks to the addition of dynamic background colors. for various timezones. In the Activity app, you'll be able to rotate the crown to see more data via corner shortcuts. There's the option to connect to Bluetook bike sensors to help cyclists track more data too. The Compass, Mindfulness and Medications apps are all getting updates as well.Perhaps two of the biggest updates for most people are related to FaceTime. You can view a FaceTime video message on your Watch and join Group FaceTime audio calls.The Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 will get some exclusive features powered by the new S9 SiP, including Siri requests that are processed on-device rather than through Apple's servers. They also support a new Double Tap feature Apple designed to make it easier to carry out the main action in each app. Both devices will be available on September 22.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/watchos-10-has-arrived-bringing-widgets-back-to-the-apple-watch-171753537.html?src=rss
iPadOS 17 is available now. The annual update lacks a single headline-grabbing feature, but the sum of its smaller changes enhances the experience of using Apple's tablet. Changes include Stage Manager refinements, along with Lock Screen additions and interactive widgets to match the iPhone's new features from a year ago.You can install iPadOS 17 on recent models. It supports the iPad Pro 12.9 (2nd-gen or later), iPad Pro 10.5, iPad Pro 11 (1st-gen or later), iPad Air (3rd gen or later), standard iPad (6th gen or later) and iPad mini (5th gen or later). If you don't know which device you have, you can navigate to Settings > General > About > Model Name to determine which one it is.Once you know your device is eligible, you can head to Settings > General > About > Software Update to manually initiate the download and installation. If you had auto-updates turned on, it would install eventually, but perhaps not until later in the week.iPadOS 17 catches up on a couple of iOS 16 features that didn't make it to the iPad last year, including a revamped and more customizable Lock Screen (including an easier and more robust wallpaper picker) and interactive widgets. In addition, the Health app makes its way to the bigger screen and you can more easily adjust Stage Manager to fit your needs. Finally, iOS 17's FaceTime and Messaging updates are included on the tablet software as well. You can read more about iPadOS 17's features in Engadget's full preview.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ipados-17-is-ready-to-download-171507612.html?src=rss
iOS 17 is here. Apple has made the annual update available to all users on eligible devices, meaning you can install it right now without bothering with beta programs. The 2023 iPhone software update includes significant updates to Messages, FaceTime, the keyboard and more.You can install iOS 17 on any iPhone from 2018 or later. Once you know your device is eligible, you can head to Settings > General > About > Software Update to manually initiate the download and installation.This year's iOS upgrade includes audio message transcriptions and a rethinking of the Messages app. (iMessage apps and other tools now live behind a plus button next to the text entry field.) FaceTime adds video voicemails, and you can even take calls on an Apple TV, using an iPhone or iPad as the camera. StandBy mode is a new feature that turns your handset into a smart display when it's charging and positioned horizontally. Meanwhile, NameDrop lets you quickly exchange contact info with new friends by tapping your devices together, and a new inline predictive text feature lets the keyboard predict and (optionally) finish your sentences for you.You can read more about the new features in Engadget's full iOS 17 preview. For more details on installing the update, you can read our tutorial.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ios-17-is-now-available-171458248.html?src=rss
Last week, MGM Resorts disclosed a massive systems issue that reportedly rendered slot machines, room keys and other critical devices inoperable. What elaborate methods were required to crack a nearly $34 billion casino and hotel empire? According to the hackers themselves (and seemingly confirmed by a source speaking with Bloomberg), all it took was a ten minute phone call.The alleged hackers behind the MGM issue, by all appearances, gained access through one of the most ubiquitous and low-tech vectors: a social engineering attack. Social engineering psychologically manipulates a target into doing what the attacker wants, or giving up information that they shouldn't - in this case, apparently, by pulling a fast one on an unsuspecting IT help desk worker. The consequences range from taking down global corporations to devastating the personal finances of unfortunate individual victims. But what makes social engineering attacks so effective, and why are they so hard to prevent?It seems counterintuitive to hand over sensitive information to a complete stranger, but attackers have developed ways to trick you into feeling comfortable doing just that. Those could include building trust over time, gathering information about you to seem like they know you or using a sense of urgency to get you to act quickly without thinking through what you're giving up. That's why common personality traits among cyber victims include being extroverted, agreeable and open to new experiences, according to Erik Huffman, a researcher who studies the psychology behind cybersecurity trends.Fear is an attack vector. Helpfulness is an attack vector," Huffman said. The more comfortable you are, the more hackable you become."Plus, digital environments have fewer social cues versus being face to face, so a potential victim is not as good at sensing potentially suspicious signs, Huffman said. We read messages in our own voice, projecting our own good will onto them, which normally doesn't happen in person. There's less information like social cues or body language to guide us or give us a gut feeling that something's off.A social engineering attack could be as simple as a faux-urgent phone call from a scammer to get your credit card information for low level theft. But there are increasingly complicated Rube Goldberg attacks" that layer multiple approaches to fool you, according to Sophos X-Ops principal researcher Andrew Brandt. In an example of such an attack, Brandt observed scammers first operating over the phone to get a target to click an email also sent by the scammer. Once clicked, the email would activate an attack chain that included malware and remote access software.More likely, you'll encounter it on a much simpler level. You might get a text from someone pretending to be your boss asking for gift cards or be tricked into clicking a malicious link that phishes your credentials. But one way or another you'll probably run into it eventually, as an estimated 98 percent of cyberattacks rely to some extent on social engineering tactics, according to research from Splunk.There are some other warning signs people can look out for. Having to download an unusually big file, a password protected zip file that can't be scanned for malware or a suspicious shortcut file are all signs of a potential attack, according to Brandt. But a lot of it's a gut feeling - and taking time to step back before proceeding to consider what could go wrong.It is a practice that takes repetition and rehearsal over and over again to reflexively distrust what people say to you who you don't know," Brandt said.Huffman said people can try to avoid falling victim by acknowledging the limitations of a digital environment, and asking questions like: Does it make sense for this person to reach out to me? Does this person behave in a trustworthy manner? Does this person have the authority or position of power to give these directions? Does this person truly understand the topic we're discussing?Social engineering attacks happen constantly, to huge corporations as well as everyday people. Knowing that our good-natured traits can be our greatest weakness when faced with this variety of bad actors, it can be tempting to stop being nice altogether for safety's sake. The key is balancing our social instincts with healthy skepticism. You can be helpful," said Huffman, "but be cautious."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/how-social-engineering-takes-advantage-of-your-kindness-170043531.html?src=rss
GE Health says it plans to develop an AI-assisted ultrasound imaging tool that is so easy to use, that even healthcare providers without specialized training will be able to operate it. The device's research and development will be funded by a $44 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has historically invested in the roll-out of new technologies in resource-poor settings to address gaps in healthcare access.GE says the AI-powered imaging technology has been designed to be dispersed to low-and-middle income countries where the services of healthcare providers may be stretched thin. The ultrasound tool will be more effective at providing clear readings of lung and ultrasound scans across maternal and fetal care as well as pediatric lung health. These areas of medicine are particularly notable because maternal and child mortality is mostly preventable if medical intervention occurs early. Proper medical imaging is key to achieving timely diagnosis, guides treatment decisions and can improve treatment outcomes.GE's $3 billion ultrasound business, has recently focused on the development pipeline of AI software with the acquisition of med tech companies like Caption Health, which will help design this particular ultrasound device. The company appears committed to a strategy of increasing spending on AI-related projects both now and in the near future.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ge-is-working-on-ai-powered-ultrasounds-to-combat-pediatric-and-maternal-mortality-rates-034020572.html?src=rss
Modern tech journalism would likely look far differently today, if not for the efforts of Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson and a host of other trailblazing female reporters who staffed the Science Service throughout the publication's history. These journalists were among the very first science communicators, making sense of the newfangled technological wonders of the 1920s through 1950s and bringing that understanding to their readers - often in spite of the personalities and institutions they were covering.In Writing for Their Lives: America's Pioneering Female Science Journalists, historian Marcel Chotkowski Lafollette highlights not just the important work that these women performed but examines how their diverse the excerpt below recounts the hectic days and weeks in the outlets newsroom following America's use of a terrifying new "atom" bomb.MIT PressExcerpted from Writing for Their Lives: America's Pioneering Female Science Journalists, by Marcel Chotkowski LaFollette. Published by The MIT Press. Copyright (C) 2023 MIT. All rights reserved.Team SpiritIn the weeks following the August 1945 dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Science Service staff frequently apologized for their tardy responses to any correspondence that had arrived that month. Just about the time that your letter arrived here, we were completely showered with debris from the atom bombs," Martha Morrow wrote somewhat facetiously. This note of appreciation would have gotten off sooner if we had not had atomic bombs and peace crashing down on us," Jane Stafford told another scientist. The journalists' internal memos, however, exuded a sense of accomplishment. They had risen to the challenge of covering extraordinary breaking news; they had collaborated, cooperated, and served their readers well.Because Watson Davis happened to be traveling in South America during the first week of August 1945, the five editorial writers remaining in Washington worked as a team, with each person applying a different interpretative frame to explaining the development and use of an atomic bomb. Morrow focused on the physics; Stafford looked at radiation and physiology; Marjorie Van de Water concentrated on the psychological and social implications; Helen Davis explored the chemistry of explosions; and Frank Thone focused on the biological impacts. Van de Water later recalled the electric atmosphere:
Google is continuing its shift away from smart devices by discontinuing support for both Zoom and Google Meet on its Nest Hub Max, 9to5Google reported. Some users have started receiving notifications that they can no longer join meetings from the device beginning September 28. The news follows Zoom's July announcement that Nest Hub Max support will end for the video calling service on September 30 - guess Google really wanted the services gone by October.We were fans of the Google Nest Hub Max when it first came out in 2019, giving it an 86 in our review for features like its high-quality display and sound. It initially only offered Google Duo, but the subsequent emergence of the pandemic led to the rollout of Zoom and Meet, and the device soon became known (and bought) for video calling. Now, those programs are on their way out. Plus, Google stopped all game and third-party voice app support in June, and its Nest Cam still hasn't moved over to the Google Home app.Nest Hub Max owners aren't pleased with the changes: One Reddit user said, "What will it become? A giant paperweight." Another user mentioned seeking a refund since the video calling feature convinced them to buy the device.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-google-nest-hub-max-will-no-longer-support-two-of-the-biggest-meeting-apps-154550964.html?src=rss
Panos Panay is leaving Microsoft after 19 years with the company, as confirmed via an official tweet. He's been operating as the chief product officer with Microsoft, heading up Windows 11 development and the company's Surface line. Rajesh Jha, Microsoft's vice president of experience and devices, broke the news in an email to employees, as reported by The Verge.Panay was hired on by Microsoft back in 2004 as a group program manager, overseeing a number of premium products. After heading the development of the initial Surface line of tablets and hybrid laptops, he was named the company's chief product officer in 2018. His rise continued in 2021 when he was promoted to executive vice president after a successful Windows 11 launch, eventually becoming involved in a leadership team that directly advised CEO Satya Nadella.There's been no actual reason given by either party, but Panay says he has decided to turn the page and write the next chapter." The timing here is a bit suspicious, as Microsoft's conducting a livestream event on Thursday that will almost certainly be dedicated to new Surface products. We reached out to the company for clarification as to why Panay left his position and what that means moving forward. We'll update this post when we hear more.As for what's next, Microsoft has already said that Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's current corporate vice president of modern life, search and devices, will take Panay's place as the head of the Windows and Surface divisions. The company also still seems committed to two areas of the business that Panay consistently championed: integrating AI into Windows 11 and mixed-reality. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a statement released to TechCrunch that the company remains steadfast and convicted in our strategy." We'll have to see how this unfolds Thursday during Microsoft's Surface-centric event.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsofts-panos-panay-leaves-company-after-nearly-20-years-153513258.html?src=rss
It's almost time for Amazon's annual fall hardware event, where the company typically announces a bunch of upcoming devices, including new entries for its ereader and smart speaker lines. On September 20, the company will stage Devices at its second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Amazon will not be streaming it to the public, but Engadget will be there to liveblog so you can follow along and read about its new products as soon as they're announced, starting at 11AM ET.Last year, one of the event's main reveals was the Kindle Scribe, a 10.2-inch ereader that comes with a pen that you can use to jot down notes on its 300 ppi display. It was launched with a retail price of $340 - and it still costs that much - but it's been on sale since. The company also announced a redesigned Echo Studio that features a new spatial audio processor, as well as a new Echo Dot with a larger driver, at the event. Plus, Amazon revealed a "no-contact" sleep tracker called the Halo Rise and a refresh of the Fire TV Cube.In the security department, the company announced two new cameras from Ring, along with the Spotlight Cam Pro and Spotlight Cam Plus. While those aren't quite out of the ordinary, Amazon is known to reveal more exciting devices at the event from time to time. In 2021, it introduced an Alexa-powered robot named Astro that can patrol your home, while it revealed a Ring drone that can fly around your house the year before that.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/how-to-watch-and-follow-amazons-2023-devices-event-153059840.html?src=rss
Just like X (formerly Twitter), would-be competitor T2 Social has a new name, and it's one that might ring a bell. Starting today, the service is called Pebble. And no, it's not a revival of the e-ink smartwatch company of yore.Pebble said in an email to users that T2, which is run by former X/Twitter employees, was a placeholder name. It opted for Pebble after reviewing more than 60 options. The team plumped for that one because a tiny stone can cause ripples across a whole pond. Just like sharing your stories and insights can create waves in our community."It's certainly an interesting choice. Pebble (the smartwatch) blew up on Kickstarter, only to go out of business a few short years later. Fitbit snapped up its intellectual property and Google later bought that business. That certainly doesn't seem ominous for the prospects of Pebble (the social media platform).The latest entity to go by Pebble hasn't taken off in the same way as Bluesky (which recently passed a million users), Post (440,000 registered users as of June) or Threads (more than 100 million users in less than a week). Pebble has somewhere north of 15,000 registered users. In fairness, the service limited signups and opted for an invite system, which is also changing today as anyone with an X account can now join.In addition, Pebble has rolled out a new tab called Ideas. Here, you can see a list of AI-generated suggestions for your next post or reply. Pebble CEO Gabor Cselle suggested this will help foster a kinder, safer and more enjoyable environment for everyone, though some might suggest that could lead to a more boring experience all around. As Wired, which first reported on the GAI feature, put it, "the Ideas feature's sometimes peppy or stilted prose could easily leave one's social feed feeling artificial and dull."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/would-be-x-competitor-t2-social-is-now-called-pebble-no-not-that-pebble-150021871.html?src=rss
We're entering the season of long scenic drives and holiday parties, which means lots of time using your devices away from home and needing a quick recharge wherever you are. Currently, this is doable for a much lower cost, with Amazon running a sale on Anker's power banks and fast-charging plug-ins. The deals include Anker's 511 Power Bank, available for 50 percent off, dropping from $40 to $20. It's one of our favorite portable chargers, thanks to its slim size and ability to juice up an Android smartphone to 75 percent in just over an hour. Plus, it has a built-in plug that can act as a wall adapter if you have a spare cable handy.Amazon's Anker deals also includes two new releases: The MagSafe 3-in-1 Charging Cube is 20 percent off, bringing its price down from $150 to $120. We're currently testing the 3-in-1 device, and, so far, it's a solid upgrade compared to previous Anker multi-use chargers. It has 15W max charging and works with the iPhone 13 to 15, the Apple Watch models Ultra and one through eight and the AirPods 2, 3 and Pro. Then there's the Anker 315 67W USB-C Charger, which has dropped from $34 to $24 - a 29 percent discount. It's a great high-speed option for juicing up everything from your MacBook Pro to your new iPhone 15.Items like the 12-in-1 Docking Station, touting a 42 percent discount and dropping from $120 to $69 are also part of the sale. If you don't plan on giving up your older iPhone anytime soon, there's the USB-C to Lightning Bio-Braided Cable, down from $22 to $12 - a 45 percent discount.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/anker-charging-gear-and-power-banks-are-up-to-50-percent-off-right-now-140338603.html?src=rss
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