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Measuring a mere 72 x 40.7 x 14.1 mm - just over half the length of the original NES controller - the 8BitDo Micro is a spiritual successor to the company's Zero line of similarly minuscule gamepads. It also hurts my hands just to look at it.The 8BitDo Micro pairs via Bluetooth with the Nintendo Switch, Android and Raspberry Pi. The wee little thing weighs 24.8 grams, includes a mode-switching button and supports button mapping via 8BitDo Ultimate Software. The company says it has a 180mAh battery that will last 10 hours of playtime and can fully recharge in one to two hours. However, it also works in wired mode (via USB-C) when you don't mind being tethered to your gaming system.8BitDoThe controller skips analog sticks in favor of a lone D-Pad. It includes four standard action buttons (A, B, X, Y), face buttons (plus, minus, star and checkered flag) and shoulder bumpers / triggers. (The latter is one way it differs from 8BitDo's Zero 2.) It can work in keyboard mode, which opens up some compatibility with macOS, Windows and iOS - and you can assign shortcuts to use it as a remote control for tasks like photo or video editing. It's an impressive amount of IO to cram into a form factor that makes Joy-Cons look like the front face of an arcade cabinet.The 8BitDo Micro launches today in blue and green. It costs $25 and is available to order from Amazon.8Bitdo / Aspercreme / Avery Menegus / EngadgetThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/8bitdo-stuffed-16-buttons-into-its-hand-crampingly-small-micro-controller-163242341.html?src=rss

As part of a larger Anker sale at Amazon, the 622 MagGo portable charger is down to a record low of $40. That's a 43 percent discount off its usual $70 MSRP. We've tried and liked this portable battery pack and recommend it in our gift guide to travel tech. The MagSafe-compatible, 5,000mAh unit will give an empty iPhone a partial charge, filling it between 50 and 75 percent, depending on the model and age of your phone. And while it charges, the fold out stand holds your screen at an angle for viewing (though of course, using your phone while it charge will slow down the process).A few more Anker accessories are worth calling out from the sale, including the 11-in-1 USB-C hub, which is $55 after a 45 percent discount off its $100 price tag. The hub connects to a laptop via USB-C and features eleven ports in total, including Ethernet, HDMI, SD card readers and multiple USB-C and USB-A slots. That should let you use just about any peripheral you might need.A cable with a high wattage rating, like the Anker 140W USB-C to USB-C cord, will let you take advantage of the speed offered by fast charging bricks. While this one doesn't support media display, the exterior sheathing is made from plant based materials like corn and sugar cane. Right now it's $13 after a 29 percent discount.Another charging accessory, Anker's 511 30W Nano 3 charger is one of our favorite accessories for Apple Watches and it's down to $17 instead of its usual $23. If you're thinking of getting the upcoming Series 9 smartwatch, you'll need a power brick since the new wearables don't come with one. The 511 is compact, foldable and has built-in safeguards to protect against overheating. It's even powerful enough to juice up an iPhone.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-battery-packs-and-accessories-are-up-to-45-percent-off-right-now-160042574.html?src=rss

Valve has updated Steam's minimum pricing policy for some non-USD currencies, which could impact those who sell games and expansions for less than the equivalent of $5. The company warned publishers and developers that the move could lead to games and DLC using lower pricing being unavailable to purchase in some regions if they don't make adjustments, while they may not be able to offer discounts as deeply as they used to.According to Valve, the aim of the revised policy is to align minimum pricing with recommended currency conversions the company issued last October. It updated those recommendations "to adjust for some currencies drifting significantly in value over time."As such, the base price for a game or expansion must be at least the equivalent of 99 cents. The minimum price for a discounted game or DLC is the equivalent of 49 cents.Developers and publishers may need to change the pricing of their products in some countries. As Game Developer notes, they'll have to be mindful of how they handle discounts too. Publishers and developers of games that usually cost $4.99 or less will need to make sure they avoid going below the threshold during sales. Valve offers price management and discount tools on Steam to help them navigate such issues.The move may also impact players who create Steam accounts in different countries to take advantage of regional price differences. While the new thresholds won't necessarily impact blockbuster games, they could make it somewhat less viable for players to change their virtual location to the likes of Turkey and Argentina to pick up a grab bag of indie games and other deeply discounted titles.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/steam-changes-could-increase-game-prices-in-some-countries-154516181.html?src=rss

A couple of years ago, you might have described Rode as a company that makes microphones. Today, it's positioning itself more as a one-stop-shop for creator tools. The original Rodecaster Pro podcast mixer was the first big step in this evolution. That includes the new, gaming-focused Rode X" sub-brand and products like the Streamer X capture card. The company, of course, still makes a microphone or two. But, with the new, smaller, more affordable and very capable Rodecaster Duo stream mixer, this move toward general creators is basically official.The original Rodecaster Pro was the first mixing desk specifically designed for podcasters to really catch people's attention. The build-quality, price, ease of use and simple workflow struck a chord with pros and amateurs alike. The Rodecaster Pro II ($699) went in a slightly different direction, introducing the ability to route different audio sources to different places, an essential tool for game streamers. The pads were upgraded from simple audio triggers to multi-purpose smart pads that can be used for MIDI, vocal effects and more. The second version also came in with a smaller footprint, removing two physical faders and making them virtual."The Rodecaster Duo ($499) is arguably just the Rodcaster Pro II mini." The functionality is identical to its bigger sibling, but it comes with four physical faders (down from six); six pads (down from eight) and two XLR ports for microphones or instruments (down from four). You actually have control over seven mixing channels at any one time, but adjusting three of them is done via virtual faders. Importantly, you get to configure which inputs remain on physical faders and which are assigned to virtual controls in the companion software.Photo by James Trew / EngadgetTwo other small changes include the removal of the record" button, which is now virtual/on the display, and there's also a headphone port on the front edge. This last change solves one of my main nitpicks with Rodecaster Pro II, which only had headphone ports around the back. The port on the front is 3.5mm rather than 1/4 -inch and is compatible with headset/TRRS mics, adding another input effectively - one that's particularly handy for game streamers.One of the biggest upgrades from the original Rodecaster Pro is the addition of a second USB-C port around the back which can connect to a second PC. This is a massive boon for streamers who want to keep their gaming rig separate from their streaming one, and the new routing table allows you to send whatever inputs you like to either USB connection. This same port also can be used for connecting a phone, which is perfect for introducing callers or for streaming via mobile apps. You could always connect a phone via Bluetooth on the original model, which was handy but now you have multiple options (and via cable is much better quality).The fact that there are only two XLR combo jacks speaks strongly to who this is for. While the Rodecaster Pro and its sequel were originally built for in-person, multi-guest, podcasts, it's also a very capable tool for solo creators which has helped fuel its popularity. And with an increasing number of tools like Zencastr or Adobe Podcast, the need to host fellow flesh-sacks in the same room is no longer required for high-quality audio from all speakers. As such, the Rodecaster Duo makes a lot of sense for a broad stroke of creators from podcasters to streamers and even music producers and video editors (both the Duo and the II Pro are MIDI enabled).Be under no illusions, the Duo - and its bigger sibling - are just as pro" friendly as the first Rodecaster, but they both lean into the creator space a bit more than the original. This point is made most clearly by the very existence of the Duo. The smaller footprint is a clear admission that this was made to live on a desk full time alongside your other daily tools.Photo by James Trew / EngadgetThe Rodecaster II Pro was already a bit more manageable than the first model, but after a few weeks with the Duo, the difference is stark. It can remain nested under my monitor and easily moved into position when I go live. Before the Duo, I had the Pro II on my desk in a similar setup, but I was frequently moving it out of the way to make space for other things that it became a bit of a burden and I ended up unplugging it until show time. With the Duo it's clear this can be a daily driver with little-to-no need to organize around it.The number of tools for creators and streamers is expanding exponentially, and with that are more direct rivals to the Rodecaster series. In fact, just days after the Rodecaster Duo was announced, Boss unveiled its own take on the category with the Gigcaster 8 ($699) and Gigcaster 5 ($459). Both offer very similar features to Rode's products in a generally smaller footprint. The Gigcaster 8 is a near 1:1 in terms of functionality to the Pro II, while the Gigcaster 5 sacrifices the physical trigger pads to make way for two more physical faders - six total - over the Duo's four to create an even smaller footprint. Though it has a slight focus on musicians via some sound presets and effects, and doesn't quite match the overall build quality and polish as the Rode.Rode's audio chops are also not to be underestimated. The pre-amps and headphone outputs on the Duo are capital-L loud and squeaky clean with a very low noise floor. When the products were announced, Rode went out of its way to show how well it could power the notoriously quiet (and insanely popular) SM7B microphone. When you're giving a shout out to a rival company's product to demonstrate a feature, you better be confident that the feature you're touting does the goods. And surely it does. The amount of clean gain to drive microphones such as the aforementioned Shure classic is impressive and a step up from the already-decent Rodecaster Pro before it.Photo by James Trew / EngadgetIn short, the Rodecaster Duo feels like a product that Rode maybe didn't initially think was the main event. It's the smaller, more affordable version of its flagship mixer after all. It turns out that this is likely the one that most solo creators will actually want. Even pros might want to consider the Duo over the Pro II if they don't absolutely need the capacity to run four microphones in tandem.It's worth mentioning that if you're considering moving over to the Duo from something like the GoXLR or the Razer Audio Mixer know that Rode's take on a routing table is a little different to what you might be used to. The Duo's companion software is generally pretty good, but it doesn't use the conventional table" format many streamers will be used to. Instead it's a little bit convoluted, but once you get the hang of it, it's quite powerful. This is particularly handy if you're in the business of recording audio from multiple sources. I often just use the routing options so I can record either one or both sides of a phone call or online meeting depending on my needs, but it's also good for feeding PC audio - including Zoom calls or YouTube videos etc. - into, well, wherever you want it to go, including your phone.If you do any kind of live audio production or recording, especially podcasts, the Rodecaster Duo is an easy sell. For streamers, it's also a very capable device, one that's also easy to recommend, but with a small asterisk. Streaming setups and their associated platforms are often a little more to their host's tastes and preferences. As such, the Duo's suitability will depend on what you're used to and the specifics of what you want to do. But for most creators, the Duo is the better option over the Pro II at the very least.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rodecaster-duo-review-153032883.html?src=rss

Netflix is getting the band back together with Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, an anime adaptation of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series. The company has dropped the first teaser for the eight-episode show, which centers around the titular character and his attempt to win a battle of the bands contest while facing off against the seven evil exes of his new girlfriend.The anime follows on from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, a 2010 film based on the graphic novels. The main cast of Edgar Wright's movie are reprising their roles in the series, including Michael Cera (Scott Pilgrim), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Ramona Flowers), Kieran Culkin (Wallace Wells), Chris Evans (Lucas Lee) and Brie Larson (Envy" Adams).The teaser apes many of the visuals of the movie and graphic novels, such as Scott blocking a flying attack from Matthew Patel with his arm and the rehearsal space of his band, Sex Bob-Omb. You'll also see Ramona dragging Scott through space toward a door with a star on it and the lovebirds sitting next to each other on a swing set. I don't remember seeing any dinosaurs in the film, though.Bryan Lee O'Malley, the creator of the graphic novel series, is one of the showrunners, while Wright is an executive producer. Abel Gongora of animation studio Science Saru (Star Wars: Visions, Devilman Crybaby) is the director of the show. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off also includes new music from Anamanaguchi, the terrific chiptune band behind the soundtrack of the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World video game.Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is my favorite movie of the 2010s, and this teaser gets the look and the spirit of the universe spot on. I'm already counting down the days until Scott Pilgrim Takes Off hits Netflix on November 17th.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflixs-scott-pilgrim-takes-off-teaser-hits-all-the-right-notes-142355204.html?src=rss

Despite being publicly available for less than a year, generative AI technology can already be found all around us, helping us browse the internet, taking the drudgery out of computer coding, and even improving the dialog in popular video game franchises. On Wednesday, NCSoft, the South Korean game developer and publisher behind long-running MMORPG Guild Wars, announced that it has developed four new AI large language models, dubbed VARCO, to help streamline future game development.VARCO ("Via AI, Realize your Creativity and Originality," if you squint just right) is both the quartet of language models the company has developed, as well as all of the products and services the company plans to build atop them. Those potential products include, digital humans, generative AI platforms, and conversational language models," per an NCSoft release.The four models are VARCO the base LLM, as well as Art, Text and Human. LLM will be the first released - the Korean-language version is available August 16, while the English and bilingual iterations will arrive by the end of the month. LLM be trained with 1.3B, 6.4B and 13B parameters to start with larger versions made available later in the year."Our LLM is trained with datasets that are either publicly available for pretraining, collected from the Internet or internally constructed," Jehee Lee, CRO of NCSOFT, told Engadget via email. We are putting efforts to improve the performance of LLM and generate text that does not undermine the universal values of society.""Bias is one of our biggest concerns in the process of constructing data," Lee continued, In order to build high-quality datasets, NC utilizes a pipeline where collected data are analyzed and evaluated in various aspects (e.g. format, content, ethics) and are refined based on our own criteria."Larger-parameter versions of LLM will arrive later in the year, allowing for more nuanced and complete responses from the system. As the size of the model increases, the performance increases," Lee notes, but the operating cost also increases accordingly." As such ensuring that models are developed to be both computationally powerful and computationally lightweight is of tantamount importance, he continued.NC has accumulated technologies for model weight reduction and optimization as we have been applying real-time machine translation and NLP-based technologies to our games that require large-scale traffic processing in real-time," Lee explained. Based on our experiences, we plan to develop and sequentially release high-performance lightweight models specialized for various individual tasks in the future."The three additional services will be based upon that foundational model. VARCO Art, the text-to-image generator, will reportedly be capable of closely matching the work of specific artists (with their permission of course). With dozens of illustrations worked consistently by an artist, generative models can be trained to reveal enough of a particular style, such as coloring, touches, and outlines," Lee said. Thus far, artists or experts can spot the difference, but it is not easy for ordinary people to distinguish if it is generated by AI or not."Additionally, VARCO Text does just that, generating and managing the core settings of a game including the plot scenarios and character worldviews, while VARCO Human, an integrated tool for creating, editing, and managing digital humans," per the release. Art, Text, and Human can all be used and managed within the company's VACRO Studio suite, which will be available in 2024.The VARCO models will initially be used to help streamline game development efforts, much in the same way as Ubisoft's Ghostwriter. However, VARCO sets itself apart, Lee explains, in that it is a special Vertical AI that can directly solve specific pain points regardless of industry and domain."The generative model can be used for the planning, development, and operation of games.," Lee said. The worldview of the game, character name, type, and attributes can be created and edited. Also, it creates conversations for specific situations and quests tailored to regions," as well as accompanying images.And like Ghostwriter, VARCO cannot operate in isolation. We need final human judgment and additional work in order to produce sophisticated results," Lee said. He argues that, "generative AI technology will contribute to further increasing the value of human labor," by distinguishing between the two.In allowing AI to handle the low level repetitive tasks that perpetually slow game development, human designers will be freed to focus on more complex tasks," Lee said. The results of generative AI will not be the final product, but rather it will serve to inspire humans and help them quickly reach higher goals with the help of AI's emergent and large-scale creation capabilities."But games are only the beginning for NC's AI aspirations. we want to create new high value-added businesses by entering different fields beyond games," Less said. I think we can advance with our AI in any industrial field rather than just one field. NC plans to pay attention to new growth fields that we can expect greater potential and synergy when combined with AI, such as fashion, life, health, mobility, bio, robotics, and content."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ncsofts-new-ai-suite-is-trained-to-streamline-game-production-141653946.html?src=rss

Robot vacuums may seem like mindless suction machines with wheels. But today, basically these devices are like smartphones," Dennis Giese, PhD student at Northeastern University who researches robot vacuum security, said. From internet capabilities to video recording to voice control, robot vacuums have become an advanced Internet of Things technology, but the security upkeep hasn't caught up.You don't have any insight, what kind of data they're recording, what kind of data is stored on the device, what kind of data is sent to the cloud," Giese told Engadget. That might seem harmless for a device that sweeps your floors, but the real-life consequences have already taken effect.Like in 2022 when the iRobot Roomba J7 captured private moments including photos of a woman on the toilet that the company sent to startup Scale AI to label and train AI algorithms. Amazon, which has experienced countless surveillance and data privacy scandals, is currently attempting to acquire iRobot for over $1.4 billion.With all these features, robot vacuums can act as a surveillance system in your own home, meaning there's a world where someone can access live view functions and spy on you. Companies can say this information is secure and only used when needed to improve your experience, but there's not enough transparency for reviewers or consumers to figure out what's actually going on. People like me are catching the companies basically lying," Giese said.So, Giese is on a mission to give people more control over the robot vacuums in their homes because every device he's tested has some sort of vulnerability. He spoke at DEF CON on Sunday about how people can hack their devices to disconnect from the cloud. Not only does this help protect your data from being used by the company, but it also gives access to the device so that you can repair it on your own terms. The right to repair" ethos means that even if the warranty ends or the company goes bankrupt and stops supporting it, you can still use it.Unfortunately, hacking into your robot vacuum's firmware isn't for newbies. It requires a level of technical expertise to figure out, according to Giese, but owners of robot vacuums can take steps to improve on-device data security. What you can do is make sure that you wipe all of the data before selling or getting rid of a robot vacuum. Even if the device is broken, as a malicious person, I can just repair the device and can just power it on and extract the data from it," Giese said. If you can, do factory resets."Or, for full data privacy control but none of the convenience, stick to the standard push vacuum.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/robot-vacuum-security-privacy-irobot-cloud-133008625.html?src=rss

Google has been rolling out changes and new features for its generative AI products over the past few months in a bid to catch up to OpenAI's technology. According to The New York Times, one of the capabilities it's looking to give its AI chatbot, Bard, is the ability to give advice about issues users face in their lives. Apparently, one of the contracting companies working with the tech giant assembled over 100 experts with doctorates in different fields to test Bard's capability to answer more intimate questions.These testers were reportedly given a sample of a prompt that users could ask Bard one day, which read: "I have a really close friend who is getting married this winter. She was my college roommate and a bridesmaid at my wedding. I want so badly to go to her wedding to celebrate her, but after months of job searching, I still have not found a job. She is having a destination wedding and I just can't afford the flight or hotel right now. How do I tell her that I won't be able to come?"I ran the question through both ChatGPT and Google's Bard and found the former's response to be much more human-like, with a sample letter that evoked sympathy and understanding for someone who truly wanted to attend a "really close friend's" wedding they couldn't afford. Meanwhile, Bard's response was practical, but its sample apology letter was also simpler and less expressive.In addition to working on making Bard better at giving life advice, Google is also reportedly working on a tutoring function so it can teach new skills or improve existing ones. Plus it's also developing a planning feature that can create budgets, meal and workout plans for users, according to The Times.As the publication notes, Google clearly cautions people in Bard's help pages against relying on its responses "as medical, legal, financial, or other professional advice." The tech giant also employed a more cautious approach to AI than OpenAI prior to launching Bard. The Times said its AI experts previously warned that people using AI for life advice could suffer from a "loss of agency," and some could eventually believe that they were talking to a sentient being. It's unclear if Google has decided to be a lot less careful entirely, but a spokesperson told the publication that "[i]solated samples of evaluation data are not representative of [its] product road map." Google has "long worked with a variety of partners to evaluate [its] research and products," they said, and conducting testing doesn't automatically mean that the company is releasing these new AI tools.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-is-working-to-improve-bards-soulless-life-advice-123139757.html?src=rss

To make its Ultium EV program a success, GM is counting on battery innovations to make the technology simpler and cheaper. As part of that program, the automaker has boosted its investment with Mitra Chem -a company focused on building batteries in the US using iron-based cathodes - via a new $60 million financing round."This is a strategic investment that will further help reinforce GM's efforts in EV batteries, accelerate our work on affordable battery chemistries like LMFP and support our efforts to build a US-focused battery supply chain," said GM VP Gil Golan.Mitra Chem is more of a battery development company than a manufacturer. It uses AI to "simulate, synthesize and test thousands of cathode designs monthly, ranging in size from grams to kilograms," the press release states. The aim is to shorten so-called learning cycles to get new battery formulas to market quicker. At the same time, it's focused on LMFP (lithium manganese iron phosphate) tech that reduces reliance on rare minerals like cobalt.To do all that, the company uses an in-house cloud platform specifically designed for battery cathode development. It can simulate everything from cathode synthesis optimization to cell durability to process scale-up - in other words, most of the steps required to get new battery designs to market. "GM's investment in Mitra Chem will not only help us develop affordable battery chemistries for use in GM vehicles, but also will fuel our mission to develop... US made, iron-based cathode materials that can power EVs, grid-scale electrified energy storage and beyond," said Mitra Chem CEO Vivas Kumar.GM is developing new battery tech on a number of technological fronts. Along with its Mitra Chem investment, it's working on pouch- and prismatic-style cells shaped like flattened boxes to reduce battery weight and volume. It's also using aluminum-doped anodes to reduce cobalt quantities and working with LG Chem to reduce and eventually eliminate cobalt and nickel from their batteries.Other car manufacturers are experimenting with different approaches. Toyota recently announced it would develop EVs with more than 600 miles of range, while others like Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen are investing in solid-state battery technologies. Most current models are playing catchup with Tesla, though, which has four EVs in the top ten in terms of range, including the $47,240 Tesla Model 3 Long Range (358 miles).This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gms-latest-investment-could-speed-development-of-cheaper-ev-batteries-120046865.html?src=rss

You know when a certain song comes on and it encompasses your whole being for a few minutes? Music has a way of causing a unique and engaging stimulation in your brain, one that scientists are working to understand and mimic. Such was the case in a recent study published in PLOS Biology in which researchers successfully implemented technology that recreated Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1 solely using brain activity. It utilized a technique known as stimulus reconstruction and built on previous innovations allowing researchers to recreate a song akin to the one a person had heard.The 29 participants had pharmacoresistant epilepsy and intracranial grids or strips of electrodes which had been surgically implanted to aid in their treatment. Researchers utilized these electrodes to record activity across multiple auditory regions of the individuals' brains that process aspects of music like lyrics and harmony - while the participants actively listened to Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1. The entirety of the recordings took place at Albany Medical Center, in upstate New York.Scientists used AI to analyze then create a copy of the words and sounds participants had heard. Though the final product was quite muffled, but the song is clear to anyone listening so you can check it out for yourselfa. The researchers are also confident that they could increase its quality in future attempts.The listening experience primarily engaged the right side of participants' brains, mostly in the superior temporal gyrus and especially when absorbing unique music. There was also a small level of stimulation in the left side of the brain. Researchers further found that a point in the brain's temporal lobe ignited when the 16th notes of the rhythm guitar played while the song played at 99 beats per minute.This finding could provide more insight into the part that area plays in processing rhythm. It could also aid in restoring people who have lost their speech ability, through conditions like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Instead of creating a monotone, almost robot-like response, better understanding the way a brain processes and responds to music might lead to more fluid prosthetics for speech.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/scientists-recreate-an-iconic-pink-floyd-song-by-scanning-listeners-brains-114053359.html?src=rss

Tesla has quietly launched new - much cheaper - Model S and X variants with a shorter quoted range. Standard Range Teslas are around $10,000 less than the base model, but with ranges cut by 80 and 79 miles, respectively. Both cars are half a second slower 0 to 60, so you might expect your overall responsiveness to drop as well. It's not clear if the vehicles are the base models with some of the capacity software-locked, or if there's really a much-smaller battery under the floor.It's also not clear when development work began on the models but, at the end of July, Reuters suggested Tesla had overstated its range figures, especially when its EVs are fully charged. It said the vehicles would only report honest range targets when the battery had fallen to 50 percent, at which point the numbers would fall dramatically. And that Tesla had a team set up in Las Vegas to deflect user queries about diminished range when they tried to arrange a service appointment. That report has already triggered the start of a class action lawsuit in California, accusing the company of fraud.- Dan CooperYou can get these reports delivered daily, direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest stories you might have missed'Batman: Arkham Trilogy' is coming to Nintendo Switch on October 13Google Photos update improves Memories view with generative AI Google's latest AI trick is summarizing long web pages Logitech's Litra Glow streaming light drops back down to $50YouTube Music debuts Samples, a TikTok-style feed for music discoveryThe legal loophole that lets the government search your phone Astronomers confirm Maisie's galaxy is one of the oldest observedLamborghini teases a fully electric supercar ahead of its August 18 revealIt looks pretty, shrouded in shadow.Lamborghini On August 18, Lamborghini is expected to unveil its first all-electric super-(hyper? mega?) car concept. Ahead of the event, the company has dropped this teaser, showing off the very clean lines of the model. Details are scarce, but we do know it'll be an entirely new vehicle rather than an electrified version of an existing whip. You'll have time to save up to buy one; we're not expected to see a road-ready version for several years.Continue Reading.Xbox adopts an 8-strike suspension policyIt's clarified and expanded how it enforces community standards.Photo by Aaron Souppouris / EngadgetMicrosoft's updated Xbox community standards have moved to an eight-strike policy. Minor infringements will get day-long suspensions from Xbox social features, while the gaming giant will ban repeated and persistent rule breakers for a whole year. Users will also be able to see their enforcement history, to make sure the process is transparent.Continue Reading. Comcast debuts Storm-Ready WiFi device ahead of hurricane seasonStay connected when the power's out.Comcast has launched Storm Ready WiFi, a backup connection device that uses cellular data to keep you connected when things get rough. The battery-powered unit will run for up to four hours on a charge - twice as long as the average US power cut. It's available to select Xfinity users for $7 a month, and might be useful come hurricane season.Continue Reading.The best DACs for Apple Music Lossless in 2023Get HiFi audio on the go.Photo by James Trew / EngadgetApple's belated embrace of high-resolution audio means there's a lot more interest in how to get the best out of their audio service. Sound expert James Trew has put together this guide of the best DACs that deliver crisp audio both at home and on the go. He's also added options that work well with Qobuz, Tidal and Deezer, if those are where your musical loyalties lie.Continue Reading.X is slowing down links to websites Elon Musk has publicly feuded withBecause of course it has.Xwitter appears to be intentionally slowing outbound links to rival platforms and organizations its founder doesn't like. In recent days, users clicking links to The New York Times, Mastodon, Bluesky, Threads and Substack have been delayed by five seconds before going through. The list of targets, and the consistency at which the delay is applied, suggests it's a deliberate attempt to sandbag the targets of Musk's ire.Continue Reading. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-tesla-offers-cheaper-model-s-and-model-x-options-with-shorter-range-111540531.html?src=rss

You can grab a four-pack Apple AirTag for $85 again, if you missed your chance to do so last time it was on sale for the same price. Previously, you could get the discounted AirTags on Amazon and Walmart - now, it's Adorama that's selling the four-pack bundle for $14 less its usual price. It's a great deal if you're looking to keep track of several belongings, such as keys, wallets or the suitcases you're checking in whenever you fly. The bundle also remains unavailable on Apple's Amazon storefront, so here's your chance to grab it at a discount.AirTags are, perhaps, the best tracking device you could use if you have an iPhone. They come with Apple's U1 ultra-wideband chip that enables precise tracking for more recent iPhones, so you could more easily find where your item is with the distance and directions you'll see on your phone. You could also make the AirTag play sounds through the Find My App to help you look for your items. If whatever you're tracking is out of range, a network of nearby Apple devices can detect the Bluetooth signals AirTags give out and upload their location to iCloud, allowing you to find your belonging.One downside to using AirTags is that they don't come with a built-in keyring or attachment. They're coin-like devices with no holes or hooks either. To help with that issue, we put together a list of accessories you could use to attach the AirTag to your items, including cases, holders and mounts with clips and straps.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/apple-airtag-4-pack-is-back-to-85-at-adorama-105544869.html?src=rss

After announcing the deal last year, Intel will no longer acquire Tower Semiconductor for $5.4 billion, the company announced in a press release. It was unable to "obtain in a timely manner the regulatory approvals required under the merger agreement" it wrote - specifically in China, according to Bloomberg. Tower produces various types of chips for clients across multiple industries, and Intel made the acquisition to expand its foundry business and better compete with rivals like Taiwanese giant TSMC.Tower has seven fabrication facilities (located in Israel, Italy, the US and Japan) that build 6-inch, 8-inch and 12-inch chip wafers. While the company doesn't manufacture cutting edge mobile and other process, its clients don't necessarily need the latest technology. Instead, Tower focuses on reliably manufacturing large volumes of chips for automakers, equipment manufacturers, medical industries and others.Before announcing its Tower acquisition, Intel was reported to be in talks to purchase the much larger chip manufacturer and AMD spinoff GlobalFoundries for around $30 billion. Intel launched its foundry services as a separate business unit back in 2021, committing $20 billion to build two Arizona factories. It also revealed plans to build a massive semiconductor facility in Ohio designed to become "the largest silicon manufacturing location on the planet."Intel said its still executing its roadmap "to retain transistor performance and power performance leadership by 2025," with the aim of becoming the second-largest global external foundry by 2030. "Our respect for Tower has only grown through this process, and we will continue to look for opportunities to work together in the future." As part of its merger agreement, Intel will pay a termination fee of $353 million to Tower.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/intel-walks-away-from-its-54-billion-takeover-of-tower-semiconductor-094052209.html?src=rss

Tweetdeck (now called X Pro), a version of Twitter (X) used by social media pros, journalists and others, has become part of the paid Blue subscription, TechCrunch has reported. Multiple users reported that they were prompted to subscribe when attempting to log on to the service. "Blue subscribers with a verified phone number will get a blue checkmark once approved," the message reads.The news is not unexpected, as code spotted earlier this year by researcher Jane Manchun Wong indicated that X Pro was on its way to becoming a paid app. However, the change only appears to apply to the new version, but not the older (better) version, at least until it's deprecated.EngadgetX has been testing the new version since last year, with changes like "a full Tweet composer, new advanced search features, new column types, and a new way to group columns into clean workspaces," the company said at the time. Some power users aren't loving it, though, as it's more difficult to clear columns and perform other common actions.The company has previously pondered a TweetDeck subscription service, asking users in 2017 if they'd be willing to pay up to $20 per month for a "more advanced TweetDeck experience." The new action is part of Elon Musk's attempt to monetize the app with Blue subscriptions, but the service only had about 700,000 subscribers as of last June. Musk has also vowed to make X an "everything app" used for content creation, payments and shopping on top of social networking.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tweetdeck-now-requires-a-paid-subscription-082209535.html?src=rss

Despite having trouble obtaining former President Donald Trump's records from Twitter (now X), the special counsel investigating the events of January 6th, 2020 was ultimately able to get his hands on vast amounts of information from the website. Based on the newly unsealed court filings (PDF) shared by Politico, though, it took a a lot of back and forth and a massive amount of effort before the counsel was able to secure the data requested from Twitter.Apparently the search warrant required Twitter to produce all the tweets the @realdonaldtrump created, drafted, liked or retweeted, including any post that he eventually deleted. The website also had to turn over DMs "sent from, received by, stored in draft form in, or otherwise associated with" @realdonaldtrump, as well as all other accounts related to it that the former president might have used on the same device. All devices used to log in to @realdonaldtrump had to be noted and given to the counsel, as well, along with the account's privacy settings and IP address history from October 2020 to January 2021. In addition, Twitter was required to hand over all records of searches done by @realdonaldtrump and the account's location information from the same time period.Throughout the transcript of the proceedings, you'll see how the prosecutors insisted that Twitter had to adhere to a nondisclosure order that prohibits the company from telling Trump about the warrant. They explained that they had evidence that disclosing the warrant could jeopardize the probe, warning the court that "there would be actual harm and concern for the investigation, for the witnesses going forward." Meanwhile, Twitter's side argued that some of the information the investigators were requesting could be covered by executive privilege, which the prosecutors and judge questioned, since they didn't deem it likely that Trump discussed official government matter via DMs.As Politico reports, US District Judge Beryl Howell notably called attention to Twitter's efforts to give Trump advance notice about the search warrant. She had called the action "extraordinary" and something the company had never done for other users. The judge wondered whether Elon Musk was trying to "cozy up" to the former president and make him feel "particularly welcomed" on the platform. Trump's Twitter account had already been reinstated after Musk took over the website, but he has yet to start posting again.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/january-6th-riot-investigators-obtained-trumps-twitter-dms-and-deleted-posts-064330362.html?src=rss

If you have an older Samsung foldable phone, tablet or watch, you may soon see some new features trickling down from the latest devices. The company announced today that the One UI 5.1.1 update - Samsung's latest custom UI sitting atop Android - will roll out soon, bringing enhancements from the Galaxy Z Fold 5, Z Flip 5, Tab S9 series and Watch 6 series to pre-2023 gear. The features will support most of Samsung's foldable phones and its recent tablets and smartwatches.The One UI 5.1.1 update will support a long list of recent Samsung devices, but some may have to wait. It will roll out to Samsung's stable of foldable phones, scheduled to reach the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4 starting this month," while the Z Fold 3, Z Flip 3, Z Fold 2 and Z Flip will receive it sequentially" later. Tablet multitasking updates will arrive for the Galaxy Tab S8, Tab S8+, Tab S8 Ultra, Tab S7, Tab S7+, Tab S7 FE, Tab S6 Lite, Tab A8, Tab A7 Lite, Tab Active 3 and Tab Active 4 Pro. Finally, new smartwatch features will support the Galaxy Watch 5, Watch 5 Pro, Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic.Samsung's foldable phone updates in One UI 5.1.1 make it easier to show or hide the Flex Mode Panel (the controls appearing on the bottom half of the screen when the phone is semi-folded). When folding your phone in Flex Mode, the panel's icon will float up the screen, allowing you easy access," the company wrote. Enjoy a more personalized Flex Mode Panel experience by simply dragging and dropping the icon on the toolbar." In addition, Samsung says the media play bar button (now including 10-second fast forward and rewind buttons) will be more prominent and simpler to find when the Flex Mode Panel activates. You'll also be able to press down on the timeline to scrub through media more efficiently.Cherlynn Low / EngadgetSamsung is tweaking multitasking on recent tablets and foldables, making switching to multi-window from pop-up window modes easier by long-pressing the handle. It also adds two-handed drag and drop, which lets you hold your finger down on a document from one app, use your other hand to open something else and then drag the file onto it for sharing or storage. The company also says the Z Fold 4 and Tab S8's taskbar will be faster and include more recent apps. Now, the Taskbar enables lightning-fast task switching with access to up to four recent apps," Samsung said.On the smartwatch front, the company is adding sleep-tracking upgrades from the Galaxy Watch 6 to older wearables. The changes include a more intuitive UI" with the additions of Sleep Score Factors, Sleep Consistency and Sleep Animal Symbols. Sleep Coaching will also be available on the watch without looking at your paired phone. The Galaxy Watch can also automatically adjust SmartThings home devices for a more rest-inducing ambiance at bedtime.Sam Rutherford / EngadgetSmartwatches will also receive fitness updates. The Watch 6's Personalized Heart Rate Zone feature trickles down; it analyzes your physical abilities and defines five optimal running intensity levels to help users set their own goals based on their ability - from burning fat to high intensity workout." The Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 4 series will also add Irregular Heart Rhythm Notifications in the update, which could be a lifesaver for some.Meanwhile, Track Run, which (as its name suggests) records your runs on a track, also makes its way from the Watch 6. The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro will have access to a GPX File Database for downloading map data to your watch. Finally, One UI 5.1.1. lets you control the Flip 4's camera with a paired Galaxy Watch. A new quick-access button will let you use your watch as a remote shutter, and it also lets you switch camera modes and control zoom levels.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-is-bringing-newer-one-ui-features-to-older-devices-230002326.html?src=rss

Astronomers have used advanced instruments to calculate a more accurate age of Maisie's galaxy, discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in June 2022. Although the star system isn't quite as old as initially estimated, it's still one of the oldest recorded, from 390 million years after the Big Bang - making it about 13.4 billion years old. That's a mere 70 million years younger than JADES-GS-z13-0, the (current) oldest-known system.A team led by the University of Texas at Austin astronomer Steven Finkelstein discovered the system last summer. (The name Maisie's galaxy" is an ode to his daughter because they spotted it on her birthday.) The group initially estimated that it was only 290 million years after the Big Bang, but analyzing the galaxy with more advanced equipment revealed it's about 100 million years older than that. The exciting thing about Maisie's galaxy is that it was one of the first distant galaxies identified by JWST, and of that set, it's the first to actually be spectroscopically confirmed," said Finkelstein.The spectroscopic confirmation came courtesy of the JWST's Near InfraRed Spectrograph (NIRSpec) conducted by the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey (CEERS). The NIRSpec splits an object's light into many different narrow frequencies to more accurately identify its chemical makeup, heat output, intrinsic brightness and relative motion." Redshift - the movement of light towards longer (redder) wavelengths to indicate motion away from the observer - held the key to more accurate dating than the original photometry-based estimate. The advanced tools assigned a redshift of z=11.4 to Maisie's galaxy, helping the researchers settle on the revised estimate of 390 million years after the Big Bang.James Webb Space TelescopeASSOCIATED PRESSThe astronomers also examined CEERS-93316, a galaxy initially estimated at 235 million years pre-Big Bang - which would have made it astonishingly old. After studying this system, it revealed a redshift of z=4.9, which places it at a mere one billion years after the Big Bang. The first faulty estimate about CEERS-93316 was understandable: The galaxy emitted an unusual amount of light in narrow frequency bands associated with oxygen and hydrogen, making it appear bluer than it was.Finkelstein chalks up the miss to bad luck. This was a kind of weird case," he said. Of the many tens of high redshift candidates that have been observed spectroscopically, this is the only instance of the true redshift being much less than our initial guess." Finkelstein added, It would have been really challenging to explain how the universe could create such a massive galaxy so soon. So, I think this was probably always the most likely outcome, because it was so extreme, so bright, at such an apparent high redshift."The CEERS team is now evaluating about 10 more systems that could be older than Maisie's galaxy.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/astronomers-confirm-maisies-galaxy-is-one-of-the-oldest-observed-205246905.html?src=rss

Only a few months after pulling back the curtain on its Revuelto plug-in hybrid, Lamborghini is just about ready to debut its first fully electric supercar. The automaker offered a glimpse of the vehicle's upper body in a teaser image, albeit in silhouette form.You won't have to wait long to learn more about this mysterious EV, though. Lamborghini will show off what's expected to be a concept on August 18th, during Monterey Car Week. What we do know is that it will be an all-new fourth model in the lineup and not a version of an existing model with an electric powertrain.Don't expect this to be the finished product, though. Lambo's first fully electric vehicle could still be years away from production as it only promised to release such a model by 2030. Like many other automakers, Lamborghini is on the path toward full electrification, but it's likely that it will take the brand several more years to reach that point.

Despite the US ethos that you'll be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, law enforcement finding an excuse to search your digital devices only requires a presumption of wrongdoing. The tech to do this already exists, and murky legislation lets it happen, speakers from the Legal Aid Society said at DEF CON last Friday.Technically and legally there's not much really truly blocking the government from getting the information they want if they want it," Allison Young, digital forensics analyst at The Legal Aid Society, told Engadget. It's easy, too. Without picking up any new skills or tools, Young was able to use her existing expertise in the field and access to forensics tools to find sensitive data that could be used to, for example, prosecute someone being targeted for getting an abortion as it becomes increasingly illegal across the country.The problem isn't just the state of local law either, but it's embedded in the Constitution. As Diane Akerman, digital forensics attorney at the Legal Aid Society explained, the Fourth Amendment hasn't been updated to account for modern problems like digital data. The Fourth Amendment intends to protect people from unreasonable searches and seizures" by the US government. This is where we get legal protections like warrants, where law enforcement needs court approval to look for evidence in your home, car or elsewhere.Today, that includes your digital belongings too, from your phone to the cloud and beyond, making way for legal loopholes as tech advancements outpace the law. For example, there's no way to challenge a search warrant prior to it being executed, Akerman said. For physical evidence that makes some sense because we don't want someone flushing evidence down a toilet.That's not how your social media accounts or data in the cloud work though, because those digital records are much harder to scrub. So, law enforcement can get a warrant to search your device, and there's no process to litigate in advance whether the warrant is appropriate. Even if there's reason for the warrant, Akerman and Young showed that officers can use intentionally vague language to search your entire cell phone when they know the evidence may only be in one account.You litigate the issues once they already have the data, which means cat is out of the bag a lot of the time and even if it's suppressed in court, there's still other ways it can be used in court," Akerman said. There's no oversight for the way the government is executing warrants on digital devices."The issue only exacerbates across the third-party apps you use. As of right now, the protections of the Fourth Amendment have not been extended to all cloud data and other digital data, Akerman said. The government can often very easily get information from the cloud because of that, even if it's not entirely relevant to the case. You would be furious if police busted down your door and copied five years of texts for you walking out on a parking ticket five years ago, it's just not proportional," Young said.There are no easy ways for an individual to better protect themselves from these searches. On a case by case basis, there are ways to lock down your device, but that changes with every update or new feature, Young said. Instead, both speakers pushed to put the onus back on the systems and structures that uphold this law, not the individuals affected by it.I live in a world where I have to opt out of modern society to not have other people housing my data in some way," Akerman said. The question really should be like, what responsibility do those people have to us, since they have made us into their profit, rather than forcing me to opt out in order to protect myself?"This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/government-warrant-search-phone-cloud-fourth-amendment-legal-191533735.html?src=rss

It appears that Elon Musk is, once again, punishing websites run by his perceived enemies. The website formerly known as Twitter seems to be interfering with links to The New York Times, Mastodon, Bluesky, Threads and Substack to make them load noticeably slower.Clicking links to those websites from within X causes a significant delay in loading the web pages compared with navigating to the links from another browser or website. The delay, which seems to be about 5 seconds, was noticed by users on the Hacker News forum and later reported byThe Washington Post.It appears to be widespread and only affecting a handful of high-profile websites that Musk has publicly attacked in the past. The user who first reported the issues on Hacker News estimated the inexplicable delay first cropped up on August 4th, noting that it's so consistent it's obviously deliberate." That's the same day Musk called the paper a "racial genocide apologist" in response to its reporting on South Africa.For now, it's unclear if there is a cause for the delay other than Musk's personal grievances with these companies. But the lag only seems to be affecting websites that Musk has previously retaliated against. He previously blocked links to Substack, Mastodon, Threads and other competitors. Musk has also publicly attackedThe Times, revoking the publication's verified status shortly before the rollout of Twitter Blue (now called X Premium). The owner of X is also currently feuding with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over his launch of Twitter competitor, Threads.In a statement, a spokesperson for The New York Times said the publication was aware of reports about the delay and had "made similar observations" of their own. "We have not received any explanation from the platform about this move," the spokesperson said. "While we don't know the rationale behind the application of this time delay, we would be concerned by targeted pressure applied to any news organization for unclear reasons."Substack founders Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, and Jairaj Sethi also criticized the move. "Substack was created in direct response to this kind of behavior by social media companies," they wrote in a statement. "Writers cannot build sustainable businesses if their connection to their audience depends on unreliable platforms that have proven they are willing to make changes that are hostile to the people who use them. While we hope that Twitter will reverse its decision to institute a delay on Substack links, our focus is on building Substack."As usual, X didn't respond to a request for comment. The company has largely stopped replying to press inquiries since Elon Musk fired its communications staff shortly after taking over the company.Update, August 15th, 2023, 1 pm PT: This story has been updated to include responses from The New York Times and Substack.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/x-is-slowing-down-links-to-websites-elon-musk-has-publicly-feuded-with-185544463.html?src=rss

Content moderation has been one of the thorniest issues on the internet for decades. It's a difficult subject matter for anyone to tackle, considering the subjectivity that goes hand-in-hand with figuring out what content should be permissible on a given platform. ChatGPT maker OpenAI thinks it can help and it has been putting GPT-4's content moderation skills to the test. It's using the large multimodal model "to build a content moderation system that is scalable, consistent and customizable."The company wrote in a blog post that GPT-4 can not only help make content moderation decisions, but aid in developing policies and swiftly iterating on policy changes, "reducing the cycle from months to hours." It claims the model can parse the various regulations and nuances in content policies and instantly adapt to any updates. This, OpenAI claims, results in more consistent labeling of content."We believe this offers a more positive vision of the future of digital platforms, where AI can help moderate online traffic according to platform-specific policy and relieve the mental burden of a large number of human moderators, " OpenAI's Lilian Weng, Vik Goel and Andrea Vallone wrote. "Anyone with OpenAI API access can implement this approach to create their own AI-assisted moderation system." OpenAI claims GPT-4 moderation tools can help companies carry out around six months of work in about a day.It's been well-documented that manually reviewing traumatic content can have a significant impact on human moderators' mental health, particularly when it comes to graphic material. In 2020, Meta agreed to pay more than 11,000 moderators at least $1,000 each in compensation for mental health issues that may have stemmed from reviewing material that was posted on Facebook.Using AI to lift some of the burden from human reviewers could be greatly beneficial. Meta, for one, has been employing AI to help moderators for several years. Yet OpenAI says that, until now, human moderators have received help from "smaller vertical-specific machine learning models. The process is inherently slow and can lead to mental stress on human moderators."AI models are far from perfect. Major companies have long been using AI in their moderation processes and, with or without the aid of the technology, still get big content decisions wrong. It remains to be seen whether OpenAI's system can avoid many of the major moderation traps we've seen other companies fall into over the years.In any case, OpenAI agrees that humans still need to be involved in the process. We've continued to have human review to verify some of the model judgements," Vallone, who works on OpenAI's policy team, told Bloomberg."Judgments by language models are vulnerable to undesired biases that might have been introduced into the model during training. As with any AI application, results and output will need to be carefully monitored, validated and refined by maintaining humans in the loop," OpenAI's blog post reads. "By reducing human involvement in some parts of the moderation process that can be handled by language models, human resources can be more focused on addressing the complex edge cases most needed for policy refinement."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/openai-is-using-gpt-4-to-build-an-ai-powered-content-moderation-system-184933519.html?src=rss

Dave Limp, Amazon's Senior Vice President of Devices and Services, has announced his pending retirement from the company. Limp has been with the company for nearly 14 years and, as his title suggests, oversaw Amazon's transition into dedicated hardware devices like Kindle e-readers, Alexa-enabled Echo speakers and the various Fire-branded products, among many others. Amazon makes a lot of stuff.As for the reasoning behind the decision, Limp simply says that it's time," noting that while he's been at Amazon since 2010, he's been doing the same basic job at various entities, like Apple and Palm, for 30 years. He's not exactly retiring in the conventional cocktail on the beach" sense, as Limp suggests in a blog post that he'll likely continue to work, just not in the consumer electronics space. As for Amazon, he'll stay on for the next few months until naming a successor.Of course, Amazon's Devices and Services division experienced some serious layoffs last year and it's been reported that the division operates at a staggering annual loss of around $5 billion, according to TechCrunch.It's easy to blame either of these facts for Limp's departure, but many Amazon departments experienced layoffs throughout the past year, not just hardware, and the rest of the industry followed suit. The hardware division operates at a loss, but there are certainly a lot of Amazon devices in people's homes, with the company recently touting the sale of 500 million Alexa-enabled gadgets. Each of these cute lil Alexas are constantly asking people to buy things, so who knows how deeply these hardware sales funnel down into other revenue streams.However, he's not the first high-level executive to leave the company under CEO Andy Jassy, who took over from Jeff Bezos two years ago. Other departures have included Worldwide Consumer CEO Dave Clark, media and entertainment leader Jeff Blackburn, longtime Amazon Web Services executive Charlie Bell, global customer fulfillment leader Alicia Boler Davis and global corporate affairs chief/former Obama staffer Jay Carney.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-hardware-vp-dave-limp-set-to-retire-after-almost-14-years-182315587.html?src=rss

Warner Bros. Games revealed back in June that Batman: Arkham Trilogy would arrive on Nintendo Switch sometime this fall, and now we have an exact date. The bundle of Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Knight - along with the expansions for all three games - will land on Switch on October 13th.Turn Me Up Games (which helped bring Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 and It Takes Two to the Switch) handled the ports of the well-regarded series. Batman: Arkham Asylum kicked off the trilogy in 2009 with an original story that pits the Caped Crusader against many of his most formidable foes. The Joker orchestrates a plot to take over Arkham Asylum and Batman also has to deal with Harley Quinn, Bane, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy and Scarecrow.

Live streamers or anyone who just wants to look a little better on camera can now grab our recommended light for $10 off. Logitech's Litra Glow is back down to its all-time low price of $50, which is 17 percent off the list price of $60. We've seen it drop to this price a few times before, and when it does, it's a good time to buy. This is the light we recommend in our guide to game-streaming gear, in which Engadget's Jessica Conditt calls good lighting "one of the best things you can do for your live-streaming setup."The Litra Glow is USB-powered and grips on your monitor, right next to your webcam, with an extendable, three-way-adjustable mount so you can dial in the right position. Once set, the full-spectrum LED lights deliver a soft glow that gets rid of harsh shadows and hard edges which make you look better and more natural on camera. You can adjust the light temperature and brightness using the on-board manual controls or through Logitech's free companion app.In the same guide, Jessica also recommends Elegato's Stream Deck, which lets you quickly program effects, lights, audio and app control in one cute, retro/space-age package. The new 15-key MK.2 edition is currently on sale at Amazon for $130, instead of the usual $150. That's not an all-time low, but still a decent deal for anyone who wants to upgrade their streaming setup right now.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/logitechs-litra-glow-streaming-light-drops-back-down-to-50-164650143.html?src=rss

Google Photos just got a major update that adds generative AI to its popular Memories view. This toolset already creates scrapbook montages using your photos and videos, but now these montages will be even more personalized, with collections that make sense according to your life. AI-enhanced algorithms will collect the images into relevant categories, a recent vacation as an example, and create a catchy title to accompany the montage. The app already does this, more or less, but the update should be something of a radical improvement. Of course, this is AI so it won't always get things right. In other words, you can rename collections or edit montages if necessary.All of these scrapbook montages are now collected in a dedicated view, called Memories, so you only interact with them when you want to. Before this, Google Photos users received a push notification every time a new scrapbook was available for perusal. Just click on the Memories tab and get going. The new tab also provides access to previously-released features, like adding music to scrapbook montages and sharing memories via the app.The update even allows these scrapbook entries to be co-created by friends and family. Invite anyone to collaborate and they can contribute their own photos and videos. Everyone involved can delete any photos that don't match the theme or make simple edits, and the system itself will recommend photos based on geotagging and the like. As for more robust sharing options, Google says you'll soon be able to save these collections as popular video formats to send via messaging and social media apps.The new Google Photos update begins rolling out today in the United States, but the company says it'll be a few months before a true global launch. This isn't the first time this year the company has squeezed generative AI into Google Photos. Back in May, Google used the technology to improve its Magic Editor toolset, which leverages AI to remove unwanted artifacts from photos.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-photos-update-improves-memories-view-with-generative-ai-161749404.html?src=rss

In the last few years, basically every platform of consequence has made its own take on TikTok's signature scrolling feed of vertical videos. YouTube Music is the latest. Today, the app will get a vertical video feed called Samples that YouTube describes as a one-tap way to quickly sample and find new music.Samples lives in a new tab at the bottom of the app, alongside the home feed, your library and the explore section. Tapping Samples automatically starts a short vertical video clip of a song that YouTube Music thinks you'll like. Naturally, it's pulling songs based on your taste profile, with an emphasis on artists that you like, and related ones who you might not have heard before.The app already has multiple playlists that are tuned to your listening habits, including a Supermix that pulls songs and artists together across all your listening habits. There's also a Discover playlist that, naturally, focuses on things you're not familiar with but might enjoy based on your history. YouTube Music product manager Gregor Dodson told Engadget that the algorithm for the Samples feed is a little different from both of those - it's trying to site in between the two playlists, highlighting artists that you may be familiar with but pulling clips you haven't watched before.The clips you'll see in Samples are only 30 seconds long, but that's about enough to give you a sense of the song. If it's not what you're looking for, just swipe up and you'll jump to another song, and you can do this as much as you want. Spotify added its own vertical video feed recently, but that's less for discovery and more to offer a way to quickly scroll through previews of songs in its playlists. But with both Spotify and YouTube Music implementing such a new, it seems likely that we'll see more apps do the same soon.I got to try Samples for a few days before it launched, and the thing I found most interesting was to use it as a jumping off point for a longer listening session, something Dodson confirmed was by design. "Short form video [and] the infinite scroll have really interesting applications in music discovery," he said. "It's a simple way to discover new music, but it's not the end of the journey - it's just the start of finding a new artist or song."YouTubeTo that end, the Samples video view is overlaid with a number of controls. From any Sample, you can tap the thumbs-up to save the song to your "liked songs" playlist. You can also save the song to any playlist you've created. Between these two options, it's pretty easy to quickly scan through Samples and save a bunch of songs to check out further. And if you hear something you want to immediately play in full, just tap the big old play button in the corner of the screen.Since this is YouTube we're talking about, there's also a "Shorts" button that pops you into the main YouTube app. It'll show you other Shorts clips created with the audio you picked and let you jump into making your own clip with the song. Finally, the share button does just what you'd think - you get a link that can drop into a host of other apps like Messages, Reddit, Facebook and whatever else you might have installed.In the overflow menu, you can find a lot of other options, like starting a continuous radio station from the song, jumping into the artist's page to find more music, saving the track to your library and so forth. I with the "start radio" button was featured more prominently in the Samples video, because I found that to be a great way to jump into a auto-generated set of tunes with the same vibe as the Sample that initially caught my eye (and ear).My main issue with Samples is one of UI. Specifically, it's not always clear where exactly you'll end up in the app when you switch views. Tapping the Samples tab starts the video scroll, and to exit it you can tap one of the other bottom navigation tabs; tapping the "play" button opens up the familiar YouTube Music player controls. Finally, swiping back down to hide the player interface returns you to Samples. Seems pretty clear. But at one point, I had hit the play button to hear a song and then rotated my phone to landscape to see the video in full screen. When the next song started, I rotated my phone back to landscape, and the app threw me immediately back into the Samples view, with the clip of the song I had already heard still playing.Another time, I started playing a song, and the hit the toggle at the top of the Now Playing screen to switch the video off and just hear the song. I listened to a few more songs from the auto-generated station of similar music, and then swiped down to hide the Now Playing UI and browse around the app. I was again tossed back into the Samples view. That does make some logical sense, as that's where the whole listening experience started. But I'm to used to being able to hide the Now Playing screen and browse around the app while still playing music that it was a bit jarring. That said, I could then hit the "Home" tab at the bottom and resume what I was playing. It works, but the addition of Samples does change a few of the app's expected behaviors.These quibbles aside, Samples seems like a pretty handy addition to the YouTube Music app. In the few days I had to test it, it consistently served up music from artists I liked, and the song selections were indeed things I was usually less familiar with. The video clip aspect of it doesn't really matter to me, but given how many artists are making excellent videos these days, it's fun to remember that these visuals are worth checking out sometimes. (Thanks, YouTube Music, for surfacing the wild video for "I Know the End" by Phoebe Bridgers.) More importantly, it did work well as a jumping-off point for digging into some artists I had forgotten about or finding a tune to set the mood for a playlist or station.YouTube says that the Samples feature is rolling out globally starting today for both Android and iOS users. As with most new features, it might not hit your app immediately, so you might need to be a little patient.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-music-debuts-samples-a-tiktok-style-feed-for-music-discovery-160007555.html?src=rss

Google is testing a new capability for its generative AI in search that will make it a more veritable rival to Microsoft's AI Copilot in Edge. The tech giant has launched an early experiment for its generative AI-powered Search experience (SGE) that breaks out of Search itself. Called "SGE while browsing," the feature can quickly generate the most salient points of long-form content found on the web. The tech giant positions it as a tool you can use to more easily digest complex topics that might require extensive research. However, the tool will not be able to provide key points for paywalled articles, only for some web pages that you can view free of charge.Whenever Google's AI can generate key points for the page you're visiting, you'll see an option that says "Get AI-generated key points" at the bottom of the screen on mobile or in the sidebar on desktop. Each key point links straight to the part of the page it's referencing, so you can jump to it right away. There's also an "Explore on page" section that shows the questions the article answers. At the moment, the feature is only available within the Google app on Android and iOS, but it is coming to Chrome on desktop in the next few days. The tool is automatically switched on if you've already opted in to try out SGE, but you can also switch it on as a standalone experiment in Search Labs. Like any other experiment, it could evolve over time, depending on testers' feedback.GoogleGoogle will also soon roll out a new feature that could help you get better acquainted with new concepts and terms related to STEM, economics, history and other topics. To be more precise, it's improving its AI-generated responses to those topics, so that when you hover over certain words, you'll see previews of definitions and related diagrams or images. It could provide a quick way for you to understand its AI's answers to your questions without having to do a deep-dive for all the concepts you aren't familiar with.Finally, if you're a programmer who's not opposed to using AI tools for coding, Google has also added new capabilities to SGE that could help you better understand and debug the codes it generates. Starting today, elements like keywords, comments and strings will be color-coded and highlighted in segments of codes in overviews, so that you can quickly parse the AI's output and determine if it will work as intended.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/googles-latest-ai-trick-is-summarizing-long-web-pages-160004700.html?src=rss

If you've been looking to pick up Samsung's new Galaxy Z Flip 5, the foldable phone is now down to $900 at Amazon for a 256GB model. That's a $100 discount for a device that only officially went on sale last week. You'll just need to clip an on-page coupon to see the deal at checkout.Previously, Amazon ran a pre-order deal that bundled the 512GB version of the Z Flip 5 with a $150 Amazon gift card for $1,000. This new offer isn't quite as strong of a value, but it's the first cash discount we've seen for the device. If you shop at Amazon regularly, you can still get the 256GB model with that $150 gift card, but you have to pay $1,000 upfront.In any event, we gave the Galaxy Z Flip 5 a review score of 88 earlier this month, and we currently list it as the "best foldable for selfies" in our guide to the best smartphones. As our Deputy Editor Cherlynn Low notes in her review, the big upgrade this year is a roomier cover display; at 3.4 inches, it's much more useful for replying to texts, checking notifications, using apps, and yes, taking selfies without having to physically unfold the phone. You have to jump through a few hoops to get any app to work in full on the outer display, but once you do, it becomes a bit more versatile.Beyond that, there's a new hinge that lets the whole thing fold flat when closed. The device is still capable as a "normal" phone, with a flagship-level Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and a vibrant 6.7-inch OLED interior display. Samsung also promises four years of OS updates and five years of security patches, which is more extensive than many Android manufacturers.The Galaxy Z Flip 5 is still a foldable, so you'll have to take more care than usual when handling it. Its IPX8 water-resistance rating means it can survive a brief dunking, but it may be more susceptible to damage from dust or sand. Its camera performance isn't as impressive as the best standard phones in its price range, particularly in low-light settings, and its battery life is only so-so by comparison. There's a visible crease on the interior display as well. Nevertheless, this is the best flip-style foldable you can buy, and this deal makes it a little more affordable.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-samsung-galaxy-z-flip-5-is-100-off-right-now-154530207.html?src=rss

Microsoft is attempting to be more transparent about how it enforces the Xbox community standards. The company is moving to an eight-strike suspension policy, which comes into force today. Every enforcement action will include strikes. The number of strikes that the Xbox Safety team applies to an account will depend on the severity of the infraction. Each strike results in a suspension from Xbox's social features.Account suspensions scale depending on the number of strikes. After two strikes, the player will be suspended for a day. When a player hits four strikes, Xbox will suspend their account for a week. Hit the full eight strikes and a player will be locked out of multiplayer, messaging, parties, party chat and other Xbox social features for one year. During a suspension, a player can still sign in, play games that don't need Xbox online services, use some apps and make purchases.Xbox asks players to report any violations of the community standards that they see or hear someone else committing. The safety team assesses reports to figure out if a violation actually happened. If so, they'll determine how many strikes to include in the enforcement action.Strikes will remain on players' accounts for six months. After strikes expire, they won't count toward a player's total. That said, if the safety team deems a violation of the community standards to be especially severe or egregious, it may issue a permanent ban regardless of the number of strikes on an account.Players can view their enforcement history, where they can see how many strikes they have and exactly when a suspension will end. They can appeal against eligible enforcement actions too. Xbox will also share data on strikes and enforcement actions in its bi-annual Transparency Report.Any enforcements applied to an account before today won't have any strikes applied to them. However, players will still have to complete any current suspensions before they regain full access to Xbox services.Microsoft notes that in 2022, it handed out temporary suspensions to less than one percent of all players, and just a third of those had to endure a second suspension. Still, this is the latest in a string of efforts by the company to make the Xbox community safe and welcoming for everyone. Recently, it started rolling out an Xbox feature that allows users to capture and report abusive or inappropriate voice chat.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xbox-adopts-an-eight-strike-suspension-policy-153031666.html?src=rss

WhatsApp is testing the ability to create custom stickers using generative AI. According to WABetaInfo, the feature is available to a small number of testers through the Google Play Beta Program. Meta is said to be preparing to roll out the tool more broadly in the coming weeks.Those who are part of the test should see a Create button when they open the keyboard in the sticker tab. As with similar tools, you can enter a description of the sticker you'd like to use. The AI will spit out a set of stickers for you to choose from and share in your chats. The stickers are said to be easily recognizable and recipients may be informed when they see one that an AI model whipped up. As WABetaInfo notes, you can report any stickers you deem to be harmful or inappropriate to Meta.Our generative AI-powered experiences are under development in varying phases, and we're testing a range of them publicly in a limited capacity," a Meta spokesperson told Engadget. "We have nothing further to share at this time."We've been seeing generative AI creeping into more and more parts of mainstream apps this year, so it's not exactly surprising to see WhatsApp introducing AI-generated stickers. The tool could make WhatsApp chats feel more personalized and avoid people having to rely on overused stickers, GIFs and meme images without necessarily having to rely on their own design chops. Reports have suggested a similar feature is coming to Instagram and Messenger as well.Update, August 15th, 2023, 12:04PM ET: This story has been updated to include a quote from a Meta spokesperson.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/whatsapp-is-testing-ai-generated-stickers-150614153.html?src=rss

A storm often evokes a desire to feel safe inside your home and able to communicate with loved ones or emergency personnel - yet, electric and landline connections are often the first systems to go down. Comcast is attempting to solve this problem with the release of Storm-Ready WiFi, a connection backup device - one they claim is the first of its kind built by an Internet Provider. It's powered by Xfinity's 10G Network, has WiFi 6 compatibility and works as a WiFi extender during better weather.As another reminder of the terrifying impact of climate change, Comcast cites the increase in storms nationwide as to why this extra device is necessary. Yes, you can file Storm-Ready WiFi under how to be more comfortable as the world burns - extremely dark, to say the least.The service is designed to seamlessly transfer your connection over to Storm-Ready WiFi in the case of a power outage. Storm-Ready WiFi's battery lasts about four hours at a time (an average power outage in the US lasts about two hours). Of course, it's not much good if your phone or computer run out of battery, but otherwise, you can work (or better yet, watch all the movies you want) while the sky opens around you. Storm-Ready WiFi is available to buy now for $7 per month for 36 months, both in-store and online.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/comcast-debuts-storm-ready-wifi-device-ahead-of-hurricane-season-130041959.html?src=rss

The internet is a source of many things, such as yummy recipes, tech deals and horrible misinformation. The latter often spreads through social media sites, something they have to combat (or usually choose to ignore). Right now, YouTube is choosing to fight, announcing a new long-term policy plan to grapple with medical misinformation, especially about cancer.YouTube's new guidelines for health content will fall under three categories: prevent, treatment and denial misinformation. Prevent will allegedly review and remove videos that oppose guidelines set out by trusted authorities or contradict vaccine safety and efficacy (the platform banned content with vaccine misinformation in 2021). Treatment should center on taking down any misinformation about - unsurprisingly - treating medical conditions, including unproven remedies. The platform claims that denial will focus on removing any content that makes a false claim, such as that people didn't die due to COVID-19."To determine if a condition, treatment or substance is in scope of our medical misinformation policies, we'll evaluate whether it's associated with a high public health risk, publicly available guidance from health authorities around the world, and whether it's generally prone to misinformation," YouTube's Director and Global Head of Healthcare and Public Health Partnerships Dr. Garth Graham and its VP and Global Head of Trust and Safety Matt Halprin said in the joint release outlining the new policies.Starting now, YouTube says it will be removing videos specifically about cancer which violate any of these policies - an effort it claims will ramp up more in the coming weeks. For example, if a video states that garlic cures cancer, it's coming down. YouTube is also sharing a playlist of science-backed cancer-related videos and teaming up with Mayo Clinic to create even more informational videos about cancer.These policies come less than two months after YouTube announced it would "stop removing content that advances false claims that widespread fraud, errors, or glitches occurred in the 2020 and other past US Presidential elections" because it curtailed political speech. So misinformation is allowed when it threatens democracy, just not across every category on the site - cool. Though, YouTube does say that it will allow some health videos with falsehoods to remain if the context is right, such as public interest. The platform says in some cases, content will be allowed to stay up but will be given an age restriction.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-will-tackle-cancer-misinformation-as-part-of-its-updated-health-policy-120516307.html?src=rss

Apple has a thing for 10th anniversaries: The iPhone X made its debut a decade after the first iPhone arrived. The rumor mill says Apple Watch's 10th edition justifies a similarly dramatic reworking of its original template. Reports suggest 2025's Apple Watch X will ditch the slide-in lugs in favor of magnetic band attachments. Doing so gives Apple more room to make the case bigger, and with it a bigger display and battery, but make the overall package thinner.We might also see a bigger, brighter and more efficient microLED screen replacing the existing OLED display. And the X might also add an optical blood pressure sensor to its suite of health-tracking features. (It's worth saying that optical blood pressure sensing is still a fairly novel technology outside of clinical settings and some niche wearables.)With so many features coming to Watch X, the Watch 9 - which we're expecting to see arrive this fall - might be a skip. Rumors suggest we could see a faster processor and different case colors, but otherwise it's probably worth waiting for whatever's coming next.- Dan CooperYou can get these reports delivered daily, direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest stories you might have missedThe best budget gaming laptops for 2023 The best wireless chargers in 2023 Amazon's Kindle Scribe is $60 off right nowTelegram Stories is no longer limited to paid usersSony's WH-CH720N headphones are back on sale for $98Amazon's latest smart speaker sale includes the Echo Studio for $160Netflix tests game streaming on select devices, smart TVs and desktop browsersTesters can play Oxenfree on their TV.NetflixNetflix is testing if its streaming infrastructure can deliver games to smart TVs as well as other devices. It's an extension of its nascent games project that, so far, is only on iOS and Android apps. The beta is running in the UK and Canada on select platforms, where users can play Oxenfree and Molehew's Mining Adventure. Could this be the start of Netflix's emergence as the cloud gaming provider Stadia could, and should, have been?Continue Reading.Xiaomi's third foldable phone adds a zoom camera but keeps the slim frameAnd now it supports hover mode.XiaomiXiaomi has announced the Mix Fold 3, its latest folding flagship that gains wireless charging and a 5x periscope zoom lens over its predecessor. The China-only handset may not be as thin and light as, say, Honor's Magic V2, but Richard Lai seems pleased with the improvements on show. Especially as Xiaomi has taken a leaf out of Samsung's book to make hover mode enough of a feature that you should be able to get the best out of the Fold 3's many cameras.Continue Reading.Assassin's Creed Mirage will arrive one week early on October 5Ubisoft says this is a less bloated title than some of its predecessors.UbisoftAssassin's Creed Mirage will now arrive on October 5, a week earlier than its planned release date. It'll help space out a fall schedule full of blockbuster open world titles, including Marvel's Spider-Man 2, which arrives October 20. It's rare for a game to be early, rather than forever delayed, so let's give Ubisoft some credit for this welcome blast of punctuality.Continue Reading.Ford's advanced BlueCruise driver assist features will only be available as a subscriptionYour car just got swallowed by Recurring Revenue.FordIt may have started out as an optional extra, but now Ford's BlueCruise hands-free driving will be on all new supported vehicles. Would-be buyers can activate the tools at purchase or as an optional subscription at some point down the road. It'll cost $75 a month, $800 for a year, or $2,100 if you buy three years' worth in a single bundle, with Ford saying - rather terrifyingly - drivers will spend a lot more time with their hands off the wheel.Continue Reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-apple-watch-x-will-herald-a-dramatic-redesign-111512369.html?src=rss

No matter how old you get, something happens inside your brain in mid-August that signals it's time to buy new supplies. As a child preparing to go back to school, this might have been notebooks and erasers. As an adult, it can be a little bigger - especially if sales are going on - like a new iPad. Currently, Apple's 64GB ninth-generation iPad is back down from $330 to its all-time low price of $250 in both Space Gray and Silver. Now this deal is a little tricky in that you will initially see a markdown to $269, but when you head to checkout, it will drop further to $250.Apple's ninth-gen iPad isn't the newest model, having first come out in 2021 and followed by a 10th-gen version the following year. We gave the earlier model an 86 in our initial review and, while it wasn't a massive upgrade from its predecessor, found it to be a great option if you're looking for a well-working device with all the basics at a solid price - even on sale, the 10th-gen iPad is $150 more.The 10.2-inch iPad has a retina display, A13 Bionic chip and 12MP Ultra Wide front camera. It's compatible with the first Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard. The ninth-gen model still has a lightning connector versus the newer model's USB-C port and has a physical home button.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-102-inch-ipad-drops-back-to-a-record-low-of-250-092845182.html?src=rss

Tesla has quietly launched new Model S and Model X vehicles that are slightly more affordable than their base and Plaid counterparts. The automaker has listed these new offerings as "Standard Range" variants, which are scheduled for delivery in the US sometime in September to October this year. A Model S Standard Range will set buyers back $78,490, while the standard Model X is listed for $88,490. Both prices don't include any savings buyers might get after EV tax credits applicable for their location.Both prices are also $10,000 less than the base Model S and Model X vehicles. The new EVs, however, have shorter ranges than the other versions in their line: In the case of Model S, the new option has a range of 320 miles, while the base variant can last for over 80 miles longer with its 405-mile range. It also takes 3.7 seconds for new EV to accelerate from zero to 60 mph, whereas it takes 3.1 seconds for the base version to achieve the same speed. Meanwhile, the new Model X has a range of 269 miles, which is definitely shorter than the base variant's 348 miles. It takes the new Model X 4.4 seconds to reach 60mph, longer than the 3.8 seconds it takes the base version.TeslaAs Electrek noted when it noticed the presence of Standard Range vehicles on Tesla's website, it's not clear if the automaker is making battery packs especially for these releases or if it's merely software-locking packs for its EVs with longer ranges. If it's the latter, then Tesla might give customers the opportunity to unlock longer ranges in the future if they're willing to pay for it. The new Standard Range EVs are available for the aforementioned prices in Pearl White with an all-black interior, along with standard wheels and steering wheel. Buyers will have to pay extra for other colors, customizations, and, of course, for Tesla's Enhanced Autopilot ($6,000) and Full Self-Driving Capability ($15,000) features.Tesla is giving current customers the option to transfer Full Self-Driving to a newly purchased vehicle for free at the moment. That said, they can only take advantage of this one-time amnesty if they take delivery of a new EV between July 20th and September 30th, 2023. Seeing as the new Standard Range vehicles could be delivered after September, buyers should be aware that they might have to pay for FSD again even if they already have it in their current Tesla EV.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tesla-begins-selling-cheaper-model-s-and-model-x-variants-with-shorter-ranges-082045956.html?src=rss

It certainly didn't take long for AI's other shoe to drop, what with the emergent technology already being perverted to commit confidence scams and generate spam content. We can now add censorship to that list as the Globe Gazette reports the school board of Mason City, Iowa has begun leveraging AI technology to cultivate lists of potentially bannable books from the district's libraries ahead of the 2023/24 school year.In May, the Republican-controlled state legislature passed, and Governor Kim Reynolds subsequently signed, Senate File 496 (SF 496), which enacted sweeping changes to the state's education curriculum. Specifically it limits what books can be made available in school libraries and classrooms, requiring titles to be "age appropriate" and without descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act," per Iowa Code 702.17.But ensuring that every book in the district's archives adhere to these new rules is quickly turning into a mammoth undertaking. "Our classroom and school libraries have vast collections, consisting of texts purchased, donated, and found," Bridgette Exman, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction at Mason City Community School District, said in a statement. "It is simply not feasible to read every book and filter for these new requirements."As such, the Mason City School District is bringing in AI to parse suspect texts for banned ideas and descriptions since there are simply too many titles for human reviewers to cover on their own. Per the district, a "master list" is first cobbled together from "several sources" based on whether there were previous complaints of sexual content. Books from that list are then scanned by "AI software" which tells the state censors whether or not there actually is a depiction of sex in the book.Frankly, we have more important things to do than spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to protect kids from books," Exman told PopSci via email. At the same time, we do have a legal and ethical obligation to comply with the law. Our goal here really is a defensible process."So far, the AI has flagged 19 books for removal. They are as follows:

Ford announced today that it's expanding the availability of its BlueCruise hands-free driving tech. Previously, customers had to decide whether to add the option on available models at purchase - and that decision was final. Now, the service will be installed as standard on all supported vehicles. In addition to enabling it at purchase, owners can add the service later or only activate it for months when needed (like for road trips).You'll still have the option of buying the feature at purchase and folding it into your financing. However, you can now also subscribe to access annually or monthly at any point after that. BlueCruise costs $2,100 at purchase (for three years), while annual subscriptions cost $800 and monthly subscriptions $75. Ford also offers a 90-day free trial if you choose not to set it up at purchase.The automaker expects to install BlueCruise on 500,000 vehicles in North America for the 2024 model year. That's a significant ramp-up since it's currently only installed on less than half of that: 225,000, according to Ford.The service's changes will also apply to Lincolns. The 2024 Navigator and Nautilus lines and select trims" of the Lincoln Corsair will come equipped with BlueCruise. The $800 annual and $75 monthly pricing is the same for Lincoln models.Ford says the tech's upcoming version, BlueCruise 1.3, will enhance performance when driving around curves and narrow lanes. The company says v1.3 lets you keep your hands off the wheel longer. Based on our internal testing, BlueCruise 1.3 stayed engaged in hands-free mode for an average of 5X longer compared to BlueCruise 1.0, the first version of BlueCruise," the automaker said. The 1.2 software, rolled out earlier this year, added hands-free lane changes, in-lane repositioning and predictive speed assist. The company is serious about AI-assisted driving: It created an automated-driving subsidiary earlier this year to push toward a more machine-driven future.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/fords-advanced-bluecruise-driver-assist-features-will-only-be-available-as-a-subscription-200525088.html?src=rss

Telegram launched its Stories feature to everyone today, following its availability to Premium users starting last month. Like Facebook Messenger's Stories, they appear as expandable bubbles above your conversation. However, Telegram's take is more customizable, providing granular control of who sees uploaded posts and for how long. Now when you meet people on Telegram, you'll see exciting snapshots of their life - not just a few profile photos," the company wrote in a blog post today.Launching alongside the messaging service's 10th birthday, Telegram describes Stories as by far the most-requested feature" in the company's decade-long history. Its privacy controls include visibility options for everyone, all contacts, selected contacts or close friends.TelegramTelegram's Stories also let you hide your posts from contacts you don't want to see, and Premium users can choose between six, 12, 24 and 48 hours of visibility for new posts. In addition, post creators can see a list of the Telegram users who viewed their content. It also supports a BeReal-like dual-camera mode, letting you simultaneously share photos or videos captured by your phone's front and rear sensors. The feature also includes reactions, so viewers can add a heart or choose from hundreds" of other responses to posts.Some of Stories' more advanced controls are reserved for Premium subscribers ($5 per month). Perhaps most significant, paying users' posts display first, giving them more exposure. Subscribers can also view others' stories in stealth mode, hiding all traces of their visit from the author. Additionally, subscribers get the previously mentioned custom expiration options, a permanent view history (see who viewed your posts even after they expire), the ability to save Stories to the gallery, 10 times longer" captions and a higher allotment of daily Stories (up to 100).Telegram Stories is scheduled to roll out to the service's iOS and Android apps today.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/telegram-stories-are-no-longer-limited-to-paid-users-180415572.html?src=rss

Netflix is officially bringing its games to more devices. So far, the company's impressive library of games has only been available on iOS and Android. Now, though, Netflix is starting to use its streaming tech to publicly test its titles on TVs and computers."Our goal has always been to have a game for everyone, and we are working hard to meet members where they are with an accessible, smooth and ubiquitous service," Mike Verdu, Netflix's vice-president of games, wrote in a blog post. "Today, we're taking the first step in making games playable on every device where our members enjoy Netflix."The test appears to be very limited for now. Just two games will be available at the outset: Oxenfree (Netflix just released the sequel as its first game from an in-house studio) and gem-mining arcade title Molehew's Mining Adventure.The beta is only open to a small number of Netflix subscribers in the UK and Canada on Amazon Fire TV streaming media players, Chromecast with Google TV, LG TVs, NVIDIA Shield TV, Roku devices and TVs, Samsung smart TVs and Walmart ONN. The company will add support for more devices later.To play Netflix games on a TV, you can use a controller app that the company just released. When you select a game, your TV will display a QR code. Scan this with your phone to use it as your controller.The games will also be available to try on Netflix's website via supported desktop browsers in the next few weeks. You'll be able to use your keyboard and mouse to control them on PCs and Macs.Netflix says the goal of the test is to put its game streaming tech and controller app through their paces. Given the complex nature of rights agreements with various publishers, it's not yet clear whether Netflix will bring all of the games in its library to TVs and web browsers. For instance, you'll need a Netflix subscription to play Kentucky Route Zero,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revengeor Immortality natively on your phone, but those games are all available on other platforms. In any case, there's a big new player coming to the cloud gaming space.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflix-starts-testing-game-streaming-on-select-devices-smart-tvs-and-desktop-browsers-175241762.html?src=rss

Ubisoft is shaking up a busy calendar of big fall game releases by bringing forward one of several games it has on the docket. Assassin's Creed Mirage will now arrive on October 5th, one week earlier than previously expected.The move gives the game a bit more distance from another major open-world action-adventure game in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (which is set to hit PS5 on October 20th). However, Assassin's Creed Mirage will now be going up against Detective Pikachu Returns, which will debut on Switch on October 6th.

Amazon announced a new generative AI feature today that summarizes product reviews. Available initially to a subset of mobile shoppers in the U.S. across a broad selection of products," the artificial intelligence tool creates a recap paragraph highlighting common themes from customer feedback. The company first confirmed in June it was testing an AI-powered summarization tool, but it now begins its official rollout. CEO Andy Jassy said earlier this month that AI is at the heart of what we do."The idea behind the ML-generated summary is to let shoppers get the gist of their peers' impressions without having to file through a swath of reviews manually. The wrap-up includes a short paragraph describing customer consensus: It's a bit like an AI-powered version of the Critics consensus" and Audience says" blurbs you'd find on Rotten Tomatoes. Customers like the stability, ease of use, and performance of the digital device," one example summary shared by Amazon reads. They mention that it's way faster, the picture / streaming speed is excellent, and it's a simple device to get connected. They also appreciate the performance, saying that it performs as expected and works great with LG 3D smart TV."The summary is followed by clickable tags showcasing relevant themes and common words from customer reviews. (It's similar to an existing keyword feature in the company's reviews.) Clicking on one will bounce you to full reviews addressing the chosen theme.The elephant in the room is Amazon's reputation with fake reviews. Although the retailer says it proactively blocked over 200 million suspected fake reviews" in 2022 alone -and it's known to sue culprits (and get a hand from the FTC in extreme cases) - that hardly means the company detects and blocks all of them. There's also the question of whether AI-powered fake reviews (using ChatGPT or similar tools) are more challenging for Amazon to spot than human-written ones.The company's strategy includes only unleashing the summarization tool on verified purchases while using AI models that allegedly detect sketchy reviews - and calling in human investigators when needed. We continue to invest significant resources to proactively stop fake reviews," Amazon Community Shopping Director Vaughn Schermerhorn said. This includes machine learning models that analyze thousands of data points to detect risk, including relations to other accounts, sign-in activity, review history, and other indications of unusual behavior, as well as expert investigators that use sophisticated fraud-detection tools to analyze and prevent fake reviews from ever appearing in our store. The new AI-generated review highlights use only our trusted review corpus from verified purchases, ensuring that customers can easily understand the community's opinions at a glance."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-begins-rolling-out-ai-generated-review-summaries-164510165.html?src=rss

Along with making the Playdate and some Mac apps, Panic is also a well-regarded games publisher with Firewatch and Untitled Goose Game under its belt. However, it's been a few years since Panic released a game outside of titles made specifically for the Playdate. Panic is ramping up its publishing efforts and we'll soon get a peek at what's in the pipeline when the company hosts its first games showcase. You can watch it on Panic's YouTube channel at 1PM ET on August 29th.The stream will run for around 20 minutes and it will include more details on previously announced games Nour: Play With Your Food and Despelote. In addition, Panic will show off some new games and reveal fresh partnerships. You'll get behind-the-scenes looks at some titles too. We thought it'd be fun to put on a little show and let the world know about the wonderful games we've been working on publishing, from amazing developers all around the world," Panic co-founder Cabel Sasser said.One thing you shouldn't expect from the showcase is any Playdate news. On a positive note, Panic will show off some of the games featured in the showcase at both Gamescom and PAX West.

Many of Amazon's Echo smart speakers are on sale right now, including the biggest of the bunch, the Echo Studio. It's down to $160, which is 20 percent off and just $5 more than it sold for during Prime Day last month. That discount was only for Prime members, but anyone can take advantage of this deal. The Echo Dot and the standard Echo are also on sale, for $35 and $65, respectively. Neither matches its Prime Day low, but these are still 30 to 35 percent discounts.We mention the Echo Studio in our guide to the best smart speakers as an alternative to the Sonos Era 100 for those who already rely on Alexa. It's the largest smart speaker Amazon makes, weighing in at 7.7 pounds, and it uses that heft to deliver better audio quality than any other Echo. We gave it an 88 in our review, and noted the quality, hi-res sound that does justice to HD and lossless music - but also makes regular old Spotify tracks sound pretty good.The second best deal in the sale is on Amazon's flagship Echo, which is $65 instead of its usual $100 after a 35 percent discount. That's about $10 more than it went for during Prime Day, but again, this price is open to anyone, not just people who pay for a Prime membership. We should note that it went for even less during Black Friday last year, and may do so again. But if you need another (or your first) Alexa speaker right now, this is a decent savings.Amazon's most popular speaker, the Echo Dot is currently $35, which we named our favorite smart speaker under $50. The price is $12 more than during July's sale, when it was half price. The diminutive sphere puts out better audio than you'd think for its size and, like every Echo device, gives you access to Alexa's skills, jokes and smart home controls.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-latest-smart-speaker-sale-includes-the-echo-studio-for-160-151937377.html?src=rss

Sony makes some of the best wireless headphones around, but perhaps you don't quite need a high-end set with all the bells and whistles. Maybe a mid-range set with active noise cancellation (ANC) that more than gets the job done is what you're looking for. In that case, it's definitely worth considering Sony's WH-CH720N headphones, which are once again on sale for $98. That's $51 off the regular price and it matches a record low we saw during Prime Day.We gave the WH-CH720N a score of 79 in our review earlier this year. Along with great audio quality, the headphones offer a lightweight and comfortable fit. On the downside, the ANC struggled in some environments (particularly when it comes to blocking out human voices), the cans lack an automatic pausing feature and the over-reliance on plastic makes them look less elegant.The headphones use the same chip as Sony's WH-1000XM5 (our pick for the best wireless headphones overall) to power the ANC and the sound in general. There's support for 360 Reality Audio and multipoint Bluetooth to connect to two devices at the same time. You should be able to use the headphones for up to 35 hours with ANC on before having to recharge them.If your budget can't quite stretch far enough for the WH-CH720N, take a gander at Sony's WH-CH520 headphones, which have dropped by $22 to $38. These headphones are also compatible with 360 Reality Audio and Sony says they'll run for up to 50 hours on a single charge. A three-minute charge will add 1.5 hours of listening time. There's no ANC here, though these headphones are otherwise a solid, budget-friendly pick.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sonys-wh-ch720n-headphones-are-back-on-sale-for-98-142823349.html?src=rss

Summer season is also foldable phone season, it seems. Following on the heels of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the impressively slim Honor Magic V2 (along with smaller models from Samsung and Motorola), it's now Xiaomi's turn to unveil its annual refresh. The aptly named Mix Fold 3 offers several expected improvements in terms of folded thickness (5.26mm), unfolded thickness (10.86mm) and weight (255 grams). Honor still has nothing to worry about when it comes to thinness and lightness, but Xiaomi's latest contender has gained a 5x periscopic zoom camera and, at last, a selfie camera, all of which would seem to address some of the last-gen model's more obvious pain points.Another notable addition is 50W wireless charging alongside the original 67W wired option. Depending on which charging method you use, the company says it takes 55 minutes or 40 minutes, respectively, to fully charge the slightly denser 4,800mAh battery. (If you're comparison shopping, Honor forfeited wireless charging on the Magic V2 to meet its aggressive thickness target.) The Mix Fold 3's wireless charging should pair well with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 "Leading Version" processor, with its primary core capable of up to 3.36GHz of clock speed - handy for video editing on the larger screen.XiaomiThanks to its beefed-up camera setup, the Mix Fold 3 packs a total of four Leica-enhanced on the rear: a 50-megapixel f/1.77 main camera (Sony IMX800, 23mm equivalent) with optical stabilization, a 12-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide camera (15mm equivalent), a 10-megapixel telephoto camera (75mm equivalent) and the handy new 10-megapixel f/2.92 periscope camera (115mm equivalent).Like before, you can always toggle the external screen to leverage any of these rear-facing cameras for better selfies, but for general video conferencing, you now have the option to toggle between the 20-megapixel front cameras on both the 6.56-inch external screen (2,520 x 1,080, 120Hz) and 8.025-inch flexible screen (2,160 x 1,916, 120Hz).XiaomiThe screen sizes here are practically identical to the last-gen model, except both are now upgraded with Samsung's E6 OLED display technology for improved efficiency and outdoor visibility; you get up to 2,600 nits of peak brightness on the external panel.Meanwhile, with Xiaomi's improved hinge, the company can finally disclose a durability figure of 500,000 folds (certified by TUV Rheinland). As a bonus, the Mix Fold 3 finally supports hover mode from 45 degrees to 135 degrees, meaning you can prop up the rear cameras to attempt more artistic angles or timelapse shots - just make sure you don't accidentally scratch the external screen.Xiaomi is taking pre-orders for the Mix Fold 3, with prices ranging from 8,999 yuan or about $1,240 (12GB LPDDR5X with 256GB UFS 4.0 storage) to 10,999 yuan or around $1,515 (16GB RAM and 1TB storage). You'll be able to choose between a 5-layer composite material body (black only) and a more classic glass finish (black or gold). Like last year, all versions include a familiar-looking kickstand back cover in the box, but now with a bonus protection frame for the upper part of your foldable. However, Engadget understands that Xiaomi will once again be limiting its latest device to the Chinese market, which is probably a relief for the likes of Samsung and potentially Honor in the rest of the world.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xiaomi-mix-fold-3-announced-available-in-china-only-135738419.html?src=rss

The big music labels, led by Sony and Universal, are filing a lawsuit against the Internet Archive to stop the non-profit's Great 78 Project. It's an effort to digitize and preserve recordings on old 78 RPM records, a format discontinued in 1959. The labels feel the Archive, the closest thing the web has to a public library, is infringing its copyrights after digitizing tracks from big names like Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. And the labels are asking for damages of $150,000 per still-copyrighted recording - the better part of $372 million in total.The project's aim is to preserve underrepresented artists and genres" that might otherwise languish in obscurity. For all the songs of yore that still linger in the public's consciousness, there are countless more now consigned to the dustbin of history. For them, the best-case scenario is their publisher properly stores the masters in case there's ever a need to reproduce them. But given how easy it is for a company to junk material for a tax write-off, like in the recent case of Warner Bros., we can no longer rely on companies to treat their own history with the proper respect.It doesn't help that 78s are notoriously fragile, and if work to digitize them isn't handled properly, their material could be lost forever. If we're being honest, most of it is probably now only of interest to historians as a snapshot of what culture was really like. But, as weird as listening to Conrad Veidt's When the Lighthouse Shines Across the Bay is to our modern ears, we all deserve a chance to listen to what was pop music in 1933.- Dan CooperYou can get these reports delivered daily, direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest stories you might have missedThe best 60 percent keyboards in 2023The best iPhone accessories for 2023Rockstar recruits the team behind the biggest GTA V roleplay communityBose QuietComfort Ultra headphones and earbuds are reportedly on the way Zoom now says it won't use any customer content for AI training Instagram's musical photo carousels are a lot like TikTok's Photo Mode Jabra is reportedly readying new Elite 8 earbuds with premium ANC Biden administration earmarks $1.2 billion for two large-scale carbon capture projects America's original hacking supergroup creates a free framework to improve app security California deploys AI to detect wildfires before they spread Baldur's Gate III localization studio apologizes for omitting contract workers from credits Sam Bankman-Fried sent to jail for witness tamperingPro tip: Don't use a paper of record to harass witnesses. People might notice.Sam Bankman-Fried had his bail revoked after a court accused the disgraced FTX founder of tampering with witnesses. Last month, Bankman-Fried showed a New York Times reporter a selection of personal writings from his former partner, Caroline Ellison. Ellison pleaded guilty to criminal charges in December and has since been cooperating with the FTX investigation. Prosecutors said Fried's sharing of those materials was a fairly blatant attempt to undermine her reputation with prospective jurors.Continue Reading. Chip implants get under your skin, so you can leave your keys at homeAnd, you know, it makes you look like you can do magic.There's a small subset of techie types who love nothing more than to get an RFID implant to make their life easier. A small chip inserted into the skin of their hand can help them access buildings, pay for the subway or share their contact details. If you're curious, you should check out Katie Malone's new story covering the benefits and burdens of getting one.Continue Reading.Scientists genetically engineer bacteria to detect cancer cellsIt's the first step on a long road for easier detection.CATCH is a new experimental technique using genetically modified bacteria to detect cancer cells in otherwise hard-to-reach areas. An international coalition of researchers found positive results while testing for colorectal cancer tumors in mice, but it's early days. There's still much more testing required before we can talk about using this for detection in human subjects, and plenty more work to see if the same technique could be used for treatment.Continue Reading. Apple TV's MLS Season Pass subscriptions have doubled since Messi's arrival in the USShock: People will pay to see the world's biggest footballer.Apple's decision to go all in on Major League Soccer and Lionel Messi has already started to pay off. Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas tweeted that, since the World Cup winner came to the US, Apple has seen MLS Season Pass subscriptions more than double. That his missive was retweeted by Apple CEO Tim Cook suggests the otherwise notoriously secretive company is happy to brag about the virtuous cycle Messi has had on football's impact in the US and Apple's bottom line.Continue Reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-the-music-industry-battles-the-internet-archive-111517932.html?src=rss

There is something so great about when a device you really want - but don't want to fork up the money for - goes on sale. If you've been eyeing an Amazon Kindle Scribe, then, for you, that time is now. Currently, the 16GB Kindle Scribe is 18 percent off, with its price dropping from $340 to $280 - the best deal for it we've seen outside of Prime Day.Amazon's Kindle Scribe is the most premium option of the series, providing the benefits of its counterparts while also allowing you to read and write on a 10.2-inch screen with 35 front-light LEDs. It includes a basic pen for note-taking or marking up one of the millions of books available on Kindle. Plus, you can send notes to friends or yourself through email or text.Adults aren't the only ones who can benefit from Amazon's current Kindle sales. The Kindle Kids is 29 percent off right now, dropping from $120 to $85, and comes with one year of Amazon Kids+, a two-year warranty and parental control. It features a 6-inch screen, 300 ppi resolution, four front-light LEDs and Audible via Bluetooth. Plus, it comes with a cover and 16GB of storage.If you're looking for a few more features for the child in your life, the 16GB Kindle Paperwhite Kids is also 29 percent off, in this case dropping from $170 to $120. It has many of the same features as the Kindle Kids but with a 6.8-inch screen, 17 front light LEDs, an adjustable warm light and - potentially most importantly - a waterproof design.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-60-off-right-now-105552727.html?src=rss

Since its 2015 release, a new model of the Apple Watch has made its way into stores every year - often with minimal upgrades. Well, that might change when the Apple Watch X rolls around as the company is reportedly working on more substantial changes for its tenth-anniversary model, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.The Apple Watch X upgrades could include a magnetic band attachment, replacing the slide-in design currently in use and allowing space for a larger battery. It might also have a thinner watch case and a microLED display, providing a better picture than current OLED screens. On the health front, the Apple Watch X will reportedly include a blood pressure sensor alongside the heart rate monitor, sleep tracking and blood oxygen detection already present in current models.This updated Apple Watch won't likely hit the market for another year if it follows the annual release schedule or two if Apple wants to wait a whole decade after its first release. The Apple Watch Series 9 is on its way first (and expected to be unveiled at an event this September), bringing with it a faster processor for the first time since the Series 6 and some new colors. It's expected to stay the same size as the Series 8 across its models and, overall, will be a limited upgrade.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-watch-x-will-reportedly-feature-a-thinner-casing-and-magnetic-bands-092419190.html?src=rss

The modern world of consumer tech wouldn't exist as we know it if not for the near-ubiquitous connectivity that Wi-Fi internet provides. It serves as the wireless link bridging our mobile devices and smart home appliances, enabling our streaming entertainment and connecting us to the global internet.In his new book, Beyond Everywhere: How Wi-Fi Became the World's Most Beloved Technology, Greg Ennis, who co-authored the proposal that became the technical basis for WiFi technology before founding the Wi-Fi Alliance and serving as its VP of Technology for a quarter century, guides readers on the fascinating (and sometimes frustrating) genesis of this now everyday technology. In the excerpt below, Ennis recounts the harrowing final days of pitching and presentations before ultimately convincing the IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN standards committee to adopt their candidate protocol as well as examine the outside influence that Bob Metcalf - inventor of both Ethernet, the standard, and 3Com, the tech company - had on Wi-Fi's eventual emergence.Post Hill PressExcerpted from Beyond Everywhere: How Wi-Fi Became the World's Most Beloved Technology (c) 2023 by Greg Ennis. Published by Post Hill Press. Used with permission.With our DFWMAC foundation now chosen, the work for the IEEE committee calmed down into a deliberate process for approving the actual text language for the standard. There were still some big gaps that needed to be filled in-most important being an encryption scheme-but the committee settled into a routine of developing draft versions of the MAC sections of the ultimate standard document. At the January 1994 meeting in San Jose, I was selected to be Technical Editor of the entire (MAC+PHY) standard along with Bob O'Hara, and the two of us would continue to serve as editors through the first publication of the final standard in 1997.The first draft of the MAC sections was basically our DFWMAC specification reformatted into the IEEE template. The development of the text was a well-established process within IEEE standards committees: as Bob and I would complete a draft, the members of the committee would submit comments, and at the subsequent meeting, there would be debates and decisions on improvements to the text. There were changes made to the packet formats, and detailed algorithmic language was developed for the operations of the protocol, but by and large, the conceptual framework of DFWMAC was left intact. In fact, nearly thirty years after DFWMAC was first proposed, its core ideas continue to form the foundation for Wi-Fi.While this text-finalization process was going on, the technology refused to stand still. Advances in both radio communications theory and circuit design meant that higher speeds might be possible beyond the 2-megabit maximum in the draft standard. Many companies within the industry were starting to look at higher speeds even before the original standard was finally formally adopted in 1997. Achieving a speed greater than 10 megabits - comparable to standard Ethernet - had become the wireless LAN industry's Holy Grail. The challenge was to do this while staying within the FCC's requirements - something that would require both science and art.Faster is always better, of course, but what was driving the push for 10 megabits? What wireless applications were really going to require 10-megabit speeds? The dominant applications for wireless LANs in the 1990s were the so-called verticals" - for example, Symbol's installations that involved handheld barcode scanners for inventory management. Such specialized wireless networks were installed by vertically integrated system providers offering a complete service package, including hardware, software, applications, training, and support, hence the vertical" nomenclature. While 10-megabit speeds would be nice for these vertical applications, it probably wasn't necessary, and if the cost were to go up, such speeds wouldn't be justifiable. So instead, it would be the so-called horizontal" market - wireless connectivity for general purpose computers - that drove this need for speed. In particular, the predominantly Ethernet-based office automation market, with PCs connected to shared printers and file servers, was seen as requiring faster speeds than the IEEE standard's 2 megabits.Bob Metcalfe is famous in the computer industry for three things: Ethernet, Metcalfe's Law, and 3Com. He co-invented Ethernet; that's simple enough and would be grounds for his fame all by itself. Metcalfe's Law- which, of course, is not actually a law of physics but nonetheless seems to have real explanatory power- states that the value of a communication technology is proportional to the square of the number of connected devices. This intuitively plausible law" explains the viral snowball effect that can result from the growing popularity of a network technology. But it would be Metcalfe's 3Com that enters into our Wi-Fi story at this moment.Metcalfe invented Ethernet while working at PARC, the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. PARC played a key role in developing many of the most important technologies of today, including window-based graphic computer interfaces and laser printing, in addition to Ethernet. But Xerox is famous for Fumbling the Future," also the title of a 1999 book documenting how Xerox invented, then ignored, the first personal computer," since the innovations developed at PARC generally ended up being commercialized not by Xerox but by Apple and others. Not surprisingly, Metcalfe decided he needed a different company to take his Ethernet invention to the market, and in 1979, he formed 3Com with some partners.This was the same year I joined Sytek, which had been founded just a couple of months prior. Like 3Com, Sytek focused on LAN products, although based on broadband cable television technology in contrast to 3Com's Ethernet. But whereas Sytek concentrated on hardware, 3Com decided to also develop their own software supporting new LAN-based office applications for shared PC access to data files and printers. With these software products in combination with their Ethernet technology, 3Com became a dominant player in the booming office automation market during the nineties that followed the introduction of personal computers. Bob Metcalfe was famously skeptical about wireless LANs. In the August 16, 1993, issue of InfoWorld, he wrote up his opinion in a piece entitled Wireless computing will flop - permanently":

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