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If you've got some gift card money to spend after the holidays and are looking to grab a new pair of wireless earphones, here's a deal worth noting: Apple's AirPods Pro are back down to an all-time low of $189 at Amazon and Walmart. If stock runs dry there, other retailers like Target and Best Buy have them for a dollar more. This offer applies to latest version of the earphones, which comes with a USB-C charging case as standard. For reference, Apple normally sells the pair for $249, though it's almost always gone for less at third-party retailers since arriving last September.The second-gen AirPods Pro are the "best for iOS" pick in our guide to the best wireless earbuds, and we gave the Lightning-based model a score of 88 in our review back in September 2022. This USB-C model adds slightly improved dust resistance and lossless audio support with Apple's upcoming Vision Pro headset on top of the new charging port but is effectively identical otherwise. That means it still delivers pleasant and warm sound, effective active noise cancellation (ANC), a superb transparency mode, and a host of features that make life easier for Apple device owners, including faster pairing, hands-free Siri, virtual surround sound (which is personalized to your fit) and Find My tracking.A software update last fall added a few more helpful tricks, including an "Adaptive Audio" mode that automatically adjusts the ANC and transparency modes based on your surroundings and lowers the volume when you start a conversation.You really need to be an iPhone owner to get the most out of the this, though. Even then, the AirPods Pro's call quality and six-hour battery life are just OK, and its sound isn't as customizable as competing models. Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds offer better ANC, the Beats Fit Pro has a better fit for the gym and Sony's WF-1000XM5 is more well-rounded on the whole. Apple may also add ANC to its lower-cost AirPods at some point in 2024, according to a recent Bloomberg report (though new Pros aren't expected until 2025). And if you already own the Lightning-based Pros and just want the USB-C case, you can now buy the latter separately. All that said, at this price, the USB-C AirPods Pro remain a solid value for Apple diehards in search of a new pair of premium wireless earphones.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-airpods-pro-with-usb-c-are-back-down-to-190-right-now-153404826.html?src=rss

Generative AI provoked a lot of discussion last year around images, text and video, but it may soon affect the gaming industry as well. Square Enix said it plans to be "aggressively applying" AI and other cutting-edge tech in 2024 to "create new forms of content," according to president Takashi Kiryu's New Year's letter."Artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential implications had for some time largely been subjects of academic debate," he said. "However, the introduction of ChatGPT, which allows anyone to easily produce writing or translations or to engage in text-based dialogue, sparked the rapid spread of generative AIs. I believe that generative AI has the potential not only to reshape what we create, but also to fundamentally change the processes by which we create, including programming."The company will start by using it to improve productivity in development and assist in marketing. "In the longer term, we hope to leverage those technologies to create new forms of content for consumers, as we believe that technological innovation represents business opportunities," Kiryu added. Square Enix also plans to build more immersive AR and VR experiences, including "new forms of content that fuse the real world and virtual worlds."Kiryu name-checked ChatGPT, despite the fact that its creator OpenAI was recently sued by The New York Times for copyright infringement. In the gaming industry directly, companies including Valve have said they may restrict games that use AI on their platforms over similar concerns.Square Enix didn't specifically state that AI would be used to generate content in the form of characters, voices, environments or anything else, though. Rather, it appears to be more of a broad aspiration than anything specific. The company has made similar proclamations in the past about blockchain, NFTs and Web 3.0, but it only gave those scant mention in this year's letter.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/square-enix-plans-aggressive-use-of-ai-to-create-new-forms-of-content-141602313.html?src=rss

CES 2024 is just around the corner and tech companies are already providing sneak peeks of what we can expect to see on the ground in Las Vegas. LG is bringing a range of wonderful, weird gadgets to the showcase, including the just-announced DukeBox by LG Labs. The audio device marries old and new with vacuum tube audio working alongside transparent OLED panel technology.Vacuum tube audio has been around for over 100 years and is beloved for its ability to produce a warm sound quality that highlights each instrument - almost creating the sense that musicians are playing the music live. The DukeBox utilizes this technology alongside front-facing bottom speakers and 360-degree speakers on top. The vacuum pipes remain visible for an extra retro feel, though the OLED display's transparency is adjustable.The DukeBox is kind of like a smart speaker for people who want a more sleek, retro design. While it's reminiscent of old jukeboxes, this device isn't exclusive to music. It has the option to play content like movies or even create a "fireplace" with the tubes visible along the flames.The company claims its Labs zone at CES 2024 will be twice the size of last year's space. Other LG CES 2024 announcements include a two-legged AI-powered robot; laptops with AI features; and the CineBeam Qube, a 4K projector with 3,840 x 2,160 resolution images measuring up to 120 inches. The three-pound device also has image-mapping and a handle that could pass for a crank. Although LG has a CES 2024 press conference planned, the company has a pattern of announcing many of its products in the days and weeks leading up to CES.Neither the DukeBox or the CineBeam Qube currently have a release date or price. LG will likely release more information on these and other new products during CES. The showcase should also give us a chance to test out the products' quality for ourselves and provide some early hands-on impressions.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/lgs-dukebox-puts-vacuum-tube-audio-behind-a-transparent-oled-display-125526158.html?src=rss

New Year's resolutions are usually set with the best intentions - I may have already failed at one of mine already - but the right tools (and resolutions, if I'm honest) can make achieving those goals easier.Naturally, with all the wearables and smartwatches around, there's a fitness theme to half of our guide, but smartwatches can help nudge you into better habits and even remind you to meditate, which is something I've set up on my Apple Watch this week.We've also got to-do list app recommendations, cable organizing advice (that is a weak-ass New Year resolution) and help on how to cultivate a new reading habit in 2024.What are your resolutions for the coming year? And what will you do (or buy) to achieve them?- Mat SmithYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest stories you might have missedThe Morning After: The biggest tech stories of 2023The biggest winners in tech in 2023How to find and cancel your unused subscriptionsSome Vizio TV owners can claim a share of a $3 million settlementCES 2024: What we expect to see in Las Vegas this yearWireless TV, plug-and-play solar and next-gen headphones.The Engadget team is prepping itself for another tour (in military terms) of Las Vegas. CES is back again. Alongside the glory of huge TVs in every size, new autonomous car tech and weird robots that will never make it outside of tech trade shows, we've compiled a few predictions for all the tech companies and startups planning to attend. We've got next-gen headphones, new display technology and more.The show officially runs from January 9 to 12, though we'll be on the ground well before that. The first CES-related events will kick off on January 7, so get ready!Continue reading.LG is bringing a 4K projector with a weird handle to CES 2024The CineBeam Qube weighs just 3 pounds.LGLG's latest 4K projector looks a little like, well, I'll say it: an objet d'arte from TJ Maxx. I say that from a place of love: I'd love a projector that looks like this. I mean, it has a handle that looks like a crank! The style does betray the high-tech insides. The CineBeam Qube can blast 4K images that measure up to 120 inches, with an RGB laser light source, a 450,000:1 contrast ratio and 154 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut.Continue reading.Meta's Quest 2 headset is about to get even cheaperThe price has dropped permanently to $249 following the launch of the Quest 3.Meta is permanently cutting the price of its Quest 2 VR headset to $250 following the launch of the Quest 3, according to Meta's official Quest blog. The Quest 2 has been on sale at that price since Black Friday anyway, but a new official retail price might spell even better deals for the previous-gen model in the next few months.Continue reading.Take a look at this dreamy timelapse of MarsFrom NASA's Curiosity rover.NASANASA's robotic Mars explorers were given some time off, as a natural phenomenon would likely interfere with communications. Leading up to the pause, the Curiosity rover was put in park - but its Hazard-Avoidance Cameras (Hazcams) kept snapping away. By the end of the period, Curiosity recorded the passage of a Martian day over 12 hours from its stationary position, as the sun moved from dawn to dusk.Take a look.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-tech-to-help-you-stick-to-your-new-years-resolutions-121518467.html?src=rss

The developers of Tekken 8 are boosting the upcoming game's accessibility with color blind options, but some experts and users say some of the settings may cause more harm than good. One filter in particular that displays horizontal and vertical black and white lines appears to be causing headaches and vertigo, and may even "hospitalize players (or worse), in the same way as the infamous Pokemon episode," said gaming accessibility specialist Ian Hamilton in a post on X. (We have embedded a still from the game at the bottom of the article. Viewer discretion is advised.)The various filters were posted by X user @itwhiffed, who said "why is no one talking about the color blind accessibility of Tekken 8." His post thread shows multiple filters for red, green and blue blindness, with different strength settings for each. However, one set of filters also shows characters as vertical and horizontal lines, with different white or black backgrounds.

It's a new year and you're going to need fresh tools to accomplish all those goals for 2024. A new iPad is a great way to keep track of and produce lots of tasks, especially when touting a 22 percent discount. That's right, the 10th-generation Apple iPad 64GB model is back down to its Black Friday all-time low of $349, dropping from $449. The $100 savings is available in the Silver, Blue and Pink versions, with the Yellow model available for $399.Apple's 10th-gen iPad came on the scene at the end of 2022 with an entire new design - namely removing the home button, a 10.9-inch screen and moving Touch ID to the lock button. We gave it an 85 in our review thanks to those updates and additional features like an A14 Bionic chip. It's an upgrade from the 9th-generation's A13 model but still falls behind the M1 and M2 in the iPad Air and Pro.Notably, the 10th-gen iPad also introduced a landscape edge to its front-facing camera - the first instance of this across any model. This update is a big deal for anyone who uses their iPad to take video calls. The battery is solid as well, lasting 11 hours and 45 minutes while playing a movie from the iTunes store and nearly 10 hours when it (and an attached keyboard) were in work mode all day. Speaking of the keyboard, this model's Magic Keyboard Folio comes in two pieces and is an improvement from the 9th-gen's version. However, it's not very stable for lap use and retails for a steep $250 - though it's on sale right now for $219.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-10th-gen-ipad-falls-back-to-a-low-of-349-102057197.html?src=rss

Meta is permanently cutting the price of its Quest 2 VR headset to $250 following the launch of the Quest 3, according to a Quest Blog update spotted by TechCrunch. The Quest 2 has been on sale at that price since Black Friday anyway, but the new retail price might spell even better deals for the previous-gen model."We knew we could do even more to make VR more affordable and bring even more people into the community... that's why we're permanently lowering prices on Quest 2 and its accessories, effective January 1," the company wrote. To wit, the 128GB Quest 2 is now $250, while the 256GB model is $300. Meta is also dropping the prices for refurbished units to $230 and $270, respectively. Similar pricing can be found on Amazon.Quest 2 accessories are also carrying lower prices, with the Elite Strap with battery receiving the biggest drop from $120 to $90. The regular Elite Strap is now $50, the carrying case has dropped to $45, the Active Pack is now $60 and the Quest 2 Fit Pack falls from $50 to $40.The Quest 2 became one of the more popular VR headsets thanks to the low $300 launch price, but the buzz died down when Meta jacked the price to $400 in mid-2022. The $500 Quest 3 was a big step forward with improved screens and lenses, a more compact design, faster performance, mixed reality cameras and more.With hundreds of VR titles available - including Resident Evil 4, the new Roblox game and ever-popular Beat Saber - the Quest 2 is still a great entry into the world of VR, though. It's now even more attractive at that price, and we might see it drop even lower via sales over the next year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/metas-quest-2-headset-is-about-to-get-even-cheaper-090433083.html?src=rss

NVIDIA may have figured out a way to go around the US export restrictions on China, but apparently ASML, the Dutch firm behind the key chipmaking equipment, isn't having much say on this end. According to Bloomberg, Biden's administration reportedly reached out to ASML "weeks before" the January 1, 2024 export ban deadline, requesting the firm to halt some pre-scheduled shipments of its deep ultraviolet lithography (DUV) machines to its Chinese customers. This came after the revelation that SMIC used ASML tech to manufacture Huawei's latest flagship processor, the 7nm HiSilicon Kirin 9000S.In addition to DUV machines, ASML also manufactures extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines for making more advanced chips - with node processes of 5nm or less - for the likes of Apple and Qualcomm. While ASML was never allowed to sell EUV equipment to China, the Dutch government did grant licenses to the firm for shipping DUV machines to China until the end of 2023.Bloomberg reports that things changed when the US government - National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, specifically - allegedly contacted the Dutch government regarding some of ASML's final shipments to China, to which his team was asked to reach out to ASML directly. "Shipments of a limited number of machines" were affected.While China had been able to source lithography machines from elsewhere, they tended to be off less advanced methods. Not to mention the joint effort between the US, Japan and the Netherlands on limiting China's access to such equipment. That said, China had since been pushed to beef up its own silicon ecosystem, to the point where it surprised the world with its homegrown 7nm mobile 5G chip. It's no wonder the US was desperate to halt ASML's final DUV shipments to China, though doing so before the agreed deadline may be a questionable move.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/us-reportedly-halted-asmls-chipmaking-machine-shipments-to-china-weeks-before-ban-075407978.html?src=rss

A few weeks ago, NASA's robotic Mars explorers were given some time off from hard work while the agency waited out Mars solar conjunction, a natural phenomenon that could interfere with their communications. Leading up to the pause, the Curiosity rover was put in park - but its Hazard-Avoidance Cameras (Hazcams) kept snapping away. In a first for the rover, Curiosity recorded the passage of a Martian day over 12 hours from its stationary position, capturing its own shifting shadow on the landscape as the sun moves from dawn to dusk. It held onto the images until after the conjunction ended on November 25.NASA/JPL-CaltechCuriosity was given instructions to record the 12-hour sequences a few days before the conjunction began in mid-November, according to NASA. The idea was to see if it could catch any weather events that might crop up. That didn't end up happening, but the images Curiosity snapped on November 8 are still pretty enchanting. They've been pieced together in two videos showing the view from its front and rear Hazcams.Curiosity's Hazcams are normally used to help drivers avoid terrain that could be dangerous to the rover. But with the rover parked ahead of its pause in duties from November 11 to November 25, the cameras were freed up for a bit of sight-seeing. Curiosity recorded from its position at the base of Mars' Mount Sharp from 5:30AM to 5:30PM. It and the other Mars explorers have since resumed their normal activities.NASA/JPL-CaltechThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nasas-curiosity-rover-snapped-this-dreamy-timelapse-of-a-martian-day-175701537.html?src=rss

Vizio TVs' effective" refresh rates have been confusing customers for years, and the company may now owe payments to some buyers who were misled by the term. As spotted by The Verge, Vizio recently agreed to settle a class action lawsuit in California over what plaintiffs claim is false and misleading" advertising. While some Vizio TVs are marketed as having a 120Hz Effective Refresh Rate" or 240Hz Effective Refresh Rate," that describes a result achieved using motion clarity technology. Their actual, native refresh rate in most cases is 60Hz.Vizio has denied any wrongdoing on its part, but agreed to a $3 million settlement covering all Vizio TVs purchased in California that were advertised with the above descriptions, going back to April 30, 2014 and up until the final court judgment. The final approval hearing is right now set for June 20, 2024. People may be entitled to payments of up to $50, but claims must be in by March 30, 2024. The claim form can be found here. Vizio also agreed to stop marketing its TVs this way and to provide enhanced services and a limited one-year warranty to all Settlement Class Members."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/some-vizio-tv-owners-can-claim-a-share-of-a-3-million-settlement-over-misleading-marketing-220925933.html?src=rss

NASA's campaign to gather names for a sort of message in a bottle" that will fly with its upcoming Europa Clipper mission closes after this weekend, so if you were hoping to participate but haven't yet made your submission, you'd better hurry up and do so. The signatures will accompany a poem written for Europa by US Poet Laureate Ada Limon, which will be engraved in Limon's handwriting on a metal plate attached to the spacecraft. Europa, one of Jupiter's largest moons, is thought to have a deep saltwater ocean beneath its icy crust - and there, the conditions could be suitable for microbial life.To enter the Message in a Bottle campaign, you just need to go to NASA's website and fill out a short signup form. The deadline is tomorrow, December 31. So far, more than 2.4 million people have added their names. According to NASA, the names of everyone who participated will be stenciled in tiny, tiny letters onto microchips using an electron beam that can create lines of text smaller than 1/1000th the width of a human hair. These microchips will be affixed to the plate containing the poem.The Europa Clipper spacecraft is scheduled to launch in October 2024, and it'll be another six years from then before it reaches Jupiter's orbit. Once there, it'll investigate Europa's potential habitability through a series of close flybys. Europa is one of an estimated 95 moons circling Jupiter and among the longest known to humanity.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nows-the-last-chance-to-send-your-name-to-one-of-jupiters-moons-on-nasas-europa-clipper-181639628.html?src=rss

What do you do when the tech world mostly grinds to a halt at the end of December? You reheat your hot takes, force a narrative thread on a company's ups and downs and edit it all up for consumption.Yes, it's a little quiet at the end of the year (barring Apple Watch bans), but that won't stop TMA from finding something for me to talk to himself about. We're looking at a few of the major stories from the last 12 months and .. some other things where I just has to say my piece. And if not on a short YouTube video that's clipped, cropped and pushed into socials, then where? On X? Pschh.This week:How OpenAI's ChatGPT has changed the world in just a yearApple's switch to USB-C on the iPhone 15 brings more cable confusionMicrosoft officially owns Activision BlizzardAnd read this:I couldn't cover all the big things in tech in one tiny video. I'd recommend taking a look at all of the big tech wins in 2023 (and all the big losses), and it's definitely worth reading through our picks of the best games of the year.Like email more than video? Subscribe right here for daily reports, direct to your inbox.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-the-biggest-tech-stories-of-2023-140022006.html?src=rss

A few days ago, Microsoft released a standalone Android app for Microsoft Copilot, giving you a quick way to access the AI assistant. Turns out the iOS and iPad versions weren't far behind, because they're now available from Apple's App Store. Just like in Copilot on desktop and other AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, you can type in your question and wait for responses generated by artificial intelligence. In Copilot's case, you'll get responses spun by OpenAI's GPT-4, the company's latest large language model. The free version of ChatGPT, in comparison, is powered by the older ChatGPT-3.5, and you'll need to pay for ChatGPT Plus to get access to the newer model.In addition, Copilot on iOS has the capability to turn your words into images. That particular feature is powered by OpenAI's DALL-E 3 text-to-image AI system, which the company previously said is "significantly better" at being able to grasp the final product you want to achieve with the text prompt you type in. DALL-E 3 was also designed to be better at rendering the elements its predecessors were having trouble with, such as human hands.This is but the latest Copilot product Microsoft has released since it rebranded Bing Chat. The company also brought Copilot to Windows 10 and then to Windows 11, giving around a billion devices - based on the platforms' user numbers - access to the AI chatbot. With these mobile rollouts, Microsoft is expanding Copilot's reach even more, especially since the apps are free to use.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsofts-copilot-ai-chatbot-app-arrives-on-ios-112559129.html?src=rss

Firefly Green Fuels, a UK-based company, has developed a new form of jet fuel that is entirely fossil-free and made from human waste. The company worked with experts at Cranfield University to confirm that the fuel they developed had a 90 percent lower carbon footprint than what is used in aviation today, according to the BBC. Tests by independent regulators validated that what Firefly Green Fuels has developed is nearly identical to standard A1 jet fuel.In 2021, the company received a 2 million grant from the Department of Transport to continue developing its sustainable aviation fuel. Although it's not yet available commercially, the company says it is on track to bringing its fuel to the global market and it will have its first commercial plant operating within 5 years. The company has already inked a partnership with the budget airline Wizz Air - the name of the company and the source of its potential combustibles could scarcely be a more perfect pairing - to supply it with fuel starting in 2028.It currently sources its waste from water companies in the UK and takes the refined sewage through a process called hydrothermal liquefaction, which converts the liquid waste into a sludge or crude oil. Solid by-products can also be made into crop fertilizer. The company claims that the carbon intensity of the whole process - which measures how much carbon is needed to produce energy - is 7.97 grams of carbon dioxide per megajoule (gCO^2e/MJ). Comparatively, the ICCT says carbon intensity recorded for jet fuel ranges from 85 to 95 gCO^2e/MJ.Organic matter, as the company points out, takes millions of years to develop into the fossil fuels that power cars and planes. Firefly's solution makes it possible to generate fuel in a matter of days - and more importantly, human waste is a widely available resource. It's unclear if sustainable jet fuel will be more or less expensive than what is currently available. The company could not immediately be reached for comment. However, in a statement, the company's CEO James Hygate made mention that using human waste is a cheap and abundant feedstock [that] will never run out."The achievement of carbon neutrality in our airspaces has been a longtime goal for regulators and leaders in Europe and the US. While EVs have made headway in the car industry, it might be a while before we see battery powered commercial jets. So in the meantime, solutions for creating more environmentally-friendly jet fuel are welcome.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/from-toilets-to-the-sky-uk-startup-makes-waste-into-low-carbon-jet-fuel-194003678.html?src=rss

NVIDIA is set to release a low-powered version of the GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card specifically for the Chinese market to comply with US export rules, as reported by The Verge. The RTX 4090D already has a product page on the company's Chinese website and it boasts fewer CUDA cores than its similarly-named cousin. It also features a lower power draw of 425W instead of 450W.Most of the other specs remain the same between the two versions, but the fewer CUDA cores and decreased power draw force a five percent reduction in speed when gaming and using creative applications, according to Reuters. Even with the performance dip, NVIDIA still says the 4090D is a "quantum leap in performance, efficiency and artificial intelligence-driven graphics."This is all due to US export restrictions on high-end computer chips shipped to China and Russia, in an attempt to curb both nations from developing technology that could be used in applications like weapons making and surveillance. These rules were announced back in 2022 but officially put into place this year, leaving manufacturers like NVIDIA scrambling to find a solution that met the needs of both Chinese consumers and US regulators.We knew that the company was going to make new chips specifically for the massive Chinese market, as the restrictions prevented it from selling the original RTX 4090 and a bevy of AI-related GPUs. NVIDIA says the updated GPU has been designed to fully comply with US government export controls" and added that it extensively engaged with the US government" throughout development of the chip.The RTX 4090D will be available throughout China at some point in January, at a price of 12,999 or around $1,836 USD. This should help lessen demand for powerful graphics cards in the country, as the aforementioned restrictions have reportedly led to the repurposing of factories to focus on AI accelerators instead of the banned RTX 4090.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nvidia-nerfed-its-rtx-4090-graphics-card-for-chinese-buyers-thanks-to-us-export-rules-190621145.html?src=rss

Donald Trump's former fixer," Michael Cohen, used Google Bard to cite made-up legal cases that ended up in a federal court. The New York Times reported Friday that Cohen admitted in unsealed court papers that he passed on documents referencing bogus cases to his lawyer, who then relayed them to a federal judge. Cohen reportedly wrote in the sworn declaration he hadn't stayed on top of emerging trends (and related risks) in legal technology."Cohen's legal team filed the paperwork in a motion asking for an early end to court supervision from his 2018 campaign finance case, for which he served three years in prison. After Cohen's attorney, David M. Schwartz, presented the legal documents to the federal court, Judge Jesse M. Furman of the Federal District Court said he was having trouble finding the three decisions cited by Schwartz (via Cohen).Judge Furman told Schwartz that if he couldn't provide documentation of the cases, the attorney needed to provide a thorough explanation of how the motion came to cite cases that do not exist and what role, if any, Mr. Cohen played in drafting or reviewing the motion before it was filed." Schwartz must also explain why he shouldn't be sanctioned for citing nonexistent cases to the court." Cohen is a former lawyer who was disbarred after pleading guilty to multiple felonies.Enter Bard. Cohen said he didn't realize the AI bot was a generative text service that, like ChatGPT, could show citations and descriptions that looked real but actually were not." Cohen also blamed his lawyer, saying he didn't realize Schwartz would drop the cases into his submission wholesale without even confirming that they existed."Although lawyers using AI chatbots to cite hallucinated cases makes for easy comedy, this flub could have profound implications for a critical case with potential political ramifications. Cohen is expected to be the star witness in the Manhattan criminal case against Trump for allegedly falsifying business records. The Bard flub gives Trump's lawyers new ammunition to discredit the onetime fixer.Cohen joins the company of ChatGPT Lawyer Steven Schwartz, who cited made-up cases (sourced through OpenAI's chatbot) in a civil case earlier this year. He was allegedly joined by the attorney for Fugees rapper Pras Michel. In October, the artist accused his lawyer of using an AI program he may have had a financial stake in to produce his closing arguments.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/former-trump-fixer-michael-cohen-admits-using-google-bard-to-cite-bogus-court-cases-184125792.html?src=rss

This is the last weekly deal roundup we'll do this year, but unlike other end-of-year posts, we won't be looking back wistfully at the 2023 deals that once were - all that matters are the ones you can get right now. This week, we're seeing a few sale prices that are still live from Black Friday; snag those before they inevitably go back up. A few new discounts have popped up that actually beat lows from November's shopping holiday, including a Prime-only deal on Amazon's Echo Show 8, all-time lows on Anker charging accessories, and discounts on Apple AirTags and Tile Pro trackers. Until next year, these are the best tech deals that you can still get today.Anker charging accessories saleAs part of a larger Anker charging accessories sale at Amazon, the Anker 511 Nano 3 wall charger is down to $16 which is a 30 percent discount and close to an all-time low. It's our top pick for a 30-watt option in our fast charger buying guide. And if you want two USB-C ports instead of just one, you can get the 47W Nano 3 for $21, which is within a dollar of its best price so far. Other notable deals include our top pick for a 65 watt charger from the same guide, the Anker GaNPrime 65W, which is 37 percent off putting it at a new all-time low of $38.Amazon Echo Show 8The latest generation of Amazon's Echo Show 8 smart display is now 40 percent off, bringing it to a new all-time low of $90. That's about $15 cheaper than it sold for during Black Friday, but this deal is only for Prime members. The Echo 8 is our favorite Alexa display and Amazon debuted the third-generation of the device at a company event in September. We took time to appreciate the edge-to-edge front glass and new, more refined look - along with the new features. The most notable of the bunch is Adaptive Content, which knows how far you are from the device and displays different content accordingly, such as large format weather when you're across the room and personalized info like calendars and news when you step closer.Amazon EchoIf you have a Prime membership, you can use it to get the company's flagship smart speaker, the 4th generation Echo, for $50, which is half price and matches the lowest it's ever sold for, and comes in a full $10 less than it went for during Cyber Week. The latest Echo is our top pick for a smart speaker under $100 because it churns out a good amount of volume for its size and packs in all of Alexa's helpful smart home management and other skills.ZOIA EuroburoEmpress Effects is selling its two ZOIA modular synthesizers at a discount. The original ZOIA guitar effects pedal typically sells for $549, but is now 20 percent off and down to $439. The modular synth ZOIA Euroburo mini modular synth is 15 percent off, bringing it down to $607 instead of the $714 MSRP.We called the ZOIA "a complex and rewarding modular effects pedal" in our review and gave it a score of 86. While it's likely overkill for someone looking for a standard effects pedal, the ZOIA will give you almost limitless combinations of effects and modules, along with customization capabilities that other models can't match.The ZOIA Euroburo is pretty similar to the original ZOIA, but is instead configured into a Eurorack format which you could easily add to a larger modular synth setup. There's a powerful audio processor inside, plus 80 modules and 20 dedicated effects modules. These can be combined to create anything from basic reverbs to complicated microloopers or even full-fledged synthesizers.Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbudsWe named the Bose QuietComfort Ultra wireless earbuds our top pick for noise cancellation in our updated guide to the best earbuds. Right now Amazon, Walmart and Bose are selling them for $249 or $50 off, which is the sale price the buds hit for Black Friday. The standout feature is the active noise cancellation, but we also appreciated the sound quality bump from the new Immersive Audio tech, which we tested out in our full review.Hatch Restore 2The Hatch Restore 2 is seeing a rare discount at Amazon. It's down to $140 instead of the $200 list price. We recommend the device, which is a combination of a sunrise alarm clock and sleep-sounds speaker, in our guide to sleep gear. The design is attractive and the large, tactile buttons are easy to find and use in the dark or when you're groggy. Hatch offers a vast library of original content with bedtime stories, meditations, music and white noise to help you fall and stay asleep, and a big selection of wake-up pep talks and stretches to get you energized in the AM. Only catch is most of the content isn't free. You'll need to pay $5 per month for full access, the value of which we discuss in our review.iRobot Roomba 694The iRobot Roomba 694 is down to $160 directly from iRobot and at Amazon. That's within a dollar of its Black Friday price and $90 off the $275 list price, though it's been regularly on sale over the past few months. This is our top pick for a budget robot vacuum because it combines an easy-to-use app with good cleaning power. It doesn't have the smart obstacle avoidance or self-emptying features of pricier robot vacs, but at $160, you won't likely get a better deal on a reliable machine.Google Pixel TabletGoogle's Android tablet, the Pixel is still down to $399 - a $100 discount that matches what it sold for on Black Friday. It popped back up to full price after the sale, but then at Amazon and Target, it dropped back down in early December and hasn't gone back up. The version with 256GB of storage is also $100 off. The Google Pixel Tablet gets a mention in our guide to tablets. Though we don't think it's more compelling than the Samsung that nabs the top Android spot, it's a good pick for someone who wants a tablet that can handle casual browsing and streaming, but can also act as a smart home display. The included speaker and charging dock prop it up so you can use Google Home or manufacturer apps to control compatible smart lights, speakers, plugs and cameras.Blink security camera bundleA Blink sale at Amazon includes a number of security camera bundles, with discounts of up to 53 percent off. The company often sells bundles of its home security cameras at deep discounts and the combinations and sale percentages vary. Whether these are compelling deals or not depend on what you need for your home right now. If you're in the market for a Blink Mini camera to keep an eye on your home's interior, and would like to pair that up with the latest generation of Blink Outdoor camera, this bundle will save you $83 over buying the two separately and at full price. Both cameras offer 1080p video, two way audio and allow for local storage of clips with the included Sync Module 2.Apple AirTagA bundle of four Apple AirTags is currently on sale at Amazon for $79, which is a dollar less than it sold for on Black Friday. These Bluetooth trackers are our pick for iPhone users to keep tabs on your stuff. You'll need some sort of accessory to attach them to your stuff as the smooth round discs lack any sort of hole or attachment point. But AirTags tap into the largest finding network of any tracker, calling on the passive locating power of nearby iOS devices to find a lost tag in real time. It's not as loud, nor as quick with the left behind alerts as our overall top pick, the Chipolo One. A four-pack of those tags is currently $60.Tile Pro 1-packA single Tile Pro is down to $22 at Amazon, which is cheaper than it went for on Black Friday and matches the all-time low it hit for July's Prime day. We named it the best Bluetooth tracker for Android users, though it'll work with iPhones too. It's louder than an AirTag, and while the Tile finding network is nowhere near as vast as Apple's it worked well enough in our tests to get us to the approximate location of a misplaced item. The Pro model is also the only Tile with a replaceable battery.KitchenAid stand mixer attachmentsIf you took advantage of KitchenAid mixer sales over Cyber Week or were lucky enough to get one as a gift, you may want to look into snagging a few attachments to make your new kitchen appliance even more versatile. Right now a big assortment of attachments is on sale at Amazon. The pasta roller is down to $75 from $100, the spiralizer is $70 instead of $130, and the ice cream maker set is $70 as opposed to the $100 MSRP. The Classic series stand mixer itself is down to $240, which is about $10 more than it went for on Black Friday.Tribit Stormbox Micro 2The super portable Tribit StormBox Micro 2 puts out decent volume and right now it's down to $46 instead of the full-price $60 after you click the 5 percent coupon. That puts very close to its all-time low and even beats its Black Friday price last month. We named it one of the best small Bluetooth speakers you can buy in our guide to those devices. There's a strap in the back that works well on belts, backpacks - or even bike handlebars, so it's easy to take with you. And on-the-go is where this speaker performs best, as it's more about portable volume than pure fidelity.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/anker-chargers-are-up-to-30-percent-off-plus-the-rest-of-this-weeks-best-tech-deals-173037120.html?src=rss

A federal judge in California has shot down Elon Musk's attempt to invalidate a state social media law, first reported by The Verge. The state's AB 587 requires social companies to publish their content moderation policies, something Musk's X (formerly Twitter) claimed violated the First Amendment. US District Judge William Shubb wrote on Thursday, It does not appear that the requirement is unjustified or unduly burdensome within the context of First Amendment law."X's lawyers had argued the law was unconstitutional and would lead to censorship. AB 587 has both the purpose and likely effect of pressuring companies such as X Corp. to remove, demonetize, or deprioritize constitutionally-protected speech," the company wrote in its lawsuit, filed in September. The company claimed the law's true intent" was to pressure social media platforms to eliminate' certain constitutionally-protected content viewed by the State as problematic."Judge Shubb saw things differently. The reports required by AB 587 are purely factual," he wrote. The reporting requirement merely requires social media companies to identify their existing content moderation policies, if any, related to the specified categories."He continued, The required disclosures are also uncontroversial. The mere fact that the reports may be tied in some way to a controversial issue' does not make the reports themselves controversial."Shubb concluded that California's Attorney General Rob Bonta met the burden of demonstrating the law was reasonably related to a substantial government interest in requiring social media companies to be transparent about their content moderation policies and practices so that consumers can make informed decisions about where they consume and disseminate news and information."It's been a rocky year for X in Musk's first year of ownership. The company changed its name, hired a new CEO, launched a snarky AI chatbot, brought back a notorious conspiracy theorist and bled money as the ad industry got cold feet about brands sitting next to content from Nazi sympathizers. Oh, and the EU has opened formal infringement proceedings against the company formerly known as Twitter.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/federal-judge-rejects-xs-claim-that-californias-content-moderation-law-violates-free-speech-171713008.html?src=rss

The last few years have been, to put it mildly, rough. And 2023 continued to bring sad tidings. Amid the humanitarian crisis that is the Palestine-Israeli conflict, plus increased fears around the credibility and reliability of AI and Elon Musk's ongoing meltdown, tech's biggest players also suffered their fair share of losses. This year, we saw the demise of the E3 gaming convention, the deterioration of popular online forums and the decline of cryptocurrencies, Silicon Valley banks and financial institutions. Not to mention the poor neighbors of the Twitter office in San Francisco who had to endure obnoxious, potentially epilepsy-triggering lights flashing from the building. While we can happily say good riddance" to many of these things, it is with some sadness that we bid farewell and condolences to some of this year's worst developments.The X, Twitter and Elon Musk fiascoNo Losers in 2023" list is complete without mentioning the fiasco that is Elon Musk's Twitter (or X). Last year, shortly after Musk acquired Twitter, some of us were asked to make predictions about how Musk's new venture would fare. I felt that it was a high-risk, high-reward move that might work due to Musk's combination of luck and smarts, based mainly on his previous success heading up Tesla and SpaceX.However, I also said that Twitter might devolve into the most chaotic social media platform around, which is pretty much what happened. In hindsight, what I failed to account for was that unlike Tesla and SpaceX, Musk doesn't seem to give a crap about running X like a business and has treated the company more as an expensive toy meant to call attention to the sins (at least in his mind) of social media. And when you combine his increasingly unhinged personality with shortsighted decisions, what you get is an organization in turmoil. So while not all of these things occurred in 2023, here are just a few of the dumbest things that Musk and X have done in the last 18 months.A little over a year ago, Musk blew up Twitter's verification system, which promptly led to fake accounts sporting seemingly legit handles doing things like posting an image of Mario flipping the bird, the pope spreading conspiracy theories and more. Then earlier this year in June, Musk decided to block users who weren't logged in from seeing tweets, which caused Google and others to remove Twitter content from search results. That's not a very smart move for a company that relies heavily on traffic to generate ad revenue, so it wasn't a big surprise when Musk backtracked a week later.But perhaps Musk's biggest blunder was changing Twitter's name to X in July, a move so silly that most people continue to pretend like the rebranding never happened. Oh and let's not forget that the name change was commemorated with a sign that was mounted on the company's HQ in San Francisco that blinded its neighbors and didn't have proper permits, resulting in an installation that lasted barely more than a weekend. More recently, citing a rise in hate speech, major companies including Apple and Disney decided to pull ads from X, which later prompted Musk to tell Disney CEO Bob Iger to Go fuck yourself." Another clearly wise business move made by a very grounded individual. (That's sarcasm, in case it's not clear.)At this point, it's hard to imagine how much worse X can get, but given everything that's happened in 2023, it's plain that the company formerly known as Twitter hasn't even hit rock bottom yet. - Sam Rutherford, Senior reporterDavid Imel for EngadgetMicrosoft's Surface tabletNo offense to the Surface Laptop Studio 2, which is a mighty powerful and uniquely convertible laptop, but this year felt like a low point for Microsoft's iconic Surface tablets. The Surface Pro 9 hasn't been upgraded at all since last, so it's still running either an older 12th-gen Intel chip. There is a 5G-equipped model with a custom ARM-based Microsoft SQ3 chip, but we recommend staying far far away from that thing. And beyond the Laptop Studio 2, we only got the Surface Laptop Go 3 for consumers(the tiny Surface Go 4 tablet is now firmly targeted as business users, it doesn't even show up on the main Surface site).It almost seems like Microsoft's dream of creating a true tablet/laptop hybrid is dead - or at the very least, it's on pause as the company focuses on shoving its AI Copilot into all of its products. Let's face it: While the Surface business has earned a bit of money for Microsoft, it's a pittance compared to what the company sees from its Azure cloud revenue. Instead, the Surface devices proved that Microsoft could produce high-end Windows hardware that occasionally pushed the PC industry forward.It's been 11 years since Microsoft announced its first Surface devices, but it turns out most consumers didn't want to replace their laptops with tablets. Simpler 2-in-1 convertible devices, like HP's Spectre x360 16, are far less common these days (and notably, they also work best in their notebook modes). And it doesn't help that Windows 11 is still far from tablet friendly. If you really want to get work done on a slate, it simply makes more sense to get an iPad and a keyboard case instead.With Microsoft's Surface visionary, Panos Panay, now at Amazon, there doesn't seem to be much hope left for the company's tablet concept. But who knows, maybe the Surface Neo will finally make a return as a true foldable some day. (Remember the Surface Duo, another failure?) A Windows user can only dream. - Devindra Hardawar, Senior reporterAmazonAmazon's Halo hardware productsSpeaking of dreams, mine were dashed by Amazon in July this year when the company pulled support for its Halo line of health-related hardware products. In fact, my sleep itself might have been affected, since I had just gotten used to checking my Halo app each morning to see the amount of rest I got the night before.Amazon's Halo division has been plagued with controversy since it launched the screenless Halo wearable in 2020. The device was a barebones activity tracker, but stood out for an opt-in feature that used onboard mics to listen to you speaking and tell if you sound stressed, upbeat or emotional. This caught a lot of attention, with people saying this was akin to Amazon trying to police your way of speaking. Many other reviewers, myself included, were more critical of the fact that, though the Tone feature did flag times when wearers sounded happy or sad, it did not present enough information for that data to be useful.The Halo app also offered a way for you to use your phone's camera for a body composition scan. You'd have to enter your height and weight, before stripping down to your underwear and posing for four pictures, showing your front, back and sides. The app would then tell you how much of your body is fat or muscle.If it sounds dubious, it's probably because it is. Though Amazon said its Halo body fat measurement is as accurate as methods a doctor would use-and nearly twice as accurate as leading at-home smart scales." Spoiler: It wasn't. I used the Body feature every few months for about two years, comparing it to the bio-electrical impedance analysis (BIA) sensor on Samsung's Galaxy Watch when that became available. Over time, as my body composition changed, I also got BIA scans at the F45 gym I go to, which uses a more sophisticated machine. Amazon's scans were wildly off, while the Samsung watch came closer to the data gleaned from the machine at my gym.Photo by: Cherlynn Low / EngadgetAll that is to say that Amazon's Halo products haven't been great. But that seemed to start to change when the company launched the Halo Rise bedside sleep tracker this year. I loved it for the way it accurately detected when I fell asleep, calculated the different stages I was in (REM, Deep, Light etc) and more importantly how it did all that without requiring me to wear something to bed or install a new mattress. I finally had a feasible way to track my sleep and use that to figure out how hard or easy I should take each day's workout, along with other activities and stresses.Alas, that joy was short-lived. Despite Amazon acquiring healthcare companies and clearly investing more into becoming a pharmaceutical provider, it gave up on the Halo business this year. Maybe that's not such a bad thing, since one good product doesn't an entire profitable endeavor make. Amazon not having access to my sleep, heart rate, steps and tone is probably for the best, as we contemplate a future where the online shopping giant is also our doctor and pharmacist. - Cherlynn Low, Deputy editorE3For as long as I can remember, I've been reading and talking about games, but the internet expanded my horizons beyond the confines of the UK magazine industry. In the late 90s, at age 13, I started writing (very badly) for a popular game site, covering release dates, special editions and other unimportant things.Within a couple of years I'd lost interest in writing, but I still hung out in the same IRC channels talking about games with likeminded people. IRC started my obsession with E3 and the Tokyo Game Show; weeks where I'd talk about these huge events with a weird milieu of fans and industry professionals.In 2000, the fever around Metal Gear Solid 2's E3 debut was out of this world. The first-person reports from the show were unbelievably positive. When the trailer finally became available to download a few weeks later, it quickly spread across the internet. I can still remember the mix of frustration and excitement as I downloaded it from an IRC bot at 7KB a second to finally get a glimpse of next-gen" gaming.MGS2 was peak E3 for me, and in hindsight it was also the moment E3 began to die: Why did I need to read a 1,000-word breakdown of a trailer when I could just download and watch it myself? Why should Konami spend big money on a booth when it could just release a trailer directly to its potential customers?Back then, I was the only person I knew IRL who was extremely online." Now, everyone is. By the 2010s, when I started to attend E3 myself, the role of press and the show had shifted. Nintendo E3 Directs were in full swing, and the big shows from Sony, Microsoft, Bethesda, Ubisoft and EA were all beamed live to fans. Sure, I got to play some games and interview some developers, but that's something that happens throughout the year now.E3 remained one of the highlights of my calendar, and there were always some memorable moments - the PS4 and Xbox One reveals were probably the highlight of my in-person years - but by 2019, my excitement was more tied to seeing farflung colleagues and old industry friends than it was the event itself. When the pandemic canceled the 2020 event, it was obviously it would never recover. We'd written about how the industry didn't need E3 years before.Summer Game Fest will happen again next year. It will never hit the scale of the show it's replacing, but I hope that it becomes a strong enough brand to keep the idea of E3 going. There's still something exciting for fans, and journalists, about a week of gaming announcements to predict and dissect. If more companies spread their events throughout the year, that last bit of E3 magic will be gone. - Aaron Souppouris, Executive EditorCryptocurrencies and finance in techMuch as we pretend mathematics represents an immutable truth, we must remember it's not without its loopholes. Centuries from now, historians researching crypto may assume humanity forgot that as it decided to substitute math for truth in its entirety. That the prodigies of this world sought to engineer out human fallibility between League of Legends sessions. Uncertain, wooly and hard-to-quantify concepts like truth" and trust" would be tossed out in favor of the certainty of pure math. That's the PR line: The Bitcoin white paper describes the virtual currency as a system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust." It's ironic, then, that so many high-profile people who hitched their mast to crypto are either in prison, or are awaiting trial for fraud.Those same historians may wonder if crypto was merely a vehicle ripe for hijack by unethical types, or if its inherent fraudiness was written into its DNA. 2023 will offer plenty of material to scrub through given the number of figures who wound up face-to-face with law enforcement. Coinbase started the year accused of leaving gaps in its systems big enough to enable fraud, money laundering and drug dealing. Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky was sued and later arrested - alongside the company's chief revenue officer, Roni Cohen-Pavon. Not long after, Terraform Labs was charged by the SEC for securities fraud after it wiped out $45 billion or so. Bear in mind, this is a year-in-review story, and I've only managed to make it as far as February.Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange by volume, dominated headlines this year much as FTX had in 2022. Regulators accused it, and its founder Changpeng CZ" Zhao of deliberately undermining its own controls and processes to not-so tacitly enable users to break the law. Zhou would plead guilty, step down as CEO and pay a hefty fine which enabled the company to keep running. Oh, and we should mention the Winklevoss Twins, their exchange and its partners, who were accused of defrauding investors to the tune of $1 billion. Ironic then, that Ferrari finally decided to try to appeal to the Lambo-and-Tendies demographic by opening up crypto purchases for its cars just as things started to get tough.Of course, the real loser in all of this has to be Michael Lewis who, with an MA in Economics and experience as a bond trader for Salomon Brothers in one hand, and a ringside seat with Sam Bankman-Fried in the other, managed to miss what was going on at FTX. Lewis has doubled down in support of his latest muse but now that SBF has been found guilty of fraud, it looks like his reputation as the most credible financial journalist of the age is in tatters. - Daniel Cooper, Senior reporterSTRF/STAR MAX/IPxRedditI've been a longtime Reddit lurker, occasional poster and always a first-party app user. But when the drama about the company's decision to start charging for API access started to unfold in April, my eyes were opened to the wonderful world of third-party Reddit clients. Too bad, though, that the company proceeded to then botch it all.Because API access was no longer free, many apps like Apollo, RIF, BaconReader and Narwhal had to reconsider their pricing or shut down altogether. Reddit's policy change didn't just challenge these apps, which mostly offered superior browsing experiences to the company's own. It also created problems for clients that were built for more accessible use, rendering them unusable unless their developers ponied up the fees, which could go up as much as tens of thousands of dollars (or, in Apollo's case, an estimated $20 million a year).While Reddit did eventually seem to concede that the API fees would shut out some users with disabilities and ended up working with some unnamed developers to give them free access, the company dug in its heels in the wake of public outrage and subreddit blackouts. In the second half of the year, subreddits all over the platform either stopped posting, changed their settings to private or NSFW or dedicated themselves to only putting up salacious images of Last Week Tonight host John Oliver.Reddit didn't just ignore the protests and carry on with its planned fees. It went as far as to forcibly take over some communities that went dark, while looking for volunteers to take over certain subreddits that it deemed to have violated its Moderator Code of Conduct.According to internet analytics company Similarweb in June, Reddit saw a 6.6 percent drop in average daily traffic. We don't have the latest statistics on how the company is doing now, but I can tell you from personal experience that the first-party app on iOS is a complete shitshow. Like many other Redditors have pointed out before, videos will autoplay unmuted out of nowhere for no reason, while I've encountered numerous infuriating bugs, including one where a video on a post was repeatedly going on and off mute while I was also trying to stream Spotify to a speaker. It just sucks.After the mass subreddit blackouts spawned a bunch of duplicate communities with different moderators, the quality of posts have noticeably fallen, as well. Not to mention the company got rid of trophies and then attempted to bring them back again in a confusing format. Throw in the fact that the community now seems to be a mix of karma-farming bots and commenters who copy and paste the same jokes over and over again, the days of enjoyable Reddit scrolling seem to have come to an end in 2023. - Cherlynn LowThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/techs-biggest-losers-in-2023-170017317.html?src=rss

LG just announced its latest 4K projector, the CineBeam Qube. It'll officially unveil the projector at CES 2024 in early January, but the company's giving curious consumers an early look. The CineBeam Qube has plenty of high-tech bells and whistles, but with a stylish design that LG calls minimalist." There's also a handle that resembles a crank.Yeah this thing has an actual handle. The CineBeam Qube is built for portability. It's lightweight, at around three pounds, and the square form factor makes it easy to place just about anywhere. The 360-degree rotatable handle also helps with placement. LG's calling it one of the smallest projectors available."LGOf course, the most important part of any projector is, well, the projection. The Qube projects 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160) resolution images that measure up to 120 inches. There's an RGB laser light source, a 450,000:1 contrast ratio and 154 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut. With these specs, that episode of Reacher will really pop.Speaking of streaming content, the projector runs on LG webOS 6.0 and offers access to all of the big streaming services, including Prime Video, Disney+, Netflix and YouTube. However, Prime Video is about to force ads on everyone, and nothing ruins a projector-based cinema party more than ads.This projector also includes the company's image-mapping function, which maps your space and displays an image on top of everything. This is for creating a unique ambiance, like blasting the room with an image of the night sky or the deep wilderness. It even includes LG's automatic brightness adjustment algorithm, which is found in many of the company's high-end projectors.The CineBeam Qube has no release date and there's no pricing information available. However, LG's making the projector a big part of its CES showing, so maybe we'll find out more in January.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/lg-is-bringing-a-4k-projector-with-a-weird-handle-to-ces-2024-163420538.html?src=rss

Throughout 2023, it felt like the drama never let up. From Elon Musk's nonstop shenanigans to the constant launches in the generative AI race, the last twelve months was packed with news. Thankfully, it wasn't all bad, and this year saw more winners than before. There were clear frontrunners, like Threads and AI, but we also saw surprises like Apple's Vision Pro headset and the iPhone maker finally embracing several open standards. Of all the things that happened this year, here's the Engadget team's list of tech's biggest winners in 2023.ThreadsIf you had told me a year ago that Mark Zuckerberg would use the Elon Musk-induced chaos at Twitter to his and Meta's advantage, I wouldn't have been surprised. If, however, you had told me that Meta's slapdash effort to build a standalone Twitter clone based on Instagram would emerge as the most viable and popular alternative, I probably would have laughed.But, if 2023 taught us anything, it's that Elon Musk was more adept at taking Twitter X to lower lows than we could have possibly imagined. And while we'll likely never see an actual cage match between Zuck and Musk, it's impossible to ignore just how much Threads has benefitted from Musk's self-inflicted wounds.After an initial surge and drop-off in interest, Threads is back at 100 million monthly users. It was the fourth-most downloaded app of the year, according to Apple, despite a mid-year launch and months without any EU availability. The app is also beginning its long-awaited experiment with federation, which will eventually make its content interoperable with Mastodon.Threads has, of course, benefitted from Meta's vast engineering resources, as well as the company's willingness to engage in good old-fashioned growth-hacking. And there are still valid concerns about Meta's content moderation practices and the implications for allowing the Facebook owner to control yet another major social platform.But the fact that Threads was able to grow so quickly despite all that shows just how desperate people were for an alternative. Threads may not have been the most advanced or most interesting of the wave of alternatives, but it's been able to use its ties to Meta and Instagram to attract the most interest. And, right now, it has something X doesn't: a whole lot of momentum. - Karissa Bell, Senior reporterGenerative AIWe capped off 2022 with the rising popularity of ChatGPT, OpenAI's remarkably powerful generative AI chatbot. While the idea of having a conversation with a chatbot wasn't exactly new, ChatGPT leveraged a large language model (LLM) to achieve natural, almost human-like responses, as well as the ability to craft readable text or pull up information on demand. It was a sign that AI was going to be an important topic in 2023 - something Microsoft proved when it launched Bing's AI Chat in February, which was powered by OpenAI's next-generation GPT 4 model. And so the AI wars began.ScreenshotGoogle rushed to announce its Bard chatbot to pre-empt Microsoft's Bing Chat launch, but it demonstrated the limitations of generative AI when it confidently answered a question about the James Webb telescope incorrectly. That led to an immediate 8 percent drop in Google's stock, and it made the company seem like it was just chasing Microsoft's and OpenAI's accomplishments with Bing Chat and ChatGPT. (Bard was originally powered by Google's LaMDA LLM, which had been in development since 2021.)Bing Chat was just the start for Microsoft: It also launched AI integration in Microsoft Edge through a Copilot" sidebar, something that also ended up arriving in Microsoft 365 apps, Windows 11 and Windows 10. Google, meanwhile, announced Bard integration for its Assistant and implemented a slew of AI-powered features into Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Meet, Chat, Slides, as well as the new Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. Heading into 2024, we can look forward to Google's GPT 4 competitor, Gemini, and Microsoft also announced that its Copilots are getting upgraded with GPT-4.Outside of Microsoft and Google, AI ended up being the buzzword adopted by much of the tech world throughout 2023. (How quickly we forgot about Web 3.0, crypto and the metaverse.) But while the relentless hype cycle was inevitable, we also saw text-to-image generation tools like OpenAI's Dall-E 3 become even more powerful, evolving beyond the creepy multi-fingered imagery it was famous for. AI is starting to influence the the world outside of tech as well: It was one of the most prominent concerns for WGA members during their 148-day long strike, and many people were fooled by the famous image of the Pope wearing a puffy Balenciaga coat, which was generated by Midjourney.There's still plenty we don't know about how AI will influence our lives, though researchers like Timnit Gebru, founder of the Distributed AI Research Institute, and Margaret Mitchell are continually raising the alarm about ethical AI concerns. Much of the AI world seems to be following Facebook's former philosophy of move fast and break things" - expect to see more drama around artificial intelligence like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's surprise firing and re-hiring. It normally takes a few years for a founder to get ousted from their company, like Steve Jobs and Twitter's Jack Dorsey. Devindra Hardawar, Senior reporterPhoto by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetApple meets RCS, USB-C and Qi 2In 2023, it almost felt like hell froze over. Apple, notorious for its walled garden, not only introduced new phones with USB-C charging ports this year, but also announced it would support the RCS messaging standard. This happened after months of public badgering from Google (and its execs) and multiple reports calling out the green-bubble stigma. Apple appeared to relent, seemingly having come to terms with previous misgivings.Though Apple's declaration is a step in the right direction and brings better security and multimedia support for those on iPhones texting people on Androids, the bubble-color divide is far from dissolved. When the company does adopt the messaging standard, it may not change the way texts are presented. iMessage still has many features that RCS lacks, particularly those introduced in iOS 17 this year like Voice Memo transcripts and Check Ins.Of course, it's not like Apple is welcoming all these interoperable standards with open arms. Its adoption of USB-C is clearly a reaction to the EU's mandate that all new devices sold next year charge with the same standard. And even after announcing RCS support, the company still worked hard to plug the workarounds that enabled Android platforms like Beeper and Sunbird to bring some semblance of iMessage support to non-iOS devices.But when you consider all the changes made this year, plus the fact that iPhone 15s are among the first devices that work with the new Qi 2 wireless charging protocol, it's hard to ignore the momentum. It doesn't feel quite right to label Apple a winner because of all this, but with the number of people that are now better served and supported by the company's devices, it won't be surprising to see a fair amount of goodwill flow its way. - Cherlynn Low, Deputy editorPhoto by: Sam Rutherford / EngadgetFoldable phonesSince 2019, Samsung has had a virtual monopoly on big fancy foldable phones. But in 2023, we got not one but two new challengers in the Pixel Fold and OnePlus Open. And while neither can claim total superiority, they've brought some interesting innovations to the category.With its super thin design and wider front display, the Pixel Fold makes it easy to use all of your apps without ever needing to open the device. So when do unfold it, you appreciate its 6.7-inch flexible screen even more. And unlike its rivals, Google didn't cut corners with its cameras, as the Pixel Fold offers better image quality than pretty much any other handset (foldable or otherwise) aside from its recent sibling, the Pixel 8 Pro.Meanwhile with the Open, OnePlus created a clever card-based multitasking system that makes it super easy to flip between apps. The Open is also thinner and lighter than Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 5. And while it's still pretty expensive, thanks to a nifty deal that brings its price down to $1,500 with the trade-in of any phone, OnePlus' first foldable is helping lower the barrier to entry for devices even further.So in a year when the pace of Samsung's innovation felt like it was starting to stagnate, two new rivals brought increased competition to the category, which is a win for anyone who's ever thought about buying a big foldable phone. - Sam Rutherford, Senior reporterApple Vision ProApple didn't make the first MP3 player, and it certainly didn't make the first smartphone. But the iPod and iPhone managed to out-innovate existing products and reorient the entire technology world around their existence. The Vision Pro is a similar play, albeit one that isn't immediately meant for everyone. Companies like Oculus (now Meta) and HTC Vive have been pursuing consumer VR for almost a decade, but the Vision Pro takes an even bolder leap forward. Imagine having your apps floating above your desk, or having a video pinned to a wall of your room, or seamlessly reliving your memories captured in 3D spatial videos. And yes, it can also deliver immersive virtual experiences when it needs to.As is true for many VR solutions, it's hard to convey the magnitude of Apple's accomplishment with the Vision Pro in words, screenshots or promo trailers. If you're not terribly excited about spending $3,499 on Apple's unproven goggles, I can't blame you. But after spending some time with the Vision Pro during its launch event, I'm convinced it's something special. Its screens are far sharper than any VR headset I've seen, its onboard cameras deliver a better mixed reality experience and the simple gestures Apple has developed for navigating its interface are wonderfully intuitive.While the Vision Pro has its obvious issues - it's priced for developers and early adopters, not average consumers; it's still a chunky device that many people won't want to wear - it fundamentally reshapes the way we've been thinking of mixed reality. It's not just a gadget for VR games, nor is it something purely geared towards business purposes like the Hololens 2 and Magic Leap 2. It's something truly new, and it could end up paving the way towards our spatial computing future. - Devindra HardawarEngadgetGaming handheldsHandheld gaming PCs combine everything you love about classic portables like the Gameboy Advance or the PSP with big performance (and admittedly much larger builds) plus the freedom to play practically any title you can think of. And in 2023, we saw an explosion of compelling devices with a range of designs: from big chunky units with detachable controllers like Lenovo's Legion Go to a major revamp for the Steam Deck featuring a new OLED display. Meanwhile, systems like the ASUS ROG Ally offer top-notch specs in a sleek design. And this is before you mention smaller manufacturers like Ayaneo, GPD and others that have put their own twist on the category. But the best part is that most of these cost half the price of a typical gaming laptop, so if all you care about is being able to game from... well anywhere, 2023 has given us a wealth of options. - Sam RutherfordNeuralinkElon Musk's Neuralink brain-computer interface startup came into 2023 against the figurative ropes. The FDA had denied its 2022 petition to begin human trials of its implantable prosthetic over concerns that prototypes of the device had killed a slew of porcine test subjects; rival BCI maker Synchron had already beaten it to market (having having successfully installed their device in a human patient that July) and the USDA had launched an investigation into animal cruelty claims against the company. Musk's promise of beginning human trials within six months," made during a November show-and-tell' event appeared increasingly unlikely.Heading into 2024, Neuralink is in a much better place. The USDA conducted a "focused" inspection of the company's facilities but did not find any compliance breaches beyond a single issue in 2019 that Neuralink self-reported, per a report obtained by Reuters. That investigation came in response to a complaint filed by the Physicians Committee of Responsible Medicine, an animal welfare advocacy group, that alleged Neuralink and research partner UC Davis had caused the needless suffering and death of simian test subjects between 2017 and 2020. Neuralink may have placated that investigation, however, the USDA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) has since launched its own independent investigation at the behest of federal prosecutors into the allegations as such actions might violate the Animal Welfare Act. That process remains ongoing.In May, Neuralink received the best news of its year: the FDA had cleared the company to begin early-stage human trials, after it had satisfactorily address the agency's previous issues. "The agency's major safety concerns involved the device's lithium battery; the potential for the implant's tiny wires to migrate to other areas of the brain; and questions over whether and how the device can be removed without damaging brain tissue," current and former Neuralink employees told Reuters in March.In September, nearly a year after Musk's six-month promise, the Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface (PRIME if you really squint) study opened for subject volunteers. The study "aims to evaluate the safety of our implant (N1) and surgical robot (R1) and assess the initial functionality of our BCI for enabling people with paralysis to control external devices with their thoughts." Whether patients turn out to have the devices implanted won't be revealed until the trials are complete but given Musk's increasingly erratic behavior and irrational diatribes, embrace of antisemitism and promotion of far-right hate speech - the fact that he ran Twitter into the ground in barely a year - could make selling people on the finer points of their cranial surgery an impossible task. - Andrew Tarantola, Senior reporterThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-biggest-winners-in-tech-in-2023-143012912.html?src=rss

Google's Chrome has long featured the ability to launch the browser in Incognito mode, offering a seemingly blank slate for your internet browsing, away from your usual cookies, forms and web history. But that seemingly didn't mean Google wasn't keeping an eye on where you were browsing.The company faced a lawsuit in 2020 that accused it of tracking Chrome users' activities even when they were using Incognito mode. Google has now agreed to settle the complaint that originally sought $5 billion in damages, after failing to get the suit dismissed.The plaintiffs said Google used tools like its Analytics product, apps and browser plug-ins to monitor users. By tracking someone on Incognito, the company was falsely making people believe that they could control the information that they were willing to share with it.The lawsuit's plaintiffs revealed internal emails that allegedly showed conversations between Google execs proving that the company monitored Incognito browser usage to sell ads and track web traffic. Which does sound like a thing Google would do. According to Reuters and The Washington Post, neither side has made the details of the settlement public.- Mat SmithYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest stories you might have missedThis is the future of generative AI, according to generative AIApple reportedly faces pressure in India after sending out warnings of state-sponsored hackingRussia will assist NASA with ISS space flights through 2025The best PS5 accessories for 2024Xiaomi says its EV can outperform Porsche and has more tech than TeslaIt tapped former BMW and Mercedes designers.XiaomiXiaomi, best known for its smartphones, smart home peripherals, and many other things, has made an EV. Unveiled at a Beijing event yesterday, the Xiaomi SU7 - pronounced "soo-chee" in Chinese - is a sedan that will come in two flavors: the dual-motor all-wheel-drive SU7 Max, and the single-motor rear-wheel-drive SU7.Xiaomi claims the SU7 Max has a range of up to 800km and a 0-100km/h acceleration of just 2.78s, both of which apparently beat Tesla's Model S and Porsche's Taycan Turbo. There's also a lot of tech splashed around, with a dedicated in-car entertainment system, ports for your (Xiaomi, of course) tablets and headlamps designed to look like the chinese character for rice - also the mi' in Xiaomi. We've chewed over all the details below.Continue reading.Apple is selling its contested Watch models againBoth the Series 9 or Ultra 2 are available again from the company's website.The Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 are back on sale, after a federal appeals court in Washington D.C. granted a temporary pause on an import and sales ban. However, Apple's wearables aren't out of the woods just yet: the ban could be reinstated on January 10, when the International Trade Commission (ITC) decides on whether to grant Apple a longer pause.The ban could also return on January 13, when the same agency makes a decision regarding Apple's redesign of both smartwatches. The original ban lasted a little more than a day.Continue reading.Look at LG's two-legged robotIt'll feature AI-powered skills and face recognition.LGYes, CES is in a couple of weeks. Why do you ask?Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-google-will-settle-5-billion-lawsuit-over-tracking-incognito-chrome-users-121651324.html?src=rss

LG is trying to one-up its rival Samsung with the launch of the MyView 32-inch 4K monitors with built-in smart TV features. On top of performing regular monitor chores for productivity, content creation and light gaming, they have LG's webOS 23 built-in so that you can stream Netflix and other services - much like Samsung's M8 smart monitors.The three monitors (the 32SR85U, 32SR83U and 32SR70U) have similar specs with minor differences. All come with 31.5-inch 16:9 4K (3,840 x 2,160) IPS displays, 95 percent DCI-P3 coverage and HDR10 support. You also get webOS 23 on all models, with streaming services (Netflix, Disney+ etc.) along with productivity programs including Microsoft 365 and Google Calendar. They also support AirPlay 2 and Miracast for wireless screen mirroring, and have WiFi and Bluetooth built-in.However, the lower-end 32SR70U offers only 350 nits of brightness compared to 400 nits on the other models. And while all three have USB Type-C PD charging, the 32SR85U supports 90W, the 32SR83U supports 65W and the 32SR70U supports just 45 watts. The higher-end 85U and 83U screens also have slim bezels and an adjustable stand, while the 70U has a "low-profile base" that's likely fixed.LGThe 32SR85U can be paired with a "detachable 1080p webcam" for video conferencing, but you have to buy one separately for the other two. Other features include 5W stereo speakers, a voice assistant, two HDMI 2.0 ports and a remote controller.The 95 percent DCI-P3 coverage is impressive, and even though 400/350 nits isn't very bright for HDR content, it's fine given that monitors tend to be just a couple of feet from your eyeballs. In addition, the 60Hz refresh rate won't allow for any high-end gaming.The MyView monitors beg a comparison with Samsung's M8 series, of course. LG is subtly digging its rival by saying they "raise the bar for picture quality in the smart monitor category," and that seems largely true. The IPS displays should offer better viewing angles than the VA panels on Samsung's monitors, along with much better color accuracy (Samsung boasts only 99 percent SRGB coverage).Otherwise, they offer many of the same features, so attractiveness to buyers will depend a lot on the price. LG has yet to announce US pricing, but the 32SR83U will be 699,000 won (around $538) in Korea. Samsung's M8, meanwhile, is often on sale for as little as $400.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lgs-new-myview-4k-monitors-have-webos-smart-features-baked-in-094035996.html?src=rss

In 2020, Google was hit with a lawsuit that accused it of tracking Chrome users' activities even when they were using Incognito mode. Now, after a failed attempt to get it dismissed, the company has agreed to settle the complaint that originally sought $5 billion in damages. According to Reuters and The Washington Post, neither side has made the details of the settlement public, but they've already agreed to the terms that they're presenting to the court for approval in February.When the plaintiffs filed the lawsuit, they said Google used tools like its Analytics product, apps and browser plug-ins to monitor users. They reasoned that by tracking someone on Incognito, the company was falsely making people believe that they could control the information that they were willing to share with it. At the time, a Google spokesperson said that while Incognito mode doesn't save a user's activity on their device, websites could still collect their information during the session.The lawsuit's plaintiffs presented internal emails that allegedly showed conversations between Google execs proving that the company monitored Incognito browser usage to sell ads and track web traffic. Their complaint accused Google of violating federal wire-tapping and California privacy laws and was asking up to $5,000 per affected user. They claimed that millions of people who'd been using Incognito since 2016 had likely been affected, which explains the massive damages they were seeking from the company. Google has likely agreed to settle for an amount lower than $5 billion, but it has yet to reveal details about the agreement and has yet to get back to Engadget with an official statement.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-agrees-to-settle-5-billion-lawsuit-accusing-it-of-tracking-incognito-users-042435935.html?src=rss

The Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 wearables are back on sale via the manufacturer. We knew this was coming yesterday, after a federal appeals court in Washington D.C. granted a temporary pause on an import and sales ban. The ban could be reinstated on January 10, when the International Trade Commission (ITC) decides on whether to grant Apple a longer pause.It could also come back on January 13, which is when the same agency makes a decision regarding Apple's redesign of both smartwatches. All told, the ban lasted little more than a day and really only impacted consumers purchasing directly from Apple, as the devices were readily available from third-party retailers.Apple told Engadget it's pleased the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has stayed the exclusion order while it considers our request to stay the order pending our full appeal." At the heart of the issue is a lawsuit issued by medical technology company Masimo, which alleges that the blood oxygen sensors used in newer Apple Watch devices violate two patents. The company also accused Apple of stealing trade secrets and poaching employees.The ITC agreed with Masimo, which led to Apple scrambling to offer a software fix. However, it was ruled that this was a hardware issue relating to the actual sensor, leading Apple back to the drawing board. It's expected to reveal a redesigned blood oxygen sensor by January 13. The budget-friendly Apple Watch SE was never part of this discussion, as it doesn't have a blood oxygen sensor.Apple has long held that the ban would cause irreparable harm" to the company. To that end, the Watch side of Apple's business generates around $17 billion a year, according to Bloomberg. We'll keep you updated as this case moves forward. In the meantime, snap up the well-reviewed Apple Watch Series 9 while you still can.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-is-selling-its-contested-watch-models-again-after-import-ban-pause-193824245.html?src=rss

LG is going to start selling a compact bipedal robot that can roll around your house freely. The AI-powered robot, which will debut at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, has a wide range of capabilities - from notifying you that you left the AC on while you're away to watching your pet while you're at work. Like stationary smart home aids, like Alexa or Apple HomePod, LG's robot can also tell you the weather and remind you to take your medications on time.The robot is powered by Qualcomm's Robotics RB5 Platform, which entails a mix of hardware and software that run the bot's AI program. Some of these include its ability to recognize faces and voices, process the emotions of those around it and engage in conversation. LG says the bot will be able to greet you at your door, analyze your emotions and play music to either boost your good mood or lull you to sleep. It can even emote" by changing its posture thanks to its articulated leg joints. Although it's a cute feature, it might not have any practical use beyond making it approachable.The robot is also equipped with a camera in its face, a speaker and various sensors throughout that give it the ability to navigate, speak and listen. It can also measure indoor air quality and temperature, however, it's unclear if it can actually be linked to a smart home system and control your thermostat. LG has not yet responded to comment on this and said the price of the robot will be announced at a later time.Because the bot can move around freely, you can program it to look after your pets while you're gone and send your smartphone notifications if any unusual activity is detected." Using the same monitoring tools, the bot can act as a mobile security guard" and send you notifications if there is movement in the house while you're away. Or more likely, just let you know you left the kitchen lights on.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/lg-developed-a-two-legged-ai-powered-robot-that-can-watch-your-pets-for-you-192034931.html?src=rss

LG just announced new entries in its gram series of laptops as part of an early CES 2024 reveal. These include two new LG Gram Pro laptops and standard refreshes of the pre-existing gram line.The LG Gram Pro boasts impressive specs, with an Intel Core Ultra processor and a GeForce RTX 3050 GPU. These computers also ship with Intel's AI Boost technology. LG says this upgrade allows the laptop to handle AI workloads even without a network connection."This AI tomfoolery also extends to the company's proprietary Link app, which now automatically shares files and photos between devices. Finally, this is the first gram laptop to feature a dual-fan cooling system. AI tools are notoriously power-hungry and this will help stave off excess heat. You can choose between 16-inch and 17-inch models here.LGThe LG Gram Pro 2-in-1 offers similar specs to the standard Pro, but with a convertible form factor and a one-size-fits-all 16-inch OLED display. There's a touchscreen, a 360-degree adjustable hinge and a super-slim bezel design." This hybrid laptop comes with Intel's AI Boost tech and LG's Link app. It's also lightweight, at around three pounds, with the company boasting that it recently won the Guiness World Record for lightest 16-inch 2-in-1 laptop." Geeze. These records sure are getting highly specific.The standard LG Gram line's also getting a nice refresh, with new iterations of gram 17, 16, 15 and 14 models. Each of these comes with Intel Core Ultra processors and IPS panels with anti-glare coating. The 17 and 16 models boast WQXGA resolution displays, while the smaller SKUs get FHD or WUXGA resolution displays. These laptops are intended for regular business and school use, so they come with FHD webcams and a variety of user-friendly software." They also boast the same Mirametrix privacy tech as previous generations.If you find yourself in Las Vegas in two weeks, all of these laptops will be on display as part of LG's presence at CES 2024. The company hasn't announced pricing or availability yet, but has stated that each will show up on store shelves at some point during 2024.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/lgs-latest-gram-laptops-are-predictably-stuffed-with-ai-features-163910204.html?src=rss

As part of our year-end story package, we tasked ChatGPT with writing a guest post about the future of generative AI. The prompt asked for a 1,200 word article (a number it undercut by quite a margin) that explored both the potential negative and positive outcomes of the technology. We then asked it to include real world examples, which is apparently beyond its capabilities. We also asked it to include a section on the recent Sam Altman debacle which, as you will soon read, was also not a topic it was particularly capable at describing. Below is the unedited output with light changes for formatting.Navigating the future of Generative AI: Balancing exciting possibilities and potential pitfallsGenerative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a powerful force, reshaping the technological landscape with its ability to create content autonomously. From language models like GPT-3 to image-generating algorithms, generative AI holds immense promise for the future. However, this promising future is not without its challenges. In this article, we will explore the potential negative outcomes and the most exciting possibilities of generative AI, aiming to strike a balance between optimism and caution. Additionally, we'll address the recent leadership shift involving Sam Altman at OpenAI, shedding light on the ethical considerations associated with AI development.Sam Altman's Leadership Shift: Lessons in ethical AIIn recent months, the AI community witnessed a significant leadership shift at OpenAI involving Sam Altman. The CEO, known for his influential role in steering OpenAI's initiatives, faced a period of controversy surrounding his firing and subsequent re-hiring. This incident underscored the challenges associated with ethical considerations in AI development and management.Addressing ethical concerns: Sam Altman's leadership shift prompted a reevaluation of ethical considerations in AI development and organizational decision-making. The incident raised questions about transparency, accountability, and the need for robust ethical frameworks to guide the development and deployment of AI technologies.Transparency and accountability: The leadership transition emphasized the importance of transparency in organizational decision-making, especially in contexts where AI technologies with widespread implications are involved. It highlighted the necessity of holding leaders and organizations accountable for their actions and ensuring that ethical guidelines are followed.Community involvement: The controversy surrounding Sam Altman's leadership shift also brought to light the significance of involving the wider community in decisions related to AI development. The call for more inclusive decision-making processes gained momentum, reinforcing the idea that diverse perspectives are crucial in navigating the ethical challenges associated with AI technologies.Photoshop (AI prompt: "The future of generative AI in manga style")The potential negative outcomesEthical concerns and biasOne of the primary concerns with generative AI lies in its susceptibility to biases present in training data. If the data used to train these models reflects societal biases, the AI may inadvertently perpetuate and amplify those biases in its generated content. Addressing this issue is crucial to prevent AI systems from unintentionally reinforcing and spreading harmful stereotypes.Security threats and DeepfakesThe ability of generative AI to produce highly realistic and convincing content raises serious security concerns. Deepfakes, for instance, are AI-generated images or videos that manipulate and superimpose content onto real footage. This technology can be exploited for malicious purposes, such as creating fake news, impersonating individuals, or spreading misinformation. As generative AI becomes more sophisticated, the challenge of distinguishing between real and fake content becomes increasingly difficult.Privacy invasionThe advancements in generative AI also raise concerns about privacy invasion. The ability to generate realistic images and videos of individuals who never participated in such content creation poses a risk to personal privacy. Protecting individuals from the unauthorized use of their likeness in AI-generated content will be a pressing issue in the coming years.Unemployment and Economic DisruptionThe automation capabilities of generative AI may lead to workforce displacement in certain industries. Jobs that involve routine and repetitive tasks, such as content creation, could be at risk. Striking a balance between technological advancement and societal well-being will be a challenge to ensure that AI complements human labor rather than replaces it.Moral and Ethical DilemmasAs AI systems become more proficient in generating content that mimics human creativity, ethical questions arise. For instance, who owns the rights to AI-generated art or literature? Determining the legal and moral implications of creations produced by non-human entities challenges our conventional understanding of authorship and intellectual property.Photoshop (AI prompt: "futuristic AI utopia")The Most Exciting PossibilitiesEnhanced Creativity and ProductivityGenerative AI has the potential to amplify human creativity and productivity by automating mundane tasks, allowing individuals to focus on more complex and strategic aspects of their work. In fields like content creation, design, and marketing, AI can assist and inspire, leading to a surge in innovation and efficiency.Revolutionizing HealthcareThe future of generative AI promises breakthroughs in healthcare, from drug discovery to personalized medicine. AI models can analyze vast datasets, identify patterns, and propose novel solutions, significantly accelerating the pace of medical research and improving patient outcomes.Customized User ExperiencesAs generative AI continues to evolve, it can provide highly personalized and tailored experiences for users. From adaptive learning platforms to content recommendations, AI systems can understand individual preferences and behaviors, offering a more seamless and engaging user experience.Human-AI CollaborationInstead of replacing human roles, generative AI is likely to enhance collaboration between humans and machines. AI tools can serve as creative partners, aiding professionals in various fields to achieve outcomes that wouldn't be possible with traditional methods alone. This collaborative approach can lead to unprecedented levels of innovation.Innovations in Art and EntertainmentGenerative AI is already making waves in the art world, creating unique pieces that challenge traditional notions of creativity. In the entertainment industry, AI-driven content creation can open new avenues for storytelling, virtual worlds, and interactive experiences, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in these fields.ConclusionThe future of generative AI is a double-edged sword, offering both exciting possibilities and potential pitfalls. As we navigate this technological landscape, it is crucial to acknowledge and address the ethical concerns and negative outcomes associated with generative AI. Striking a balance between innovation and responsible development is imperative to harness the full potential of AI while mitigating its risks.By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, implementing ethical guidelines, and investing in research to address biases and security threats, we can pave the way for a future where generative AI enhances human creativity, productivity, and well-being. The recent leadership shift involving Sam Altman serves as a reminder of the importance of ethical considerations in AI development, urging the industry to learn from past mistakes and collectively shape a future where AI benefits humanity responsibly.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/this-is-the-future-of-generative-ai-according-to-generative-ai-160010937.html?src=rss

We're just over a year since it burst onto the scene and OpenAI's ChatGPT program is somehow even more everywhere than it was in February. Our capability to regulate generative AI and mitigate its myriad real-world harms, on the other hand, continues to lag far behind the technology's state-of-the-art. That makes 2024 a potentially pivotal year for generative AI in particular and machine learning in genera. ill AI continue to prove itself a fundamental revolution in human-computer communication, on par with the introduction of the mouse in 1963?, Or are we instead heading down yet another overhyped technological dead-end like 3D televisions? Let's take a look at how OpenAI and its chatbot have impacted consumer electronics in 2023 and where they might lead the industry in the new year.OpenAI had a great year, all things consideredMeteoric" doesn't do justice to OpenAI's rise this year. The company released ChatGPT on November 30, 2022. Within five days, the program had passed 1 million users; by January, 100 million people a month were logging on to use it. It took Facebook four and a half years to reach those sorts of engagement numbers. ChatGPT outpaced the launches of both TikTok and Instagram to become the most quickly adopted program in the history of the internet in 2023. Heading into 2024, OpenAI (with billions in financial backing from Microsoft) stands at the forefront of the generative AI industry - whether the company can stay there, while billions more are being poured into its rivals' R&D coffers, remains to be seen.The company's sudden success this year also launched its CEO Sam Altman into the media spotlight, with the 38-year-old former head of Y-Combinator basking in much of the praise formerly heaped upon Elon Musk. For a while, Altman was everywhere, repeatedly making appearances before Congressional committees and attending the Senate's AI Safety Summits. He also conducted a 16-city world tour to Israel, India, Japan, Nigeria, South Korea, across Europe and to the UAE to help promote ChatGPT to developers and policy makers.

LG is best known for its OLED range when it comes to TVs, but it's expanding its 2024 QNED-branded LCD lineup as well. For CES 2024, the company has unveiled a 98-inch QNED LCD TV, while updating the previous models including its 8K lineup with a new version of its webOS smart TV system, built-in Chromecast, AI-enhanced video and more.This year, LG has four QNED ranges (QNED = quantum dot and nanocell): the 8K miniLED QNED99T, 4K miniLED QNED90T, QNED85T LCD, and the QNED80T range at the bottom. The top QNED99T models will use LG's Alpha 9 processor that can enhance video and audio using AI, while the the QNED90T and QNED85T lineup will feature an updated Alpha 8 processor with improved processing, graphics and AI performance. The QNED80T will use LG's lower-end Alpha 5 Gen 7 chip.All models offer LG's webOS 24, with individual profiles that allow for personalized recommendations and voice recognition for each individual user. It also has Chromecast built in, so you'll be able to watch content from Android and iOS devices via AirPlay 2 and Chromecast, respectively. And starting next year, all of LG's QNED TVs will receive 4 years of webOS upgrades. In addition, some of its previous high-end models (namely, the 8K models launched in 2022 and some others yet to be named), will also get webOS updates for free.The 98-inch model is part of the LG QNED85T lineup, which means it's a mid-range 4K LCD set with local dimming but not miniLED tech. That means it's likely to be priced more reasonably than miniLED TVs, but will lack the precise dimming found on those models. It will have the latest webOS 24 smart TV features, but LG didn't reveal any other specs or the price. LG will also offer 50-, 55-, 65-, 75- and 86-inch models in that range.LG will offer two 8K models (QNED99T) in 75- and 86-inch sizes. No specs or prices are available, but the previous models (that are no longer stocked in the US) cost around $4,800 and $6,500 at launch, respectively. You can also expect very high brightness levels up to 3,000 nits, Dolby Vision HDR support, Dolby Atmos and 120Hz or higher refresh rates for gaming. The QNED90T 4K TVs will also use miniLED and come in 65-, 75- and 86-inch sizes.The bottom end of the lineup (QNED80T) will appeal to budget minded buyers, but still offer the latest smart TV features, Dolby Vision, etc. It'll be available in 43-, 50-, 55-, 65-, 75- and 86-inch sizes. Expect more details and pricing for the new lineup sometime next 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/lgs-2024-tv-lineup-includes-a-giant-98-inch-qned-model-123551975.html?src=rss

It was an amazing year for games. While there were no new consoles,we did get new VR headsets and a wave of new handheld PCs offered even more options for playing games on the go (or at least on the couch). That's reflected in many of our picks for best games of the year, with several PC-only choices.The year kicked off with a fantastic remake of space horror Dead Space and the breakout success, Pizza Tower. But there were so many more. Obvious selections? Yes: the latest Zelda epic is there, as is Baldur's Gate 3. If you've got some time between Christmas and New Year, there may be no better way to spend it than with one of these games. I've got Cocoon waiting for me.- Mat SmithYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest stories you might have missedThe Right to Repair movement won its biggest victories in 2023Deathloop is free on PC for Amazon Prime membersThe first EV with a lithium-free sodium battery hits the road in JanuaryThe Apple Watch import ban is paused - for nowWhat happens next depends on the ITC's response.Urgh, tech news whiplash. A federal appeals court in Washington D.C. has allowed Apple to continue importing the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 models. This was just a day after Apple filed its appeal against the International Trade Commission's decision to ban imports of both models of the Apple Watch due to a patent dispute. But you probably read all about that - multiple times.Continue reading.The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringementThe AI companies used the newspaper's articles for training.The backlash on AI companies and their tools continues to grow - these AI models need information from somewhere. The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for using its news articles to train its artificial intelligence chatbots without an agreement that compensates it for its intellectual property. It alleges more than 66 million records, ranging from breaking news articles to op-eds, published across the NYT websites and other affiliated brands were used to train the AI models. The NYT also says these AI products can generate output that mimics its expressive style." This mirrors complaints from comedians and authors like Sarah Silverman and Julian Sancton.Continue reading.Swedish Researchers develop electronic soil' that speeds up plant growtheSoil' is here.Thor Balkhed/Linkoping UniversityResearchers from Linkoping University in Sweden have developed a bioelectronic soil'. It can apparently speed up the growth of plants in hydroponic spaces, or farms that grow plants in environments made up of mostly water. After integrating the engineered eSoil' into the framework where seedlings grow, researchers discovered that sending electrical signals through the soil made barley plants grow 50 percent more on average.This is done through a conductive polymer within the soil and applying a voltage as small as 0.5V on the eSoil to stimulate the roots electrically.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-the-best-games-of-2023-121548149.html?src=rss

Russia and the United States have had a strained relationship, at best, in recent years. However, the pair are still working together in one regard: getting crews to the International Space Station (ISS). Roscosmos, Russia's federal space agency, has announced that the two countries will continue partnering on "cross-flights until 2025 inclusive."Cross-flights involve putting crews from multiple countries onto the same spacecraft. Roscosmos intends always to have at least one of its own representatives in the Russia section of the ISS and at least one NASA representative in the US section. The agency added that the decision was made "to maintain the reliability of the ISS as a whole." The ISS, launched in 1998, is a symbol of US-Russia cooperation after the Cold War and the space race ended.The news follows NASA's April 2023 announcement that Russia will remain aboard the ISS until 2028. The Director General of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, had previously said Russia would pull out of the ISS "after 2024" to focus on creating its own space station. NASA had been preparing for Russia's departure with plans ranging from pulling astronauts from the ISS to figuring out how to control the ISS if Russia took away its thrusters. The US agency has committed to maintaining the ISS until at least 2030.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/russia-will-assist-nasa-with-iss-space-flights-through-2025-115533326.html?src=rss

A bundle of four Apple AirTags is currently on sale at Amazon for a price that's even lower than what it sold for during the website's Black Friday sale. You can get the four-pack right now for only $79, 20 percent lower than its retail price of $99 and just a few bucks more than its all-time low. It's a great buy if you've been looking to grab a few AirTags to keep track of several belongings, such as bags and suitcases that airlines could accidentally leave at your connecting airport, or your wallet and keys that you could misplace.AirTags can link up with your iPhone and iPad in one tap, and you can use it to find the items it's tracking through the Find My app. It can help you find lost items by sending out Bluetooth signals that can be tracked by nearby Apple devices also connected to the Find My network. Since some of the top-selling phones in the world are iPhones, you'll have more than a decent chance of finding any lost belongings.If you think the item you're tracking could be nearby, you can play a sound through the AirTag's built-in speaker so that you could easily locate it. On the latest iPhone models, you can even use the Precision Finding feature to get the direction to and know the distance between you and your AirTag. But if it has truly been lost or misplaced, you can put your AirTag in lost mode so that you can instantly get a notification when it's been detected by devices on the Find My network.At the moment, a single AirTag will set you back $24 at Amazon, where it's also selling for 17 percent less than its retail price. It's a good deal if you really only need one AirTag, but the bundle price is unbeatable if you think you may need a few.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-airtag-4-pack-is-just-79-right-now-111042621.html?src=rss

The new year is almost here, and not many purchases say fresh start more than an upgrade to your smart home tech. Thankfully, getting one of the latest smart home gadgets won't cost too much right now, thanks to a 40 percent discount on Amazon's new third-generation Echo Show 8. The device is down to $90 from $150 - an all-time low.Amazon announced the third-gen Echo Show 8 at an event in September, showing off the device's new edge-to-edge front glass and nice, softer curves. The latest model has quite a few upgrades, but one of the most notable is an Adaptive Content feature. When you're far away from the device - say, sitting across the room - it will display information like the weather and time in a large font. However, the Echo Show 8 will show more personalized content like playlists or news articles when you step closer. Amazon also designed this feature for the second-gen model and other Echo Show devices.As for the third-gen Echo Show 8, it has spatial audio and room calibration, which should be especially obvious through bass and clarity. It also handles Alexa requests on-device with a new processor and should give you a 40 percent faster response time. Amazon also gave the device a 13MP camera and microphones that are more effective at minimizing background noise.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-third-generation-echo-show-8-falls-to-a-new-all-time-low-of-90-100547738.html?src=rss

Xiaomi, a Chinese brand once synonymous with affordable smartphones, is now attempting to make an even bigger splash with its first-ever electric car. Unveiled at a Beijing event earlier today, the Xiaomi SU7 - pronounced "soo-chee" in Chinese - is a sedan based on the company's very own Modena Architecture with HyperEngine electric motors of up to 21,000rpm, as well as chassis stamped by its die casting machines with a clamping force of 9,100 tons - beating that of Tesla's apparently. The line will come in two flavors: the dual-motor all-wheel-drive SU7 Max, and the single-motor rear-wheel-drive SU7.It'll be a few more months before Xiaomi announces the prices, but it's already claiming that the SU7 Max has a range of up to 800km (497 miles; according to China Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle aka CLTC), as well as a 0-100km/h acceleration of just 2.78s, both of which apparently beating Tesla's Model S and Porsche's Taycan Turbo. This is partly thanks to battery maker CATL's generous 101kWh 800V high-voltage platform, which offers a 220km range with just a 5-minute charge, or 390km in 10 minutes, or 510km in 15 minutes. The base model, however, only supports 400V charging for its smaller 73.6kWh battery, which has a range of up to 668km or 415 miles.XiaomiXiaomi hired talents from the auto industry to realize this project. Most notably, CEO Lei Jun claimed that Tianyuan Li, formerly of BMW's iX series and iVision concepts, offered himself to Xiaomi's auto design team. Li was also joined by James Qiu, who had previously worked on Mercedes-Benz's Vision EQXX design. They later recruited Chris Bangle, a BMW veteran, to be their design consultant.The SU7 is about the same size as the BMW 5 series, coming in at 1,440mm tall, 1,963mm wide and 4,997mm long. You get three color options: the signature "aqua blue," gray or olive green. In his event, Lei highlighted the seemingly generous leg room as well as trunk spaces - 517L in the back and 105L in the front.At the launch event, Lei highlighted details like the "water droplet" head lamps, each of which resembled the Chinese character for "rice" (which is the "mi" in "Xiaomi"), as well as the halo rear brake light consisting of 360 LEDs. The exec also pointed out that his team went with the half-hidden door handles, because the more flush handles are apparently harder to use in cold weather.XiaomiJust as Xiaomi teased earlier, the SU7 offers a HyperOS in-car entertainment system, which is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8295 processor and takes just 1.49 seconds to boot. You can access your media, adjust your seats or even control your Xiaomi appliances via the 16.1-inch 3K central screen, as well as optional Xiaomi Pad tablets which can be mounted on magnetic ports (up to 22.5W output) behind the two front head rests. The UI on the central screen allows for up to three split windows for multitasking, and you can even cast your Xiaomi phone's screen to it for a seamless experience. As for music and video entertainment, it'll be complemented by the 23 internal Dolby Atmos speakers.Lei also mentioned opening up the Xiaomi CarIOT ecosystem to third parties, with one example being a smart booster car seat which can remind you if its seat belt isn't fastened. The exec added that even iPhone users can tap into some of the Xiaomi car features, with support for wireless CarPlay and AirPlay connectivity, as well as iPad-mounting for rear passengers.Much like Volkswagen, Xiaomi already knows that car owners still prefer to have some physical buttons, so it's kept a few for climate control, as well as two extra buttons - one for toggling the spoiler (Lei said this is largely for showing off), and one for adjusting the body height (to avoid scratching the bottom, if needed). You can also get an optional row of buttons mounted beneath the central display.XiaomiThe SU7 will have autonomous driving capabilities, too, thanks to its Xiaomi Pilot platform powered by up to two NVIDIA Drive Orin processors (the base model only has one) and an array of sensors. These include a top-mounted Lidar, with a visual range of up to 200m and pixel accuracy of down to 0.1m - the latter meaning better detection for thinner and smaller obstacles. In a series of video demos, Xiaomi showed how the SU7 could navigate through a busy live street with mixed obstacles, as well as performing valet parking on its own, and even parking itself in a robotic car park with tight spaces. Being a Beijing-based company, Xiaomi claims that the SU7's sensors can cope with snowy and rainy climates, too.Lei added that his company aims to complete autonomous driving tests in 100 cities across China by the end of 2024, though it's unclear how soon the local authorities will open up autonomous driving nationwide.In addition to future software updates, Xiaomi also teased its upcoming HyperEngine V8s with a record-breaking 27,200rpm, all tucked inside a stronger silicon steel housing to keep the motor in check. This is apparently already mass-production-ready, with plans to equip this in cars by 2025. The company then teased further with a next-gen electric motor tech based on carbon fiber, which will apparently be capable of a whopping 35,000rpm, but this won't be ready any time soon, apparently.XiaomiXiaomi has yet to share prices for the SU7 line, though Lei already hinted that they will be expensive - which is subjective, of course. We shall find out in a few months' time, and hopefully by then we'll know about availability outside China as well, but we wouldn't count on a US launch any time soon, if ever. Meanwhile, you can get the Xiaomi 14, 14 Pro smartphones and the Xiaomi Watch S3 eSIM in their limited edition colors - either aqua blue or olive green - to match the upcoming SU7.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xiaomi-says-its-su7-ev-can-outperform-porsche-and-has-more-tech-than-tesla-095637762.html?src=rss

Indian authorities allied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi have questioned Apple on the accuracy of its internal threat algorithms and are now investigating the security of its devices, according to The Washington Post. Officials apparently targeted the company after it warned journalists and opposition politicians that state-sponsored hackers may have infiltrated their devices back in October. While Apple is under scrutiny for its security measures in the eyes of the public, the Post says government officials were more upfront with what they wanted behind closed doors.They reportedly called up the company's representatives in India to pressure Apple into finding a way to soften the political impact of its hacking warnings. The officials also called in an Apple security expert to conjure alternative explanations for the warnings that they could tell people - most likely one that doesn't point to the government as the possible culprit.The journalists and politicians who posted about Apple's warnings on social media had one thing in common: They were all critical of Modi's government. Amnesty International examined the phone of one particular journalist named Anand Mangnale who was investigating long-time Modi ally Gautam Adani and found that an attacker had planted the Pegasus spyware on his Apple device. While Apple didn't explicitly say that the Indian government is to blame for the attacks, Pegasus, developed by the Israeli company NSO Group, is mostly sold to governments and government agencies.The Post's report said India's ruling political party has never confirmed or denied using Pegasus to spy on journalists and political opponents, but this is far from the first time its critics have been infected with the Pegasus spyware. In 2021, an investigation by several publications that brought the Pegasus project to light found the spyware on the phones of people with a history of opposing and criticizing Modi's government.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-reportedly-faces-pressure-in-india-after-sending-out-warnings-of-state-sponsored-hacking-073036597.html?src=rss

JAC Motors, a Volkswagen-backed Chinese automaker, is set to launch the first mass-produced electric vehicle (EV) with a sodium-ion battery through its new Yiwei brand. Although sodium-ion battery tech has a lower density (and is less mature) than lithium-ion, its lower costs, more abundant supplies and superior cold-weather performance could help accelerate mass EV adoption. CarNewsChina reports that the JAC Yiwei EV hatchback deliveries will begin in January.Yiwei is a new brand in 2023 for JAC. Volkswagen has a 75 percent stake in (and management control of) JAC and owns 50 percent of JAC's parent company, Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Holdings (JAG). The Chinese government owns the other half of JAG, making for one of the auto industry's stranger pairings.The Sehol E10X, which the new Yiwei EV appears to be a rebranded version of.JAC via CarNewsChinaThe Yiwei EV appears to be a rebranded version of the Sehol E10X hatchback (above), announced earlier this year. CarNewsChina describes the Sehol model as having a 252 km (157 miles) range with a 25 kWh capacity, 120 Wh / kg energy density, 3C to 4C charging, and a HiNa NaCR32140 cell. When JAC revealed the Yiwei brand in May, it said it would drop the Sehol label and rebrand all its vehicles to either JAC or Yiwei, leading us to this week's EV reveal. JAC hasn't yet said whether the Yiwei-branded model will keep the E10X moniker.In April, JAC showcased a separate EV called the Yiwei 3 at the Shanghai Auto Show. That model launched in June with an LFP lithium battery, promising the sodium-ion variant would launch later.JAC via CarNewsChinaThe new Yiwei EV reportedly uses cylindrical sodium-ion cells from HiNA Battery. JAC assembles the batteries in the company's modular UE (Unitized Encapsulation) honeycomb structure, similar to CATL's CTP (cell-to-pack) and BYD's Blade. The layout can provide for greater stability and performance.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-first-ev-with-a-lithium-free-sodium-battery-hits-the-road-in-january-214828536.html?src=rss

Researchers from Linkoping University in Sweden developed a bioelectronic soil' that can speed up the growth of plants in hydroponic spaces, or farms that grow plants without soil in environments made up of mostly water and a place for roots to attach. After integrating the engineered eSoil' into the framework where seedlings grow, researchers discovered that sending electrical signals through the soil made plants grow 50 percent more on average.The eSoil is made up of organic substances mixed with a conductive polymer called PEDOT, which can be found in things like sensors and OLED displays. Eleni Stavrinidou, the supervisor of the study, told Engadget that the soil's conductivity was necessary for stimulating the plant roots. In this particular study, the researchers examined the effect of sending signals to barley seedlings over the span of 15 days before harvesting them for analysis. Applying a voltage as small as 0.5V on the eSoil electrically stimulates the roots, Stavrinidou explained. This, in turn, resulted in a recordable increase in the biomass of the electrically stimulated plants when compared to the non-stimulated seedings.The stimulation's effect on the barley seedlings was described as steady" and transient." Stavrinidou told Engadget that nitrogen, one of the main nutrients involved in plant growth, was processed more efficiently through the stimulation. "We found that the stimulated plants could process the nutrients more efficiently however we don't understand how the stimulation is affecting this process," Stavrindou explained, adding that the reason behind the growth process will be a focus of future studies.PNASWhile hydroponic techniques are mainly used to grow leafy greens and some vegetables like cucumbers and tomatoes, the eSoil could offer a solution to create new ways to increase crop yields in commercial settings and especially in places where environmental conditions impact plant growth. The study highlights that this technique could minimize the use of fertilizers in farming.The opportunity for technological innovation in farming is huge considering the number of US farms has steadily declined since 1982, according to the Department of Agriculture. Last year, the number of US farms reached 2 million, down from 2.2 million in 2007. Not only are farms on the decline, but the US is losing acres of land due to a host of reasons that range from climate change to worsening economic outlook for farmers due to inflation, making farming in controlled environments more popular.But beyond improving crop yield, the implementation of eSoil in hydroponic farms could make them more energy-conscious. While traditional hydroponic farms use up less water, they require more energy to run. The eSoil consumes very little power in the microwatt range," Stavrinidou said. Before this technology can be applied to large-scale agriculture and other types of crops, more studies need to be conducted to observe how electrical stimulation can impact the whole growth cycle of a plant throughout its entire lifespan and not just in the early stages of seedling maturation. Stavrinidou also said that her team plans on studying how the technique affects the growth of other plant species.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/swedish-researchers-develop-electronic-soil-that-speeds-up-plant-growth-205630538.html?src=rss

A federal appeals court in Washington D.C. has allowed Apple to continue importing the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 models on Wednesday. The court's decision comes a day after Apple filed an appeal against a decision by the International Trade Commission (ITC) to ban imports of both models of the Apple Watch, which are at the heart of a patent dispute.The court's ruling is temporary. It has given the ITC until January 10 to respond to Apple's motion for a longer-term pause on the ban during the appeals process, Reuters reported. This means that Apple should be able to resume Apple Watch sales on its website and in Apple Stores in the US, something that the company had stopped doing last week.Hours after this story was published, Apple told Engadget that the company would, indeed, start selling the Apple Watch in the US again. We are thrilled to return the full Apple Watch lineup to customers in time for the new year," an Apple spokeswoman said in a statement. "Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, including the blood oxygen feature,will become available for purchase again in the United States at Apple Stores starting today and from apple.com tomorrow by 12pm PT. Apple's teams have worked tirelessly over many years to develop technology that empowers users with industry-leading health, wellness and safety features and we are pleased the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has stayed the exclusion order while it considers our request to stay the order pending our full appeal."The Watch side of Apple's business generates about $17 billion a year, according to Bloomberg. In October, the ITC determined that Apple violated two patents belonging to another California-based company called Masimo. Both patents revolved around the blood-oxygen sensor that Apple has included in most models of the Watch since 2020. The ITC denied Apple's appeal against its decision, sending the case all the way to the White House for a Presidential Review. President Biden, however, did not veto the ITC's decision, which meant that the ban officially went into effect last week.In its appeal filed on Tuesday, Apple claimed that the company will suffer irreparable harm" if the ban continued. The company is currently exploring redesigning the blood oxygen sensors in its smartwatch after both the ITC and Masimo said that a software fix, which the company is scrambling to issue, would be insufficient to resolve the patent dispute.Update, December 27 2023, 5:49PM ET: This story was updated with a statement from Apple.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-apple-watch-import-ban-is-paused--for-now-183332952.html?src=rss

The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for using published news articles to train its artificial intelligence chatbots without an agreement that compensates it for its intellectual property. The lawsuit, which was filed in a Federal District Court in Manhattan, marks the first time a major news organization has pursued the ChatGPT developers for copyright infringement. The NYT did not specify how much it seeks in payout from the companies but that this action seeks to hold them responsible for the billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages."The NYT claims that OpenAI and Microsoft, the makers of Chat GPT and Copilot, seek to free-ride on The Times's massive investment in its journalism" without having any licensing agreements. In one part of the complaint, the NYT highlights that its domain (www.nytimes.com) was the most used proprietary source mined for content to train GPT-3.It alleges more than 66 million records, ranging from breaking news articles to op-eds, published across the NYT websites and other affiliated brands were used to train the AI models. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants in the case have used almost a century's worth of copyrighted content," causing significant harm to the Times' bottom line. The NYT also says that OpenAI and Microsoft's products can generate output that recites Times content verbatim, closely summarizes it, and mimics its expressive style." This mirrors other complaints from comedians and authors like Sarah Silverman and Julian Sancton who claim OpenAI has profited off their works.

Arkane Lyon's time-bending FPS Deathloop is free on PC for Amazon Prime members. You have until January 10 to download the game. Additionally, you'll need to link an active Epic Games Store account, but Amazon has made it simple to do that right on the download page. This isn't a rental. The game is yours to keep.This isn't the first time Amazon has given gamers a holiday treat. Last year, it was Dishonored 2, another Arkane classic. The company also tends to give away games to coincide with its Prime Day events.As for Deathloop, it's a fantastic title that marries the harried frenzy of a first person shooter with the intrigue of an old-school adventure title like Myst. We compared it to an escape room in our official review, and that pretty much sums it up. You're trapped on an island in a Groundhog Day-esque time loop and have to figure a way out. The game's filled with thoughtful puzzles and the combat is satisfying, which is no surprise coming from the folks behind Dishonored.In other words, this is one of the most unique and flat-out fun releases of the current generation. It's a steal at full price, so free is a no-brainer. Deathloop is also available on Game Pass, if that's your bag. Developer Arkane is currently busy working on a game based on Marvel's resident vampire hunter, Blade.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deathloop-is-free-on-pc-for-amazon-prime-members-161153013.html?src=rss

It's been a terrible year for game developers, but an amazing year for games. 2023 kicked off with a fantastic remake of Dead Space and the breakout success that was Pizza Tower, and by the end of the year we had dozens more games vying for our attention. There were some missteps along the way - if you'd asked me to predict this list a year ago, I would've mentioned both Redfall and Starfield - but overall it's been a packed year unusually low on disappointment.We've never tried to name a single title as "the Game of the Year." Instead, it's become a tradition to get the whole team together to talk about our individual favorites. So here are those games, presented in alphabetical order to avoid hurting any of our writers' feelings. Feel free to sound off about what your favorites are in the comments; there are no wrong answers. Except maybe The Day Before.Alan Wake 2I rarely have time to finish games these days, but I devoured Alan Wake 2 in just a few weeks. For me and my limited gaming time, that felt miraculous.I'll admit, I'm a mark for Remedy Entertainment. I've been following its work since the first Max Payne arrived on PCs in 2001, right as I was gearing up to head to college and building my first desktop PC. (It had a 1.3GHz AMD Athlon Thunderbird and an ATI All-in-Wonder Radeon GPU with a TV tuner. Yah, I was one of the cool kids on campus..)Max Payne blew me away with its fluid slow-motion gunplay mechanics and immersive narrative. As a lifelong console gamer until then, it was a big step forward from something like Tomb Raider. Playing Alan Wake 2 brought me right back to my college days: Its storytelling is far more mature than Max Payne, but leagues more ambitious. I spent much of the game with a big stupid grin on my face, marveling at how the game balanced two different leads (Saga Anderson and Mr. Wake himself), an array of quirky characters, and some of the boldest gaming narrative choices in the last decade.As Jessica Conditt said in her review, Alan Wake 2 works best when you're not in combat. I enjoyed chatting with the locals and digging up background details more than I did shooting a repetitive array of baddies. It also helped that I was playing it on LG's massive 49-inch UltraGear monitor, which at times made it feel like I was completely immersed in the game. It made the more idyllic environments in the Pacific Northwest seem all the more beautiful, while the scarier bits felt even more nightmarish. Get you a game that can do both.Over two decades after I became a fan of the studio, I'm just as excited to see what Remedy is cooking next. It feels like college all over again. Maybe time really is a flat circle. Or maybe, as Alan Wake would say, it's a spiral towards something greater, the accumulation of everything we've learned and all the mistakes we've made as we pursue the specter of perfection. Anyway, good game. - Devindra Hardawar, Senior ReporterArmored Core 6Elden Ring was my first foray into the FromSoftware universe since Chromehounds for the Xbox 360. Elden Ring is an all-timer and no more needs to be said about it, but coming off that I was a bit trepidatious about whether the developers could apply their learnings and innovations to something with a legacy like Armored Core. Silly me to ever doubt FromSoft, because they delivered a game worthy of their developer pedigree. While AC6 doesn't feel like Elden Ring with mechs" I'm honestly glad it doesn't. The developers have done a masterful job of blending classic Armored Core depth, customization and combat with the scale, bombast and world-building they are known for.Some of the bosses in this game felt impossible, like many of the best FromSoft bosses do, but as always there is a tweak to your gameplay style or strategy that can turn the tables in the end. The first actual boss fight with Balteus had me questioning if I was ever good at video games in the first place, and when I finally adjusted to beat him I had that same triumphant feeling of beating the best FromSoft bosses from games past. Something else less discussed, but still worthy of praise as well, is how FromSoft finds a way to make what is basically a radio play story feel important and impactful when mixed with the heavy action of the actual gameplay. In a game where you wouldn't expect story or characters to have an impact, FromSoft does an excellent job making you care about its dystopian Mecha pilots and their handlers in a way I never expected.AC6 is a game I couldn't stop thinking about, and the one I probably felt the most fulfilled by following each session, after my heart rate dropped and my vice grip on the controller loosened. FromSoftware continues to prove that it's in a league of their own. - Justin Vachon, Lead DesignerBaldur's Gate 3The Game of the Year is my game of the year. I've dabbled with Dragon Age, spent a few nights trying to unravel 2002's Neverwinter Nights, but Baldur's Gate 3, while still unapologetically Dungeons and Dragons, smooths out the procedural part while still deciding the fates of heroes, villains and the world on the roll of a die. Plus modifiers.The rules and numbers of D&D are all baked into BG3, but you can also just play it and let the rules take care of themselves. Even when I failed dice rolls (how things are decided in D&D games, pitting your character's stats against skill check" numbers), I was happy to see how this affected the story. Sure, you can save-scum (quicksave, fail, quickload and try again), but it eventually feels hollow when there are so many decisions to make.I talked to a colleague about the game and he was leery about a game with so many options. He'd have to play, replay, choose different options, and feel short changed if he didn't eke every plot twist of a game like BG3.The game, the options, the side quests are all so dense with choices and branching paths that there are (almost) countless permutations, distractions and bad decisions to make. I found that oddly freeing. The game, divided into three parts, does block out parts of the world from act to act, but I never found that particularly limiting. In fact, it ensured I tied up the most exciting plot points or destinations before plowing further into the story.Two tips: being evil is very much an option (as is a mid-game redemption arc) and be careful when you rest overnight, as that will tick the game's internal clock over and could mess up your plans. Invaders, unsurprisingly, don't wait. - Mat Smith, UK Bureau ChiefCocoonMy day-to-day job is mostly behind the scenes, editing stories and scripts, dealing with technical issues and managing a fantastic group of reporters. All of which is to say I actually only have five bylines on the site this year. Two of them are about Cocoon - 40 percent, baby! It stands to reason, then, that it's my personal game of the year.You can read my review of the game for some expanded thoughts, but here's the summary, at least: Cocoon is a near-perfect puzzle game in which you play a bug and who has to jump between worlds to progress. It's a laser-focused experience that only lets you play around with one or two mechanics at a time, but stretches each of its ideas to its natural conclusion. It's also dirt cheap and on Game Pass, so what do you have to lose? - Aaron Souppouris, Executive EditorThe Cosmic Wheel SisterhoodThe Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood is sexy, well-written and replayable, and it's one of my favorite games of the year, from one of my favorite studios of all time. Deconstructeam is responsible for Gods Will Be Watching and The Red Strings Club, two vibrant titles about the limits of humanity and society, and The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood brings these themes to a new plane.The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood is about building tarot decks, manipulating an election from afar, betraying a coven of witches, gaining power and seducing everyone. It's bigger than anything Deconstructeam has ever made, with layered characters, branching narratives and strangely beautiful art. The witches, behemoths and otherworldly creatures in The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood fill the game with life and interwoven relationships, while the deck-building mechanic is surprisingly dense and designed to encourage creativity. The game pulled me in and didn't let go until it was done with me, and even still, I find myself happily returning to it. - Jessica Conditt, Senior ReporterDave the DiverNo matter if Dave the Diver is an indie game or not, it's still one heck of a good time. The pixel-soaked adventure breaks down into two main gameplay mechanics that shouldn't mix at all, but somehow do. During the day you explore the sea, hiding from (or fighting) sharks and catching gobs of fish. At night, you run a sushi restaurant to sell those fish.Each of these mechanics are completely different. When you're under the water, it's exploration all the way, with mysteries around every reef and a constantly-shifting landscape. Running the restaurant is both a management sim, as you have to develop recipes and hire staff, and a fast-paced minigame that resembles the iconic arcade cabinet Tapper. This dichotomy is similar to another recent gem, Moonlighter. I loved Moonlighter, but Dave the Diver is even more addictive.Both primary elements of the game are polished to a Nintendo-like sheen. In other words, it kept me up, night after night, as one last run" turned into two and then three. But that's just the beginning. As you progress through the occasionally hilarious story, Dave the Diver keeps adding new gameplay mechanics. Without giving too much away, there are mid-game additions that draw inspiration from Cooking Mama, Stardew Valley and others. Each of these elements are always a treat and never get in the way of the main gameplay loop. Also, you can hire a velociraptor as a server and Jason Vorhees as a sous chef. Good times. - Lawrence Bonk, Contributing ReporterDead SpaceOne of the best games of 2023 actually came out in 2008. The Dead Space remake landed in January and it stayed at the top of my GOTY list for the ensuing 11 months, slowly covering every other entry in globs of bile and blood. Developers at EA brought the terror and tension of the original Dead Space to modern platforms with thoughtful gameplay tweaks and a layer of visual polish, and in the process, they cemented the game's reputation as an action-horror classic.Dead Space spawned in an era of limitations. It was built for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, consoles that were powerful, but still constrained in terms of processing power and graphics; they couldn't support massive, open-world games filled with procedural generation and AI-powered encounters. Innovation at the time had to stem from a game's mechanics, and Dead Space was the first action-horror blockbuster to remove the HUD and the power of a headshot, creating an immersive and terrifying combat rhythm.The remake paid tribute to everything that made the original Dead Space a living legend. The USG Ishimura was cold and maze-like, with a few more mysteries added to its corridors, and some boss fights were updated to take advantage of high-fidelity mechanics, but it still felt like the Dead Space I remember. It felt better, even. In an age of living games and open-world blandness, the Dead Space remake showcased the supreme power of restraint in game design. - Jessica CondittDiablo II: ResurrectedAside from the quick turnaround following the original, the wait time between new Diablo games is more than a decade. So to my surprise, in a year when we got Diablo IV, I found myself spending more time playing Diablo II: Resurrected. That's not to say that the latest entry is a failure, because despite a drop in players and cratering views on Twitch, Diablo IV's story is the franchise's best yet and Blizzard nailed the look and feel of the game. Unfortunately, despite having faced similar issues with Diablo III, its endgame still needs a lot of work. This is why in 2023 I've had much more fun playing Diablo II, or more accurately Diablo II: Resurrected.Thanks to a superb graphical overhaul, the game looks how I remember it in my head instead of the chunky low-res textures it actually had back in 2001. But more importantly, Blizzard fixed a ton of annoying glitches from the original (like enemy mana drain being way too strong) while implementing a bunch of handy quality-of-life upgrades such as automatic gold pickup and the shared stash. But the thing I like the most is that, since it came out in 2021, Blizzard has expanded upon the core game with additional patches and balance changes that have injected new life into the game while preserving its spirit. This year, specs like elemental druid and martial arts assassin suddenly went from being underpowered niche playstyles to top-tier builds, essentially undoing 20 years of neglect. The addition of Sunder Charms also made a ton of single-element specs way more viable and the addition of Terror Zones turned item farming into less of a grind while increasing the challenge.Sure, melee classes still need a bit of love (maybe recalculate how attack rating works or add some more AOE abilities) and the cadence of new content has ground to a halt in the run-up to and subsequent release of Diablo IV. But for an update to a two-decade-old game, Diablo II: Resurrected feels like a great homage to an all-time classic and a wonderful example of a remake done right. Now I'm just hoping Blizzard finds some time to finally finish Act IV or maybe even add a brand new chapter onto the best ARPG ever. - Sam Rutherford, Senior EditorF-Zero 99Nintendo has carved out a little legacy of remixing gaming staples with its 99 (or 35) series, and F-Zero 99 is one of its most thoughtful battles royale yet. (I'd put it second behind Tetris 99.) From afar, it looks simple: the SNES arcade racer, but with 98 other people. But the addition of a persistent boost meter (which doubles as a health bar) and the ability to bank Super Sparks" that you can spend to access a limited-time Skyway" fundamentally changes how you play.Do you throw caution to the wind, use more power this lap and try to hold on from the front? Do you hang back, try to increase your meter by knocking out other players and risk an insurmountable deficit? Where exactly on the track should you activate the Skyway? Winning still requires skill and track mastery - it's F-Zero, after all - but there's a new layer of strategy and resource management. What was once a sprint now becomes a horse race. You make more moment-to-moment decisions each time out. And decisions are what makes a game interesting.All the other things that made F-Zero great 30 years ago still apply. The Mode 7 style. That iconic music. The distinction between the four supercars. The honest test of skill - this entry is a little more forgiving, but if you screw up, no Mario Kart shenanigans are going to come and save you. The course selection still has clear peaks and valleys, but F-Zero 99 doesn't try to revise the past: It honors its source material, then makes considered changes that present it in a new light. In an industry that is constantly rehashing old ideas, that's commendable. - Jeff Dunn, Senior Commerce WriterHumanityIn Humanity, you play as a ghostly Shina Ibu who barks directions at a horde of humans to guide them toward a goal. That all seems simple enough, but like all great puzzle games, developer tha LTD plays around with the concept and keeps building on it until the very end. What starts as a fairly peaceful rumination about the controlled movement of humans soon segues into imaginative boss battles and mammoth lightsaber brawls.There's a deeper story than you might expect from a game that's ostensibly about sheep herding mindless drones. What will stick with me from playing Humanity is a sense of optimism, an idealism that our species can achieve anything if we work together toward a common goal. That, and having the chance to take control of an adorable ethereal pup. - Kris Holt, Contributing ReporterThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the KingdomThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis a perfect game blending exploration, action, adventure, combat and puzzle solving. It looks and sounds beautiful, with Hyrule a wonderful clockwork world you just want to spend your days hiking through without a care in the world. The title's standout feature, Ultrahand, enables players to construct anything they can imagine to help get them through tricky puzzles. Its technological prowess, given the limited hardware it runs on, has made it the envy of the game development and player world. I started 2023 having never played a Zelda title, and by the end, I'd sunk about 1,000 hours combined into Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.I don't think it's unfair to say that the game is also a lot.Nintendo's more-is-more approach means the triple-digit play times are a bug as much as they are a feature. This goes hand-in-hand with the freedom you're given, which lets you play the game any way you choose. The two extra environments may have headed off complaints that it was a glorified DLC, but you can feel the stretching. The Depths is little more than a repetitious traversal zone while the Sky Islands are five puzzles repeated over and over. The company has found the limit of what a coherent single player experience can be, and then just wandered beyond it.And then there's the grinding, which extends well beyond the usual gripes around weapons degradation. If you want to reach the end game, you'll need more than a wooden sword and shield, which means endlessly beating the mid-size bosses. Plus, you'll need to put a shift in down the mines Depths to gather enough Zoanite to make Autobuild worthwhile. I kept my Switch offline ever since Nintendo nerfed the easy duplication glitch because I don't have enough hours in the day to play. In fact, I'd pay good money for a Grown Adult" version of the game where it respects your time more than the existing version does.While I'm moaning, I might as well add that I hate how Lynels and Ganondorf can destroy your Zonai weapons during combat. If you're not a gifted sword-fighter, and you've never quite got your parrying skill perfect, then crafting robot weapons was a neat workaround. The game lets you pick your preferred way to succeed, except when it really matters, when it eliminates all but the most tedious. I don't think, after spending so long getting everything else done, I can be bothered to go back and defeat Ganondorf despite pledging to do it before the end of the year.Still, perfect game, 10/10. - Daniel Cooper, Senior ReporterMario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course PassEven though Mario Kart 8 Deluxewill be seven years old next April, we don't need a new Mario Kart game. The title is still just as entertaining as it was brand new, thanks in large part to the massive expansion of new tracks Nintendo began dropping in March 2022. And while the waves have been slightly annoying, mostly due to the constant questions about their release dates from my nine year old, the steady cadence that wrapped up last month meant new challenges were arriving regularly for over a year.The Booster Course Pass is well worth the money at $24.99. It's less than a new game would cost and you get a new game's worth of tracks (48) for that price. Not to mention added characters like Kamek, Petey Piranha, Diddy Kong and Peachette - all Steele family favorites. But for me, the best part is revisiting modernized versions of tracks from older Mario Kart games, the ones that endeared me to the series.Rainbow Road from Wii is an all-time favorite and one course that I'll go straight to when I only have a few minutes to play. Courses like Waluigi Pinball and Peach Gardens from DS are a lot more fun expanded to a big screen and I've enjoyed the road trip through major cities from Mario Kart Tour, a game I never played as karting on my phone didn't really appeal to me. There are duds, of course, like Mario Circuit 3 from SNES that don't really translate as well to modern racing.Maybe there will be a new game that flexes the muscle of the new Switch, but I'm not sure what there is to improve. I'd be perfectly happy to keep paying $25 every few years for a collection of new tracks, whether entirely new or inspired by the past, as this is a perfectly fine way to keep the game fresh for those of us who still really enjoy it. - Billy Steele, Senior ReporterMarvel's Spider-Man 2Like a lot of recent PlayStation sequels, Spider-Man 2 takes everything that worked about the original game and gives us more. There's more of New York City to explore, two characters that you can swap between at almost any time, more moves and suits and superpowers to take on the many enemies you'll encounter throughout the adventure. It feels like the kind of game that easily could have gotten overstuffed and collapsed under the weight of what Insomniac Games was trying to pull off.Fortunately, that didn't happen, thanks in large part to some of the best mechanics in recent gaming. Swinging around the city remains an absolute delight, and the fluid fighting really makes you feel like a superhero. The new web wings give you another new way to navigate Manhattan and its boroughs, and getting your hands on the fabled symbiote suit opens up yet another new set of battle mechanics. Similarly, the open world map feels vibrant and alive, with tons to do when you're ready to give the main story a break.Naturally, the symbiote also takes center stage in the storytelling, as Kraven the hunter gives way to Venom throughout the game as the two main villains you'll contend with. It makes sense to have two main baddies since there are two Spider-Men in this game, OG Peter Parker as well as his new protege Miles Morales. Each Spider-Man gets plenty of story development and heroic action sequences, and the roster of supporting characters has been fleshed out as well.Ultimately, Spider-Man 2 is pretty easy to sum up. It's just plain fun, with a great story, delightful mechanics and a wonderfully detailed NYC to explore. Whether or not you played the original game, it's easy to get sucked right into this one and feel like a superhero. - Nathan Ingraham, Deputy News EditorMoonstone IslandMoonstone Island asks the question, what if Stardew Valley, but with Pokemon?" It's the same kind of farming and dating sim you know and love, but with turn-based battles instead of manually swinging a pickaxe. Any creature you encounter can be captured and forced to fight in your stead, and there's an element-based weakness mechanic pulled straight from Nintendo's iconic pocket monsters.They already had me with that Stardew meets Pokemon hook, but the developers didn't stop there. This is a legitimate open world game with a large map that resembles the sky islands from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. There are dozens upon dozens of these islands and I had an absolute blast sequence breaking my way to dangerous locations in the early parts of the game, only to have my butt handed to me by high-level monsters. That's my jam, right there.I also love the art style and, in particular, the NPCs. The romanceable characters here are top-tier and, in my opinion, more interesting than rival farming sims. I want to be friends with the blacksmith Ferra and town scientist Zed. However, my heart belongs to the punk rock herbalist Gaiana. If anyone messes with Gaiana, they are gonna get a visit from a trio of level 99 Pikachus, er, I mean Capacibees. - Lawrence BonkNot finishing gamesFinish a videogame? In this attention economy?! I honestly couldn't tell you the last time that I actually made it to a game's end credits. For as much as I enjoy the PS5 games I buy, there's inevitably some real-life commitment that draws me away from them, or an unconquerable in-game skill challenge that saps my interest. Doesn't matter if it's an indie like the therapeutically smashy Dysmantle or a AAA adventure franchise like Horizon and Assassins Creed - don't even get me started on Seikiro or Elden Ring - I will invariably get bored at some point before the final boss and wander off towards whatever new shiny title comes out next.As such, my 2023 GOTY is a toss up between Armored Core 6 and Baldur's Gate 3, having played roughly the first half of each (multiple times, in BG3's case). Sure, one is a frantic shooter pitting players against superior armed forces in high speed mobile gun battles, and the other is an inclusive high fantasy dating sim wrapped in an epic adventure RPG. They both offer me an opportunity to tinker, futz, fiddle and otherwise experiment with the physical rules and social mores of the in-game universe without demanding I clear the endgame content first.In this way, every game becomes a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure game (my absolute favorite genre growing up) and I get to assuage the FOMO anxiety I experience while playing titles with linear storylines. I'm not reverting to a previous save because I realize I messed up an earlier quest or accidentally closed off a storyline, I'm reloading just so I can figure out what all the other buttons and switches I didn't push and pull also do. I find that freeing. There's no pressure to get it right," only the opportunity to see what might happen.Between AC6's mission-based format and the ease at which I can manage save instances in BG3, I can load up any scenario I've played so far and try it again differently - maybe see how well an energy weapon-based loadout would work or what would happen if I fought with different companions or modified spell lists. Even though I know that there is a climactic endgame struggle (that the dev team worked really hard to produce) to get to and all the new game+ rewards that come with beating it, neither title really pressures me into getting there.If I want to go off on a tangent and try my hand at pickpocketing an entire town, I absolutely can - then Groundhog Day the timeline back to before I started and do it all again, this time maybe wearing a different hat. Each gives me the flexibility to interact with their content as I have time and interest. - Andrew Tarantola, Senior ReporterNYT ConnectionsNew York TimesWordle, the little word game that could, took over the first half of 2022. Every day, we had a new puzzle to look forward to - and potential bragging rights that would connect us with friends, family and strangers on the internet. Though Wordle fever subsided in 2023, my thirst for a daily word game remained. Yes, I could keep playing Wordle, but just one game wasn't enough. Even as a subscriber and active user of the New York Times' Games app, I needed more.I didn't want something as time-consuming as the full crossword each day, nor something as involved as getting to the Genius level on Spelling Bee. I wanted to be done in 5 minutes or less, which is why Wordle and the daily Mini crossword were perfect. In June, the New York Times introduced Connections, and it hit that sweet spot of being challenging enough to engage my brain but remaining casual enough that I didn't need to derail my work day to finish it.Connections' mechanics are simple. Every day, you're presented with sixteen tiles, each containing a word. You have to group those words into four sets of four based on what they have in common. And, like the app cautions, these categories are always more specific than 5-letter words" or names" or verbs." At first, the game was straightforward and almost too easy. A few weeks in, though, and I've found the puzzles can get challenging, thanks to devious setups. For example, one time the grid included words like Apple," Dell" and Intel," which tricked my tech-obsessed brain into thinking they were company brand names. It turned out that they belonged to other groups like Synonyms for information" or Fruit," instead.I would be remiss if I didn't point out that Connections isn't a unique idea that the New York Times thought up. Various iterations of a similar word game have existed before. Redditors pointed out its likeness to an app called Red Herring, while the host of a British television quiz show called Only Connect asked if the Times was aware this has been a TV show in the UK since 2008?"Sadly, though, if not for the Times adding Connections to its slate of word games, I would never have come across Red Herring. And because so many of the puzzles I play daily are in the NYT Games app, it's much easier to check out all of them in the same place instead of installing a new app.My daily routine now involves opening NYT Games, finishing Wordle, Connections, the Mini crossword, getting the Pangram on Spelling Bee and then bragging to anyone who will listen. That way, I feel like I'm giving my brain a bit of fun exercise before I drag my attention to my inbox or Slack for the real work of the day. - Cherlynn Low, Deputy Reviews EditorPizza TowerThe best Nintendo platformer" of the year didn't involve Mario, Kirby or Donkey Kong. It wasn't even made by Nintendo. Instead, it stars a balding pizza chef named Peppino Spaghetti, and its development was led by a guy who goes by the pseudonym McPig. It's called Pizza Tower - and while you could crudely describe it as Wario Land 4 on cocaine," it is one of the most refreshing and joyously creative games I've played in recent memory.I waxed poetic about Pizza Tower in a write-up earlier this year, so go read that for a more complete picture. The big thing is that it understands how every platformer is fundamentally about movement. For a platformer to be fun, that movement needs to grab you from the off, then give you the space to explore where it could go. Mario games know this. Sonic games often forget that last part. Pizza Tower gets it right. Little Peppino dashes like a freight train teetering off the tracks, slamming through (not around) every enemy and obstacle in sight. You can Do Poorly, but you can't die, so you have freedom to push the limits. It's a constant kinetic thrill.But it's more than that. In that charming Nintendo way, every level in Pizza Tower presents new ideas, so it never gets stale. The music is incredible. The animation is both grotesque and immediately expressive. (How many other games look like this?) The boss fights actually respect you. The ending sequence might be the best I've played in a decade. It all makes for a game with a distinct sense of character and identity; it has clear inspirations, but it's not pastiche. It is completely in tune with itself, both in aesthetics and design. And it's fun as hell. - Jeff DunnStar Wars Jedi: SurvivorJedi: Survivor is a game that the best sequels aspire to be. It improves on every single aspect of the original and pushes its systems to new heights while introducing many others that only enhance the base game. Like the greats of Mass Effect 2, Assassins Creed 2, Half-Life 2, Portal 2, Jedi: Survivor never stops upping the ante and pushing what a game like this can achieve.In an age where there is far too much Star Wars content for any normal human to consume, from movies, TV, books, etc. Jedi: Survivor represents an experience you can hop into with only knowledge from Fallen Order at your disposal, and even that can be recapped for you in a nice short video within Jedi: Survivor itself. Your experience will only be further improved by a greater knowledge of the Star Wars landscape, new and old, but it isn't a prerequisite to have a great time with this game.The story of Cal Kestis and his group of rebels grows larger and makes the universe and world you inhabit feel big in a way the first game didn't. The souls-like combat of the first game returns here and is improved upon in every conceivable way. The Jedi power fantasy that I've always dreamed about in Star Wars games has finally been realized within Jedi: Survivor. Many times I ended a fight in a flurry of saber swings and force powers and resolved feeling like I could conquer the world. There's one sequence in particular involving a towering Imperial walker that is one of the most exhilarating and well-executed set piece moments in gaming since the days of Uncharted 2's campaign. I had to put the controller down for 10 minutes after just to sit in awe and process what I had seen Respawn pull off.At the core of Jedi: Survivor is a story and experience that feels more emotionally deep and original than Fallen Order did. Respawn hits their stride with this game from a writing and especially performance perspective that makes its best characters shine and its most impactful story moments hit that much harder. By the end, you'll be pining for the conclusion to the trilogy in a way that few Star Wars properties have been able to elicit in years. - Justin VachonSuper Mario Bros. WonderThere are a few sure things when it comes to me and Mario games: I prefer 2D over 3D, and Super Mario World is my all-time favorite. As such, Super Mario Wonder was high on my list of games to try this year - the first new side-scrolling Mario game in over a decade. And while I really enjoyed the new" Super Mario Bros. entries for the Wii and Wii U, those games were also a little too slavishly devoted to Mario's past. Not so with Super Mario Wonder.Between the entirely redesigned and more involved character animations (Mario grabbing his cap when he goes through a pipe is particularly cute) and wild level designs that feel entirely unique to the series, Super Mario Wonder feels like the first side-scrolling Mario game to really do something new in decades. That's largely thanks to the Wonder flowers that twist every single stage into a psychedelic version of itself, but the level design is inspired even before you find that flower.Nintendo also shook up the overall world map a bit, letting you pick your way through stages instead of putting you on a mostly linear path. And as you're in the Flower Kingdom, not the familiar Mushroom Kingdom, there's a lot more variety in the themes for each world. (No, world two isn't the desert this time!) There are plenty of familiar enemies - what would a Mario game be without red and green Koopa Troopas? - but almost every level has a particular baddie that requires you to reshape your approach. And the badge system is a great take on the familiar power-ups, letting you choose a boost best suited to either the stage you're on or the way you like to play the game. Also, Elephant Mario!I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of what makes Super Mario Wonder work so well, but hopefully it's sufficient to say that it's Nintendo at its best and most creative. That's something I didn't expect to see in a Mario game again. I can see myself playing Wonder for the next 30 years or so, just like I've played Super Mario World for the last 30 years. - Nathan IngrahamTchiaTchia was the right game at the right time for me. As I sailed toward the sunset on a makeshift raft with rousing music filling my ears, I was filled with a sense of calm that I'd been seeking for quite some time. That was my favorite moment of any game this year, but the rest of Tchia isn't exactly lacking.You play as a young girl who scours a New Caledonia-inspired archipelago in search of her kidnapped father in this open-world exploration game. While titles like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom aim to push the boundaries of the genre, Tchia is content to stay in its lane, albeit with some mechanics that provide plenty of opportunity to play as you wish.Tchia can transform into a variety of fauna and inanimate objects thanks to her soul jumping ability. After you unlock the ability to summon a bird, you can take to the skies from almost anywhere in mere seconds. Each animal you can jump into has an ability, such as dogs digging, sharks biting and birds, uh, pooping.There's not much in the way of combat. The only enemies you'll encounter are monsters made of fabric, and you'll need to use elements such as fire to dispose of them. But I didn't have a problem with that. Tchia is far more about the notion of discovery than slashing away at countless baddies.This seems like a perfect introduction to open-world adventures for younger gamers out there. While there are some fairly bleak plot points, Tchia is a real charmer. It's an ideal length too, as a playthrough will take between around six and eight hours unless you go hunting for all the secrets and collectibles. Or you decide to spend a few extra hours simply sailing around these beautiful islands. - Kris HoltThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/engadgets-games-of-the-year-2023-150053925.html?src=rss

It's been a banner year for the Right to Repair movement as supportive bills are signed into law across the US and abroad. Apple shocked the world, too, as it backed California's bill and urged for a countrywide equivalent. In the EU, regulators mandated the use of USB-C as a standard charging socket for most small devices, and are now turning their attention toward anti-repair tactics. But, while the movement's leaders should enjoy a glass or two of the good stuff, these victories aren't total, despite how hard-won they were. To misquote Winston Churchill, this isn't the beginning of the end, it's very much the end of the beginning.In the last year we've seen bills enacted in New York, Colorado, Minnesota and California. New York's was famously watered down by late-in-the-day politicking which neutered some of its key provisions. That included protections for existing devices (instead, it kicks in for hardware made after July 1, 2023), obligations to supply individual parts rather than bundles and it now omits any coverage for enterprise-grade electronics like those used in schools and hospitals. Minnesota's survived with more teeth, albeit with generous carve-outs to manufacturers of farm equipment, games consoles and cars.NICOLAS TUCAT via Getty ImagesCalifornia's bill which, interestingly, won Apple's backing, kicks in next year with the company saying it'll support its provisions countrywide. And given that support, you should expect to see this bill pushed as the model for any future federal legislation. It broadly covers consumer tech and appliances, but exempts games consoles and security equipment. Key provisions require companies to sell components under fair and reasonable terms" to owners and third-party repair shops long after the last model leaves the factory. Devices with a wholesale price between $50 and $99.99 need to have parts, tools and repair guides available for at least three years after the last new model is made. For gear costing more than $100, the parts need to stick around for at least seven years" regardless of individual warranty periods. Similarly, tools and documentation need to be made available on a similarly "fair and reasonable" basis. There are carve-outs, including protections on trade secrets and source code, but the bones of the bill are solid enough.Elizabeth Chamberlain, Director of Sustainability at iFixit, told Engadget it's the strongest'' bill passed in the US, and one of the most comprehensive. (That's less of a compliment given the paucity of alternative legislation also enacted.) The requirements for parts to remain available for so long after purchase ensures people have the repair materials they need when they need them." Not to mention enabling independent repair stores to get original parts for a huge range of things without having to sign up for invasive and limiting manufacturer programs." Nathan Proctor of the Public Interest Research Group, before the bill passed, said it would also end the onerous conditions Apple used in its Independent Repair Program. An Engadget investigation showed that while Apple's IRP looked like a good idea on the surface, it was full of hidden charges and restrictive clauses. And as much as the iPhone 14 won plaudits for being far more repairable than its predecessors, it also used parts pairing - is a process of locking a part to a specific device, preventing users from swapping it out without the manufacturer's approval. Sadly, California's bill also does nothing to prevent parts pairing, which may explain why it won Apple's backing in the first place.In the last few years, the European Union has assumed the mantle as the major regulator of big tech, albeit with many critics. The bloc has now mandated a common charger, USB-C, for all mobile devices sold by the end of 2024, and all laptops by spring 2026. In November, regulators began looking at ways to encourage repairs and refurbishment over replacement for new gear. That includes people's right to access spare parts, documentation and tools at a reasonable cost" - even when the device is outside its warranty period. More importantly, the draft seeks to prevent manufacturers using contractual, hardware or software technique" to block repairs which would seem to indicate parts pairing.Anyone feeling triumphant about these wins should bear in mind the broad latitude these terms offer tech companies. Last year, Apple enabled end users to repair their own devices, but not in a way that made it easy, affordable or worthwhile. As The New York Times found out, replacing a component required flight cases full of factory-grade hardware and a hefty deposit. It's a lot better now, but you'll still need to pay to loan the high-end gear and shoulder the risk if any of it goes missing.Similarly, these bills do nothing to prevent the company's replacement-as-default strategy when you visit a store. After a bike accident this summer, the front and back glass of my iPhone 11 Pro Max was smashed, but it was otherwise functional. Sadly, my local Genius Bar told me the only thing I could do was... buy a replacement at full cost. That's before we mention the iPhone 15 which, despite Apple's pledges to be more repair-friendly, is still loaded with parts pairing. It means that, despite all of the sweet words about sustainability in the last few years, you can still only fix a part with Apple's direct and explicit blessing. As Elizabeth Chamberlain said, upselling is such a ubiquitous problem and really hard to stop," but noted that the EU may have a fix for it. Its draft rules would require manufacturers to offer repair first, before replacement, as long as it's cheaper" (for the consumer).Upton Sinclair once wrote that a person won't grasp something if their salary relies upon them not understanding it. The tech industry's organizing principle, after all, is to sell you a new piece of gear every few years to keep its profits high. Stretching out the life of a device is bad for their bottom line (at least in the short term) which explains much of their resistance. It's why, as much as we can hope for better terms and more repairable devices, we must also be vigilant and not rest upon our laurels. The risk is that people get the right to repair their devices, but no way to actually exercise it.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-right-to-repair-movement-won-its-biggest-victories-in-2023-143010331.html?src=rss

Microsoft, a notoriously conservative and slow-moving giant, is bringing artificial intelligence right into the heart of Windows. But. after investing a total of $13 billion in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI (and acquiring a 49 percent stake in the process), will AI actually make its products better?Microsoft went to town. Bing Chat officially kicked off its year of AI, while Copilot, assisting with its AI smarts, subsequently launched on Edge, Microsoft 365 products like Word and Powerpoint and eventually Windows 11.While the AI interactions aren't perfect, the one constant around AI is that everything is changing incredibly quickly. Microsoft has already announced Copilot will be upgraded with the more powerful GPT-4 Turbo and Dall-E 3 models.- Mat SmithThe biggest stories you might have missedHow the EU forced tech companies to change in 2023The best Xbox Series X and Series S accessories in 2024CBS and Paramount's parent company reports hack affecting over 80,000 peopleYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!Amazon's Prime Video will start serving ads on January 29, 2023You'll have to pay $3 a month on top of your subscription to get rid of commercials.Amazon is telling its Prime Video subscribers that they have to pay extra if they don't want their viewing experience interrupted by commercials. It will start showing "limited advertisements" with its service's movies and shows starting on January 29. If they want to keep it ad-free, they'll have to pay an extra fee of $3 a month on top of their Prime subscription or their standalone $9-a-month Prime Video membership. The company says it's all for increasing investment" in its shows and movies. Lord of the Rings doesn't pay for itself.Continue reading.Apple appeals ban on Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2It went into effect today, but the company says it's taking all measures" to reverse course.EngadgetApple filed its appeal to the International Trade Commission (ITC), attempting to reverse a ban on US sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2, according to court records. The company's also requesting an emergency stay on the ban until a decision is reached regarding proposed redesigns of both smartwatch models. The matter even went before President Biden, with Apple hoping in vain for a veto. The ban officially goes into effect today, though Apple started pulling smartwatches from its digital and physical storefronts last week.Continue reading.Fan-made Fallout: London is finally coming this AprilIt has been described as a DLC-sized mod for Bethesda's Fallout 4'.Team FolonAn impressive-looking Fallout: London mod has been on our radar for a couple of years, and now the fan-made adventure has an official release date of April 23. The team behind it claim it's a DLC-sized mod" for Bethesda's Fallout 4, built from the bones of the 2015 sequel. The trailer shows off a post-apocalyptic London, with iconic locations like Big Ben, Shakespeare's Globe and Trafalgar Square,Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-microsofts-big-bet-on-ai-in-2023-121555490.html?src=rss

The holidays are over and all those great digital Nintendo Switch games you got aren't going to store themselves, especially if you've maxed out your Switch storage. Fortunately, a well-timed sale has you covered, with SanDisk's 1TB microSD currently on sale for $90 from $150 - a solid 40 percent discount. It's designed specifically for the Nintendo Switch and features a Legend of Zelda design.SanDisk's 1TB microSD is Nintendo Switch system's official licensed microSD card, meaning you don't have to worry about any issues with compatibility. It offers write speeds of up to 90MB per second and read speeds up to 100MB per second. The Nintendo Switch only comes with 32GB of storage (part of which the system uses), so an extra 1TB can go a long way toward saving all your gaming data.If you're in need of a whole lot more storage, Western Digital's 4TB SN850X NVMe Internal Gaming SSD is also on sale. The Windows computer drive is currently down to $230 from $286 - a 19 percent discount. The WD_Black SSD offers speeds up to 7,300MB per second while regularly monitoring the drive's health. It also controls your RGB style and uses tools like predictive loading. Keep in mind this deal is available on the model without heatsink.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/sandisks-1tb-microsd-is-just-90-in-amazons-storage-sale-103521798.html?src=rss

Apple's designer exodus continues as product design chief Tang Tan is leaving the company and joining Jony Ive's design firm LoveFrom, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. There, he'll reportedly work on a new artificial intelligence hardware project backed by OpenAI's Sam Altman with aim of creating devices deploying the latest deep learning technology.Tan was in charge of design for Apple's main products including the iPhone, Watch and AirPods, so his departure leaves a sizable hole. As part of LoveFrom, Tan will act as hardware design lead for the new AI project, with Altman providing the software running underneath. All products are supposedly in the early concept phases, with a focus on devices for the home. None of the parties (OpenAI, LoveFrom or Apple) have commented on the news.It was already known that Tan would be likely be leaving Apple, but it hadn't yet been revealed where he'd go. Earlier this year, Jony Ive's successor Evans Hankey left the company after just a few years in the product design chief role. In all, about 14 members of Ive's former team have left Apple since 2019, with only a half dozen or so remaining. Ive worked as a consultant for Apple until 2022, and more than 20 former Apple employees have joined Ive under LoveFrom.Altman was recently fired (and then rehired) by OpenAI, in part because he was raising funds for other endeavors. One of those was the team-up with Ive to create AI hardware backed by Softbank, according to a previous Bloomberg report.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-iphone-designer-is-leaving-to-work-with-jony-ive-and-sam-altman-on-ai-hardware-093028794.html?src=rss

Amazon has started notifying Prime Video subscribers that they have to pay extra if they don't want their viewing experience interrupted by commercials. In an email the company has sent to customers, it said that it will start showing "limited advertisements" with its service's movies and shows starting on January 29. Those who want to keep their accounts ad-free will have to pay an extra fee of $3 a month on top of their Prime subscription or their standalone $9-a-month Prime Video membership.The company first announced that it was going to serve ads with its content - and that the initial regions to be affected are the US, UK, Germany and Canada - back in September. Customers in France, Italy, Spain, Mexico and Australia will have to make the decision whether to endure the advertisements it serves or pay extra by late next year. Amazon mentioned back then that it's aiming to "have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers." While "meaningfully fewer" is pretty vague, Variety said at the time that four minutes per hour seemed to be the lowest amount of ad time for a streaming platform.Amazon reiterated that goal in the email it sent to subscribers. It also explained that introducing ads to its service and charging more for an ad-free viewing experience will help it invest "in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time." The company told subscribers that they'll automatically start seeing ads by the end of January and linked to a website where they can pay for ad-free viewing. In an information page about the change, Amazon clarified that it will not be showing ads with rented or purchased content. It also said that Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, the Mariana Islands and American Samoa are excluded from the rollout for now.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-prime-video-will-start-serving-ads-on-january-29-unless-you-pay-extra-040529534.html?src=rss

National Amusements, CBS and Paramount's parent company, reported a year-old hack this month affecting 82,128 people. TechCrunch first covered the breach, revealed in a company legal filing with Maine's Attorney General under a 2005 state digital privacy law. National Amusements hasn't commented publicly on the intrusion outside of the legal filing, and it isn't clear if customer (or only" employee) data was stolen.Maine's data breach notification says the hack occurred over a year ago, from December 13 to 15, 2022. It states 82,128 people were affected, 64 of whom were Maine residents. National Amusements' senior vice president of human resources filed the notice, which may suggest (but not confirm) that it revolved largely or entirely around internal employee data. The filing says the company began notifying customers in writing on December 22, 2023 - 372 days after the breach.On or about December 15, 2022, National Amusements became aware of suspicious activity in our computer network," the notification letter to victims reads. We immediately took steps to secure our network and minimize any disruption to our operations."However, that last sentence contains an inconsistency, as the notice posted by Maine's Attorney General's office lists the date breach discovered" as August 23, 2023. That suggests the company didn't know about the intrusion until eight months after the incident, hardly qualifying as immediately" taking steps.The filing says hackers accessed financial information, including account number or credit/debit card number (in combination with security code, access code, password or PIN for the account)." National Amusements wrote in Maine's notice that it's offering victims 12 months of Experian credit monitoring and identity theft services to customers whose social security numbers were taken.Engadget contacted National Amusements for confirmation or additional info. We will update this article if we hear back.National Amusements gained a controlling stake in Paramount and CBS in 2019 following the Viacom-CBS merger. This hack appears separate from one Paramount disclosed in August through Massachusetts' Attorney General's Office. The company listed that breach's date as between May and June 2023."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cbs-and-paramounts-parent-company-reports-hack-affecting-over-80000-people-213459711.html?src=rss

If you've been planning on spending the tail-end of your holiday break revisiting the original Splatoon for Wii U or Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, you could be out of luck. It looks like Nintendo has already begun to restrict the Wii U and 3DS's ability to play online, according to multiple users and media outlets like Nintendo Life.This started just before Christmas Eve, which is a real Bowser move.We knew this was coming, but Nintendo originally said the shutdown wouldn't happen until early April. This may not impact every player just yet, so head online with your console to give it a shot. Jonathan Barrow of Pretendo, an open-source Nintendo Network replacement," wrote that this is part of a slow rollout" of Nintendo's April plans. Pretendo hopes to eventually bring the two consoles back online.To be fair, Nintendo never actually said that the April end-date was set in stone, as the company suggested that it could discontinue online services earlier than planned." It could've warned folks, however, so they could get one last round of multiplayer Kid Icarus: Uprising in.This news follows Nintendo closing its 3DS and Wii U eShops back in March. So, now, you can't buy new games or go online with your old games. The company's silly-yet-engaging Miiverse social network, which operated on both consoles, was shut down in 2017, though there's a post archive.This is sad, but it happens. Out with the old and in with the new, and all of that. Being a gamer is weird that way. Entire generations of games simply disappear, like Goomba tears in the rain. On the plus side, maybe we'll be able to shell out full-price for some more remakes, with a Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon refresh coming to the Switch next year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nintendo-starts-shutting-down-online-play-for-wii-u-and-3ds-months-ahead-of-schedule-191720412.html?src=rss