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Valve may have had a change of heart about fan-made tribute projects borrowing" its intellectual property. GamesRadar+ reported on the Steam maker's DMCA takedown notice sent to the creators of Team Fortress: Source 2, a passion project porting TF2 to the more modern Source 2 game engine. In addition, the Steam maker squashed a Portal demake for the Nintendo 64, hinting at a possible shift toward a more protective corporate strategy from the typically lenient Valve.The TF2 assets have been ported to Source 2 without permission and are being redistributed by Amper Software in a game mode for Facepunch's S@box," the legally stern DMCA notice to Amper reads. Facepunch has not licensed any Valve assets for S@box. The unauthorized porting and redistributing of Valve's assets without a license violates Valve's IP."Amper unsurprisingly says that's the end of the line for Team Fortress: Source 2, but the labor of love may have already been hanging on by a thread. The development team wrote on X (Twitter) that the project was already in trouble due to recent code changes to S&box (pronounced sandbox"), the Source 2-based development framework on which the passion project was built.

Since Sony Honda Mobility revealed its EV collaboration at last year's CES, not much has changed externally. The Afeela EV does now have a LIDAR notch above the windshield, and there's been some design refinements and tweaks, but for CES 2024, the company was trying to express exactly how all of Sony's entertainment and sensor expertise would combine with Honda's automotive know-how, and why we should care about its high-tech EV.The Afeela will create its own noise cancellation bubble, apparently tailoring the cabin for entertainment" using Sony's Spatial Audio technology. According to SHM's renderings, there appear to be roughly 30 speakers. These were put to use in one of the most surreal experiences I've had at CES: playing Horizon Forbidden West inside a car.No, there isn't a PS5 baked into this concept EV, but a demonstration involving PlayStation's long-running Remote Play feature. Sure, the Bluetooth connection to the controller was temperamental (CES is just hundreds of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals clashing), but conceptually, it works. I also got to test-drive" the Afeela through a simulator in a realistic computer-generated city, courtesy of Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5, with even the digital wing mirrors reflecting what they would see in real life. The simulator's dash display then offered an AR overlay, showing vehicles, objects and pedestrians, flagging nearby hazards in red.I'm sure many wonder if SHM's EV will ever exist as a consumer vehicle, but at CES, it's found the perfect audience for its gadget-packed car.- Mat SmithYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest stories you might have missedGyroGove is a hand-stabilizing glove for people with tremorsThe best budget gaming laptopsWalmart makes a rare CES appearance to promote AI-powered shoppingHertz is selling 20,000 EVs and replacing them with gas-powered vehiclesTeach' your dog to play' this piano'CES is all about pet tech.EngadgetAt CES, a startup showed off TheButter, a four-key instrument with light-up pads your dog can play." Your pet has to follow along the sequence of lights, each one triggering another few notes of whatever song you've equipped it with. Once done, you should reward their effort with a treat or some other form of encouragement - no, it's not automated. TheButter is now available to buy in the US for $99, and you'll also get the companion app to set your dog's training routine.Continue reading.What to expect from Samsung Unpacked 2024, including the Galaxy S24CES may soon be over, but...EngadgetSamsung is running its first event of the year a little earlier than usual. It will start on January 17 at 1PM ET. We're expecting the company to unveil its Galaxy S24 smartphone family and possibly a few more gadgets. Fortunately, thanks to leaks, we have a good idea of what to expect from the company's latest smartphones.Continue reading.Next-gen MEMS ultrasonic solid-state earbud drivers will deliver the bassWe've heard the difference at CES 2024.While MEMS drivers may be the next big thing in true wireless earbuds, the first models with the solid-state components still require a hybrid setup. These products pair a MEMS speaker with a dynamic driver. The current-gen driver from xMEMS, a California-based company that develops audio components, is called Cowell, and it's already available in earbuds from the likes of Creative. Its new driver will arrive in products in 2025. We've tested them out, and you can really hear the difference.Continue reading.25 gadgets from CES 2024 that you can buy right nowAvailable, now.In a rare twist for anyone that's followed product announcements at tech shows, a lot of the tech at CES 2024 is actually available to buy already. While it may not be a Sony Honda EV or a transparent TV, some of the latest monitors, headphones and more are already up for grabs.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-i-drove-in-sony-hondas-ev-simulator-181231086.html?src=rss

I've been interested in solar generators for a long while, but very few of them ever felt worthy of specific comment. Many of them historically boasted of running laptops, TVs or coolers, but their constrained outputs made them incapable of powering kettles, washing machines or air conditioners. CES 2024 has shown that the industry has moved beyond those limitations, with newer units capable of fulfilling the promise inherent in their names.Take the new EcoFlow Delta Pro Ultra, the company's flagship whole-home backup, which can pump out 7,200W. The company claims the unit is strong enough to power a three ton central air unit, one of the most demanding appliances in the home. Plus, because it's a modular design, you can add up to three of these units to the same home for a cumulative output of 21.6kW - and, with enough batteries, a total storage capacity of 90kWh.Solix, Anker's big battery division, was here at CES showing off its new F3800 portable power station. The company moved into the home battery market in the summer of 2023 but even something designed to be wheeled around is shorn of the older limitations. The F3800 can pump out a peak of 6,000W - a figure you can double if you buy two - enough to add juice to an EV in a pinch. And, best of all, it's currently available to buy for $3,499 which, depending on how much solar you pair it with, should mean payback considerations are less than five years.Jackery, which has been a name in this market for a long while, will sell you its 2000 Plus, complete with two 200W solar panels, for just $3,300. That small unit, if you use the right accessory, can be wired into your home's breaker box and similarly has a surge peak of 6,000W. It's not quite as muscular as some of its competitors, but the low cost means that it's hard to argue against if you're looking to dip a toe into this world.Cost for solar panels and batteries have fallen dramatically in the last few years, with Our World in Data reporting that the cost of a panel has dropped from $2.32 per watt in 2010 to just $0.26 per watt in 2022. BloombergNEF reported that lithium ion battery prices have fallen from $780 per kWh in 2013 down to $139 per kWh in 2023. And it's this that has enabled this surge in home battery uptake.Emma Ross, who heads up communications for Jackery, says that customers are drawn to these falling prices. She added that, second to cost, the plug-and-play element of the gear is key, offering the perfect combination of convenience and environmental friendliness." The low cost and ease of installation means these systems require less investment than other, larger solar options," making it a less intimidating" way for wary neophytes to get involved.Nick Bowers, head of business development at EcoFlow in the US, says that consumers are frustrated with the domestic energy market. He claims rate increases, natural disasters, power outages and climate change have all driven people toward buying solar gear. The pain points pushing people toward renewables," he said, will only grow more acute," with users looking to be less reliant on the grid."And the solar industry writ large is gearing up to address a surge in demand expected to come as these prices fall. Eric Villines, head of global communications at Anker, says that the only roadblock right now is the fact most homeowners aren't investing in storage alongside their solar gear. In 2022, only ten percent of installed home solar systems in the US included energy storage," he told Engadget, preventing homeowners from securing protection against blackouts." To address this, the company surveyed users and found most were either put off by the high price, or didn't even know that it was a viable option for them.Which is why the knock-down prices on hardware the likes of which we've seen at CES 2024 is hopefully going to address some of those issues. After all, whereas some of this gear would have cost tens of thousands of dollars a few years ago, they're now less than half that price. Perhaps these units will serve as a gateway drug to investments into more expansive whole home batteries further down the line. And that's a good first step towards our bigger, and hopefully brighter solar future.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/its-a-great-time-to-buy-a-solar-generator-175705763.html?src=rss

Swarovski has turned up at CES 2024 in Las Vegas with its first ever pair of smart binoculars that will identify the bird you're looking at. All you have to do is point the gear at a bird and make sure the view is in focus, and then press down an action button. Within a few seconds, the system will overlay a bird's name over your view, using data pulled from the Merlin Bird ID database. That has over 9,000 species tagged, and will even let you know the degree of certainty it has if the bird in question is in an unexpected location. And if this was the only feature these binoculars had, it'd be enough to justify the purchase, but that's only the beginning of what these things can do.Between the eyepieces, there's a function wheel similar to one you would find on a camera that lets you cycle between various features. That includes a Wildlife ID version which hooks into its built-in Mammal, Dragonfly and Butterfly ID databases. Plus, there's a camera which lets you send pictures and video to a paired smartphone, which would similarly be plenty to justify the expense. But the system is also designed to be expandable, with the focus wheel including space for any future custom databases you might need. For instance, one idea could be to build a database for stars, or airplane types for aviation fans to spot the make and model of what's flying overhead.Then there's the discovery sharing feature, which enables you to share something you've found with whoever you're outdoors with. All you need to do is tag whatever you've found, and then hand the AX Visio over to them, where a series of flashing arrows will guide them to where you were looking. Even in the busy halls of CES, one of the company's representatives was able to pinpoint a far-off fire exit sign before handing me the binoculars and asking me to find it. All you need to do is follow the arrows straight to what you're meant to be looking at with a system that's as elegant as it is useful. There's even a built-in compass that'll let you identify which direction you're gazing toward to help you navigate.You might notice from the pictures that there are three lenses, with the central one holding the 13-megapixel sensor shooting HD-quality (1,920 x 1,080) pictures and video. There's 8GB storage, which should hold up to an hour of video or 1,700 photos before needing to be cleared off. Beyond the smarts, the binoculars magnify up to 10x with 88 percent light transmission, thanks to the company's high-end lenses. Swarovski says its glassware offers almost flat, distortion-free images with plenty of contrast and color fidelity.Now, here's the thing, my father-in-law is a serious ornithologist who is respected, at least among his peer group. His ability to spot the genus and species of a bird in flight is extraordinary and I'm often left bewildered at the depth of his knowledge. I don't think I'd have the ability, patience or time to even get within a hundred miles of his capability. But, with a device like this, it might mean that I can at least vaguely keep up with him when we're out on the trails.The AX Visio is, however, not messing around with price, and Swarovski is charging 4,600 (around $5,000) for you to get this into your hands. While bird fans often have to be patient, this should start arriving at people's homes at some point in February.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/swarovskis-smart-binoculars-identify-the-birds-youre-looking-at-173151637.html?src=rss

The following article discusses medical procedures.On the fringes of each and every CES, there are products worthy of attention, even if they can't be called consumer electronics." A prime example is Adam-X, a medical training tool that takes the idea of a CPR dummy and dials it up to eleven... thousand. Unlike the dolls you learned basic CPR with, Adam-X is a fully-featured robotic patient used for a wide variety of medical training.Adam-X is equipped with a realistic skeleton, muscles and lungs that'll behave much like the real things do. Depending on the scenario, the dummy will give you physical feedback depending on how successful you are at treating it. For instance, the pupils will dilate, cheeks will flush, the tongue will swell and the extremities will turn blue, depending on what you're doing at the time. Right now, Adam is even able to make some vague noises but his makers pledge that an update at some point this year will add in a GPT-enabled communication feature to train medics how to keep patients engaged and calm.As well as CPR training, you can use this device to teach intubation, administering an IV, applying a blood pressure cuff and using a defibrillator. And much as the system itself will respond to what you're doing, its suite of sensors can examine your technique and offer feedback. For instance, Adam-X was set into CPR mode and required me to keep it alive, but I wasn't sure I was getting my chest compressions correct; after all, I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. But, by looking at the laptop Adam was connected to, I could see how far my hands were away from the ideal position.There's plenty of other things I wasn't able to test in the crowded show floor at CES, including the fact that Adam has pressurized blood vessels. Medics who need to clear the airway by cutting the trachea, for instance, may be surprised to see a spurt of (artificial) blood. Similarly, if one of the independently-pressurized lungs collapses, you'll be able to use a real needle to puncture the chest to reinflate it. Not to mention swapping out the regular limbs for ones that have simulated wounds, that require surgical intervention or to add in an intravenous drip to a vein. (Adam even has working genitalia and can pass urine or blood depending on the training scenario.)Unfortunately, unless you're a medical school or other training facility with $70,000 grand or so lying around, you probably won't be able to buy one. But you should watch the video and see how very cool it is to practice keeping someone alive while getting a little more feedback than with the regular CPR doll.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-cpr-dummy-of-the-future-can-piss-blood-165533305.html?src=rss

Dashlane's subscription-based password manager is on sale for $40 per year, as part of a New Year's offer. This is for the Premium Plan, which typically costs $60 each year. So this represents a savings of 40 percent or $20 per year. The sale ends on January 15 at 8PM ET, so you only have four days to take advantage of the discount.Here's how you can access the deal. Just sign up for the company's Premium Plan and type in the code NY24 at checkout. That's it. You're good to go. The Premium Plan includes password protection for unlimited devices, with no limit on the number of passwords and passkeys. You also get a VPN for web-browsing, real-time phishing alerts and access to a sharing portal that allows you to safely share passwords and private information with friends and family.Dashlane is a reputable service, up there with market leaders like 1Password, NordPass and LastPass. As a matter of fact, the service made our list of the best password managers. We loved the secure sharing feature, mentioned above, and the company's VPN, which is included with the Premium Plan. The only downside is that there's no support for Linux.The company offers other plans, but those aren't covered by this deal. The friends and family plan, for instance, offers complete access for up to ten people. There are also a couple of robust plans intended for commercial use. Again, the discount on the Premium Plan ends on January 15.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/dashlane-password-manager-is-on-sale-for-40-per-year-161438870.html?src=rss

Hertz says it's selling around 20,000 electric vehicles from its US fleet, which constitutes approximately a third of its total number of EVs in its global fleet. It claimed that "expenses related to collision and damage, primarily associated with EVs, remained high" in the most recent financial quarter, "thereby supporting the company's decision to initiate the material reduction in the EV fleet." Hertz said it plans to reinvest some of the proceeds into purchasing gas-powered vehicles."The company expects this action to better balance supply against expected demand of EVs," Hertz said in an SEC filing. "This will position the company to eliminate a disproportionate number of lower margin rentals and reduce damage expense associated with EVs."There were already signs that Hertz was having cold feet over its decision to invest heavily in EVs over the last few years. It was reported in 2021 that the rental company had ordered 100,000 EVs from Tesla. The following April, it emerged that Hertz planned to buy up to 65,000 EVs from Polestar over five years.However, in October 2023, Hertz said it was slowing down plans to electrify its fleet. At the time, CEO Stephen Scherr said EVs cost Hertz "about twice in terms of damage cost repair than a conventional internal combustion engine vehicle."As Reuters notes, Tesla is currently selling more than 700 EVs through its used car website. The vast majority of those are Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/hertz-is-selling-20000-evs-and-replacing-them-with-gas-powered-vehicles-153302670.html?src=rss

Look, we can all sit around debating wether it's worth teaching a dog to play the piano, or if that's even something they're capable of doing. But it's also too late since, here at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, a Hong Kong-based startup has actually developed a device to do that. Zoo Gears was at the show demonstrating TheButter, a four-key instrument with light-up pads your pup can play."Essentially, the pooch has to follow along the sequence of lights, each one triggering another few notes of whatever song you've equipped it with. Once done, you should reward their effort with a treat or some other form of encouragement, much as Dr. Pavlov would have done. The hope is that eventually, your beloved friend will get the knack of accompanying you during your next jam session.Zoo Gears was a smash hit on Kickstarter in 2023, making more than four times its initial goal when getting backing for TheButter. That's currently available to buy in the US for $99, and for that you'll also get the companion app that'll help you set your dog's training routine. You know, so when they've mastered something fairly simple they can move onto harder songs like The Beatles' Let It Be.More importantly, the company is working on the second part of the product, TheBiscuit, priced at $299 which adds an automatic food dispenser to the setup. If your dog successfully learns how to hammer out some of The Beatles' greatest hits, they'll be able to feed themselves. After that, it's only a hop, skip and a jump to being the next big name in whatever musical genre your best friend opts to specialize in.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/teach-your-dog-to-play-this-piano-140028808.html?src=rss

Google has announced that it will eliminate at least 17 features from its Assistant product, following news that it had laid off "hundreds" of employees from the division. The company is cutting "underutilized features" to "focus on quality and reliability, it wrote in a blog post, even though a good number of people may still rely on those functions."Beginning on January 26, when you ask for one of these features, you may get a notification that it won't be available after a certain date," wrote Google Assistant VP Duke Dukellis.The company didn't specify how removing certain commands will improve Assistant, nor did it describe any specific quality and reliability problems. It did say, though, that improvements in the past were aided by user feedback, so it may have been receiving complaints about Assistant's core usability of late.The 17 functions being removed include: accessing or managing your cookbook; using your voice to send an email, video or audio message; rescheduling events in Google Calendar with your voice; and using App Launcher in Google Assistant driving mode on Google Maps to read and send messages, make calls, and control media. It also describes what Assistant can still do related to those functions, or alternate ways of doing them. A list is here, though Google said they're just "some" of the affected features.The company is also changing the way Assistant works on your phone. The microphone icon in the Google search bar will no longer pull up Assistant, but merely start a Google voice search, "which is its most popular use case," Dukellis wrote. The "Hey Google" hot word and power button long-press will continue to activate Assistant as before.After laying off 12,000 people last year, Google said it planned to focus on AI in the future, so it's interesting that one of its early AI products is being pruned. Earlier today, Google confirmed that it had laid off hundreds of people from at least three divisions, including Assistant, hardware devices and core engineering.At its October Pixel 8 event, the company announced plans to launch Assistant with Bard, a version that generates personalized answers based on events, dates and conversations stored on your phone. However, Google didn't say if that version has anything to do with cutbacks in current Assistant functionality.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-removes-underutilized-assistant-features-to-focus-on-quality-and-reliability-141141513.html?src=rss

CES 2024 is in the books and that means the tech world can kick back and re- oh, wait, there's the small matter of a Samsung Unpacked on the horizon. Samsung is running its first event of the year a little earlier than usual. It will start on January 17 at 1PM ET. However, barring a major shock, Samsung will unveil its Galaxy S24 smartphones.Samsung Galaxy S24 lineupAs is always the case, the rumor mill has been churning for weeks when it comes to Samsung's Galaxy S24 smartphones. Thanks to leaker Evan Blass, who claimed to have obtained a spec sheet for all three of the devices, we have a decent idea of what Samsung has in store for the Galaxy S24, S24+ and S24 Ultra. As in years past, Samsung has a "reserve" page up now on its site as well for those who want to be first in line to buy the latest smartphones.It's likely to be another year of iterative changes on the hardware front. There will very likely be spec bumps to most of the components and the S24 devices will probably offer faster and more efficient performance than their predecessors. However, you shouldn't anticipate having a wildly different looking phone if you tend to upgrade to the latest handset every year or two... except in the case of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which is slated to have a flat display and a titanium frame.The most important hardware upgrade is arguably in the engine room. Samsung is expected to employ the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. That's significant given Qualcomm's efforts to support on-device AI operations with its CPUs and Samsung's recent work in the generative AI space.To that end, the biggest change to the Galaxy lineup this year is likely to come in the form of AI features. Samsung recently unveiled its own generative AI models, which can handle tasks such as translations, summarizing documents, drafting emails, helping out with coding and, yes, whipping up images based on text prompts.It's widely believed that Samsung's Gauss generative AI tech will make its public debut in the Galaxy S24 smartphones, and it's likely to be labeled as Galaxy AI. The company has been hinting at some of the AI updates, such as with this tease of a feature called Zoom with Galaxy AI.Everything else: Generative AI, fitness trackers and laptopsThe new smartphones will undoubtedly be the star of the show and Samsung will probably spend quite a bit of time going over the generative AI functions. That might not leave much bandwidth for other announcements. There is a chance that we might see the Galaxy Fit 3 fitness tracker, according to some rumormongers. The event may mark the release of One UI 6.1 for Galaxy devices too.Beyond that, there have been suggestions that Samsung will show off several Galaxy Book Pro laptops, while there's also a possibility the company will unveil new tablets, smartwatches and earbuds. We'll find out soon enough just what the company has planned for its first mass market devices of 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/what-to-expect-from-samsung-unpacked-2024-including-the-galaxy-s24-smartphone-launch-140010394.html?src=rss

Sony might have an updated PlayStation 5 controller available soon. GamesRadar+ spotted a brand new V2 DualSense Wireless Controller on Best Buy's Canadian online shop, and anyone who is sick of finding their wireless controller dead when gaming is in for a treat. The device is listed as having 12 hours of battery life - up from a maximum of five hours in its current iteration.Apart from the major boost in battery life, the listed Sony V2 DualSense Wireless Controller is pretty much a mirror of its predecessor. It has a headset jack, built-in microphone, and haptic triggers across its rear and face. It's listed for 90 CAD (about 67 USD), almost identical to the previously released V2 DualSense Wireless Controller's $69 retail price. Though the 12-hour model is visible on the website, it's not actually available for purchase, so it's unclear when (or even if) Sony will release it.Interestingly, a patent filed by Sony in November 2023 described a new controller outfitted with a touchscreen instead of a touchpad. It also potentially employs predictive AI assistance to light up certain buttons, analog sticks and shoulder triggers as hints for gameplay. Just like the controller currently sitting on Best Buy's website, this one's fate is up in the air.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/leak-suggests-sony-may-soon-offer-a-dualsense-v2-controller-with-12-hours-of-battery-115527945.html?src=rss

SpaceX sent and received its first text messages sent via T-Mobile using its D2D (direct-to-device) Starlink satellites launched just over a week ago, the company announced. First revealed in August 2022, the project aims to provide satellite internet connectivity to regular cell phones so that T-Mobile customers can stay online even when they're in a terrestrial dead zone.T-Mobile said that it aims to publicly launch text services with T-Mobile in 2024, with voice, data and IoT (internet of things) plans coming in 2025. Globally, SpaceX has partnered with Rogers in Canada, Australia's Optus, KDDI in Japan and others.The scheme requires larger, special versions of the Starlink satellites with D2D capability. SpaceX launched the first six of those on January 2, completing early tests with no issues. "On Monday, January 8, less than 6 days after launch, we sent and received our first text messages to and from unmodified cell phones on the ground to our new satellites in space using TMobile network spectrum... [indicating that] the system works," SpaceX wrote in a blog post.SpaceXWhen the plan was announced, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said the technology is like putting a cellular tower in the sky. He added that it could one day eliminate dead zones, allowing people to easily get in touch with loved ones even if they're in the middle of the ocean.SpaceX said that the system, which uses LTE/4G (not 5G protocols) is a bit more complicated than cell towers in the sky, though. Since the satellites move at tens of thousands of miles per hour relative to the Earth, data must be handed off seamlessly between them. Doppler shift, timing delays and the relatively low transmission power of smartphones must also be accounted for.The two companies aren't the first to test such a system. Working with communications specialist AST SpaceMobile, AT&T successfully conducted the first two-way satellite audio call on its network in April, calling a number in Japan with a stock Samsung Galaxy S22 smartphone. AT&T also complained to the FCC that SpaceX and T-Mobile's plan was "woefully insufficient" regarding the risk of harmful interference to ground-based networks.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/spacex-and-t-mobile-send-the-first-text-messages-from-orbiting-starlink-satellites-103526219.html?src=rss

When Mark Zuckerberg announced last year that Meta was laying off 10,000 workers, he described 2023 as a "year of efficiency" defined by removing layers of middle management to create a "leaner org." Turns out the company still isn't done restructuring its organization. According to Business Insider, Meta recently told at least 60 of its employees at Instagram that it's eliminating their position altogether. The affected employees are technical program managers, the people who go in between Meta's tech workers, including its engineers, and the higher level product managers.Based on posts on Blind, an app for tech employees, and on LinkedIn seen by the publication, the workers losing their jobs are given the chance to be interviewed to be considered for a position as product manager. By March, those who chose to leave or weren't given a new role will no longer have a job with Meta. The company slashed 11,000 jobs in the fall of 2022 in addition to the 10,000 workers it laid off last year in an effort to cut costs. It also issued a hiring freeze and closed thousands of open roles it was originally hiring for."A leaner org will execute its highest priorities faster. People will be more productive, and their work will be more fun and fulfilling," Zuckerberg said last year. It's unclear if Meta has already lifted its hiring freeze, but it's expected to do so only after it's done with restructuring.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-reportedly-laid-off-60-technical-program-managers-at-instagram-095558424.html?src=rss

Google has laid off "several hundred" workers in multiple divisions each in a new round of belt tightening, according to reports from The New York Times, 9to5Mac, Semafor and others. Divisions affected include hardware (Pixel, Nest and Fitbit), core engineering and Google Assistant. The cuts - which appear to be at least 600 but may be higher - are already effective and workers impacted have reportedly been informed."We're responsibly investing in our company's biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead," a Google spokesman told the NYT in a statement. "Some teams are continuing to make these kinds of organizational changes, which include some role eliminations globally."As part of the cuts, Google is said to be reorganizing its Pixel, Nest and Fitbit divisions, and Fitbit co-founders James Park, Eric Friedman and other leaders are leaving the company. The company will reportedly have one team responsible for hardware engineering across all three divisions."We've had to make some difficult decisions about ongoing employment of some Google employees and we regret to inform you that your position is being eliminated," the company told some employees in the core engineering division, according to a note seen by the NYT.The company declined to respond to The Verge when asked if it reduced headcount in any other divisions - so the total number of layoffs isn't clear. Last year, Google made some of its largest job cuts ever, laying off around 12,000 people in January. As of late last year, the company employed 182,381 people, and counted 118,899 at the beginning of 2020, just ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic.That was part of a wider reduction in jobs across the industry in 2023, with over 220,000 layoffs during the year. Those came from larger companies like Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft, Spotify and Amazon, along with numerous small, medium-sized and startup firms. Engadget has reached out to Google for comment about the layoffs and will update the story if required.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-lays-off-hundreds-of-employees-in-its-assistant-hardware-and-other-divisions-082540416.html?src=rss

The show floor at CES 2024 opened on Tuesday, and people have been racking up their steps, canvassing Las Vegas' vast convention centers and hotel ballrooms to see all the latest and weirdest tech products. The Engadget team has been getting our cardio in, braving both vehicular and human traffic to get face and hand time (and other body parts?) with the most intriguing demos here, while companies haven't stopped holding press conferences and announcing new items. If you don't have time to parse through every individual headline or are here in Vegas and want to know where to go, here's a recap of the biggest news out of CES 2024's second day.One of the biggest booths at the show is, as usual, Google, and the company also had a fair amount of news to share. In keeping with the same theme it's been doing the last few years of Better Together," Google shared updates to its inter-device software like Fast Pair and announced it's working with Samsung to integrate and rename its Nearby Share feature to Quick Share, which is the current name of Samsung's version of the same thing. This should hopefully simplify things for Android users, and give them a more cohesive alternative to Apple's AirDrop. Details were pretty scarce on whether there are changes coming to Samsung users, but those who have Nearby Share should see a new icon pretty soon.Google also added support for people to Chromecast TikTok videos to compatible TVs and screens and is bringing its apps to some Ford, Nissan and Lincoln vehicles later this year. Android Auto will also be able to share your electric vehicle's battery levels to Google Maps so it can factor in recharge stations, charge times and stops into your routes. This is, again, similar to a feature in Apple's next-gen CarPlay.Speaking of EVs, Honda also debuted new EV concepts called the Saloon and the Space Hub. The Saloon is a sedan with an aerodynamic design and rides low to the ground, while the Space Hub is a minivan that is a little boxier and its seats has its passengers facing each other. Honda said it will develop a model based on the Saloon concept car for North American markets in 2026, with no word yet on the Space Hub.In other transportation news, Hyundai brought an updated version of its S-A2 Air Taxi to the show. The S-A2 is an electric vertical take off and landing vehicle that has a cruising speed of 120mph when it reaches an altitude of 1,500 feet. It's designed to fly short trips between 25 to 40 miles and the company envisions it as an everyday transportation solution for urban areas.We also got more smart home news from companies other than Google, including Amazon, which said it will adopt the Matter standard for Casting, but it won't support Chromecast or Apple's AirPlay. How nice. We also saw new face-scanning and palm-reading door locks, smart outdoor lights by Nanoleaf and a new Weber Searwood smart grill that's cheaper and more versatile.There has been a smattering of mobile news, including the Clicks iPhone keyboard case and a surprising, adorable device called the Rabbit R1. It's pitched as an AI-powered assistant in what's basically a cute squarish walkie-talkie co-designed by Teenage Engineering. It has a tiny 2.88-inch touchscreen, an analog scroll wheel, two mics, a speaker and a 360-degree camera you can spin to face toward you or through the back of the handset. You're supposed to talk to the Rabbit AI by pushing down a button (like a walkie talkie) and ask it to do anything like book an Uber or look for a recipe tailored to your specific list of ingredients.There's been a lot more at the show, but I wanted to take some time to shout out a bunch of intriguing accessibility products. We saw the OrCam Hear system that's designed to help people with hearing loss isolate the voices of specific speakers in crowded environments. There's also the GyroGlove, which is a hand-stabilizing glove for people with hand tremors, as well as the Mouthpad, which lets you control your phone, tablet or laptop by using your tongue.We also saw an update to the Audio Radar system that provides visual cues for gamers who are hard of hearing to see where sounds are coming from and what type of sounds they might be. It's very heartening to see all this development in assistive technology at CES, especially when the industry often spends so much time and money on less-worthy endeavors.We're nearing the end of the show and as we get ready to do our final sweeps of the show floor, the Engadget team is also looking back and contemplating the best things we saw at CES 2024. We'll be putting together our Best of CES awards list soon, so make sure you come back to see what we decided were the winners of the show.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ces-2024-day-2-recap-a-wild-rabbit-gadget-appears-while-google-offers-its-own-take-on-apple-software-tricks-022245111.html?src=rss

When Walmart announced it would be holding a CES keynote for the first time, we were admittedly a little skeptical. Now it all makes sense, though: America's largest retailer came to CES 2024 in Las Vegas to talk about AI. In a joint announcement on Tuesday, the company said that it's teaming up with Microsoft to build what it bills as AI-powered shopping experiences. In his keynote, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon described how the integration of AI across its website and apps will be used to study shopper behavior and suggest future purchases.As you might expect, given Microsoft's involvement, the artificial intelligence underpinning these experiences will be powered by large language models made available through this partnership with Microsoft. The AI it plans on deploying will use a combination of retail-specific search functions based on Walmart's own proprietary technologies and Microsoft's Azure OpenAI service.Walmart's new generative AI-powered search functions will be available on iOS and Android mobile devices as well as through the company's website. The new search features will give shoppers more options for interacting with the retailer's digital inventory. For example, instead of searching for items like soda and chips, a shopper can look for product recommendations for specific events like a birthday celebration or game day watch party by telling the website, in natural language, what they need help shopping for.During the keynote, McMilon said that the algorithms are designed to highlight relevant product categories after a search that will serve up a curated list of the best items." These new algorithmic shopping initiatives will directly compete with Google's AI search tool SGE and Amazon's large language model-powered product listing program.While it seems that most of the efforts on the AI front are consumer-facing, the company said new AI search functions will not just help shoppers. It will also expand tools available to store associates intended to help streamline job-related tasks and workflows. This can also be seen in its announcement that at Sam's Club, which is owned by Walmart, employees will soon no longer need to check shopping receipts as people leave stores. Instead, it will deploy an AI tool that verifies customer purchases.WalmartAdditionally, Walmart teased Walmart InHome Replenishment,' which also will use artificial intelligence to predict what items in a shopper's cart need to be replenished in a timely manner. This offering will be added as an extension to its InHome' program that became available to Walmart+ shoppers in 2019.Aside from AI, the retailer also teased plans to weave augmented reality into its shopping experience. The company teased Shop with Friends,' a beta social commerce offering that uses augmented reality to allow shoppers the option to share virtual outfits with friends for feedback while shopping. Lastly, Walmart will expand its drone delivery testing program to more shoppers in Texas as a starting point. 1.8 million additional households will get access to drone delivery services that help shoppers get items as fast as 30 minutes.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/walmart-makes-a-rare-ces-appearance-to-promote-ai-powered-shopping-005538465.html?src=rss

Here at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, a Japanese startup is worried about the mental health of all those dogs you bought during the pandemic. One By One Music believes those dogs who, while everyone was sheltering in place, got too used to their family being at home for most of the day. Now that everyone's back to work, school or generally enjoying the outdoors, they're getting lonely and stressed on their lonesome. That's why the company conducted some research and claims to have discovered the secret to making dogs calmer. The answer is AI-generated downtempo music, which the company's representatives say reduces your pooch's stress by 84 percent.The general idea is that users will subscribe and leave the music running on their device at home while they're away. It'll cost 980 (around $6.70) per month, which you might think is a small price to pay if you think this is the most effective way to keep your dog happy. Now, I've only heard a tiny sample of the music the company is promising, so I can't make any real comment on its quality. But, it does feel very much like the sort of generic downtempo synth music you'll find in some spa music playlists that you'll find on Spotify. But, as I say, what price can you put on your love of your dog?We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/who-knew-dogs-enjoyed-downtempo-music-004714808.html?src=rss

Fortnite players in the US who believe they were charged for unwanted purchases during gameplay can request a refund via the Federal Trade Commission through the end of February. The claims process, which was previously set to end in January of this year, was initiated in September of 2023 after the regulatory agency finalized a settlement against Epic Games. About $245 million were earmarked for refunds alone.The FTC said it notified about 37 million eligible Fortnite users impacted by the company's practices when the claims initially opened. The agency said it will continue emailing potential refund recipients until the new deadline ends on February 29.The online claim form is available on the official FTC website, where you will need to share your Epic account ID and disclose whether or not you received an email from the regulator. To qualify for a refund, you must have been charged in-game currency for products in the Fortnite game you didn't intend to purchase between January 2017 and September 2022. This also applies to children who were subject to charges using their parent's accounts without adult supervision between January 2017 and November 2018.Importantly, the FTC highlights the fact that some charged users had their accounts locked after seeking support through Epic Games or after attempting reconciliation of charges with their credit card companies. This new extension comes as another blow to Epic Games, which was accused of violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act Rule in a separate ruling.The company has changed its policy on saving payment information as a result of the FTC claims case and will now offer a more direct way to offer yes or no options to save payment-related user information. In a statement, the company notably remarked, No developer creates a game with the intention of ending up here."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/theres-still-time-for-fortnite-players-to-request-a-refund-for-unwanted-items-224949244.html?src=rss

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the applications of 11 spot bitcoin ETFs in a highly anticipated decision that will make it much easier for people to dabble in cryptocurrency investing without directly buying and holding bitcoin. The approval comes one day after a hacker temporarily took over the SEC's X account and posted a rogue tweet saying that bitcoin ETFs had been approved by the regulator.The approval is a significant milestone for crypto investors, who for years have tried to win SEC approval for the investment funds that hold bitcoin. With the approval, 11 such funds will be listed on public stock exchanges.United States financial regulators have long been wary of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and in a statement, SEC Chair Gary Gensler wasn't exactly effusive about the merits of bitcoin. Bitcoin is primarily a speculative, volatile asset that's also used for illicit activity including ransomware, money laundering, sanction evasion, and terrorist financing," he wrote.While we approved the listing and trading of certain spot bitcoin ETP shares today, we did not approve or endorse bitcoin. Investors should remain cautious about the myriad risks associated with bitcoin and products whose value is tied to crypto."Gensler may have more reasons than usual to be circumspect. On Tuesday, one day before the SEC's decision on bitcoin ETFs was due, the SEC's official X account was hacked. The attackers posted a rogue tweet claiming the funds had been approved, causing a temporary spike in the price of bitcoin. The SEC has said it's working with the FBI and Inspector General to investigate the matter.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sec-approves-bitcoin-etfs-for-real-this-time-224125584.html?src=rss

A busy, stimulating convention like CES can exacerbate hand tremors for those living with Parkinson's Disease. For Roberta Wilson-Garrett, however, a new wearable device has been helping keep the tremors at bay. Wilson-Garrett has been using the GyroGlove, which launched here at CES 2024 in Las Vegas. It's a hand-stabilizing glove designed to "counteract hand tremors by utilizing advanced gyroscopic technology," giving wearers more control over their mobility.In the few days she has been wearing the GyroGlove, Wilson-Garrett says she's been able to perform certain tasks more easily. Things like buttoning up a shirt, moving a cup of coffee around or writing down a note had become easier with the device. One morning, she had forgotten that she didn't have the glove on and grabbed her coffee, only for her hand to shake and and the drink to spill over.It's in little daily activities like that where assistive technology can help give people with disabilities some sense of control and independence again. The current iteration of GyroGlove comprises of three parts: The fabric glove, the gyroscope in the stabilization module and a battery pack on the forearm. Though the company's reps said they designed the glove to be easy to put on by people with hand tremors, they wanted to help me get the device on. I held my palm out, and a representative slipped the GyroGlove on.The unit at the booth was too large for me, so my experience wasn't as effective or accurate. Though I tried to move my hand in a way that might be similar to tremors, I didn't quite feel any counteracting force or stabilizing effect.If anything, I just felt like there was a fairly heavy weight on the back of my palm and a constant low whir of the gyroscope spinning inside the module. According to the company's founder Faii Ong, the gyroscope is spinning at a speed that's over four times faster than a jet turbine. The device is powered by rechargeable lithium polymer batteries that last about four hours of continuous use, which Wilson-Garrett said was in line with her experience. She also said that she's heard of some people who manage to get two days out of a charge, if they use the device more intermittently depending on the frequency of their tremors.The components were designed to be bulky and easy for people with hand tremors to grip and maneuver. Large buttons on the battery pack allow for power control and navigation of the screen on the power unit, which also displays the battery status in large icons and font.Photo by Liviu Oprescu / EngadgetAll of these parts are attached to a comfortable harness, which felt stretchy, soft and spongy. The company said the fabric was "benchmarked against top yoga and athleisure brands" and "manufactured by the very same leading manufacturers." Altogether, the GyroGlove weighs about 580 grams (or about 1.27 pounds), with the stabilization and power modules each coming in at 200 grams.During my time with the device, I mostly held my hand up awkwardly in mid-air while gesturing at our video producer, and that prolonged strain might explain why the GyroGlove felt more heavy to me. Wilson-Garrett, however, said she found the glove comfortable to wear all day, and I noticed she was using her hand more naturally than I was. It's likely she had grown more accustomed to the GyroGlove's weight and presence, and had adapted to it.Ultimately, I'm not a person who lives with significant hand tremors and had tried on the wrong size of the device, so I cannot really criticize its effectiveness. Wilson-Garrett, who has been living with Parkinson's disease for at least six years, said she's happy with it and intends to purchase one.The GyroGlove is available for sale worldwide for $5,899 (though it's on sale for $1,000 cheaper for a limited time). Like many assistive devices, that's a high price that not everyone can pay. Ong said the GyroGlove is registered with the FDA and the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) as a medical device, and that the company is in talks with insurance providers in the US to consider covering the glove for those who need it. It's worth noting that GyroGlove is not meant to replace medication or other types of treatment, too.The company's reps said it has hopes for future iterations to be smaller and offer more sophisticated stabilization. For now, the fact that GyroGlove is an actual device you can buy (if you have the money for it) is a good sign of its potential ability to help the many people living with hand tremors.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gyroglove-is-a-hand-stabilizing-glove-for-people-with-tremors-223816688.html?src=rss

While MEMS drivers may be the next big thing in true wireless earbuds, the first models with the solid-state components still require a hybrid setup. These products pair a MEMS speaker with a dynamic driver to ensure proper bass performance. The current-gen driver from xMEMS, a California-based company that develops the audio components, is called Cowell and it's already available in earbuds from the likes of Creative and Noble Audio.The next-gen MEMS driver is called Cypress, and while it won't arrive in new products until 2025, I got a chance to hear the difference been it and Cowell at CES 2024 here in Las Vegas - and it's quite striking. With Cowell, there's bass, but it's subdued and the emphasis is on the highs and the mids. It sounds great, on both complete products and reference designs, offering punchy highs, full mids and great clarity. With Cypress alone though, there's a blanket of warm, bassy low-end that really fills out the soundstage. It will be a massive improvement for what MEMS drivers are capable of doing for wireless earbuds."We moved to a sound from ultrasound principle where we have ultrasonic modulation and demodulation to deliver 30 to 40 times greater low-frequency pressure for anti-noise generation for ANC earbuds, while still delivering all of the benefits of our solid state speakers," xMEMS vice president of marketing Mike Housholder explained. "Wide dynamic range, with excellent low-frequency performance for deep bass and noise cancellation."Photo by Billy Steele/EngadgetIndeed, that 30 to 40 times louder bass response was clearly evident when on a Cypress reference design. The prototype was built to showcase the MEMS drivers on their own, without that secondary dynamic driver today's true wireless models require for bass. The results are the pristine clarity you'd expect in a send of high-end wireless headphones or even some audiophile-grade cans. The additional bass isn't loud and boomy, but instead it's warm and full, inviting you to stay and listen a while. And that I did: I had a hard time putting the Cypress prototype down even when I felt I'd overstayed my welcome.On the whole, MEMS drivers offer a host of benefits over coil speakers that should all lead to better audio quality in your earbuds. They're more efficient in terms of mechanical response, with faster speeds there contributing to increased detail and clarity - something I certainly noticed on the Noble Audio FoKus Triumph wireless earbuds. This model pairs Cowell with a 6.5mm dynamic driver, but the boost in fidelity in the mids and highs is apparent. And getting a set of earbuds with MEMS drivers doesn't mean you'll pay more. The two models Creative has already debuted are $130 and $150. The same will be true for upcoming products with the ultrasonic Cypress drivers, according to Housholder."We see ourselves going to market first in flagship products," he said. "As with our current products, we really see the sweet spot for our products anywhere 150 and up, [which] is easily achievable day one. And then over time and over volume, getting down to that $100 price point."Various MEMS drivers for IEMs and wireless earbudsPhoto by Billy Steele/EngadgetAnd that's really the big takeaway from me. For years, companies have offered true wireless earbuds with some of the features of more premium flagship models, but usually lacking the sonic performance of pricier options. With MEMS drivers, the audio quality is greatly improved in affordable models that are half the price of the top-of-the-line Sony or Sennheiser noise-canceling earbuds. And with Cypress, xMEMS can offer audio companies the ability to improve overall sound quality without having to raise prices.xMEMS has also developed what it calls a DynamicVent to relieve occlusion in sleep earbuds. The component can automatically open or close depending on if the buds detect ambient noise like a snoring spouse. When open, the DynamicVent offers a semi-open fit like AirPods, but when it's closed the ear will be completely sealed off. The open vent should also keep sounds of your own breathing or the earbuds rubbing against a pillow from disturbing your sleep. xMEMS is showing off the DynamicVent at CES in a set of reference sleep buds equipped with its Cowell MEMS drivers.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/next-gen-mems-ultrasonic-solid-state-earbud-drivers-will-deliver-the-bass-214131547.html?src=rss

A year since Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) announced its debut EV concept, the Afeela, the company is back at CES 2024 in Las Vegas to offer more details, more collaborations and a driving simulator.The name of the concept vehicle hasn't changed since last we saw it. What is new, however, is the car's ability to be driven around with a PlayStation controller. I didn't get to do that - it was a stunt operated by one of the company's employees - but there was a DualSense controller involved in my demo.So let's begin where SHM left off. At last year's CES 2023, Sony revealed the Afeela Concept EV, which packed in 45 cameras and an expansive media bar" that spread across the vehicle's dash, showing a mix of car information, navigation, music players and more. The steering wheel was redesigned as a yoke so that the driver can better view that sumptuous dash. The company also further teased some mixed-reality tricks in collaboration with Epic Games.The Afeela EV itself looks mostly the same as the prototype from last year, although it now has a substantial LiDAR bar above the windscreen that looks like a giant smartphone notch. The company says that the car will be available for pre-order in 2025 before going on sale in the US the following year.At CES 2024, I got to step inside an Afeela, while an SHM representative gave me a tour of everything that's so far been crammed into this concept vehicle.Combining both Sony and Honda's expertise, the Afeela will create its own noise cancellation bubble, apparently tailoring the cabin for entertainment" using Sony's Spatial Audio technology. According to SHM's renders, there appear to be roughly 30 speakers, although that's more than likely to change as the concept further evolves. A spokesperson added that over 42 sensors grace the Afeela's initial spec sheet.Photo by Mat Smith/EngadgetIn one of the most surreal experiences I've had at CES, I also got to play Horizon Forbidden West on the Afeela's expansive dashboard display. No, there isn't a PS5 baked into this concept EV - why not, though? - but a demonstration involving PlayStation's long-running Remote Play feature. Sure, the Bluetooth connection to the controller was temperamental (CES is just hundreds of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals clashing), but conceptually, you get that it's possible. The two screens for passengers sitting in the rear would also be able to display games, movies and more; however they were just dummy screens in this demo car.SHM also announced during Sony's CES show that it's already teamed up with Microsoft to use its Azure OpenAI technology to create a Mobility Personal Agent" - a conversational in-car virtual assistant for drivers and passengers alike.It's also working with Polyphony Digital, the company behind Gran Turismo, on a nebulous goal of developing vehicles that fuse the virtual and the real, mainly in the area of human senses." For now, that collaboration has resulted in an Afeela you can drive in Gran Turismo.But it's the new dash, combined with AR graphics overlays and that LiDAR notch, which intrigues me most. The EV will draw information and imagery from its sensors and create 3D models of the outside world. This can be used for frivolous things, like Godzilla-styled monsters on your dashcam feed and augmented reality games. Or more simply, rich, detailed overlays for navigation to nearby businesses and destinations.While we weren't driving the Afeela EV around Las Vegas, SHM tried to offer the next best thing: a car simulator made in collaboration with Epic Games (and what appears to be that Unreal Engine 5 Matrix demo). Steering around the virtual world, in an Aveela cockpit (in a moody black colorway, different from the light gray showroom car I sat in earlier), the digital wing mirrors also displayed the same highly realistic 3D world. The dash display then offered an AR overlay, showing vehicles, objects and pedestrians, flagging nearby hazards in red.SHM is still putting a lot of its focus on developing its autonomous driving technology and advanced driver assistance systems, the latter are non-autonomous helper features, similar to Tesla's Autopilot. With Qualcomm's Snapdragon Ride SoC powering the concept vehicle's advanced driving features, the Afeela could reach limited Level 3 autonomous driving capabilities. At that point (and we're not there yet) a vehicle can manage most aspects of driving without any human intervention. A spokesperson added it would be capable of Level 2 Plus autonomous driving in urban settings. SHM also teased traffic monitoring through the sensors, detection for objects like traffic cones, and apparently, using what it calls a Vision Transformer that will work to detect environmental characteristics in a broader perspective" - this could translate into predicting future traffic jams before you meet them or alternative driving routes.The car will also utilize all those sensors more frivolously, to detect drivers' approach and open the door for them. The same sensors, including LiDAR and cameras, will guide the Afeela as it parks itself.Many of us still wonder if SHM's EV will ever exist as a consumer vehicle. The commitment to getting its car on roads by 2026 is still there, and while CES may be the perfect audience for the hype being served up, will car buyers think the same?We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/i-played-horizon-zero-dawn-inside-sony-and-hondas-afeela-concept-ev-at-ces-2024-205902922.html?src=rss

When I'm away from home and don't have access to my big desktop displays, it feels like I'm missing a limb. Unfortunately, there's a limit to how big a portable monitor can really be. After a certain point, it's not going to fit in a reasonably sized bag. ASUS's ZenScreen Fold solves that problem through the use of a bendy OLED panel. I had a chance to see it person while covering CES 2024 here in Las Vegas this week.Measuring 17.3 inches across, the ZenScreen Fold is still a far cry from the 27-inch monitors I have at home, but it's a huge step up from typical 14- or 15-inch portable displays. And thanks to the fact that you can bend it in half, it can collapse down to something not much larger than a hardcover book and just 0.38 inches thick. Though it is a bit heavier at two and a half pounds. It also comes with a handy travel case and, because its display is protected when closed, you should be able to toss it in a bag without worrying about damaging its soft plastic panel.The display's specs are more than decent too, as it boasts a QHD+ resolution (2,560 x 1,920), a gamut that covers 100 percent of DCI-P3 and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 compliance. That said, this shouldn't come as a complete surprise as the ZenScreen Fold is based on the same basic panel as what ASUS used in the Zenbook 17 Fold.The difference this time is that the panel is a slightly newer revision, so it's a bit more durable. And, thanks to a redesigned hinge that creates a waterdrop-shaped fold, there's even less of a crease - you have to look hard to see it. Even its kickstand is better than the one on ASUS' bendy laptop, as it offers solid stability in either portrait or landscape. And for a portable monitor, there's more than enough connectivity including mini HDMI, two USB-C ports and a 3.5mm audio jack.Sadly, while ASUS may have made a big travel display that's easy to carry around, this thing is really expensive at a cool $2,000. But if you want a portable monitor that gives you the most screen space in the smallest physical size, the ZenScreen may be it.The ZenScreen Fold is expected to go on sale sometime in Q2.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-2000-asus-zenscreen-fold-solves-the-biggest-issue-with-portable-monitors-ces-2024-204009822.html?src=rss

The best part about CES 2024 has been all of the cool product announcements. Many of these products are early in development, so not available for purchase. Some, however, are already on store shelves, allowing tech-crazed consumers to see what all the fuss is about. Here are some of the niftier items displayed at this year's CES that are ready, willing and able to empty your bank account. These products range from cool smartphone accessories to gaming laptops and some items that simply defy description.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/25-gadgets-from-ces-2024-that-you-can-buy-right-now-202332730.html?src=rss

OpenAI has rolled out its store for custom GPTs and a new ChatGPT subscription tier for smaller teams. The GPT Store allows developers and users to share and profit from their custom versions of the viral chatbot. Meanwhile, ChatGPT Team costs $25 to $30 monthly per user while offering data security and supporting longer queries.GPT StoreOpenAIThe GPT Store allows OpenAI to turn ChatGPT's white-hot prominence in the tech world into a tollkeeper's business model, taking a cut of revenue like in Apple's App Store. Anyone can build and share GPTs -you don't need coding experience - but creators must make a Builder Profile that shares their real name or points users to a verified website.OpenAI says a revenue program for GPT creators is coming soon in Q1. As a first step, US builders will be paid based on user engagement with their GPTs," the company wrote, promising to provide more info as the program's launch approaches. For now, GPT creators will have to settle for riding the hype train and hoping the terms are attractive.ChatGPT TeamAs OpenAI describes it, ChatGPT Team provides a secure, collaborative workspace to get the most out of ChatGPT at work." Unlike ChatGPT Enterprise, which was launched in August, the Team tier doesn't require thousands of dollars or calls with the company's sales team. Instead, anyone subscribed to ChatGPT Plus or Enterprise can join for $30 (when billed monthly) or $25 (annually) per month.ChatGPT Team offers access to GPT-4 with a larger (32,000-token) context window for longer queries. In addition, subscribers get higher message caps, and (like with the Enterprise tier) OpenAI says it won't train its models on ChatGPT Team subscribers' data or conversations.The Team tier also provides a secure workspace," including an admin console to manage seats. Team members on the plan can also create and share custom GPTs internally. Finally, OpenAI teases that ChatGPT Team subscribers will receive early access to new features and improvements."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/chatgpt-maker-openai-launches-gpt-store-and-a-subscription-tier-for-teams-195339463.html?src=rss

Earlier this week, Volkswagen announced plans to augment its in-car voice assistant IDA with ChatGPT. I'll admit that I initially didn't quite understand the point, but I got a chance here at CES 2024 in Las Vegas to hear about the vision for this integration from Cerence, the company that already powers the back-end of VW's voice assistant. As usual, it's a bit of a rough demo, because it's hard to exactly see how ChatGPT will help you out when you're on the road when you're instead sitting in a stationary car inside of a convention center.But conceptually, the idea behind bringing ChatGPT into a car is all about avoiding a "dead end" when you as IDA something, Cerence told us. Drivers don't need to do anything different - you just say "Hello IDA" or press the voice assistant button on the driver's wheel and start talking. And if there's something that IDA doesn't know, it'll check with ChatGPT. When the voice assistant hits ChatGPT, you'll only know because the response says "According to ChatGPT" at the beginning of it.I wasn't able to get a great sense yet of what things ChatGPT is good for. One of the demos we saw involved asking the car to tell us a story about dinosaurs, as a theoretical way to entertain kids in the back seat. ChatGPT quickly came back and started spinning a cute yarn - a good proof of concept but probably not something you'll need to do in the car a lot. I asked the car to tell me about Sphere, the massive new concert / entertainment venue in Las Vegas, and it started responding with details about it "opening soon." That's because the version of ChatGPT in the car didn't have the absolute latest details about it. I was expecting more of a Google-like experience, where I could ask things like "who won the Celtics game last night?" but that's not really what ChatGPT is for.Given how capable the IDA voice assistant already seems to be, I'm not yet sure how much ChatGPT will add to the equation. But, the usual caveats apply - this was just a quick demo, not on the road, and it's not fully ready for release yet. But VW is not alone in seeing benefits for adding LLMs to its cars. BMW is working with Amazon to bring AI-powered vehicle info to its cars, and Mercedes-Benz started testing a ChatGPT integration last year. I wager we'll hear more about this from other manufacturers in the year ahead.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-volkswagen-with-chatgpt-told-me-a-story-about-dinosaurs-at-ces-2024-185239472.html?src=rss

Sony shared its upcoming PlayStation Plus free games for January on Wednesday. Headlining this month's batch are Capcom's 2019 Resident Evil 2 remake and the Borderlands spinoff Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers can claim the 14 new games on January 16.The Resident Evil 2 remake (PS5 / PS4) is far from just a fresh coat of paint. Although the revamp retains the core gameplay elements from the 1998 original, it's visually unrecognizable, now running on Capcom's RE Engine. It feels like a contemporary title," Engadget's Jessica Conditt wrote in a 2018 preview.CapcomTiny Tina's Wonderlands: Next-Level Edition (PS5, PS4) takes one of Borderlands' most memorable NPCs and drops you into a genre-blending fantasy world conjured from her macabre and erratic imagination. Expanding on the ideas from the Borderlands 2 DLC Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep, Gearbox's spinoff (and Dungeons & Dragons parody) includes magic, guns and chaotic instant revisions to the game world. It also has star-studded voice work from Andy Samberg, Wanda Sykes and Will Arnett.Other claimable titles this month include salvaging sci-fi physics sim Hardspace: Shipbreaker (PS5), Lego's rare non-IP installment Lego City Undercover (PS4), 2015 action-adventure title Just Cause 3, tactical stealth game Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (PS4), narrative RPG Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong (PS5 / PS4) and post-apocalyptic strategy title Surviving the Aftermath (PS4).CapcomThis month's redeemable classic (retro) titles include the Street Fighter: 30th Anniversary Collection (PS4), which collects 12 classic games in the fighting series, including the original installment and the trendsetting Street Fighter II. Secret of Mana (PS4), Legend of Mana (PS4), Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace (PS5 / PS4) and Rally Cross (PS5 / PS4) will also be available for subscribers starting on on January 16.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tiny-tinas-wonderlands-and-re2-headline-januarys-playstation-plus-monthly-games-183050065.html?src=rss

LG Display came to CES 2024 with something to prove. Its showroom in Las Vegas had transparent OLEDs, a 480Hz gaming monitor and the company's most advanced OLED panels yet, featuring its META technology 2.0. While it sounds like promotional fluff (and there is some of that), LG Display is trying to address arguably OLED's biggest weakness in the face of ever-improving LEDs, MicroLEDs and the rest. Using advanced microlens arrays (now called MLA+) and new algorithms, LG Display says it's made an OLED 42 percent brighter than the displays that came before it.At CES 2024, I took a closer look at the prototype panels, headed to TVs later this year.- Mat SmithYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest stories you might have missedThis e-bike has integrated ChatGPTCES 2024 live: All the tech announcements so far The EcoFlow Delta Pro Ultra is a home battery that can harvest power from 42 solar panelsWeber reveals its more affordable, more versatile Searwood smart grill at CES 2024The best smart plugsAmazon won't support AirPlay or Chromecast but will adopt Matter CastingHBO's The Last of Us has found its AbbyRabbit R1 is a very different AI-powered virtual assistantIt's co-designed by Teenage Engineering.RabbitA new startup called Rabbit seems to think our virtual assistants are less-than-ideal implementations of AI - and they're not wrong. The dream of Rabbit is you leave your apps behind for conversation and, rather than a distracting device shoving icons in your face, you interact with what amounts to a walkie-talkie for an AI.The stylish hardware (thanks, TE) is reminiscent of the Playdate handheld-with-a-crank, with an analog scroll wheel and a 360-degree rotational eye," but the coolest feature - not that we've seen it working in real life yet - is its ability to use interfaces rather than APIs or apps. You can train it to use Photoshop to perform simple editing tasks and, apparently, even play Diablo for you. You can then make it repeat those tasks just whenever.The Rabbit R1 costs $199 and is available for pre-order, with an expected ship date before the end of April.Continue reading.OpenAI admits it's impossible to train generative AI without copyrighted materialsThe company has also published a response to a lawsuit filed by The New York Times.OpenAI and its biggest backer, Microsoft, are facing several lawsuits accusing them of using other people's copyrighted works without permission to train the former's large language models (LLMs). OpenAI wrote in its evidence to the UK's House of Lords Communications and Digital Select Committee that it would be impossible to train today's leading AI models without using copyrighted materials."In some lawsuits, the plaintiffs accuse the companies of refusing to pay authors for their work while building a billion-dollar industry and enjoying enormous financial gain from copyrighted materials.Continue reading.The ASUS Zenbook Duo is a stunning dual-screen laptop with seemingly no compromisesIt's relatively affordable at $1,500.EngadgetThe ASUS Zenbook Duo features two screens and a detachable Bluetooth keyboard that can be stashed inside for traveling. This iteration stands out because the OLED panels are slightly larger than those on rival devices, at 14 inches, while also offering a 3K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and stylus support. Plus, with a starting price of $1,500, it costs $500 less than the Yoga Book.Continue reading.Clicks hands-on: An iPhone keyboard for 2024Whimsy in three colors.EngadgetThe iPhone's touchscreen killed the physical smartphone keyboard, so why not resurrect it with a case? Clicks' design couldn't be simpler. It's a silicone case with a physical keyboard bolted on the bottom, coming to the iPhone 14 Pro, the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Read on for our first impressions.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-lg-displays-next-gen-oleds-are-42-percent-brighter-than-its-predecessors-181523507.html?src=rss

There's a fact, discovered by Scientific American and popularized by Steve Jobs, that a human on a bike is the most efficient animal on Earth. Shift Robotics, a startup spun out of Carnegie Mellon, is hoping to disrupt that wisdom with its Moonwalkers, shoes with built-in wheels that speed up human walking. The company rocked up at CES 2024 in Las Vegas with the existing Moonwalkers and its new model, the Moonwalkers X, for us to have a play with.Essentially they're shoes that, when your foot strikes the ground, spin their wheels to push you a little further forward. Each step only offers a small extra distance but the cumulative effect can make your journey up to three times faster. The battery should give you around 7 miles of range, after which point you'll have to grab a USB-C cable and wait 1.5 hours to recharge. And, if you'd like to own a pair for yourselves, you'll need to stump up $1,399 for the privilege.Now, much as the original model is designed to be used on the sidewalks of the United States, that may not be its ideal environment. That's why the company has developed Moonwalkers X, which shaves a pound off the weight and reduces the number of wheels. These are instead aimed at warehouse and logistics workers who are walking around smooth concrete floors for hours at a time. It seems an ideal way to speed up transit while reducing fatigue in industrial environments where concerns about fashion are less prevalent. Unfortunately, there's no price for these just yet, but we will expect to learn more before their release date at the midpoint of this year.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/dont-call-em-skates-because-theyre-moonwalkers-164737288.html?src=rss

Amazon is laying off hundreds of people across Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, as reported by Variety. This is for the usual reason. The company found a way to save some money and went for it. You know the drill. Amazon's entertainment chief Mike Hopkins wrote in an email to staff that it has identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact."Hopkins didn't give an exact number, but did note that several hundred" employees would be given walking papers and that most American workers will know by the end of the day, with global employees following suit by the end of the week. He also wrote that it is hard to say goodbye to talented Amazonians."Amazon says it'll help laid off workers with benefit packages that will include a separation payment and external job placement support. The company promises continued investments in programming, marketing and product," despite the layoffs.Amazon has been in something of a layoff frenzy of late, even with over 200 million paying Prime subscribers. Most recently, it absolutely gutted Twitch with layoffs amounting to 35 percent of the service's workforce. The company laid off nearly 200 people from its gaming division back in November, along with a few hundred people from its Alexa division. In January of last year, Amazon laid off an astounding 18,000 people from its retail and recruiting divisions. The company posted record profits in 2023.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-is-laying-off-several-hundred-employees-at-prime-video-and-mgm-studios-161307199.html?src=rss

Urtopia has tried to separate its e-bike's from the pack with copious use of technology and this year the company has outdone itself. It just showed off its flagship Fusion model for the first time in full at CES 2024 (after teasing it earlier this year) and it's fully integrated with none other than ChatGPT, the buzzy AI assistant. The Fusion follows the company's previous tech-infused Chord and original Urtopia models.Urtopia calls the Fusion "the world's first dual battery, dual motor ebike by design visionary Hartmut Esslinger," a very specific claim. It's built with carbon fiber to reduce weight and uses a Shimano CUES derailleur on the regular model and Enviolo stepless shifter on the premium CVT version. The dual 540Wh battery allows for 120km of range (75 miles), but the 360Wh battery extender brings that up to 200km (124 miles) - enough to traverse Paris from north to south about 20 times.UrtopiaIt can hit up to 25 km/h thanks to the 95Nm mid-drive motor and has 100mm of travel with the air suspension fork. All that, combined with the relatively light weight (23 kg) wide tires and stable frame, make it suitable for off-road, trails and city riding.That could be any e-bike, but the Fusion's headline feature is the tech. It's connected by 4G and uses GPS tracking to keep you informed of the bike's location even if stolen. It also comes with a movement alarm, fingerprint unlock, route tracking, navigation without a cellphone and Bluetooth music via a built-in speaker - all as with past models.What's new is what the company calls "Jarvis" technology enabled by a smart ring (the company didn't say which one) to power the bike on, play music or activate the other tech feature, ChatGPT. You can also converse directly with ChatGPT through the built-in speaker. You may reasonably ask what ChatGPT is doing on an e-bike - the answer is that it can help you "explore new routes, get real-time information, and even engage in entertaining conversations," according to Urtopia.We're not sure how useful a chat assistant is when dodging traffic at 25 km/h, but it might at least keep you company on a lonely trail. It's also a pretty solid marketing gimmick that the company is using to separate itself from the many, many other e-bikes on the market. Buyers will have to be pretty well heeled, though, as the Fusion will cost 3,999 (around $4,375) and the Fusion CVT will run a hefty 4,999 ($5,467). There's no word yet on when it'll go on sale or if it will come to the US.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/urtopias-fusion-e-bike-has-fully-integrated-chatgpt-144429572.html?src=rss

Valve has introduced new rules to abide by that will allow the company to add more games with AI content to its Steam gaming platform. To start with, it's updating its content survey form for developers so that they can give the company a description of how they use artificial intelligence in their games. If they used AI tools to generate art, code, sound or any other kind of content for their title, developers must ensure that they do not include anything illegal or anything that infringes on someone else's copyright. Valve says it will evaluate each game and check if the developer has submitted truthful information.For live-generated AI content, developers have to tell the company what kind of guardrails they've put up to prevent their games from creating anything considered illegal. And since Valve will not be able to review all content games create in real time, it's launching a new system on Steam that will allow players to easily send in a report. If a player sees anything they believe should've been caught by appropriate guardrails, they can use Steam's new in-game overlay to notify the company.Valve said it will also be transparent with gamers when it comes with what kind of AI content a developer's title has by including their disclosure on their Steam store page. The company explained that the new rules are a result of it improving its "understanding of the landscape and risks" in the AI space. Last year, Valve admitted that it was still "working through" how to account for AI content in its review process after developers complained that the company was rejecting their submissions. It needed "some time to learn about the fast-moving and legally murky space of AI technology," Valve clarified in its new post. The company said it still can't release games with live-generated adult sexual content right now, but that it will revisit its rules as it learns more about the technology and as the legal issues surrounding it evolves.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/valves-new-guidelines-will-allow-for-more-ai-content-in-games-134515623.html?src=rss

Sennheiser announced two very different sets of wireless earbuds at CES 2024 here in Las Vegas, extending its Momentum line with a fourth-generation flagship model and a high-tech sport version. The company's premium earbuds have offered excellent sound quality for a while now, consistently earning the best overall audio in our best wireless earbuds list. We paid Sennheiser a quick visit to see how the two new sets stack up.There's no need to mince words here: The audio performance on the Momentum True Wireless 4 is outstanding. I only listened to them for a few minutes, but I had a hard time walking away. The jazz demo tracks the company selected played to the earbuds' strengths with excellent clarity and pleasant, inviting tuning. Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) also seems to be improved as I was able to silence a noisy hotel suite at the press of a button. Transparency mode is also better and more natural sounding, but you still don't get as much of your voice beamed back through the earbuds as you do on the AirPods Pro.Sennheiser clarified during my demo that its stated battery life on the Momentum True Wireless 4 of seven and a half hours is with ANC off. However, it explained that it has narrowed the gap in regards to noise cancellation impacting battery life as enabling it only reduces play time by 30 minutes.Sennheiser Momentum SportPhoto by Billy Steele/EngadgetI'm also happy to report there's no discernible drop off in audio quality with the Momentum Sport. There's still crisp, clear sound that's evenly tuned despite the company's goal of "impressive bass" for workouts. There's ample low-end tone here, but it didn't seem to be cranked any higher than the Momentum True Wireless 4. The size of the Sport model makes them very comfortable to wear and the ANC seemed to do a solid job blocking the roar of CES surrounding us.The Momentum True Wireless 4 goes on sale March 1 and the Momentum Sport will be available April 9. I'll be putting both sets of earbuds through their paces closer to their respective launch dates.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sennheiser-momentum-4-and-momentum-sport-hands-on-excellent-sound-in-two-very-different-earbuds-133029171.html?src=rss

The original iPhone convinced me (and many others) that typing on touchscreens was the future. So the last thing I expected to test out during CES 2024 here in Las Vegas was a mobile accessory that's trying to bring back the physical keyboard. And, while I wanted to dismiss Clicks as a thing for people who can't let go of yesteryear, what I found was a gadget that's solving some modern problems by taking cues from the past.Clicks' design couldn't be simpler. It's a silicone case (Clicks' website actually says it's Liquid Silicon, but I think that's a typo) with a physical keyboard bolted on the bottom. There's a small vegan leather accent on the back, little bumps to accommodate buttons and switches, and a passthrough connector at the bottom (either Lightning or USB-C depending on your device). At launch, Clicks will be available for three devices starting at $139: the iPhone 14 Pro, the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max.Photo by Sam Rutherford/EngadgetThe first problem that Clicks tries to address is giving you back your screen space, because when you don't need to display a virtual keyboard at the bottom all the time, suddenly things feel a lot roomier. And Clicks accomplishes this with flying colors. But personally, with the increasing size of phones (especially new-fangled foldables), this has never really been an issue for me. But that doesn't mean this isn't a problem for others so it's nice to see Clicks providing people with alternatives to typing on glass.Another big goal for Clicks is optimizing your device by providing tons of shortcuts, which to me is much more appealing. It almost gives your phone the type of speed and productivity you enjoy on a laptop. You can press CMD+H to go home, tap the Spacebar to scroll in Safari, hit CMD+Space to open up Spotlight search and so much more. Some commands even work in third-party apps like Instagram, which is just really handy. And after seeing Apple add a single Action key on the iPhone 15 Pro, my head is already swimming with the possibilities of having 30+ customizable shortcuts.Finally, there's the simple joy of having physical keys to wail away on. While you don't get mechanical switches like on a desktop keyboard (Clicks features rubber domes), the tiny nickel-plated keycaps feel solid and offer a nice tactile bump with each press. You also get some handy backlighting so you don't have to suffer in dark rooms. The one issue is that after years of typing on screens, I'm not entirely sure I want to go back. And that probably goes double for anyone who prefers swipe-based entry methods.After years of typing on glass, just banging out a short text using Clicks felt lethargic. And even with their circular design which leaves ample space in between the keys, I found myself fumbling. But then old habits started coming back and I can easily see how those yearning for their old Blackberrys, Sidekicks, or Motorola Envys might be enchanted.Now that I've used it, I can't deny that there's something endearing about Clicks. But when it comes to getting more use out of a device, I lean more towards foldable phones or simply bigger screens. Plus, there are a few other minor issues, like iPhones not being able to handle charging and data over USB-C at the same time, which could be an issue for anyone who relies on wired CarPlay while using Clicks. Also by tacking a keyboard onto the bottom of an iPhone, which already have extra long 19.5:9 aspect ratios, you may feel like you're lugging around a stack of rulers. And if you have an Android handset, you're just plain out of luck (at least for now). But there's no doubt that Clicks is a charming device, especially those flashy yellow and blue/pink models.Clicks will be available starting on February 1 for the iPhone 14 Pro with the other models following sometime later this spring.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/clicks-hands-on-a-charming-keyboard-for-2024-thats-relying-on-more-than-just-nostalgia-131537619.html?src=rss

The US Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule to the Federal Register on Wednesday that would increase the difficulty of classifying workers as independent contractors. If the rule survives court challenges unscathed, it will replace a business-friendly Trump-era regulation that did the opposite. It's scheduled to go into effect on March 11.The new rule, first proposed in 2022, could have profound implications for companies like Uber and DoorDash that rely heavily on gig workers. It would mandate that workers who are economically dependent" on a company be considered employees.The rule restores a pre-Trump precedent of using six factors to determine workers' classification. These include their opportunity for profit or loss, the financial stake and nature of resources the worker has invested in the work, the work relationship's permanence, the employer's degree of control over the person's work, how essential the person's work is to the employer's business and the worker's skill and initiative.In its decision to publish the new guidance, the DOL cites a longstanding precedent" in the courts predating the Trump administration's hard right turn. A century of labor protections for working people is premised on the employer-employee relationship," Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su said in a press call with Bloomberg.Misclassifying employees as independent contractors is a serious issue that deprives workers of basic rights and protections," Su wrote in the announcement post. This rule will help protect workers, especially those facing the greatest risk of exploitation, by making sure they are classified properly and that they receive the wages they've earned."Mike Kemp via Getty ImagesIf the rule takes effect, it's expected to increase employer costs. The US Chamber of Commerce, a non-government lobby for business interests, unsurprisingly opposes it. It is likely to threaten the flexibility of individuals to work when and how they want and could have significant negative impacts on our economy," Marc Freedman, VP of the US Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement to Reuters.DoorDash sounds optimistic that the rule wouldn't apply to its workforce. We are confident that Dashers are properly classified as independent contractors under the FLSA, and we do not anticipate this rule causing changes to our business," the company wrote in a statement. We will continue to engage with the Department of Labor, Congress, and other stakeholders to find solutions that ensure Dashers maintain their flexibility while gaining access to new benefits and protections."Groups with similar views are expected to mount legal challenges to the rule before it goes into effect. A previous attempt by the Biden Administration to void the Trump-era rules met such a fate when a federal judge blocked the DOL's reversal.Although the most prominent theoretical applications of the rule would be with gig economy apps like DoorDash, Lyft and Uber, it could stretch to sectors including healthcare, trucking and construction. The department is seeing misclassifications in places it hasn't seen it before," Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looma said to Bloomberg on Monday. Health care, construction, janitorial, and even restaurant workers who are often living paycheck to paycheck are some of the most vulnerable workers."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/new-department-of-labor-rule-could-reclassify-countless-gig-workers-as-employees-130836919.html?src=rss

My experience with smoking meat has been entirely outdoors, using a mix of grills that burn charcoal, wood or pellets. Not everyone has the space for one of those setups, but thanks to GE Appliances' latest device, you can bring the barbecue indoors. Plus, you don't even have to been there while it's cooking. At the company's CES 2024 booth in Las Vegas, I finally got a taste of that the GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker is capable of cooking.Lousiville-based chef and Food Network Chopped champion Dallas McGarity is with GE Appliances at CES this week. He explained that he's been using the Smart Indoor Smoker in his restaurant for infusing flavor in everything from spices to cheese and deviled eggs. Of course, when most people think of smoking foods, they think of meat. McGarity prepared a one-bite sampler to showcase the type of flavor we can expect from the device: beef tenderloin with a sweet and spicy rub, roasted garlic barbecue sauce, Southwest breadcrumbs and scallions. An elevated taster, for sure, but not too far from something you might prepare at home.After just a couple of hours in the Smart Indoor Smoker, the beef had noticeable flavor from the wood pellets. McGarity was also preparing a pork butt, but it still had several hours to go before it would be ready. Given my experience with outdoor smokers, even just one bite gave me a sense of what the GE Profile model was capable of. My main concern was the amount of smoke flavor it would impart, and it was great to see that the device managed infuse an ample amount in a limited time period. That bodes well for an 8- to12-hour low-and-slow smoke session.One other aspect of the Smart Indoor Smoker that I was able to see in action was the Clear Smoke function. Or, I should say, I got to see what happens when you don't use it. McGarity was keeping the beef bites warm in the device and, rather than make me wait 10 minutes for the cooking chamber to clear of smoke, he opened the unit and smoke wafted up in the air. Ideally, you wouldn't want to do this in your kitchen, but he worked fast and the cloud was minimal. Even still, the Smart Indoor Smoker recovered quickly, getting back to its target temperature with visible smoke returning in seconds.The cooker costs $1,000 and, unlike many other gadgets launched at CES, is already available at some retailers.Photo by Billy Steele/EngadgetWe're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/we-tried-meat-from-the-ge-profile-smart-indoor-smoker-and-it-was-delicious-130029336.html?src=rss

Taylor Swift is not giving out free Le Creuset products in social media advertisements - though deepfakes of her voice would like you to believe otherwise. A series of posts have recently surfaced on TikTok and in Meta's Ad Library claiming to show Swift offering free Le Creuset cookware sets, the New York Times reports. The ads featured clips where Swift was near Le Creuset products and used a synthetic version of her voice. The scammers used AI to have the cloned voice address her fans, "Swifties," and produce other little remarks.These posts led interested parties to fake versions of sites like The Food Network with made-up articles and testimonials about Le Creuset. Shoppers were then asked just to provide the $9.96 for shipping to get their free products. Unsurprisingly, no Dutch ovens arrived, and customers had additional monthly charges added to their cards. Le Creuset confirmed no such giveaway was occurring.Swift is hardly the only celebrity who has recently found their voice co-opted using AI. She's not even the only one used in the scam, with interior designer Joanna Gaines mimicked in ads from verified accounts or ones labeled as sponsored posts. In April 2023, the Better Business Bureau warned consumers about the high quality of ads featuring AI-manufactured versions of celebrities. Since then, scammers have used deepfakes to convince consumers that Luke Combs was selling weight loss gummies, Tom Hanks was promoting dental plans and Gayle King was selling other weight loss products, to name a few examples.Little regulation exists for monitoring deepfakes or punishing the people who create them. A lot of the responsibility currently falls on the platforms, with YouTube, for example, laying out new steps for reporting deepfakes. At the same time, its working with select musicians to loan their voices out and create greater interest in AI-generated versions of real people.Last year, two bills were introduced in Congress to address deepfakes: The No Fakes Act and the Deepfakes Accountability Act. However, the fate of both pieces of legislation is uncertain. At the moment, only select states, such as California and Florida, have any AI regulation.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/taylor-swift-deepfake-used-for-le-creuset-giveaway-scam-123231417.html?src=rss

Hyundai has debuted its new air taxi concept, the S-A2, at CES 2024 in Las Vegas. The electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle is a follow-up to the S-A1 model it introduced at the same event back in 2020. Hyundai still envisions the S-A2 as an every day transportation solution for urban areas, one that could get passengers from point A to point B a lot more quickly than if they'd traveled by car or bus and had to contend with traffic.The S-A2 has a cruising speed of 120mph upon reaching an altitude of 1,500 feet and was designed to fly short trips between 25 to 40 miles. It has eight rotors and an electric propulsion architecture that the company says can operate "as quietly as a dishwasher" unlike loud traditional helicopters. Inside, the vehicle has seats for a pilot and four passengers, and it has lighting that provides visual cues, such as where to enter and exit. For safety purposes, it has a lot of redundant components, such as its powertrain and flight controls, which can take over if the main ones malfunction.Hyundai's air mobility company Supernal is hoping to achieve commercial aviation safety levels and to enter the market with an eVTOL vehicle by 2028. We might see future versions of the concept in the next CES events before that year - or after, if the company has to adjust its timeline. If and when Supernal does make it to market, it intends to use Hyundai's mass production capabilities to manufacture its eVTOLs and make sure its business is cost-effective.HyundaiWe're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/hyundai-shows-off-its-updated-s-a2-air-taxi-at-ces-2024-115516581.html?src=rss

It's been about three months since we first saw Tesla sell an upgraded version of the Model 3 in Europe, China and the Middle East. Now, Tesla's 2024 Model 3 is available to purchase in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The sedan is a refreshed version with some clear changes between the models.Inside the Tesla 2024 Model 3 is a new eight-inch rear display that controls things like infotainment and climate. The front display remains the same size at 15 inches but is brighter and has a thinner bezel. The updated car also offers ventilated front seats, "softer, more sophisticated materials," and an audio system with up to 17 speakers. The entire 2024 Model 3 is outfitted with acoustic glass for a quieter drive and has customizable ambient lighting.The car's exterior also has some upgrades, with Tesla integrating the fog lights and indicators into the main headlights. The 2024 Model 3 also foregoes the front bump with "styling optimized for maximum aerodynamics." At the rear, the lights fully connect versus two separate pieces. Plus, there are two new color options: Ultra Red and Stealth Grey.The Model 3 is available in two types. The new Real Wheel Model 3's range remains at 272 miles. Notably, its alternative, the 2024 Long Range Model 3, has a slightly increased EPA estimated range of 341 miles versus its predecessor's 333 miles. This boost - albeit minor - comes at a time when Tesla is lowering many of its listed driving ranges in response to a new US government regulation testing vehicles to ensure they're providing accurate estimates. Tesla has previously manipulated the number displayed in cars to appear higher and even set up a secret team in 2022 tasked with suppressing range complaints and canceling service appointments about range limits.Tesla's 2024 Model 3 is now available to order with an estimated delivery of January or February. The Real Wheel Mode starts at $38,990, with the option to lease for $329 monthly. The Long Range Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive Model 3 is available for $45,990 or $439 per month if leasing.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/teslas-refreshed-2024-model-3-is-now-on-sale-in-the-us-111533256.html?src=rss

The first truly busy day of CES 2024 has come and gone and it feels like we've been run over by a giant metaphorical eighteen-wheeler full of press conferences. From home robots to electric vehicles to AI, laptops and processors, there was news from pretty much all areas of tech. There were pleasant surprises like Samsung's cute new Ballie robot ball and Sony's spatial content creation headset, and intriguing concepts like Razer's vibrating cushion for gamers. We also got exactly what we expected in the form of new processors from the likes of AMD, Intel and NVIDIA, as well as the subsequent flood of laptops carrying the just-announced chips for 2024.And for everyone else, this CES also saw the launch of things like headphones, electric vehicles, gaming handhelds, grills, gaming phones, e-ink tablets, strange hybrid devices, noise-suppressing masks, standing desks and more. It's a free for all and we're nowhere near done. Here's just a small selection of the biggest news out of CES 2024's press day, right before the show officially opens.Samsung and Sony's press conferences had some of the best surprises this year. Samsung showed us a new version of its Ballie robot, which is cute as heck. It's basically a yellow bowling ball with a projector built in and can send you text messages and video clips of what's at home while you're out. You can ask it to close your curtains, turn on your lights or stream your favorite yoga video to your ceiling while you lie on your back for a meditative session. Samsung told The Washington Post that Ballie will be available for sale some time this year, but did not say how much it would cost. I guess that's another surprise we can look forward to in the coming months.Then there's Sony, which brought us a few unexpected demos, starting by driving its Afeela concept electric car onstage using a PlayStation controller. Then, it showed off its mixed reality headset for spatial content creation," which sounds somewhat similar to Apple's Vision Pro and Microsoft's HoloLens. Sony's does appear to target content creators, though, and looks like a pared down PSVR2 headset. It'll be powered by a Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset, sport dual 4K OLED microdisplays and have user and space tracking. The new Sony headset still has no name, no price, but itwill be available later this year.Also dominating our news feeds on Day 1 was the barrage of chip news coming from Intel, AMD and NVIDIA. AMD, for example, launched a new Radeon RX 7600 XT GPU, which is a slight upgrade from last year's entry-level model. The company also brought processors with neural processing units for AI acceleration to its desktop offerings by announcing the Ryzen 8000G series.Meanwhile, NVIDIA unveiled the RTX 4080 Super, RTX 4070 Ti Super and RTX 4070 Super, which will cost $999, $799 and $599 respectively. It also announced updates for its GeForce Now cloud gaming service, adding G-Sync support and day passes for streaming. Intel kept things fairly tame and tidy, simply giving us its complete 14th-generation CPU family, including HX-series chips like a 24-core i9 model. It also launched the Core U Processor Series 1, which is designed to balance performance and power efficiency in thin and light laptops.Speaking of laptops, most PC makers followed up the chip news flood by announcing all their new models containing the latest silicon. We saw notebooks from Alienware, Lenovo, MSI, Acer, Asus, and Razer, among others. MSI also had a new gaming handheld to show us, which is the first of its category to use Intel's just-announced Core Ultra chip.Asus also put that chip in a non-laptop product, debuting a new homegrown NUC. Meanwhile, Lenovo continued to challenge our notions of what a laptop with its ThinkBook Plus Gen 5, which is a weird gadget mermaid of sorts. Its top half is a 14-inch Android tablet, while its bottom half is a Windows keyboard and all of it is just funky.Speaking of odd Android tablets, TCL was here with a new version of its NXTPAPER e-ink-ish tablet. This year's model can switch between a matte e-paper-like display and a full-color LCD at the push of a button. The company also showed off a miniLED TV, which, at 115-inches large, is the biggest MiniLED TV with Quantom Dot technology to date.We also got to check out Razer's Project Esther, which is a proof of concept vibrating cushion showcasing the company's new Sensa HD haptics platform for more immersive gaming experiences. That might be one of my favorite demos so far because... well... It vibrates. It's a vibrating cushion for most office or gaming chairs.There was plenty of car and transportation news, too, like Kia's new fleet of modular vans and Volkswagen adding ChatGPT powers to its in-car voice assistant. The CES 2024 showfloor was also littered with piles of headphones, earbuds (and earwax) thanks to announcements from JBL, Sennheiser and less-known names like Mojawa, which put an AI-powered running coach in its bone-conducting headphones.At the Pepcom showcase, we also saw some intriguing and fun products, like the Skyted Silent Mask that lets you talk in private in public, as well as the LifeSpan standing desk bike that lets you cycle really hard to generate enough power to charge your phone.Intrigued? Check out our articles and videos with more details on everything I've mentioned and more. Or if you prefer, we'll be back tomorrow to recap all the biggest news again to make your life easier. We've got plenty of press conferences coming up, and the show floor has officially opened, which means there's still lots of stuff to check out in the days to come.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ces-2024-day-1-recap-samsung-and-sony-dominated-as-did-chips-and-laptops-140024127.html?src=rss

Wearable startup Humane AI laid off four percent of its employees before it has started shipping its Ai Pin, The Verge has reported. Leadership reportedly told employees that budgets would be lowered in 2024, according to sources familiar with the matter. The cuts were implemented earlier this week and affect around 10 people.On LinkedIn, CEO and co-founder Bethany Bongiorno called the cuts "part of a wider refresh of our organizational structure as our company evolves with purpose for this next phase of growth." She added that CTO Patrick Gates will be transitioning to an advisor role, and that Humane AI had promoted new heads of hardware, software and others as part of a reorganization. Bongiorno told The Verge that the cuts were "not communicated as a layoff," though sources told that outlet that they were, both verbally and in writing.Humane was founded by ex-Apple executives Bongiorno and her husband Imran Chaudhri. It's primary product is the "Ai Pin" that acts as a sort of wearable AI assistant. The company first unveiled the device at a Paris fashion show and announced last month that it would start shipping in March for $699.HumaneThe pin takes voice commands from the user and beams relevant information onto the user's hand via a built-in projector. It can also perform AI-powered optical recognition via a camera. It's powered by a quad-core Snapdragon processor with a dedicated Qualcomm AI Engine using Cosmos OS software. The founders have said that it "quickly understands what you need, connecting you to the right AI experience or service instantly."The Ai Pin has yet to be thoroughly reviewed (other than a few short tests), but the company demonstrated how it works in a video released last month. The founders showed how you can give it specific commands like "play music written by Prince, but not performed by Prince." The device can then display the information on your hand via the projector and control music playback and more by tilting or closing your hand.It can also answer questions by searching the web and send messages with modifiers like "add more excitement." You can use it to monitor your health and nutrition, and Humane provides a central hub for images, etc., along with accessories like clips, battery cases and more. How well it performs its AI tasks in the real world, though, remains to be seen.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/humane-lays-off-staff-before-its-ai-pin-begins-shipping-103548514.html?src=rss

Amazon-owned Twitch is preparing to lay off 35 percent of its employees or around 500 people, Bloomberg has reported, citing "people familiar with the matter." The move follows a headcount reduction of around 400 people in 2023 and Twitch's decision to cease operations in Korea. The cuts could be announced Wednesday, but no other details were provided, including who may be affected.The move was reportedly made amid concerns over losses at Twitch, which has failed to become profitable nine years after Amazon acquired it for nearly $1 billion. The costs of running the site are huge, given that it supports around 1.8 billion hours of live video content a month. A similar issue forced Twitch to leave South Korea, though CEO Dan Clancy said costs there are "ten times more expensive" than other countries.Near the end of last year, several key executives departed the company, including its chief product officer, chief customer officer, chief revenue officer and chief content officer. Clancy himself has been CEO less than a year, as he replaced co-founder and CEO Emmett Shear in March of 2023.In attempts to boost profitability, Twitch has reworked the way it does advertising and pays streamers in recent years. The site had over 50,000 partner creators back in 2022 and many have reportedly praised Clancy for using a more hands-on approach and listening to their concerns.Parent Amazon has been on a cost-cutting mission, having laid off 27,000 employees over the last two years, including 9,000 in 2023. That's part of a downturn across tech companies, with large-scale layoffs last year at Google, Meta, Spotify, Epic Games, Unity and others.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/twitch-is-reportedly-laying-off-35-percent-of-its-workforce-085946333.html?src=rss

ASUS has introduced quite a lengthy list of products at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, including a high-tech eyewear called the AirVision M1. It's not really a competitor to the upcoming Apple Vision Pro and the mixed reality headgears other companies debuted at the event, though. The AirVision M1 is a wearable display with the ability to generate multiple virtual screens, supposedly so that users can juggle several tasks at once. It's equipped with an FHD (1,920 x 1,080) Micro OLED display that has a 57-degree vertical perspective field of view.The device's system has three degrees of freedom, and users can pin several screens where they want in the aspect ratio they prefer, whether it's 16:9, 21:9 or 32:9. They can do so through the glasses' intuitive touchpad located on the left temple, where they can also adjust brightness and activate 3D mode. The device also comes with built-in noise-canceling microphones and speakers.While it may sound like the AirVision M1 could be a good companion for people who need to bring their work with them when they travel, it's not a standalone wearable: It has to be connected to a PC or a phone via USB-C to work. ASUS has yet to reveal how much it costs and when it'll be available, but its specs and capabilities indicate that it'll cost a fraction of Apple's Vision Pro.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-asus-airvision-m1-is-a-wearable-display-for-multi-taskers-060237509.html?src=rss

TikTok recently pulled a tool that allowed researchers and others to study the popularity of hashtags on its app. The change, first reported by The New York Times, came shortly after researchers published a report using data from the tool that criticized the company.As The New York Times points out, the tool was one of the few publicly-accessible methods of tracking details about the popularity of specific hashtags. TikTok, like other social media companies, has made it difficult for outsiders to track how content spreads in its app.The tool in question is a feature called Creative Center, which provides data about the popularity of hashtags to would-be advertisers and others. Researchers at Rutgers' Network Contagion Institute had used Creative Center's search function to track hashtags deemed sensitive" to Chinese government interests. The researchers compared the prevalence of the hashtags between TikTok and Instagram and concluded that many "sensitive" topics were "dramatically underrepresented on TikTok" compared with Instagram.Soon after the report was published, the researchers said the search feature in Creative Center disappeared without an explanation. Search capacity for Hashtags has itself now been removed from the user interface entirely, which NCRI discovered to have occurred on Christmas day, days after this report's initial release," they wrote in an addendum to the report. They added that TikTok had also disabled direct access to a number of sensitive" topics they had previously tracked, including hashtags related to US politics and other geopolitical issues.In a statement to The New York Times, TikTok confirmed the change. Unfortunately, some individuals and organizations have misused the Center's search function to draw inaccurate conclusions, so we are changing some of the features to ensure it is used for its intended purpose," a company spokesperson said.The dust-up is the latest example of mounting tensions between social media companies and researchers trying to study thorny topics like misinformation. Meta has also found itself at odds with researchers, and reportedly plans to deprecate CrowdTangle, a tool widely used by researchers and journalists to study how content spreads on Facebook. X has also greatly restricted researchers' access to data since Elon Musk took control of the company, making its once open APIs prohibitively expensive to most groups.In TikTok's case, the company may be particularly sensitive to what it considers improper use of its tools. The company has for years denied that it aligns its content policies with the interests of the Chinese government as numerous government officials have called for the app to be banned. More recently, the company faced increased scrutiny over its handling of content related to the Israel-Hamas war - criticism that was also fueled by what the company said was an inaccurate portrayal of hashtag data.That said, the company has made some concessions to researchers. TikTok began offering an official Research API to some academic institutions last year, and reportedly plans to make the tools available to some civil society groups that have questioned the company's content moderation practices.But for researchers, the move to abruptly cut off a tool will likely fuel more questions about just how willing the company is to work with them. This lack of transparency is of deep concern to researchers," the NCRI researchers wrote.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tiktok-pulled-a-hashtag-tracking-feature-researchers-used-to-study-the-platform-015454077.html?src=rss

If there's a problem with the world of ambient computing we're all expected to live in, it's that you can't really be discreet. Most commands to your voice assistant of choice have to be spoken at a volume slightly higher than you would speak to another person. That's the societal ill VTouch, a South Korean company, has chosen to tackle with its WHSP Ring. It's a ring with a proximity sensor and microphone that activates when you raise it to your mouth. So when you want to talk to your assistant, you can simply mutter toward your knuckle and have it understand you. I saw a brief demo on the first day of CES 2024 here in Las Vegas.The idea is that you'll utilize VTouch's own app, which will offer a number of AI assistants to aid you. This includes, in the example shown to me, an AI Art Curator or even a digital Psychiatrist, all of which can be accessed from your phone. You can also interact with your smart home, setting all of the usual parameters from the comfort of your hushed tones. It'll last for around a day and a half on a single charge, while the charging case you can take around with it will extend the life by up to nine days. Any responses will, of course, be pumped through your headphones, enabling you to chat" to your assistant. There's even a button that, if tapped five times at once, will trigger a system to alert your contacts of an emergency and record ambient sound.Touch is planning to launch WHSP Ring as a Kickstarter in the near future, but there's no word yet on how much you could expect this thing to cost or when you can get your hands on one.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/this-ring-lets-you-whisper-to-your-phone-because-sometimes-we-need-to-use-our-inside-voices-002529204.html?src=rss

Yes, you probably already have a virtual assistant in your pocket on your phone. Heck, if you're reading Engadget, I'm willing to bet you've got at least one smart speaker floating around your home as well that you can ask to complete basic tasks. But a new startup called Rabbit seems to think these are less than ideal implementations of AI (if you can really call Siri and Alexa that). The company, which is exhibiting at CES 2024 in Las Vegas this week, envisions a world where you trade apps for conversation and, rather than a distracting device shoving icons in your face, you interact with what amounts to a walkie-talkie for an AI.The R1 is the first device to be launched by Rabbit and it's an objectively adorable little square in an endearingly bright shade of orange. Even if you're not sold on the necessity of a dedicated gadget for a virtual assistant, it's hard to deny the aesthetic appeal, which comes courtesy of the design gurus at Teenage Engineering. It features a small 2.88-inch touchscreen, an analog scroll wheel, two mics, a speaker and a "360 degree rotational eye," which is just a fancy name for a camera you can spin to face toward you or through the back of the handset.The primary way you interact with the R1, though, is by pressing and holding the "Push-to-Talk" button. This tells Rabbit OS to start listening. A heavily stylized and disembodied rabbit head bobs slowly as you ask your question or give it a task, and then it quickly gets to work. Want to book an Uber? Need a recipe to use up the leftovers in your fridge? Wondering who sampled The Isley Brothers "That Lady"? (The answer is Beastie Boys, Basement Jaxx and Kendrick Lamar, FTR.) The R1 seems pretty capable of handling those tasks, at least in the controlled video demo.Rabbit OS is able to tackle those tasks using what it calls the Large Action Model (LAM). This is what founder and CEO Jesse Lyu pitches as the company's major innovation. It's designed to take actions on interfaces rather than through APIs or apps. In short, it can be trained to carry out almost any task that can be accomplished through a user interface. It's sort of like a fancy version of a macro.As a way of demonstrating its capabilities, Lyu teaches the R1 how to generate an image using Midjourney via Discord. Once Lyu walks and performs the process, with Rabbit OS recording his actions, it can repeat the task when asked.The rotating camera faces up into the body by default, acting as a sort of privacy shutter. Only turning its sensor towards its target when summoned. It can do the usual tricks like identify people or thing in the real world (within reason, at least). But the way it interacts with the AI is sure to pique people's interest. In the demo Lyu points the R1 at a full refrigerator and asks it to suggest a recipe that's "low in calories" based on its contents.RabbitOf course, there are still a lot of unanswered questions about the R1. How is the battery life? The company claims it's "all day," but what does that really mean? And will the average user be able to train it easily. At least we know a few things, though. We know it costs $199 and is available for preorder now, with an expected ship date sometime in March or April.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rabbit-r1-is-an-adorable-ai-powered-assistant-co-designed-by-teenage-engineering-001051537.html?src=rss

EVs, like me after the holidays, have a tendency to bloat at the slightest provocation, which is why I can't fit into those size 34 jeans. The big issue for electric cars is heavy batteries force cars to grow in size to accommodate them. Of course, the heavier the load, the more power is needed to keep going, forcing you into a vicious cycle. Even a small city car like the original Smart has, in its latest electric version, grown into a grotesque parody of its predecessor. Which is why there's a lot of hope riding on truly small EVs, like Squad Mobility's solar-powered car that's designed not to grow too big to fit inside a city.The company was founded by Chris Klok and Robert Hoevers, who met while working on the Lightyear solar car. Klok was chief vehicle engineer of that project, while Hoevers was previously involved with NIO's Formula E team. But they left Lightyear to help develop a small, solar-powered car that would offer affordable and clean mobility for dense cities. And while it's just got a few prototypes to show off, like the one here at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, it's expecting to begin production in 2025. Even better, many of its existing pre-order customers are based in the US, given the need for a car like this in those communities that exclusively rely on golf carts to get around.The Solar City car has a 250Wp panel in its roof, which is designed to generate enough power for a few short trips each day. The company says that, in Las Vegas, you could expect to travel for around 13 miles purely from the energy collected from the panel. (You can plug it in to an outlet if you really need to.) With a kerb weight of 794 pounds, it's light and efficient enough to get you around short distances without much stress. Of course, the speed is limited - and you'll only get around 25mph out of the 4kW motor, but if you live in a big city and just need to get to work, or pick up some groceries, that's probably all you need.You might expect the car to be poky, but the high roofline and low floor means it's surprisingly comfortable. The prototype here has some quirks - like acceleration and brake pedals that are a bit too close to the seat - which will be eliminated in the production version. There's even a rear load space big enough for a suitcase or a couple of decently-sized bags, and the prominent tires mean you could even tackle rough terrain in short doses. The fact it measures just 6.6 feet long means you can park it sideways and it'll take up the same amount of room as most cars, too.We're still a year out from seeing the production model of this car, but there are plenty of reasons to be hopeful. The company expects the retail price to be $6,250 excluding sales tax, making it ideal as a city runaround or second (or third) car. That said, the figure does exclude the cost of the doors which, like AC, count as an optional extra.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/squad-mobilitys-tiny-solar-powered-ev-is-a-dream-for-crowded-cities-235540577.html?src=rss

Right now there are a bunch of companies trying to figure out new and better ways to work on the go. Lenovo made a laptop with two displays and a detachable keyboard to help give owners additional screen space without too much added bulk. And there are headsets from Meta, Apple and others that offer a way to create a completely virtual workspace without the need for a tethered PC. But with the Spacetop, startup Sightful has come up with an in-between solution that uses the bottom of a laptop, but instead of a traditional display, it's attached to a pair of AR glasses.In theory, the glasses provide a 100-inch virtual display that can hold more windows than you could ever fit on a traditional laptop screen. And with the Spacetop being powered by Android, you get a familiar working environment too. Instead of controllers or hand gestures, there's a typical keyboard and touchpad for writing, browsing the web or anything else you might need to do. But after trying one out at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, while I like the idea, I'm not so sure about Sightful's execution.The system is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 chip (the same processor Meta used in the Quest 2 from 2020), just 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It feels smooth, though I wouldn't necessarily call it fast. I didn't notice much lag when dragging windows around or typing, but I didn't get to see how it handles a ton of open apps or anything more demanding than a web browser. Sightful has also come up with some simple shortcuts for doing things like re-centering the screen (just press the left and right Shift keys at the same time).The issue I ran into is that, while Sightful developed the base of the laptop itself and put its logo on the side of the glasses, the bundled AR eyewear attached to the PC is actually off-the-shelf specs from Xreal (in this case the Xreal Lights). So while Xreal glasses are somewhat sharp, their narrow field of view (especially vertically) and somewhat small sweet spot left a lot to be desired when it came to actually using that 100-inch virtual display.Photo by Sam Rutherford/EngadgetAdditionally, the Spacetop's keys felt spongy and its touchpad was lackluster too. It's a far cry from the more precise haptic surfaces you'd get on a premium Mac or Windows PC. And when you combine all this with a starting price of $2,000, I just don't see the appeal. For people who already have a laptop, I'd argue you'd be much better off getting a Meta Quest 3, which costs $500, sports a much newer chip and can sync with your laptop to create its own version of a virtual desktop. Plus, then you'd have a headset that's way better at playing games, watching movies and more.Photo by Sam Rutherford/EngadgetThere's a reason why Meta, Apple and others have sunk billions of dollars into making headsets and glasses with finely tuned optics. And I'm sure someday (maybe even sometime in the next few years), off-the-shelf AR glasses will make some pretty big advancements. But between its high price, dated specs and a big but not great-looking virtual display powered by two-year old AR glasses, the Spacetop doesn't quite deliver on the promise of revolutionizing the common laptop.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-spacetop-is-a-laptop-that-really-wants-to-swap-your-screen-for-ar-glasses-ces-2024-233638523.html?src=rss

Imagine being at a crowded convention or noisy bar and trying to have a conversation with someone across from you. It's tough enough for people with hearing to focus on what the person is saying, not to mention those with hearing loss. Assistive technology company OrCam has rolled into CES 2024 with a host of new products including a set of devices and an iPhone app designed to help those with hearing loss deal with auditory overload. The platform is called OrCam Hear and after a quick hands-on at the show in Las Vegas, I'm pleasantly surprised.OrCam Hear consists of a pair of earbuds and a dongle that plugs into any phone, and you'll use the app to control who you want to listen to. The system listens to voices for a few seconds (via the dongle) and uses AI to create speaker profiles for each person that then allows you to "selectively isolate specific voices even in noisy environments." This targets the issue sometimes known as the "cocktail party problem" that's a challenge for hearing aids.During a demo, my editor Terrence O'Brien and I spoke to two people whose voice profiles were already set up in the app. We stood around a table with Terrence on my right and the two company spokespeople across us about five feet away. I put the earbuds in (after they were sanitized), and the noise around me immediately sounded a little less loud and a lot more muffled.Photo by Terrence O'Brien / EngadgetI looked at everyone around me and though I could see their lips moving, I couldn't hear anyone speaking. After OrCam's reps used the app to drag a floating circle into the ring surrounding me, I started to hear the person diagonally across me talk. And though the executive next to him was also moving his mouth, I could still only hear the voice of the person selected. Only after we moved the other speaker's icon into the ring did I start to hear them.What impressed me more, though, was how the system handled relatively new participants like Terrence. He didn't have a profile set up in the app, and I initially couldn't hear him at all. A few seconds into the demo, though, a new circle appeared with a gray icon indicating a new "Anonymous" person had been recognized. When we dragged that into the ring, I was suddenly able to hear Terrence. This was all the more impressive because Terrence was wearing a fairly thick mask, which would have made him hard to understand any way. Yet, I was able to clearly make out what he was saying.The OrCam Hear isn't perfect, of course. I was still able to hear the speakers as they talked, and the audio playing through the earbuds was slightly delayed, so there was a small echo. But people who have hearing loss, whom this product is designed for, aren't likely to experience that. There was also some audio distortion when the selected speakers were talking, but not so much that it impeded my comprehension.OrCam said that the Hear platform is "currently in a technology preview phase and is expected to be shipped later in the year." Hopefully, that gives the company time to iron out quirks and make the app available on both iOS and Android, so that the assistive tech can be truly inclusive and accessible to more people.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/orcam-hear-hands-on-a-surprisingly-effective-voice-isolation-platform-for-those-with-hearing-loss-230243953.html?src=rss

The official X account belonging to the Securities and Exchange Commission was briefly compromised," the regulator said, after an apparently rogue post on X temporarily juiced bitcoin prices.On Tuesday, the SEC's official X account tweeted that bitcoin ETFs had been approved for listing on all registered national securities exchanges." The tweet included an official-looking graphic featuring a quote from SEC Chair Gary Gensler. However, Gensler himself quickly clarified from his X account that the post from @SECGov was the result of a "compromised" account.The @SECGov twitter account was compromised, and an unauthorized tweet was posted," Gensler wrote. The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products."Screenshot via XThe confusion comes as the SEC is, in fact, considering whether to approve spot bitcoin ETFs, investment funds that hold the cryptocurrency. The regulator is expected to make a decision Wednesday in a process that has been closely watched by crypto investors.Naturally, the now-deleted tweet from the SEC's official (and gray check-verified) account on X prompted a momentary surge in bitcoin prices, followed by a steep decline. The post and subsequent clarification from Gensler wiped out over $50 million of leveraged derivatives trading positions within an hour," according to and analysis from CoinDesk.It was initially unclear exactly how the SEC's X account was compromised." In a statement, an SEC spokesperson told Engadget that it was investigating the matter. "The SEC has determined that there was unauthorized access to and activity on the @SECGov x.com account by an unknown party for a brief period of time shortly after 4 pm ET," the spokesperson said. "That unauthorized access has been terminated. The SEC will work with law enforcement and our partners across government to investigate the matter and determine appropriate next steps relating to both the unauthorized access and any related misconduct."X didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, but the company shared the results of its "preliminary investigation" Tuesday evening."We can confirm that the account @SECGov was compromised and we have completed a preliminary investigation," X write in a post from its safety account. "Based on our investigation, the compromise was not due to any breach of X's systems, but rather due to an unidentified individual obtaining control over a phone number associated with the @SECGov account through a third party. We can also confirm that the account did not have two-factor authentication enabled at the time the account was compromised."